VACATION OWNERSHIP AND CONDOMINIUM HOTELS

Vacation owner ship hotel sometimes referred to as timeshare or Vacation ownership properties typically attract individual who purchase the ownership of accommodation for a specific period of time usually one or two week a year. These owners then occupy the unit during that time. Owners who cannot or choose not to occupy the unit during their time period may have the unit rented or brokered by the management company that operates the hotel.

One popular feature of vacation ownership hotels is the ability to trade ownership time with another owner in another location. These hotels have become popular in resort areas, but some are also located in commercial areas and may be owned by area companies that need to house visiting executives or consultants. Several major hotels companies are also represented in this market, including Disney, Marriot and Hilton, club Mahindra, fort Radisson royal resorts.

The number of system in use for buying time is.

Fee simple you buy a portion of building out right and own title to that portion.

Lease hold you own the property for a specific length of time.

Right to use you don’t actually own the property but are purchasing the right to use the property for a certain time and certain weeks of the year.

Classification of time shares

Fixed week

The most basic unit is a fixed week; the resort will have a calendar enumerating the weeks roughly starting with the first calendar week of the year. An owner may own a deed to use a unit for a single specified week. For example, week 26 normally includes the Fourth of July holiday, week 51, Christmas and so on. If an owner owned Week 26 at a resort he or she could use that week every year.

Floating weeks

Sometimes units are sold as floating weeks. The ownership will be specific on how many weeks the owner owns and from which weeks the owner may select for the owner's stay. One can holiday with their family in various resorts owned by the timeshare company for the specific period one has purchased the holiday for. An example of this may be a floating summer week where the owner may request any week during the summer season generally weeks 22 through 36. In this example there would be competition for prime holidays such as the weeks of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. The weeks when schools may still be in session would not be so high in demand. Some floating contracts exclude major holidays so they may be sold as fixed weeks.

Rotating weeks

Some are sold as rotating weeks, commonly referred to as flex weeks. In an attempt to give all owners a chance for the best weeks, the weeks are rotated forward or backward through the calendar, so one year the owner may have use of week 25, then week 26 the next year and then week 27 the year after that. This method does give each owner a fair opportunity for prime weeks but it is not flexible.

Major international hotel chains such as Hilton, Accor and Marriott have introduced their own Vacation Ownership Programs which are based on point systems. The share of membership sold is either deeded or with right to use the club's services for a certain number of years

There are also Vacation Clubs that may own units in multiple resorts in different locations, offering services to a private customer base for exclusivity. Some clubs consist only of individual weeks at other developer's resorts. Vacation clubs cater to a wide range of economic backgrounds and income levels.

Types and sizes of accommodations

Following are the types of accommodation available for the timeshare guest.

1.      Apartments

2.      Castles

3.      Ski lodges

4.      Bungalows

5.      Villas

6.      Cottages

7.      Restored farm houses

8.      Private residence clubs

Studio                                            for 3 adults or 2 adults +2 children

One bed apartment                    for 4 adults and consist of drawing room, dining room, bed rooms kitchen, balcony.

Double bed room apartment     for 6 adults

These properties tend to be apartment-style units ranging in size from studio units average size is 500 to 600 sq ft.  (With room for two)  to three and four-bedroom units. These larger units can comfortably house large families. Units normally include fully equipped kitchens with a dining area, dishwasher, televisions, DVD Players and more. It is not uncommon to have washers and dryers either in the unit or easily accessible on the resort. Kitchens are equipped to the size of the unit, so that a unit that sleeps four should have at least four glasses, plates, forks, knives, spoons, and bowls so that all four guests can sit and eat at once.
Units are usually listed by how many the unit will sleep and how many the unit will sleep privately.

• Sleeps 2/2 would normally be a one bedroom or studio
• Sleeps 6/4 would normally be a two bedroom with a sleeper sofa

Sleep privately refers to the number of guests who will not have to walk through another guest's sleeping area to use a restroom. These resorts tend to be strict on the number of guests per unit. Unit size can affect demand at a given resort where a two-bedroom unit may be in higher demand than a one-bedroom unit at the same resort. The same does not hold true comparing resorts in different locations. A one-bedroom with a great location may still be in higher demand than a resort with less demand. An example of this may be a one-bedroom at a great beach resort compared to a two-bedroom unit at a resort located inland from the same beach.

Your vacation accommodations should be your home away from home. It should provide luxury and comfort as well as privacy and a place to relax and unwind. Your lodgings should be spacious and have many amenities to allow you and your family versatility and options to make the most of your vacation time.

Kitchen facilities including refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, microwave, flatware, pots and pans, cooking utensils and more.

• Washer and Dryer
• Living and Dining area
• Private bedrooms
• Multiple bathrooms
• Multiple TV's

How is it different from hotel business?

Usually these time share are at resort places and are patronized by the visitors for pleasure purposes. They should be easily accessible by road, air, railhead, boat/ steamer etc. The timeshare gives you right to have yearly vacations with the facility of worldwide exchange. The time share slot is sold for a particular week of a year (Total 52 slots in a year).T he vacations can also be gifted or sold to someone else and there is also an option to have lifetime membership (25years) or one time holiday.

Exchange Companies

Timeshare Resorts are surprisingly affordable when you buy a timeshare on the timeshare resale market. There are maintenance fees to pay each year but you can pick up a timeshare resale for thousands less than what timeshare developers sell timeshares for. Although you typically buy into a specific resort, you're in no way restricted to visiting the same resort year after year. With exchange companies such as RCI and Interval International you can trade in your week to visit anywhere in the world, all while receiving the same great accommodations you'll soon become used to.

If you'd prefer all the luxury without any of the commitment, you can rent timeshare units from current owners who have decided not to use their timeshare themselves this year. You'll still get the same great accommodation and the use of the best amenities and facilities, and it will usually only cost the same as a standard hotel room or less.

Multi location

Some time share programs have further expanded their offering with multiple locations, within the same timeshare organization. The obvious advantage of such an arrangement is   the additional flexibility to visit other timeshares in other location, which belong within the group.

Referral groups

Referral groups consist of independent hotels which have grouped together for some common purpose. Though the properties in the referral group may be different from each other but there is sufficient consistency in the quality of service to satisfy guest expectation. The referral groups also extend benefit of more extensive reservation and expanded advertising through pooled resources.

CONDOMINIUM HOTELS
These units in condominium hotels have only one owner instead of the multiple owners typical of vacation ownership hotels units an owner informs the management company of when he or she wants to occupy the unit. That way, the management company is free to rent the unit, for the remainder of the year. When the management company rents the unit a portion   of the revenue goes to the owner. Each owner purchases’ and has full right of an unit has purchases and shares the cost common to the complex such as taxes, insurance, maintenance and upkeep of public areas.
 An owner owns the individual unit, plus a certain percentage of the associated property to include any land or property amenities often referred to as “common areas” in fact, condominium is Latin for the term “common ownership”. In most cases, condo owners are part of an association that manages the costs of the common areas of a condominium complex. These costs are referred to as maintenance fees and are usually shared among all the owners, payable on a monthly basis. Each condominium complex has a single master deed of which all unit owners are listed on it with a percentage of ownership outlined for each owner. Example of condominium hotels is RCI (Resort condominium international)