What is Club Resorts International (CRI)?
Club Resorts International (CRI) is a unique form of non-specific holiday ownership which has all of the benefits of Timeshare with none of the negatives.
^top
How does it differ from Timeshare?
With conventional Timeshare you own a specific week in a specific unit in a specific resort. A very inflexible system. With CRI you have none of the restrictions of conventional Timeshare. You are able to holiday when you like, where you like and as often as you wish using your Points, and the holidays you don't take can be saved up and used in the future.
In other words, Points Systems answer all the negatives of timeshare while still providing the benefits. Whether Points Systems are timeshare or not is irrelevant, the CRI Points System has been structured to comply with all applicable timeshare legislation in order to provide maximum protection for Members.
^top
What are Holiday Points?
You receive your allocation of Holiday Points each year and you use these Points like money to exchange for holiday time in the Resort Accommodation which forms part of the CRI System.
You receive a Resort Points Value Guide which contains the Points Tables of all the Resorts in the system. This enables you to determine just how many Points it will cost to holiday in a particular unit size at a specific time of the year. Obviously peak seasons cost more Points than low season times and large units more Points than small units. etc.
^top
What is a Holiday Points System?
A holiday Points System is like a Club. It has a portfolio of holiday accommodation that its Members can occupy in exchange for Points. All the holiday accommodation is graded or valued in Points based on the following criteria;
Unit Configuration
Resort and Unit Quality
Regional Cost and Demand
Season
This means that larger units receive more Points than smaller ones, high quality resorts and units receive more Points than economy style ones, resorts in high demand and high cost areas receive more Points than in low cost and low demand areas and high season times are allocated more Points than low season times.
The total number of Points in the Points System is equivalent to the value of all the holiday accommodation in the System based on the grading stipulated.
Members of a Points System own the right to an annual allocation of Points. The total number of such Point Rights owned by all the Members can never be more than the number of Points in the System based on the valuation of all the accommodation.
Members trade their Points for the right to use the accommodation in the System. The price that they pay in Points is equal to the valuation of the accommodation and the period in question.
^top
What is the major benefit of the CRI Points System?
In a word, flexibility.
The flexibility to holiday WHEN you want, WHERE you want, in the SIZE and QUALITY of accommodation that suits you best and if you don't want to holiday one year or you want more than you are entitled to then you can SAVE unused Points to the next year or BORROW Points from a subsequent year.
^top
So how do I join CRI?
You become a Member of the system by purchasing a number of Point Rights or converting your timeshare weeks to Points. These Point Rights entitle you to an annual allocation of Holiday Points. You also become a Member of the CRI Management Association to which all CRI Owners belong.
^top
I own timeshare, how do I benefit from the CRI Points System?
Owners of timeshare weeks can convert their timeshare weeks to Points. The normal way this is done is for the timeshare owner to retain ownership of the week and to cede the right to use the week to the CRI Points System in return for Points. This means that the Points Systems gets the weeks to use each year and the timeshare owner gets the number of Points that the week is worth.
^top
Is there a fee to pay in order to convert my timeshare weeks to the CRI Points System?
There is no fee payable to convert timeshare weeks to Points. All that is re- quired is that you purchase a certain number of additional Points for each week converted.
^top
Which saving rule is applicable if I convert my timeshare weeks to Points?
The 85% rule normally applies to those CRI Members who have converted their timeshare weeks to Points. A Member cannot have one rule applicable to one contract and the other rule applicable to another. The 85% rule takes precedence over all other rules and once a Member joins under this rule or converts a timeshare week to CRI Points then this rule applies to all contracts linked to the Membership.
^top
Who pays the levy on the timeshare week?
There is a levy involved in the ownership of CRI Points this is used towards the cost of servicing and maintaining the accommodation in the System. Subject to the timeshare owner who has converted his timeshare week to Points paying the CRI levy, the CRI Points System will pay the annual timeshare levy on behalf of the timeshare owner. Any special levy will still be for the account of the timeshare owner.
^top
Is there a levy to pay for my Points?
Yes.
^top
Why must I pay a levy?
It costs money to service and maintain the resort accommodation in which you can use your Points to take a holiday. In addition there are costs involved in managing the CRI Points System and providing the Central Reservations Service. These costs are recovered in the annual membership fee and levy paid by each member proportional to the number of Points owned.
^top
What happens to the Points I don't use?
All unused Points can be saved. There are two saving rules:
You save your unused Points and carry them forward for up to five years including the year of issue, or
You can save 85% of your unused Points from one year and carry them forward to the next year without any time restriction.
The saving rule is determined at the time that you purchase Points and is stipulated by the Company from whom you purchase your Points. You cannot change or choose your saving rule.
^top
What if I don't have enough Points for the holiday I want?
You can borrow Points from next year to use this year.
^top
Can I buy more Points later?
Yes. If at any time you wish to increase your annual allocation of Points then all you need to do is to purchase more Point Rights in the future at the then ruling price and add them to your portfolio.
^top
So this is almost like an investment plan for future holidays?
Yes it is. But remember, it's an investment in terms of holidays and not an investment for financial gain or return.
^top
If I can buy more Points Rights in the future, can I also sell them when
I want to?
Yes of course. And obviously Point Rights are easier to sell than conventional Timeshare weeks as they are non-specific? You can also leave them to your heirs as they are yours in perpetuity.
^top
Can I let my friends and family use my Points?
Once again the answer is Yes. You can book holiday accommodation for your friends and family using your Points. You can even rent out accommodation which you book and earn income from your Points.
^top
How much does it cost to become an Owner?
As little or as much as you want to spend. You can start with any number of Point Rights, but we suggest an initial investment of between 300 and 900 Points. This should get you a broad spread of holiday options. Thereafter you can always increase your Point Rights ownership should the need arise.
^top
How secure is my investment?
A very good question. All holiday accommodation included in the CRI System is held in a Trust with the CRI Management Association being the beneficiary of the Trust. And, you have invested in a pool of property and as you probably realise it is much better to spread one's investment and not to hold all your eggs in one basket.
^top
Where can I use my Points?
The Points System is expanding fast. Each Owner receives full details on all the Resorts in their Welcome Package which they receive when they first purchase. In addition, as new Resorts are included in the system, existing Owners are able to holiday at these Resorts as well.
^top
Can I always go on holiday in peak season?
Obviously not all CRI Owners can go on holiday at the same time and the beauty of this system is its flexibility and variety. To cope with the peak season demand the peak season times cost more Points than out of season and in addition, we work on a reservation priority status which gives each CRI Owner a fair deal over a period of time.
^top
Must I take a full week?
No. You can take mid week breaks for just 25% of the Points of a full week and weekend get-aways for 75% of the Points. Consult your Resort Points Value Guide for the various Resorts that offer this option.
^top
What other costs are there?
In order to maintain the property and to provide reception and housekeeping services, as well as to manage the entire system, a levy is charged annually. This levy is very carefully budgeted for and is under the control of the Members themselves.
^top
