Private Escapes: Destination Club Profile

Launched as the "first and only affordable luxury travel destination club," Private Escapes was founded by Richard Keith, Kären Siwek, and Ed Powers late in 2003. Keith, a former member and interim Chief Operating Officer of Private Retreats took the model used at Private Retreats and tailored it to a more price sensitive audience not willing to pay the high membership costs associated with his former club.

As COO of Private Retreats, Keith approached the club's CEO Rob McGrath about the concept of a lower priced club and was invited to use the Private Retreats model for the new venture. During the early phases of the club's launch, Private Escapes counted Private Retreats amongst their affiliates, marketing the new club as "The experience of Private Retreats and the value of Private Escapes...it does not exist anywhere in the marketplace...until now." McGrath even had the first right of refusal to acquire Private Escapes if he looked to sell.

"Until now, destination clubs have been limited to the extremely affluent with entry fees starting in the hundreds of thousands," Keith said. "Private Escapes has captured the niche as the first travel destination club to offer an affordable alternative for destination club membership without sacrificing quality."

Keith's intuition proved accurate as the lower cost model quickly gained traction. Private Escapes launched with a Charter Membership of $65,000 and homes valued at more than $500,000. Comparatively, Private Retreats memberships were being sold at $250,000. Less than a year after launch in August of 2004, Keith and company had already launched a new club, Private Escapes Platinum. Similar to the original Private Escapes' "first and only affordable destination club", Private Escapes Platinum was the "first and only luxury destination club to offer its members an annual dividend based on the performance of the company's maturing resort real estate portfolio." In addition to the $1.5 million homes available exclusively to members, the club would distribute 18 percent of the appreciation from the club's real estate holdings to members in the form of cash or club credits. Nearly two years to the day later, Private Escapes Pinnacle was launched, featuring $3 million homes and the highest club offering available. Members of each club were able to access properties from the other two clubs on a limited basis through a reciprocal access program.

With Private Escapes on the rise, Private Retreats was beginning to fall apart. Due to a combination of insufficient annual dues, guaranteed reservations for members, and an increasingly competitive marketplace, Private Retreats, now doing business as Tanner & Haley after losing its licensing agreement with Abercrombie & Kent, was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Private Escapes, Ciel, and Ultimate Resort all made aggressive plays at the club before Ultimate Resort's $98 million bid was chosen.

In September of 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort, now including the vast majority of Tanner & Haley's members, announced a merger that would join their two collective clubs as Ultimate Escapes. The collected members of the club had access to the two club's combined properties since May of 2008 and officially completed the merger in September of 2009.

MEMBERSHIP PLANS

Designed as the "sensible luxury choice for people who believed the destination club concept was ideal," Private Escapes was created in November of 2003 as one of the first clubs in the industry.

As opposed to the model used by various other destination clubs, where multiple membership plans were offered, typically differing only in the number of annual nights allotted, Private Escapes would offer essentially just two membership options. Again unlike other clubs, Private Escapes would consist of three separate clubs: Premiere, Platinum, and Pinnacle.

When Private Escapes first launched, the club that would eventually be known as Premiere was simply Private Escapes. Members had exclusive and unlimited access to a portfolio of properties valued at approximately $800,000 each.

Approximately a year after the introduction of Private Escapes, Private Escapes Platinum would launch. Not only would the club include properties in the $1,500,000 price range, the club would also distribute 18% of the year over year appreciation of the club's real estate in the form of club credits. Members could use these credits to offset annual dues, nightly fees, or other club related costs. Before the club was even officially launched, several members of the original Private Escapes were standing in line asking to be the first club member. In time, the club credit component of the Platinum Membership was removed and the club moved forward much like the original Private Escapes.

In August of 2006, the final tier of the club would be introduced: Private Escapes Pinnacle. Competing against Exclusive Resorts and Quintess, The Leading Residences of the World, Pinnacle would consist of a collection of $3,000,000 properties that members could access on an unlimited annual basis.

This three tier club would resemble that of the club that Private Escapes' Founder Richard Keith was both a member and executive, Private Retreats. As the first destination club in the world, Private Escapes would eventually spiral to create Distinctive Retreats and Legendary Retreats, all ultimately marketed under the Tanner & Haley Resorts brand before filing for bankruptcy in 2006.

In September of 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort would announce a merger to form the club currently known as Ultimate Escapes, an established leader in the industry and the second largest club in terms of members in the world.

Prior to the union of the two clubs, each of the three Private Escapes' clubs offered Individual and Corporate/Extended Family Membership options. We invite you to learn more about each below.

Premiere

Available for a one-time membership fee of $105,000, Individual members within Premiere were allowed unlimited annual access to Premiere Club properties. Members also could make up to seven nights of reciprocal reservations to Platinum or Pinnacle residences.

The lowest cost for the three clubs, Premiere members paid $7,700 per year in dues and a $86 per night fee.

Corporate and Extended Family Memberships were also available for $107,500 with annual dues of $8,700. Corporate members could travel up to 40 nights per year to club properties, seven of which could be used for reciprocal reservations to Platinum or Pinnacle residences.

Platinum

When Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes announced their merger, Platinum Membership were available for a one-time membership fee of $200,000 for Individual members. Providing unlimited annual access to Platinum Club residences, members could also travel to Premiere and/or Pinnacle properties for up to seven total nights per year.

Platinum members could originally offset a portion of their annual dues with club credits, but as Private Escapes matured, the real estate appreciation component was removed from the club structure. Platinum members paid $11,500 per year in club dues.

For corporations and large families, Private Escapes Platinum made memberships available for $215,000 with annual dues of $12,500 per year. Members could travel up to 40 nights per year, seven of which could be used for stays within the Premiere or Pinnacle portfolios.

Pinnacle

The equivalent of the Elite Club within Ultimate Escapes, Pinnacle members enjoyed access to a growing list of $3 million residences for a one-time membership fee of $325,000. Members would have unlimited access to the club's residences and a combined seven nights of reciprocity to the Premiere and Platinum residences.

For Charter members to Pinnacle, Private Escapes distributed 10% of the club's real estate appreciation to members in the form of club credits, much like the Platinum offering. Members paid $22,000 per year in annual dues.

Corporate and Extended Family Memberships were also available, but unlike the other two clubs, they were available for the same membership fee and annual dues as the Individual Membership, $325,000 and $22,000 respectively. Once the club concluded their Charter offering a similar price delta as the other clubs likely would have taken place.

Each of the three clubs had the same resignation and usage policies. If you would like to learn more, please visit our Private Escapes Redemption and Private Escapes Usage pages.

MEMBERSHIP PRICING

When Private Escapes made their first official foray into the destination club sector in April of 2004, they introduced themselves as the "first and only affordable travel destination club."

"Until now, destination clubs have been limited to the extremely affluent with entry fees starting in the hundreds of thousands," said Richard Keith, the Founder and President of Private Escapes. "Private Escapes has captured the niche as the first travel destination club to offer an affordable alternative for destination club membership without sacrificing quality."

This value option within the destination club industry would prove very popular and many competitors would emerge with a similar low cost focus, including Ultimate Resort, High Country Club, Gentry Retreats, and Choice Escapes amongst others.

Over time, Private Escapes would expand on their original club and create companion clubs Private Escapes Platinum and Private Escapes Pinnacle. Joining the original club, now known as Private Escapes Premiere, the collected clubs become the third largest destination club in the world. Each of the three clubs would have their own property portfolio and pricing, but members from each club could access any of the properties on a limited basis through the Private Escapes reciprocity system.

In 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort, the world's second largest destination club, would announce a merger that would be known as Ultimate Escapes. Today, Ultimate Escapes remains the second largest destination club in terms of total members.

Under the new Ultimate Escapes brand, members and properties would be transitioned to their new club levels. Private Escapes Premiere would be Ultimate Escapes Premiere, Private Escapes Platinum would become Ultimate Escapes Signature, and Private Escapes Pinnacle would transition to Ultimate Escapes Elite.

Premiere

Initially known simply as Private Escapes, the Premiere brand name would be created following the addition of Platinum and Pinnacle to the Private Escapes family. Available for less than six figures for most of its time, Premiere would ultimately increase to $105,000 before joining with Ultimate Resort to create Ultimate Escapes.

Like the other memberships available through Private Escapes, members enjoyed unlimited annual travel to their club's collection of $800,000 properties with a limited number of reciprocal nights at Platinum and/or Pinnacle club residences.

Platinum

The middle tier within the Private Escapes trio of clubs, Private Escapes Platinum members had unlimited access to a collection of $1.5 million properties. When Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes announced their merger in 2007, Platinum Membership were available for a one-time membership fee of $200,000.

Pinnacle

The highest club level within Private Escapes, Pinnacle members had access to a collection of vacation properties valued at approximately $3 million each. Members paid a one-time membership fee of $325,000 prior to their merger with Ultimate Resort.

Each of the three Private Escapes' club offered "Corporate" membership options, allowing roughly 40 nights of annual travel for a slightly higher membership deposit and annual dues.

ANNUAL DUES

Created by Richard Keith, the former Chief Operations Officer at Private Retreats, Private Escapes was envisioned as a low cost alternative to the more expensive destination clubs that dominated the industry.

Announced in April of 2004, Private Escapes would introduce this new model as the "first and only affordable destination club."

"Until now, Destination Clubs have been limited to the extremely affluent with entry fees starting in the hundreds of thousands," said Keith. "Private Escapes has captured the niche as the first travel Destination Club to offer an affordable alternative for Destination Club membership without sacrificing quality."

In addition to the low membership entry fees, Private Escapes would follow a similar perspective on their annual dues structure.

Within months of the introduction of the inaugural club level, Private Escapes would launch a companion club called Private Escapes Platinum. In time, a third club would be added to finalize the club, Private Escapes Pinnacle. Each would have their own collection of vacation properties with the original club, now called Private Escapes Premiere offering members homes in the $800,000 range, Platinum at $1,500,000, and Pinnacle in the $3,000,000 category.

In September of 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort would announce a merger to create the world's second largest destination club in terms of members and the largest in terms of total destinations. This union would eventually be known as Ultimate Escapes and would combine the real estate portfolios, members, and executive teams of both clubs to form the new entity.

Prior to the merger, Private Escapes remained dedicated to providing members with low annual dues at all three of their membership levels. We invite you to learn more about each club and the associated annual dues for each below.

The original Private Escapes offering, Premiere members enjoyed unlimited annual access to a collection of $800,000 properties around the globe.

When the club announced their merger with Ultimate Resort, Premiere Memberships were available for $7,700 per year in annual dues, billed quarterly. With unlimited annual access, Private Escapes also charged a $86 per night fee for every night in residence.

Introduced just months after the official introduction of Private Escapes' original club, Platinum would further enhance the club experience with more extravagant vacation properties, but also a new way combine real estate appreciation to club membership. Each year, the club would distribute 18% of the appreciation from its property portfolio to members in the form of club credits. These credits could be used towards annual dues, nightly fees, or other club related expenses as the member wished. Eventually, this aspect of the club would be removed and Platinum would move forward as a more traditional club structure.

When Private Escapes announced their merger with Ultimate Resort, Platinum Membership were available for a one-time membership fee with associated annual dues of $11,500 per year. Like the other Private Escapes clubs, a nightly fee was assessed for every night in residence. Platinum members paid $145 per night.

The elite level of the three Private Escapes Destination Clubs, Pinnacle would compete against Exclusive Resorts and Quintess by providing members unlimited access to a portfolio of $3,000,000 luxury vacation properties.

Available for a one-time membership deposit, Pinnacle members would pay $22,000 per year in annual dues prior to the merger with Ultimate Resort. Nightly fees for Pinnacle would total $194 per night.

Each of Private Escapes three clubs also offered Corporate and Extended Family Memberships, allowing the primary member the ability to gift nights to colleagues, friends, and family members as they wished. These memberships would typically be charged an additional $1,000 per year in annual dues compared to the Individual Membership prices featured above.

PROPERTIES

The world's "first and only affordable travel destination club," Private Escapes would spawn the creation of many other value based destination clubs. "Until now, destination clubs have been limited to the extremely affluent with entry fees starting in the hundreds of thousands," said Richard Keith, President of Private Escapes. "Private Escapes has captured the niche as the first travel destination club to offer an affordable alternative for destination club membership without sacrificing quality."

Unlike the other destination clubs in the industry who provided members with access to multi-million dollar residences, Private Escapes would focus on smaller residences at launch, valued between $600,000 and $800,000.

As the industry's low cost alternative and as a result of high membership satisfaction, Private Escapes would quickly become one of the sectors's leading and fastest growing clubs. Less than a year after their formal launch, a new companion club would be created to join Private Escapes named Private Escapes Platinum. The new club would give members access to properties values above $1 million each.

Eventually, a third club would be created named Private Escapes Pinnacle, joining Platinum and the rebranded Private Escapes Premiere. Pinnacle would provide members access to a collection of properties in the $3 million price range.

Through the club's reciprocity program, members would not only have access to their own club's properties, but limited access to properties within the other two Private Escapes clubs.

In 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort announced a merger that would lead to the creation of the Ultimate Escapes brand. In May of 2008, members of both Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes could begin to make reservations across properties in both of the club's portfolios.

Following the union with Ultimate Resort, the club's properties were rolled into the new club levels: Premiere, Signature, and Elite.

Below you will find a list of properties available to club members prior to the merger.

Premiere

Beaver Creek, Colorado
Belize, Central America
Chicago, Illinois
Fox Acres, Colorado
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
La Buscadora, British Virgin Islands
La Costa, California
La Quinta, California
Lake Las Vegas, Nevada
Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Los Cabos, Mexico
New York City, New York
Outer Banks, North Carolina
Punta Cana, Mexico
Punta Mita, Mexico
Reynolds Plantation, Georgia
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Stowe, Vermont
Turks & Caicos, British West Indies
Tuscany, Italy
Waikoloa, Hawaii
WaterColor, Florida

Platinum

Abaco Island, Bahamas
Breckenridge, Colorado
Chicago, Illinois
Copper Mountain, Colorado
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
La Buscadora, British Virgin Islands
La Costa, California
La Quinta, California
Lake George, New York
Los Cabos, Mexico
New York City, New York
Outer Banks, North Carolina
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Reynolds Plantation, Georgia
Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
Telluride, Colorado
Turks & Caicos, British West Indies
Tuscany, Italy
WaterColor, Florida

Pinnacle

Charleston, South Carolina
Deer Valley, Utah
Los Cabos, Mexico
New York City, New York

USAGE

Long one of the most popular destination club options, Private Escapes' Richard Keith described the club as "the industry's only multi-option portfolio where both existing and new members can choose exactly the right club level."

Private Escapes Destination Club actually consisted of three unique clubs: Premiere, Platinum, and Pinnacle. Each with their own property portfolio, members could select the club and residences best for their unique travel needs.

Private Escapes Premiere, the first club introduced and originally known simply as Private Escapes, offered members access to a collection of properties valued at approximately $800,000 each.

Private Escapes Platinum would expand the real estate portfolio by giving members unlimited access to a portfolio of $1,500,000 residences around the world. Properties featured three to five bedrooms and additional living space from those at the Premiere level.

In August of 2006, Private Escapes Pinnacle would launch as Platinum and Premiere approached the 300 member mark. The club's collection of $3,000,000 properties would be in the finest resort areas around the club, typically with easy access to local amenities. "With the addition of Private Escapes Pinnacle, we offer the industry’s only multi-option portfolio where both existing and new members can choose exactly the right club level for them," said Private Escapes' CEO Richard Keith at the club's launch. "This has been our plan since the company launched, and we’re thrilled to bring this option to the market."

Each of the three clubs would offer the same membership plans: Individual and Corporate/Extended Family. Individual members would have unlimited annual access to their club's portfolio and Corporate/Extended Family members could travel approximately 40 nights per year. Both options also allowed members the ability to make "reciprocal" reservations where members could travel to either or both of the other two clubs in the Private Escapes family for up to seven total nights per year.

While Individual members could travel on an unlimited basis, it is a bit of a misnomer. Members in fact would have 28 nights of rolling access to the club's portfolio. Members were able to hold up to, but not exceed, these 28 nights of reservations. As a member traveled, these reservations would be again be made available, allowing a member to continually refresh their reservation schedule and theoretically allow for unlimited annual usage.

Corporate Memberships functioned in very much the same way, but with an annual cap of between 40 or 42 annual nights, depending on when the member joined. Up to 28 nights of reservations were allowed to be held at one time, but unlike the Individual Membership that required the primary member or significant other to be in residence while in use, Corporate and Extended Family Memberships allowed the member to give access rights to clients, friends, family members, and other users.

The reciprocity program allowed all members the ability to enjoy properties within the other two clubs on a limited basis. "Reciprocity between Premiere, Platinum, and Pinnacle exist to enrich all of the Private Escapes offerings," wrote the club. "Each club affords their affiliate club's members an opportunity to utilize the homes and residences of the other clubs to experience the full range of Private Escapes Club membership."

The club would budget 10% of the total available nights to reciprocity usage, but historically, less than 5% of the total nights across all three clubs were reciprocal reservations.

In September of 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort would announce their union to form the club now known as Ultimate Escapes. At the time of the announcement, Ultimate Resort was the second largest club in the sector with Private Escapes holding the third largest position.

The finalized acquisition of Private Escapes was completed in September of 2009 and Ultimate Escapes remains the clear cut second largest club in the destination club industry.

MEMBERS

Following the trend of Private Retreats, the world's first destination club, Private Escapes would eventually consist of three distinct clubs: Premiere, Platinum, and Pinnacle.

Each of the club's would have their own real estate portfolios and base of members. Members of Premiere would have access to a collection of homes in the sub $1 million price range, Platinum at $1.5 million, and Pinnacle granting exclusive access to a portfolio of $3 million residences.

Each of the three Private Escapes clubs would grow organically, with the foundation for each new club built upon members upgrading from lower clubs. Private Escapes Platinum would be introduced just a year after the introduction of the original Private Escapes with a list of members seeking to be the first member. Private Escapes Pinnacle would launch in August of 2006 with a similar base of current members looking to upgrade to the luxury level club. The combination of the low cost Premiere Club, the middle Platinum option, and the upper tier Pinnacle would help Private Escapes establish themselves as the third largest destination club in the industry, trailing only Exclusive Resorts and Ultimate Resort in terms of members.

These membership upgrades were largely a result of a remarkable service element that was continually praised by members. In a survey of members in 2004, every member polled gave the club "Very Good" or "Excellent" ratings in terms of quality service and the overall experience of their membership. Private Escapes would also work with leading research firm PeopleMetrics and found that their club exceeded the "world class" rank by receiving marks higher than 96% in satisfaction, advocacy, retention, and member loyalty. Self-administered surveys found similar results, as members gave the club an average 4.72 out of a possible 5.0 for all trips in the months before the launch of Private Escapes Pinnacle.

In September of 2007, Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes announced that they would merge, joining the second and third largest clubs in the industry with approximately 1,200 members. In May of 2008, the two clubs would unite their two respective property portfolios for members to access as executives at both clubs continued to work towards the finalized terms of the deal.

While Private Escapes had maintained a steadfast organic growth model, Ultimate Resort had taken a far different approach. The Florida based club had acquired the assets to Tanner & Haley in a bidding war against ultra-luxury club Ciel, bringing in nearly 650 members to their young club. Ultimate Resort would move from a small but successful upstart club to the established number two player in the industry. Just after their announcement with Private Escapes, Ultimate Resort would also acquire the assets of Ventures Equity, bringing in an additional 20 members from the small club.

When the acquisition of Private Escapes was finalized in September of 2009, 387 of Private Escapes' members signed new agreements with Ultimate Escapes, who continues to use both the Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort growth models moving forward.

RESIGNATION

One of the earliest entrants into the destination club industry, Private Escapes has gone through several different resignation and redemption structures during their long and storied tenure.

Created in November of 2003 and selling their first membership in December of the same year, Private Escapes would brand themselves as the "first and only affordable destination club." Not only would the one-time membership fee required to join the club be signficantly less than other clubs in the industry, but Private Escapes pledged to refund 100% of the deposit if a member elected to leave the club.

Members were required to remain with the club for a minimum of 18 months before they would be eligible for redemption. Members wishing to resign would be placed on a resignation list where the first requested would be the first resigned. For every third membership sold by the club, the member lowest on the list would be refunded.

As the industry matured, more and more clubs transitioned from a 100% refundable membership deposit to a 80% refundable structure and Private Escapes would follow suit. In February of 2007, the club would adopt a "transfer fee" that would be equal to 20% of the total membership fee. Semantically speaking, the "membership deposit" was still 100% refundable, but only totaled 80% of the total membership fee. This change in structure would only affect Private Escapes Premiere and Private Escapes Platinum. The recently launched Private Escapes Pinnacle was still in its early Charter Membership phase and would refund 100% of the total membership fee as the club originally was structured.

Prior to their merger announcement with Ultimate Resort in September of 2007, Private Escapes again would slightly modify their redemption structure. Rather than returning a flat 80% of the membership fee and absorbing 20% as a transfer fee, the club would refund "80% of the then market rate."

Today, this model is increasingly popular within the destination club industry. As clubs increase prices, members are due a higher redemption amount. Based on some simple math, if a club increases prices more than 25% compared to the purchase price a member paid to join, they will receive more than they originally contributed.

This is the same structure previously used at Ultimate Resort and is now used at the combined Ultimate Escapes.

If you are evaluating Ultimate Escapes or any other destination club, there are multiple due diligence questions that should be asked pertaining to resignation and redemption.

EXECUTIVES

Blending an entrepreneurial spirit with experience as both member and executive in the destination club industry, Private Escapes was born as the industry's "first and only affordable luxury travel destination club."

"Until now, Destination Clubs have been limited to the extremely affluent with entry fees starting in the hundreds of thousands,” said Richard Keith, Private Escapes' Founder and the former Chief Operations Officer at Private Retreats. "Private Escapes has captured the niche as the first travel Destination Club to offer an affordable alternative for Destination Club membership without sacrificing quality."

A former owner of an underutilized second home with maintenance and other issues dominating much of his vacation time, Keith would learn of the destination club concept and would be one of the first members of Private Retreats. Keith would ask Private Retreats' Founder and the inventor of the destination club concept Rob McGrath if there was a position within the club available to him and quickly became the club's COO.

Identifying the need for a lower priced alternative within the destination club industry, Keith would conceive of Private Escapes, a more cost effective form of Private Retreats. With McGrath's blessing, Keith would launch the club, even giving McGrath the right of first refusal if he elected to sell.

The low cost option crafted by Keith would prove successful and within a year, Private Escapes would launch a companion club, Private Escapes Platinum. In time, Private Escapes Pinnacle would also emerge, each growing organically and making Private Escapes Destination Clubs one of the undisputed leaders in the highly competitive sector.

Richard Keith
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder

Kären Siwek
Executive Vice President of Real Estate and Finance and Co-Founder

Ed Powers
Executive Vice President of Operations and Co-Founder

In September of 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort announced a $200 million merger that would join the club's properties and members as well as the two respective executive staffs to the new club. Under the new Ultimate Escapes brand, all of Private Escapes executive team and the vast majority of the staff would move forward with the club. Private Escapes would bring an organic growth model to the Ultimate Escapes foundation while Ultimate Resort brought a more inorganic focus, with a great deal of experience in mergers and acquisitions within the destination club sector. The two elements would both be implemented at Ultimate Escapes who have cemented themselves at the world's second largest club in the industry.

Keith would assume the role of Co-CEO with Ultimate Resort's Jim Tousignant during the acquisition of Private Escapes and move onto the position of Chairman. Powers would continue as Senior Vice President of Operations and Siwek would leave Ultimate Escapes.

NOTES FROM THE CLUB

When Private Escapes launched as "first and only affordable travel destination club", they effectively created a new segment of the industry. Clubs like Ultimate Resort, High Country Club, Gentry Retreats, and Choice Escapes would all follow a similar low cost approach, each achieving their own levels of success.

Private Escapes would eventually include three unique clubs: Premiere, Platinum, and Pinnacle. Each of the three would have their own properties and members, but through a reciprocity program, members would have access to the other two clubs within Private Escapes on a limited basis in addition to unlimited annual usage to their own club.

As a result of their multiple club levels, Private Escapes would emerge as the third largest destination club in the world.

In 2007, Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes announced a merger that would eventually be known as Ultimate Escapes. "“=We are creating a true market leader with dedicated talent and incredible resources that will benefit all of our members and stakeholders," said Richard Keith, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Private Escapes Destination Clubs. "Our individual companies have always been dedicated to personal service and membership satisfaction. The combined company will strengthen this commitment with enhanced member services and an expanded portfolio of top resort destinations and residences worldwide. By combining our multiple club offerings, growing membership base, real estate portfolio, resort destinations, technology platform and innovative approaches to member satisfaction, we are reshaping the future of our industry."

"This merger will create the industry’s top destination club organization, providing our approximately 1,200 existing club members with the industry’s ‘best of breed’ club offering," said Ultimate Resort Founder, President and CEO Jim Tousignant. "Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes are both market leaders that share core business values that are focused on an unwavering commitment to providing our members with exclusive access to the best club homes, most memorable vacation experiences and the top concierge and member services in the industry. Combining our individual strengths creates a much stronger family of destination clubs that offer our members the most club membership plans, the best flexibility, and a vastly improved range of new club destinations and member vacation experiences, all while operating a prudent, sustainable business model."

The marriage of the two clubs would be completed in 2009, just as Ultimate Escapes became the world's first publicly-traded destination club.

Long a part of Ultimate Escapes, there are no notes from Private Escapes available, but please feel free to check our Ultimate Escapes News page for ongoing coverage of the club.

PRESS RELEASES

Launched as the "first and only affordable" destination club, Private Escapes was created by former Private Retreats' member and Chief Operating Officer Richard Keith. Taking the concept used at Private Retreats, Keith massaged the model to offer a lower priced alternative to the destination club industry.

The concept proved successful as Private Escapes quickly became a leader in the destination club sector, launching companion clubs Private Escapes Platinum and Private Escapes Pinnacle.

In September of 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort announced that they would join their clubs together, creating the second largest destination club in the industry and the leader in total number of destinations. The combined club would eventually be known as Ultimate Escapes.

Private Escapes Destination Clubs' Rigo Salcio Residence Nominated For Best International Redevelopment
Date: March 20, 2008
Private Escapes 17th century Tuscan farmhouse Rigo Salcio has been nominated for Best International Redevelopment in the 2008 International Property Awards in Association with CNBC. CEO Richard Keith says the property will "wow" even the most seasoned traveler.

Private Escapes Offers Free Yacht Experience Promotion
Date: February 13, 2008
For a limited number of new members, Private Escapes will provide them a free, once in a lifetime trip aboard the famed La Buscadora luxury yacht. The 80-foot yacht houses up to six guests and comes complete with its own private chef and crew.

Denver Nugget Coach George Karl Joins Private Escapes
Date: November 30, 2007
Private Escapes is proud to announce that Denver Nugget Head Coach George Karl has become the club's newest member, calling his new membership "the perfect travel option for my lifestyle" after returning from his first trip to Telluride, Colorado.

Paul Hastings Represents Private Escapes In Ultimate Resort Merger September 14, 2007

Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes Announce $200 Million Merger September 13, 2007

Private Escapes Announces New Space Available Reservations May 1, 2007

Private Escapes Members Meet Tiger Woods April 1, 2007

Golf Analyst David Feherty Joins Private Escapes As Member and Spokesperson October 23, 2006

Private Escapes Destination Clubs Richard Keith Elected Vice President of Destination Club Association October 2, 2006

Private Escapes Launches Private Escapes Pinnacle August 21, 2006

Private Escapes Destination Club Announces Cellar Advisors Partnership June 1, 2006

Private Escapes Attracts Corporate Market January 1, 2006

Second Home Portal and Destination Club Announce Marketing Agreement October 11, 2005

Private Escapes Congratulates NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young July 26, 2005

Private Escapes Two First and Only Offerings May 10, 2005