Oh no, another company that creates ghost houses full of vacation Appartments that nobody uses because they are "investments". Has it come to your mind that an increasing number of European municipalities issues punitive taxes if the Appartment stays empty for n days per year?
Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
61–70 of 161 posts
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
We believe the market for fractional ownership will soon be much larger than the timeshare market. People want to own a real asset and with the trend towards remote work, demand for homes in desirable places is only going to increase. Our differentiation from timeshares is one of our biggest assets, so while I agree some may push us more towards this model, it is not in line with our goals or vision for Ancana.
Nice, I believe in Santa. Never let small minds tell you that your dream is a fantasy.
Your name implies otherwise :)
We started this company with a mission of making the vacation home market more accessible to people who are typically priced out. We're excited to see where Ancana goes, but pivoting into a timeshare company is not a direction we'll ever go.
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#63One of the listings is literally just a bunch of concept art illustrations, what am I even looking at https://en.ancana.co/properties/helechos
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#64If it looks like a timeshare and smells like a timeshare, it’s a timeshare. If there’s no secondary free market to sell these “fractional ownerships” it’s just forced rent I can’t resell.
One way to look at this is unlike a timeshare, Ancana has no ownership interest in the property. Resorts own the property and sell you access to that property. At the point all of the shares are sold, we become property managers. You don't have to sell the share back to us like you do with timeshares - in fact, we don't purchase shares back. You are free to list your fraction with an agent of your choosing or sell to…
> free to list your fraction with an agent of your choosing or sell to your own network at whatever price you desire.
What if one co-owner chooses to sell to someone whose intention is to sub-let as a party house?
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#65Your testimonial section of "happy customers" are just the stock headshot photos from this wix template. It's probably safe to assume that the testimonials themselves are fake as well? I'd suggest removing this section entirely as it comes off as dishonest and misleading.
Very dishonest indeed. Does YC not do any due diligence anymore? They seem like they’ve become a quantity-over-quality investment firm now, casting the widest net possible based on the strength of their reputation.
Seriously. Too many SaaSes getting greenlit, seems like their board of investors realized that rent collection is far more profitable than making good products.
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#66I'm your target market as I'm currently investigating this with 3 other friends. Honestly, I wouldn't trust a commoditized service for this. It requires honest discussions with friends, a trusted lawyer and a trusted accountant. I want to personally know the parties I'm dealing with because often times disputes can be handled with gentlemen agreements or through those trusted contacts.
Also using an automatic scheduling system like the one described to set up the dates when there's only a handful of fractional owners doesn't make sense to me either. Information about individual preferences should be gathered.
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#67If it looks like a timeshare and smells like a timeshare, it’s a timeshare. If there’s no secondary free market to sell these “fractional ownerships” it’s just forced rent I can’t resell.
One way to look at this is unlike a timeshare, Ancana has no ownership interest in the property. Resorts own the property and sell you access to that property. At the point all of the shares are sold, we become property managers. You don't have to sell the share back to us like you do with timeshares - in fact, we don't purchase shares back. You are free to list your fraction with an agent of your choosing or sell to…
It's already a thing, though. "Fractional ownership" is a mouthful. I would probably call it a "timeshare" unless I needed to be specific, when I'd call it a "fractional ownership timeshare".
https://luxuryfractionalguide.com/fractional-ownership-vs-ti...
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
One way to look at this is unlike a timeshare, Ancana has no ownership interest in the property. Resorts own the property and sell you access to that property. At the point all of the shares are sold, we become property managers. You don't have to sell the share back to us like you do with timeshares - in fact, we don't purchase shares back. You are free to list your fraction with an agent of your choosing or sell to…
> free to list your fraction with an agent of your choosing or sell to your own network at whatever price you desire. What if one co-owner chooses to sell to someone whose intention is to sub-let as a party house?
That's what Ancana takes care of, and what you entrust them to take care of. Some would involve lawyers instead. I certainly would.
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#69Your testimonial section of "happy customers" are just the stock headshot photos from this wix template. It's probably safe to assume that the testimonials themselves are fake as well? I'd suggest removing this section entirely as it comes off as dishonest and misleading.
Very dishonest indeed. Does YC not do any due diligence anymore? They seem like they’ve become a quantity-over-quality investment firm now, casting the widest net possible based on the strength of their reputation.
It is worse considering this startup got its own Launch HN thread, instead of going to those threads where many startups are shared in batches.
Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes
#70As someone who has sat through several of them (and has bought a few), this is exactly, almost word-for-word (right down to the references to the complaints about the rest of the industry) the elevator pitch for every timeshare/vacation ownership scheme ever. > Unlike a timeshare, Ancana owners own a real asset (the property) versus a block of time. Like literally every timeshare/vacation ownership scheme I’ve seen o…
Thanks for the feedback. One of our biggest challenges is in overcoming the gimmicks timeshares use to hook customers. My parents have had a few different timeshares, some of which were great, others complete scams. They've been incredibly successful in building huge businesses with these tactics. It really comes down to what you are purchasing, when you can use the property, and how you resell.
With timeshares you are purchasing a block of time in a condo/resort with dozens or potentially hundreds of people. With Ancana, you are purchasing a share of an actual home with a small group of people. You own a piece of the home you are staying in, not a deed to a piece of a resort. Co-ownership is a concept that has been around for a while (a couple people in the comments have shared their experiences), but this has typically been limited to friends/family. We aim to make this accessible to everyone.
With timeshares you get access to the property for fixed weeks. With Ancana you have ongoing access to the home. you can plan a vacation 8 months from now, or a last minute getaway this weekend. Timeshares do not offer this flexibility.
Selling your timeshare is typically a nightmare. There are entire industries built around helping people get out of their timeshare contracts. Resorts have a vested interest in keeping you hooked, because the more buyers they get the more money they make. With Ancana, you are free to sell your share whenever and however you'd like. Since there are a limited number of co-owners, Ancana has no vested interest in making it hard to sell. We'll assist in helping you find a buyer if you'd like.
We appreciate your feedback as a timeshare owner. It really is helpful for us to understand these different perspectives and to try and differentiate ourselves more from a standard timeshare