A substantial World Wide Web presence has given the United States — based consumer groups a broader worldwide following. The good news is that in an effort to grab online readers' attention across the globe, all three of the consumer-based groups listed below make a great deal of their Web site content available for free to nonmembers. This gives you the chance to learn a great deal about timeshares without forking over a single penny, and also to decide which group's information you find most helpful before signing up for their members-only sections. Even better news is that, should you decide to join any of these groups, the membership fees are quite reasonable — in all cases less than $25 and in some cases less than $10.

Hiatus magazine

This quarterly magazine was launched in 2004 with the goal of simplifying timeshare shopping for consumers. It is produced by Bigfish Publications, a six-year-old company in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hiatus takes great pains to point out that its publisher, editor, and writers neither invest in nor maintain any personal stake in firms whose products and services are reviewed in the magazine.

Its biggest claim to fame thus far is the publication of the 2005 Hiatus Buyer's Guide to Vacation Ownership, which evaluates 245 timeshare resorts in side-by-side comparisons of things like suite amenities, resort facilities, recreation, and guest activities. Hiatus says that no resort appearing in the guide paid any money to be listed, meaning that you, the consumer, should be getting an unbiased look at each property. The resorts are listed by United States region, and there is an international section, as well.

Hiatus magazine itself offers articles about timeshare ownership, general travel and destination features, resort comparisons, and more. Many of its past-issue features are available for free at its Web site, www.gohiatus.com, where you can surf the links to see whether the magazine's tone and offerings are right for you.

The Timeshare Beat magazine

This online publication has been on the World Wide Web since 1999. It publishes daily, Monday through Friday, offering news and information about everything from timeshare resorts to new opportunities in timesharing, including boats. The site claims that about 230,000 different people see it every thirty days, for a total of more than 2.7 million individual users per year.

The majority of people reading The Timeshare Beat are from the United States, specifically from Virginia, Oregon, California, Tennessee, and Georgia (though there are other nationalities and states represented, as well). The site has classified ads for everything from timeshare industry jobs to timeshare financial services, along with useful information for timeshare owners such as calendar weeks, a worldwide clock, and timeshare contract terminology. To explore The Timeshare Beat online, go to www.thetimesharebeat.com.

Timeshare User's Group

The Timeshare User's Group was started in 1993 by Bill Rogers after he and his wife traded a timeshare unit in a very nice resort for a unit that he describes as being in a “rundown converted motel.” He thought there should be a place where timeshare-unit owners could go to find independent information and talk about their experiences, and so he launched the Web-based group that is now found at www.tug2.net.

Timeshare User's Group has information about more than 2,000 resorts on its Web site, along with resort ratings, chat rooms, resale values, classified ads for timeshare resales, display ads for timeshare resort services, and more. One of the best things about the site — if you are new to timeshares and have a lot to learn — is that much of its instructional information is viewable for free. You can learn about everything from buying to selling to exchanging your timeshare in articles written by other timeshare-unit owners who have had good and bad experiences alike.

Some other Web-based consumer groups claim that the world's largest exchange company, Resort Condominiums International, gets more than a fair shake on the TUG Web site (with complaints being taken off the chat room listings, and such), but for the most part TUG has an excellent reputation as a source of unbiased, user-friendly timeshare information. The membership fee is $15, which you can pay online, or by telephone, fax, or snail mail.

TimeSharing Today Magazine

This magazine's tagline states that it is “The Trusted Independent Voice of Vacation Ownership Since 1991.” TimeSharing Today is published every other month, with fifty-four pages full of information about resorts, timeshare use and exchanges, classified ads, display ads from industry business, and general industry information.

The magazine promotes the fact that the major exchange company Resort Condominiums International has banned TimeSharing Today advertisements in its own corporate magazines, perhaps because TimeSharing Today aggressively promotes and assists the timeshare resale market. If you are looking to buy on the resale market, you might find it helpful to sign up for a subscription at www.tstoday.com — if only to gain access to what other timeshare owners are saying about certain resorts.