Timeshare Started with Product-Market Fit…

Let’s start with some context. Product-market fit is defined as the degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand. When timeshare first launched in the United States in 1974, it took off. The idea that one could buy a vacation week instead of an entire vacation home (not to mention the ability to exchange one’s weeks), was both novel and exhilarating. Interestingly, it was one of the first versions of today’s sharing economy. It’s fair to say that timeshare version 1.0 had strong product-market fit. 

Since then, brands like Marriott, Wyndham, and Hilton have become the major property developers, replacing the independent companies. These companies subsequently “rebranded” the timeshare concept as “vacation clubs.” And although these vacation clubs – backed by key hotel brands – have built ever-more-beautiful resorts, owners are still beholden to the same exchange systems that existed in the 70s.

…but the Industry Is Struggling. 

An axiom of business is that founders and executives need to listen to their users, to develop features that users want and drop those they don’t. The more they can do this, the more they’ll achieve product-market fit. 

While timeshare resorts themselves continue to impress, the system of actually using timeshare ownership remains mired in opaque rules and outdated technology. Simply put, timeshare no longer has product-market fit. 

Current owners are practically screaming for more control and flexibility, not to mention a means of offsetting the financial burden imposed by maintenance fees. Many are desperate to sell or rent their weeks. Even worse, unsatisfied owners are being misled every day by third parties that promise (but don’t always deliver) an easy exit from their ownership.

Younger travelers – especially Millennials and Gen Zs – are increasingly steering away from ownership models of all kinds. They want to rent the runway, not own it. At the same time however, they are embracing the travel and sharing economy more than any generation before them.

It’s Time for Change

There are far more easy and affordable vacation rental options today than there were a decade ago — which cuts deeply into the value proposition of vacation ownership. A seamless marketplace to rent unused timeshares creates tangible opportunities for new and existing owners alike, while offering a new class of vacation rentals to a new type of traveler. 

Enter KOALA, a frictionless accommodation-sharing platform enabling timeshare owners to easily rent to anyone in the world. KOALA infuses new life into the original sharing economy while offering a new category of vacation options to all. 

It is our mission to create product-market fit in the space again. We’re relieving tension for owners, while sparking interest from new, younger buyers by changing the game. And it’s about time.