We have written about luxury fractional networks before, such as the Registry Collection and a new start-up, MembersTrade.

Now, industry heavyweight Interval has announced a partnership with The Preferred Hotel Group, to launch a new network called Preferred Residences, a branded luxury exchange program that hopes to include high-end fractionals, private residence clubs and condo-hotels. They intend to enroll their first developers and property owners in August of this year, and turn the exchange network on in Q1 of 2008.

Interval has some experience with this. Interval’s current vacation exchange network includes close to 6,000 owners at its more than 60 affiliated fractional resorts, according to David Gilbert, EVP of Marketing for Interval. The cost for the consumer for that program is an annual membership fee of $138 and about $140 per exchange. According to Gilbert, fees have not been set for the new luxury network, but we can expect them to be higher.

Gilbert believes that the fact that Preferred Residences will have an independent third-party inspect and appove fractional properties that want to join the network, will convince consumers that all the properties are of the same quality – this has been an issue with other networks. As a consumer, swapping your week in a Ritz-Carlton Club and getting a three star timeshare property in exchange does not feel like a good deal. Hopefully that won’t happen within this new luxury network.

Time will tell. All networks need to get enough properties, across enough desirable locations, to be effective. Hopefully Interval can pull this off – it would good for luxury fractional owners to have more choices, in terms of getting value from any unused days or weeks. If you want to get a copy of our Guide to Luxury Fractional Networks, send an email to tips@heliumreport.com.