How Many Weeks Do People Actually Use a Vacation Home?
Ember Team
Owning a vacation home sounds simple in theory.
You buy the place you love. You escape there whenever you want. Your family has a familiar place to return to year after year.
But then real life enters the picture.
School schedules fill up. Sports seasons take over weekends. Work gets busy. Flights are expensive. Holidays rotate between family obligations. And suddenly, the vacation home you imagined using all the time might only get used a handful of weeks each year.
That does not mean the dream is wrong. It just means the traditional way of owning a vacation home does not always match how families actually use one.
For many buyers, the smarter question is not, “Would we love owning a vacation home?”
It is, “How much vacation home do we actually need?”
Most Families Use Vacation Homes Less Than They Think
When people imagine owning a second home, they often picture spontaneous long weekends, full summer weeks, holiday gatherings, and easy last-minute getaways.
And sometimes that happens.
But in reality, many vacation homes are used far less than people expect.
“At Ember, our research has consistently shown that most people use their vacation home about four to six weeks per year,” says James Sukhan, co-founder of Ember. “
That is the gap co-ownership was designed to solve. Families want the experience of owning a beautiful vacation home, but they do not necessarily need to own 52 weeks of it.
That insight is simple, but important.
If most families only use a vacation home for several weeks each year, then paying for the entire home year-round may not be the most practical fit.
The dream of vacation home ownership is still valuable. The family memories are still real. The tradition of returning to a place you love still matters.
But the ownership model should match the way people actually live.
The Hidden Problem With Full Vacation Home Ownership
Traditional second-home ownership can feel exciting because it gives you complete control.
But complete control also comes with complete responsibility.
You pay for the full purchase price. The full furnishing cost. The full maintenance. The full utilities. The full property taxes. The full insurance. The full management burden.
Even during the weeks or months when you are not there.
That is where many buyers start to feel the mismatch.
A vacation home might only be used during school breaks, long weekends, holidays, or a few seasonal trips. But the costs continue year-round.
For some families, that tradeoff is worth it. They want unlimited access, they plan to use the home often, and they are comfortable taking on the full responsibility.
For others, it starts to feel inefficient.
They love the idea of owning a vacation home. They love the memories it can create. They love the convenience of returning to a place that feels like their own.
They just do not love paying for far more home than they realistically use.
Co-Ownership Starts With a More Practical Question
Vacation home co-ownership begins with a different assumption.
Instead of asking buyers to pay for the entire home, it asks:
How much time do you actually want?
At Ember, owners purchase a deeded share of a specific vacation home. That means they own real property, not points, a club membership, or a timeshare-style usage product.
For example, a 1/8 share gives owners 44+ nights per year. For many families, that is enough time for multiple trips, long weekends, holidays, and meaningful vacation time throughout the year.
And because the home is professionally managed, owners do not have to treat every visit like a maintenance trip.
They can arrive, settle in, and enjoy the home.
Why 44+ Nights Often Matches Real-Life Vacation Use
At first, some buyers hear “44+ nights” and wonder if that will feel limiting.
But for many families, 44+ nights is closely aligned with how they would actually use a vacation home in real life.
That could look like:
- A full week during spring break
- A summer vacation
- Several long weekends
- A holiday stay
- A few spontaneous trips throughout the year
In other words, co-ownership is not about giving families less vacation. It is about creating an ownership model that better reflects the amount of time many families are already likely to use.
The difference is that with co-ownership, the ownership structure is designed around that level of use from the beginning.
You are not paying for 365 days when your lifestyle may only allow for four to six weeks of meaningful time away.
You are buying access to the time you are more likely to use.
What If You Want More Than Six Weeks?
For many families, 44+ nights per year is a strong match for how they actually use a vacation home.
But some buyers know they want more time.
That is another reason Ember’s model is flexible. If you want more than 44 nights per year, you can purchase more than one 1/8 share in a property. You can also choose to purchase shares in more than one Ember home if you want access to multiple destinations.
A 1/8 share may be the right fit for one family. Another buyer may want a larger ownership position because they plan to visit more often, stay longer, or split time across seasons.
The point is not that every buyer needs the same amount of vacation time.
The point is that co-ownership lets you right-size your ownership around the way you actually travel.
The Emotional Side Still Matters
A vacation home is not just a practical decision.
It is also emotional.
It is about giving your family a place to return to. It is about creating traditions. It is about having a home base near the places you love. It is about making travel feel easier, more familiar, and more personal.
That emotional value is real.
The challenge is finding a way to make the emotional value feel aligned with the practical side of ownership.
That is where co-ownership can be a strong fit. It keeps the best parts of owning a vacation home: the familiarity, the quality, the pride of ownership, and the ability to return again and again.
But it removes much of the excess that can make traditional ownership feel heavy.
Ember Limited vs. Ember Flex: Two Ways to Own
Another important part of right-sizing vacation home ownership is choosing the ownership model that fits how you want to use the home.
Ember offers two types of vacation homes: Ember Limited and Ember Flex.
Ember Limited homes are designed for owners who want a more private second-home experience. These homes are reserved for co-owners and their invited guests, so they are a strong fit for buyers who want to own a vacation home to enjoy with family and friends without guest rental activity.
Ember Flex homes are designed for owners who want both personal use and rental flexibility. With Ember Flex, owners draft 6+ weeks per year and can choose how they want to use that time. They can stay personally, choose to rent out unused nights, or use a mix of both.
So if you own an Ember Flex home and do not plan to use all of your time personally, you may choose to make your unused nights available for rent. For each week you hold as an owner, you can choose to rent out the entire week, stay personally the entire week, or divide the week between personal and rental use.
That flexibility matters because real life changes. One year, you may use nearly all of your time personally. Another year, your schedule may be busier, and you may want to make more of your unused nights available for guest stays.
Ember Flex is a good fit for buyers who want the experience of owning a vacation home, while also having the option to rent unused nights to help offset costs. Ember Limited is a better fit for buyers who want the home experience to remain exclusive to owners and their guests.
What Happens When You Are Not Using the Home?
This is one of the biggest questions for vacation home buyers.
If you own a traditional second home, unused time is simply unused time unless you decide to rent it out, manage guest stays, coordinate cleaning, handle repairs, monitor pricing, and deal with the added complexity that comes with short-term rentals.
With Ember Flex, owners have the option to make unused nights available for guest stays. Ember handles the marketing, guest bookings, cleaning, and professional management connected to those stays.
That does not mean every owner will choose to rent out unused nights. Some may prefer to use all of their time personally. Others may use some of their time and make the rest available for guests.
The key is flexibility.
Instead of being locked into one approach forever, Ember Flex gives owners more choice in how they use their drafted time.
And for buyers who do not want rental activity at all, Ember Limited offers a more private-use model.
The Real Question: How Often Will You Actually Go?
Before buying any vacation home, it is worth having an honest conversation about your real usage.
Ask yourself:
- How many trips do we realistically take each year?
- Are our vacations tied to school calendars or work schedules?
- Do we want one long annual trip, multiple shorter trips, or both?
- Would we return to the same destination several times a year?
- Do we want the responsibility of managing a full second home?
- Would we use enough time to justify owning the entire property?
- Do we want the option to make unused nights available for guests?
- Or do we prefer a home that is not rented out?
- Would one 1/8 share fit our lifestyle, or would we want more time?
These questions can quickly clarify whether full ownership or co-ownership makes more sense.
For some buyers, full ownership is the right answer.
For many others, co-ownership creates a better match between lifestyle, cost, and actual use.
Why Vacation Home Co-Ownership Feels More Aligned With Modern Travel
Families today want meaningful time away, but they also want flexibility.
They want beautiful homes, great locations, and resort-style amenities. They want enough space to gather with kids, friends, and extended family. They want a place that feels elevated but still comfortable.
At the same time, most families are busy.
They may not be able to use a vacation home every month. They may not want to manage repairs from another city. They may not want to coordinate cleaners, bookings, maintenance, and turnover schedules.
Co-ownership solves for that tension.
It gives buyers access to a high-quality vacation home without requiring them to take on the full cost or responsibility of owning the entire property.
It is not about giving up the dream.
It is about right-sizing it.
A Smarter Way to Own the Time You Will Actually Use
The traditional vacation home model asks buyers to buy the whole home, even if they only use part of the year.
Co-ownership asks a more practical question:
What if you could own the part you actually use?
That is the logic behind Ember.
You still get a beautifully designed, professionally managed vacation home. You still get real ownership in a specific property. You still get a place your family can return to year after year.
But the ownership structure is designed to reflect how people actually vacation.
If you want around six weeks, a 1/8 share may be a great fit. If you want more time, you can purchase additional shares. If you want rental flexibility, an Ember Flex home may make sense. If you prefer a more private second-home experience without guest rental activity, Ember Limited may be the better fit.
For buyers who want the experience of a second home without the full weight of traditional ownership, co-ownership can make a lot more sense.
Is Co-Ownership Right for You?
Co-ownership may be a good fit if you want a luxury vacation home experience, but you know you will not use a second home year-round.
It may also be a good fit if you want:
- A professionally managed home
- A more efficient way to own vacation time
- A specific property you can return to again and again
- A deeded ownership structure
- Access to premium destinations and resort-style amenities
- The ability to purchase additional shares if you want more time
- The option to choose between rental flexibility or a more private-use model, depending on the home
A vacation home should feel like freedom, not another full-time responsibility.
And for many families, the right amount of ownership is not 52 weeks.
It is the amount of time they will actually use, in a home they truly love.
Explore Ember Co-Ownership
Ember makes vacation home ownership more practical by helping buyers own the time they are likely to use.
Explore available Ember homes and find a destination that fits the way your family actually vacations.
Text or call (385) 533-4741, or email [email protected]
