Our announcement last week about Flyway was received warmly (I would even say enthusiastically) from people in the tech community and beyond. I can't be anything but grateful for that.
Inevitably, many questions were raised about Flyway's model in various aspects of implementation, and these questions will be answered from our website's pages and social media as we roll out more content. But one question that was repeated over and over again is "how do I get access to the home I co-own during the peak season times?" (Greeks, for example, are looking for the traditional August vacation).
A simple and quick answer could be that, if you need access to a home every year at specified dates and you can't be flexible, then the co-ownership model is clearly not good enough for you. The best choice is to fully own a house so you can fully control when you access that home.
But there are other, more important aspects of co-ownership that emerge with the Flyway model that will make people see it differently. Second-home co-ownership is not about spending your "annual vacation" at a home, every single year. Second-home co-ownership is mostly a new lifestyle; it's a new way to spend a big part of your life throughout the year, not just at a single point in the year.
Flyway's target customers are not the top 1% of society who can easily buy a luxurious €2m or €4m second home, spend their vacation there, and rent the rest of the days to make up for some of the costs. These people don't need co-ownership models*. Flyway wants to improve the life of the top 10% - 15% of society who could afford a €200k to €500k second home for their family. There are thousands of families spending this amount of money in that category of homes, so they can spend their vacation time every year. Do they like these homes? Maybe. Would they like to have ownership and access to top-tier second homes of €1m and above? Definitely!
By spending €150k or €300k for a share in a luxurious second home, a consumer can enjoy a totally new lifestyle. They can visit it six or even 7-8 times every year with their family and enjoy an upgraded lifestyle. They can create lasting memories for their kids inside an amazing home, embedded inside a real community, not in a resort. They can regularly invite their friends and business partners to spend a good time together and improve their connections. And finally, they can use this amazing place as a retreat to work for a number of weeks, a much-needed escape in times of post-pandemic remote work.
If these 6 or 7 stays (and a total of 44 - 50 days) per year are not enough (and I’m sure they won’t, for many), they can buy a second share in the same or another luxury second home and double down on this new lifestyle. And at the end of the day, they will still own real estate, not throw their money away on rent. They will be able to sell their share any time they want, earn any appreciation for the home's value, or buy a share in another house.
I believe this will fundamentally change people's relationship with second homes and the perception of "vacation". It's our opportunity to embed the notion of relaxation, recharging, and connection with our people more frequently into our lives and in places that can fully serve this need. Flyway's fully managed luxury second homes will be the perfect environment for such an improvement in our life.
I hope you’ll join us.
* In reality, I think that even people who can afford a €4 million home will end up spending the same amount of money getting access to multiple luxury second homes through Flyway shares in many different locations, taking advantage of the amazing flexible lifestyle that our times offer to anyone.