Equity Estates Wishes a Happy Holiday Season

By: Destination Club News
Date: December 22, 2008

Despite a tumultuous economic environment, Adam Capes and Philip Mekelburg from Equity Estates are wishing a happy holiday season to members and potential members alike with a glass half full perspective. While new membership sales across the destination club industry as a whole have slowed, Equity Estates has posted solid growth figures in 2008 despite the economy. As a result of the strong support, Equity Estates plans to take full advantage of low real estate costs around the globe and give members even more luxury residences to access.

"We wish you a happy holiday season and for those who have traveled with us, we had a pleasure making your experience special. This holiday season is marked by a challenging and interesting economic environment. Although the stock and bond markets are down significantly over the past year, Equity Estates is up nearly 17% as we've raised our capital contribution to $350,000 for a full membership interest. Due to our conservative model with little to no debt on our portfolio of residences, we are well positioned for continued success. Our owner members report that they love our homes and travel experiences. The trips we are delivering are truly carefree and memorable."

"We couldn't ask for a better time to be buying homes. We are finding spectacular properties at value prices. We expect this to continue over the next few years while we build our diversified portfolio of residences for personal use and long-term financial gain for our owner members. Now more than ever we believe our model, where you can own your vacations rather than rent them, is the smartest way to enjoy luxury vacation residences."

"In times like these, it is important to put priorities in order. We continue to strongly believe that vacation experiences with our family and friends should be at or near the top of the list. We like to call the focus on these experiences QTT (Quality Time Together), and it is our pleasure to provide the perfect backdrops for them."

"Wishing you safe and enjoyable travels,"

Adam and Philip
Adam Capes and Philip Mekelburg
Managing Members of Equity Estates Fund I, LLC

A few short months ago, we spoke with Capes about the value the club was seeing in the real estate market. "We’re finding luxury homes up to 30% off in markets that would have sold at market rate just a few years ago," he said. "Our owners/members love that we are acquiring our portfolio of homes in a down real estate market."

Earlier this month, The LUSSO Collection filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as interest in the boutique destination club declined as a result of the economy. Based on the similar property values, expect a portion of the former LUSSO Collection members and possibly even some of the club's properties to join Equity Estates if LUSSO is unable to emerge from their Chapter 11 filing.

If you are considering destination club membership and would like to learn more about the benefits and risks of joining, request a free copy of our Destination Club Guide.