50 | FRACTIONALS WORDS |Michael Hobbs
A slice of luxury I
taly is one of the most iconic countries in the world. The landscape, people, food, wine, history and culture all create the rich tapestry that is Italy...“la dolce vita”. It is one of the top countries that people would like to visit on holiday. The world thinks that Italy is in a major decline. However, what the world thinks and what we experience are two different things. There is no doubt that Italy, like the rest of Europe, has severe economic challenges to deal with. However, we luckily live in a bubble called Le Marche.
Le Marche – Italy in one region “If one had to decide which Italian landscape was the most typical, you’d have to choose the Marche… Italy, with its range of landscapes, is a distillation of the world; the Marche is a distillation of Italy.”(G. Piovene, Viaggio in Italia, 1957.) What you experience when staying in this part of Italy is pleasingly different. The Italians have such a zest for life and make the most of their environment and culture. On a day-to-day basis, we really do not see many outward changes and the local Italians, with their strong family values, keep their community together and enjoy their lives with the same pace and passion.
It has been a busy month pushing ahead with our spring marketing launch, making sure everything is ready for our fi rst exhibition at Olympia and booking in press trips and discovery trips. Every year we try to update the way we promote our fractional business. We have to overcome the challenges of explaining the fractional product, promoting a little known, but beautiful region of Italy and overcome the ongoing challenges of a world recession. No easy feat for a small boutique business. Our team is very focused and we work hard to spread the message. We are fortunate that our product is authentic, often said to be ‘better than expected’, located in a wonderful place, and where fractional ownership is becoming more and more appealing to the more enlightened holiday home buyer. We appointed a new PR agency a few months ago. We continue to advertise in a limited number of relevant consumer magazines and regularly update our website and social media channels. Spreading the word and educating the consumer is key to our success and demonstrating confi dence. We invest heavily in our marketing, certainly disproportionate to our size, and continue to attract new
DIARY OF A...
www.opp-connect.com | APRIL 2013
Fractional ownership is a cost-effective way for buyers to experience their desired lifestyle. Appassionata take advantage of the “bubble” of the beautiful Le Marche to deliver la dolce vita in the midst of a turbulent Italian economy
Michael Hobbs spent over 25 years in the retail industry. His extensive inter- national experience helped him to undertake a number of Chairman and Non- Executive roles within both public and private companies over the years. Email:
info@appassionata.com
Website:
www.appassionata.com
interest and, ultimately, buyers. Every January we wonder what the year ahead will bring. So far we have been pleasantly surprised, receiving enquiries from all over the world. It is interesting how some people look at what we do and think they can easily replicate the model and opportunity. Over the last few months I have had a number of people get in
“Some people look at what we do and think they can easily replicate the model and opportunity”
touch about their unsold properties. They cannot sell through whole ownership so think the next obvious route is to divide the house up and sell through fractional ownership, often by themselves. I take it as fl attery that they see us as successful, have a strong brand and proposition, and they would like to replicate what we do. However,
I always point out that fractional ownership is not to be seen as a quick fi x for whole ownership sales failure. I give some insight to help them, but always point out that we have been developing the business for fi ve years, made a substantial investment to create our brand, and set up on-going management for all our properties. The penny eventually drops.
I would love to see more credible fractional ownership projects developing in Europe, as it would benefi t the sector overall, but it is not going to be achieved as a fall-back solution for the whole ownership market.
The essence of Italy? | Some people view traditional Le Marche as a concentration of the Italian lifestyle
The arrival of spring is our busiest time of year: maintaining the gardens, vineyard and lavender plantation, preparing pool openings and putting out the garden furniture. It is a real time of hope and anticipation of the warmer months ahead. Watching all the plants wake up after a dormant winter puts a smile on your face and a spring in the steps of our owners, especially if they have had a long, hard winter! Living and working in Italy is not always easy – the bureaucracy can sometimes drive you to distraction – but the benefi ts far outweigh the disadvantages. Our owners love the lifestyle choice they have made and look forward to each of their visits without any of the normal worries of owning and maintaining a wholly owned property. Fractional ownership is now a real alternative to outright holiday home ownership. Appassionata was born from the hearts and minds of successful entrepreneur Michael Hobbs, his wife, established interior designer, Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs and their family. They created this business as a way of sharing their love of Italy with a discerning and select group of people. The business is boutique in nature and style, family run and aimed at likeminded people who want to experience real Italy and a luxurious lifestyle.
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