vacation club

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

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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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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Marriott Opens Vacation Club In St. Kitts

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Marriott Vacation Club has opened a new resort in the scenic location of St. Kitts in the West Indies. The vacation ownership resort currently has 22 two- and three-bedroom villas, and will ultimately be home to 88 villas. The villas are in three-story garden houses and each villa has a full kitchen, LCD televisions and washer/dryers. The vacation club shares amenities with the St. Kitt's Resort and the Royal Beach Casino which means that golf, gambling, multiple restaurants and several pools are at your disposal. Prices starts at $17,500 per deeded week.