History of Timeshares

The history of timeshares span the last half-century, starting in the 1960's. Worldwide, this era was a time of exponential growth and development in the tourism industry; commercial air travel was becoming more and more a necessity, and timeshare was conceived in the height of this travel boom. France and Switzerland furnished the first two companies to offer a vacation ownership program.

The French company, The Société des Grands Travaux de Marseille began to offer a timeshare program between 1964-1968 at SuperDevoluy, their ski resort based in the French Alps. Paul Doumier was creator of their famous slogan, "No need to rent the room; buy the hotel, it's cheaper!"; customers were drawn in by the thousands and business was good.

The Swiss company also considered responsible for the birth of timeshare was Hapimag; they were founded in 1963 in Baar Switzerland by Alexander Nette and his associate Guido Fenngli. Shortly after the company's formation, Nette and Fenngli began buying resort properties in Spain, Italy and Switzerland. Hapimag offered a membership instead of an ownership, through an extensive resort network on a right-to-use basis instead of deeded ownership. Hapimag is still successful today, and has kept independent of the biggest exchange companies.

The history of timeshares in the United States begins in 1969 Hawaii. Kauai Kailani on Kauai island was the first location in the country to boast a timeshare program. Vacation Internationale's founders Bob Burns and Bob Ringenburg sold weeks in forty year increments on a leasehold basis. Vacation Internationale also introduced the first points program; this program was a breakthrough at the time which offered vacationers tremendous flexibility and choices, and garnered great publicity for the industry. Florida was on Hawaii's heels, and was by the early seventies the first state in the continental United States to embrace timeshare development.

Innisfree Companies of California was the first proprietor of deeded ownership timeshares in the United States. Working with the Hyatt company, Innisfree's first development was located at Brockway Springs in Lake Tahoe, California. This was the first resort to ever use the word 'timeshare' to describe vacation time purchased from a resort. A group of developers including Carl Berry, Greg Bright, Paul Grey, Dave Irmer, and Doug Murdock, are credited with originating the term "timeshare". Prior to its usage in the vacation Industry, 'timeshare' was used to describe the shared usage of a mainframe computer among many people. The developers believed this would paint a better picture, allowing buyers to more easily grasp the vacation ownership concept and buy more timeshare; they couldn't have been more correct. The word timeshare was used with many bankers already familiar with the term; it was filed on the paperwork submitted to the California Department of Real Estate which made it popular on a state level, and used in various promotional materials. Timeshare was now a household name.

Resorts Condominiums International (RCI) was founded in Indianapolis Indiana in 1974. Since its foundation, it is now the largest timeshare company in the world, offering exchanges in over one hundred countries, and an office on almost every continent in the world. The exchange power offered by RCI was never before seen in the industry, and offered timeshare owners the more flexibility than ever before.

The 1980's bore witness to increased development and sales of timeshare programs. Marketing for these properties went up ten-fold, and timeshare was advertised to consumers ranging from the budget-oriented to the extremely wealthy. Wealthy individuals saw the promise of more vacations in more exotic locations than ever before, and the budget-oriented saw an opportunity for more affordable vacations at destinations they were already traveling to. Unfortunately, with success always comes imitators, and the eighties saw rise to may 'post card' companies. These companies sacrificed quality for quantity, charging more money for less product. They rode on the coattails of the industry's success and popularity, providing many incentives and premiums for coming to view their presentation. The marketing ploys drew in crowds, and the salespeople started using 'high pressure sales tactics' to make more money faster. This left more timeshare owners unsatisfied, and timeshare resale lacked a proper market, leaving those who attempted it often confused, frustrated and worse for the wear.

Marriott saw the disarray the industry had become, and the potential to restore its credibility as well as making a substantial profit. Always a trusted and quality hotel brand, Marriott established Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc. in 1984 and instantly restored a great deal of credibility to the industry. Read more about Marriott timeshare history here.

The early 90's saw four million timeshare owners worldwide, at over 2,300 time-sharing facilities across the globe. Timeshare was still expanding into new regions by leaps and bounds, and even already popular timeshare destinations were growing continuously. At this time of rapid growth and development, major hotel brands other than Marriott started to become interested in how lucrative the timeshare industry was becoming, and decided to become involved in timeshare themselves. Sheraton, Ramada, Hilton, Disney, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Radisson and Westin all began offering timeshare properties during the 1990?s. This solidified the credibility Marriott had already built up, boosted consumer confidence, and timeshare sales reached new record highs.

In 2000, BuyATimeshare.com opened its doors, offering current owners the opportunity to find a buyer or renter for a timeshare they may no longer want or need. At the same time, we have created a resale market more affordable than the primary market or any other resale source available. We provide valuable information for first-time buyers or renters, and help buyers and sellers alike reach an informed and educated decision regarding their current or future property. The history of timeshare has certainly had its fair share of ups and downs; however with BuyATimeshare.com, the future has never looked brighter.

The History of Timeshares first originated in Europe in the 1960's. The popularity of commercial jets as well as the 60's carefree attitude helped revolutionize the travel industry.

Marriott Timeshare History began to offer vacation ownership known as Timeshare in 1984. Marriott valued the concept of timeshare, and understood the potential the timeshare market had. Through extensive research of the timeshare industry, Marriott came to many realizations. Timesharing had a negative perception due to low quality resorts, and a serious lack of focus on customer care and innovation