TarheelTraveler

Additional information and videos on the A&K Residence Club are now on the website.

Abercrombie & Kent Residences - Luxury Residences, Exclusive Destinations, Destination Club & Luxury Private Vacation Homes

Of course, the final website at launch will have full information.

Kagehitokiri

great content, and pretty classy, but it does approach hype on the experience vs real estate comparison. (not unlike some other DCs.)

TarheelTraveler

I've not taken an A&K trip yet, but people do rave about them. Geoffrey Kent can be pretty forthright, and I could see that comment bristling the management of some other DCs, but everything does sound nicer with a British accent .

Kagehitokiri

its not like other clubs arent saying the same thing. at least kent (and slade) can back it up.

although it will also be interesting to see if/when luxury hotel/resort management enters the DC industry - whether the brand itself, or top GMs/execs/staff are hired away.

ive moved the original content of this post here >
thoughts on DCs, experiential travel, etc

TarheelTraveler

It will be interesting to see what benefits get added as part of the launch. I'm sure Jarvis Slade can bring some valuable experience and contacts from his American Express Centurion/Black card days.

Kagehitokiri

slade appears to have managed the partners/benefits provided to american express platinum/centurion cardholders, which are very substantial, especially in the united states. (although there are some things that are offered in other countries, and not the united states.)

TarheelTraveler

Some very nice benefits indeed.

See, for example, Centurion Card - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not everything is public yet, but a very good management team is being put in place.

Kagehitokiri

are there any executives that are actually from A&K?

and what do former members think of the roles of the previous founders?

papaioannou is another good addition. harper has various offerings, including a hotel membership program similar to american express fine hotels & resorts / virtuoso / etc.

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there are a number of centurion cardholders, and lots of discussion of centurion benefits on flyertalk, in both the american express forum (there is a sticky at the top of the forum) and the luxury hotels forum.

this is actually the best website on it >
AmEx CENTURION COMPARISON
http://www.geocities.jp/ctwxg845/

TarheelTraveler

Geoffrey Kent has and will be actively involved with the Residence Club (rather than just a figurehead). Papaioannou worked for A&K for many years. IIRC, there are several more from A&K. Also, several more with very impressive backgrounds that have not been publicly released. With respect to the founders, I have no experience with the Bellehavens side, other than from hearing from a BH member who was very fond of their management and member services. On the Crescendo side, Leigh Mitchell is fantastic, incredibly organized and responsive, and is in charge of setting up the houses which she is very good at. Joe Mitchell is handling much of the real estate acquisition. He does a very good job of picking houses with the "wow" factor in solid resorts with good potential for real estate appreciation. His timing wasn't great in Scottsdale (that was an early purchase before it became evident that the market was peaking), but hit it out of the park in places like Punta Mita and Cabo. In Punta Mita, I saw a neighboring vacant lot on the market for about 50% more than the cost of the 6,000 sq. foot Crescendo house on an identical lot.

Kagehitokiri

great info, especially on RE acquisitions.

couldnt kent technically be considered advisory/board?

and papaioannou's immediately prior position was with harper.

i wonder if NeilGoBlue has any thoughts on BH's gilson being head of sales and biz dev.

travelenthusiast

Take a look at their website (Abercrombie & Kent Residences - Luxury Residences, Exclusive Destinations, Destination Club & Luxury Private Vacation Homes). They have updated it, and know have video interviews with Geoffrey Kent on a variety of topics.

VERY well done, in my opinion. What do the rest of you think?

This may be the new "force to contend with" come Fall.

LTTravel

I think that the lawsuit still hangs heavy over their heads. I wish them luck but until that is settled, they have some problems.

Kagehitokiri

TarheelTraveler

I absolutely agree, but of course I am biased, just like the members and management of other clubs that try to downplay the competitve threat. To me, it's interesting to see the various perspectives. I've talked to DC sales people that will tell you that they think A&K's entrance in the field is great, because it brings greater exposure and advertising to the category, just like ER does with the amount of money they spend in advertising that benefits the other clubs that don't spend as much. It also makes the field more mainstream, maybe not on the level of Ritz entering the field, but it's hard to knock the power of having hundreds of thousands of existing customers to sell to. T&H certainly sold a lot of memberships using the A&K name during that year or so that they had the license. Even though other clubs benefit from the exposure, you can also bet that every other club is going to harp on the lawsuit to prospects, even though it technically has nothing to do with the current A&K residence club. You even see that on this forum, and you can bet the plaintiff's law firm is counting on that. If they didn't think A&K was going to be a force or threat, I don't think they'd even be talking about A&K. Crescendo was not on the radar of most propsects or other DCs and wasn't really talked about. This has very much changed with A&K.

It's also interesting to see the reaction from advisors that I've talked to that are thrilled to see A&K enter the field, with in my mind and their minds, a more pro-consumer DC model. I'm willing to bet that many of the things A&K is doing will be duplicated by others, which is a good thing for the industry and for members of existing clubs. In any event, the industry has so much room for growth that I think most of the established clubs will be successful.

With respect to the videos, I agree that they are very well done, and it is just a sign of things to come. I always thought that Crescendo was pretty well polished as far as the website, communications, branding, etc., even disregarding size, but A&K has raised that to a new level. I'm constantly amazed at how methodical, professional and detail oriented they are.

rwhaugan

Tarheel

Perhaps you are right about other DCs concern with AK. Other reps have mentioned the T&H BK, as well as questioning how long/if AK will last. Thanks for sharing some insight from an insiders perspective.

TarheelTraveler

I do think that a big part of the sales approach for certain DCs is to put doubts in your mind regarding other DCs, rather than explaining how their DC is substantively different or better. At least some DCs like Lusso in my experience take the high road and actually try to explain how they're different.

I can understand some salespeople saying that A&K will be more expensive or we've got more current U.S. destinations, but it's interesting that they would question how long/if A&K will last when A&K has the most fiscally conserative approach out there, and A&K is committing very significant resources to the DC to do it right. Even if A&K were to decide that they're not selling enough memberships, that conserative approach/strong member balance sheet would make you look pretty good to a merger partner unlike say a Portofino, where you've got significant debts, but almost no assets left.