In its 2007 year in review sent out to members this month, destination club Exclusive Resorts said membership had grown to more than 3,088, and that an additional 181 new members were on the waiting list to join the club.

Exclusive Resorts ended the year with 375 homes and another 166 in development in San Francisco, Steamboat Springs, Colo., and five other locations. Members took an average of seven trips a year in 2007, totaling 19,000 vacations.

Given that more than a third of all reservations made by club members are eventually cancelled, Exclusive Resort launched a cancellation watch list last year, which allows members to request notifications when a destination becomes available. The club expects that some 10,000 reservations will be made using the new system this year. Some 53 percent of members who requested notification of a cancellation got at least one match last year. The watch list is no doubt ideal for areas that traditionally face the tightest availability among destination clubs, including ski resort homes, which are often the first to fill up at clubs. In fact, Vail, Beaver Creek and Deer Valley rank among the top most requested locations on the watch list along with Tuscany. Ski resorts face particularly tight availability among both destination clubs and fractional developments because the peak season is compressed into just three months, and members with families are jostling for the same prime weeks that coincide with school holidays.

Regarding availability, the club included some statistics about member travel and what could be expected in the coming year. The review notes that 26 destinations are still available for spring break travel next year, and 80 percent of the total club inventory is still open to be booked for travel in 2009. Availability has also undoubtedly been loosened by the club’s Once in a Lifetime travel program that offers members trips and hotel stays in exchange for their allotted nights. The club anticipates that Once in Lifetime trips will eventually represent five to ten percent of total trip options for members. With that travel program figured in, the member to property ratio is 5.3 members to every home.

Exclusive Resorts also dove into its financials. It completed, and complied with, its annual net-asset test to show that the club’s real estate holdings and cash can cover the refundable portion of members’ deposits. It also noted that it plans on increasing annual dues on membership plans by the maximum allowed, due to increases in home ownership dues, property taxes, insurance and utility costs.

The past year saw 75 new residences added to the club’s $1.1 billion property portfolio, easily surpassing the total number of properties owned by, say, a single boutique destination club. Some 25 percent of the residences, averaging $3 million in value, are leased by the club, a strategy that it takes to add homes in high demand areas and also to fulfill member demand in areas where homes are under construction, but not yet ready for use. It bumped up home inventory in Costa Rica, Tuscany and Laguna Beach, Calif. by more than 50 percent last year and is planning four new major property acquisitions this year alone.