What is RCI's 1 in 4 Restriction?

When you go to book various RCI resorts, there is a clickable link for some resorts reading "Urgent Information". 
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You should ALWAYS click that link before you book.  Many times, there will be important information concerning the resort such as mandatory inclusive fees, additional fees for various services or policy restrictions such as the "1 in 4 rule". 

For example, in my previous post, I explained how I stayed at the Breeze Residence Club in Guanacaste Costa Rica. 

This particular resort abides by the 1 in 4 rule and has additional information that you need to review before you book.  When you click on "Urgent Information", this is what shows up. 

As you can see, in addition to the fee, there is a mandatory beach club fee of $70 per person as well as a charge for the Gym.  This is not insignificant. 

What is the 1 in 4 rule? 

In addition to other important information, the Urgent Information disclosed whether the resort restricts members from trading or purchasing getaways.  1 in 4 rule is stating that a member may only book that particular resort one time in four years.  You cannot reserve the particular resort more often than that.  

I personally have not tried to reserve resorts that have this 1 in 4 rule more often than once every four years but the stated position is that they can cancel your reservation if you do not abide by this restriction. 

Conclusion:

Timeshares can be tricky and there can be tons of additional fees added to the cost of reserving a week.  You NEED to review the "Urgent Information" before you book so that you can understand these fees and determine if it is still economically feasible.  

Many times, it does not make sense to book all inclusive timeshares through RCI or Interval International since the added fees are extremely expensive.  It can actually make more economic sense to book directly with these resorts. 

The 1 in 4 rule is an important rule to review.  The last thing that you want to happen is that RCI unilaterally cancels your reservation after flights or other plans are made that may not be changeable. 

I personally dislike the 1 in 4 rule a lot.  Interval International does not have a similar restriction.  If they did, my view on timeshares could actually change.  It is hard enough to find great resorts to trade into and with the 1 in 4 policy, it becomes even harder to obtain quality resorts year after year.  

​What do you think of the 1 in 4 rule?