Timeshare

A timeshare (sometimes called vacation ownership) is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each owner of the same accommodation is allotted their period of time. The minimum purchase is a one-week ownership, and the high-season weeks demand higher prices. Units may be sold as a partial ownership, lease, or 'right to use', in which case the latter holds no claim to ownership of the property. The ownership of timeshare programs is varied, and has been changing over the decades. The term 'timeshare' was coined in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s, expanding on a vacation system that became popular after World War II. Vacation home sharing, also known as holiday home sharing, involved four European families that would purchase a vacation cottage jointly, each having exclusive use of the property for one of the four seasons. They rotated seasons each year, so each family enjoyed the prime seasons equally. This concept was mostly used by related families because joint ownership requires trust and no property manager was involved. However, few families vacation for an entire season at a time; so the vacation home sharing properties were often vacant for long periods.