As the destination club industry matures, competition is going to become more intense and there will be increasing pressure on the clubs to find new ways to stay ahead of the game. Competing on the basis of home value and numbers of homes is not a sustainable or intelligent strategy for most clubs, and pushes the industry towards commoditization. Differentiation is necessary for survival.

Already, some of the clubs are obviously putting a lot of time and energy into this challenge - for example, Private Escapes arranged a special meeting with Tiger Woods for some of its members. The Markers Club arranges special golf tournaments for its members, and other clubs have make tennis lessons, golf lessons and much more available to their members.

Look to see much more activity of this kind in future, probably with more emphasis on finding little points of difference that just can’t be replicated - instead of bigger and better homes, think along the lines of Exclusive Resorts‘ partnership with Andre Agassi. Anyone can build a bigger home, but there’s only one Agassi. Things like luxurious fittings, surroundings and services rapidly become ‘hygiene factors’ - must-haves, rather than having any ‘wow’ value.

Destination clubs are starting to pay attention to Marketing 101 - differentiate, or stagnate.

OTHER ARTICLES THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

• BelleHavens acquires Havens
• Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort merger
• Destination clubs - an overview
• Try before you buy
• Financing a destination club membership