EDITORIAL Page 5
How TimeSharing Today Began
It started in St. Maarten. I was on vacation, joined by Ray Jacobs, our former editor. As we watched owners by the pool, a simple question came up— what does an owner do when they want to sell their timeshare?
That question stuck with us. With it in mind, we created a publication called Timeshare Classified International. To reach readers, we ran a small ad in RCI’ s magazine, Endless Vacation, and using Microsoft Publisher, we put together a newsletter with a form for submitting listings.
Owners responded with more than ads. With them came letters about their experiences and concerns— including warnings about telemarketers making fraudulent representations. Then came a sign we were onto something bigger. Without our placing another ad, Endless Vacation ran ours again, and still more letters poured in.
We saw a broader appeal, so we changed the name to TimeSharing Today— and that’ s where this journey began. The mission was simple from day one: give owners clear, reliable, independent information they could trust.
Then, something curious occurred. Endless Vacation declined our next order. I asked RCI’ s co-founder, Christel DeHaan, why. She told me:“ We serve two constituents, owners and developers. In your case, the developers do not want TimeSharing Today to advertise because you support the resale market, and we decided to honor their request.”
A Different World
When our first issue appeared, most people didn’ t carry a cell phone. The internet lived at universities, government, and research labs, not in your living room. News came from the newspaper, the radio, or the evening broadcast, and you might wait weeks to hear about events elsewhere.
Vacation ownership, though, was already well along. Fixed-week ownership still ruled— you bought a specific week at a specific resort and returned for years. Timeshare exchanges had already expanded vacation choices, and trading your week for a stay elsewhere was routine— turning a simple real estate purchase into a passport to wider travel.
An Industry Comes of Age
In the decades since, the industry matured, and so did we. Floating weeks had already loosened the old fixed-week model, and points programs, gaining ground through the 1990s and 2000s, gave owners more say over where, when, and how long. Today, points dominate the marketplace— more than half of the industry’ s inventory, while many legacy resorts— and the owners who love them— still cling to the weekly calendar.
Technology reshaped the rest. Reservation systems grew smarter, booking moved online, and a vacation is planned by phone in minutes. Our pages grew with the industry. Early on, we covered the basics— how ownership works, how to exchange, where to travel, and resale. As the issues grew more complex, so did our coverage: governance, maintenance, insurance, reserve funding, legislation, technology, and owner communications.
The magazine became a place where many voices meet— owners, boards, managers, consultants, attorneys, and industry leaders— all helping us see what our communities face.
New Challenges and New Opportunities
Growth has opened doors, but also new challenges. Many long-standing resorts now wrestle with aging buildings, rising insurance and labor costs, reserve-funding questions, and a changing mix of owners. Boards and resort leaders tackle issues that were far simpler decades ago— reserve studies, structural inspections, cybersecurity, succession planning, and regulatory compliance— while severe weather, staffing shortages, and a tougher economy raise the stakes.
Continued on next page.
Jul / Aug, 2026 | TimeSharing Today
TimeSharing Today is published bimonthly by TimeSharing Today, Inc., 140 County Road, Suite 114, Tenafly, NJ 07670. Distribution is primarily by mail to subscribers, with distribution to over 100 resorts. All contents are copyrighted by TimeSharing Today, Inc. Contact us for reprint permission.
DISCLAIMER
TimeSharing Today makes no independent investigation of the properties, products or services advertised or of the people placing advertisements in this publication. TimeSharing Today reserves the right to decline publication of any advertising or articles that may be submitted for publication. Accordingly, we cannot accept any responsibility for any direct or consequential damages arising from these advertisements or articles.
ARTICLES AND LETTERS
All published articles and letters become the property of TimeSharing Today, and it may republish them in any format without further compensation. Contributors of articles and letters published in TimeSharing Today will be compensated: Letters or photos: A 1-issue membership extension. Articles: A 6-issue membership extension.
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