JOIN USThe way we travel has changed, and the way we live too. Millennials today are lost in their busy lifestyles, stressed at work and overwhelmed with the mundanity of everyday life. They are seeking more personalisation and privacy while demanding nothing less than the best in luxury. While five-star resorts can offer you the frills of fancy, having a holiday home that you can call your own is quite another form of luxury. In fact, it takes luxury to the next level.
It's a lifestyle thing
Typically, holiday homes have now become a lifestyle purchase. People look to buy a holiday home because they want to be able to visit a location whenever they want while being in the comfort of their own home. Besides, holiday homes also offer great financial returns to their owners.
Today, we see significant annual short-term rental yields (five to seven per cent gross yield on the property value) from renting out homes even after the homeowners visit for a few weekends in the year (at their convenience). The first key factor that contributes to this is the aesthetics or the finishing of the home. Holiday homes attract guests from all over the world because of their aesthetics. Different people like different styles of architecture and aesthetics. When they envision that in their holiday home and get exactly that, it becomes a reason to invest.
Second, if the homes are located in popular areas and have the right kind of social infrastructure in close proximity, it attracts investors and buyers. Finally, the amount of ease and transparency a company can offer is what builds trust in prospective investors. They look to invest in the convenience offered to them so that the homeowners can sit back and enjoy the returns on their investment. The art of travel and living in that sense has transformed, and with the advent of the second home, it is only going to soar.
Whether for business or pleasure, owning a second home has become synonymous with success, luxury and a jet-set lifestyle. It offers a discerning convenience, seclusion and the chance to escape. Identifying this surging desire, various companies have now come to the fore, not only to try and satiate this desire with a collection of second homes that are unique in design, location, style and luxury but to give each homeowner an experience that lingers and makes them feel special.
Owning a hideaway from the world that's completely private and entirely your own and is in accordance with your discerning taste has become a prospect that's hard to resist. The idea of being able to whisk away on a whim and have complete control over the details of where and how you will stay is something that is becoming appealing to more and more people. A party pad, beachside villa, mountainside property, it's about being able to indulge in any or every extravagance defined by you.
Furthermore, a second home can also become a great source of income with the opportunity to rent out the property to other people on holiday, when it's not being used. And it's not so much about luring investors in with amenities and features alone, it's more about providing inimitable options that would pique one's interest - like telling a story through each home, and promoting a piece of lifestyle. That is something the companies are trying to do: tell a story; create a sense of adventure and mystique; provide a lifestyle quite unlike any other experienced before; and build a family, one beautiful home at a time.
A home away from home
The holiday home market has players that have now understood the art of luxury. Be it hand-picking the best pockets of privacy or artfully selecting desirable locations - not too far from a popular beach or a recommended restaurant, but at a comfortable distance from the hustle bustle of tourist-busy areas.
It is crucial to provide that warmth of a home, yet while being completely and utterly immersed in luxury that you don't usually find at home. This can be accented by making the most breathtaking views available from every window, providing interiors with stunning furniture curated from palaces and heritage sites around the country and setting up each home with the latest amenities and luxuries; getting an aesthetic that exudes something which will impress all tastes for its timeless appeal. Designs that are made with the intent to create that urge to show it off to everyone you know; creating a space that keeps pulling you back, that you can never tire of and that stays with you long after you leave.
If a company can offer an enviable collection of homes in various destinations to suit a melange of budgets, tastes and preferences, that is something that anyone would want. To be able to have a home at an exotic locale, to simply escape into a whole new world.
(The author is CEO & founder, Isprava)