TIME SHARE AND VACATION OWNERSHIP

TIMESHARE

Definition acc. to WTO (World Tourism Organization)-

The advance purchase of time in holiday accommodation. The purchaser pays a capital sum to acquire the timeshare and then pays an annual contribution towards the maintenance of property. The period of time sold is usually based on modules of week.

Defn: Any arrangement plan or similar device, but not including any exchange program, whether by membership, agreement, tenancy in common, sales, lease, rental agreement, license, right to use agreement, or any other means whereby a purchaser in exchange for consideration, receives right to use accommodation or facilities, or both, for a specific period of time less than a full year during any given year.

REFERRAL

The referral programme is one of the most cost effective programmes in any vacation ownership development. It has the lowest cost and highest closing rates. As the magnitude of the owner base builds, this programme gains momentum and has a positive effect on costs. However the direct corollary of the success of this technique is owner satisfaction with their total vacation ownership experience. Thus in the long term, resort management practices have a direct influence on its success. Incentive programmes are established to motivate members to refer their friends and relatives.

CONDOMINIUMS

These are another type of accommodation. The owner of a unit which is a room or apartment in a complex, furnishes it to his/her taste and informs the management for the times when he/she will occupy the apartment. He/she permits the management to rent out the apartment at times and the rent goes to the owner. Condos have a restricted entry.

HOW IS TIME SHARE DIFFERENT FROM HOTEL BUSINESS ?

1. Time share properties are usually located at beaches, ski slopes, hill resorts, spa, waterfalls, etc

2. Timeshare owners can exchange their time with another timeshare owner at another location. They can even rent their time slot to another person.

3. Timeshare properties have fully furnished rooms with kitchenettes. They may have a dining hall with a bar.

4. Owners need to schedule their visit with the management office to ensure that the room or suite is available.

Characteristics of Timeshare Properties:

a) Builds a culture of leisure tourism.

b) Targets a large cross section of consumers offering wide choice of holidays.

c) Promotes domestic tourism and creates jobs.

d) Minimizes seasonality- insulates against fluctuating occupancies.

e) High resilience.

f) Builds customer loyalty and maximizes repeat business, thus enhancing brand loyalty.

g) Increases revenue from F&B and other resort services and activities.

h) Cross selling opportunities.

GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT APPROVAL AND CLASSIFICATION OF TIME SHARE RESORTS.

Hotels and other supplementary accommodation are an integral art of a tourist's visit to a place and the services offered by them can make or mar a visit completely. Vacation ownership popularly known as Time Share is one of the fastest growing component of tourism. Time Share Resorts (TSR) are increasingly becoming popular for the leisure holidays and family holidays, etc. With the aim of providing standardized world class services to the tourists, the Government of India, Ministry of Tourism has a voluntary scheme for classification of fully operational Time Share Resorts in the 5 Star, 4 Star and 3 Star categories.

The Hotel & Restaurant Approval & Classification Committee (HRACC) inspects and assesses the TSR based on facilities and services offered. Project approvals are also given in all the above-mentioned categories at the project implementation stage. Classified Time Share Resorts approved/approved projects are eligible for various concessions and facilities that are announced by the Government from time to time besides, getting worldwide publicity through the Indiatourism Offices located in India and abroad.

TSRs and Hotels are permitted for mixed use. However, if the TSR intends to use as hotel also i.e. mixed purpose, it must provide all facilities and amenities as required or the specified star category of hotel in accordance with the Guidelines.

TSRs will be used as vacation ownership. In no circumstances apartments in TSR will be sold individually for residential or any other purpose.

TSRs including heritage and resorts which are the members of All India Resort Development Association (AIRDA) will be considered for classification/project approval.

Details of the criteria set and the documents required are given in this document.

For classification and project approvals in the 5 Star, 4 Star and 3 Star, the applications along with the requisite fees may be sent to:-

Hotel and Restaurants Division

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India

C-I Hutments, Dalhousie Road, New Delhi-110001.

Different types of timeshare ownerships:

Fixed timeshares: This kind of timeshare is only for a particular week or days of the year. The resort sells the particular unit of time says a week or weeks of the year to the person who is willing to buy it. The rest of the year, other owners in similar fashion utilize it.

Floating timeshare units: A floating timeshare too is only for a particular period of time fixed. But there is no specification of dates and that is the advantage of floating timeshares, say the owner is eligible to stay for a week of summer, it can be defined by the owner, which week of summer he would like to holiday.

Rotational timeshare units: This combines the benefits of both the fixed and the floating type of timeshares. The rotation of holiday stay can go either backwards or forward on the season and calendar, giving opportunity to all owners on a rotational basis.

Apart from the above three types of timeshares there are two more kinds of ownerships of timeshare properties, one being the deeded and the other right to use type of ownership. According to the deed property, the owner owns a bit of the real property, bought and sold under the by-laws of the community according to the owner’s wishes. The right to use kind, allows the person to have right on the property for a particular period of time for a fixed number of years, after which he does not have any rights on the unit or facilities or the time slot.

Due to the increase in popularity of timeshare concepts apart from the resorts and apartment style accommodations, it is possible to have a cruise ship timeshare, campground timeshare, yacht and even private jet kinds.

Types and sizes of accommodations

These properties tend to be apartment-style units ranging in size from studio units (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, VCRs 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. Timeshare 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.

Types and sizes of accommodations

These properties tend to be apartment-style units ranging in size from studio units (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, VCRs 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. Timeshare 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.

REFERRAL

Do you leave Referrals to chance?

Well meet Dr Paddi Lund! He's created a Referral System that consistently attracts enough A-class customers that now he does no markeing or advertising whatsoever!

Paddi is the crazy Australian dentist who,

• Pulled down all his signs,
• Locked his front door,
• Took his name out of the phone book,
• “Fired” half his customers, and
• Took a chainsaw to his reception desk!

Yet far from a recipe for disaster, these radical strategies were a formula for incredible success.

In a matter of just weeks after deciding to really focus on Referrals, Dr Paddi Lund,

• Made Referrals consistent, easy and fun for clients,
• Attracted a steady flow of good quality new clients,
• Converted nearly double the number of new clients to big-ticket treatment in their first visit,

And within months he,

• Accepted new business 'By Referral Only',
• Made referrals a pre-condition of being a client!
• Only asked A-class clients to refer their friends,
• And only attracted A-class new clients in return!

Not only that, as a consequence of filtering all his bad clients's and having a lot more A-class clients Paddi...

• Began working just 23hrs per week,
• Took home 2½ times as much money,
• Loved going work and his whole team was really happy!

After just a few years, Paddi was so confident with his Referral-Only approach, he elevated his status to 'By Invitation Only' - only certain of his clients are allowed to invite their friends to be a part of the practice. And his customers are blown away. The trust and credibility his Referral System now generates makes 'selling' a thing of the past. Now new cusomers arrive ready to buy - making sales is like falling off a log!

CONDOMINIUM n. title to a unit of real property which, in reality, is the air space which an apartment, office or store occupies. An increasingly common form of property title in a multi-unit project, condominiums actually date back to ancient Rome, hence the Latin name. The owner of the condominium also owns a common tenancy with owners of other units in the common area, which includes all the driveways, parking, elevators, outside hallways, recreation and landscaped areas, which are managed by a homeowners' or tenants association. If the condominium unit is destroyed by fire or other disaster, the owner has the right to rebuild in his/her airspace.