NeilGoBlue

Exactly!

Quintess Michael

I can't give away ALL my secrets !
Let it suffice to say that our relationship with LHW comes in handy.

__________________
Michael Aumock
Director, Membership Development
Quintess, The Leading Residences of the World

Kagehitokiri

hmm, similar to A&K and UE, whereas ER seems to pick individual offerings.

Quintess Michael

We started them in the Fall of '07.
They took off kind of slow, but has really gained momentum in the last 3 months or so. It is a great way to try a new destination without any sort of serious commitment, as well as expand our destinations available (Although we never use "Experience" destinations in our official count for either availability or actual destinations)
The latest round of Experiences included a suite at the Hay-Adams and rooftop White House fireworks display over last weekend. Most are not event-specific, however.

__________________
Michael Aumock
Director, Membership Development
Quintess, The Leading Residences of the World

Quintess Michael

I heard somewhere (correct me if I'm wrong) that some other clubs charge extra...sometimes to the point of barely providing a discount on what it would cost to arrange and take the trip yourself, PLUS a plan night.

__________________
Michael Aumock
Director, Membership Development
Quintess, The Leading Residences of the World

Quintess Michael

I wish I was JetMikey again!

__________________
Michael Aumock
Director, Membership Development
Quintess, The Leading Residences of the World

NeilGoBlue

I know one of the huge frustrations with DC execs is that what people say they want in terms of locations of homes and what people actually book can differ immensley.

By leasing homes or doing things that have been mentioned in this thread, clubs can see what the real demand is without making a 3mm mistake.

Kagehitokiri

i guess i dont know about UE's experiential offerings... but IIRC there is no charge for the hotels. your tier determines which room/suite you get.

A&K >

Quintess Michael

Caribbean,
I have to agree with you. You are a rare mix of requirements that doesn't fit the typical mold of existing DCs.
I can look at the amount of research you have done, the posts you have put up here, the input from our fellow DC members and what I know about the industry as a whole and admit that you fall between the cracks of several good clubs for several good reasons.

I would offer up my fail-safe: Quintess will give you 100% of your deposit back if you join and aren't happy in the first year. (as well as any unused dues)
At least that would get you travelling, and give you plenty of time to see if another DC would work better than or in addition to your Quintess membership. Who knows...Maybe someone will start an empty-nesters club in the meantime

__________________
Michael Aumock
Director, Membership Development
Quintess, The Leading Residences of the World

3DH

Yes, this is what I stated in an earlier post (in not so many words)... paying the additional fees AND using plan nights, was not a savings over booking the vacations on your own. However, there are benefits to the Once in a Lifetime trips, such as "private" parties, exclusive access, etc. Regardless, it seemed more of a gimmick to me, as well as a way to free up home usage.

(Those familiar: was very much like depositing an RCI week to use toward a cruise "discount"... that when one did their homework, found they could have the same savings by booking direct!)

__________________
"Boutique" is better! Another extremely satisfied LUSSO member!

Kagehitokiri

additionally >

HCC offers 100% back in first year
DHH offers 100% back in first year (according to sherpareport)
lusso offers 100% back after 18 months

3DH

If we are going there, kage, LUSSO gives you back 100%, indefinitely! (anytime after 18 months of membership)

__________________
"Boutique" is better! Another extremely satisfied LUSSO member!

Kagehitokiri

right so not in the first year. well i guess 18 months is close enough.

Quintess Michael

Well, there you have it.
Join all three, maximize holiday time and flexibility and see which one(s) you like best.
Because at Q you get a Member Travel Advisor that books all your trips, (Even non-club travel) You could even (gulp) have them book your trips for other club travel besides Quintess ( but just keep that between us, OK?)

__________________
Michael Aumock
Director, Membership Development
Quintess, The Leading Residences of the World

caribbeansun

I think I've exhausted my energy for tracking down alternatives for the time being. I don't know that I've done a good job of expressing what I'm looking for because it is decidedly different than what the rest of the people here seem to be looking for.

Probably the best way to describe it is that I had thought a DC (or DC's) might be a solid addition to a portfolio of vacation opportunities that are available to me/us.

That portfolio includes wholly owned properties. Yes, I know everyone on here thinks whole ownership is something approaching insanity but our properties have weathered the storm quite well and continued to show decent increases in value. We've bought pre-construction in the Caribbean and that's working well for us.

The focus on corporate or friends and family memberships was to allow other co-owners to use the owned properties OR "trade" into a DC property should they tire of returning to the same property each year.

We had also considered adding some fractional interests to the portfolio - albeit only on the resale market.

The concept is to provide a variety of options to the co-owners, allow shared access to the portfolio, allow full participation in equity growth in the components that allow for that, allow people to "opt-out" of components that don't fit their lifestyle.

Ultimately, one of the hurdles is the fact that everyone has a different objective in mind so managing something of this nature is a challenge, educating people about the options is a challenge and getting buy-in for the various pieces is also a challenge. Ultimately, people can just opt to travel the all-inclusive route, the rent as you go approach, cruiselines, etc. The options are seemingly endless with positives and negatives to each.

To return to the DC discussion - I've not found any DC model that actually provides "real" equity participation at a level that I deem to be acceptable. Every club has their hidden and not so hidden "gotchas", every club slices the dollars to their advantage (I guess in the name of business). Some of the clauses in these contracts are truly surprising.

The clubs I've taken a serious look at are as follows (in no particular order):
- HCC
- DHH
- Equity Estates
- Lusso
- UE

I've taken a less serious and involved look at the following although I did some detailed review nonetheless (some more than others):
- Quintess
- ER
- A&K

The key variable was the economic cost per night with the last 3 exceeding my self-imposed threshold.

What was particularly interesting for me was that some "equity" clubs annual dues seemed out of step with their professed lack or minimization of debt. Of course the variability of the value of the properties is a big factor in this.

So FWIW, here's some observations and conclusions as I've made my way through this process (remember your mileage may vary and these are my observations and you may not have experienced or may not experience any or all of what follows):

• Did I run a multiple regression analysis on the various solutions - no
• Did I find the variability frustrating and energy draining - yes
• Did I find the variety of rules and "odd" nuances confusing -yes
• Do I believe most DC's are sufficiently transparent regarding their product - no, not even close
• Do I believe that DC's are set up in such a way as to potentially put their own objectives in conflict with those of their members - yes
• Do I believe that most DC's are designed to make full usage of your nights very difficult - yes
• Do I believe that the imposition of NDA's stifles the ability of people to have and open and free discussion of the differences in the clubs and make informed decisions - yes
• Do I believe that NDA's accomplish anything other than trying to keep potential members "dumbed down" - no. Heck most club reps talk openly about information included in their competition's offerings that are beyond what's on their web site. They seem to already know what every DC is offering so while it's a bit cynical of me I am at a loss to reach any other conclusion.
• Does the process itself lead to dissatisfaction - yes on some levels
• Am I convinced ANY DC is 100% right for my situation - no
• Am I more likely to "try out" a 100% refundable DC to see if they actually do deliver what they say - yes
• Do I still think there's a place for a DC in the portfolio - probably but perhaps not in the current offerings
• Was this an entirely negative experience - no, although reading the above might leave that impression it has not been negative. I've learned a lot, I've liked many things, I've disliked a number of things and I'm hopeful that there will be a place for this all to work out.

Thanks for listening and thanks for your input.