Why Families Are Looking Beyond Traditional Luxury Ownership

As travel gets easier and quicker, tastes and expectations regarding vacation preferences are changing. There was a time when families aspired to own a second home in a desirable summer resort, planning vacations around a single destination to return to every year. Increasingly, however, today’s families are prioritizing time together and shared experiences over conventional second-home ownership. Luxury vacation ownership is being redefined as a more fluid, flexible arrangement that can grow and evolve as families grow. Ownership models that allow for a variety of experiences over time and destination flexibility are increasingly favored over the traditional aspiration of acquiring a second home.

This new paradigm also creates greater opportunity for multigenerational travel, bringing multiple households together for shared experiences. However, the new approach also brings with it new challenges. Multigenerational vacations tend to require a little more planning and effort, drawing together different households and a wider set of age groups and interests than those found in a traditional nuclear family. Today’s families struggle with issues such as coordinating multiple hotel and travel bookings, identifying adequate accommodations for large groups, and trying to organize activities around a wide variety of schedules and preferences.

In response to these trends and developments in family luxury travel, new ownership models have emerged, optimized to meet the needs of the moment. In response, nearly 20 years ago, Equity Estates Fund created a solution. The Equity Estates portfolio ownership model for luxury travel is a modern approach designed to make multigenerational gatherings easier and alleviate many of the burdens of luxury real estate ownership and vacation travel.

Traditional Luxury Ownership Doesn’t Always Support Modern Family Travel

Traditionally, luxury vacation ownership meant buying a single vacation home in a single destination, supporting a single travel style. A family might buy a beach house for regular summer vacations or have a mountain retreat for skiing and hiking getaways. 

Second-home ownership remains a popular option, but it doesn’t suit every family. As children grow and families expand, tastes and preferences evolve. It can become increasingly difficult to persuade teenagers to be enthusiastic about the vacation they have been taking since they were toddlers. Some second homes are also too small to accommodate a new generation when adult children have their own families. 

Those families who anticipated the shortcomings of second-home ownership can find themselves dealing with a different set of problems. Finding hotels or vacation rentals for large groups requires a particular sort of patience and expertise. And often complex travel and accommodation plans for large groups can easily be derailed by relatively small inconveniences.

If you don’t want to be tied to a single destination or property, and you dream of planning a group trip without managing every detail yourself, you have options. Ownership models have adapted to meet the wants and needs of modern families, providing the sort of flexibility and logistical assistance that today’s luxury family travelers expect.

Why Time Together Is the New Luxury

Destination remains a significant component of luxury travel. But increasingly, families are placing as much (if not more) value on shared experiences and quality time together. Luxury no longer simply means five-star service levels or premium resorts. It means the luxury of bringing together groups of friends and family, having the space and the time to enjoy the company of children, grandparents, and siblings on the same trip.

This focus on time together changes the requirements for luxury vacation travel and accommodation. Location and amenities are important, yes. But so too are larger homes with cohesive gathering spaces, rather than fragmented accommodations that force large multigenerational groups to split up.

Homes Designed for Gathering, Not Just to Accommodate

The Equity Estates Fund portfolio reflects a strategic focus on supporting investors and their families who are looking for homes for entertaining, gathering, and extended stays. Explore the collection of 65+ Equity Estates Fund properties across 25+ countries and see the Fund’s Real Estate Strategy in action.

Equity Estates Fund homes are selected for a combination of location, lifestyle value, and long-term asset potential. When evaluating lifestyle value, the Home Asset Management Team considers factors such as shared kitchens, outdoor living spaces, generous dining areas, and communal spaces for formal and informal gathering. Homes should also have multiple bedrooms, offering spaces for privacy and large group get-togethers—an essential balance for large groups.

Many homes in the Equity Estates Fund portfolio are larger and will comfortably accommodate a multigenerational group in a high-demand destination. You can see this applied in the selection of properties like Tuscany 1, a villa and guesthouse set on a nine-acre countryside estate with a private pool, outdoor dining and terraces, and comfortable accommodations for up to 12 people. Or in the cozy Park City, Canyons Village property, with its open-plan kitchen and living area, outdoor hot tub, and lower-level game room.

The Value of Coordinated Travel Support

Homes optimized for groups are only one half of what today’s luxury family travelers require. The other half is travel support and service.

Planning group travel can be a full-time job in itself. Too often, it falls to one family member, who is quickly overwhelmed by the task of coordinating schedules, booking activities, and confirming reservations.

Equity Estates Fund Investors are supported by dedicated Vacation Concierge Services, Destination Managers, and Local Hosts. Vacation Concierge Services work with our investors from the moment a trip is booked, assisting with travel planning and helping to arrange and confirm activities and reservations at your destination. Dedicated Home Asset Management and Local teams ensure that all of the homes are maintained to The Equity Estates Signature standards that investors and their guests can always expect. The Local Hosts provide up-to-date local knowledge and insight, coordinating with the Concierge Team to ensure investors get the best possible advice and recommendations for things to do. 

These services help to streamline the vacation experience for Equity Estates Investors, because we understand that convenience and peace of mind are vital components of luxury.

Flexibility Creates Better Family Experiences    

Equity Estates Fund Investors have exclusive access not only to the homes in their Fund, but all the 65+ Equity Estates portfolio properties spread across 25+ destinations. Collectively, the portfolio supports luxury family travel across multiple destinations. Families can take ski trips in Aspen, enjoy Caribbean beach vacations, spend a summer weekend in Paris, and take an anniversary trip to Hawaii. This is what is meant by “destination flexibility,” an increasingly important component of luxury travel that is supplanting the traditional model of returning to the same location every year.

Previously, families who favored destination flexibility were effectively limited to a choice between a life of nomadic vacationing in hotels and rental villas or timeshares. But the Equity Estates Fund portfolio ownership model offers an alternative. Families no longer need to choose between ownership and variety. Portfolio ownership offers investors a luxury real estate investment opportunity and the chance to enjoy exclusive access to a wide range of luxury vacation homes.

Investing in Together

As families increasingly shift away from traditional luxury ownership toward more experience-driven ownership models, we see the market adjusting to this new demand in the form of more modern investment opportunities such as the Equity Estates Fund.

The Equity Estates Fund model combines professionally selected homes, strategic destination planning, and coordinated travel support to deliver travel experiences that prioritize meaningful time together. Plus, investors benefit from a defined liquidity path that is built into every Fund.

Travel with Equity Estates for a unique and memorable experience. If you would like more information about investing with Equity Estates, please reach out to our Investor Relations Team at 404.445.8501 or click to schedule a call. Download our Executive Summary.