Learn · Timeshare Basics

The Evolution of Timeshares

General information only — not legal advice.  Last reviewed: November 2026

Today there are about 1,434 timeshare resorts in the United States, with roughly 188,700 units shared among their owners.¹ The idea behind them is simple: share one vacation home among many people instead of buying the whole thing. How that simple idea grew into a multibillion-dollar industry helps explain the contracts, fees and choices owners have today.

At a glance

• 1963 Hapimag is founded in Switzerland on a membership (right-to-use) model.²
• 1966 The SuperDévoluy ski resort opens in the French Alps; about a third of its studios are later sold as shared ownership.³
• 1969 The industry trade group that later becomes ARDA is formed.⁴
• 1974 RCI begins offering timeshare exchange; Interval International follows in 1976.⁵
• 1981 Florida enacts its Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act.⁶
• 1984 Marriott enters the business, followed by Disney (1991) and Hilton (1992).⁷
• 2009 U.S. timeshare sales fall 35% during the credit crisis.⁸
• 2018–24 A wave of large mergers reshapes the industry.⁹
• 2025 U.S. sales reach $10.7 billion; average maintenance fee is $1,550 a year.¹

1960s · EuropeThe idea: share the vacation home

Shared vacation ownership took shape in Europe in the 1960s. In Switzerland, Hapimag was founded in 1963 and sold memberships giving the right to use a network of resorts, rather than ownership of a specific apartment.²

In France, the SuperDévoluy ski resort opened at Christmas 1966. About a third of its 1,083 studios were sold as multipropriété (shared ownership), which France's Ministry of Culture describes as a first for the country. Buyers held shares in a company rather than title to one apartment, and a single studio could have up to twenty co-owners.³

Late 1960s–1970s · United StatesDeeded weeks, right-to-use, and exchange

The concept reached the United States in the late 1960s and spread through the 1970s. Two basic models took hold, and both still exist:

• Deeded ownership: you own a real-property interest, often a specific week in a specific unit, recorded like other real estate.
• Right-to-use: you hold a membership, license or lease that lets you use the resort for a set period of years, without owning real estate.

A trade group, the American Land Development Association, formed in 1969. It later became the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), which still represents the industry today.⁴

Owning the same week at the same resort every year was a limitation, and exchange companies grew up to solve it. RCI was founded in 1974 and Interval International in 1976. They let owners trade their week for time at other participating resorts, usually for a fee.⁵

1980s · RegulationStates write the rules

As sales grew, states began passing laws written specifically for timeshares, generally focused on written disclosures and a buyer's right to cancel. ARDA's longtime leader lobbied states to adopt these laws.⁴

Florida enacted its Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act (Chapter 721 of the Florida Statutes) in 1981. Under current Florida law, a buyer can cancel a purchase within 10 calendar days after signing the contract or receiving the last required document, whichever is later, and that right cannot be waived.⁶ Other states have their own cancellation periods and rules, and they differ, so the contract and the law of the state involved control.

1980s–1990s · Brands & pointsHotel names arrive and points replace fixed weeks

Major hotel brands brought new attention to the business. Marriott entered in 1984 by acquiring American Resorts on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.⁷ Disney Vacation Club opened its first resort at Walt Disney World on December 20, 1991,⁷ and Hilton Grand Vacations began in 1992.⁷

Around the same time, many programs moved from fixed weeks to points. Instead of a set week, an owner receives an annual allotment of points to spend on different resorts, seasons and room sizes. Points made booking more flexible, but they also made the value of an ownership harder to compare, because point charts and booking rules are set by each program and can change.

2000s · Boom & bustThe credit crisis and the resale problem

U.S. timeshare sales reached about $10.6 billion in 2007. When credit markets froze in late 2008, sales fell sharply, and in 2009 they totaled $6.3 billion, a 35% drop from 2008.⁸

The downturn also exposed a long-standing issue: a timeshare is generally bought as a vacation product, and its resale value can be far below the original purchase price. Owners who wanted to sell often found few buyers, and that demand drew fraud. In a March 2023 warning, the FBI reported more than 600 complaints in 2022, with losses of about $39.6 million, from owners of timeshares in Mexico targeted by fake resale and rental companies.¹⁰ The Federal Trade Commission warns owners to be wary of anyone who asks for money upfront or promises a quick sale.¹¹

2010s–2020s · ConsolidationFewer, larger companies

In recent years the industry has consolidated into a handful of very large companies:

• Marriott Vacations Worldwide acquired ILG, the parent of Interval International, on September 1, 2018.⁹
• Wyndham Destinations renamed itself Travel + Leisure Co. on February 17, 2021.⁹
• Hilton Grand Vacations acquired Diamond Resorts on August 2, 2021, and Bluegreen Vacations on January 17, 2024.⁹

For owners, a merger can bring new club names, booking systems and program rules, even though the original contract stays in place.

TodayWhere the industry stands

According to ARDA's 2026 industry study, covering 2025:¹

Maintenance fees are one of the biggest changes owners notice. ARDA's figures put the average at $1,260 for 2023, $1,480 for 2024 and $1,550 for 2025.^1,12 Those fees are billed every year whether or not the owner travels, and they typically continue for as long as the ownership does. Because deeded timeshares are real property, they can also pass to heirs through an estate, along with the fees that come with them.

Timeshare Information Center provides written, resort-specific information so owners can understand their ownership and their options and act at their own pace. Questions? Call (866) 260-7604 or email Info@TimeshareInformationCenter.US.