Timechare: shared success

Timeshare. When it comes to working, this idea can give rise to debate. But when it comes to vacations, the formula suffers no dispute, even if it has known some bad times in Europe due to lax regulations. In the United States, 4.4 million households prefer it. A week under the Florida sun, another on Colorado’s slopes: the timeshare model is as appealing as ever. Designed as a 1 to 3 room apartment with a kitchenette, the product is adapted to vacationers’ expectations. First of all those of families and "baby-boomers" with free time and fat wallets, because timeshares also play on another important element: profitable investment. The major sales argument of timeshare is the perspective of having access to a period of occupancy, practically for life, that is exchangeable, for a reasonable price. In order to reach all clientele targets, the sector’s actors have developed packages that are adapted to all pockets.It is on this segment as well that the Canadian promoter Intrawest positions itself by building resorts from the ground up, the way it does on the American continent. The Arcs 1950 ski resort is its .rst European realization, inaugurated in 2003, and followed by other projects in Flaine near St-Emilion. Whereas clientele for residences is mostly domestic, Intrawest banks on the appeal of the destination France to European neighbors, the British in particular. To optimize the commercialization of 4 of its 8 residences, Intrawest turned to the brand Radisson SAS. Boundaries between rental, classic hotels and the club and timeshare are permeable. It is thus that Lagrange recently signed a partnership with Club Lookea.Although they were conceived in Europe – The Swiss Hapimag sold its first timeshare unit in 1967 – the concept got its wings in the United States. Since the mid 80s, this segment has...