Make your world a much more affordable oyster by buying your R.C.I. affiliated timeshare in South Africa
R.C.I. affiliated timeshare is a Global commodityR.C.I. affiliated timeshare is a global commodity meaning that irrespective of where in the world you happen to live or own your timeshare you can exchange its use for holidays elsewhere in the world. So irrespective of where in the world you happen to reside, be it in South Africa, the U.S.A., U.K., Germany etc, it makes a great deal of sense to acquire your timeshare in a country where product quality is of a very high standard, the industry is well regulated and the local currency exchange rate is weak relative to that of your own. The country of choice that fulfils these criteria best is South Africa.

South African Timeshare is the bargain of the century. For good reason, more and more international purchasers of timeshare have woken up to the fact that timeshare in South Africa is the bargain of the century. Consider this. The timeshare industry in South Africa is not only the fifth largest in the world but a whopping 18% of its resorts are classed as Gold Crown. Compare this to the world average of 5%. The high percentage of Gold Crown and R.I.D. resorts in South Africa bares testimony to the exceptional standards on offer. Yet, because of the weak rand, South Africa is one of the cheapest countries in the world in which to acquire high quality timeshare for international holiday exchanges.

Why pay ten-, twenty- or thirty thousand U.S. dollars or pound sterling (or more) for a week of timeshare in these countries when you can acquire an equally tradable commodity for a tenth of this amount in South Africa? By purchasing good quality timeshare in South Africa, you secure a globally tradable commodity that can be swopped via R.C.I. to any of its affiliated resorts of equal class across the globe. In addition to the considerable savings realised through paying for your timeshare in rand rates, you would also benefit by paying your annual levy in rand rates. So, if you really want make the world your oyster and laugh all the way to the bank at the same time then take a few moments to peruse Winchester’s Winning Portfolio of exclusive resorts.

All about timeshare in South Africa
That R.C.I. affiliated timeshare is a worthwhile leisure investment, especially for rand earning South Africans interested in securing affordable high quality holiday accommodation almost anywhere in the world, is no longer a topic of debate. It is an accepted fact. Central to the appeal of R.C.I. affiliated timeshare is the concept of holiday exchanges.
South African timeshare sales or 2002 topped R560 million - an increase of 16% on 2001. The continued high growth rate of timeshare sales in South Africa reflects an innovative industry with regard to the development and delivery of exciting leisure products that offer tangible benefits to consumers.New products that will increase the appeal of timeshare even further and revolutionise its use around the world are in the process of being launched.

Do not ignore these facts
According to a recent Markinor study,timeshare is not only the fastest growing form of holiday ownership in South Africa but also the preferred source of holiday accommodation.
An estimated 260 000 South Africans own timeshare (this represents an ownership of 7.3 million bed nights).Timeshare owners in S.A. are counted among the country's most affluent individuals. A typical South African Timeshare owner is 35 plus, married with two children, owns a home and drives one or two cars. Although the ownership of timeshare is seemingly 50/50 across men and women, holiday planning is dominated by women.
Consumer satisfaction with the product is extremely high as revealed by the Markinor survey.In fact more than 35% of existing owners are planning to buy more timeshare and 75% would recommend that others also acquire timeshare.
The World Tourism Organisation found that timeshare worldwide enjoyed the biggest growth of all the components of the global tourism and leisure sector. Between 1993 and 1998, timeshare as a part of world tourism grew by 17% compared to hotel related products which grew by 5% during the same period.A timeshare tourist typically spends five times more than a traditional tourist at any given destination.
The 186 R.C.I. affiliated resorts in S.A. have a property value of more than R9_billion and employ some 10 000 people.
Timeshare purchased locally in rands and swopped for holidays in Europe and America is the most effective hedge against the weakness of the rand compared with foreign currencies.Using timeshare, R.C.I. members can holiday abroad for almost half the price that it costs the independent traveller.
More than 500 000 local people travelled with R.C.I. during 2002.
So what criteria should you look out for when purchasing timeshare?

Why R.C.I. affiliation? Firstly, R.C.I. is the world's largest holiday exchange organisation with 3700 affiliated resorts in 93 countries. Secondly, R.C.I. sets high international standards for resorts that wish to become affiliated. This means that you know what to expect in terms of the standard of accommodation right around the globe. Globally R.C.I. has 3 million member families. To date 715 million people have travelled with R.C.I. During 2001/2002 alone eight million people travelled with R.C.I. This equates to about 500 Jumbo jets each carrying 300 passengers per week. So if the timeshare scheme is linked to RCI then both domestic and international holiday flexibility becomes an integral component of your leisure investment.

R.C.I. was founded in 1974 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Cendant Corporation, the world’s leading consumer and business services organisation. Cendant is a global provider of real estate, travel and direct marketing related to consumer and business services. The Cendant Corporation is the world’s leading franchisor of hotels with more than 6400 hotels and close on 540 000 rooms on five continents. It is also the world's largest real estate brokerage franchisor with almost 12 000 offices and 200 000 sales associates. Cendant’s Vehicle Services Division includes the world’s largest general use car operator which is composed of the individual Avis and Budget car rental brands. Its Diversified Services Division includes the second largest tax preparation service in the U.S.

R.C.I. South Africa is based in Sunninghill, Gauteng. Its purpose built customer contact centre is believed to be the largest of its kind in South Africa. With state-of-the-art technology R.C.I. handles in excess of 1.7 million calls per year. R.C.I. provides its members with a one stop travel service and guarantees to match or better any quoted travel price to any major timeshare destination with any of their preferred travel partners. During 2001 R.C.I. (South Africa) generated more than 3.2 million bed nights and processed 212 382 timeshare intervals. Of these 17 610 were international exchanges for South African members. Of the 186 resorts in South Africa 41 are rated as Gold Crown (equivalent to 5 Star or better) and 25 are rated as Resorts of International Distinction. According to S.A. Resort Sales and Services Manager, Adrian Zanetti, the quality of S.A. timeshare resorts is possibly one of the highest in the world. Fifty four percent of all international exchanges during 2001 were for resorts in Europe and the Mediterranean and 36% were for North America.

In August 2003 R.C.I. Southern Africa took over control of R.C.I. Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. This move brought the combined member base of the regions to 280 000 member families and is expected to boost the annual turnover of the R.C.I. Southern Africa and Pacific regions to almost R200 million.

Why T.I.S.A. registration?
TISA (the Timeshare Institute of South Africa) examines the viability of every scheme before it is accepted as a member. It scrutinises purchase contracts and agreements to ensure that the interests of the buying public are protected and that the scheme complies with all relevant legislation such as the Timeshare Act, the Shareblock Control Act or the Sectional Title Act. TISA members are obliged to adhere to the TISA code of ethics.

It is, therefore, essential that you deal only with those schemes and marketing operations that are registered members of TISA. T.I.S.A. is internationally respected and has assisted other countries to establish their own industries on the same sound principles as those used in South Africa. Today there are many excellent RCI affiliated and TISA registered timeshare products available on the market. The question is how do you go about selecting the product that will give you the greatest satisfaction?

1. You need to understand the fundamental differences and similarities between the two basic types of timeshare schemes available in South Africa today, namely, Conventional Timeshare and Points Schemes.
2. You need to evaluate your own leisure time requirements and match them to a product that satisfies your specific needs best. Doing this effectively will make the difference between becoming a happy and satisfied owner of timeshare or a disgruntled one. The aim of this review is to help you make the correct choices in this regard.

Conventional timeshare
When you purchase conventional timeshare you acquire the right to use a time module (which could be a week, weekend or midweek) in a specific resort each year for the duration of the scheme which may be anything from ten years to perpetuity (forever). The time modules are often, but not always, linked to a specific week in the year and a specific apartment/chalet within the development. So with conventional timeshare you get to own the time of the year you enjoy most and you get to own the chalet/apartment of your choice.

1. You need to go away in a specific window of time every year e.g. December or any other period classed by R.C.I. as peak time (April, July or October Gauteng school holidays).
2. You have a preferred holiday destination, such as Cape Town or the Kruger National Park, which you intend visiting at least 7 or 8 years out of every ten.
3. You have a specific (niche) recreational interest, for example fly-fishing, which you want to engage in at a specific time of the year in a development which specifically caters for fly-fishing.
4. In all of these situations conventional timeshare should be the product of your choice since it is the only form of holiday ownership that guarantees you the kind of holiday you want... when you want it... where you want it... and ...in the unit of your choice.

Is conventional timeshare an inflexible holiday investment option?
Not at all and here's why. R.C.I. provides built-in flexibility to conventional timeshare investments. So if you cannot get to use your own time module you can exercise the following options:

1. You can do an internal exchange within your own resort. Many resorts offer this facility and subject to the availability of space you can move to another time of the year within the same seasonal classification as your own.
2. You can rent your time module out to cover your costs and even realise a financial return.
3. You can spacebank (meaning save) your time module with R.C.I. and request an exchange holiday from them within a 3 year timeframe from the date of banking.

R.C.I. points make conventional timeshare flexible
Flexibility is the name of the conventional timeshare exchange game. Flexibility with conventional timeshare is possible because RCI has rated all affiliated resorts in Southern Africa in terms of exchange credits known as RCI points. This means that when you bank your week with RCI you receive, in return, an allocation of R.C.I. points to use for the leisure breaks you want (weeks, week-ends or mid-weeks). You use your points for larger or smaller apartments or to take longer or shorter breaks and any unused points are rolled over into the following year. This simple and flexible system is in the process of being expanded internationally. So what about those timeshare schemes which offer you the opportunity of purchasing points?

Buying points from Points Clubs and the like
You cannot purchase "R.C.I. points". These are the points you receive from R.C.I. when you bank a week of conventional timeshare into the R.C.I. spacebank. You can, however, purchase points from a number of independent points schemes such as The Holiday Club, Flexi-club, Quality Vacation Club and the like. If you do this, you acquire the use of a scheme-specific points currency which you would then use to reserve your holidays (weeks, week-ends or mid-weeks) in the resorts that form part of the Club's portfolio. If your holiday request cannot be matched from stock held by the Club, they will search for it in the R.C.I. spacebank. If you need more points for a particular holiday than your annual allocation allows, you can either borrow points from the year ahead or buy more points as the need arises. The cost per point varies from scheme to scheme as does the ''use' value (time) you get out of the points you own. It is important to understand that each individual points scheme has its own unique points currency which cannot be equated to the points in any another scheme. Furthermore no individual points scheme can sell ''R.C.I. points''.

Points schemes are best suited to people who are flexible themselves
All points reservation systems operate on a ''subject to availability'' basis which means that, as a points owner, you have no absolute guarantee of getting the holiday you want. Points owners need to be flexible with regard to the holidays requested. This is especially true for getting into high demand periods such as school holidays and/or high demand destinations and/or niche market resorts with relatively few units.

What about the annual levy?
All timeshare schemes have operational costs which are shared between the owners of a scheme irrespective of the nature of the scheme (points or conventional timeshare). These operational costs are called levies, service fees, annual membership fees etc. They vary from development to development since resort running costs are dependant on many different upkeep and maintenance factors, for example beachfront vs bushveld etc. Provided that the levies are not under-budgeted initially, the annual increments should be in line with inflation in well managed developments.

Is one scheme more user friendly or very much more flexible than another?
Not really. The truth is that conventional timeshare combined with R.C.I.'s points is operationally as flexible as any independent points scheme. What really counts at the end of the day is a high level of product delivery and customer satisfaction. This can only be achieved if your leisure needs are well matched to the appropriate product. So, if you want to holiday in a riverfront chalet overlooking the Kruger Park once a year or, if you want to be on the marina at St Francis Bay every December, or if you want to go fly-fishing at your favourite time and spot each year, then you had better invest in conventional timeshare. It's your only guarantee of getting what you want, where you want it and in the season of your choice year after year. However, if you are a kind of holiday nomad who enjoys going somewhere else each year then an investment in R.C.I. affiliated conventional timeshare or an investment in points from an independent points scheme such as The Holiday Club would suffice. In both cases the intention of making the investment is to protect yourself from inflationary hotel rates and minimise the impact of a devaluing local currency on international travel opportunities. Winchester Marketing is able to assist you in making the right choices in this regard.

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