Lifestyle Assets

When Ultimate Escapes was formed in 2007, it joined Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes, respectively the second and third largest destination clubs in the world. It would take roughly two years for the official merger to close, hampered by anemic new membership sales, drastic declines in property values, and poor credit markets, and by the time Private Escapes was acquired, Ultimate Escapes was well on their way to a bankruptcy filing in September of 2010.

Lifestyle Assets, created by executives from Private Escapes just months after the Ultimate Escapes bankruptcy, was forged with a focus on equity ownership, one of the primary downfalls of Ultimate Escapes.

"With collective asset ownership, the experienced Lifestyle Assets team acquires properties and manages them on your behalf," the club wrote. "You join one of several regional groups, depending upon your interests and where you prefer to travel. Each regional group will collectively own ten to twelve multi-million dollar residences free and clear."

Formally introduced to the market in March of 2011, Lifestyle Assets branded themselves as "the next generation of luxury vacation ownership. Each fund within the Lifestyle Assets family is structured as an LLC, limited to 100 participants who collectively own the properties. Once the club reaches 50% of their full subscription, a countdown trigger begins. Seven years after the countdown starts, the properties will be sold with proceeds distributed to the members. At that point, members can either walk away or renew their arrangement with Lifestyle Assets.

"Having been a member and CEO of vacation clubs, I was able to, with my colleagues, create a unique model that uses only the best attributes that will be easy-to-use and beneficial for each of our equity owners and their families and friends," said CEO Richard Keith. "Each of our properties is in a prime location that our equity owners will appreciate and want to return to over the length of the LLC."

Lifestyle Assets uses a points based reservation system that gives members 5,000 points per year, equating to an average of 30 to 40 nights of access each year. Points can also be exchanged to stay in residences in other regional LLCs.

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