LUSSO has recently completed and publicized a member survey, as part of which they asked members which aspects of the club were most important in the decision to join.

As you would expect, the factor that had most importance for members was the quality and choice of homes and destinations. If a prospective member is going to choose a destination club over buying a vacation home, staying in luxury hotels or renting a large villa, the quality and locations of the destination club properties is very important.

According to LUSSO:

“Almost half of our Members were contemplating the purchase of a vacation home (or an additional vacation home) but decided to join the Club instead - preferring the plentiful access to a broad portfolio of destinations versus the always guaranteed access to one, but only one, destination.

They go on to say that members

‘…tell us that the capital and annual costs with LUSSO are, compared to vacation-home ownership, much more commensurate with [their] likely travel patterns. In a separate survey question 93 percent of Members rated avoiding the hassles of multiple-home ownership as “somewhat” or “very important” in their decision to join the Club.”

Availability of the homes in the club’s portfolio was very important too, again understandably. It’s vital to know that you will be able to book time in the homes you want at the times you want. LUSSO does not cap usage of homes, subject to availability and a limit on the number of days that may be booked in advance at one time - this is seen by many LUSSO members as a big advantage over the clubs that have a hard limit on the number of days that may be spent in club properties in any one year. Also, LUSSO members have the ability to give two of their reservations to a family member each year, and can actually transfer their whole membership to a family member if they choose.

Economic issues were extremely important to LUSSO members, especially LUSSO’s pricing in comparison with the other clubs. This echoes the impressions of the Luxury Reporter team - LUSSO does seem to offer good value. The fact that LUSSO has a totally refundable membership deposit was valued by the vast majority of members, as was the potential for appreciation - that is, the promise of refunding more than the original membership deposit if membership pricing increases.

LUSSO has a financial structure in which members are given a form of security interest in the club’s real estate assets. This was valued by many members. Joining a destination club involves a significant investment, so it’s understandable that savvy members want some assurance that their money will be returned when the time comes.

LUSSO’s transport features - an onsite vehicle at each home, and airport transfers - are offered to all members at no additional charge, and this is popular with members.

OTHER ARTICLES THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

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• LUSSO price increase on the way
• LUSSO price increase coming
• New LUSSO home in the Bahamas