Abercrombie & Kent Prepares To Launch New Destination Club

By: Destination Club News
Date: April 18, 2008

Abercrombie & Kent, a leader in the luxury travel field for nearly half a century, will launch a new destination club this summer that they claim will "transform the marketplace by combining the company's unparalleled experience and global reach, its insider access and its superlative travel services, with a unique equity club model."

The new Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club will launch with an established base of members and properties as the club has acquired the two leading equity destination clubs in the industry, Crescendo Residences and BelleHavens. Not only will Abercrombie & Kent become the sixth largest destination club in terms of members upon their launch, but members of the two clubs' executive teams will stay onboard with A&K to help craft the club's vision moving forward, including BelleHavens' Darin Gilson and Crescendo Residences' Joe Mitchell.

"It’s the next logical step for us," began A&K's Geoffrey Kent. "We have been providing remarkable services and experiences for more than four and a half decades. Now we are applying those same skills to transforming the growing world of destination clubs. We're confident that no other company can offer this unique combination of membership benefits including extraordinary homes, luxury resorts, Abercrombie & Kent's exceptional travel opportunities and the peace of mind that comes with equity membership."

While the powerful A&K name will be attached to the club, it won't be there strictly for marketing purposes. Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club members will be able to exchange nights in the club for trips within the Abercrombie & Kent catalogue, enjoying the journeys that helps establish the brand as a leader in the luxury travel field. Currently, A&K offers trips to over 100 countries, ranging from leisurely cruises to grueling mountain expeditions, all available to club members.

The new club will adopt an operational philosophy similar to the one used at BelleHavens. Properties will be owned debt-free and the club will be 100% owned by the members. Members will be able to elect two members to the club's Board to help guide the club's growth and will receive annual audited financial statements to monitor the club's fiscal position.

These policies will be implemented to help cement the club as one of the leading responsible destination clubs in the sector, but also to help distance themselves from a club bearing the same name that created the first major blemish on the destination club industry.

In July of 2003, Private Retreats was not only the club that created the destination club model, but was still the industry's leader with roughly 300 members. Founder Rob McGrath looked to further enhance the benefits of destination club membership and would partner with Abercrombie & Kent to help continue his club's growth. The club would move forward as Private Retreats by Abercrombie & Kent and eventually be known as Abercrombie & Kent Destination Clubs once affiliate club Distinctive Retreats was created. With the A&K name attached, new membership enrollments continued to soar, but the inner workings of the club began to erode. After the clubs failed to make their licensing payments to A&K in August of 2005, Geoffrey Kent discontinued the partnership and removed the Abercrombie & Kent name. At the time of the announcement, Kent would say "Our long term business strategy now requires that we maintain full control over our valuable brand name."

McGrath's three clubs, now with the recently introduced Legendary Retreats, moved forward under the Tanner & Haley Destination Clubs umbrella. Due to a model that relied on countless short-term leases to meet availability needs, low annual contributions from members, and a lack of material proceeds from several affiliate businesses, Tanner & Haley would file for bankruptcy less than a year after losing the Abercrombie & Kent brand name.

Despite the fact that Abercrombie & Kent had no say in the day to day operations of the club, many still attached the A&K name to the Tanner & Haley bankruptcy. The above and beyond financial disclosure that the new Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club will provide seeks to reestablish A&K's "valuable brand name" in the destination club sector.

Exclusive Resorts has made a name for themselves since their launch, but Abercrombie & Kent will bring an instantly identifiable name to the sector and appears to have a strong foundation put in place for their pending launch. Check back frequently for more news on the new club as their introduction approaches.