Timeshares. Vacation ownership. No matter what you call it, it's a great way to vacation.

Timeshares have been around for a long time. The industry began in France over 40 years ago as a way to share time in condos in the French Alps. But timeshares have come a long way since then. Today, they are much more flexible.

Owning a timeshare is like owning a portion of a condo, in all the top vacation destinations. Timeshare resorts are divided into units that are translated into credits, points or intervals. Owners receive a certain amount of time each year to vacation, based on their credits, points or intervals.

Ownership is priced according to a variety of factors, including: size of the unit, resort amenities, resort location, season, and the quantity of credits, points or intervals you wish to purchase.

Over the years, consumer travel habits have reshaped today's timeshares to be a product that is flexible enough to meet the needs of any vacationer. In the past, timeshare owners were locked into a fixed-week or location. But today's points- and credits-based systems allow owners the flexibility to decide when they want to travel, for how long, where they stay, and the size of the unit they want to vacation in.

Over 1,600 vacation ownership resorts operate in the United States alone.* And timeshares are not just in the U.S. You can live out your travel dreams at more than 5,000 resorts in almost 100 countries around the world.*

*SOURCE: American Resort Development Association (ARDA), 2006.