Fractional Ownership

Definition

From the Wikipedia:

"In business, fractional ownership is a percentage share of an expensive asset. Shares are sold to individual owners. A fractional owner enjoys priorities and privileges, such as reduced rates, priority access on holidays and income sharing. Typically, a company manages the asset on behalf of the owners, who pay monthly/annual fees for the management plus variable (e.g. per-hour, per-day) use fees. For rapidly-depreciating assets, the management company may sell the asset and distribute the proceeds back to the owners, who can then claim a capital loss and optionally purchase a fraction of a new asset." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_ownership)

Description

From http://www.fractionallife.com/:

"Fractional ownership and asset-sharing gives you an ideal way to get the most out of your investment by purchasing only the shares or time you require from an asset. All other aspects are split - both the benefits and the costs, amongst a limited number of Shareholders or Members. Fractional ownership means you physically own a percentage of the asset until you decide to sell. Whereby, opting to join an asset-sharing company eg. a private member supercar club is an investment in the time and pleasure you have with that asset." (http://www.fractionallife.com/)

Citation

Kristina Dryza:

"Trying new things is the decadent alternative to ownership and permanency. Nothing is stopping you. Experiment. We're obsessed with new experiences, especially those 'first time' ones. Our senses have been dulled “things have become too easy and boring. We're always asking, 'What's new?' 'What's fresh?' First experiences often have self-transformation elements ... "try trufles for the first time and experience a new taste sensation; try the first trufles of the season and have the connoisseur experience." (cited by trendwatching.com)

Examples

Halfshare.com, a division of The NextProperty Group, specializes in the shared ownership of luxury vacation properties throughout North America.

More Information

The Fractional Life site has a directory of such Asset Sharing schemes.

Many examples are listed in this article at http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/transumers.htm