The Future of Luxury Vacations

August 30, 2009 by Fractional & Shared Ownership Property News & Reviews · 1 Comment

by Campbell Jefferys

In just a few short years, Exclusive Resorts has gone from an idea born on a Hawaiian beach to being the world’s premier vacation club, now with over 3,400 members.

Over 400 luxury vacation residences are available in prime locations around the world, from beachside villas to mountain cabins to cruise liners. Brent Handler, cofounder and president of Exclusive Resorts spoke about the outstanding progress his company has made, about the burgeoning luxury destination club industry, and about why it’s better to join a club rather than invest in a vacation home.

Exclusive Resorts has achieved tremendous success in just three years. How do you account for such success in such a short time?

I think there are three main factors to our success. First, we offer more choice and flexibility than anyone else. Second, our quality is second to none. And third, we have a fantastic group of employees, both here in Denver and on site around the world.

As far as the industry itself is concerned, at first I think members were just attracted to the idea of an effortless vacation. Before I co-founded Exclusive Resorts, when I went on vacation I had a choice: I could stay in a hotel or a resort, I could rent a villa, or I could take on the headaches of buying a second
home or a timeshare. And while each of those has its benefits, they all come with their own set of problems. That’s not the case with Exclusive Resorts. Our members enjoy fantastic private residences, all the
amenities and convenience of a luxury resort, and dozens of destinations like a world-class hotel chain. And that’s without the uncertainty of rentals or the cost to own and maintain a second home.

The luxury destination club market is currently very competitive. What edge does Exclusive Resorts have over the competition?

It comes down to flexibility, ease and value. We offer over 400 luxury residences in 37 of the world’s most desirable destinations. We partner with amazing resorts and amenity providers. All the usual work of planning a vacation is made very easy for our members, thanks to our dedicated Member Services Managers and Onsite Concierges. And you can’t beat the value of getting 400 homes for the cost of a down payment on one, without any of the hassles.

You currently have residences in North and Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe, with more under development. Will we see further developments in the near future?

We have an incredible real estate team that assesses locations, development options and amenities to find projects that will be a fantastic fit for our members. We know where our members want to travel because
we listen to them very closely. We survey our members regularly and follow up on their suggestions for new destinations. We are always examining exciting opportunities that will answer the specific requests we
receive from our members.

We live in a modern world of time constraints and fluctuating property prices. What advice can you give to customers choosing between buying a vacation home and joining a vacation club?

Any prospective member needs to sit down and evaluate their vacation needs before they make a decision. If you just want to go to the same place every year, maybe you don’t need a destination club. For some,
a second home in one location is right for them. But for those who want to experience vacations in locations around the world, who crave that variety, a club like ours provides that without the usual headaches.
There’s no maintenance, HOA, tax, or real estate deflation to worry about. And you don’t have to become an expert on Costa Rica or Paris or Puerto Vallarta to have an amazing vacation there. The way I like to put
it is, the first place our members should see on vacation is the beach, not the grocery store. That’s the way travel should be.

Is this the future of luxury travel? Will we see more people shying away from investing in property and turning instead towards upmarket clubs?

Our industry is still very young, but it’s growing at an unbelievable rate. Exclusive Resorts has grown from fewer than 100 members a few years ago to more than 3,400 members today. As awareness grows, so does our club. With the current concerns about declining real estate values, we predict that many will take a look at joining a luxury destination club as an alternative.

The market for luxury destination clubs is actually larger than many people think. We believe this model has the potential to continue to grow into a large piece of the luxury travel industry. Luxury destination clubs put the luxury travel lifestyle within reach of a greater percentage of the population than ever before by
eliminating the headaches and bringing together everything people want in one easy package.

How are luxury destination clubs different from basic timeshare options and fractional investments?

Timeshares and fractional investments operate on a completely different business model. The most fundamental distinction is that luxury destination clubs don’t sell any real estate interest to the purchaser.
Basically, we operate like a country club. Members pay dues and have access to the club’s services; in our case, to over 400 multi-million dollar vacation residences. With timeshares, you purchase an interest
in a particular plan and a specific property and typically have a designated time of year to use your share. With Exclusive Resorts, members can vacation at any time of year they want and at any one of our 37 destinations around the world. And our membership fee is 75 percent refundable.

What does the future hold for Exclusive Resorts?

More memorable vacations for our members. We are really excited about the future of Exclusive Resorts. We believe in providing our members with the most rewarding vacation experiences possible and we have a fabulous team in place in order to do this now and in the years to come.

Giving Members the Best
It is the quality of service which sets the leading luxury destination clubs apart from the rest. Todd Harris, senior vice president of Hospitality & Member Services, spoke about the services offered by Exclusive Resorts.

What kinds of services are available for members of Exclusive Resorts?

Exclusive Resorts combines the best of all worlds. You get a spacious, elegant private home, the amenities and convenience of a luxury resort, and the breadth of destinations of a world-class hotel chain. It’s a completely new way to travel. We provide dedicated Onsite Concierges who look after members around the clock and make sure everything is taken care of. They buy groceries, coordinate the daily housekeeping, make the arrangements if you want a private chef and provide all the standard concierge duties including making reservations and offering advice on the local attractions, as well as unique personalized service designed to make members feel at home from the moment they arrive.

With nearly 400 residences available, do members often seek advice when choosing their holiday location?

Our members have several options to choose from. We have a terrific Member Services team in our Denver office which looks after every aspect of planning members’ travel. Each club member is assigned a dedicated
Member Services Manager who learns the member’s travel preferences and can help them make the best decisions so they can get the most out of their vacation. We also have a proprietary member reservation system called ER Compass® that empowers those members who prefer to “do it themselves” to research
every destination and residence in detail. And we’ve partnered with leading brands including American Express and Marquis JetSM to provide even more options to uniquely customise every vacation.

You worked for 14 years with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Why should customers join a destination club instead of opting for a five star hotel or resort?

I think a five star hotel experience, like Ritz- Carlton or Four Seasons, is still a wonderful option for some travellers, particularly for business travel or couples travelling alone. Exclusive Resorts has been successful
because we offer members travelling with a larger family or other families an opportunity to really connect with each other during their vacation. Part of why the affluent traveller values time off is to help reconnect with family and friends. Obviously it’s much easier to do this in a spacious four-bedroom residence that
really feels like home than if everyone is staying in separate hotel rooms.

While Exclusive Resorts provides similar world-class service and amenities as a hotel, our concierges are more readily available to personally assist with members’ needs. A hotel concierge often has 150 or more rooms of guests and no way to deliver the in-depth personal attention our members get. Finally, the cost of four luxury hotel rooms or suitescould easily run over US$5,000 a night making a week-long stay cost close to US$40,000 after paying taxes and service charges. In any cases, this is double what our members
pay in annual dues for up to three or four of these week-long vacations.

Ritz-Carlton offers fractional ownership through the Ritz-Carlton Club. How does this club compare with the luxury destination club of Exclusive Resorts?

The Ritz-Carlton Club’s fractional concept works very well for some people. Having managed the Ritz-Carlton Club at Bachelor Gulch, I think they provide a good service experience for travellers who enjoy going back to the same location over and over again. As I see it, Exclusive Resorts membership provides three major benefits over many fractional products. First, the size and quality of the homes. Compare a four-bedroom private residence with a two-bedroom condo that might have neighbours next door, above
and below. Second, the amazing variety of residences and destinations. And third, ease of use. We have a very simple and transparentway to plan and book travel, where members can either book themselves or have their Member Services Manager book for them.

Which of the residences are currently in the highest demand?

It may sound like a cliché but it is hard to say that any one location is in the highest demand. Many of our members love the beach and, therefore, we offer a significant number of residences in beach destinations. However, residences in mountain and metropolitan destinations also have great appeal to our members year-round. You could say that our members’ highest demand is variety.

Exclusive Resorts has membership levels that are tailor-made to fit a variety of lifestyles. These range from
10 nights per year for a $160,000 deposit and $13,900 annual dues up to 60 nights per year for $500,000
deposit and $59,900 annual dues. All membership deposits are 75 percent refundable should a member ever
choose to leave the club. www.exclusiveresorts.com

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Tags: Brent Handler, caribbean, Central America, destination club, Europe, Exclusive Resorts, fractional, North America, private residences, timeshare, Todd Harris, vacation

One Response to “The Future of Luxury Vacations”

Vacations MAX Blog » Blog Archive » The Future of Luxury Vacations : Fractional Ownership & Timeshare … on September 29th, 2009

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