Timeshare Glossary

A glossary of timeshare terms

Definitions of commonly use timeshare resale and rental terms . Use this glossary as a reference tool for understanding timeshare terms.

Accelerated Use - a timeshare program that lets someone purchase their time in increasingly larger increments.
Accrued weeks - Unused weeks from the previous year that have been banked and are possibly available for use the following year.
Anniversary Date - This is the day on which your earned points accumulate.  This happens once per year. This only applies in the case of timeshare resorts that offer a points system.
ARDA (American Resort Development Association) - The foremost trade association representing the timeshare industry for owners and property developers.
Banking - Banking putting away unused weeks, or points, to be used at a later date.
Biennial - Usage of your timeshare week every other year instead of once a year.
Bonus Time -  time spent at your timeshare resort that falls outside of your normally allocated week.
Bonus Weeks - Extra weeks offered as incentives to buyers by the timeshare company to get you to visit the resorts more often.
Club/trust membership - specific resort programs which allow year-round usage of the resort facilities.
Cooling-off period -  the number of days which a buyer may take back his purchase of a timeshare property without incurring financial penalties.
End-user finance - When a loan is provided to enable a buyer to purchase timeshare property.
Escritura - In Spanish, the registration and deeding process for a Deed of Title.
Escrow - Escrow is an account specifically set up to hold and transfer funds between a buyer and seller.
Exchange - Exchange refers to the option to trade one timeshare week for another timeshare week.
Exchange company - Exchange Companies are third-party organizations that exist to facilitate the exchange of banked timeshare weeks.
Fee Simple - A type of timeshare ownership wherein the owner holds a deed in his/her name. Fee Simple is considered to be the opposite of right-to-use or lease ownership. This type of ownership continues forever; the ownership of the property can even be bequeathed to heirs.
Fixed Unit - A Fixed Unit means that the owner has rights to the same physical unit every year.
Fixed Week - A Fixed Week is a specific week during the calendar year that is usually identified by a number.
Floating Week - A floating week may be used any time during the calendar year based on a resort's availability.
Fractional Ownership - Fractional Ownership is a specific type of deeded vacation property ownership wherein usage and ownership are based on the division of property into shares.
Gold Crown Resort - RCI's highest rating for a resort. Similar to I.I.'s criteria for "five-star resort".
Guest Certificate - A Guest Certificate is documentation which authorizes a guest to use a timeshare exchange in lieu of the owners.
Holiday Club/Vacation Club - A Holiday Club or Vacation Club is an organization or program which provides a number of timeshare weeks to members.
Holiday Ownership - Synonymous with vacation ownership, another term for timeshare.
Interval International - Interval International, the second largest exchange company in the world.
Instant exchange - An exchange of timeshare intervals on short notice through RCI.
Internal Exchange - Internal Exchange refers to exchange of a week of vacation ownership within a particular resort network.
Interval - With respect to timeshares, the term Interval refers to a unit of usage time.
Lease - A Lease is an arrangement that allows for property usage in localities where deeded ownership of vacation properties is not permitted by law.
Levy - Among members of a points club, the term levy refers to administrative fees incurred by individual members. Levies can also encompass any charges the resort management may impose for use of a particular week.
Linked Agreement - A Linked Agreement is actually two agreements appearing to be separate which are, in fact, linked.
Lockout, a.k.a. lock-off unit - A Lockout or Lock-off is a unit that can be divided into two or more separate sections.
Maintenance fee - A Maintenance Fee is a regular charge levied by the management company of a particular resort or the home owners association responsible for the upkeep of the property.
Management company - The Management Company is a company responsible for running the resort on a day-to-day basis.
Odd- or even-year usage - Odd or Even Year Usage is vacation property ownership where the owner can use his or her property every other year.
OTE (Organisation for Timeshare in Europe) - The Organization for Timeshare in Europe is a trade association in Europe composed of resort owners and developers.
Points - Points are a unit of measurement used by exchange companies and timeshare owners to establish value for seasons, sizes of resorts, and resort locations.
RCI - RCI (Resort Condominiums International) is the largest timeshare exchange company in the world.
Red Week -  the peak season at a resort during which timeshare properties are busiest and most wanted.
Resale - A Resale timeshare is a vacation property being advertised for sale after it was originally purchased from the resort developer.  This can usually be at a fraction of the original cost.
Rescission - A Rescission is a grace period allowed by law and/or company policy during which a timeshare buyer has the right to cancel a purchase agreement without penalties.  This is usually 10 days.
Season - Seasons are designated time periods throughout the year denoting usage value and/or period of ownership.
RCI - Red is high season, White is Mid Season, Blue is Low Season
Iinterval - Red is high season, Yellow is mid season, green is low season
Space Banking - this occurs when a timeshare owners deposits their timeshare week into an exchange company's "bank" of time in order to have the option to trade for another week.
Timeshare - Timeshare is the purchasing of a week of vacation time at a resort, condo or other facility.
Trading Power - Trading Power refers to value of a week when trading for a different property through a timeshare exchange company.  Some locations have more trading value on the market.
Vacation Ownership - This is the same thing as timeshare ownership.
Week Fifty-Three - Week 53 is reserved for the exclusive use of the resort developer or other important members or VIPS of the resort.