Types of Timeshare Ownership

Fixed week timeshares were the most common form of timeshare ownership prior to the start of the 21st century. Almost always deeded, in this model you own the same week every year at a specific "home" resort. Timeshare weeks make it easy for vacationers to secure their travel week of choice, or you could purchase a week within a timeshare season, which is known as a floating week.

Floating week timeshares can be deeded or right to use. In this system, you own usage rights to a week—often still at a “home” resort—within a specific season of the year. Seasons are predefined as ranges of weeks (for instance, weeks 17-24) and vary from resort to resort. With a floating week, you contact your resort every year to secure any available week within your season, allowing for more flexible travel dates. With some ownerships, you may have a floating week during all weeks of the year (1-52) or you may have a floating week that can be redeemed at multiple resorts rather than just your "home" resort.

Fractional timeshares are similar to fixed week timeshares, except that the usage rights of each owner are typically for larger blocks of time such as four to twelve weeks per year. Fractionals are also typically very high-end and, in some cases, may be standalone homes or condos rather than resort suites.

Timeshare points are a newer form of vacation ownership that were created in response to owners’ desire for more flexibility when booking vacations. Typically, an owner purchases an allotment of points within a vacation club membership (which is essentially a network of affiliated resorts). Points are a type of “vacation currency” which can then be used to book stays at any resort within the vacation club. Unit sizes and dates at each resort within the network are assigned a points value based on demand, giving owners the flexibility to book multiple shorter trips or a single longer stay, as well as choose a smaller or larger unit size based on their needs that year. Points-based timeshare ownerships also often offer the flexibility to roll over all or a portion of your unused points to the next calendar year.