catpak1960

Hi. I am new to Destination Club Forums. We are considering joining a destination club and have pretty much narrowed it down to Lusso or Quintess (30 day plan). Our biggest fears are availability and, of course, the real estate market in general. Does anyone have any comments regarding one club or the other?? Good or bad experiences?

3DH

While you have already received one of my PM's on the positives of LUSSO, let me add here that the availability hasn't ever been an issue. We have been able to book two holidays this year without being in the release rotation for either... that speaks a lot, in my mind! The low member to home ratio does make a difference, and their booking model (4 reservations at any given time on the books -- booked within 365 days -- and 2 additional available to book from 1-2 years out) keep things in check!

We are thrilled with our decision, and know we made the right one for our travel patterns and our family!

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

Steamboat Bill

The real answer depends upon what collection of home locations you like better as they are similar clubs in terms of quality and price. However, Lusso has a lower member to home ratio and has a better membership refund policy in the event you ever want to resign from the club. I think most people would be very happy with joining either club.

Here are some important considerations:

Lusso
25 homes in 12 destinations
120 members = 4.8 member to home ratio
100% membership refund + 50% appreciation

Quintess
70 homes in 30 destinations
400 members = 5.7 member to home ratio
80% membership refundable

3DH

Just a correction... the 50% appreciation was removed for memberships after March 1. 100% refund is still active, though...

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

puffpuff

I suggest you go thru the reservation system with both on a dry run basis and you will see the diffrence. Quintess network of location is far far greater, but their reservation system, esp during holidays, is very tight when I did my due deligence some time ago.

catpak1960

I don't mean to sound naive, but what do you mean by a "dry run" basis?

Upgrade Girl

Things to consider:

Availability - all the clubs have fabulous availability when they are still small - how can Lusso maintain their low member/property ratio as they grow?

What's the maximum # of members planned and would that be in your contract or just a tentative plan until the goal is reached?

Quintess has the advantage with the LRW connection and definitely with the current number of destinations. It's very impressive.

DC4MS

Most Destination Clubs will allow potential members to view their reservation calendar in "real-time".

This "dry-run" will provide you the best opportunity to see how each property fills up during various times of the year so you can evaluate how easy/hard it will be when you want to reserve a property.

Some clubs, but not all, will require that you sign a non-disclosure agreement before providing access to their online reservation system.

3DH

In the membership documents, guaranteed no more than 5.5 members per home... new homes are purchased as (or before) numbers increase to maintain ratio. With a member cap of 550 (contractual), eventual number of 100 homes, total.

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

Upgrade Girl

I think it would give me cause for concern if Lusso is actually contracted to be so restricted. The question then becomes how can they or any club maintain their business model and ultimately turn a profit for their investors?

NeilGoBlue

My advice is to wait two weeks before making a decision..

catpak1960

Any reason???

DC4MS

Perhaps this will confirm the strong rumors about a new merger in the Destination Club industry???

FlipFlopJoe

removed... original was intended as private message

Upgrade Girl

Flip Flop Joe's message referred to comparisons of member to property ratios between clubs. Keep in mind that when one club has only one membership type and another has multiple types you have to really look at a full member equivalent if you want to compare the ratio fairly.

Kagehitokiri

its not like you dont compete with "partial" members for reservations though..

FlipFlopJoe

To further expand on that, when you are comparing the ratios, you have to look at "individuals", not FME's.

Ex. Three 15 day members in Club A might be defined as 1 FME. However, when it comes time to making reservations, that 1 FME is really the same as 3 members when it comes to trying to book a reservation.

Therefore, when a tiered club is quoting a ratio, you have to ask is that number based upon FME or "individuals"? This is one of the reasons why the tiered clubs went away from speaking of member to property ratios and instead chose to speak of occupancy ratios instead b/c that was a number they could control - namely, how many days did they sell (or put into the system).

Earlier the question was asked by Upgrade Girl of how can LUSSO maintain their low member to property ratio as they grow? And based upon 3DH's excerpt from LUSSO's documents, the club can never exceed 5.5 members per home when it is full (550 members and 100 properties) or while it is growing. Obviously they have created a model that supports this ratio otherwise they would not have stated it so clearly in the contractual members documents.

And since LUSSO does not sell tiered memberships, a member is a member is a member. Or more simply put, 550 members = 550 memberships and vs. some greater number equaling 550 FME's.

Kagehitokiri

whatever club you join, make sure you look at which usage options are most appealing, as well as the values offered by the different options.