The biggest surprise of this year’s exhibition season has been the strength of the lifestyle market.

The news is so bad many people have just stopped listening to it.  Relatively affluent British buyers in their fifties are deciding that life is too short and have started putting their money into holiday homes abroad again.  They won’t tolerate mediocrity but there is a clear market for those with outstanding lifestyle product.

The problem is the market is still tiny compared to its 2007 peak.  However, in theory fractional should open up this lifestyle market to the masses by reducing prices and offering a choice of destinations through exchange clubs.

I’ve documented the problems many times but the main one is consumer perception.  You need to win the hearts and minds of the cynical British public.

The best way to do this is through third party endorsement – celebrities the target market respect and normal people potential buyers can identify with.  

European developers and exchange club operators need to take a lead from the US.  The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) is about to roll out a program of testimonials showcased in the video below.

Ignore the slightly cheesy US slant and it is brilliant.  

Why buy into a resort?  The amenities are fantastic.  You can’t get anything comparable in a hotel.  The kids love it.

Why buy a fractional unit?  It’s almost like having a free holiday.  It saves me money and I have a wide choice of destinations.

THE CLOSE – It’s good value.  Our kids have been coming for years.  We are new grand parents and now the grand children come to.  “It’s the way it should be”.

Cheesy yes, will it work?  Of course it will, given a more European spin.  People buy emotionally and justify decisions rationally.

Resorts meet a clear market need and fractional multiplies the market.  The benefits need communicating and this can only be done through co-ordinated action back by cash.  

Those at the top of the European resorts industry need to stand up and be counted.