0835 Leisure Summer 08_aw.indd - HLL Humberts Leisure

Focus | Holiday Property BondIt’s your leisure time.Why share it?It’s official: suggestions that the HolidayProperty Bond is a form of fixed weektimeshare, though inevitable, are groundless.That’s the view of the OFT. The TCA (theTimeshare Consumers Association). And of HLLHumberts Leisure - which has worked withHPB Management for over 20 years...For modest investors, for whom a holiday villa or cottage is littlemore than an idle dream, timeshare has long been viewed as anaffordable alternative. And rightly so.Although it achieved its share of ‘bad press’ in earlier years - byreason of sharp marketing practices, declining standards andescalating ‘management fees’ - a number of ethical timesharecompanies do exist, helping their clients to secure, if not theirdream holiday, at least a consistent standard of accommodation intheir chosen destination.Unfortunately that very ‘consistency’ is fixed week timeshare’sundoing: the fact that it restricts holidaymakers to a singlelocation or time slot. Or, often, both.20 Summer 2008ExchangeProvided they continue to pay their annual fees, timeshare‘owners’ have the right to use a unit in their chosen resort - duringthe agreed week(s) - for a specified period of years. If, howeverthey need to change their date or destination, things start to gettricky – necessitating the services of an exchange company which,for a fee, will attempt to trade weeks with another owner.This isn’t always easy: although the accommodation may allowfor up to 52 owners (weeks) in a year, demand tends to beconcentrated into the peak season – say, 30 weeks.By contrast, because investors in the Holiday Property Bond have afinancial stake in every Bond home, they are able to holiday rentfreeat their choice of destinations – at times to suit them.And because the Management team sets realistic occupancytargets each year, Bondholders can be confident of securing eithertheir preferred accommodation – or an acceptable alternative– during (or close to) their preferred dates.This goes some way to explaining why the Holiday Property Bondenjoyed a record 2007, attracting over £28m in new investment.