Traditionally, fishing & hunting lodges are purchased by a single owner. That owner then organizes everything from building and equipment repairs to selling the vacation packages. The owner might pay themselves a salary or their income might be the net income from the business. When the industry goes through a down period the owner is on the hook for all expenses and sees their income drop significantly.
Owners looking to get off of this roller coaster have taken a long standing vacation property business model and applied it to fishing & hunting lodges, known as fractional ownership.
Lodge ownership is split into fractions (shares). Ownership shares are sold off at a variety of levels with different perks but essentially owners of shares can enjoy their fishing & hunting lodge vacation while building equity in their investment.
Shareholder trips typically make up about half of the season and the remaining open slots are sold off as premium retail package trips which help cover lodge operating costs.
Shareholders can take friends, family, clients, staff…you name it, up to their very own lodge that is professionally managed. They get the pride of ownership and build equity in the lodge they pay to visit annually anyway. What’s important to most of these buyers is they begin a family legacy at the lodge…all at a lower risk and less hassle than buying an entire lodge.
Shareholders typically get to vote on large renovation/expansion projects. Often times the creator of the fractional interest lodge will get paid to professionally manage the facility. You hire the team to operate the lodge, complete renovation projects, provide meals, guide, fill vacancies….everything you’d expect of a manager. Often times the creator of the fractional ownership lodge will have some “Skin in the Game” as they are a shareholder themselves so investors can rest assured you have their best interest in mind.
The fractional ownership model for a fishing & hunting lodge can generally be described as a private club operating like a business. This article discusses how other private clubs tackle this business model.
