Quintess and Dream Catcher Retreats Merge

By: Destination Club News
Date: September 1, 2006

Two of the destination club industry’s leading up and coming clubs, Quintess and Dream Catcher Retreats, have merged their two clubs to form Quintess, Catch the Dream. Both with over 100 members, the new collected club will include more than 230 members and 38 properties around the world.

The $62 million merger, the largest in the history of the sector, will combine two very similar clubs. Not only did both share a similar member and property count, both are based in Colorado and made their official introduction to the market in April of 2005.

"Quintess and Dream Catcher share core values centered on a commitment to delight our members and a focus on remarkably luxurious, private freestanding homes,” says Quintess CEO and Co-Founder Pete Estler. “Both parties saw the opportunity to combine our strengths to create a club with a vastly improved range of member experiences and even greater financial strength. At a time when Dream Catcher and Quintess have both enjoyed tremendous growth and financial stability, this merger unequivocally does both. The clubs have recently taken over $10 million in new investment capital and we are well positioned to accelerate growth in Quintess membership, destinations, and luxury resort properties."

This synergetic union will make Quintess, Catch the Dream the third largest destination club in the industry. Over the next several months, the clubs will begin to integrate operations with Pete Estler moving forward as CEO, Dream Catcher CEO Scott Anderson will serve as Vice Chairman, and Bruce Barnet will hold the Chairman position.

"This is a classic merger, by combining both clubs, we are leveraging our collective strengths in luxury hospitality, superb resort real estate, and marketing to create the premier luxury destination club." says Anderson. "This is extremely positive news for our members and our investors."

The combined property portfolio will include Costa Rica, Aspen, Los Cabos, and New York amongst other popular destinations and The Essence, a 92-foot sailing yacht.

The merger of two of the fastest growing destination clubs comes on the heels of Tanner & Haley's bankruptcy. Known for the creation of the destination club concept, Tanner & Haley included nearly 900 members between their three respective clubs, Private Retreats, Distinctive Retreats, and Legendary Retreats.

With the bankruptcy of an industry pioneer and leader, many interested in the destination club concept have taken a step back to analyze their purchase in greater detail. The combination of these two brands should alleviate some of the barriers that potential members may have. If you are currently evaluating destination club membership, request a free copy of our Destination Club Guide.