If you are asking yourself whether to buy a timeshare or residence club membership, you are most probably causing yourself unnecessary confusion. Really there is no question about “timeshare or residence club” as by all intents and purposes they mean the same thing. Put more clearly, residence club membership is a form of timeshare.
Let’s explain a little deeper.
Timeshare
Timeshare is a term that refers to vacation ownership when a buyer purchases an interval of time at a particular resort, property or condo. This interval of time was traditionally calculated at week intervals – one week, two week, a month, a season etc. Depending on whether timeshare owners bought a fixed week timeshare that entitled the owner to the same week every year or a floating week within a general season, this timeshare interval remained intact as one week segments.
Although this is the original model formed by timeshare companies, timeshare or residence club, the concept of timeshare remains simple – you share a segment of time at a property with other owners, or better put, you buy a share of time at a property.
So what is a Residence Club?
The term residence club can have a variety of meanings depending on the circumstances, but basically means a club formed by residents, whether they be full owners or timeshare (deeded nor non deeded). Within the context of “timeshare or residence club,” residence club will usually refer to a timeshare membership club, where rather than buying set weeks, members buy points which they can use more freely for exchanges and other benefits. Residence Club therefore boast more freedom, greater flexibility and more choice yet remains a type of timeshare as you are in effect, buying shares of time at a property.
You will also find that timeshare products that use the name residence club are generally of a more luxurious nature and refer to vacation ownership at five star resorts and chains or in highly exclusive residences. For example, Garza Blanca Residence Club in Puerto Vallarta and Villa del Palmar Cancun, which are luxury resorts that offer points based residence club memberships.
I hope you found this information useful to understand the differences between timeshare or residence club.
