Saturday, October 13, 2007

What You Don't Know About Timeshare Alternatives

When I refer to in this blog, I mean vacation resorts which are owned by 52 families. Each family owns a share in the resort and some families may own more than one share. Each share entitles a family to use the resort for one week per year for each share they own.

The are usually top quality three, four, and five star resorts. Often times they are located in nice areas, usually on a beach. Each residence in the resort is a condominium with a full kitchen and one, two, or three bedrooms.

When the timeshare is originally sold, each share sells for between $20,000 to $30,000, depending upon the resorts' location. There are additional annual charges, for example there is a maintenance fee which may be as high as $1,000 per year. There may also be annual dues and other misc. charges. It can get expensive.

However, there are alternatives. One very good one that I am familiar with is Global Resorts Network.

is not a Timeshare. It is a membership. It has the same benefits as owning a timeshare. It has more flexibility, with no black out dates, more choices, does not lock a member into a particular week or facility, it has no maintenance or annual fees, the member can use it as often as he or she wants, and a member can own it for less than $3,000.

This program gives its members a 100 year that the member can sell, transfer or pass on to his or her family. There are no annual maintenance fees or dues. All the members pay for is their membership (one time charge) and from $298 to $799 for a full week of 8 days and 7 nights depending on the location and time of year. Unlike a timeshare, the members are not limited to just one or two weeks a year--in fact, if they have the time and money they can be on vacation 52 weeks per year, if they want to.

The members have unlimited access with no blackout dates at over 5,000 resorts that they can use whenever they choose and when available of course. In addition, they can give away three weeks per year to their friends or family. They have a 100 year membership. They don't pay for what they don't use.

These are . They are three, four, and five star resorts--they're nice places. They have a lot of features. They're not just hotel rooms, they are full sized condominium resort properties.

If you would like to check them out for yourself, including some or all of the resorts, Click Here. For access to the resorts click on the "Browse the Global Resorts Registry" and enter the login "resorts" with the password "movie."

From my point of view, I would rather have the unlimited use of multiple resorts at a reasonable price without the responsibility of a timeshare ownership. How do you feel?

Please return to my blog often for more details.

Bill Briggs