Increasingly, developers are offering prospective buyers “Try before you buy” deals which are are a useful sales tool, allowing customers to get the feel of a resort in a way which presentations and visuals just can't deliver.

At Frontenac Shores on Lake Mississagagon in Ontario's Land O'Lakes region, developer Pat Storm offers his buyers Discovery Stays.

"They become reacquainted with nature, and I think it's important to experience it rather than just coming up to look. And being right on the water, just the views - when you're sitting over dinner, cooking breakfast or having breakfast on the porch, you can experience that so much more when you're here doing it rather than just imagining it," says Storm.

The idea is to let the site sell itself. For a recreational community, where the setting and the lifestyle on offer is a large part of a project's draw, it makes sense.

Valerie and Al Oldfield were the first couple to take advantage of Frontenac Shores' Discovery Stays program, and their stay was enought to convince them that the development was for them. "We trusted our gut – we got there and felt right at home, and it fit with what we were looking for," Ms. Oldfield says. "We just felt like we belonged right away."

In Scotland, the developers of Machrihanish Dunes are offering two-night “ Discovery Packages” for prospective buyers. The deal includes two nights' accommodation and a round of golf on the resort's links course, for the promotional price of £139, subject to availability. The offer is only for people who are genuinely interested in learning more about owning a fraction - there are qualification criteria attached and people taking it up agree to attend a short sales presentation.

Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club is also offering potential members the chance to sample what the club has to offer with a trial run stay at its resorts. Reservations can be made for a minimum of three and a maximum of seven nights. All reservations must be made by September 30, 2009.

How long before this becomes standard practice across the industry?