jam

I am a new poster here. I apologize for submitting so many questions but I thought that stimulating some discussions might increase the board traffic. I wanted to raise the topic of metro locations. Most of the clubs now have them. I was in Tanner and Haley and they were virtually impossible to get since they are true 12 month locations and large numbers of people combined business with pleasure there. As that club failed most DCs do not have essentially unlimited availability. They either limit the days my membership level or limit them because of lack of availability. On average it seems that the cost/night for a DC is around $1000. My question is why would anyone use their limited DC nights for a metro location at that rate? Obviously, if you are using both bedrooms you can make a case for it, but for a couple traveling alone why would one use a DC night instead of staying at say the Four Seasons? Some of the DC clubs have deals with boutique hotels around the world where you can utilize your purchased or alloted days on these international hotels. Again, the same question, why would one use the DC days at about $1000 a night instead of just booking the room? What am I missing? Is it greater availability? Are people using these programs to bleed off their purchased days when they can't find desired availability? A hotel in Buenos Ares looks better than May in Telluride or August in South Florida.

Kagehitokiri

higher end clubs have some fantastic metro properties, with 3 or more bedrooms.

even DHH has some good ones currently and upcoming.

no club has all good deals, and there are certainly terrible deals, but every club has a number of great deals, and some are absolutely fantastic.

i agree to a certain degree re hotels, but youre forgetting condohotels.

ciel's NY condo is at the MO. id certainly take that over any hotel suite.

also in NY luxury hotels' base rooms regularly run $1000+/nt.

Steamboat Bill

I think there may be an opportunity for a "cities only" destination club...is anyone listening?

Perhaps people use the last minute travel opportunities to grab a city trip vs using the long term weeks.

Also, many people have families near certain cities like NYC and Chicago and probably use a holiday week there or a long term week there to plan a mini-renuion.

The $1,000 per night is worth it if you need 2-3-4 rooms as you will spend about $400-600 per room at a nice hotel anyway and a Destination Club usually has much larger (and nicer) rooms than most hotels.

Has anyone check out the latest prices for the NYC Plaza lately.....wow!

Kagehitokiri

plaza rates arent too bad, although it really depends on category.

but imagine if a DC had one of the 2 versace residences.

TarheelTraveler

I've used my DC membership for stays in NYC, because the place is so much more spacious than a hotel room or even most suites. What I don't get like jam is why anyone would use their membership for hotel rooms (not even a suite in some cases) in Europe, for example, unless you've got extra nights to burn. Bellehavens, Quintess and others have the hotel programs. It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of economic sense.

Kagehitokiri

i think LTTravel said UR's thing with worldhotels has some properties in monaco etc with 2BR suites that have rates of €2000+/nt. so there might be a handful of others. but in the vast majority of cases, i think youre exactly right. same thing with ER's 2BR suites @ mgm signature in vegas right now. and their vdara condos might not be a whole lot better.

or the whole "once in a lifetime" style stuff. it seems like some clubs literally want to create situations where the members get terrible value for their usage...

Desties

Metropolitan locations certainly make more sense for the clubs that don't have capped usage like Lusso or Private Escapes, especially since they are typically in high-end hotels where one can compare actual going rates for similar rooms.

That is also compounded by metropolitan usage -- typically a weekend or a few days at most -- over the week or two spent at beach-mountain homes.

I guess that is partly offset by the familiarity of a certain location. Once you stay at the rooftop Lusso penthouse at the Trump in Miami Beach, no other room in the hotel will do. The Private Escapes 3rd floor condo at Trump in NYC has a stunning view of Central Park on one side and Columbus Circle at the other, at a unique perspective perched barely above the pedestrians. Even if you can book rooms at these places at rates that would be lower than per-night stays (even though I used the two examples of non-capped clubs where it doesn't apply), it may still be worth it to pay more to go through the club to have the room, planning services, etc. that a DC member is used to.