Part of joining a destination club is knowing what your exit strategy will be if you need to resign. When new members write that six-figure membership check, clubs promise to return anywhere from 75% to more than 100% of those dollars upon leaving the club. But beyond that pledge, what are the specifics of the resignation process? Here are key questions to help you get to the bottom of a club’s resignation policy.

Do new members need to join the club before you can resign?

To maintain stability in their membership ranks, destination clubs often require new members to join before you can leave. Exclusive Resorts, Ultimate Escapes, Quintess, LRW, Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club and the Lusso Collection all require that three new members join before one can exit, a virtual standard policy in the industry. One exception is Distinctive Holiday Homes, a boutique destination club with about 50 members that has a one-in/one-out policy. Of course, when membership growth is steady, getting out isn’t a problem. But if growth stalls, an exiting member can face a waitlist to leave. Lusso Collection counters that potential stumbling block by capping the wait time for a member to resign at nine months, regardless of whether new members join.

Keep in mind these resignation policies can change, of course. The destination club industry is still relatively young, and clubs have never before faced a financial crisis of this magnitude. Clubs have already seen the credit crisis begin to delay construction of new developments. If the economic crunch begins to tick up resignation numbers in future months, clubs could alter the rules for any new members, including extending the minimum membership time or requiring more members to join before they can exit.

Is there a minimum membership term?

Joining a destination club isn’t a short-term commitment, and the terms vary by club. For instance, the Lusso Collection and Ultimate Escapes allow members to leave the club only after 18 months, Abercrombie & Kent requires members to cycle through a full year, while Exclusive Resorts and Quintess members can resign at any point in their membership.

How long will it take to get a deposit back?

Don’t count on a speedy return of your funds. Ultimate Escapes says that the typical resigning member waits about three months for the return of a deposit after the initial request. Distinctive Holiday Homes, which has not had any resignations, says an exiting member would get their money back 30 days after the new member pays a deposit. Even the Lusso Collection, which reports that it has not had a single member resign, says that it will take about 15 days to return a member’s deposit from the time resignation is approved.

How many members are currently on the waiting list to resign, and how long is the average wait?

Destination clubs are likely to keep these numbers close to the cuff, but a potential member should be able to get an answer. Ask a club how many members have resigned in the past. If the club refuses to provide the number, consider taking your destination club dollars elsewhere. If the number is significant, ask why those members left. A club may point to a merger or even a management shakeup, but then cite ways it has improved the member experience since then. And keep in mind that at larger clubs, the numbers can change by the month. Exclusive Resorts, which will tell you that there has never been a resignation waiting list at the club, assesses its exiting members at the end of each month, so make sure that you ask for the most up-to-date numbers as you work your way through the membership process. As of September, there was no waiting list to resign at Exclusive Resorts.

Learn more about key questions to ask before joining a destination club by downloading our Decision Guide.