What exactly is the difference between owning a Flyway Home and having a timeshare property? We get asked this a lot, and for a good reason. Timeshare properties have been around for a long time, and so most people (reasonably) tend to assume a Flyway Home is more or less the same thing. This is a myth we want to debunk once and for all!

The Flyway model isn't some rehashed timeshare idea; it is an entirely new concept in second home and pied-à-terre ownership. So, what's the difference? Let's talk about five reasons why owning a Flyway Home is nothing like a timeshare.

1. You Own Genuine Real Estate vs Just a Share of Time

The most significant difference between a Flyway Home and a timeshare is the most important one — it's the fact that you own genuine real estate with a Flyway Home, whereas you only have rights to time with a timeshare. A Flyway is an asset, a timeshare is a block of time. A timeshare is like someone lending you their ROLEX for you to wear once a year. A Flyway is having the ROLEX in your safe and choosing to wear it when you fancy!

With a Flyway Home, you own a fraction (known as fractional ownership) of the property, as opposed to a timeshare, where you simply have rights to use some time in the calendar — but you do not have any rights to the property itself.

More specifically, to use legal jargon, with Flyway, you have an ownership interest in your second home, through a property-specific Limited Company (LTD). With a Flyway Second Home, you have rights of ownership vs a timeshare having rights of use. These are fundamentally different! You can read here in detail what sets of rights you are entitled to when you have an ownership interest in a Flyway property.

To attenuate the distinction between your timeshare rights vs your Flyway ownership rights, think of the scenario in which the timeshare goes out of business. In that case, you would be left with no more than a piece of paper entitling you to time in a resort that no longer exists! Real ownership in a tangible real estate asset, like a Flyway Home, of course, erases this risk.

2. You Benefit From Property Appreciation Over Time vs Having No Claim to the Asset

When you buy into a Flyway Home, you're essentially buying into the property's potential value appreciation. Flyway properties are carefully handpicked, in sought-after destinations, like London’s Mayfair & The City of London so that they represent a compelling investment proposition.

Over time, these properties stand a very solid chance to go up in value, as the area around them grows and develops. This means that it is you, as one of the owners, who will benefit from that uptick in the property’s value. At that time, you can choose to resell your share(s), at the price you set, and pocket any respective gains. Flyway gives you the option to resell your shares right the moment you become an owner, unlike other fractional ownership companies that put a 1-year threshold before you are able to sell. With Flyway, you are in total control of your asset ownership.

This isn't the case with a timeshare of course, where any asset appreciation goes to the timeshare company of course, who is the sole owner of the asset, with the individual timeshare owner not standing to gain anything from this. Going back to our ROLEX example – if you bought your precious object, years or even decades ago, you can resell it anytime at its (much) appreciated value!

3. You Can Adjust Your Share to Suit Your Lifestyle vs No Flexibility

A timeshare agreement is riddled with rules and regulations — and it has to be that way because they are dealing with up to 52 groups of people for each property. That means you are usually locked into just one specific week per year, during which you can use the timeshare property.

With a Flyway Home, you can easily buy extra shares (from 1 up to 6, out of 12 total shares), or sell your existing shares, according to your changing lifestyle. Best of all, if you are looking to sell some of your shares, we find that other existing fractional owners are often eager to snap up another share.

4. Use a Flyway Home When You Wish vs Waiting in Line

The unfortunate reality of a timeshare is that you have such a small window of time (usually one week per year), you have to wait in line for up to 51 other groups of people in the timeshare to use their time first.

With a Flyway Home, you can have anywhere from 30 nights of stay (with 1/12 ownership), all the way to 180 nights of accommodation (with 6/12 ownership). This means you can come and go as you please within your accommodation window, with complete freedom. Just book your stay in your second home via the Flyway App, land in the city you call ‘second home’, and enjoy your stay, with no hassle (read how scheduling works here).

5. Flyway Luxury Home vs Condo or Hotel Room

Flyway Homes are all premium, single-family homes in normal residential locations — and you share your property with just a small number of other owners who care about the property as much as you do. On the other hand, timeshares are often high-traffic hotel units, resorts, or condos that shift hundreds of people through the complex, every single week.

For this reason, Flyway Homes provide a normal residential experience, one which feels really like “your other home”; a home that you own, in a neighbourhood you belong to. Indicatively, each Flyway Home is packed with the latest smart features and automation, like an EightSleep mattress, Sonos speakers, Philips hue lights, Toto washlet, and Topbrewer coffeemaker, features that are unheard of in timeshares!

Made for you

To put it simply, a Flyway Home is light years away from a rented, standardized hotel room where tons of guests pass by. Any Flyway is a great property in the best locations, which you can get at 1/12 of its total value, whilst it’s enjoyed just by you and a few other discerning owners. To guarantee top-notch quality, your property is under the constant oversight of the Flyway Concierge team, who ensures your home is always in immaculate condition waiting to welcome you.

So, there you have it — five key reasons why owning a Flyway home is not like owning a timeshare. If you're still not sure what fractional ownership is all about, please fill out the form below or book a call directly with a member of the Flyway Concierge team, who would be more than happy to answer your questions, show you around properties with available shares and help you kick-start your journey towards your city second home!