Bourne

With Accredited Investors, you cannot use "mainstream ad network" to sell a product. It is against SEC rules. In another example, there are a lot of hedge funds and private equity placements that are bigger than most funds out there.

You will not see an ad in the WSJ/ET for these funds.

__________________
The Nile is a river in Egypt......

pwrshift

Bourne ... my intent was to express the thought that DC companies like ER are throwing pennies at a mega-million dollar advertising market and unless they properly build their corporate brand, position and advantages, their position will be vunerable to better funded 'vacation icons' that enter the DC field in the near future. I can see that I didn't clarify that in my post. Thanks for pointing it out.

Bourne

Good point. Here is my take on it...

ER compares to other Vacation club in sales.(in the top 10). It has managed to do so with minimal ad budget. Given the sales, it has the ability and money to ramp up to a multi-million ad budget.

Given the current dynamics of the industry and its competition, it does not need to do so. It cannot even develop/buy homes faster than members are willing to sign up. Why spend when you don't have to.

If and when the hotel based DCs enter the market, ER will have to ramp up the ad budget. IMHO, the only two clubs that will be able to match the new DC firms will be ER and UE.

__________________
The Nile is a river in Egypt......

pwrshift

I think the future competitiveness will be exciting to watch. Take a look at the stuff Marriott is already turning out, albeit not for DC's. This kind of muscle will win most rounds...and imagine the cost of putting it together:

The Ritz-Carlton Club® - Fractional Ownership Defined

Or 3 little movies. Impressively subtle...and totally unique.

The Ritz-Carlton Films

I don't think ER will be able to save their business when the big boys enter the ring unless they invest significant capital in advertising today...for tomorrow. It's much more than ramping up an ad budget - it's knowing what to do with the dollars invested. JMHO

DC4MS

I, for one, am not that concerned that the big boys (Marriott, Hyatt, etc) will crush ER or any other DC.

DCs should be set-up where they can survive without adding any new members.

Clubs like LUSSO, Solstice, and Everlands actually like being smaller (boutique) and have no desire to dominate the market share.

Rob V

Pwshift et al,
I agree that word of mouth is slow compared to traditional advertising, but we are not trying to be the biggest, add the most members or have the greatest market share. We think ER has already won that battle and at the same time do not believe that being bigger translates into the best overall customer experience. The most glaring evidence of this is on the economic front, where we are seeing a tightening by DC's to return less of member capital at the time the member seeks to exit.

Most here on the forum likely know that Tanner and Haley at one point was the biggest DC and had the largest market share. We are by design content to grow at a manageable pace, adding a new destination every one to two months at current new owner member flow. We put more money than any other 2nd home alternative into the real estate portfolio and prefer to grow via referrals from happy members or those that seek out an equity club. One compelling takeaway from the recent DC Symposium in Miami was that DC's are moving away from traditional media and towards more internet advertising and referrals, which are much more targeted and less expensive.

I reread my initial post and should correct the statement I made addressing the advertising Equity Estates is doing. The reality is that we do NO advertising and believe that organic growth is the most viral and brings us the best candidates for our model. We sincerely are not for everyone, as we recognize that some people don't care about equity nor whether it will be simple or complicated to liquidate a membership in the future. Some may also require 35 destinations today and are not willing to wait a few years to have them all available with the advantage of getting in on the ground floor. Our owner members appreciate these things.

With a limited offering of 300 full share memberships our keys to growing at a reasonable pace include making property acquisition decisions that reflect the desires of the owner members both from a destination/amenities and wealth preservation standpoint, delivering consistent vacations grounded in a high touch approach, and operating the business as a fiduciary bound by clear transparency even as a private company. Thank you for the energy around this topic and for sharing your view. It is most appreciated.

__________________
Rob Vaka
Vice President, Investor Relations
Equity Estates

pwrshift

That speaks volumes doesn't it.

3DH

While I recall you were originally interested in smaller/less expensive homes, are you aware that LUSSO has a corporate plan? Here is the page with the details, in the event you weren't aware...

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

Kagehitokiri

3DH,

can anyone use lusso's group/corp plan nights?

3DH

Since we are not corporate or group members, I will simply have to rely on the information found on the website for that question, Kage.

The Group membership is for two parties or families (not shared beyond that), yet the Corporate appears to be available for any use as designated by the primary member. Note, however, that the usage for either of those is capped to 56 days per year, rather than the unlimited that standard memberships enjoy.

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

Kagehitokiri

i dont seem to recall them clearing stating "anyone can use the nights."

i might check around again..

caribbeansun

They do not allow any advanced reservations under their corporate plan however you can classify all the weeks as "gift weeks" which would seem to suggest anyone can use them.

LTTravel

For Lusso, an advanced reservation is 1-2 years out. Members have only 2 reservations 1-2 years out and cannot book additional reservations 1-2 years out until those reservations are completed. Corporate members can make up to six reservations up to one year in advance, whereas regular members can only make up to four reservations up to one year in advance. I would not consider the inability to book 1-2 years in advance much of a disadvantage.

caribbeansun

Thank you - good information and certainly not readily apparent from the Lusso site.

Jazz1353

I may have stated this before. One Key allows for a corporate or shared membership without any additional cost. We a member signs up they can designate others to act on their membership. This list can be changed at anytime.

Kagehitokiri

(i moved some posts here from another thread)

Jack

Can you explain to me the "unlimited" number of days you can have.. it just doesn't make sense to me. so could you book days and just move house to house all year?
Even at 56 days with a 6 to 1 ratio that 336 days booked out... seems like availability wouldn't be good.

LTTravel

You are limited by having only 35 days or 4 reservations on the books at one time within the next year except for within the next week. So, though you can theoretically move from house to