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The Wonderful World of Timeshare Exchanging

The ability to use your timeshare week to visit a variety of locations around the world is one of the biggest reasons to own a timeshare. In fact, more than 80% of timeshare purchasers buy with this intention. Whether you're a long-term planner or a procrastinator, who travels at the last moment, exchanging your timeshare unit/ week for other comparable units/ weeks is a wonderful way to travel throughout the world. It's even better when you purchase a resale timeshare, as you can receive the same exchange privileges but at fraction of the original timeshare's retail price! Interested? Click here.

1. Own a Timeshare

Before you can exchange a timeshare, you have to own one. Think about where and how you plan your vacations. Are you limited to traveling only during peak seasons or can you travel during the off-season? Do you travel mostly to peak destinations (the beach during summer) or stray from the beaten path? Are you still working, with family or retired? These questions will determine the type of property you need when exchanging (i. e., less flexibility means that you'll want a prime property).

2. Join a Timeshare Exchange Company

Once you have a timeshare, join a timeshare exchange company. These companies, usually affiliated with your timeshare resort, will help you exchange your timeshare unit/ week for similar resort's units/ weeks. RCI and II are the two largest exchange companies. Memberships are quite nominal and include large timeshare catalogs, complete with pictures and descriptions of resorts throughout the world. You can also access their Internet sites.

3. Deposit Your Timeshare

Let's say you now own a 2-bedroom timeshare in the Caribbean, during the peak season. You love it, but you'd like to exchange it to celebrate a future anniversary in Europe. You contact your exchange company and deposit or "bank" your timeshare week into their existing resort "pool", which is made up of other exchange members' weeks from around the world. (Exchange guidelines will vary from one company to another.)

4. Make the Request

After looking through the exchange company's resort directory, you determine where in Europe you'd like to stay. You call up the exchange company and give them a range of weeks (say a month) and an area (Spain) or a list of resorts. As exchange companies only offer weeks that are deposited by other members, the more flexible you are the easier it is for them to find a match. No more than 50% of requests are confirmed the first day. Most require an on-going search, as the resort pool changes from day to day. It comes down to demand versus supply. Remember, it's always a similar resort/ unit/ week for another.

When the right match does come, and they do, you're off to explore a new area around the globe. If you get hooked, you'll enjoy many future exchange opportunities at hundreds of resorts around the world. Bon Voyage!