Phoenix Club
Members

With High Country Club filing for bankruptcy early in 2009 following a lengthy attempt at restructuring their destination club, many rival clubs pursued the 375 members of the clubs. Ultimate Escapes and Distinctive Holiday Homes both made public offers to the cast off members and Paragon Destinations was created by a High Country Club member in the hopes of reviving a version of the club, but no other club had more at stake than The Phoenix Club.

The Phoenix Club was created by "a small group of High Country Club members and creditors" who approached the 375 former members through legal counsel Thomas F. Quinn in August of 2009 to introduce the new club concept.

"I represent several existing Club members," Quinn wrote in September to the club's former members. "The lead is Rick Callahan, a member who has made the most significant financial contribution in the past to HCC and probably will be the person who stands to lose the most if the HCC bankruptcy results in liquidation. Rick has been in the real estate business for the last 30 years but has never been involved in a bankruptcy case as a creditor or debtor. In January 2008 Rick paid $500,000 cash to purchase an interest in the HCC Management Company. Additionally he provided the Club with a $1 million dollar line of credit. He and other members own the properties used by the Club in Maui, Steamboat Springs and Lake Tahoe. Rick Callahan is a secured creditor in the bankruptcy case but his collateral is the HCC accounts receivables which currently are worth zero."

Looking to both prevent the liquidation of the real estate assets and to continue the club experience, Callahan and the group of members devised a new club model that did not require a membership deposit or annual dues. Instead, the club would function similar to a luxury travel rental club where members would rent properties for a week at a time with prices varying by the property selected and the time of the year.

Of the 375 High Country Club members, roughly 200 would need to make four weeks of annual reservations for the club to be "self-sufficient."

In September of 2009, just a month after their first formal introduction to their potential members, the young destination club updated their prospects with the status of their initial sales goals. "So far, we have received reservations from 24 prior members, expressions of interest from another 20 or so, and declines from 6."

The vast majority of the former members of High Country Club have yet to weigh in on the club and their offering. Please check back frequently to learn more about the status of The Phoenix Club and the High Country Club bankruptcy.