Susan Kime is a writer and editor for luxury publications. She has extensive experience covering shared ownership real estate. As a guest contributor to Helium Report, Susan writes a biweekly column, Luxury Real Estate Insider, tracking trends in destination clubs and fractional developments, following new real estate projects and giving readers insight into how the larger economic picture impacts the luxury real estate market. She can be reached by email here.

Those of us who have been in the destination club field for more than four years feel sometimes like Grandpa Abe Simpson: creaky, adage-spouting old-timers. But in truth, destination clubs have only been in existence for about four years.

Arguably, the clock began ticking when Exclusive Resorts came into existence in 2004, and began to give Rob McGrath’s Private Retreats a run for its money. Back in those days, a great residence in a great location were the selling points for a club. In the early days there were just two kinds of destination club residence experiences: the true second home in a high-end vacation area but not close to any resort, and those homes close to or associated with a branded resort. Of course there were concierges, private chefs and other forms of service, but any adventure experience beyond the periphery of the residence generally lay in the mind of the member. But now, the club horizon is expanding beyond the resort residence experience.

With its partnership with the Leading Hotels Of The World, Quintess will be providing unique travel opportunities called Q Leading Experiences. These will include private tours and exclusive customized trips. The club plan will eventually offer 40 to 60 travel experiences, with the first four in Australia, Croatia, Greece and Italy. In addition, Exclusive Resorts, the largest luxury destination club, recently expanded its Once in a Lifetime program, created last April. This program now provides members with a total of 16 planned vacation experiences in locations including Fiji, Bhutan, Argentina and the Galapagos Islands. And Ultimate Resort, in January of this year, announced a strategic alliance with Bruce World of Travel, a subsidiary of American Express, to create unique travel experiences for their members as well.

However, the newest club in this space, Everlands is the first that calls itself an “experience club”, leaving the “destination club” nomenclature behind. This club’s offerings are different in theme and texture, as it combines unusual travel destinations, philanthropic endeavors, conservation initiatives and prizes, as well as larger homes and lodges as their residences. These additions appear to be a natural evolution, adding more socially and educationally relevant dimensions to the vacation experience.

Another expansive idea comes from Solstice’s Indian Gap residence in Napa Valley, which has been recently completed and is the only one of its kind in the industry. This is not said lightly. Many destination club homes are exceptional, of course, but arguably none have started from the ground up with the reconstruction history that is part of this new Solstice property. The project has taken about three years to build, as the original brick edifice was a bullet scarred historic Pony Express office in Fredericksburg, Tex. Each brick was taken from that building, transported to Napa and reconstructed on the site, close to acres of vineyards. Recently, the 1879 cornerstone was laid, and this residence will be open for member use very soon.