Buzz Dachis, a semiretired real estate investor, has traveled extensively for both business and leisure. The Minneapolis resident owns a second home in Phoenix, but for destinations beyond, he wanted something more than hotels or rental properties. Dachis then learned about the Lusso Collection, a luxury destination club based in Eden Prairie. By joining the club, he has access to 17 high-end homes in 10 locations, with more properties being added regularly. To date, he has visited a property in Lake Tahoe and previewed Lusso’s New York condominium before it opened, and he has plans to go to Deer Valley, Utah, and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.
“I want a beautiful place in a location where I want to travel, and that’s what Lusso provides,” Dachis says. But more than the impressive homes, the service has been the distinguishing factor for him. For example, if Dachis—who is left handed—requests golf clubs at the residence, a private concierge will make sure a set of perfectly matched clubs is there.
“The service is second to none,” Dachis says. “They bend over backwards to accommodate you, and in this day and age, this is unusual.”
More people like Dachis are turning to luxury destination
clubs in lieu of purchasing second (or third or fourth) vacation homes and
staying in hotels—not only for the ease of travel, but also for the extravagant
experiences.
How They Work
Luxury destination clubs are relatively new to the vacation-travel industry, with the first ones established about three years ago. There are only 4,000 members total in the market, spread out over a handful of clubs, according to Rich Keith, president and CEO of Private Escapes Destination Clubs based in Fort Collins, Colorado.
A luxury destination club is based on a model similar to a private country club, in which members pay a one-time fee to join, ranging from $100,000 to $750,000, and yearly dues to retain their membership. Members are then entitled to stay a certain number of nights per year at any of the properties owned by the club. (The industry average is 30 nights, though the length of time available can range anywhere from 15 nights to unlimited travel.) Destination club locales can be divided into five common categories: beach, golf and spa resorts, mountain and ski areas, urban, and European destinations.
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