One of the most traditional answers could be that you own it, but when you rent something you don't own it. The timeshare industry has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in this country and many notions that people had earlier have been clarified. Large hotels and resorts are into timeshare business now. It is estimated to be a five billion dollar a year industry worldwide and approximately two million Americans have timeshares. You might be wondering what lured so many people in America alone to timeshares. Here are some reasons...

Consider a hotel: You pay the rent for staying in a hotel for a week. Suppose it is $900. If you consider a period of 30 years, multiply the cost of living in a hotel for 30 years with $900. It will be $27,000. You spend that much amount and only get a suite with only a bathroom. Now consider this, if you buy a timeshare for $10,000 which has a maintenance fee of $450 annually. The cost for 30 years will be $10,000 plus 450 multiplied by 30. The answer will be $23,500 which is $3,500 less than renting a hotel suite. But here is the interesting fact. You still get to own your time share property which will earn some money if not the original price. So your actual expenditure on your vacation will be far less than renting a hotel suite. Plus, who can ignore the comfort of a home in a timeshare property? A typical timeshare unit has two or three bedrooms, more than one bathroom, a kitchen, a laundry room and a pool and let's not forget all the resort facilities.

Does it make more sense now? You know where you are going on vacation, so it saves you the hassle of planning your vacation each year. You have a guaranteed vacation each year.

A timeshare is like money lying safely in your bank. You can sell it whenever you want. Not only that, but if you buy a deeded plan, the timeshare gets inherited to your heirs also.

Compare the timeshare with buying a vacation home. You don't have to worry about upkeep and maintenance also. The management company will take care of everything. You just have to pay the maintenance fee for that. But what a pleasure to live like you are living in a hotel and still get a feel of your home and have to do nothing.

In addition to these benefits, timeshare companies offer many discounts like bonus weeks, discounts on airfare, car rentals, attraction tickets, restaurants and more.