Desties

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

posted by Desties on Dec 12

During a teleconference for Ultimate Escapes members last month, the final slides in the prepared statements before the Q&A broke out were on smart home technology. Ultimate Escapes is no stranger to high-tech gadgetry. Most of its homes have Wi-Fi routers, entertainment centers controlled by Logitech Harmony controllers, and Xbox 360 video game consoles. Many homes have actual computers, full-house audio systems, and loaded iPods. The club is even stocking some of its homes with Amazon Kindle e-book readers.

However, the real head-turner during the presentation was the likely introduction of smart card technology in 2009. Members would be given customized cards that can be scanned (either RFID-based or scanned bars) to completely personalize the home. The member’s favorite music would go on, the temperature would be pre-set at the desired thermostat reading, the lighting levels would be adjusted, and — the gee whiz part — is that snapshots that the members uploaded through the member website would then be popping up on the flat screen televisions. I imagine adding digital picture frames would be no-brainers too.

It may not seem like much to those who prefer to set everything up the old-fashioned way. However, it’s going to be a great selling point for clubs to deliver an experience that no ritzy hotel chain or luxury rental can match.

The club has its reasons too, of course. Smart home technology will allow the club to monitor the home remotely. When the property is vacant, the club can make sure that thermostats adjust properly and that automated window blinds close to keep out sunlight. It’s also beneficial for security purposes. It doesn’t hurt that the “green” thing to do is also the economically prudent thing.

Either way, the destination club concept may not just be forward-thinking in luxury travel but home technology too.

posted by Desties on Nov 10

These are tough times for the destination club industry, but no one is having it harder than High Country Club. The club is facing an implosion if enough members don’t buy into the company’s “Success Plan” this month.

Ultimate Escapes is in a position to help.

Forget a buyout. High Country Club supposedly owes more on their properties than they are currently worth in resale, and the CEO’s stern warning that liquidation of the club won’t likely leave any funds to repay member deposits implies that acquiring members is also a liability.

However, as the new entry-level destination club (with High Country Club temporarily ceasing the marketing of new memberships), Ultimate Escapes is in a great position to offer disenchanted HCC members another way out.

The proposed new HCC dues to keep the club afloat are within spitting distance of what Ultimate Escapes Premiere is charging. Once you factor in the more DC-centric features of Ultimate Escapes (greater booking flexibility, lack of exit cleaning fees, the presence of a local host to tackle grassroots problems, serve as concierge, and stock requested groceries) it’s arguably a better deal.

The rub, of course, is that High Country Club members are unlikely to fork over new deposits to a second club. The negative equity of HCC makes UE unlikely to take on members with a lack of deposit funds.

However, if — and only IF — the HCC Success Plan falters, why doesn’t UE take in the HCC members with “dues only” memberships?

UE has the same problem that all of its peers have at the moment. Membership growth has stalled. In fact, going by UE’s own marketing materials, one can deduce that several of the Private Escapes members (in the dozens, since recruitment emails to the public have gone from touting a club with “1400 members” in mid-August to “more than 1300 members” today) decided not to stick around after the merger with Ultimate Resorts to form Ultimate Escapes.

In other words, Ultimate Escapes could use more members. Since every club’s goal these days is to bump up occupancy levels, it also makes better sense to take on new “dues only” members than to unload properties. 

I know. Dues pay for maintenance fees but deposits pay for new homes. Taking on SOME of the HCC members won’t bankroll new properties. It doesn’t have to, as long as the move wins over “dozens” of HCC members instead of “hundreds” — which in of itself wouldn’t be a bad problem to have.

The beauty, of course, is that UE can offer HCC members the “dues only” memberships for a limited time. Let’s say, for instance, it offers folks who can confirm that they were HCC members a “dues only” deal for the next 2-3 years. At that point they would have to pay a deposit to continue as members. This would give HCC members a sampling of the club and it would also give UE bodies to ride out the near-term slump.

It’s a win-win, and that’s rare these days.