The larger properties offer an assortment of services for their guests, such as coffee shops, restaurants, cocktail lounges, gift shops, newsstands, theatre, health spas, swimming pools, etc.. Even larger hotels offer banquet rooms, ballrooms to accommodate wedding receptions; business meetings. Convention and business meetings provide major sources of revenue for larger hotels Resort - These hotels are primarily located in vacation destinations near mountains, the seashore, or other attractions. Nowadays, some resorts provide additional convention and conference facilities to stimulate their customers to combine business with pleasure. (U.S. Department of Labour, 2004)

Residential - These establishments provide a living quarter for permanent or semi-permanent residents. The customers have the comfort of living in an apartment, yet still receive the hotel services. Most have dining rooms and restaurants which are also open for the general public.

Extended stay hotels provide some home comforts for a customer away from home. Currently in North America, 27 extended-stay chains represent over 2000 properties. These hotels have self-serve laundry facilities and offer special rates for extended stays. They also have guest rooms with kitchens. Extended stay hotel are popular with business travellers or individuals needing temporary housing. (Higley, 2005) In addition to the fully equipped kitchenettes and laundry services, the extended-stay market offers guest amenities such as in-room access to the net and grocery shopping. (Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2004) To keep the costs to a minimum in this type of a hotel, the traditional hotel lobbies and 24-hour personnel are eliminated. Housekeeping is usually done only once a week. The suite facilities offer a living room and a bedroom. These accommodations are mainly for travellers who require lodging for extended stays, families with children and business people who need a small room to conduct meetings without the expense of renting an additional room. (Ibisworld, 2005)

Casino Hotels - These hotels offer short-term accommodations with a casino on the hotel where customers can play wagering games or engage in other gambling activities such as slot machines and sport betting. These kinds of facilities offer a high range of services such as food and beverage services, entertainment, valet parking, swimming pools and conference and convention facilities. (Ibisworld, 2005)

Resorts Resorts can be described as a place used for relaxation or recreation. (Dictionary.Com Unabridged v.1.0.1., 2006)

People nowadays travel more and more to resorts for holidays or vacations. A resort offers a large selection of activities and amenities, such as drinks, lodging, food, sports, shopping and entertainment. Most resorts are situated in towns and vacation centres. (U.S. Department of Labour, 2004)

Types of Resorts

According to R.C. Mill (2001), two types of resorts offer accommodations:

Destination resorts and nondestination resorts." Due to the fact destination resorts are located further from the market, visitors tend to fly rather than drive to a destination resort, when they visit once a year for one to two weeks. Nondestination resorts are usually located close to the market. Visitors generally stay at these resorts for a shorter period of time, but visit the resorts more frequently.

Mill (2001) contends that visitors categorize five types of resorts by their locations and amenities:

Golf resorts - This facility provides one or several golf courses. The resort should also provide food, drinks and sleeping spaces.

Spa resorts - These type resorts provide the customer with therapeutic baths, mineral springs, sauna's, whirlpool and more beauty and wellness services. (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004) According to the New York Times (2005), large resort spas should also offer also fitness facilities, wellness components (like yoga classes) and spa cuisine menu choices.

The larger the resort, the wider range of activities the resort will offer. These may include golf, swimming, tennis and sometimes water sports, horseback riding and skiing. Some resorts even offer kids' camps with activities for children and youth, while the parents visit the spa. A resort spa is a good choice for people who have families with differing agendas and preferences, for example: He loves to play golf. She longs to relax and visit the spa. The kids want to play games, hang out with other kids and attend kid's camp.

Ski resorts - A ski resort is equipped...

However, according to Mill (2001), ski resorts became four-season resorts due the fact the hotels are focussing more on their spa heritage and many resorts are using health as their theme.
Seaside resorts - Seaside resorts are located directly at the sea.

All- inclusive resorts - Along providing all of the common amenities of a resort, these resorts charge a fixed price that includes most or all items. Most inclusive resorts include unlimited food, drinks, sport activities and entertainment for one fixed price. Most all inclusive resorts, albeit, do not help the local economy as the guests may obtain what they need in the resort. One advantage, nevertheless, despite the fact these resorts draw a larger number of visitors to the country, visitors, even though all their needs are met, usually venture outside the resort.

Timeshare

The newest trend in resorts is timesharing. Timesharing is frequently described as a holiday concept where the purchasers buy a hotel room or studio in a resort for a period of time depending on the contract. (World Tourism Organization, 2005) According to Timeshare Beat (2005), timeshare means that people can share the purchase cost of a vacation accommodation for one week or more each year, which may be for a specified number of years or for lifetime.

According to Abbey (1998), timesharing may also be defined as "purchasing the title to a specific period of time at a unit at a particular property" and may also be called interval ownership or vacation ownership. Upchurch and Lashley (2006) state that timeshare is the "act of sharing vacation time at a luxurious resort facility in a geographical location of choice." In her newspaper article, Park (2006) explains that "A timeshare unit, also known as a vacation ownership property, is a furnished unit similar to a condo or apartment that is sold in one-week intervals." Along with a room, timeshare units provide other hotel amenities like a pool, maid and concierge service. Timeshares, unlike hotel condominiums, which are sold like second homes, are sold in weekly intervals. Owners are charged a maintenance fee, averages almost $500 a week of ownership, for every owned week.

Witherspoon (1999, p. 208) notes: "Timeshare owners essentially purchase access to the equivalent of a home or condominium at a vacation ownership resort, then have access to equivalent facilities through a global exchange network." Ownership periods vary from a week or more and may be for a designated time every year or for a specific number of years. Chris Larsen, spokesman for the travel industry's American Resort Development Association (ARDA), reports the fastest growing segment of the travel and tourism industry to be vacation ownership. During 1998, approximately $2.7 billion in timeshare sales, represented nearly 270,000 vacation weeks cost an average $10,000 each in the U.S. During this particular year, there were almost 2 million U.S. timeshare owners, out of nearly 5 million global timeshare owners. (Witherspoon, 1999, p. 208) timeshare owner may trade his/her unit for room nights at hotels in the same association or exchange for stays at another timeshare property, a flexibility that increases the demand for timeshare units.

In his article, "Investing in timeshares," Roger Witherspoon (1999, p. 208) relates Willie and Elizabeth Hurd's experience of enjoying a $4,000 vacation for.".. The exchange fee of $75 through the Disney Vacation Club's Concierge Collection and spent 20 of our 300 points." Witherspoon then explains points; exchange fees; vacation dubs. He also relates pros, cons and considerations for individuals considering purchasing a time-share. The timeshare's growth stems from the fact that numerous major resort companies and hotel chains have entered travel market segment, including Disney, Four Seasons, Marriott, Hyatt, Ramada and Travelodge.

Beginning of Timeshare

After World War I ended, Bully Butlin, born in South Africa in 1899, completed his service in the Canadian army.

For work during his passage across the Atlantic to Liverpool, he received £5. He then walked 160 miles back to Bristol, where he joined the Marshall Hill fair.

During 1935, opened his first holiday camp in Skegnes, a goal he set about a "rotten holiday on the Bristol Channel when he'd been thrown out of his lodgings by a seaside landlady who wouldn't allow 'guests' to stay during the day." Butlin's philosophy was that along with providing lodging for guests, if amusements were also available, guests would flock to stay at the accommodations.

Time has proven Butlin to be right. (The Butlins..., 2006) Recently, the Butlin company joined Resort Condominiums International, RCI, the world's largest timeshare exchange organization. Guests may now choose from thousands of luxury timeshare developments all over the world. Timeshare owners can swap Minehead for Miami or for other luxurious holiday locations.

Mike Crowther, Butlins' spokesman, also the current leading for Butlin's newest development, BlueSkies notes that because of the expenses accompanying second homes and holiday apartments, their company's timeshare options provide families first rate holidays. ("Now…