Last week, we posted a story about Exclusive Resorts’ latest program: Once in a Lifetime – a series of ultra-high-end tours available to members of the luxury destination club.

We spoke with Michael Beindorff, COO of Exclusive Resorts, to learn more about the program and find out whether the addition of luxury tours instead of vacation homes has any effect on the club’s ability to refund membership deposits.

“Exclusive Resorts owns 80% of our real estate and about 20% will be leased,” said Beindorff. “The Once in a Lifetime is designed to replace leases and has no impact on the net asset test or the firm’s financial stability,” he continued. Helium Report has consistently recommended destination clubs lease no more than 30% of their portfolio of homes to ensure sufficient real estate assets to cover member deposit obligations.

According to Beindorff, Exclusive Resorts’ CFO confirmed the club had a surplus of cash and equity in a year-end review to the club’s 2,500 plus members. Beindorff noted the company will continue to perform the test on an annual basis to ensure members’ deposits are adequately covered.

Beindorff says the addition of the Once in a Lifetime program provides members with access to “truly unique, one-of-a-kind” experiences. For example, he cited the difficulty in obtaining a visa to visit the country of Bhutan. He says the experiences will be “on par with what members expect [from Exclusive Resorts].”

Other trips include a visit to the Galapagos Islands which Beindorff described as “National Geographic quality,” African safari adventures, and members-only cruises on Seabourn yachts.

Exclusive Resorts spoke to members and prospects to gauge their interest in the Once in a Lifetime program, which Beindorff recognizes is “outside of the physical residence in a physical location [business model].” Beindorff assured us that the program is not a short-term response to availability or occupancy challenges. He says the tours are a strategic extension of Exclusive Resorts’ offering which not only meets member demands yet also creates “moveable, malleable inventory to address peak seasons.”

Members can use their advanced reservations to access the tours. Beindorff noted that chartering two Seabourn cruise ships “allows 180 trip to take place (90 on each) in the Mediterranean but the inventory is not owned by Exclusive Resorts.” He said the destination club will test the program for a year, see how members receive it, and then expand “Once in a Lifetime” if feedback is positive.

Unique vacation experiences are becoming increasingly popular among affluent travelers. Destination club Quintess announced its OnQ Experiences last summer. Recently, we wrote about Remote Lands, a custom travel company that also offers a tour which includes access to Bhutan. Next week, we’ll post our Guide to Bespoke Travel which provides an overview of this growing trend in luxury travel.

If you are an Exclusive Resorts member, tell us what you think about this new program by emailing us at tips@heliumreport.com.

Images courtesy Exclusive Resorts.