DC4MS

Dream Circle Destination Club

Even the most affluent like dream holidays that make business sense. South Africa’s Dream Circle Destination Club is assembling a portfolio of 25 of the most exclusive vacation homes on the market to launch the country’s first Shared Ownership, luxury Destination Club. Its first wave of Members participating in the Club will each purchase a Preferential Share which will entitle them to exclusive use of the homes and a R12m luxury yacht for the next 12 years. At the end of that time the homes will be sold, the initial investment will be returned and a share of the profits will go back to the members.

“Successful people are looking for this level of luxury in their downtime and an increasing number of people can afford to participate at the top end of the leisure market,” says Dream Circle managing director Ian Beauchamp. “Destination Clubs are well established in the United States where their members enjoy getaways to upmarket marinas, beaches and golf estates in the USA, the Caribbean and Pacific islands. Our South African destinations are amongst the finest in the world, offering quality and variety and thus representing fertile opportunity for introducing the Destination Club concept.

The portfolio of Dream Circle homes ranges from the Cape’s V&A Waterfront and winelands to the Garden Route, KwaZulu-Natal and Big Five game lodges to Kenya, Mauritius and the Seychelles.”

Ownership in the Destination Club offers Members all the benefits of having holiday homes in dream locations at a fraction of the cost of owning and maintaining the properties individually. Destination Club Members receive an equity interest in the Club which gives them access for 32 days a year to the luxury homes in the portfolio. The exclusive Membership will be limited so as to ensure that no more than 65 percent of the annual occupancy of the homes is allocated, thus affording each Member the best available options for planning their leisure time.

The directors and senior management behind this cutting-edge project have collectively more than 60 years’ experience in the leisure industry. Dream Circle Destination Club is a new division of Mirage Leisure & Development, the development team behind landmark projects like Sandton’s Montecasino, KwaZulu Natal’s Zimbali and uShaka marine park, the recently-announced One&Only Resorts hotel at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, and Dubai’s Royal Mirage.

Mirage’s R25 billion slate of global developments in the past decade have earned the Mirage group a formidable reputation for innovation and style – whether the developments are resort hotels, game lodges, golf estates or theme parks.

Dream Circle’s portfolio has 25 homes in the R10-20m range, in locations which enhance their value with world-class golf courses, Big Five game lodges and around-the-clock personal service. Discerning members deserve to be pampered, says Ian Beauchamp. While the property portfolio is blue-chip, so is the quality of service and management organising the Members’ trips – including the Princess 57 motor-yacht, skipper and crew on standby for a few hours’ cruise with friends off the Cape coast, or for dinner and a sleep-over.

“We are accumulating homes at golf estates like Fancourt, Zimbali, Simola and Princes Grant,” says Ian Beauchamp, “and at in-demand new courses like Meletsi in the Waterberg and Pearl Valley in the Cape. In each of those homes there will be four sets of golf clubs waiting when you arrive. It’s cumbersome to drag your own golf clubs along on holiday; as a member all you need to pack are your shoes, a glove and some balls. Likewise, the whole family needs to share the fun. Bicycles, fishing rods, boogie boards – all the toys-of-choice are on hand in the homes, up to date and fully maintained.”

Holiday fun goes hi-tech too. Each home, and the yacht, is fitted with state-of-the-art TVs, PVRs and entertainment equipment. The interior décor of the living areas, the four en-suite bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms are ultra-modern. The housekeeper runs the household and catering with food and wine on order.

“Perfect holidays at the high end of the market require intensive planning,” Ian says. “Our homes are personalised for each Member’s visit. On joining the Dream Circle Destination Club you are asked to fill out a five-page list of your holiday preferences. Your choices of food and drinks, DVDs, magazines and babysitters, tickets for sports events or concerts, we’ll liaise with you and have it waiting for you.”

At 46, Ian Beauchamp has spent 25 years in the hospitality industry, rising from head ranger at Mala Mala to marketing director of the Rattray network of game lodges; from marketing manager in America and Australia for a leading South African hotel group to senior management of the Inzalo group of private game lodges including Thornybush and Simbambili.

Beauchamp researched the most successful Destination Clubs worldwide before crafting the Destination Club plan for the top end of the South African leisure market in 2007. Mirage supported the idea and attracted a leading South African bank to take an equity stake in the project.

“We were looking for an Equity partner with similar values to our own and a brand that would give our Members security in their investment,” says Beauchamp. “Standard Bank fitted the bill perfectly.”

The Dream Circle project is Africa’s first powerful step into the rapid, global expansion of upmarket Destination Clubs. It’s a prize newcomer to the leisure market with a portfolio of prime properties that can grow in value. The immediate priority is to secure the first 168 Memberships and set the Dream Circle brand as the international market’s new benchmark for excellence with its homes, its training, its service and personal attention.

“The branding of the Dream Circle Destination Club separates the product from its parent company,” he explains. “Mirage and Standard Bank give us the highest calibre of leadership, with Webber-Wentzel doing the legal side and Price Waterhouse doing the audits.”

The Mirage group’s latest resort developments in Africa and the Middle East are leading the way for Dream Circle’s future expansion of dream holidays, South African-style. Dubai, Zanzibar and Morocco are preparing an opulent new generation of resort hotels, marinas and lakeside apartments. The One&Only hotel group’s R1.5 billion Royal Mirage in Dubai will soon be matched by its R900m new hotel at the V&A Waterfront, adjoining Dream Circle’s exclusive apartment and Princess 57 yacht.

The difference between Shared Ownership of a Destination Club, and Time Share. Shared Ownership is not Time Share. America’s independent Helium Report on behalf of wealthy American investors found in July 2007 that the major difference between Time Share and Shared Ownership can be summed up in one word - Money. Timeshare is much more affordable because it is broken down annually into weekly chunks of time.

Shared Ownership is usually divided into month-long or quarterly parts of the year with each owner receiving an equal number of days' access. They purchase their share of ownership from a management company that maintains the properties and organises and schedules each owner’s usage.

Purchasers of Shared Ownership in a Destination Club typically receive a non-equity interest in the club which allows them access to high-end accommodations around the world for a certain number of days or weeks each year. Its membership costs also reflect the locations of its properties, said the Report. Destination Clubs are associated with oceanfront houses or condos in the Caribbean, walk-out skiing in the Alps, and secluded island destinations. Their high-quality amenities include on-site restaurants, concierge and staff, fitness clubs, golf courses, and spas.

Another important difference between timeshare and shared ownership, the Report concluded, is what the purchaser actually owns. In a timeshare, the owner has rights over units of “time”. In Shared Ownership the owner has rights over his part of the title. This means that if a property involved in shared ownership appreciates over time then so do the shares, and the shareholder value increases. Co-owners can sell whenever they see fit and if this is done during a time of inflated values they will gain from the capital growth of their investment; this is not possible in timesharing.

Dream Circle - Homepage

Kagehitokiri

looks like just about the same model as worldwide private residences. definitely a great model, unfortunately looks like worldwide private residences wont get off the ground. wonder what will happen with this club.

also seems more clear on usage, only 32 days, whereas worldwide private residences was 35 days, and seemed to suggest additional might be possible on a space available basis.

168/20 = 8.4 members per property

do they give pricing anywhere?

DC4MS

Here is the parent development company for Dream Circle

Mirage Mille - Leisure and Development

Kagehitokiri

very cool. projects from parent include >

Royal Mirage Phase I
Royal Mirage Phase II
Al Masyaf Villas

Table Bay Hotel

DC4MS

SherpaReport wrote an analysis of Dream Circle on 12/12/07

Here is the link
Dream Circle Destination Club Launches - SherpaReport