The purpose of this article is to provide a brief introduction to Worldmark Timeshares, one of the most well known timeshare vacation groups.
Worldmark the Club was incorporated in 1989. As opposed to a resort with fractional ownership of property, Worldmark operates on a point system or "vacation credit" system. Different vacation options have point values. This gives the owner much greater flexibility with their timeshare ownership.
They originally focused on the Pacific Coast resort locations. They have continued to develop and now have 50+ destination locations all over the United States and beyond including such desirable locations as British Columbia, Hawaii, Fiji, and Mexico. Worldmark now boasts a membership of over 200,000 owners.
The point system employed is a bit different from traditional timeshare ownership. With that in mind, if you are looking at Worldmark as an ownership opportunity it is important to understand how their system works.
What club members are buying are vacation credits. These credits can be redeemed for stays at any of the club resorts. So instead of a traditional ownership with a "home week" and "home resort", these credits free the owner allowing them to easily redeem their credits for many different locations. Credits are awarded each anniversary year. This allow allows flexibility for multiple vacations every year as well.
Unused credits can be rolled over for an additional year. Furthermore, owners can "borrow" credits not allocated yet from the following year. This allows the owner/member to save up for more expensive vacations. Alternatively they can also decide to have multiple "mini" vacations instead of one week-long vacation as travel options include "daily" redemptions in addition to the "weekly" redemptions.
Worldmark also adds benefits for those members who take vacations to resorts during the resort's off-peak weeks. This benefit of extra credits is called "Bonus Time" and is used when members book for a four day period or more during off-peak periods.
The cost of the usage depends on the size of the unit and the season of usage. The patron can even pass the credits to their visitors, but it is limited to only 5 days, which means the patron's guests should be very flexible on location and dates.
Credit usage guidelines include:
* HIGH (RED) SEASON:
If the stay is one week minimum, it must be booked at least sixty one days in advance but no more than thirteen months in advance. For less than one week, then it must be booked within 60 days.
* MID & OFF (WHITE & BLUE) SEASON:
No minimum stay except weekends. The credits can be booked 48 hours to 13 months in advance.
* WEEKEND ONLY:
The minimum stay is two nights whenever both Friday and Saturday nights are available.
There are some additional benefits to owning with Worldmark: One benefit is that the owner can set the week up to start on any day of the week as long as the time is available. This is an added benefit for schedule flexibility as well as possibly finding cheaper airfare rates when flying out on less expensive days. Another benefit is that the owner can mix their "Bonus Time" with regular credit time. There is also a liberal cancellation policy. Finally, credits can be "gifted" as well so you can give a vacation as a gift to friends, family, and business associates.
Now that you know about them, you should know the different ways to purchase ownership. This is a vacation club, not a fractional ownership club and so one of the popular ownership choices is a forty year right to use. You can think of it as joining a gym for forty years. At the end of forty years, your obligation to Worldmark and their obligation to you is finished. This is very different from a traditional timeshare ownership where you own the timeshare for life.
As far as fees: the guideline for the vacation states that patrons are allowed free housekeeping on their first credit reservation every anniversary year. Second,the patrons will pay a prescribed housekeeping fee. The housekeeping fee will be based on the size of the unit and is collected during your reservation procedure. The fees range from $35 for a studio to $95 or a 4 bedroom Penthouse.
The vacation credit system is an inexpensive way to vacation for the regular traveler. As it is not a permanent ownership with a "home week" and "home location", it is more suited to the regular traveler who enjoys different locations at different times of the year. It offers the utmost in flexibility. So if you find you travel often (one or more times a year), and enjoy a variety of different travel destinations, Worldmark might just be for you.
Worldmark the Club was incorporated in 1989. As opposed to a resort with fractional ownership of property, Worldmark operates on a point system or "vacation credit" system. Different vacation options have point values. This gives the owner much greater flexibility with their timeshare ownership.
They originally focused on the Pacific Coast resort locations. They have continued to develop and now have 50+ destination locations all over the United States and beyond including such desirable locations as British Columbia, Hawaii, Fiji, and Mexico. Worldmark now boasts a membership of over 200,000 owners.
The point system employed is a bit different from traditional timeshare ownership. With that in mind, if you are looking at Worldmark as an ownership opportunity it is important to understand how their system works.
What club members are buying are vacation credits. These credits can be redeemed for stays at any of the club resorts. So instead of a traditional ownership with a "home week" and "home resort", these credits free the owner allowing them to easily redeem their credits for many different locations. Credits are awarded each anniversary year. This allow allows flexibility for multiple vacations every year as well.
Unused credits can be rolled over for an additional year. Furthermore, owners can "borrow" credits not allocated yet from the following year. This allows the owner/member to save up for more expensive vacations. Alternatively they can also decide to have multiple "mini" vacations instead of one week-long vacation as travel options include "daily" redemptions in addition to the "weekly" redemptions.
Worldmark also adds benefits for those members who take vacations to resorts during the resort's off-peak weeks. This benefit of extra credits is called "Bonus Time" and is used when members book for a four day period or more during off-peak periods.
The cost of the usage depends on the size of the unit and the season of usage. The patron can even pass the credits to their visitors, but it is limited to only 5 days, which means the patron's guests should be very flexible on location and dates.
Credit usage guidelines include:
* HIGH (RED) SEASON:
If the stay is one week minimum, it must be booked at least sixty one days in advance but no more than thirteen months in advance. For less than one week, then it must be booked within 60 days.
* MID & OFF (WHITE & BLUE) SEASON:
No minimum stay except weekends. The credits can be booked 48 hours to 13 months in advance.
* WEEKEND ONLY:
The minimum stay is two nights whenever both Friday and Saturday nights are available.
There are some additional benefits to owning with Worldmark: One benefit is that the owner can set the week up to start on any day of the week as long as the time is available. This is an added benefit for schedule flexibility as well as possibly finding cheaper airfare rates when flying out on less expensive days. Another benefit is that the owner can mix their "Bonus Time" with regular credit time. There is also a liberal cancellation policy. Finally, credits can be "gifted" as well so you can give a vacation as a gift to friends, family, and business associates.
Now that you know about them, you should know the different ways to purchase ownership. This is a vacation club, not a fractional ownership club and so one of the popular ownership choices is a forty year right to use. You can think of it as joining a gym for forty years. At the end of forty years, your obligation to Worldmark and their obligation to you is finished. This is very different from a traditional timeshare ownership where you own the timeshare for life.
As far as fees: the guideline for the vacation states that patrons are allowed free housekeeping on their first credit reservation every anniversary year. Second,the patrons will pay a prescribed housekeeping fee. The housekeeping fee will be based on the size of the unit and is collected during your reservation procedure. The fees range from $35 for a studio to $95 or a 4 bedroom Penthouse.
The vacation credit system is an inexpensive way to vacation for the regular traveler. As it is not a permanent ownership with a "home week" and "home location", it is more suited to the regular traveler who enjoys different locations at different times of the year. It offers the utmost in flexibility. So if you find you travel often (one or more times a year), and enjoy a variety of different travel destinations, Worldmark might just be for you.
About the Author:
Looking to find hints on how to buy a timeshare or sell a timeshare? Visit Emil's blog full of tips and advice on timeshares and the timeshare industry.
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