Unconventional luxury: The reappropriation of time and substance

Abstract

This study addresses the transformational role time and substance play in an unconventional luxury experience. Adopting a giving, as opposed to having, perspective of unconventional luxury, in-depth interviews were carried out with tourists in a luxury Ecocamp in Kenya. We demonstrate how the reappropriation of time is central to the transformational effects of unconventional luxury experiences. Time and substance are interlinked whereby an emphasis on substance promotes a reconsideration of time and vice versa. Time is reappropriated through a process of appreciation, learning and (re)discovery resulting in inner (self), outward (self in relation to others) and onward (non-related distant others) transformations. We present the bidirectional relationship of giving experiences and a blending of inner and outward transformations resulting in an unintended ‘matcher’ experience. We reposition unconventional luxury as grounded in ethicality and its associated positive impacts on one’s wellbeing, reflecting higher levels of personal meaning and relevance in the consumption experience.