What Does Descent International's Liquidation Mean To Botiga

By: Destination Club News
Date: September 3, 2009

"Regrettably, Descent International has gone into voluntary liquidation."

Since 1997, Descent International has served in the upper end of the ski chalet and tour industry in the French and Swiss Alps, charging in excess of £55,000 per week, but now those brief eight words greet site viewers, including those that have already placed significant deposits to reserve chalets for the coming months. Accoring to reports, Descent International counts debts totalling £1.5 million and bookings far short of expectations for the upcoming ski season. While it is no longer a head turning event to see a luxury travel firm like Descent crumble during these difficult financial times, it is the firm's holding company that has an impact on the destination club sector: Botiga Holdings.

Planned to launch in winter of 2008 under the guidance of Kit Harrison, the Co-Founder of Descent International, Botiga was to use a hybrid equity structure for the design of their new destination club. "Botiga is a club owned by its members for its members," Harrison had said.

As the launch approached and real estate values continued to decline, Botiga halted their official portfolio launch.

"With property prices continuing to soften, members have requested that Botiga delays the launch of the portfolio in order to take advantage of what they feel will be better pricing in 2009, and therefore maximise their returns," said Harrison. "The club has supported this move. It is expected that properties will be secured in Spring 2009, to be availabe for member use for Autumn 2009."

In the months following, High Country Club, LUSSO Collection, and Solstice had all filed for bankruptcy.

As the unofficial Spring 2009 deadline came and went, no new news came from the club, but club representatives continued to support a pending relaunch of the club. In the interim, Harrison returned to Descent only to see it fall with the economy. "We've tried very hard to save Descent," Harrison said, "but in the end that has not been possible."

With Descent's fate all but finalized, what will happen to Botiga Holdings and the destination club that Harrison launched just a short year ago? Botiga failed to reach the 30 member mark and refunded members' deposits earlier in the year. We have reached out to Botiga for a comment on their status and their upcoming plans. Please check back soon to see if Harrison's destination club awaits the same fate of Descent International or if there is still some hope for success from the ashes.