One Key World
Notes From The Club

One of the most optimistic and vocal supporters of both their club and the destination club concept, One Key World had many executives that were willing to discuss the benefits and risks of membership.

What they called "the next generation destination club," One Key combined several different elements in the design of their club. Founder and CEO Jay Sapovits, a former Vice President at Marquis Jets, took the jet card model overlaid onto the destination club formula. Instead of charging members a refundable membership deposit to join and annual dues for every year the member stayed with the club like nearly all other destination clubs, One Key World sold pre-paid travel cards to members. Members could purchase 15, 25, and 45 night membership cards and use the nights on the card as they wished with no expiration dates.

"We are a mix of vacation rentals and destination club quality assurance," said Sapovits. "From my perspective, it is the best of both worlds. Destination clubs provide consistent experiences across many vacation homes. The only reason that the destination club business model exists is vacation rental service models haven't gotten the experience aspect right. One Key World takes the vacation rental world without any of the pitfalls of doing everything yourself, combining in the destination club experience."

Once a member exhausted their card, they could simply leave the club and not have to deal with a lengthy resignation process like members at other clubs. At any point, they could replenish their card with additional nights of access. "The problem with other destination clubs is that you are forced to make a long term commitment for something that doesn't need a long term commitment," Sapovits said. "With One Key World, we ask you to take two to three trips with us. As a destination club member, you are locked and loaded. You are with that club and you rely on them to continue selling if you want your money back. If you want your money back, you are on a waiting list. With us, you just don't have to return our phone calls."

While One Key World is most commonly grouped under the rather broad destination club label, due to its structure, it also was commonly considered a rental company. To keep operational costs low, One Key did not own any of the real estate available to members, but would enter into strategic alliances with developers and other rental providers to create their portfolio of properties.

The club grew organically and announced their 100th reservation late in 2008, a January 2009 trip to Palm Springs. Virtually at the exact same time that the trip was scheduled, One Key World announced that they would cease operations, citing the economic storm that hit the destination club industry hard through 2008 and most of 2009.

Unfortunately, no notes from the One Key World executive team are available, but please read through our One Key World News pages to learn more about the former club and their forward thinking perspectives on the destination club sector.