Spent 2 hours last week on the phone with Scott Anderson, the CEO (and employee #1) of Dream Catcher Retreats, a relatively new club with 75 members and 16 homes (with three more homes to go live by the end of March). Based on their progress, we would still consider Dream Catcher a “new club” – they have passed the charter member phase and are now approaching 100 members – a key milestone – and now getting enough experience to be able to understand the road ahead.

Frankly we liked talking to Scott – he came across as a no-BS seasoned hospitality executive that is personally very committed to getting his club into the group of winners as the industry unfolds and matures. Plus, he had a good repetoire of oneliners (“the real estate business is biblical – seven years of feast and seven years of famine”).

Why is his hospitality experience relevant? Because he knows that in each home, the soft goods (linens, etc) need to be replaced every three years or sooner, and the hard goods (kitchen appliances, barbecues, etc) need to be replaced every five years – and he has built that into his business model. May seem obvious but it’s important – you want your club to have conservative revenue/cost assumptions, taking into account the real cost of running the business. Otherwise you will be faced with annual dues increase surprises – or a declining in-home experience when you are on vacation.

More about Dream Catcher Retreats in subsequent updates. They intend to add 175 members this year, so we will watch to see what happens.