Founded in 2002 and publically launching in January 2003, Exclusive Resorts has dominated the destination club industry in terms of members, properties, and vision virtually since inception.
In May of 2003, Steve Case, the Co-Founder and former CEO and Chairman of America Online, stumbled onto the new club's website while searching for luxury vacation alternatives. Exclusive Resorts' vision of multiple vacation home around the world for less than the downpayment of one single home intrigued Case. Already the owner of three seldom used vacation homes and having trouble with the quality and hassles of renting vacation homes and hotel suites when the family wanted variety, Case filled out the brief information sheet to learn more about the club and model. When the Case name came into the Exclusive Resorts' system, complete with an AOL e-mail address, Brent Handler, the club's Co-Founder, elected to call back personally.
The young club had already grown to 25 members and four properties in the five months of operation by the time Case got on the phone with Handler. During the initial phone call, Handler learned that the AOL billionaire not only wanted to join the club as a member, but also as an investor. Three days later, the two would be meeting in San Diego and began work on a deal that would make Case a 50% owner of the club.
"I believe Exclusive Resorts has identified an under-served market and has developed a compelling model for filling that need," said Case. "Just as the concept of the mortgage made home ownership a reality for many more families, the Exclusive Resorts membership concept opens the doors of luxury vacation homes to more people than ever before."
Just two months later in July, Exclusive Resorts had nearly tripled their membership base and were receiving 400 new inquiries per week. That same month, the destination club industry's pioneer Private Retreats, led by Rob McGrath, had announced their new strategic alliance with Abercrombie & Kent to create Private Retreats by Abercrombie & Kent. Already with over 300 members, Private Retreats' new branding and Exclusive Resorts' new investor and 70 members positioned both to favorably compete for years to come.
By September of 2003, Exclusive Resorts had surpassed the 100 member mark and Case would become 80% owner of the rapidly growing destination club in November. A year after Case's second investment, the club had grown to over 1,000 members, passing Abercrombie & Kent Destination Clubs despite a banner year by Rob McGrath of $60 million in sales and 362% increase in sales from 2002.
By the time Exclusive approached the 2,500 member mark late in 2006, the club not only had more members than all of the other clubs in the industry combined, but they were unable to bring on enough new properties to meet the tremendous demand, forcing the club to have a waiting list to join 200 members deep. The aggressive real estate acquisition schedule to meet membership demands pushed Exclusive Resorts' real estate holdings past the $1 billion mark in May of 2007, a number that not one other club has approached even today.
While Steve Case's investment played a significant role in the club's unmatched growth, Exclusive Resorts also made a series of excellent business decisions that made them the top destination club in the sector. Early in the club's tenure, Exclusive adopted a resignation policy that created a non-refundable portion of the membership deposit, allowing the club additional operating capital, now a near universal staple across the destination club industry. Based on their successful investing from Case, Perry Capital, and others, Exclusive Resorts is able to purchase properties in bulk and subsequently receive preferential pricing on their acquisitions.
Today the club has over 3,400 members and $1.1 billion in real estate assets and is often referred to as "the 800 pound gorilla" of the destination club industry and the club that "perfected the model."
USAGE
Exclusive Resorts membership structure revolves around a simple to understand assortment of membership plans, providing between 10 and 60 nights of annual access to the club's portfolio of luxury vacation homes.
Each of the club's six membership plans allows members the ability to let extended family members and friends use their membership for a one-time fee of $19,000 and a 10% annual dues premium.
Club members that purchase membership plans that include more than 20 nights of annual usage can also add the ability to travel during the club's peak holiday periods. Please view our Exclusive Resorts Holiday Access page to learn more.
According to the club's 2008 annual results, the club had a total occupancy of 70%, meaning that 30% of the club's total nights went unused over the course of the year.
The average Exclusive Resorts' member makes their advanced reservations approximately nine months in advance, accounting for 40% of the total annual trips. The remaining 60% of all trips are space available reservations.
RESIGNATION
Known as the pioneer for many policies and practices within the destination club industry, Exclusive Resorts was the first destination club to adopt an 80% refundable membership deposit component. Other clubs from the era such as Private Retreats and Portofino both pledged to repay 100% of a member's deposit if and when they elected to resign their membership.
Both Private Retreats and Portofino were eventually forced into bankruptcy and nearly every destination club in the industry soon adopted the 80% refundable policy.
Since then, Exclusive Resorts has transitioned to being 75% refundable, allowing the club more operating capital for every new membership sold. Like nearly all destination clubs, Exclusive Resorts works on a three in, one out resignation policy, where one exiting member is redeemed once three new members join the club.
EXECUTIVES
Due in large part to the efforts of the club's management team, and a billionaire member and majority owner by the name of Steve Case, Exclusive Resorts has long been the paragon of the destination club industry.
The Exclusive Resorts' executive team counts numerous hospitality, financial, and executive veterans amongst their ranks and was named as one of the "Best Companies to Work for in Colorado" in 2009.
Donn Davis
Executive Chairman
Jeff Potter
Chief Executive Officer
Brent Handler
Co-Founder and President
Robert Parsons
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Ian Arthur
Executive Vice President, Marketing
Tom Filippini
Executive Vice President and Co-Founder
Todd Harris
Senior Vice President, Hospitality & Member Services
David Kallery
Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Business Development
Charles Livingston
Senior Vice President, Technology
Cathy Ross
Senior Vice President, Real Estate Operations
Adam Wegner
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
In addition to the club's seasoned executive team, Exclusive Resorts also has a substantial Board of Directors of well respected executives from Fortune 100 companies.
Steve Case
Majority Owner of Exclusive Resorts; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Revolution LLC
Donn Davis
Executive Chairman of Exclusive Resorts; President of Revolution LLC
Brad Handler
Co-Founder of Exclusive Resorts
Brent Handler
Co-Founder and President of Exclusive Resorts
George Brokaw
Managing Director, Perry Capital
Todd Chaffee
Managing Director, Institutional Venture Partners
John Fahey
President and CEO, National Geographic Society
Thomas Gottlieb
Chairman, Mandara Spa
David Golden
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Revolution LLC
Frank Raines
Retired CEO and Chairman, Fannie Mae
Exclusive Resorts after 2015
Exclusive Resorts kept operating after the period covered by this file and remained in business as a members-only vacation club. Its co-founders Brent and Brad Handler left to start a new luxury travel company, Inspirato, whose launch the archive reported in January 2011.
The two companies met again fifteen years later. In December 2025 Exclusive Resorts agreed to buy Inspirato for about $59 million in cash, as Skift reported at the time, and Wikipedia's article on Inspirato records the deal closing in February 2026, when Inspirato was taken private by the parent company of Exclusive Resorts.
Questions about Exclusive Resorts
What is Exclusive Resorts?
Exclusive Resorts is a members-only destination club founded in 2002 by brothers Brent and Brad Handler and launched publicly in January 2003. Members pay a membership deposit and annual dues for between 10 and 60 nights a year in the club's portfolio of vacation homes. Throughout the period covered by this archive it was the largest club in the industry.
How did Steve Case become involved with Exclusive Resorts?
In May 2003 the AOL co-founder found the club's website while looking for vacation options and asked to join as both a member and an investor. The deal that followed made him a 50 percent owner of the club. In early 2010 he became chairman and led a $20 million round of new equity financing.
How many members did Exclusive Resorts have?
About 25 when Steve Case first called in 2003, and roughly 3,500 by January 2010. The club celebrated its 100,000th vacation in February 2010, and chief executive Jeff Potter said it had sold about $1 billion in memberships over the previous five years.
Is the Exclusive Resorts membership deposit refundable?
Partly. Exclusive Resorts was the first club to adopt an 80 percent refundable deposit and later moved to 75 percent. Like most clubs it redeems members on a three in, one out basis, so one resigning member is repaid after three new members join.
Is Exclusive Resorts still in business?
Yes. The club kept operating after the archive period, and in December 2025 it agreed to buy Inspirato, the company the Handler brothers founded after leaving, for about $59 million. Wikipedia records the acquisition closing in February 2026.