Private Retreats

The first destination club, Private Retreats was created by Rob McGrath in 1998 after a long study of the fractional ownership industry. Convinced that travelers wanted more than one destination and increased flexibility, McGrath implemented elements of the fractional jet model, the country club mentality, and the benefits of shared ownership.

For a fraction of the cost of the down paymnet on one second home, members would have virtually unlimited access to a global portfolio of homes. Members would join by paying a fully refundable membership deposit, annual dues, and a small nightly fee. McGrath had created the groundwork for the destination club model used throughout the industry still today.

The new concept was a success and quickly grew to the point where McGrath began to focus on partnering to bring his club to the next level. In July of 2003, Private Retreats, already at approximately 300 members, signed a branding agreement with luxury adventure giant Abercrombie & Kent, creating Private Retreats by Abercrombie & Kent. Now with an established brand name, the club operated as Abercrombie & Kent Destination Clubs and would eventually create sister clubs in Distinctive Retreats and Legendary Retreats.

Private Retreats' portfolio grew exponentially with new memberships. The collection of $1 million plus residences remained a popular option even with the new club rollouts.

The club's success continued under the new branding, but many of the risks associated with being an early entrant began to catch up with the club. Citing growing competition and the required short-term leases to meet availability, the club was unable to continue making payments to the luxury travel giant and lost the Abercrombie & Kent license. Virtually overnight, the collective three clubs remarketed themselves as Tanner & Haley, named after McGrath's two young children.

Citing increased competition, insufficient annual dues, and the high cost of short-term leases, by 2006, Tanner & Haley was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and 874 members were left without a club.

After the club's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Tanner & Haley's assets were actively persued by several clubs including Ultimate Resort and Ciel. In December of 2006, after a bidding war between the two clubs, a federal bankruptcy judge selected Ultimate Resort's $100 million bid. Approximately 650 members from Tanner & Haley elected to join Ultimate Resort via either a dues only membership or via an option to upgrade to full membership when the acquisition was completed in May of 2007.

In September of 2007, Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes announced a merger between their two clubs to form what would eventually be Ultimate Escapes with the collected Tanner & Haley members still a substantial contigent of the club's member base.

To learn more about Private Retreats, please visit any of the club's quick links found to the right or request a free copy of our Destination Club Guide.

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Abercrombie & Kent Destinations
Distinctive Retreats
Legendary Retreats
Private Escapes
Tanner & Haley
Ultimate Escapes
Ultimate Resort