posted by Desties on Jun 23
Orlando has always been a touchy destination for clubs. As the country’s top family vacation destination, club members will inevitably make their way to Central Florida. However, the glut of vacation properties in the area make a trek to the area — even to a high-end vacation home — a relatively inexpensive affair compared to most club getaways.
Ultimate Escapes has a leased luxury home in the posh Reunion resort, and High Country Club used to have a condo in the area before that club went under. Most of the other clubs have avoided the area.
Will Disney’s Golden Oak change that? Situated at the tony Four Seasons going up on Disney-owned property in the outskirts of Disney World, Disney plans to make 30 lots available for homes in a planned community. It’s not for the light of wallet. The properties plan to sell for between $1.5 million to $8 million apiece. If successful, Disney plans to have several hundreds of lots available.
This is perfect. The planned community is already positioning itself as a vacation property, and not the full-time residential affair that Celebration became. It is also significantly more upscale. This WILL become the prime spot for well-to-do visitors to the house of Mouse. The fact that the Four Seasons will also have a pair of world class golf courses and state-of-the-art spa simply ices the deal for clubs.
So, which will be the first club to buy into Golden Oak? It’s a matter of time, isn’t it?
Disney’s official site with artist renderings can be found here.
posted by Desties on Feb 24
It wasn’t the way that the club drew things up, but shares of Ultimate Escapes were delisted after the country’s second largest destination club was unsuccessful in completing its secondary offering.
The club marches on, including a new ticker symbol — ULEI — on the OTC Bulletin Board.
Delisting obviously isn’t fatal, and it certainly isn’t permanent. However, the club will have to rethink its plans now that it no longer can count on the money it was expecting to raise during the offering.
2010 was supposed to be a turnaround year for the industry, but it still seems to be feeling its way along the bottom.
posted by Desties on Sep 9
One of the more intriguing pitches behind the reverse IPO in the works at Ultimate Escapes is that the club plans to eventually offer an equity club and a points-based system.
Am I the only thinking that this can all be interchangeable? UE is already three distinct clubs, with reciprocity between them.
Why can’t UE launch an equity club that allows travel between the equity club and the three existing UE clubs? It would make it an easier sell in the beginning, so it can add new wholly-owned properties at the dictated membership growth pace, yet still offer the portfolio of Premiere, Signature, and Elite for immediate travel? The three non-equity club members can also benefit from the equity additions through similar reciprocity.
A points-based club can also be used as an overlay. I imagine that a points-based club may be a more value-conscious offering, but it too could benefit from having well over a hundred properties at its disposal from the beginning.
There may be some legal loopholes to make it all happen, but it would be an easy way for UE to scale quickly. There are only a handful of players in the equity niche. Abercrombie & Kent is the leader. Equity Estates is the hungry secondary player. Clearly there is room for yet another meaty foe, so why Ultimate Escapes? And why not sooner rather than later?
posted by Desties on Apr 28
Timeshare watchers will remember how the industry was obscure and shady until the major hoteliers like Disney and Marriott came threw their hats into the ring. Is the destination club industry now being upsized?
Ritz-Carlton finally announced its entry into the market.
The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club is an equity-based luxury travel program where Members select either a Home Club Membership which provides a titled residence and usage at a property they can return to every year, or a deeded Portfolio Membership which affords the opportunity to discover a wide variety of locations and experiences.
In other words, it’s not a pure destination club as it borrows liberally from destination clubs, fractional residence clubs, and timeshares to arrive at its product. It will be the point-based — like Disney Vacation Club. It will offer deeds — like many timeshares. It will offer equity — like Abercrombie & Kent on the DC side.
If history is any kind of teacher, existing clubs may tweak their models to fall into what the public will now expect destination clubs to be and offer. What remains to be seen is if Ritz-Carlton will go on a shopping spree, to quickly build up its critical mass before someone else does. It would also help Ritz-Carlton acquire some homes, since at the moment its portfolio appears to consist mostly of Ritz-Carlton resorts and retreats. That may work for hotel and timeshare buffs, but the thousands of existing destination club members expect larger stand-alone properties that are truly unique and can’t be booked without joining.
Learn more about the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club here.
posted by Desties on Mar 21
The past few months have been rough for the destination club industry, with Lusso, High Country Club, and now Solstice filing for varying levels of bankruptcy. Other clubs are also smarting with higher dues or financial assessments.
How’s the spouse? I’m asking only because the allure of destination clubs comes mostly from the availability of large, luxury vacation properties. Nearly all destination club members are likely married or living with someone special, many with families to take along on the unforgettable treks that clubs — at their best — can offer.
So, I have to ask again — how is that special someone in your life coping if you happen to be a member in one of the languishing or obliterated clubs? It’s not an easy question because odds are that you both didn’t arrive at the destination concept on independently. One of you probably read about it in a magazine, newspaper, or blog — or maybe you saw an online ad — and checked it out before suggesting it to your spouse.
If so, and your club has gone under, make sure you don’t play the blame game or your relationship may go bankrupt too. Financial concerns can be a marriage killer, so it’s important to accept that mistakes are made. You weren’t the only one to join your club. Others came to the same conclusion after their own due diligence. As long as you can survive the shorfall without pointing fingers, I see great vacations in your future.