pwrshift

As I read great reviews of ER, Lusso, and other DC's 4 and 5 bedroom units, I can't help but think they are missing a huge and fast growing market ... the 'empty nester' people who need to pamper themselves now that their kids are out on their own and will only travel with their parents as a favour.

Why can't a DC have a tier or level of very upscale 1 or 2 bedroom units to satisfy that group (like me)? I love looking at units like Lusso's Naples home but reality sets in and 70% of the facility would be wasted even if I slept in a different room every night.

I like the upscale idea of DC's but it really bothers me that, with few exceptions, there are virtually no 'small' condos other than in Europe, NYC, etc. I can see the name now ... Empty Nester Destination Club - leave the kids at home!

DC4MS

This is an excellent idea and may fit in well with a "City Only Destination Club"

Kagehitokiri

something focusing solely on metropolitan FS/RC/MO/etc condos (regardless of size - so studio/1BR +) would be interesting. not sure how many are possible for DCs though. something along those lines might get more interest from travelers like those in the luxury hotels forum on flyertalk. also, perhaps a "portfolio value" metric would be better for such a club than the "average value" metric. as pwrshift mentioned elsewhere, this might be marketable to business travelers as well, depending on reservation system etc.

3DH

pwrshift, you raise a valid concern, but I am compelled to ask how many "empty nesters" actually use 100% of their own homes. We will be in that category in one year, and have a 5 bedroom home that I am not going to sell when our son goes to college. I enjoy having the space, and feel that way on vacation, as well. If we choose to travel alone as a couple, I am just as happy in the LUSSO homes as I am with a home full of guests! (Sometimes, more so, as inevitably, personalities don't mix well by the end of the trip! )

So, I guess I am just a home-hog, as I prefer the larger homes more similar to the one I live in... why is it a concern if you don't utilize the entire home on every vacation? The times that you do take guests, the space comes in very handy!

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"Boutique" is better! Another extremely satisfied LUSSO member!

vineyarder

Is this really true??? Maybe I am hopelessly naive in thinking that when our kids are in college or beyond, they would be thrilled to get to bring along their friends (and eventually their spouse & kids) to luxurious homes in exotic locales... Am I out of touch with reality???

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Living in a vacuum sucks!

NeilGoBlue

Yes..

My experience (from my life, my kids are very young..) is that they will vacation with you.. and then for about 10 years, do everything they can to not vacation with you, and then in there late 20s or early thirties (usually when grandchildren are born) they will travel with you again..

Kagehitokiri

ideally one should travel with those one travels well with. family and friend dynamics vary.

Bourne

I am with you on this one.

It is different for every family. If your kids love vacationing with you during their teenage years(the litmus test), chances are they will be thrilled to vacation with you down the line as long as you are not too overbearing.

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The Nile is a river in Egypt......

caribbeansun

I must admit that I am having the same concerns as pwrshift on this one. We look at the properties and they are amazing but do we really need that or want that? We'd like to think that we are going to vacation with friends on occasion and perhaps the kids down the line as well BUT I suspect that may be our wishful thinking taking over. We do tend to vacation as a couple rather than an extended family or with friends.

We've did several vacations with our kids as they grew up but they are busy with their own lives right now and even if they did join us it would only be for one week. We believe that the kids need to make their own way and as such they'd have to pick up the tab for travel, some meals and some entertainment. Where we travel to that can get expensive and as a result it's a deterrent for them.

I suspect we'd still be fine in a 2BR or perhaps a 3BR property but when you start getting upwards of 4BR's it's just not likely to be used. Since a number of the places are either in or near resorts renting an additional unit on those occasions would seem more prudent than "overbuying" a DC membership.

As to our own house - we built a new one about 2 years ago and designed it with us in mind. As a result we use approximately 90% right now and there is a bedroom and bath upstairs and it only gets used when one of the kids comes home or friends stay over. Having said that the house is actually bigger than our "pre-downsize" house but it's design makes far more sense.

Kagehitokiri

some of the considerations in addition to simply looking at size >

for beach/leisure, condos rarely have private pools.

for mountain, condos cannot be ski-in/ski-out. (from the unit itself)

NeilGoBlue

After some challenging experiences trying to arrange family members to vacation with us.. money seems to pop up as a problem along with the dates, activities, etc..... I've taken a new approach...

I say this is where we are going and this is when... date x to date y...

We would love for you to come.. come when you want, leave when you want.. the house is there and we will be there... We invite lots of people and sometimes they come and sometimes they don't..

It seems to work great...

One of the benefits of joining the club is that it's never ending vacations.. so, if friends or family don't come this vacation.. they get the next one... there is always one every 4-6 months..

GregGH

Hi

BUT -- if you downsized a bit --then -- you can have OCEAN FRONT!!!!

Lots of condo's are 'almost' ski in-ski out - thinking of Four Seasons or Teton Club in Jackson Hole.

I would like to see smaller size and better designs and furnishings. BIGGER is not always BETTER. For me a 4 bedroom house will be a waste of space.

I have to agree with pwrshft on this as well.

Greg

smbrannan

There seems to be a Canadian consensus on this.

I agree with GregGH, pwrshift and caribbeansun; the large luxurious houses offered by many/most DC's exceed my vacation needs.

Vacationing with friends and extended family is something I'd like to do more of, but doesn't reflect the vacation patterns we've established as a family.

LTTravel

That's funny because in another thread the discussion is that the homes in some of the DC's are smaller than expected and members favor homes with a WOW factor. I guess the Canadians should stick to timeshares and us other guys will have to stick with DC's.

caribbeansun

I guess, or you could accept that there's more than one way to have a business model that works and more than one market that exists which this thread seems to suggest might be an option.

The other thread you referred to was started by me wherein I made reference to the size of some of the HCC properties. On the surface it would seem to contradict what's posted here although in reality it doesn't at all. In the other thread I was referring to living space, not sleeping areas of up to 4-5 bedrooms. I've come to realize that I have no desire to stay in properties that are a marked downgrade from what I live in but I'm also aware of the fact that I don't see a need to dramatically upgrade either no matter how tempting it may be.

It's entirely possible to acquire properties that have all the amenities, have sufficient space and superior location at price points well below the values that many DC's are at. But of course that's not too likely to happen because it's tougher to hide markups when you are dealing with homes between $1-$2 Million.

Does that mean I should be looking at timeshares - no. I've done that, I've stayed in many of the top 10 TS listed on TUG and they just don't do it for me. The whole exchange thing is a major pain in the butt so I'm exploring alternatives. It may well be that DC's don't do it for me either because I have grown strangely attached to earning real returns from the funds I have even earmarked for discreationary spending. I have this strange notion that it's possible to have both an outstanding vacation and a return on my equity. Go figure!