II (Interval International): The second largest exchange company in the world.

Interval: An assigned period of time. Based on the interval calendar wherein the fifty-two weeks of the year are numbered sequentially: Week 01 through Week 52 or Week 53. A specific interval week is a seven-day period encompassing one of those fifty-two weeks.

Interval Calendar: An annual calendar depicting the fifty-two or fifty-three weeks of each calendar year showing starting days of Friday to Friday, Saturday to Saturday, and Sunday to Sunday, check in dates. See the Calendar Here.

Lease/Leasehold: Some states and some foreign countries do not allow deeded ownership of timeshares. Alternatively, a lease ownership or Right-To-Use (RTU) ownership grants the leasor the right to use the property for a specified period of time; usually from 20 to 99 years. Ownership of the physical property is held by the resort developer or management company. Most properties in Hawaii, for instance, are leasehold properties. The same is true in Mexico.

Levy: In a points club, the annual charge to members to pay for administration of the club in addition to any management charge or supplementary management charge made for actual use of a week. Also a one-time charge made to owners by an Owners Club or Management Company to pay for major or unexpected costs. See Special Assessment

Lockout/Lock-off Unit: Typically, a unit which has the capability of being divided to create two separate but complete sections. If an owner buys a lockout unit, he can divide the unit and either stay in one half of the unit and rent the other half or rent both halves to different parties.

Maintenance Fee: Maintenance fees are established and collected by the Home Owners Association or Resort Management Company to maintain the property, pay insurance, utilities, refurbishing and taxes. These fees vary from resort to resort and with the type and size of the unit purchased. The cost of resort operation is spread among owners. This fee must also build up reserves to pay for non-recurring costs like furniture, appliances etc. that need periodic replacement and other capital costs as normal physical deterioration occurs. Note: During the active sales period, maintenance fees may be temporarily subsidized by the developer as a marketing tool. When the HOA takes over, fees may rise to unsubsidized levels.

Management Company: The company contracted, usually by the Owners Club/HOA, to carry out all the day-to-day management of the resort. Very often owned or controlled by the developer. See HOA/POA

Management Fees: The fees, usually paid annually, by each owner or points club member to cover the costs of running the resort on a day-to-day basis.

 

Maximum Occupancy: The maximum number of persons an interval unit will accommodate; usually from 2 to 10 persons. Maximum occupancy is typically expressed in conjunction with "private occupancy" referring to the number of persons the unit will sleep privately and the number of bedrooms within the unit. Configurations of units vary from resort to resort.

Odd or Even Year Usage: Timeshare ownership usage every other year--some odd-numbered, some even. The ownership of this type of interval is valued at one-half the value of a full ownership property since the use is restricted to one-half of the annual usage.

Owner Referrals: Resorts that are in active sales often have special vacation promos that they offer through their current owners. The owners are encouraged to submit referrals and will receive various incentives from the resort for their leads.

Points: Programs offered to interval owners by resorts which allow the owners choice and control over when and where they vacation or for how long or short they stay. Points are a symbolic unit of measure having no intrinsic value separate and apart from interval ownership.

Points Clubs: A timeshare system where ‘owners’ hold points which entitle them to use a period (varying from a few days to a few weeks) every year from a choice of resorts. Sometimes points are backed by an actual deed, sometimes they are not.

Resort Ratings: A system of comparison of resort quality, amenities, and location. The two foremost rating systems are Resort Condominiums International (RCI), Interval International (II). RCI and II rate their affiliated resorts based upon predetermined criteria of exacting standards of quality and services provided by the resort as well as the availability of amenities at or near the resort. RCI uses the Gold Crown designation for their highest quality resorts and Resorts of International Distinction for second-level resorts. II designates their top resorts as 5-Star resorts.

 

  Repossession: The removal of rights to use by a Club (or Management Company) for breach of the Constitution (usually non-payment of Management Fees) and the sale of those rights to recover any debt. Deeded property cannot normally be repossessed.

RCI (Resort Condominiums International): The largest exchange organisation in the world, owned by Cendant Corp.

Right To Use (RTU): Occupancy rights for a specified number of years, with no ownership interest in the property. Some states and some foreign countries do not allow deeded ownership of timeshares. Alternatively, a lease ownership or Right-To-Use ownership grants the lessor the right to use the property for a specified period of time; usually from 20 to 99 years. The resort developer or Management Company holds ownership of the physical property. However, during the right-to-use period, the owner may rent, transfer, or bequeath the remaining years of their right-to-use property.

Season: Exchange Company division of the weeks in a year into popular (Red), shoulder (White for RCI or Amber for Interval International) and off peak (Blue for RCI or Green for II) for the calculation of trading power in exchanges. Each resort may have different seasons depending on the geographic position etc.

Space banking: Depositing a week of owned timeshare with an exchange company. See Banking

Special Assessment: A fee over and above the annual maintenance fee assessed by the resort pro rata to interval owners. This fee is, when assessed, is intended to defray expenses related to major repairs and refurbishing of resort equipment, facilities, and units

Timeshare: A right, shared with others, to occupy a unit of accommodation for a period of time (usually a week) on a regular basis for a number of years. Sometimes referred to as ‘Holiday Ownership’, ‘Multi Ownership’ or ‘Group Ownership’ . Timesharing can be in a single building, an apartment block or a boat.

Trading Power: The assessed value of an interval week when trading or exchanging for another week within the same resort or at a different resort. In some situations, the owner of a red week at an RCI Gold Crown resort can trade that week for two or more weeks at a resort of lessor distinction or for weeks in a lower time division. Supply and demand rules prevail in this type of exchange and the owners can greatly enhance their trading power with high demand weeks and resorts.

Trustees: A bank, trust company or a group of individuals who hold timeshare accommodation (and sometimes leisure facilities) ‘in trust’ on behalf of the owners and grant owners a ‘right –to-use’ through a licence (‘Ownership Certificate’). Trustees provide security for owners in the event that a developer fails financially. Some trustees may have added responsibilities such as ensuring the continuity of the Owners Club.

Unit Size: Normally expressed as hotel unit, studio unit, and efficiency unit or by number of bedrooms. Hotel units, studio units, and efficiency units typically are a single room with sleeping accommodations and perhaps a small built in kitchen and sleep from two to four persons. One, two or three or more bedroom units are usually condominium style accommodations and feature a partial or full kitchen and other living areas.

Week 53: Almost all Calendars contain only 52 weeks of use in a year - but roughly every seven years there is an extra week, week 53.

Week Number: see Calendar