This spring Helium Report spoke with Michael Beindorff, the COO of Exclusive Resorts, about the destination club’s new high-end tour program, Once in a Lifetime. Beindorff said the club would test the program for a year and expand it if member feedback was positive.

The tour program was a hit with members and this fall Exclusive Resorts announced that it would further expand its collection of Once in a Lifetime trips. Beginning in January 2008, Exclusive Resorts is rolling out the first of 12 new tours including seven night trips to resorts in Thailand, St. Barts and Fiji that are geared towards couples. Other tours, including a Caribbean cruise, biking in France’s Loire Valley, and a summer ski trip to Patagonia will be launched in 2008 and 2009.

The trips are geared towards three distinct groups of travelers: families, couples, and adventure seekers. For instance a seven night stay at C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, Colo. offers families horseback riding, fly fishing and hiking, while a 12 night cruise to the Antarctic gives adventure travelers the chance to kayak in the shadows of glaciers and watch penguins and leopard seals.

In an interview this spring, Beindorff assured Helium Report that the Once in a Lifetime program would not affect the company’s financial standing or its ability to refund membership deposits (more on deposits can be found in our guide). Instead the club is looking at this program as a way to expand booking availability during the peak travel seasons, when most destination club members are eager for a getaway. In fact, high-end tours seem poised to be the next luxury offering from the destination club industry as clubs work to respond to members’ requests for unique vacations around the globe.