The long awaited merger between destination clubs Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes is finally complete, and with it a powerful new force in the industry has emerged. Ultimate Escapes, as the combined club will be known, brings together the portfolios of Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes, in total 140 properties in 50 locations around the world.

The official announcement is slated for later this week at the 2nd Annual Destination Club & Private Residence Industry Symposium in Miami and will be made by co-CEO’s Jim Tousignant, formerly of Ultimate Resort and Richard Keith formerly of Private Escapes. The two will share CEO duties through August 1 of this year, in order to maintain a smooth transition for the new entity, at which time Tousignant will assume full duties as CEO and Keith will serve as Chairman of the Board.

When plans for the merger were first announced last fall, Ultimate Resort and Private Escapes said they expected to complete the fusion of the two clubs sometime in January of 2008. While the merger of the clubs was never in doubt, and a firm date was never set, that January expectation and subsequent plans to close the deal in the first quarter 2008, and then April, passed before all of the details of the merger could be worked out.

Ultimate Resort’s former CEO, Tousignant, who we spoke to ahead of the completed merger last week, was candid about the immensity and complexity of the merger, which he admits the clubs may have underestimated last year. “These are complicated deals,” Tousignant said. “We’re buying huge asset bases and merging systems and technology. We’re looking not just to close a deal but have all of the organizational structures in place.” Private Escape’s Richard Keith meanwhile called attention to the added complexity brought on by the tumult in the real estate and credit markets. “We were dealing with moving targets, trying to determine the value of our real estate assets.” Keith said. “Every 90 days properties were worth something different. There was never a question of commitment to the merger or solving the cultural paradigm of the companies.”

To Keith the merger was mandated by the state of the industry. “We believe this is a business of scale now. Early on this was a position for boutique players, but with tightening of the credit and real estate markets, the cost of competing makes it hard for a small player to survive. No matter how complicated the dealings were, the merger had to happen.”

Ultimate Escapes will surely be worth the wait, for members as well as for Tousignant and Keith who seem to have formed what may at last be a challenger to industry leader Exclusive Resorts, both in membership base as well as number of properties and destinations.

The new club adopts a three-tiered approach to membership. The more value oriented Premiere level features homes averaging $1 million in value, the mid-level Signature offers $2 million homes, and the Elite level offers homes with an average value of $3 million. While in some respects each tier will function as a separate entity, reciprocity agreements allow members of each tier to access homes at other levels, although core members of each tier always have reservation priority. Members of Ultimate Resorts and Private Escapes will have the option of maintaining their current membership plans or to upgrade to the new club’s offerings as they see fit. All members of both clubs will have access to all of the combined club’s properties.

The next six months will be pivotal for the new destination club behemoth, as it works to iron out any kinks that may arise from the merger. Tousignant is optimistic, insisting that Ultimate Escapes should already be considered the market leader given its property assets at a variety of levels, as well as the range of services offered. Looking ahead he says the plan is to “continue to create momentum and leadership in our business.”

Halogen Guides will be closely following the roll out of Ultimate Escapes. Readers, weigh in below. Do you think Ultimate Escapes is primed to go head to head with Exclusive Resorts?