As boomers embark on retirement, they look forward to spending more time with loved ones, traveling to places they always dreamed of and creating authentic opportunities to make new friends. Ironically though, this is also a time where people find their social network begins to shrink. In a recent proprietary study by Shea Homes, surveying over 1,000 home shoppers above the age of 50 nationwide, 37 percent say they have made zero new friends over the past year. In addition, 46 percent stated their social network has dwindled due to friends moving from their neighborhood and over 60 percent would like to live in a community where they know their neighbors.
Trilogy by Shea Homes, a national leading builder brand, has been delivering innovative ways to meet these consumer needs by redefining resort lifestyle since they launched in 1999. As prospective buyers anticipate moving to a new community, they are seeking new ways to enhance their lives, explore undiscovered interests and connect with individuals who are in a similar stage of life. Beyond building top-quality homes, Trilogy’s longstanding mission is to transform lives by creating communities that foster friendships through trend-based programming and provide a truly unique lifestyle for residents. When the brand was launched, Shea Homes decided to create real differentiation in these new Active Lifestyle communities by designing each to revolve around wellness, freedom and connection, and to integrate opportunities to enhance these areas of homeowners’ lives into daily community life.
Social connection is not limited to activities at a Club or golf course. As the definition of interconnection has expanded, this now applies to how residents connect through social networks. Homeowners who move to a Trilogy community instantly have access to community events and experiences exclusive to its Members through a social intranet platform called MyTrilogyLife.com. Similar to mainstream social media sites, this proprietary site enables Members to explore clubs and activities, discover and register for events, learn community news, schedule reservations for golf, on site spa and dining experiences, and most importantly, meet and interact with fellow Members both locally and nationally through Trilogy’s network of communities. To date, there are close to 18,000 Trilogy members who participate in this platform every day, which allows them to easily make new friends and find others who share their individual interests.
In the same national proprietary study, over 55 percent of participants feel that activities and programming within a community club are more important than the size and list of amenities offered inside the building. The backbone of each Trilogy community is the resort style club, showcasing the local charm and character of their surrounding area, while providing homeowners with a true resort-caliber lifestyle. Notably, Trilogy’s lifestyle is not delivered by HOA or volunteer staff but by hospitality-trained resort teams, a significant differential to others in the industry. This strategy enables a daily experience that elevates the lifestyle homeowners enjoy, and provides continuous ideation of new programming, events, education and travel opportunities for its Members. The company believes that its longstanding mission to advance the cultural environments of each community is a vital component of its success and growth over the span of almost 20 years.
“Our intent for people who move to one of our communities, no matter where they are in the U.S. or what interests they may share with others, is they are become happier than they were before they made the move to a Trilogy community,” said Jeff McQueen, President of Trilogy by Shea Homes. “Yes, we build quality homes and resort clubs, but without our lifestyle programming these are just neighborhoods, not communities. We want to create experiences that result in real friendships and new relationships. ”
Trilogy has pioneered a variety of trend-forward programming throughout its history, including a way for its Members to develop friendships across the nation through Explore 360, a cross-community travel program. Explore 360 allows Members to travel and explore the world alongside fellow Members. These trips are planned and coordinated by a National Lifestyle Directors. In the fall of 2018, Members from all parts of the country will be headed to Italy together, an excursion that sold out in just under 18 hours. Additional expeditions have included a National Parks adventure, Club Med, the Galapagos and trip through Europe on a small cruise ship.
Trilogy’s signature concert series, The Good Life Festival, entered its eighth concert season at Encanterra, a Trilogy Resort Community in Arizona in spring 2018. The Festival has hosted an all-star lineup of classic rock and roll bands that have included Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Beach Boys, Heart and Foreigner. The public festival hosts over 5,000 guests, including Trilogy Members from other communities, to celebrate food, artisan shopping and great music in an outdoor setting overlooking breathtaking resort grounds. The festival also takes place annually on a smaller scale at Trilogy Orlando.
Trilogy resort clubs can include but are not limited to amenities such as hiking, walking and biking trails, culinary studios, chef-driven food and beverage programs, locally popular on-site dining venues, championship golf, pickleball and sport courts, high-tech fitness facilities with personal training, full-service day spas, creativity studios, and resort-quality pools. Each day there can be over 150 fitness classes, a dozen hosted happy hours, countless food and wine focused programming led by a Trilogy Executive Chefs, and a variety of outdoor group excursions at Trilogies collectively across the nation.
For more information on Shea Homes’ Trilogy communities across the nation, visit TrilogyLife.com.
