COMPLETE SECONDARY MARKET SOLUTIONS

THE ABC’s of TIMESHARE

CONTENTS

Pg. 03 | Ownership Options

Pg. 04 | History of Timeshare

Pg. 05 | Glossary: Part One

Pg. 06 | Glossary: Part Two

Pg. 07 | Timeshare Industry Today

Pg. 08 | What You Should Know

Pg. 09 | Company Overview / Affiliates & Accreditations

Pg. 10 | References

Pg. 11 | Contact Us

“It is our mission to serve our clients with the highest quality of professionalism, while solving their long-term issues. We provide our clients with full transparency throughout the entire process, and remain accountable at every step. It is important to us to have this rapport with both the clients whom we service and the resorts we work closely with.”

- Cory Stegemann, Founder & CEO

TRADE-IN: For those clients who own an undesirable ownership for their needs and want to trade-in for a better-suited product.

OPT-OUT: When a client chooses to no longer be a vacation owner. You have a timeshare and you don’t use it or have no desire to maintain it.

UPGRADE: When a client owns at a suitable resort, however owns an inferior week or number of points.

ADD-ON: When a client owns at a desirable resort and is happy with what they own, so much so, that they are looking for more.

Ownership Options Know your options.

After it’s start in Europe back in the ’60’s, “timeshare fever” really caught on in the United States thanks to companies like Hilton and the Hyatt, starting in 1969.

In particular, destinations like Hawaii and Florida became the American homes of timeshare, come the 1970’s w i t h n u m e ro u s re s o r t s b e i n g developed specifically for the selling of timeshare and previously built resorts adding it to their inventory.

The birth of the timeshare changed the way people could travel, enjoy themselves and revolutionized the travel industry for frequent travellers and families.

The birth of timeshare changed the way that people could travel, and revolutionized the travel industry.

• 1963, the first vacation ownership resort was built in Baar, Canton of Zug, Switzerland

• 1964-1968, Le Devoluy, France - Paul Soumier turned SuperDevoluy Ski Resort, located in the French Alps, into a timeshare resort property with great success

• 1965, Maui, Hawaii, USA - Brought to life by a partnership of six men, including the grandfather of timeshare, Conrad Hilton, the Hilton Hale Kaanapali was the first timeshare resort on American soil

• 1973, Lake Tahoe, California, USA - Marks the birth of deeded timeshare ownership which was sold out of Brockway Springs Resort. Cart Berry, Paul Gray, Greg Bright, Doug Murdock and Dave Irmer are the five men credited with creating the term “timeshare.”

TIMESHARE TIMELINE

HISTORY OF TIMESHARE

Glossary: Part One

Banking / Deposit: Depositing a certain amount of timeshare weeks into an exchange system or inventory pool.

Biennial: Usage of a timeshare week every other year. Owners can be referred to as either odd or even year owners.

Certificate: Documentation confirming specific details of your ownership week and / or points.

Closing Costs: Costs incurred during the process of a sale’s closing.

Constitution: A document that explains the guidelines of running the resort.

Cooling Off Period / Recession: Refers to the number of days (typically 5-10), within which a buyer can cancel their purchase without incurring penalties.

Deed: Legal documentation providing ownership or property rights that is recorded in a government office.

Developer: Owner of the resort. They are responsible for constructing the accommodations onsite and selling the product.

End-User Finance: A loan granted to a buyer to purchase a timeshare property.

Exchange Company: Third-party organizat ions that faci l i tate the exchange of banked timeshare weeks for comparable accommodations or travel-related services.

Exchange: The ability to trade and exchange deposited weeks between owners.

Home Owners Association (HOA): The group of owners, required by state laws, that administer the rules and regulations of a resort.

Levy: Admin fees incurred by individual members. They can also include charges for use of a particular week.

Listing Agreement: An agreement made between an owner and a company c la iming to se l l the i r timeshare. This usually involves an upfront cost with no guarantee.

Maintenance Fee: Annual charge by the management company or HOA. These fees cover various costs such as taxes, utilities, insurance and resort upgrades.

Title / Abstract of Title: Proof of an individual’s ownership or a property that is usually recorded within a government office or in the county clerk’s records office.

Premiums: Incentives provided to potential customers who attend a sales presentation.

Red Week: Refers to the peak season at a resort during which timeshare properties are at their most desirable.

TIMESHARE TERMS

Continued >

Glossary: Part Two

Resale: Vacation property up for sale, or sold on the secondary market to a third party by the owner.

Special Assessment: Extra fee issued to owners by the resort (not including regular annual fees) to cover special building or maintenance costs.

Strawman: A company uses a fake identity and convinces the individual to pay upfront to get out of timeshare. The result is a loss of money and you still own your timeshare.

Transfer: A process where property is delivered and relinquished to another individual.

Up-Front Fees: Costs which are required at the start of the process of listing a timeshare.

TIMESHARE TERMS

TIMESHARE OWNERSHIP

Deed & Title: You purchased a deeded interest (like real estate), which is recorded with the proper authorities and you receive a title in perpetuity.

Fixed Week / Fixed Unit: You own rights to a specific week, or rights to a specific unit size. The advantage to fixed week / fixed unit ownership is the assurance that your specific timeshare unit will be waiting for you faithfully at the same time each year.

Floating / Flex Time: You as an owner, own a specific amount of time within a specific season during the year. This works on a first-come-first-served basis, to the most desirable weeks are taken up quickly. You must first reserve

your time at your resort before the exchange companies will accept it for deposit in the “exchange bank.”

Fractional Ownership: Is when partial ownership or arrangements for basic fractional usually divide the ownership into fourths, eighths or 13th’s, with each owner having an equal number of days a year to use the unit.

Leasehold: Similar to deed and title except leasehold is not in perpetuity and has an expiration date. This type of ownership is becoming less common as resort companies purchase full ownership rights to the land that the resorts are built on.

Right-to-Use (RTU): You purchase the right to use a particular unit every year, without any rights of ownership to the resort itself. This is the prevailing type of timeshare ownership in many countries outside of the USA, where it is illegal to sell timeshare as a deeded entity.

Points / Club Membership: Each unit / week of time is appointed a specific number of points based on its location, size, desirability, time of year, etc. Points are used like dollars and can be spread out throughout the year depending on the amount of points you purchased.

Timeshare no longer has to be a lifetime investment if you don’t want it to be.

TIMESHARE INDUSTRY TODAY

THE EXIT INDUSTRY

Baby boomers dominate the timeshare industry in terms of ownership.

For the last 40 years, timeshare has been accessible and popular with people who want to travel with their families or who travel consistently.

Currently, timeshare is not as popular with millennials who tend to rely on technology to assist them with their travel plans.

There are so many apps and websites that offer vacations or travel perks that didn’t exist thirty years ago. Airbnb, Couch Surfers and House Swap are just to name a few. These services

make it accessible and finally easier to travel.

Technology is the language that millennials speak, and the words “easy” and “cheap” speak to their habits when it comes to things like travel.

Travel is an investment by way of a property or an asset, is not on their

priority list the same way that it was for their parents or grandparents - they want to travel to different destinations at cheaper prices, with no strings attached and as often as they want.

While timeshare is still a popular means of travel for many, the biggest change in the industry is not with timeshare itself, but with the clients themselves.

Getting out of timeshare industries have also changed the landscape of the timeshare world. It’s an option available to consumers that didn’t exist ten years ago. It’s creation came form a growing need of timeshare owners who needed to get out of their contracts due to various lifestyle scenarios and the demand is growing everyday. There are so many options at your fingertips that allow you to travel the way you want to.

NEVER GIVE A CREDIT CARD OVER THE PHONE: This is the first, and major red flag for anyone being solicited over the phone regardless of the industry. Financial discussions should only ever happen in person and transactions should be treated with the same security. Think about it this way - have you ever used a lawyer who asked you to pay before meeting with him or her over the phone with your credit card? It’s not a safe thing to do, and no company who cared about your situation would ever put you in a position where you felt pressured to release sensitive material. Don’t let anyone convince you that it’s for your own ease, so that you don’t have to go through the hurdles of a consultation or leaving your home. Seeing an actual office will also help you see if the company is legitimate or not.

SCAMS: HOW TO AVOID THEM

ALWAYS DO YOUR RESEARCH: Always check out a company’s website and reviews online if you can ask the person who has called you for their company website and look at it while you talk to them. This will help you ask the right questions while you are speaking to the individual and give you a better idea as to what to expect. Always trust your gut in these scenarios. Does the company seem legitimate, do they seem like an organization that you would want to do business with? You hold the power with your dollars, so make sure that whatever decision you make is yours entirely.

NEVER MAKE THE DECISION ALONE: In our experience, we get a lot of clients who ask to attend a consultation on their own. We don’t allow this and will turn anyone away who shows up without the other person whose name is on the deed. Financial decisions are important and if both people need to agree, then both people should be there to ask their questions and come to an amicable decision. Aside from that, in any situation where you are receiving important information, it’s good to have another set of ears with you. If you are the only owner of timeshare, it’s not a bad idea to bring an adult next-of-kin to your consultation for support.

BEWARE THE PROMISE OF AN EASY EXIT: When it comes to the timeshare exit industry, be weary of any company that tells you it will take a few weeks or a few months to have everything completed. Removing people legally takes time, it takes lawyers, account managers, cooperation with the resort, following transfer policies and more. Timeshare exiting is not an overnight process and it’s better to be patient and book monthly calls with the company handling your exit if you want updates. If someone promises you a fast turn-around, make sure to investigate who they are and the company that they work for before going ahead with their services.

What You Should Know

As a t imeshare industry company, Cornerstone Vacation Ownership has an understanding of the needs of partners and clients because we have been in the business for over 20 years.The industry has changed but our service, expertise and attention-to-detail has never wavered. When you work with Cornerstone Vacation Ownership you find a whole range of options to cater and personalize your secondary timeshare experience.Cory and Sandra Stegemann created Cornerstone Vacation Ownership with the intent to redefine the timeshare ownership experience and bring forth sustainable solutions for both partners and clients in the timeshare industry.Cornerstone Vacation Ownership provides primary solutions to a secondary market.

AFFILIATES & ACCREDITATIONS

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Cory and Sandra Stegemann, Founders of Cornerstone Vacation Ownership at VO-Con 2017.

References

A R D A ( A M E R I C A N R E S O R T DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION): The foremost trade association representing the timeshare ownership and property deve lopment i ndus t r i es . ARDA advocates on behalf of resort owners, developers and lobbies for the industry.

C.A.R.E (Cooperative Association of R e s o r t E x c h a n g e s ) : A t r a d e associat ion who found that by exchanging vacation inventory among themselves, they were better able to satisfy their owners with increased vacation opportunities.

C V O ( C A N A D I A N V A C AT I O N OWNERSHIP ASSOCIATION): CVOA is an associat ion dedicated to

furthering the vacation and resort development industry. The association was founded in response to the demand for more information about vacation ownership.

II (Interval International): II operates membership programs for vacationers and provides services to developer clients globally. Today, Interval’s exchange network comprises more than 3,000 resorts in over 80 nations.

NTOA (NATIONAL TIMESHARE OWNERS ASSOCIATION): The NTOA seeks opportunities to promote the industry’s growth and positive image across the USA and Canada. NTOA wants consumers to have all the tools

they need in order to make better informed decisions.

RCI (RESORT CONDOMINIUMS INTERNATIONAL): RCI remains the leader in vacation exchange, offering the world’s largest vacation exchange network and providing unrivalled products and services to enhance the vacation ownership experience.

RDO (RESORT DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION): RDO is the trade association for vacation ownership across Europe, encompassing a number of usage types. These are all aimed at providing quality holiday accommodations for all, through various concepts of use.

ORGANIZATIONS & ASSOCIATIONS

* All information referenced in this guide is care of the affiliates and accreditations listed.

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