Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club Webinar Review

By: Destination Club News
Date: January 14, 2010

The Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club conducted an online seminar yesterday to discuss their equity destination club, hosted by Abercrombie & Kent Founder Geoffrey Kent and Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club's Senior Vice President of Sales & Business Development, Darin Gilson. They were kind enough to invite us to attend the near hour long webinar along with the over 50 other listeners who registered for the presentation.

Followed by a brief introduction by Gilson, Geoffrey Kent began his portion of the presentation by stating why he believed the Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club was "the best residence club in the world."

"One of the keys to this club is that you don't have any hassles of a second home, but the most important part is the fact that this is an equity club where the members own the club and the properties are owned debt-free," said Kent. "We have Global Experience Managers who consult with you. They know the properties. They know the experiences around them. And they can describe to you the types of services you can have from the homes."

"The difference with an Abercrombie & Kent home (to other destination clubs) is that we use them as a base. A base to do all sorts of other activities and not just sit beside the pool," he continued. "We couple the home with the equity, debt-free model with superior service in the pre-planning of the trip and execution of these experiences at the villa itself."

"Becoming a member of the Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club is your passport to the world," said Gilson. "It begins with the private residences the club owns to the European villas and European boutique hotels that club members can utilize and to the world of Abercrombie & Kent travel and the hundreds of travel experiences around the world."

The properties available to members dominated much of the discussion, including the properties in Turks & Caicos, New York, and Snowmass, where Kent just returned from. "I just returned from Snowmass about a week ago," said the luxury travel pioneer. "It is a wonderful location with the health club literally 200 yards away from you. A great gymnasium and restaurants and the whole experience of being in Aspen is quite superior. I actually paraglided off the top of Snowmass and went snowmobiling."

Gilson would go on to briefly discuss the club's new European hotel options available to members in Rome, Paris, and London, including The Goring Hotel just one block from Buckingham Palace and Travel & Leisure's top rated hotel in England. Like the A&K journeys, members can exchange their nights for access to these new travel options introduced just yesterday.

For a limited time, the Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club is offering two very attractive membership options that were thoroughly discussed by Gilson. For those still considering destination club membership, the Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club has introduced a two-year dues only membership that lets members experience the club without an up-front membership deposit. For those looking to join as a full equity member, the club has currently reduced deposits by 40%, one of the most sizeable incentives in the history of the destination club sector. Concluding at the end of March, several trial members have already taken advantage of the discounted equity pricing with Gilson adding "there has never been a better time."

Following the presentation, Gilson and Kent would both make themselves available for questions from the audience, answering questions from listeners about the club's target audience, resignation policies, plans to acquire other destination clubs and several other pointed questions. Answering each question in stride, Gilson and Kent did reveal a great deal of useful information about the club, including:

• Just shy of 150 equity members
• 2009 total occupancy of roughly 52%
• Over 50 trial members during 2009
• Current member-to-property ratio of approximately 4.5 to 1.
• Currently operating on a one in, one out resignation model

An informative and educational overview on club membership, Abercrombie & Kent has incorporated these webinars into their long-term marketing plans and we suggest anyone interested in the club to join in. For more news on the Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club and the next upcoming webinar, please check back frequently.