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.


Destination club, Quintess launched its travel experiences program Quintess Beyond just a few months ago. The latest addition to these experiences is a yoga retreat in Los Cabos, Mexico later this year.

The Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club, announced a new member promotion that builds on A&K’s award-winning reputation as a leader in luxury travel. Prospects who enroll as new members in the club by September 30, 2011, will receive an Abercrombie & Kent USA travel credit of up to $20,000. This credit can be used for A&K travel in more than 100 countries on all seven continents.

The American Affluence Research Center has been surveying wealthy households twice a year for the past decade. The latest survey shows increasing interest in private residence clubs and destination clubs.

This new partnership between these two private clubs provides reciprocal access to each of their members.

When it's time to get away and mean it, the Ritz-Carlton company has provided the perfect combination of location and amenities with its Destination Club on Maui at Kapalua Bay.

Quintess, DUO by Quintess and THE TOUR CLUB together create a luxury Destination Club network. Members can now enjoy more than 100 homes and experiences in over 40 destinations across The Quintess Collection.

These three new properties make a total of 33 owned by the Hideaways Club Classic Fund and available to members of the fund.

What exactly is a destination club? How do we define a destination club? Many people seem to have mixed ideas of what exactly a destination club is. Here at SherpaReport we like to keep things pretty simple and consistent and being fans of the bard we follow Shakespeares tenets.

The new entrant in shared vacation home ownership builds groups of 100 participants who collectively own 12 luxury residences.

Our downloadable pdf Guide to Destination Clubs has been very popular since it was first published several years ago. We’ve brought the new edition up to date, covering the newest clubs with overview, insights and suggested questions for anyone considering this luxury travel option.

The lower annual fees represent a drop of roughly 20% from the prior levels and make the pricing incredibly competitive. The daily rates for the annual dues now vary between $715 and $865 depending on the membership level.

New entrant Demeure is creating a community of like minded discerning travelers who enjoy the homes that Demeure has assembled around the world. SherpaReport readers can take advantage of a special offer at no extra charge, dinner for 4 with a private chef, when you book the vacation of your choice from the four discounted properties below.

The first tours for members of destination club Quintess LRW under the clubs new "Beyond" program, will take members on African safaris to Kenya and South Africa this summer.

SherpaReport asked people who had joined a destination club, “which factors made you choose that destination club?” Respondents were able to list as many reasons as they liked, and on average these members provided three main reasons. Here are the results of this survey.

In a novel development for the destination club sector, the largest club, Exclusive Resorts, has just launched a new type of membership option with a non-refundable membership fee.

The Alberta based second home fund has just bought its first European property, a restored two-bedroom two-bathroom residence in Borgo di Vagli.

When asked to describe HomeWaters Club, Founder Donny Beaver, quips, “We’re a throwback to the weekend driving excursions our family took when I was a kid.” Beaver goes on to recall his happiest memories growing up in the 1950s and 60s, “Most weekends we’d drive to my grandfather’s camp along the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. It was there that I first fell in love with God’s great outdoors.”

In a sign that the economy is starting to rebound, the largest destination club announced that sales of new memberships and membership upgrades totaled $66 million in 2010, an increase of more than 50 percent compared to 2009. The club told us that over 200 people joined and over 130 members upgraded their membership plans last year.

The equity destination club is cutting the dues for each of its three membership levels by over 10%. Last year the club reduced the initial membership fees by almost 20% across the board and held the annual dues steady.

The new club, which provides access to hundreds of vacation homes around the world, now offers three membership levels. The main difference between each is the amount of discounts available: the longer your term, the greater your discounts.

Membership in the Equity Estates Fund grew to over 130 families in 2010. The fund has a portfolio of multi-million dollar vacation homes, which the member investors use for their family friendly vacation experiences.

The new destination club has recently added two new three-bedroom residences in Vail, Colorado, within walking distance of the Eagle Bahn Gondola.