Is A Second Life Vacation Sim A Good Business Idea

[Junejewels]

I don't know a lot about the second life land and rental business. But I do know how to build and since coming to second life it's been my dream to make my own vacation sim for people to visit and book a vacation at. But sims are expensive and I can't afford to pour all that money into a sim each month if I'm not at least breaking even in profits. I would buy a full private region with 20,000 prims. In your guys expert opinion, is this a good business idea? I would probably have 15-25 rental spaces in the vacation sim and after comparing prices to other vacation sims, I would price the vacation package at L$3000 for 3 days. This would include rp events like rp dinner and flying to the island on an airplane/helicopter. I want the experience to  be immersive and feel like a real vacation. I would hire employees to and definitely hire a landscaper to help landscape the sim. So with all those expenses do you think I could do it?

[Chic Aeon]

You might want to RENT a sim and try that out before investing.  There are a few very nice  "destination" type rental areas (I live in one) that do fairly well but unless the places to rent are quite large $1000 a day is pretty steep even for the foo foo regions :D.   Also if you are going to have the RP vacation element, then you have to deal with employees, so if you haven't done that in SL then it would be good to see how that goes also. 

A lot will depend on how good your landscaping and sim design is.  I really do suggest you try some smaller projects before jumping in.  

 

PS.  A skilled sim designer can move a sim in a day.  Not BUILD a sim, just move.   So renting (with good backup files) is a legitimate choice I think.  

[Sister Nova]

It's a really lovely idea, and I've had a lot of friends over the years that have wanted to do something similar, but I really don't see it as being a viable business.

The thing you have to remember in offering a vacation, is that these people will most likely already be paying for their usual home, so they're not going to be looking to pay too much extra.

The short term lease is good.... I have vacationed in the past with family and although most places would offer weekly terms, we were pretty much ready to go home after 2 or 3 days. As for repeat business, we never went back to any of the holiday places, no matter how good they were.

If you're buying a full private region, there would be no adjoining regions so where would you be flying from? You could have the initial landmark at a sky venue over the island, decked out as heliport and fly to the island from there once your guests arrive. Or, you could rent a ticket desk at one of the mainland airports and book your guests in there with an experience teleport to your island.

I really do think that you might want to rent a region as Chic suggests to see if it really is something that can generate enough income to support it. Also, if you're looking to provide RP events for the guests, you're going to need staff, and by far the best way to do that is to get together with a group of others that want to provide this too. If there's a group of you, and you're all investing in the concept by sharing the costs as well as providing the experience, it will make it easier on your pocket and no one person has to shoulder the burden alone.

It is going to take a while for word to get around, so you may all be twiddling your thumbs for a while, and of course, you're still going to be paying for the region in that time.

It may be more prudent to 'test the waters' by maybe opening a restaurant, either on a mainland parcel (water and road access would be a great draw), or renting a parcel in a family RP estate. You can then hone your skills as a service, and get some idea of the sort of appeal this kind of thing would have for others. You would also be able to build up a clientele list that you can notify if you do decide to expand at a later date by providing a full vacation experience.

Whatever you do decide to do, I wish you luck, as I love to see this sort of creativity.

[Caroline Takeda]

12 hours ago, Junejewels said:

I don't know a lot about the second life land and rental business. But I do know how to build and since coming to second life it's been my dream to make my own vacation sim for people to visit and book a vacation at. But sims are expensive and I can't afford to pour all that money into a sim each month if I'm not at least breaking even in profits. I would buy a full private region with 20,000 prims. In your guys expert opinion, is this a good business idea? I would probably have 15-25 rental spaces in the vacation sim and after comparing prices to other vacation sims, I would price the vacation package at L$3000 for 3 days. This would include rp events like rp dinner and flying to the island on an airplane/helicopter. I want the experience to  be immersive and feel like a real vacation. I would hire employees to and definitely hire a landscaper to help landscape the sim. So with all those expenses do you think I could do it?

I would also suggest to go for something a lot smaller.

To cover the monthly tier for a full sim, you would have to sell about 26 -30 of those really expensive packages.
That is not counting a budget for employees and most importantly advertising. This is just not going to happen to start with. Hence you would have to cover your expenses until it actually start bringing in some revenues.

3.000 L$ for 3 days is a lot. You really would have to provide some really good entertainment and events.
Maybe a sea front mainland parcel is an idea. There you can offer stuff like flying or sailing on open waters as well.

Another option is a full sim, but you only use half for the vacation resorts and half for shop rentals - a classic.

[animats]

There are many places to go for a vacation in SL.

Your home away from home. Only L$20 a night. Convenient to Calleta railyards, docks, ferry to Sansara, hobo jungle, freebie stores. See the real SL!

 

• Free TV
• Free parking
• Ice machine
• Bath with shower

Now that's a discount vacation package.

(I have nothing to do with this place, except that I rented a room for a day. I kind of like Calleta.)

I'm not sure there's a market for SL vacation packages by the day. But you don't need a whole sim to give it a try. Rent or borrow a nice beach house and offer a deal with lots of service and amenities. People might go for the pampering.

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by animats

[Polenth Yue]

One issue is that this will need a lot of your time. That might sound fine now, but might not in six months when you have to move house and your cat gets sick. Something that doesn't need you there as intensively, like selling things or renting out space, would give you more safety for things going wrong. Sometimes you'll need a break.

[Lindal Kidd]

I think most people in SL use their SL homes as their "vacation" from real life.  This being the case, you'd be better off creating a standard rental sim...but make it pretty, with great landscaping, and some public spaces and amenities.  Leave enough space and prims for tenants to build and customize their home, though.