IDEO has broken ground in service design with “ZEST,” a new vacation offering from Mahindra Holidays & Resorts Ltd., a Chennai, India-based membership-travel service featuring the Club Mahindra brand.

A November 15, 2006, Club Mahindra press release describes ZEST as...

...A unique vacation ownership for short breaks. ZEST is the ideal short break holiday for the ambitious, hardworking, achieving but stressed young metropolitans.

Designed after extensive research by IDEO, the world's leading consumer experience design firm,ZEST short breaks offer a unique work-life balance proposition to the young metropolitan to head out of the city and catch up with life. Located in places where nature's bounty is in abundance, the ZEST resort's service design caters to a variety of needs - rest and relaxation, family bonding and quality time for couples, socializing and networking, outdoor and adventure activities. Exclusive resort activities include “ZEST Flair Badges” that involve varied and youthful activities such as wine tasting, do your own barbeques, salsa dancing and for the outdoors person treks, biking, camping, and campfires.

ZEST resorts will be unique in that they cater to a “my kind of break” -- a holiday “the way I like it, when I like it, and at the pace I like it to be.”

Minimalist but superbly coordinated spacious rooms at the ZEST resorts are designed for the young metropolitan families and can accommodate two adults and two young children with ease. The resort architecture will include vibrancy, youthfulness and serene relaxed settings. The company also plans to have ZEST Rovers, holiday activity specialists, at its resorts, who would actively engage with members to make their holidays memorable.

Resorts will provide a platform for its guests to have a hands on experience of the people, culture and traditions specific to its area of location. ZEST resorts will also offer child friendly facilities, facilitating quality time for couples with young children.

The company is planning ZEST resorts at destinations that are easily accessible from metro cities. Priced attractively, a ZEST membership offers multiple breaks every year, for 10 years. ZEST resorts will offer a choice of three holiday seasons. The ZEST signature resort is underway at Pondicherry, slated to open its doors in 2007. Resorts at Ooty and Kodai will be ready to offer the ZEST experience by year's end, 2006.

Interestingly, Club Mahindra describes IDEO, better known for its product and innovation design, as a “customer experience design” firm. I guess it is now.