By Design

CityCenter: The New Urban Vision of Las Vegas

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — May 17th 2010 at 10:01AM

On the back cover of a recent New Yorker Magazine, bastion of serious fiction, non-fiction and poetry, was a full page ad that took me by surprise, especially after I had just traveled there for the Luxury Summit conference. It said, " So you're not a Vegas person... " and then in huge block letters, "ARE YOU SURE?" It was an ad for CityCenter, and touted all the great art, great culture, restaurants and cultural atmosphere found there. But that ad stuck with me, as the inference was the theme I was going to explore: could a visionary development on a grand scale change personal tourist attitudes toward a destination? And conversely, could Las Vegas actually be perceived differently because of one grand multi-use venue?

In thinking about this, it is crucial to remember that Las Vegas is a desert city, situated in a barren Mojave desert valley. The city is about 2000 feet above sea level, it rains, on average, less that 5 inches a year. But visionaries have come here before, dreamed big dreams, and built. Historically, Las Vegas's persona is tied to big gaming and play in all its dark and light dimensions. But the building of CityCenter challenges this Las Vegas stereotype, as its vision hopes to resculpt and redesign Las Vegas's neon persona, by creating a design as well as an eco-sensitive aesthetic unseen and untried anywhere else. Here are some basic dimensions.

Tags: ARIA Las Vegas, citycenter, CityCenter Las Vegas, Crystals Las Vegas, Infinity World Development Corp., Jim Murren, Las Vegas, Leed Gold certification, LEED Gold certified, Mandarin Oriental, MGM Mirage, Vdara Hotel

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Luxury Thought Leaders: Bill Taubman and the Evolving Idea of the Luxury Mall

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — May 11th 2010 at 9:01AM

It was my subject matter ignorance that led me to believe that a presentation by a luxury mall developer might be dull. But the presentation by William S. "Bill" Taubman, COO of Taubman Centers of Bloomfield Michigan, was one of the most thought provoking, philosophically relevant ones at the Luxury Summit conference, held nearly two weeks ago in Las Vegas. This presentation was fascinating partially because of his and his company's vast experience in envisioning and constructing the luxury mall, but also because of Mr. Taubman's philosophical, process-oriented discourse about the subtextural meanings of the mall in our culture. Luxist interviewed Mr. Taubman to discuss the meaning of luxury shopping, the dimensionality of the contemporary luxury brand, the evolution of the high end mall, and what the shoppers let the mall developers know about their needs and wants.

You said in your Luxury Summit presentation that you went to Cambridge University – Explain your journey from getting a degree in philosophy at Cambridge to developing luxury malls.

Taubman: I went to Cambridge for 2 ½ years, and studied Moral Philosophy, but earlier, got my degree with a triple major at Brown University in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Russian. I realized, however, while I Cambridge that I did not have the tools, and by that I mean, fluency in both Latin and Greek, to do original research. Also, I got tired of studying in the Cambridge library, which was really cold and dull. So, I went home, one thing led to another, and went to work for the Taubman Group the company my father founded many years before. I have always been grateful for my education, in that I can think quite logically, strategically and analytically.

You said in your Luxury Summit presentation, that the mall is evolving, but with a strong heart. What are the components of this strong heart?

Taubman: One component of the strong heart is understanding that the mall is a social environment, as much as it is a shopping venue. If you look at it this way, the mall is an area where people seek out people, talk, eat and purchase, so another component of the strong heart is the high end shopping experience. The luxury brand becomes the positive, memorable experience. It also becomes part of the consumer mindset and identity. The luxury mall is providing the environment so the brands can become all these things.

Tags: Beverly Center Mall, BeverlyCenterMall, luxury shopping malls, Luxury Summit Conference, LuxurySummitConference, Mall at Short Hills NJ, Millenia Mall Orlando, MilleniaMallOrlando, Taubman Centers, TaubmanCenters

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Viva Vdara!: Exclusive Resorts Adds Ten New Residences in Las Vegas

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — May 6th 2010 at 8:01AM

Recently, I wrote a Luxist article about the relevance of Exclusive Resorts and their permanent mark on the destination club industry. Exclusive Resorts has announced the opening of 10 new residences for members at Vdara Hotel & Spa at CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip.

All are corner units, located high in the building, custom-designed and furnished to suit club member tastes. Each two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath residence features an open floor plan, fully equipped kitchen, and spa-style bathrooms, wrapped by windows showcasing city and mountain views. Amenities include round-the-clock concierge service, gourmet in-room dining, and preferred reservations at MGM MIRAGE restaurants and shows.

Tags: citycenter, destination club, destination clubs, exclusive resorts, las vegas, vdara

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Quintess and The Tour Club: A New Strategic Alliance with Four New Residences Added

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Apr 23rd 2010 at 8:02AM

The luxury destination club Quintess, LRW has announced a reciprocal agreement with THE TOUR CLUB that provides Quintess, LRW members with access to new destinations that include: The Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Coast, California, Sage Valley Golf Club, Graniteville, South Carolina, Atlanta National Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia and TPC Jasna Polana, Princeton, New Jersey ( pictured above)

Quintess, The Leading Residences of the World is a luxury destination club that creates highly personalized vacation experiences for its members. Quintess, LRW provides its members with access to 80+ multimillion-dollar residences and experiences in 40+ international resort and city destinations.

The Tour Club, through a licensing agreement with the PGA Tour, is the first and only national sports entertainment group providing access to luxury residences at some of the world's most sought after golf destinations. At the Resort at Pelican Hill, rated by Golf Magazine as a "Premier Resorts 2010 Top Newcomer," members stay in richly appointed two-bedroom villas. Sage Valley, ranked as #6 of America's greatest golf retreats by Golf Digest, offers members four-bedroom cottages that epitomize Southern charm and luxury. At Atlanta National, one of Georgia's most respected private clubs offering world-class golf, members stay in either a four-bedroom lodge overlooking the 8th or 12th hole, or the five-bedroom villa overlooking the 17th green. Nestled in the hills of Princeton, NJ, TPC Jasna Polana sets the standard for private clubs nationwide and offers the rare opportunity to stay in one of the two former private residences on the estate.

Tags: Atlanta Natinal Golf Club, AtlantaNatinalGolfClub, golf getaways, golf vacations, Luxury destination clubs, Quintess, Qunitess LRW Destination Cluib, QunitessLrwDestinationCluib, Resort at Pelican Hill, ResortAtPelicanHill, Sage Valley Golf Club, SageValleyGolfClub, The Tour Club, TheTourClub, TPC Jasna Polna, TpcJasnaPolna

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New Designs Of Villa Vacations, Part 2: Villazzo Villas

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Apr 20th 2010 at 9:02AM

Last week, I wrote part I on the Design Of a Villa Vacation, by highlighting Abercrombie & Kent Villas, and how they create high end vacation experiences in Europe. This week, I am adding another exceptional company that creates similar, high end experiences in America and in Europe.

"Our industry deals with products you don't need," comments Christian Jagodzinski, President and CEO of Villazzo, one of the highest end villa rental companies in the world, "... so we design our villas to bring out the "need" in our clients. I have heard more than one person say, " WOW! I didn't know I needed this type of vacation. but I do!"

Villazzo Villas is a boutique villa company known in the US and Europe, partly because it is one of the most expensive, but also because the company is modeled on two unique hybrids: The Villa Hotel model and the VVillas model, a " lighter" type of Villa experience, with the same villa quality, but without so much attentive service.

"Our models serve different populations who have different needs and wants. Our Villa hotel model serves only the highest end – celebrities and their entourages, diplomats and their families and extended families, and the like. Who also chooses and uses our services are large families, or smaller families that would like multi-family reunions in the most exceptional villas in the most exceptional destinations. The Villazzo Villas have boutique hotel staffs to serve every need of the Villa guest – from private chefs, valets, butler, maids and chauffeurs, always ready to serve."

Gallery: Villazzo Villa

Tags: Christian Jagodzinski, ChristianJagodzinski, luxury villa vacations, LuxuryVillaVacations, Villa Hotel vacation, Villa vacation experience, Villa vacation research, VillaHotelVacation, VillaVacationExperience, Villazzo Villa Hotel, VillazzoVillaHotel, VVillas

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The Design of the Villa Vacation, Part 1

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Apr 13th 2010 at 9:02AM

In a recent NY Times article ( April 10, 2010), entitled The Well Off Are Spending Again, But Carefully, a high end Manhattan travel agent was quoted as saying, many of her high end clients are returning, but they don't want Italy 101 anymore. They want more exotic destinations. The high end villa rental business reflects this kind of optimism, as well as availability of many elite, exotic locales. The result is the luxury villa rental business is doing very well, apparently better than many, even in this is still unbalanced economy.

One of the most successful travel brands Is Abercrombie & Kent Villas, part of the 1/2 century year old Abercrombie & Kent Luxury Travel company, that includes luxury travel to just about anywhere in the world the Villas component, and an equity-based, member-owned residence club, Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club.

Recently, it was announced that A&K Villas recently opened seven new villas on the Greek island of Mykonos, making their Villa residence count to over 150.

"The Villa vacation experience is a good value, because it can create the best memories," said Charlie Stephenson, Director of A&K Villas Europe, " and a great way of seeing Europe in a leisurely, elegant and often in a multi-generational way. Yes, we had a standstill in 2009, but we did not deflate. But this year, 2010, we are up dramatically! Since January 2010, our volume has increased about 25%. Our opening of the seven Mykonos villas in the Cyclades in Greece, reflect our growth, defined by the interests and the requests we have from our clients. And each of the Mykonos villas has its own design and personality."

Here is what Charlie means :
(all Villas below have between 3-5 bedrooms, and sleeps 6-10)

Villa Grace -- Overlooking Mykonos beach , close to the town of Mykonos.
$32,004.per week

Villa Olive Garden - In the middle of an olive grove overlooking
Mykonos Harbor $9736.00 per week

Blue Living --Villa on three levels, overlooking adjacent islands of Delos and Rhenia
$14,749.78 a week

Les Soleil de Rhenia
views of south side of Delos and Rhenia
$8965.39 weekly

Villa Asteria and Villa Artemis - sister properties both $11,471.00 a week, each.
Villa Artemis - an original stone country Villas
renovated, featured in Elle Decorator magazine, on the Southern peninsula, on a hilltop, and Villa Artemis adjacent, can be rented together for larger groups.

Villa Galaxy
$17,473.00 weekly
on a hilltop on 5 acres, facing the Aegean. This villa has four large suites enclosed within it.

As can be seen from above Villa rental is not cheap, but for those who can afford it, it is an addictive way to travel, very much like private jets. Once experienced, it is hard to return to stuffy hotel rooms and packed commercial airlines.

Gallery: Abercrombie & Kent Villas Mykonos

Tags: Abercrombie Kent, AK Villa Tours, AKresidence Club, AkresidenceClub, AkVillaTours, amenities with Villa rentals, AmenitiesWithVillaRentals, luxury AK Villa rental pricing, Luxury Villa Living, LuxuryAkVillaRentalPricing, LuxuryVillaLiving, Mykonos, Mykonos Villa rentals, MykonosVillaRentals

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Whole Ownership at the Palazzo Tornabuoni

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Apr 6th 2010 at 9:01AM

Peter Kempf of Kempf International, recently announced that the Palazzo Tornabuoni, Florence's first Private Residence Club, once a 15th century Medici Palace, has for the first time opened 18 whole ownership residences, now available for sale. Kempf's private brokerage firm, Peter Kempf International Ltd., is exclusively handling the transactions.

"Originally, the Palazzo Tornabuoni Private Residence Club became quite a successful fractional after it opened in 2007. The residences were fractionalized into 1/8 shares in 36 apartments. Back then, the population who bought was approximately 70% American, 30% European. It is now 50% US and 50% rest of the world, and we expect the "world" portion to continue to increase. We have members from 5 countries.. At present, two whole ownership residences have been sold and there are offers on two more. Given the state of the world economy, we are very pleased, but given the unique nature of the offering, we are also not surprised."

The wholly owned residences range in price from 1.6 to 5.1M Euro ($2,350,000 to $7,884,500 dollars), and are between one and two bedrooms, with from one to three baths. They are between 700 sf to nearly 3000sf in size. The wholly owned residences are part of the Palazzo Tornabuoni, an edifice that defines the architectural and historical significance of Florence,Italy, as it was built for the Medici family in the l5th century, original 16th-century frescoes by Ciampelli,and an exquisite fireplace adorned with micro-mosaics by the miniaturist Rafaelli (c.1800). Each property is set among the Palazzo Tornabuoni's various courtyards and terraced gardens, and certain residences feature roof-top views of Florence and the Duomo.

It took five years to restore the Palazzo into residences. But with the collaboration of Michele Bonan, the award-winning Tuscan-born interior designer, Its contemporary design captures Bonan's signature style in creating "an environment in which the owner feels they belong...and are not just visiting." This was a complex undertaking, as the Palazzo defines by its very architectural style, a kind of Renaissance formalism, and is also is a museum of sorts of Renaissance art and artisanry -- there are original 16th-century frescoes by Ciampelli,and an exquisite fireplace adorned with micro-mosaics by the miniaturist Rafaelli (c.1800). Outside, a central courtyard still exists that was originally created by Renaissance architect Michelozzo (1400). But yet the residences do have a kind of contemporary comfort, even though surrounded by the finest 15th century Florence had to offer.

Gallery: Palazzo Tornabuoni

Tags: Florence, Florentine Art, FlorentineArt, Four Seasons Firenze, Italy, Medici, Medici palaces in Florence, Pope Leo IX, PrivateResidenceClubs, wholly owned residences

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The Architecture of Sanctuary: Calistoga Ranch

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Mar 30th 2010 at 9:03AM

To anyone who lives in Napa Valley, or in San Francisco or even on the Western edge of the United States, Calistoga Ranch is significant resort. Located in a secluded canyon in upper Napa Valley, The property is part of Auberge, one of the world's premiere resort companies. It has won multiple awards, most recently from Travel & Leisure and from Andrew Harper both in 2009. Calistoga Ranch is also a Luxist Awards nominee for Best Green Spa.

Being a guest there for a day or two, allows you to see how different the resort design is, and how the well the design fits with the needs of the guests or of the owners who own part of the fractional residences on the property. Located on 157 acres just outside the town of Calistoga in Napa Valley, California, Calistoga Ranch is one of the few seasoned hotels and Private Residence Clubs in California wine country, encompassing 47 guest lodges and 27 owners lodges.

The property's contemporary architecture is inspired by its natural surroundings, and was created to fit the landscape, with a focus on an indoor-outdoor lifestyle. In keeping with the rich wine producing heritage of Napa Valley, Calistoga Ranch has an on-site vineyard and mountain wine cave, where owners and guests can share in the process of winemaking and viticulture. They can also store their own wine in the wine cave store facilities where the temperature always is cool, and dry.

Tags: Alain de Bouton, AlainDeBouton, Architect, Auberge resorts, AubergeResorts, Calistoga Ranch, camground legacy style, CamgroundLegacyStyle, Napa Valley, Private Residence Clubs, PrivateResidenceClubs, SB Architects, SbArchitects, Scott Lee, ScottLee, The Architecture Of Happiness, TheArchitectureOfHappiness, town of calistoga

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Aspen Fashion Week: Combining Play With Philanthropy

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Mar 26th 2010 at 10:03AM

An important part of Aspen's cachet lies in its relative isolation combined with its great wealth. This unusual combination is part of its history. It was in 1879 when a few pioneers crossed the Continental Divide, and discovered a Ute hunting area, a valley sheltered on three sides by mountain ranges, rich with game, and fresh water. Also, they discovered, a great abundance of silver. So even then, the possibility of wealth, combined with isolation equaled a kind of intrigue, and helped define Aspen as it was then and, to some degree, Aspen as it is now.

These days, Aspen is defined not by the possibility of wealth, but by the reality of it: the most billionaires per capita in a small town, again a town consistently on the most-expensive-places-to-live lists, a town with a sustained and sustainable luxury energy. This energy is defined by partly by the enjoyment of high altitude sports and cultural events, but it is also defined by a great amount of philanthropy, as are many areas in this country blessed with great wealth. Along with Ralph Lauren, Dior, Prada, Bulgari,Gucci, Fendi, and all other luxury boutique emporia, is The Aspen Institute, The Sports Philanthropy Project, The Aspen Foundation, The Aspen Community Foundation, to name just a few. And this is a small town – about 6000 people, about 3.5 square miles long. The most recent coming together of wealth, philanthropy and enjoyment was Aspen Fashion Week held from March 14 to March 19, 2010. It was a destination fashion event designed to showcase and market the winter resort, ski and tech outerwear both at home and slope side.

"The second Aspen Fashion Week quickly developed into a must on the fashion and entertainment calendar," said Lisa Johnson founder of AFW. "Aspen is prime for an event of this caliber; combining world class designers, young designers and brands with unique art programs, film screenings, and great music."

Gallery: Aspen Fashion Week

Tags: Aspen Colorado, Aspen Fashion Week, Aspen Institute, Christian Siriano, Cos Bar, Douglas Keeves, Gabriel Conroy, Heidiski, Helly Hansen, John Forte, Kjus, Obermeyer, The Feed Foundation

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From Conspicuous to Conscious Consumption: Redesigning the Meaning of Luxury

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Mar 23rd 2010 at 9:02AM

Looking for the green shoots of optimism is not easy -- especially after two winters of discontent. Yet, there appears to be a resurgence of optimism, a new energy that may have the power to redesign as it redefines new ways of perceiving the idea and the reality of luxury.

On the plus side is the Wall Street Journal. In the 03/08/2010 article entitled The Ten Best Places For Second Homes, Steven M. Sears declared, "At long last, the market for luxury real estate is coming back to life. Prices for primary residences, which plunged at least 20% from the peak in 2007, appear to have bottomed. In some of the snappiest locations, scattered bidding wars are breaking out and prices are turning upward. In Greenwich, Conn., realty brokers say, the final months of 2009 were almost record-setters for sales volume, as two years of pent-up demand was unleashed."

Also pertinent are data in the newest Wealth Report (3/15/10), with inferences that seem promising: "Retail chains post a 3.7% increase in February comps, with luxury outperforming the overall group. Consumers are again indulging in luxury purchases."

Could this mean that the 2009 severe recession earthquake is behind us? Well, hopefully. But it's necessary to remember the concept of false positives. In medicine, economics, statistics, pregnancy tests and LIFE, they are results that look good but, after the dust settles, may not yield the results originally expected. Consistently valid results take time. So with the shoots of hope within the numbers above, there is still room/time for questioning. We receive clearer pictures as time goes on, understanding that hope should be tempered by the economic history of the recent past.

Maybe the consensus of philosophers and economists were right – that it takes trauma to change minds and actions, and because of this unexpected economic jolt, what has also changed over the past 18 or more months is an unexpected evolution in the definitions and dimensions of luxury.

Tags: Abercrombie Kent Residence Club, changes in luxury buying, consequences of recession, CRM, Exclusive Resorts, Exquisite Safaris, luxury buying, luxury trends, second home buying

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Chocolate Dreams: The Hotel Hershey's Grand Renovation

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Mar 17th 2010 at 9:02AM

Craig J. Smith and Christina Romann, are partners in C2 – a high end interior design firm specializing in designing and restoring luxury hotels. They have been designing,, restoring and renovating for over 20 years, and have never been without significant work, as they have done renovations to The Greenbrier Sporting Club, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, The Turks and Caicos Sporting Club, in Ambergris Cay, BWI, The Trump International Hotel & Tower and the Lowell, both in New York, to name just a few.

But the 67M recent renovation of the Hotel Hershey in Pennsylvania provided them unique challenges and memorable lessons, both aesthetically and philosophically. Or, as Christina said, " My first impression when we walked into the Hotel, before we ever considered any renovation work at all, was, what is a hotel like this doing here?"

What Christina and Craig both saw was an elegant, though somewhat fading, 80 year old hotel, with a personal and philanthropic legacy. It originally was constructed on a small hill, overlooking Mr. Hershey's chocolate factory. Nonetheless, it reflected the worldly character of the original visionary, Milton Hershey, who created of the original recipe for Hershey's Milk Chocolate -- still a happily absolute NEED in many of our lives.

Tags: Amish craftspeople, C2 Limited Design Associates, historic hotels of America, Hotel Hershey, hotel renovators, old hotel renovation, renovation, renovation aesthetics

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Enlivening Exclusive Resorts: Moving Forward in the Destination Club Industry

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Mar 9th 2010 at 9:01AM

Bovey Castle, England

As with many great ideas, this one started small, and from unpleasant, stressful experiences. Exclusive Resorts was originally founded seven years ago, by Brad and Brent Handler, two brothers who had consistently experienced classic vacation dilemmas with their own families. When traveling with children, grandparents and friends to high-end resorts and hotels, they experienced the same problems again and again: not enough room, no kitchens, child-unfriendly spaces, and the distinct impression from some hotel staffs that larger families with children were noisome rather than welcome.

At the same time, a new luxury travel idea was already in the air. That year, 2002, a company called Private Retreats, based in Telluride, Colorado, was launched to address the same vacation dilemma. It was called a destination club, a new idea with a model that combined two vastly different yet already successful industries: the country club and the fractional jet business. From the country club model came the idea of paying a membership deposit and annual dues, and from the fractional jet world came the idea of paying the dues and deposit in relation to the amount of time the potential member wished to use, so there was a range of pricing, usually from one month to three, or more or less. But in both cases, the member did not own or invest in the club, or the homes, instead he or she paid to use, and so it was called a non-equity club.

Tags: Americas Group, destination, Destination Clubs, Exclusive Resorts, Miraval, Sea Island, Steve Case

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Travel & Leisure Design Awards 2010

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Mar 4th 2010 at 7:02PM

16 categories of travel, leisure, fun, shopping, and fashion - all judged and summed up leaving just one winner per category. This year's Travel & Leisure Design Awards yielded some surprise winners, but that is to be expected from the eclectic mix of judges ranging fashion designer and artists, to architects and restaurateurs. Available in the March issue of the magazine, the results are also posted on their website (link above).

I attended the award event here in San Francisco recently where the magazine's principals were able to discuss the publication's new designs awards tradition. The venue was perfect, being located at the still new California Academy of Sciences Museum - a worthy design award winner itself.

Categories ranged from the usual fare such as best large hotel (winner was Motel 6 - yes that motel 6, apparently they have upped their game) and automobile (Ford Fusion Hybrid), but also has some interesting categories such as best retail space (Derek Lam in New York City) and best transportation (the ritzy first class cabin suites aboard Swiss International Airlines).

Tags: 2010, design awards, DesignAwards, magazine, Nixon, Travel Leisure, TravelLeisure

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The new Scottish Re-Formation: Hamilton Hall, St. Andrews and Herbert Kohler

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Mar 2nd 2010 at 9:01AM

Religious pilgrims were the first to come to St. Andrews in the 10th century, to view to relics of St. Andrew himself, St. Peter's brother. In more recent times, golfing pilgrims have consistently flocked to St. Andrews to pay homage and play on a stretch of weather-beaten land on the edge of the North Sea, where the game was invented over 600 years ago. When contemporary pilgrims set off down the first fairway of the Old Course into the prevailing wind, and it is always prevailing, they walk headlong into history. There is no place like it. It is no wonder then, that over the years many hotel developers have seen the most lucrative of possibilities here, not knowing that the town of St. Andrews also plays a huge part in the history and formidability of any project's success.

St. Andrews is a small Scottish town, that stresses the Scottish traits of humility, distrust of pretense and artifice, and frugality. The hallowed St. Andrews course is an unadorned links course that lies on public ground, where golf is forbidden on Sundays so families can picnic, or just walk on the fairways. Community is crucial, and as it is in any small town, outsiders ususally have to prove themselves.

Imagine, then, in 2006 ,what the local people thought and felt when they discovered the fate of one of their historic landmarks -- Hamilton Hall, a building on the 18th hole of the St. Andrews course. This building was, for over 60 years a University of St. Andrews dormitory, and prior to that a Royal Scottish Army living quarters, and prior to that, the iconic Grand Hotel, opened in 1895. It was discovered that Wasserman Real Estate Capital, based in Providence, R.I., had purchased the building, and was planning on major renovations, so they could sell fractionalized residences for between $1.3 and $3.3Million per fraction, in a project called the St. Andrews Grand.

Tags: Golf, Hamilton Hall, Herb Kohler, History of St. Andrews, Kohler Company, KohlerCompany, Old Course Hotel, St. Andrews, St.Andrews, The American Club, TheAmericanClub

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The Design Of A Great Vacation: Quintess and the Destination Club Experience

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Feb 23rd 2010 at 9:01AM

As with many great ideas, the destination club idea was not born in a vacuum. Its distant ideological cousin, the timeshare, originated in the '70's in Europe. It was a simple idea, buying space for time, but because of some developers' sales techniques, the timeshare developed a less than stellar reputation. However, the idea itself remained viable, and it evolved – from owning a 1/30th share in a small apartment, to owning shares in much more substantive residences, and in the clubs themselves,. The membership deed or the fractional share all came with significant amenities: private chefs, limo drivers, dedicated destination hosts, existing only to make dinner arrangements, acquiring the best concert tickets, creating worry-free vacations on every known dimension.

The destination club idea took hold in the early 2000s. In the beginning, were the nonequity clubs, then came the equity based ones. With the former, the member did not own anything, paid a one-time membership deposit, annual dues, and vacationed in elite destinations in $2-6M homes. With the equity-based clubs, the members owned the clubs, bought the homes and had much to say in the club management.

But there was a dark side to this idea – and it was its explosive and unexpected growth. In 2003, the sales volume was a modest $513.M. In 2006, it ballooned to $2.5B.

All went well until the industry hit a major bump in July of 2006, with Tanner & Haley, the first Destination Club, to bankrupt, followed by many others. Out of the 31 functioning destination clubs extant in 2006, there are now, in 2010, five. But these five are strong,fiscally transparent, and consumer-centric, taking a lessons-learned approach from the failed clubs. The equity-based clubs, where the members own the residences, are Equity Estates, and Abercrombie & Kent Residence Clubs. The non-equity clubs, are Exclusive Resorts, oldest and largest, Ultimate Escapes, the second largest with has multi-leveled membership plans, and, Quintess arguably, one of the smaller and most boutique-like, with many architecturally significant homes, all priced at 4M and up.

Tags: destination clubs, DestinationClubs, Exclusive resorts, Quintess, Ultimate escapes

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