Ultra-luxury clubs such as Legendary Retreats appeal to jet-set multi-millionaires, but the typical destination club member is just the “millionaire next door.”

There’s a broad base of prospective destination club members in the United States. TNS Financial Services estimates 8.9 million households with an averge net worth of $2.2M, excluding primary residence. Nearly 1 in 5 own in whole or part of a professional practice or privately held business and 45% are retired.

The demographics are similar to the estimated 4,000 to 5,000 member base of destination clubs. While the majority paid a membership deposit of $300,000 or more to join, lower priced options such as Private Escapes and Ultimate Resort appeal to the “mass affluent” traveler.

CNN recently reported 1.1 millionaires in 10 counties in the U.S. We’re finding many of our readers live in these metropolitan areas and are are discovering destination clubs as an alternative to second home ownership. Click here to view a comparison we posted last month. We’re wrapping up a cost per night analysis to compare destination clubs to luxury hotels and villa rentals. Email us at info@heliumreport.com if you’ve done your own math and would like to exchange spreadsheets. We’ll post our version soon.