Legacy Destinations Looks To Add Properties

By: Destination Club News
Date: March 11, 2008

Legacy Destinations, a new destination club with a unique business structure, has announced that they are actively seeking second home owners who would like to contribute their property to the club in exchange for a free membership, allowing for these members to enjoy an ever increasing collection of vacation homes.

Unlike the majority of other destination clubs, Legacy Destinations does not own any of the homes available to members. Instead, they "form partnerships with homeowners and developers who are looking to leverage their property into something greater." These partners do not have to give up the title, equity, or appreciation in the home, but simply make it available to Legacy Destination members.

In addition to receiving a free membership, which includes annual dues, nightly usage fees, and membership fees associated with joining, Legacy plans on providing members who contribute their properties additional benefits, including:

• Concierge services
• Daily maid services
• Ground transportation from their own home and to other properties in the portfolio
• Management services

Legacy Destinations is targeting "elite homes in some of the best destinations around the world," with a value in excess of $4,000,000.

This type of structure has its own risks and rewards. Many destination clubs launch already behind the eight ball, using much of their capital acquiring properties available to members and leaving little for marketing, operations, and other mission critical functional components. With a structure like the one planned for Legacy Destinations, the club does not have any costs associated with property ownership. The various services mentioned above all are a far cry from the substantial costs of owning and maintaining a collection of $4,000,000 properties.

On the other hand, destination clubs pride themselves on providing members a superior and predictable travel experience for each of their vacations. Clubs often have a standardized list of products at each of their properties, down to the same remote control at each property so members don't have to learn new configurations for each stay. In a set-up like Legacy Destinations where the property portfolio is an amalgam of various property owners, members don't have a predictable travel experience. Beds have different sheets, kitchens have different microwaves, homes have variable bed and bath configurations.

Other shared ownership clubs use similar structures as Legacy Destinations, but whether or not this model fits the rather loose definition of a destination club is up for debate. To discuss this topic in greater detail, please visit our friends at DestinationClubForums, a free destination club discussion board. If you would like to learn more about the various destination club models used throughout the industry and the risks and rewards of each, please request a free copy of our Destination Club Guide.