Vacation home sharing became all the rage after World War II in
Britain. Home sharing was a kind of vacation system which would enable
families to vacation in much finer surroundings than they could afford
on their own. Also known as holiday home sharing, the concept began with
four families, all European or at least living in adjoining countries,
purchasing a property together. Each family had the use of the property
for one of the four seasons of the year, on a rotating basis. Ideally,
the original concept involved families who were closely related, so they
could trust one another to share the vacation home equally and
participate in upkeep and expenses. Leisure Getaways Incorporated offers
a more sophisticated, but similar, vacation ownership ideal today, with
many more amenities and options.
It was a factor of the holiday
home share arrangement that the vacation home was vacant for long
periods of time, as few families can afford to vacation for an entire
season. Creative British entrepreneurs and property brokers got the idea
to divide resort rooms into a 1/50th ownership arrangement, with two
weeks left free each year for repair and improvements, and the charge of
a maintenance fee to each owner. Voila! The concept of the timeshare
was born in Europe, and within 10 years, the idea was working smoothly
and ready for import to America, where Leisure Getaways Incorporated
would eventually evolve the concept. Retaining the original concept, but
drastically different in form, vacation ownership today is still a way
for the vacationer to enjoy luxury for less.
