Whether you own one or four weeks of timeshare, own in Paris, France or Paris, Texas, trade every year or return to your home resort every year, there is no doubt that timeshares have significantly improved your vacation…and much more.

With more than 6.5 million weeks of timeshare owned, there are probably more than 6.5 million definitions of what constitutes “better vacations.” One of the great things about timeshare is that it can do so many different things for so many different people and yet somehow, remain a fairly simple to use product.

I interviewed 3 people for this story and sure enough, found 3 vastly different examples of how timeshare has improved not only their vacations, but also their lifestyle, their relationships and in one case, the course of their life.

Diana and Charles (yes, those are their real names and no, not THAT Diana and Charles) had no intention of purchasing a timeshare on their visit to Sanibel Island 15 years ago. “As a matter of fact, we were only recently engaged at the time, Diana was finishing school and only working part-time. Money was a big issue for us,” says Charles. Diana adds, “Charles didn’t want to get married until we could afford to move out of our apartment and buy a house.” They went through what they describe as “a relatively innocuous, low-pressure sales pitch” and in the end as Charles remembers it, “we just couldn’t come up with enough reasons not to purchase, so we bought.”

Flash forward to 2009---Charles and Diana are married, the proud parents of Holly age 10 and Brandon age 7 and yes, still the owners of their timeshare on Sanibel as well as a week in Flagstaff, Arizona they bought 5 years ago.

“Owning two weeks of timeshare has improved the quality of our lives more than we could have possibly imagined back 15 years ago,” says Diana. “Yes, we had to scrimp and save and do without some things the first five years, but Charles and I found out that we agreed on what really mattered to us. One week a year of a true high-quality, low-stress vacation is far more important than having a closet full of black shoes or Charles having 15 power drills.”

The family returns to Sanibel Island the first week of August each year. “Despite what some people have said, having a fixed week has proven to be a blessing for us. We know exactly when and where we are going and we all look forward to our home away from home.” Diana adds, “having this one week of stability among our anything but stable lives is great and the resort has been the site of some of our best memories.” As a matter of fact, Charles and Diana held their small wedding ceremony at the resort the year after they purchased and “we were fortunate to bring my mother with us one year. It was just 3 months before she died unexpectedly so it’s nice to be able to have that happy time to remember.” “We have no doubt that the kids will be coming here to share memories and make memories of their own with their families one day,” says Charles. “Timeshare is much more than “just” a vacation. It truly is the most important purchase we’ve ever made.”

Pete, a 42-year-old divorced father of 7 year old Emily bought a timeshare the year he got divorced. “I had friends who owned timeshare, and they seemed to like it”, says Pete. “Although at the time some people just thought I was going through a “mid-life crisis”, I firmly believe that my timeshare has been the most wonderful thing I ever bought.”

Pete uses him timeshare each year to vacation with Emily and takes advantage of absolutely every single extra or perk that comes with ownership. “My absolute favorites are the II Getaway Weeks. I can’t count how many times I’ve ended up at some fabulous resort for a really reasonable cost simply because I’ve been flexible.” He adds, “I’ve literally gone online on a Thursday and picked up something for that next week at a place within 2, maybe 3 hours of where I live and ended up having a fabulous time.” He also appreciates the hotel and airfare discounts he takes advantage of and is especially fond of telling a story about the Concierge Service available to II Gold Members. “Emily really wanted to see “Sesame Street Live” a few years ago and for whatever reason I didn’t go buy tickets when they first went on sale. Two weeks before the show, I realized that I didn’t have tickets and sure enough, both dates were sold out. I took a chance and called the Concierge number and sure enough…two tickets, main floor with no extra service charge! Emily still has the picture I took of her and Elmo on her nightstand. People don’t think of moments like that when they hear the word “timeshare”, but they should…it really has enhanced my life.”

Perhaps my all time favorite timeshare story comes from a couple that I met about 5 years ago. Philip was 87 and his frail wife Martha was 85 when they showed up at a timeshare resort that I used to work with. Being a “know it all” salesperson with 12 full months of timeshare sales to my credit, I went through the motions of a full timeshare presentation being careful to eliminate the “20 year cost projection” part and was steadfast in my belief that Philip and Martha were NOT going to buy.

Much to my amazement, at the end of the presentation, Philip looked at me and said, “Yes, we’d like to buy this and we’ll put the whole thing on our credit card.” 15 minutes later in the midst of helping my new owners out with the paperwork that they were having difficultly completing, I asked, “you know guys, I’m really happy for you that you decided to become owners, but I have to ask this…why did you buy?”

To this day, the answer brings tears to my eyes and reminds me that timeshare is much more than just another bill. Philip reached over, took Martha’s small hand in his and said, “Lisa, I’m 87 and Martha here is 85. We’ve both worked our whole lives and we’ve never gone first-class. We deserve to go first-class.”

I received a post card from Philip the next year saying that Martha had recently died, but not until they had both gone to Maui using their timeshare. Another bill? I think not. I think they’ll both remember that trip to Maui forever.

So how can timeshare enhance your life? You’ll never know until you become an owner. Enjoy and happy travels!

Lisa Ann Schreier is the founder of the consumer consulting company Timeshare Insights (www.timeshareinsights.com) and the author of “Surviving A Timeshare Presentation…Confessions From The Sales Table” and “Timeshare Vacations For Dummies.” She is the a leader in timeshare and a frequent contributor to media outlets across the country including CNBC, the New York Times, Barron’s, the Ladies Home Journal, Grand Magazine, the Showtime series “Penn and Teller’s Bullshit!” and travels extensively sharing her knowledge of timeshare as “The Timeshare Crusader.” Ms. Schreier can be reached at lisa@timeshareinsights.com.