Many of the timeshare resort developers out there today are brand names that you may already know, and most of them work with either Resort Condominiums International or Interval International in terms of offering their unit owners exchange services worldwide. In some cases, though, the developers themselves end up functioning in part like exchange companies because you often are allowed to trade your vacation time at one of their resorts for vacation time at another of their resorts — as opposed to trading it for time at a resort that was built by a different developer, which is the service that the big exchange companies offer. In alphabetical order, the timeshare divisions of these brand-name resort development companies include:

• Club Intrawest

• Disney Vacation Club

• Fairfield FairShare Plus

• Four Seasons Residence Club

• Hilton Grand Vacations Club

• Hyatt Vacation Club

• Marriott Vacation Club International

• Starwood Vacation Ownership

• WorldMark by Trendwest

These developers' in-house exchange options are a fraction of what behemoths like Resort Condominiums International and Interval International give their customers, but the big-name developers do offer something that nobody else can: a following with hotel users who know exactly what to expect from their brand names. As the theory goes, if you always stay at Hiltons when you travel, you are likely to enjoy the style and amenities when you exchange usage time at its timeshare properties, too.

Many of these brand-name timeshare resorts tend to be more expensive than other resorts around the world. Sometimes, this is because the brand-name resorts are offering better service and amenities, but other times, the higher prices are simply a reflection of the brand name's selling power.

Here is a more in-depth look at some of those smaller, brand-name resort development companies that are building timeshare resorts and allowing exchanges either in-house or through an affiliation with one of the bigger exchange companies.

Club Intrawest

Club Intrawest is part of the Intrawest Corporation, which has been around since 1976 and supports more than eight million travelers at its ski resorts each year. It is a Canadian company that owns nine resorts — in Whistler, Panorama, and Vancouver, British Columbia; Tremblant, Quebec; Blue Mountain, Ontario; Sandestin, Florida; Palm Desert, California; Kauai, Hawaii; and Zihuatanejo, Mexico.

Disney Vacation Club

The Disney Vacation Club began operations in 1991 with just one property: Old Key West at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Today, the exchange company has more than 90,000 timeshare owners with access to seven resorts, vacations aboard the Disney Cruise Line, stays at Walt Disney World hotels, and more. The Disney Vacation Club is affiliated with Interval International, which means you can exchange your timeshare unit for a vacation outside of the Disney brand, but the main reason the company exists is to win the business of parents and children who like to vacation at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and its other family-friendly destinations. In fact, the average Disney Vacation Club member visits Walt Disney World twice a year.

Timeshare prices, according to the company's Web site, www.disneyvacationclub.com, start at $14,700 per year. If yours is the kind of family that visits Walt Disney World once a year — and if you plan to return for at least a few more years in the future — you know that the ever-rising price of hotel rooms inside the Disney complex can add up to that and more before all of your children are grown. This is the philosophy that Disney had in mind when it created its timeshare division in the first place — though you must remember that those initial entry fees do not include annual maintenance fees, exchange fees, and other miscellaneous fees that you may be forced to pay. (More on those in Chapter 2.)

Fairfield FairShare Plus

Part of the Fairfield Resorts company, the Fairfield FairShare Plus program is a points-based system of timeshare ownership. It began in 1991 and is now a subsidiary of the Cendant Corporation, which also owns the Resort Condominiums International exchange company. Interestingly, more than 80 percent of Fairfield Resorts have been awarded RCI's highest ranking, the Gold Crown designation.

More than a half million members belong to FairShare Plus, taking advantage of more than seventy resorts in twenty-one U.S. states and territories. To learn more, go to the company's Web site, www.fairfieldresorts.com.

Four Seasons Residence Clubs

The Four Seasons program, as you might imagine based on the company's high-end reputation, includes top-of-the-line (and pocketbook) offerings for deeded properties at what is currently a five-resort network. Four Seasons Residences are available in North San Diego, California; Scottsdale, Arizona; Punta Mita, Mexico; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica. Some of the resorts, such as the ones in San Diego and Scottsdale, have already sold out their phase one development and are now taking orders only for units being built as part of phase two construction.

Spas and golf are the most prominently promoted resort amenities at each destination, except for Jackson Hole, which lacks a golf course because it is keyed to snow skiing and other wintertime activities. All five of the Four Seasons timeshare resorts do boast strong family packages, including on-and off-site childcare, programmed activities, and on-your-own family fun.

The company does not advertise pricing for its timeshare units, but you can make an appointment for a private showing through its Web site, www.fourseasons.com.

Hilton Grand Vacations Club

Based in Orlando, Florida, the Hilton Grand Vacations Club is controlled entirely by the Hilton Hotels Corporation and has been around since 1992. Its network includes twenty-seven resorts, and purchase of a timeshare unit automatically enrolls you in the Resort Condominiums International club as well as in Hilton Honors, a guest reward program that gives you access to 2,500 hotels around the world.

Resorts that Hilton has developed for its timeshare division include properties in Orlando and Miami Beach, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Oahu, Hawaii. Resorts that Hilton manages as part of its timeshare program include additional properties in Florida and Hawaii, as well as one resort in Breckenridge, Colorado. The company created urban timeshare opportunities in 2002 when it opened The Hilton Club-New York, and its newest property, on the Big Island of Hawaii, was scheduled to open in early 2006.

Between the Hilton Grand Vacations Club and The Hilton Club, an affiliated program, the company has about 85,000 members so far. You can learn more at its Web site, www.hiltongrandvacations.com.

Hyatt Vacation Club

The Hyatt Vacation Club, which began operations in 1994, is affiliated with Interval International. The company is very close to the vest about its pricing and other information, as it wants you to contact Hyatt representatives directly to discuss its twelve resort properties:

• Beach House Resort, Key West, Florida

• Coconut Plantation, Bonita Springs, Florida

• Hyatt Aspen, Aspen, Colorado

• Hacienda del Mar, Dorado, Puerto Rico

• Highlands Inn, Carmel, California

• High Sierra Lodge, Incline Village, Nevada

• Main Street Station, Breckenridge, Colorado

• Mountain Lodge, Avon, Colorado

• Pinon Pointe, Sedona, Arizona

• Sunset Harbor, Key West, Florida

• Wild Oak Ranch, San Antonio, Texas

• Windward Pointe, Key West, Florida

You can find some information about each resort at Hyatt's Web site, www.hyatt.com. If you want in-depth materials, though, you will have to provide your name and contact information.

Marriott Vacation Club International

There are now a quarter million members in the Marriott Vacation Club, a following the company has built up since its entry into the timeshare marketplace in 1984. The timeshare units at its resorts are designed in one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations, usually with full kitchens and private laundry facilities. It offers its units through different brand lines: Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club (typically the least expensive), Marriott Vacation Club International, Marriott Grand Residence Club, and The Ritz-Carlton Club.

The company has thirty-nine resorts in the United States, one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight overseas. Among the U.S. properties, four are in Hawaii, six are in California, nine are in South Carolina, and ten are in Florida. The foreign resorts are located in Aruba, England, France, Spain, and Thailand. Marriott is also affiliated with Interval International, giving you access to all of that exchange company's resorts, as well.

For more information, check out the Marriott Web site, www.vacationclub.com.

Starwood Vacation Ownership

Starwood is the overarching brand that controls hotels under the well-known names Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, and W Hotels. Its Vacation Ownership program began in 1980, and its network now includes more than 750 hotels and resorts in eighty countries. Timeshare units are configured with studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts and are as big as 2,800 square feet. Some of the resorts are affiliated with Resort Condominiums International, and others are affiliated with Interval International.

WorldMark by Trendwest

This is another points-based system in which you buy the right to use a certain number of points each year at any of the company's resorts. WorldMark by Trendwest is affiliated with the Resort Condominiums International exchange company, and your membership in WorldMark comes with a free first year of RCI membership dues.

Since the points-based system allows for two-or three-day vacations in addition to weeklong stays, this company promotes the fact that the majority of its resorts are within five hours' driving distance of major metropolitan areas in Washington state, California, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and Missouri. You can use your points at those resorts, for exchanges at other resorts worldwide, or for things like cruise-ship vacations, theme-park tickets, and more. Find out more by logging on to www.worldmarktheclub.com.