A timeshare is a form of ownership or right to the use of a property, or the term used to describe such properties. Timeshare properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each sharer is allotted a period of time (typically one week) in which they may use the property. Timeshares may be on a part-ownership or lease/"right to use" basis, in which the sharer holds no claim to ownership of the property.

Exchanging time shares
Much lauded is the idea of owners exchanging their week, either independently or through several exchange agencies, to stay at one of the thousands of other resorts worldwide.

These exchange agencies have resort affiliate programs and members can only exchange to affiliate resorts. The time share resort one purchases determines which of the major exchange companies can be used to make exchanges. These agencies charge a yearly membership fee and fees for when they find an exchange. They also bar members from renting weeks for which they already have exchanged.

Varieties
Deeded vs. Right to Use
A major difference in types of vacation ownership is that between deeded and right to use contracts.

With deeded contracts the use of the resort is usually divided into week long increments and these are sold as fractional ownership and are real property. As with any other piece of real estate the owner may use his or her week, rent his or her week, give it away, leave it to his or her heirs or sell the week to another prospective buyer. Owner also liable for his portion of real estate taxes, which usually are collected with condominium maintenance fee. Potentially owner can even deduct some property related expenses, such as real estate taxes, from his taxable income.

With right to use, the purchaser has the right to use the property in accordance with the contract but at some point the contract ends and all rights revert to the property owner. In other words, the right to use contract grants the right to use the resort for a specific number of years.

Fixed Week Ownership

The most basic unit is a fixed week; the resort will have a calendar enumerating the weeks roughly starting with the first calendar week of the year. An owner may own a deed to use a unit for a single specified week. For example, week 26 normally includes the Fourth of July Holiday, week 51 - Christmas and so on. If an owner owned Week 26 at a resort he or she could use that week every year.

Floating

Sometimes units are sold as floating weeks. The ownership will be specific on how many weeks the owner owns and from which weeks the owner may select for the owner's stay. An example of this may be a floating summer week where the owner may request any week during the summer season generally weeks 22 through 36. In this example there would be competition for prime holidays such as the weeks of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. The weeks when schools may still be in session would not be so high in demand. Some floating contracts exclude major holidays so they may be sold as fixed weeks.

Rotating

Some are sold as rotating weeks. In an attempt to give all owners a chance for the best weeks, the weeks are rotated forward or backward through the calendar, so one year the owner may have use of week 25, then week 26 the next year and then week 27 the year after that. This method does give each owner a fair opportunity for prime weeks but it is not flexible.

Vacation Club

Vacation clubs are organizations that may own units in multiple resorts in different locations. Some clubs consist only of individual weeks at other developer's resorts. They are sold both as deeded or right to use and club members may reserve vacation time at any of the owned resort units based on availability. Vacation clubs cater to a wide range of economic backgrounds and income levels.

Points Programs

Resort based points programs are also sold as deeded and as right to use. Points programs annually give the owner an amount of points equal to the level of ownership. The owner in a points program can then use these points to make travel arrangements within the resort group. Many points programs are affiliated with large resort groups offering a large selection of options for destination. Many resort point programs provide flexibility from the traditional week stay.

A points program member may often request fractional weeks as well as full or multiple weeks stays. The number of points required to stay at the resort will vary based on a points chart. The points chart will allow for factors such as:

• The popularity of the resort;
• The size of the accommodations;
• The number of nights;
• The popularity of the season;
• and the specific nights requested.

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 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.