The Future of Holidays Has Arrived: Millennials Go Mad For Holiday Ownership

As the world gradually climbs out of what for many has been an abyss of despair and uncertainty in the form of the Covid-19 crisis, many people are starting to think about a well-earned vacation.

The holiday industry let many people down, leaving them stranded, without hotels and often with no access to support. So, there has never been a better time to become more discerning about how you plan and book your future holidays.

Open your mind to vacation ownership

It’s been around in one form or another since the 70’s and like most travel or vacation concepts the road hasn’t always been plain sailing. Timeshare, Vacation Ownership, Holiday Ownership and a whole multitude of other names has taken its time as a product to come of age and for a plethora of reasons the road has often been rocky.

However, resilience and belief in the concept among developers, operators and marketers; combined with more rigorous and tenacious consumer rights and protection have finally led to what many observers believe to be the Golden Age.

Finally, Holiday Ownership has evolved into a travel solution that is virtually perfect for the modern, tech-savvy wanderlust driven consumer we commonly refer to as Millennials.

Consumer Protection and regulation restores confidence.

As a concept, it has become so desirable that global leaders in the travel and hospitality sector are rapidly dominating huge swathes of the market. A quick look around the internet and the world is graciously adorned with the very best luxury standards offered exclusively to timeshare and holiday ownership club members by companies such as Wyndham, Hilton, Disney, Marriott, Hyatt, Jarvis. Plenty of other smaller groups and independents have started to develop and evolve on the back of EU wide consumer protection and better regulation; such as The San Antonio here in Malta, who are taking a more boutique travel approach to holidays. Many of these well-respected vacation brands have specifically invested in new resorts aimed specifically at millennials or adapted existing products and solutions to make them more digitised. Wyndham completely transformed 16 of its brands and resorts whilst upgrading the technology to make them mobile friendly and App focused. As a group, Wyndham now has over 200 venues from pristine golf focused resorts in France to a new Watersports themed resort opening soon in Belize.

For the millennial with a deep curiosity for the world and a desire to guarantee exceptional accommodation standards, flexibility and variety there’s never been a better time to take a serious look at Holiday Ownership.

Whatever floats your boat?

It doesn’t matter what excites you, inspires you or fascinates you the right Holiday Ownership product can meet and exceed everyone’s expectations. For the adventurous, you can ski in Hokkaido, Japan and stay in the Westin Park Hyatt. If you love deep snow, fresh powder and panoramic mountains whilst relaxing in state of the art apartments designed for winter sports enthusiasts you will love this.

If skiing isn’t your thing and you’re more a water sports fanatic then Bali now offers dozens of 5* beach resorts for the surfers, divers and windsurfers amongst you. Grab a week at the Anantara Uluwatu Resort and surf the same waves as the legendary guys who founded Rip Curl. I’ve personally stayed there and it is truly an astonishing place with arguably the most impressive illusion pool I’ve ever had the good fortune to swim in.

The modern evolution of vacation ownership could have been designed with the extreme sports enthusiasts from Point Break in mind, if they’d been Holiday Ownership members they wouldn’t have needed to rob banks to fund their adventures.

From mountain biking down sweeping alpine glaciers and ravines across Europe; to cycling or hiking through Greece or doing Route 66 in the good old USA; as a member of a Holiday Ownership Travel Club, you can do it all.

The modern Holiday Ownership product now caters for the adventurous. Vietnam, Polynesia, Africa and Eastern Europe are seeing huge levels of investment for the traveller looking for experiences, culture and adventure.

Rumour has it that the furthest point of Indonesia, Timor Leste (formerly East Timor) has a resort approved and funded, that’s virgin unexplored territory right there. I spent a few months in East Timor about 10 years ago and the mountains, volcanic sand beaches and raw charm literally took my breath away. It’s perfect for those savvy travellers who are looking for inspiration and an idyllic escape. Timor-Leste could fast become the modern-day version of Alex Garland’s inimitable book The Beach.

Check out this travel guide: Timor-Leste: The Perfect Destination for a Digital Detox

If running the gauntlet, risking life and limb isn’t your thing then take a more sedate approach and use your Travel Club as a conduit to explore fabulous historic cities across the world.

Stay in Veneto and use the resort based train station for day trips into Venice or Verona or grab a week in a converted monastery in Tuscany and become a MasterChef by immersing yourself in the daily on-site traditional cookery courses. Learning how to use local produce to create mouth-watering dishes and then in the evenings get to grips with wine tasting sessions and learn how to quaff like a pro.

Why Millennials?

All the research is clear. Millennials are more interested in experiences than material goods. Holidays are almost twice as important to them as they are to their Baby Boomer parents with the average millennial travelling twice as often every year, which amounts to an average of 4.7 holidays or breaks per annum. Personalisation, flexibility and choices are vital components for the modern millennial vacationer who demands exhilarating experiences and great standards of accommodation without compromising.

78% of millennials consider new experiences and different cultures to be a key part of their holiday. They expect to be engaged, enlightened and enthralled by their destination and the people they meet and the things they do when they get there. Basically, sitting in a bar in Tenerife drinking Yorkshire Bitter and watching Only Fools and Horses with a Steak Pie is seriously not for these people.

Variety is king and millennials want to do something different every year. The annual visit to the Costa del Sol that they grew up doing with their parents isn’t for them. Holiday Ownership means that they can change their holidays as they change their outlook. They can adapt and improvise their travel plans to suit their changing lifestyle, from young couples gallivanting around the world footloose and fancy-free; to the more considered school break with the kids in tow, Holiday Ownership is designed to be adaptable and flexible.

The key benefits of cost-effectiveness and sublime standards of resort safety, security and peace of mind that comes with 4*-5* accommodation and resorts is paramount to the modern-day traveller.

One of the key developments in the holiday ownership sector is that it’s embraced digitization enthusiastically. Everything is online and a sharp eye is maintained in the UX aspect of finding the perfect holiday, combining it with the perfect travel options and optimising and streamlining everything so its hassle-free. Mobile apps can be tweaked so that you and your partner are notified of special offers that interest you or get alerts updating you on that elusive cheap Bonus Week in California or Scotland.

Recent research conducted by the Resort Developers Organisation (RDO) found that 69% of Holiday Ownership members believed their membership actually encourages them to take more holidays and to select locations that they would never have considered through a traditional travel agent or booking platform. So, if you are one of those people who finds yourself always talking about travelling but never actually getting around to it, this could be the answer.

Whilst the truth is that Holiday Ownership may not always save you money, it guarantees you significantly better standards at a lower cost and vastly greater options in terms of accommodation and facilities.

Forget cramped hotel rooms and chalets and stashing your skis under the bed or chaining your bike up in a shed. Take a log cabin with wood burners, drying rooms, integrated saunas and hot tubs or converted farmhouses with state of the art kitchens and heated pools on the roof. You’ll pay the same as you would for a standard bed and bathroom hotel bedroom.

Finding the right product for you

So, how do you get involved, find the right product for you and what are the true benefits? There is a simple truth here “Never buy on price alone”. Choosing the right product is critical. Make sure it does what you need it to do and most importantly makes sense financially. Step aside from the emotional aspect for a moment and have a clear idea about how you are going to use it and what you are going to need and expect to get from your product and membership. If you need to guarantee 2 weeks in Ski season in a top-flight location like Tignes, then make sure that your primary purchase guarantees you that. If, however, you are like me and you love hiking, exploring and prefer visiting places out of the crazy and exorbitantly expensive peak season; then join at the minimum requirement at your home resort and blast the Bonus/Extra weeks benefit. If you have kids and need to ensure that you can always get away with the family in the prime school holiday season then buy peak season.

All the research shows that the vast majority of Holiday Ownership members who are disgruntled bought the wrong product. Whether they were ill-advised on the day or thought they could cut corners and get more for less it simply doesn’t work that way. It’s impossible. The famous social thinker John Ruskin apparently stated that:

“In business, it is impossible to get more for less…”

That applies to Holiday Ownership as well. Your initial purchase has to be perfect for your primary holiday needs. To put that into perspective, I know a couple who are passionate scuba divers and they have a mapped out agenda of every wreck and cave they want to dive in Malta and the surrounding islands over the next 8 years. They love beaches, they love the sun. They own at the San Antonio Resort & Spa and their membership guarantees them 2 weeks every year in June with a sea view for 4 people.

To book that through a travel agent or online via Booking.com would cost them a small fortune. Now it costs them less than £900 per annum (maintenance fees — more on those in a moment) + flights in a 5* apartment with 2 bathrooms and 2 sea-view balconies. Included within that cost is a Half Board + Drinks package for 4 people for the duration of their stay. Outside of their primary holiday needs, they devour up to 8 extra weeks per year. They work in the gig economy, are essentially project or contract workers and can work remotely.

The secret here is to work collaboratively with the Holiday Ownership Consultant at the resort of your choice. Be open and honest about your expectations and critically, if the product you need to achieve your holiday dreams isn’t affordable, wait until it is.

The whole point of being a Travel Club member is to take more holidays in better standards for roughly the same budget as you are spending anyway. If those sums don’t add up and you have to rob Peter, downgrade your car or turn the heating down to maintain the membership; then it’s probably not right for you, right now.

Maintenance Fees

Every form of Holiday Ownership comes with an annual commitment over and above your original membership cost. If you buy Timeshare in Scotland essentially you are buying a deed in perpetuity forever and ever and ever. You own a slice of the resort and the apartment and facilities and you have to maintain it, insure it, revamp it, rebuild it and ensure the standards and the quality never impairs from the day you buy it until the day the sun goes down for good. If you are buying because you and your future generations will use the salmon fishing rights on the local loch or will always through the generations be spending Hogmanay there, then it makes sense. If you are thinking about short-term holidays for the next ten years, then don’t. Buy something with a shorter tenure that you can adapt as your life changes.

Many Holiday Ownership resorts and clubs are now on a designated leasehold basis. This means that you buy guaranteed quality and access for a specified period of time. At the San Antonio in Malta, for example, membership runs for up to 10 years. You can just walk away after that period, you can renew if you wish. The choice is yours. Our annual user fee is pretty unique in the industry. A one-bedroom apartment that sleeps 4 people is approximately £450 per annum for each week owned. The user fee covers refurbishment, legal costs, insurance on the property, administration and maintenance and it also provides for all occupants breakfast, evening meals and beer and wine for the duration of their stay. Considering that the resort has 5 restaurants to choose from including a rooftop Asian Fusion with panoramic views over Gozo and Comino and a Moroccan and Indian buffet-style option that is a pretty exceptional deal and our members love it.

When it comes to the annual costs be careful. How is the cost managed, what is it spent on and vitally how is it controlled? Many clubs like the San Antonio will be limited to the local inflation costs as a maximum so you can pretty much rest assured that whilst it will probably go up, most years that rise will be in line with the cost of living index.

Some more traditional Timeshare resorts have no limitation, you own the resort and if the need to rebuild the swimming pool your maintenance fee will reflect the cost eventually. The devil is in the detail and thankfully in the USA and Europe, a host of consumer rights and protections have been introduced which has significantly enhanced the perspective of the product and solution. But ultimately the onus is on you to understand and check what you are buying or joining.

When you are considering resorts you have the undivided attention of a professional consultant so maximise that time with them. They are of course salespeople first and foremost but ideally, they want happy members who recommend new members to them.

Take a look and decide for yourself

It costs nothing to take a look around a resort and to spend some time with a Holiday Ownership Sales Consultant. In many cases, they will actually reward you for doing so, regardless of whether you join the club or not. But be aware that to really consult and to present the right options to you takes time. They need to really get under the skin of what you want to do and how. So it’s important to take the time and really define which one will fit your needs. If you buy the wrong membership you will either sit there disappointed that it doesn’t get you what you need or complain that you could have got what you needed for a lot less money.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.