Gentry Retreats

"Our mission is to make luxury second home ownership affordable, provide exceptional service to our Members and bring the non-equity destination club industry, which is still in its infancy, to a broader audience."

Competing primarily against High Country Club and Private Escapes at the value level of the industry, Gentry Retreats never reached the levels of success that their competitors did.

Based in Celebration, Florida, Gentry officially launched their club in May of 2005. Their collection of properties averaged between $500,000 and $1 million. Led by CEO Joseph LaTurner, Executive Vice President Kari Kron, and Chief Financial Officer William Rosenblatt, the club continually reinvented their model to try to keep pace in the industry. For example, during their tenure, the club's resignation policy launched with an 85% refundable policy, transistioned to 90% refundable before settling on 100% refundable. This was in sharp contrast to other clubs in the industry who were decreasing the refundable portion of the membership deposit. The club followed the lead of Abercrombie & Kent Destination Club, Exclusive Resorts, Dream Catcher Retreats, and others and were a frequent Wall Street Journal advertiser despite having far less capital available to them.

Gentry also provided guaranteed reservations to members, meaning the club would rent, at no cost to members, a property outside of their portfolio to accomodate members who attempted to reserve the same property. This operating model requires the club to make numerous short term leases and was one of the major contributing reasons for Tanner & Haley's bankruptcy.

Private Escapes and High Country Club each grew organically and soon had a stranglehold on the value market and news out of Gentry became non-existant. LaTurner stated that the club was working on a major announcement in 2007 but the club was never heard from again and the club's website and phone numbers were pulled.

MEMBERSHIP PLANS

A unique spin on the destination club model, particularly during the era in which Gentry Retreats was operational, all members paid equal membership deposits to join the club and had differing levels of annual dues based on their membership plan. Traditionally, most clubs increase both annual dues and the associated membership deposit for higher level usage membership plans.

When the club ceased operations, memberships were sold for $80,000, all fully refundable if a member elected to redeem their membership. When the club launched, memberships were available for $70,000.

Members could travel up to 42 nights per year for $6,000 per year in annual dues, creating a cost per night of under $150, far and away one of the least expensive membership options throughout the destination club sector. Lower membership plans were as inexpensive as $3,000 per year.

MEMBERSHIP PRICING

One of the few clubs in the destination club industry that charged the same membership deposit across all membership plans, Gentry Retreats instead differentiated their usage plans solely on annual dues.

Memberships were available for $80,000, competing primarily against Private Escapes and High Country Club at the value destination club level. Prior to ceasing operations, Gentry Retreats tried several different resignation formats before finally deciding on offer a 100% redemption to exiting members.

ANNUAL DUES

Vying against High Country Club and Private Escapes at the value level in the destination club industry, Gentry Retreats was one of the few clubs in the sector that charged the same membership deposit for all membership plans, and charged different annual dues for different levels of usage.

When the club ceased operations, annual dues ranged between $3,000 and $6,000 and provided up to 42 nights of annual usage. When the club launched, annual dues ranged between $3,500 and $8,500 annually.

Like many other destination clubs during this era, annual dues largely fell well short of the club's annual operational costs. Today, more and more clubs are striving to bring these costs in line with their annual revenue.

PROPERTIES

A small destination club competing primarily at the value level of the sector, Gentry Retreats had a strong focus of properties in the Florida region where the club was based, but also across the US and into the Bahamas. The club would even expand internationally with properties listed in France and New Zealand.

• Palm Springs, California
• San Diego, California
• Florida Keys, Florida
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Miami, Florida
• Reunion, Florida
• Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
• West Palm Beach, Florida
• Yellow Mountain, North Carolina
• New York City, New York
• Deer Valley, Utah
• Bahamas
• Paris, France
• Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
• Queenstown, New Zealand
• St. Lucia
• Turks & Caicos
• U.S. Virgin Islands

This first wave of properties was known as the club's Cornerstone Collection. Homes within the portfolio averaged between $500,000 and $1 million, a popular price point during Gentry Retreats' tenure in the destination club industry. The club also planned to acquire properties in the following destinations.

• Amelian Island, Florida
• Cape Coral, Florida
• Naples, Florida
• Maui, Hawaii
• Cape Cod, Massachusetts
• Annapolis, Maryland
• Nags Head, North Carolina
• British Virgin Islands
• Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• San Francisco, California
• Washington, D.C.
• Chicago, Illinois
• Lake Havasu, Arizona
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Hilton Head, South Carolina
• Peuget Sound, Washington
• London, England
• Fermanagh County, Northern Ireland
• Beaver Creek, Colorado
• Telluride, Colorado
• Sun Valley, Idaho
• Taos, New Mexico
• Lake Tahoe, Nevada
• Stowe, Vermont
• Grand Teton, Wyoming
• Whistler, British Columbia

Gentry Retreats had a property guarantee policy that would force the club to rent, at no cost to the member, a comparable property if their unit was already reserved by a member. This structure was one of the many catalysts that led to the downfall of destination club pioneer Tanner & Haley.

USAGE

Entering the destination club sector as a low cost alternative to clubs like Exclusive Resorts and Tanner & Haley, Gentry Retreats modeled their club to have only one price point to join but multiple membership plans with different levels of annual usage and accompanying annual dues.

Members had up to 42 nights of annual access within the Gentry Retreats' property portfolio.

Like Tanner & Haley, Gentry Retreats had a property guarantee where if a member wanted a property that was already reserved, the club, at no cost to the member, would rent a comparable property for the member to use. This policy is widely viewed as one of the paramount reasons that Tanner & Haley was forced to file for bankruptcy.

MEMBERS

A primary focus of Gentry Retreats was to expand the destination club offering to a "broader audience."

The club utilized a structure where all members paid the same membership deposit to join and variable annual dues based on their selected membership plan, providing different levels of annual access.

By early 2008, with other value clubs such as Private Escapes, High Country Club, and Ultimate Resort continuing their growth, Gentry Retreats hadn't released any information about the status of the club for well over a year.

Interested parties looking for more information received a note saying:

Thank you for inquiring about being a Gentry Retreats Member.

Whether you are familiar with destination clubs or are just hearing about them for the first time, we at Gentry Retreats will help you see why joining our club is the ideal option for your future vacations. We are an exclusive, affordable destination club with a collection of luxury vacation retreats, soon to be in over 26 incredible locations around the world. And we always treat our Members like royalty, every step of the way.

We have four goals at Gentry Retreats: exclusivity, quality, value and flexibility. To help you understand more about Gentry Retreats, be sure to review our website: gentryretreats.com.

Our first allotment of memberships has been sold and we are now adding interested guests to a waiting list, while we put the finishing touches on our next phase. If you wish to be a part of our future growth and want to be contacted as soon as memberships are available again, please reply to this email.

We look forward to helping you discover a lifetime of classy, luxurious vacations!

Sincerely,

The Gentry Retreats Membership Team

This "first allotment of memberships" likely consisted of a select handful of members close to the executive team and no new information from the club never emerged.

RESIGNATION

Like other leading clubs of their generation, Gentry Retreats offered a full redemption to exiting members, agreeing to repay 100% of a member's deposit when they resigned. Members were redeemed on a two in, out out basis, that required two new members to join the club for one to be redeemed.

Prior to ceasing operations, the destination club also experimented with various other resignation policies, including a 90% refundable deposit and an 85% refundable deposit.

EXECUTIVES

Looking to bring the destination club experience to a "broader audience," Gentry Retreats was an entry level alternative to some of the more luxury focused clubs catering to the ultra-affluent.

The two primary executives behind Gentry Retreats came from financial and marketing backgrounds respectively.

Joseph LaTurner
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Kari Kron
Executive Vice President and Co-Founder

NOTES FROM THE CLUB

One of the low cost alternatives in the destination club sector, Gentry Retreats utilized a membership structure where all memberships had the same initial cost to join, but with different annual dues associated with the different membership plans.

Looking to make their name as one of the entry level destination clubs, Gentry Retreats competed primarily against High Country Club, Private Escapes, and Ultimate Resort at the value level of the sector. While each of those three went of to have initial success, Gentry Retreats was unable to gain the requisite interest to remain in the industry.

By early 2008, those interested in learning more about the club were sent the message:

Thank you for inquiring about being a Gentry Retreats Member.

The club had not updated their website in well over a year and faded out of the industry, likely with very few members.