destination clubs

Lifestyle Asset Group Launches a New Luxury Residence Collection

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services

Lifestyle Asset Group's Residence, Blue Sky Lodge, Deer Valley Utah

Lifestyle Asset Group, a new fractional ownership company, described as the "next generation of luxury vacation ownership," has launched.

This group has created a novel hybrid residence collection, based on the investment fund/equity-based club model. Lifestyle Asset Group allows 100 participants to collectively own 12 residences. The residence's average value is $2.5 million. With a one-time capital contribution of $300,000, each equity owner enjoys seven years of residence access booked on a first-come, first-served basis. Equity owners have the option to transfer their interests at any time without penalties or fees. As part of the Collective Asset Ownership (CAO) model, Lifestyle Asset Group says it operates in a debt-free mode, as it sells interests in the club structure as a means to create collective ownership of multiple real estate assets.

Tags: destination clubs, Investment Funds based Clubs, Lifestyle Asset Group, Private Escapes, Richard Keith, Vacation Clubs

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Next Great Place: A New Travel Experience Network From An Exclusive Resorts Alumnus

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Real Estate Developments, By Design

Next Great Place residences at Capella Pedregal, Cabo San Lucas

Tom Filippini has both a significant background and pedigree in the high end travel industry, and is a substantial traveler himself. Filippini has visited roughly 50 countries and nearly every state in the US. And, this passion led Filippini to become one of the co-founders of Exclusive Resorts, the world's largest destination club, where he served as Executive Vice President, generating over $750 million in new membership sales. Filippini and fellow Exclusive Resorts alum Erik Mitisek have since left their positions with ER, and have launched Next Great Place, an online travel planning company that streamlines the process of planning and booking unique, complex vacations.

The Next Great Place process begins with travelers submitting a vacation request, detailing information such as destination desired, number of guests, and budget. Next Great Place subsequently submits the request to a vetted group of vendors in the desired destinations. Over the next 48 hours, those suppliers create customized travel proposals that are returned to the traveler who chooses the proposal they like the most, locking in the proposed rates.

"Our vision is to improve the lives of travelers by facilitating their enjoyment of more frequent and better vacations with family and friends," Filippini told Luxist, "Our online travel network will match travelers seeking custom experiences to pre-screened travel suppliers, ultimately creating a more efficient and hassle-free way to plan unique vacations." Next Great Place will target family-oriented accommodations including condo-hotel residences and individual villas with each supplier vetted using the company's proprietary 300-point checklist to ensure the highest quality standards in every destination.

The video below shows the back story of exactly how a luxury residence meets the high, detail-oriented standards of Next Great Place. From thread counts to toilet seats, this video shows how exacting these people are!

Tags: beaver creek, cabo san lucas, Capella Pedregal, destination clubs, Esperanza, Exclusive Resorts, Next Great Place, Tom Filippini, vacation club

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DUO by Quintess: The New Destination Club, A New Option for Ultimate Escapes Members And Others

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

A DUO by Quintess residence, Cabo San Lucas

Two weeks ago, I reported on the Ultimate Escapes Destination Club bankruptcy, which is the largest bankruptcy in the brief history of the luxury destination club industry. This industry has had more than its share of well-publicized bankruptcies, with the members of these clubs usually left out in the cold, money and great travel expectations lost. In this most recent case, 1400 or so Ultimate Escapes members are in this kind of labyrinthine Limbo.

But for many of these UE members, being in such convoluted place is not their first time. To understand the importance of the options created by Quintess and others, it is crucial to understand the unusual context in which the Ultimate Escapes members find themselves.

Approximately seven years ago, in 2003, the first destination club, Private Retreats, launched in Telluride, Colorado. Two years later, Private Retreats changed its name to Abercrombie & Kent Destination Club. The A&K name was leased by Private Retreats. Eventually, A&K ended their licensing agreement with Private Retreats, and the destination club was renamed Tanner & Haley.

Tanner & Haley went bankrupt in 2006-- the first destination club to do so. Then, Ultimate Resort, a small destination club founded in 2005, gathered up the Tanner & Haley members, offered them a way to continue their travel club membership by purchasing the T&H homes. About a year later, Ultimate then instigated a complicated merger with another club operator called Private Escapes. More members were picked up there. And, Ultimate Resort's name change to Ultimate Escapes. So if you're following the bouncing ball, some of the present members of Ultimate Escapes, were actually refugees from Tanner & Haley, and also Private Escapes. So, it is easy to surmise that these members have -- also! -- been bounced around from club to club.

But wait! There's more.

Tags: Ben Addoms, Destination Club history, destination clubs, DUO by Quintess, luxury destination clubs, problems with Destination Clubs, Quintess, Quintess LRW, The Tour Club, Ultimate Escapes, Ultimate escapes Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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The Ultimate Escapes Escape: The Anatomy Of The Destination Club Vacation

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, By Design

The story below deals with my Ultimate Escapes escape: an experiential vacation trip I took last month. Those who know me know that I have experienced many destination club residences and villas, and I am usually asked questions about them, as many people have heard mixed reviews, due to the well-publicized bankruptcies of Lusso, High Country, Tanner & Haley and Solstice, all within the past few years. But, the vision and the reality of the destination club remains. At present, there are probably between 7,000 to 8,000 members for DCs, and those members are fiercely loyal, due to the treatment they receive on their vacations. It became obvious, early in 2004 when the industry was in its infancy, that it encountered an unexpected consumer need (not fault) line -- the need for sanctuary and for legacy from their vacation time.

Tags: acqualina, destination club, destination clubs, mia, resort clubs, ultimate escapes, vacation club

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

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: By Design

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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Annika Sorenstam Takes Her Brand To The Ritz

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports

Golfer Annika Sorenstam already has her own wine and her own fragrance. Now she has a new deal with the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club serving as an ambassador for the brand. The equity-based, luxury destination club will create a total Annika experience with signature clothing, fragrances, wines and autographed photography. Culinary events, wine tastings and golf outings with Annika will provide memorable experiences for members. For golfers looking to improve their game the Annika Academy will help members to take their performance to the next level. The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club has also created the "Lion & Crown Golf Series," a sequence of Member/Guest tournaments at key Club destinations, which Annika will serve as host for in 2010.

Ritz-Carlton Destination Club members can choose either a Home Club Membership which provides a one- to four-bedroom, titled residence and guaranteed usage at their favorite resort every year, or a deeded Portfolio Membership which lets the member discover a wide variety of locations, accommodations and experiences around the globe through the use of Club points. Portfolio members can also use some of their points at Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts. Membership pricing ranges from the low $100,000s - low $800,000s per membership. A typical membership is approximately $250,000.

Tags: annika sorenstam, destination club, destination clubs, ritz-carlton destination club

Enlivening Exclusive Resorts: Moving Forward in the Destination Club Industry

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: By Design

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.

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

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

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: By Design

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.

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

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Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club members Choose their Favorite Home

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Real Estate Developments, By Design

The shared ownership industry has made huge strides since timeshares first hit the scene in the 1970s. Besides the market's continued growth even during last year, called fittingly the annus horribilis by many, there has been a noticeable shift in quality and design aesthetics of purchased residences.. Gone are the basic ski chalets with cuckoo clocks, and plastic fern-festooned condos of the early years, and in their place are exceptional high-end residences where every element, both inside and out, is designed with painstaking detail.

One reason for this re-emergence of design relevance is a growing awareness that design is found everywhere -- not only in objects, but also in a vacation experience. If an object is badly designed, no matter how much it costs, it will corrode or fail in some way. If a person has a badly designed vacation experience, the memory created will corrode, and be forgotten. Exceptional design, both with objects purchased and in the vacations experienced, fuses the practical with the aesthetic, the visceral with the cognitive, and has the ability to create a positive memorable experience, anyone's definition of a luxury legacy.

This awareness is quite apparent in the high end hospitality industry, where branded and boutique hotels, private residence and destination clubs, villa residence enclaves, and elite tour operators all strive to make the member, the owner, the guest, and the visitor simply -- happy with the vacation design experience both inside and outside the residence.

In September of 2008, Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club was launched, a new equity based, debt- free residence club with an already established brand. Abercrombie & Kent has been a luxury tour operator since 1962 and is well established worldwide as one of the few great brands in adventure travel. And, the residence club expanded the brand, offering unique travel and lodging experiences in a multiplicity of unusual and traditional destinations. Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club is an equity- based club, where members are the owners, and the club runs in a debt free mode.

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Tags: Abercrombie Kent Residence Club, AbercrombieAndKent, Destination Clubs, DestinationClubs, equity-based, Hawaii, Mauna Lani resort, MaunaLaniResort, Residence Clubs, vacation designs, VacationDesigns

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Everlands Life Destination Club

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Everlands destination club is a relatively new club for those with a passion for the outdoor life. Members have unlimited access to 45 of the most iconic places of natural beauty on Earth, and Everlands promises to conserve these destinations for future generations. The Club has also established a Conservation Foundation that will award The Everlands Conservation Prize annually to individuals who demonstrate innovation, creativity and daring in conserving nature. The award is funded by a portion of Membership fees and annual dues.

The first destination to become part of Everlands is the Point on Saranac Lake in New York's Adirondacks region. This former Rockefeller estate is ranked as one of the top boutique lodges in the world. Other properties that are part of the first acquisition phase include Lone Mountain Ranch in Montana; Lake Rotoroa Lodge in New Zealand; The Inn at Blueberry Hill on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts; Mangrove Cay Club in the Bahamas; Bristol Bay Lodge in Alaska; and Castle Hot Springs in Arizona. Future acquisitions will include a country estate in Devon, England; a wild partridge habitat in central Spain; an Atlantic salmon property in Iceland; an estancia in Patagonia; and a game reserve in Kenya.

Membership to Everlands is by invitation only. Each Member pays a one-time Membership fee, as well as annual Club dues. Everlands is owned entirely by its Members, who own a pro rata equity interest in the Club Membership Corporation. Everlands Members co-own the land, buildings, and all real property. The Membership fee is $1 million, with early-in opportunities for Founding Membership starting at $475,000 and there are annual dues of $40,000. A 15 percent deposit is required by each Member when they sign up and will be returned with interest if initial Membership goals are not achieved. The balance is due when the Club secures 100 Members, at which time the properties will be available to Members only. Until then, Everlands properties will continue to operate as usual and are open to all guests.

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Tags: conservation, destination clubs, everlands, membership club

Capricorne Villas

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

A new concept in private destination clubs, Capricorne Villas offers a much lower annual fee than other membership clubs ($4,000 at most) and lets members pay as they travel. The villas have an average value of more than $2.5 million. Villas come with full housekeeping services and their own in-residence concierge. A personal planner advises regarding all trip details. Members of the club also receive monthly emails with offers of vacancies during the next months with 50% off the list price for shorter term stays. Shown above is the pool area of Villa Aiwa which is located near Ka'anapali Beach on Maui. Member rates start at $2,000 per night.

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Tags: capricorne villas, CapricorneVillas, destination clubs, resort, vacation

Andre Agassi Partners Up With Exclusive Resorts

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf may be retired from tennis but they are certainly not kicking back. In addition to the resort they are working on in Idaho and their furniture line, they have also recently announced that their Agassi Graf Development company will be working with Exclusive Resorts, the destination club headed by Steve Case. The company will co-develop luxury resort real estate, design Agassi-Graf Tennis and Fitness Centers, and enhance the tennis and fitness experiences at the Exclusive Resorts destination residences.

The early 2007 grand opening of the Exclusive Resprts Poro-Poro resort in Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica, will be a benefit for the Agassi Foundation. Selected Foundation donors will have the opportunity to meet and play tennis with Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf. They still have time for a little tennis after all.

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Tags: agassi, destination clubs, exclusive resorts, ExclusiveResorts, graf, tennis

LV Resorts Orders Natalia Cars

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Cars & Autos

How do you get people to notice your destination club in an increasingly packed market? How about offering them the chance to drive a luxury car that few people have even heard of. LV Resort Villas has ordered 10 Natalia SLS 2 Sport Luxury Sedans from DiMora Motorcar for their luxury resort estates around the world. The Natalia is a $2 million four-door sedan with the 1200-horsepower DiMora Volcano V16 engine. It's a bold move but looking at the website for DiMora I wonder if when/if these cars will actually arrive at the LV homes.

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Tags: destination clubs, DestinationClubs, dimora, lv resorts, natalia

Solstice Destination Club

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing

The San Francisco Business Times has a piece on another luxury destination club. Solstice is a San-Francisco-based company that offers a variety of destination options including Cabo San Lucas, Florence and the 90-foot Solstice yacht. The seven homes in the club are each valued at $5 million to $7 million and include a vehicle for members' use. As Greg Shove of the Helium Report is quoted as saying in the article, they are a boutique club aimed more at the high-end than other clubs that have popped up recently. Perhaps that's because it was created by someone who had a second home but grew weary of the maintenance and the sense of being tethered to one location. You can pick up four weeks at a Solstice house for annual dues of $39,500 and there is also a membership deposit of $825,000. They plan to only have 42 members and are at 36 now so if you want in, now is the time.

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Tags: destination clubs, resort clubs, second homes, solstice, travel

Tanner & Halley Villa Hotels, Destination Clubs for the Commitment-Phobe

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Tanner & Haley Villa Hotels aren't so much hotels as they are private residences which include the services of a personal concierge in order to provide hotel-like service in a private home. The company already runs a successful destination club and the new service allows people to have a similar experience but without the heavy investment or commitment. A quick comparison between the Tanner & Halley Villas wesbsite and the main Tanner & Halley site reveals that many of these are same residences. Prices start around $1,000 per night for the residences which are located in places from Scottsdale, Arizona to Kenya.

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Tags: destination clubs, DestinationClubs, hotels, travel, vacation

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