If you are like me, always reading the news and updates in the world of timeshares, you may be getting really tired of running into headlines about soccer great David Beckham working out his timeshare deal between the LA Galaxy and AC Milan.

Nothing against David Beckham, but perhaps the news you really want is the updates about Marriott timeshares, Sunterra, Disney Vacation Club, and all the other developers, resorts, and associations in the world of timeshare sales and timeshare resales. Nevertheless, running into David Beckham news when you are trying to find out more about vacation ownership does verify one important fact: our culture is getting really comfortable with the word TIMESHARE.

Getting Comfortable with Timeshares

As far as I can tell (and I don’t claim to be an etymologist), the word “timeshare” or “time share” seems to have first shown up in the English language in the early 1950’s as a computer science term used to describe time shared on one computer or one computer system – a use you still hear today, as in “timesharing”.

Timeshare, as commercially marketed vacation ownership property, first came into use in Europe in the 1960’s. Developer Paul Doumier created a ski resort in the French Alps with shared ownership and shared usage. At about the same time, Guido M. Fenggli and Alexandra Nette formed a company in Switzerland through which its membership could holiday in different vacation locations, first in Switzerland, and not long afterwards, throughout southern Europe.

In the United States, Hawaii timeshare property was sold first on the island of Kauai in 1969. A timeshare owner had the right to use his Hawaii timeshare for forty years after purchase, but he or she did not have deeded timeshare ownership.

By the 1970’s, the timeshare business model had evolved to include timeshare by right to use, deeded ownership, and leasehold, with deeded ownership quickly becoming the predominating type in the US.

Today, you hear the word timeshare or timesharing applied to all sorts of situations from joint ownership of luxury automobiles, to skyboxes at sports stadiums, to boats, yachts, ladies’ designer handbags, and yes, iconic sports stars such as David Beckham.

While some timeshare companies have tried to downplay the fact that they sell timeshare by calling themselves a vacation club, that trend may change as we see the concept of timesharing becoming part of the mainstream vernacular.

We live in a changing economy. Many people are having to rethink their ideas about how they spend their money and whether or not it makes sense for them to tie up their dollars in a luxury vacation home they use only a few times each year or a luxury car they must bear the sole cost of insuring and maintaining. In a scaled-down economy, we may all be coming to terms with the fact that owning only the percentage of something that we actually use is actually better than owning (and maintaining) it all. And what could be more indicative of a changing comfort level about the idea of sharing than the fact that American sports fans are willing to timeshare David Beckham if that’s what it takes to keep him playing in the US?

Europe’s Timeshare Association (TATOC) finds new and beneficial ways to improve timeshare ownership in Europe and the timeshare industry overall.

Last year, TATOC (the Timeshare Association Timeshare Owners and Committees) launched the HelpLine to handle concerns and complaints by timeshare owners. After its first full year, TATOC’s helpline believes it can conservatively say it has saved timeshare owners more than £1million (that’s close to 1.5 million US dollars).

In 2008, the TATOC HelpLine handled over 6,000 calls of which about 60 percent were general inquiries with the other 40 percent being complaints. The service is offered at no charge and in the first two months of 2009, handled more than 1400 calls. With the increase in call volume, The Timeshare Association Timeshare Owners and Committees has already begun enhancing services, opening a new office in central Manchester, (England) and recruiting additional employees.

Harry Taylor, TATOC’s chief executive says, “We have a good team in place, excellent office facilities and the knowledge and expertise of the timeshare industry to focus exclusively on the interests of timeshare owners and prospective owners,” he added.

The number to call in Europe is: 0845 230 2430.

To learn more about how TATOC, the only elected consumers’ association to represent the interests of timeshare owners in Europe, helps protect and enhance services, visit their website at: www.timeshareassociation.org

To learn more about the easiest way to buy, rent, or sell timeshare in the US, Europe, and around the world, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Recent The Timeshare Authority posts about TATOC:

• Sell My Timeshare NOW Says “Thank You” to TATOC for an Outstanding Conference
• An Opportunity to Speak on the Timeshare Resales Panel at TATOC Conference
• Timeshare News Updates about TATOC
• TATOC — The Timeshare Association (Timeshare Owners and Committees)Buying European Timeshare Getting Safer than Ever

New podcasts from The Timeshare Authority update you on timeshare news and events.

Starting today and periodically in the future, The Timeshare Authority will be adding podcasts to our timeshare blog. We will use these podcasts to keep you apprised of some of the most interesting and informative happenings in timeshares and vacation ownership.

When members of the Sell My Timeshare NOW team or I travel and participate in timeshare conferences and events, we have the opportunity to capture the thoughts and ideas of the leaders and most innovative thinkers in the timeshare industry today. From time to time, Steve Luba, director of communications at Sell My Timeshare NOW, will be conducting interviews with the people who are at the very heartbeat of the timeshare and vacation ownership industries and we will be posting those interviews, along with other informative updates, here on The Timeshare Authority in the form of audio files called, podcasts.

Timeshare Information Podcasts for More Timeshare News and Updates

By adding podcasting as a regular feature of our blog, we are able to take advantage of a valuable communication tool. The podcasts will be brief, (2 to 3 minutes most of the time) to fit nicely into your busy schedule. And they will be fact-filled to help you make informed decisions with reliable information when you want to buy timeshare or sell timeshare on the resale market or take advantage of the opportunities in timeshare rentals.

You will be able to click and play the podcasts from the homepage of The Timeshare Authority blog. You will also be able to subscribe to them by clicking on this icon: When you subscribe to them, you automatically will be updated every time there is new timeshare podcast content posted here.

Subscribing to The Timeshare Authority Blog

While we are on the subject of “subscribing to the blog” this is a good time to remind you that you can be notified of all updates to the blog by clicking on the icon in the upper right hand of this web page that looks like this:

A RSS feed makes it easy to know when a blog or website posts new content or new information. If you are not familiar with RSS, it is a really simple and useful way to track updates to any blog you frequent – it is so simple, that RSS actually stands for “Really Simple Syndication”.

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7 or newer or Firefox, as your browser (the program you use to surf the internet) you will find they include the RSS function. Google toolbar and Yahoo toolbar offer RSS add-ons. There are also other options for receiving The Timeshare Blog updates, like using RSS Reader, Sharp Reader, or News Gator; if these interest you, just Google their names to learn more.

We are excited about the podcasts because they add a new dimension to The Timeshare Authority blog and a new way for you to stay on top of the latest developments in timeshare sales and timeshare resales and all the news of timesharing. Please be patient with us over the next few weeks as we work out the fine points of delivering you this new resource for timeshare information, making it easily accessible through as many channels as possible.

Sell My Timeshare Now Director of Communications Steve Luba discusses the real reason why the timeshare industry is in a holding pattern these days.