Our President, Steve Laver, joined Storied Places as an owner in 2003 at our Whistler property, At Nature’s Door. Late in 2004, Intrawest approached him to consider running the business and bringing his perspective as an owner and skills as a business leader, to build more Storied Places® around the world. Here Steve shares his candid views of the company, the product and the industry.
Read Steve's personal purchase experience
Everyone's experience is different. Our interest was sparked when we saw an article in the Wall Street Journal about the launch of Exclusive Resorts. It resonated with me — as a family we were typically renting large homes when we traveled ' with 4 kids you don't have much choice.
What I couldn't connect with — and still don't — is that someone else owned the real estate. As a 20-year veteran of the real estate business, my antennae went way up. What I did know is that over the long haul — 5, 10, 20 years — the owners of well located luxury vacation homes are going to win big. The demographics are overwhelming, as baby-boomers shift into retirement.
I wanted that. And then we saw the Storied Places Whistler project: at Nature's Door. The site overwhelmed me it was so beautiful. The architecture was stunning. The 2010 Olympic Alpine events were proposed to go right by the homes (which is now a reality). And I got to own it forever.
The bet we had to make was that this new product — even though fractionally owned — would trade like investment grade real estate. Additionally, the network would grow to include other great places in the world, so we'd have an opportunity to travel just as we would have with Exclusive Resorts.
Both have happened — the resale and appreciation story is well established in our initial offerings at Whistler, North Lake Tahoe and Aspen-Snowmass, and our network currently comprises seven properties. And now, as President, I have no one to blame but myself if we don't add locations to our portfolio that people value.
But what happened that we didn't expect, is that we are building traditions at Whistler. We are meeting owners who are becoming friends. We know all of the nuances of the property and entertain like crazy in a home we are proud to show off. It is ours forever.
We couldn't be happier with our decision.
