After enduring heavy criticism, particularly in Britain, which ruined the image of time-sharing as an investment vehicle, proponents of the concept have addressed certain issues and come up with fractional ownership of luxury holiday homes as a more promising alternative. The target market is the same people who were attracted to timeshare in the first place, those who want a second home but do not want to pay the full price for what could be an extravagance. Even so, fractional ownership is a big improvement on timeshare because buyers actually own part of a property.

Thailand with its booming tourist industry is seen as a high-potential location for fractional ownership. Among the contenders is Absolute Group, which is marketing Absolute David Lloyd Beach, a boutique condominium in Nakalay, Phuket; a luxury apartment in Soi Bangla in Phuket; and a luxury hotel with 17 exclusive units at Thong Krut on Koh Samui.

Another company, Leisure Solutions Company, is also working on two projects in Phuket and one in Samui but cannot reveal the names as yet. It is offering larger units, primarily three bedrooms.

Darron Guy, a co-founder of Leisure Solutions, said that for 2.85 million baht a buyer would get 1/12th ownership of a 156-square-metre three-bedroom apartment in the Laguna area of Phuket with leasehold title for 30 years plus options for two 30-year extensions, a structure common in Thai holiday spots.

Mr Guy said that although fractional ownership was new to Thailand, it was a fairly mature market in North America, South Africa and Europe. ''The roots do come from timeshare and what [operators] have found is that these opportunities for fractional far outweigh the benefits of timeshare.''

The fractional business began with partial ownership of assets such as boats and planes. These days one can even own a piece of a high-end handbag, according to the UK-based website www.fractionallife.com.

Research by Leisure Solutions shows that a number of companies have indicated fractional ownership is available in this region but the company says not all fit the true fractional model.

''Fractional is often confused with timeshare,'' says Mr Guy.

The high-end fractional market in North America is estimated to be worth US$3 billion a year covering total fractionals including a concept called a private residence club.

''A private residence club is a fractional by another name except that it's exceptional quality _ so the type of properties you are familiar with are Sukhothai Residences, The River by Raimon Land, those type of properties.''

While the sub-prime crisis has dented investor confidence worldwide, fractional operators believe it is too early to tell whether the partial ownership business has been affected. Indications are that the usual consumers of this type of product, high-net-worth individuals, are fairly resilient. They actually see this as an opportunity because people who were thinking of buying their own vacation home might now be drawn to owning just a fraction.

Mr Guy explained that usually the maximum fractional ownership is one quarter and the minimum 1/12th because anything less would make the structure look more like timeshare. The most popular proportions are one-sixth or one-eighth.

Leisure Solutions has noted that prior to the Condominium Act, Thailand had legislation governing co-operative ownership. It is discussing with its legal counsel how fractional relates to the latter law. ''It's our understanding that the co-operative structure will actually support fractional ownership.''

The company also offers options for ownership including setting up an offshore company in a jurisdiction that has dual taxation agreement with Thailand, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Mauritius. ''We are also seeing this as an opportunity for developers with their 49-51% quota (on foreign ownership of a condominium) to perhaps identify another opportunity to sell the 51%,'' says Mr Guy.

Leisure Solutions believes there is a market for corporate fractional ownership in big cities, as it has been successful in London. Mr Guy also believes that there is a strong market for Thais, especially in locations such as Hua Hin.

''We believe that by lowering the price point it also attracts the demographic of middle- to high-income Thais, and if the yield through management and rental is wrapped around that, then we also believe that is an attractive model.''