Cabo Casitas

Destination clubs, residence funds and luxury travel clubs provide their members with access to multiple luxury vacation homes, located all over the world. The homes are typically multi-million dollar residences, and are sited in major cities, at beaches, in mountains and leisure locations.

Membership of the clubs is an alternative to buying a second home. The clubs are sometimes also compared to, or even mixed up with, private residence clubs, but there are several key differences between the two.

If you're just starting out learning about the clubs and funds read the overview and the glossary. Then you can start to compare them in the comparison table. One way to financially compare them is using a cost per night calculation and we've provided downloadable spreadsheets for these calculations. Here are the top reasons to join a club, but they are not for everybody and here are the reasons not to join.

And for a real in-depth look at the clubs, their homes and services, comparisons to alternatives and questions to consider before joining, download our Guide for Prospective Members.

The latest news and research on the clubs is included below.


Exclusive Resorts and Quintess are two of the best-known and most well-established destination clubs in today's luxury travel market. Both offer a range of high quality homes and high levels of service in locations around the world. We review them both so that you can see the similarities and differences, and see if one is right for you.

This equity destination club builds portfolios of 6 luxury vacation homes that are collectively owned by 50 investors. The two current portfolios, Atlantic One and Pacific One, have a US East Coast and West Coast focus to their homes. With a new planned portfolio of city homes due to be launched.

The Canadian destination club Destination M has been structured as a non-profit corporation since 2008. This means that it is not set up to generate profits for outside shareholders. This is the only destination club with this type of structure, so here's a walk through on what this means for the club shareholder members.

The Canadian based equity destination club Luxus, is currently looking for investors in its second and third funds, but plans to take a break from adding additional lifestyle funds, once these two are sold out.

The equity destination club, Equity Residences launched its second fund just a few months ago. We caught up with co-founder and Managing Director Greg Salley to talk through the funds and what it means to be an investor in Equity Residences.

The equity destination club has been adding several homes to its second fund. Investment levels have also increased as vacation home prices start to recover.

Continuing in our series of extraordinary and ordinary requests made of club concierges, we're focusing on Rocksure, an equity club offering both villa and apartment funds. Both fund owners and the general public have the opportunity to stay in Rocksure's properties, and all guests receive the same service.

The new Equity Platinum Fund will acquire 20 luxury vacation residences, each with a value between $2 million and $3 million. Some of the target locations for the new fund include Cabo San Lucas, the Bahamas, Deer Valley, Hawaii and West Palm Beach.

It's been a while since we saw some details on the types of people joining destination clubs. So we recently reached out to several clubs to get a picture of the sort of people who are becoming members. Here's a run-down on the answers that we received, together with some earlier data.

As a Luxury Residence Fund, Equity Estates is different from some other destination clubs. Members of the club are actual investor-owners in the properties that they visit, so the concierges are responsible for both the travelers and the homes. As a result, the concierges hold a dual title of Personal Travel Concierge and Destination Manager. Regular responsibilities include budget management, handling repairs, maintenance, and improvements, as well as coordinating the specific needs of each traveler.

Our downloadable guide, "Destination Clubs & Residence Funds: A Guide for Prospective Members" is now in its seventeenth annual edition (the first one was published in 2007). This free, in-depth report explains the features and benefits of destination clubs, reviews the industry's leading destination club and residence fund companies, and is a valuable tool designed to help prospective members make an educated assessment about joining a club. With the evolution of these companies, including several new destination clubs, as well as new programs and services, the regularly updated guide is a must-have for all luxury travelers.

Of all of the benefits of destination club membership, one of the most intangible is the services provided by the club concierges. Available to assist with just about any request that members have, these concierges have fulfilled many ordinary and extraordinary requests throughout the years. Destination M, a Canadian equity destination club, offers private concierges they call Mbassadors. These Mbassadors have extensive knowledge of the local area and are available to help with virtually any and all members' requests. 

Recognizing the trend toward "glamping" (glamorous camping), Exclusive Resorts has announced a strategic partnership with Airstream 2 Go, offering fully-outfitted Airstream trailer rentals including GMC Yukon Denali tow vehicles.

Inspirato, which has just reached under 8,000 members, recently announced that they have secured an additional $20 million in growth financing. The funding, which was raised from new investor W Capital Partners and existing investors Institutional Venture Partners and Millennium Technology Value Partners brings the total funding raised by Inspirato to $70 million.

After selling out its first fund, Premiere I, last year the equity destination club has launched a new fund which is buying $1m+ vacation homes for its owner members.

Inspirato with American Express, a destination club with more than 6,200 members, has just added 17 vacation options to their signature collection. The signature collection includes Signature Residences, Signature Stays, Signature Experiences, and Signature Tickets, and the 17 new offerings span all four categories.

This equity destination club has a very strong investment focus, in which it buys distressed vacation properties, and revamps them to add value. The fund has just bought two new homes in Florida and Hawaii.

Destination club Inspirato with American Express has grown very rapidly since its launch in 2011. Its members have exclusive access to a collection of luxury vacation homes and can participate in members-only experiences and VIP events. SherpaReport talked to founder and CEO Brent Handler.

Rocksure is launching two new US funds. The Manhattan fund will buy apartments in New York City and the Liberty fund will buy apartments in 6 US cities. Investors in the funds can use the apartments during the life of the funds.

When deciding whether or not to join a destination club or residence fund, prospective members often compare investing in a second home, to purchasing a destination club membership. For many years, SherpaReport has been hearing the reasons travelers choose to join these clubs and funds rather than buying a second home. A new study by Exclusive Resorts shows a similar set of results.

This Calgary based equity destination club is unique, in that it is the only club owned and managed by its member shareholders. M's board of directors is comprised of M shareholders who over see the strategic, tactical and financial direction of the club. SherpaReport recently caught up with General Manager John Beckel.

The luxury residence fund, or equity destination club, Equity Estates launched its second fund last year. We caught up with founder and CEO Philip Mekelburg to talk through the funds and what it means to be an investor in Equity Estates.