Jim Pippin's (verasgroupjim) Blog

While the destination club industry has seen several clubs fail during the current major economic downturn (High Country Club, Solstice, and LUSSO Collection among others), there are also several clubs not only succeeding, but prospering. Equity Estates, for one, has seen one of their best sales ...

In the destination club industry, there are few lenders for those interested in financing a portion or all of their initial membership fees.  Some clubs offer the option of deferring part of the membership fees for a period of time, and the preview membership offerings can also be a good way of b...

One of the recent developments in The Veras Group is our services to those launching destination clubs and other luxury fractional developments.  Because of our significant experience and success marketing and selling these types of offerings, we have been approached by several groups in recent w...

As the High Country Club Destination Club becomes the latest destination club to announce major changes in light of the deteriorating financial markets, we have found our role at The Veras Group to be growing substantially.  No longer are members of destination clubs or potential members content ...

As the world waits to see the outcomes of the financial crisis and bank bailout plans, destionation clubs continue to operate steadily, for the most part.  Those destination clubs with the best liquid assets and continued borrowing capacity will almost certainly weather this storm well.  In fact,...

One of the many forms that destination clubs have taken in the past few years are the "travel card" destination clubs.  Taking their lead from the fractional jet card business, destination clubs like One Key World and Elite Shares allow members to simply purchase a travel card of 15, 30, or 45 ni...

While the vast majority of destination club members love their memberships, family changes, death, illness, and relocation do happen, and can necessitate resigning your destination club membership.  So, how does one divulge their membership? Each destination club's resignation policy is different...

One of the most interesting destination club options out there (for more information on what a destination club is, see our website article on the topic) is a club called Equity Estates. Structured as an investment fund, with owners also having access to the properties the fund manages, Equity Es...

Vita Luxury, a self proclaimed "Destination Club 2.0," is no longer in operation. E-mails were bounced back and phones at Vita Luxury were not operational. Their website design firm confirmed "They have moved their offices to the Bahamas and currently are not active with Vita Luxury. There are no...

Lehman Brother’s recent bankruptcy filing sent shockwaves through the heart of Wall Street and may soon have an impact on the destination club industry. Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy joins major changes at AIG, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, causing drastic market swings on Wall Street and an un...