Kagehitokiri

resort privileges is not the same as resort managed, and there is also a huge difference between a high end luxury resort, and some average resort. - never trust blanket claims, make sure youre getting what you want from the properties.

3DH

...that would be me, Neil! Thanks for noticing!

stevenhcc, one thing I would look at in the comparison shopping of the "trial" memberships is the booking window for any days that would remain after your initial vacation reservation. (ie: if you have a 10 day plan that you can make only one advanced reservation on, you will have 3 days that will have to be booked within a space-available window... check that time-frame)

I will bash neither Goliath or any other competitors, LT , but rather will suggest you look at your own travel preferences steven and check what works best for your family based on club availability. Be sure to look at the 2 year out scenario in order to try to determine club booking patterns.

Let us know what you decide!

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

ER Traveler

From what I can tell, the resort privileges with ER have all been top-notch. Where ER is located within a resort there are always dedicated concierges and the quality of service is always up to ER's level. What's interesting to me is that the Esperanza Residences are usually booked up before the Punta Ballena villas with both being within the same resort and the difference being the Esperanza Residences have full resort privileges and access to the hotel. It seems members really enjoy the enclave within a resort format with the hotel privileges and I've heard it's a formula ER wants to continue to pursue. It's the best of both worlds.

On another note, I happen to like the fact that ER does not have a limit on it's membership size. If ER started a second club I would somehow feel leftout of the new offerings and even if I were offered the opportunity to join the new club at a preferred rate I probably wouldn't because I currently pay so little for my 60 days. As it stands I get to enjoy every new trip, destination and benefit. I don't really think large size is really detrimental as long as the availability is there and the bigger the club then the more destinations and options.

ER Traveler

Quintess Michael -

What makes you think ER "loves to pretend" Quintess doesn't have resort privileges? Are you quoting someone at ER on this? I've never heard this before.

Quintess Michael

Excellent point, Kage.

I am sure there are many resorts out there that nobody here would ever even set foot on.

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

sercano

Which ones?

Quintess Michael

Which Resorts?
How would I know...I'd never set foot there !

What I meant is that there are many resorts around the world that are 1, 2, or 3 star, that would never pass muster for any DC.
So Kage's point that being in or near a "resort" doesn't necessarily mean much if it is in or near a sub-standard resort.

Cedar Point in Sandusky is a great place to take the kids, but nobody is going to make it a DC destination.

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

Kagehitokiri

regardless of service/etc standards here, my point is that blanket statements should not be trusted. or perhaps just "trust but verify."

Quintess Michael

Because I hear it every day on the phone when potential members are comparing both clubs.

And why WOULD you hear it? Unless you work for ER ...

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

Veras Group Jim

Re availability versus member numbers, Steven, one interesting comparison tool that Solstice opened my eyes to was to look at, say, your top 3-5 destinations and do a comparison of members to destination ratio.

So, for example, if ER has 10 homes in destination A and Quintess has 3, you then take the total number of members and divide by the number of homes in that destination. If ER has 3500 members, and 10 homes in your top pick of destination, they have a member to destination homes ratio of about 1:350. If Quintess has 3 homes and 450 members, their ratio is about 1:150, for that destination.

This isn't a good way to evaluate overall availability, obviously, but if your favorite 3-4-5 destinations are of critical importance to you, it may offer some more perspective on your decision making. For a slightly broader perspective, you might consider factoring in similar destinations as well (i.e. if Los Cabos is a favorite, do this comparison using both Punta Mita properties and Los Cabos to see a ratio of Pacific Ocean Mexico to members). Even if you don't like the "similar" destinations, other members will, and that will affect your access.

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Jim Pippin
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
The Veras Group, LLC

TarheelTraveler

That's a very interesting way to look at it, Jim. Pick out the destinations you're most likely going to be traveling to and perform the ratio computation. If ER has 35 houses in one place, you're probably in pretty good shape, but not so much if they've only got a handful unless it's a really unpopular location. When I think of what members have said about availability, that probably works out pretty well. For example, Tuscany and Kiawah are tough to get, but Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Bonita, Florida, are pretty easy if I recall correctly.

ER Traveler

If you use a tool like member to destination ratio it gets a little tricky. For example, many west coast members will go to the Caribbean much less often than Mexico or Hawaii and many east coast members will stick with the Caribbean more often than going to Hawaii and Mexico so I don't think you can use the full membership numbers. It would be helpful to know the general distribution of members.

Quintess Michael

That is an excellent point ER Traveler.
There are always going to be a few locations that are high use no matter what, (Aspen, Cabo, Hawaii, NYC) but the destinations compared to geographic make-up of members should be taken into consideration as well.

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

Veras Group Jim

Absolutely a good point, ER Traveler, I completely agree. It's not a perfect analysis, but rather another tool for comparison. Assuming that Quintess and ER, for example, have at least a similar geographic distribution of members (and I can't imagine how they would be dramatically different, but I really don't know) it should help the decision--if specific properties are of particular importance. It is only a tool for making relative comparisons.

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Jim Pippin
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
The Veras Group, LLC

ER Traveler

Jim,

Would you not be privy to that sort of info (geographic distribution of members) so you can better serve your clients? It could be very useful if a potential member thinks they may mostly visit only a handful of favorite locations and might be concerned about availability.

Veras Group Jim

Absolutely, ER Traveler. We have added geographic distribution of members to our decision factors, as a matter of fact. Some clubs are very forthright about providing this kind of detail--others don't even analyze this sort of data, believe it or not.

One other important consideration in this regard--we would not recommend a destination club if a potential member was only interested in 1 destination primarily. I have met members whose primary interest is one location, and if they cannot access it when they want, it becomes a major frustration. Much better to have some flexibility in your travel, and be willing to get away to Miami Beach or Ft. Lauderdale or Naples.

But, yes, absolutely. It is a good point, and for those people who really want to consider this, we would certainly recommend factoring in the current geographic breakdown of members.

__________________
Jim Pippin
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
The Veras Group, LLC

Kagehitokiri

speaking of which, IIRC lusso is the only club to actually have additional caps based on geographic region, and families with school-age children.