Press Center (cont'd)

Helium Report is an online resource for wealthy consumers, providing in-depth analysis of luxury services such as destination clubs, private jet travel, and executive health. Helium Report has provided quotes and background research to major media publications including Forbes, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and The New York Times.

Email halogen@halogenguides.com or call 415-655-2700 for more information.

Own a Slice of Ideal Vacation

2007 – The International Club for Rolls-Royce & Bentley Owners

By Vera Marie Badertscher

...People who want a special place to vacation with their family or friends in a highly desirable vacation spot, but do not want the burden of year-round ownership, have spurred the growth of a new concept – fractional ownership of luxury vacation residences…

Although most Private Residence Clubs make exchanges available at other properties in their chain, Jamie Cheng, a founder of the luxury buyers’ guide Helium Report says, “The fundamental difference is you make that decision [to buy a fractional] because you love that [specific] place and you want to travel there the most often…”

What’s Wrong With This Club?

December 3, 2006 – TIME

By Daniel Kadlec

Destination clubs, in which you plunk down a sizable deposit and pay an annual fee for access to luxury resort homes around the world, aren’t the bargains they once were. Many are raising fees and dues, and some are shedding properties and initiating stricter reservation systems. And in the wake of a July bankruptcy filing by Tanner & Haley, the industry pioneer, the possibility of losing your privileges and your entire deposit has come front and center.

...But the clubs may still make sense for affluent empty nesters with the time and means to get away, especially as an alternative to buying a second home. Even with today’s stiffer fees and dues, the cost of a club runs about $60,000 less than the cost of owning a comparable second home over 10 years, estimates Helium Report, an online newsletter…

At Your Disposal

October 25, 2006 – The New York Times

By Viv Bernstein

Club Sportiva, in business since 2003, is one of many time-share or fractional ownership clubs popping up across the country. Among them are the Classic Car Club in Manhattan, the Otto Club in the Boston area, Exotic Car Share and Curvy Road near Chicago, the Van Horssen Group in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Privatus in Charlotte, N.C.

“It’s definitely a growing market,” said Jamie Cheng, a co-founder of Helium Report, a San Francisco company and Web site, heliumreport.com, that offers guides to buying time in luxury vacation homes, private jets and exotic cars.

The market, Mr. Cheng said, is “the young man who is doing well financially, has discretionary income, is looking for something fun to do on a weekend with his buddies, and will sign up and say, ‘You know what, I don’t see any reason to own a $200,000 Ferrari, but I’d love to drive one.’ ”

Upscale Lodgings Draw Interest, Scrutiny

September 11, 2006 – The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)

By Kyle Stock

Vacation clubs combine elements of two difficult businesses, real estate investing and hospitality. Both are tough on their own and particularly challenging when tackled in tandem.

But [Helium Report co-founder Greg] Shove believes the concept will float, not flop, and that the client list will grow from its current 4,500 members to between 50,000 and 100,000.

The operators, he said, are motivated to sell, “but it’s no good to them if you want to quit two months later. These clubs are very anxious to deliver a good experience.”

Filling a Golden Niche on the Web

September 5, 2006 – MarketWatch, From DowJones

By Frank Barnako

“We’re a consumer guide for the affluent,” said Greg Shove, a technology and media executive with experience from AOL, Apple Computer, and Sun Microsystems. “There was no good online, independent source of news and analysis for big ticket decisions.”

HeliumReport.com was a by-product of his own experience after buying into a high-end timeshare product, a Destination Club. Such clubs own multi-million dollar vacation homes which members can rent. Some offer equity in the properties, so if one is sold you might get a piece of the profit. Most have some sort of refund plan if you want to quit.

“I found myself spending a lot of time explaining the concept to people, and saw there was no good advice available online,” Shove said. The result, Helium Report, has also expanded into offering advice on exotic car clubs (timeshares on wheels), executive wellness plans, and fractional jets.”

Luxury Resorts Join Forces

September 2, 2006 – Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)

By Karen Mitchell

The merger creates scale – a positive trait to have in the destination club market, says Greg Shove, founder of the San Francisco-based Helium Report, an independent online guide to the industry. Having more members allows a club to buy more homes, which provides more vacation options, he said.

“They need size to compete effectively with the market leader, (Denver-based) Exclusive Resorts, which added more than 250 new members in July alone,” Shove says. “For competitors in their price points, joining forces is the only option and we’ll see more consolidations.”

Destination Clubs Merge, Form Quintess, Catch the Dream

September 1, 2006 – The Denver Business Journal

Helium Report, a Web site that tracks the industry, said it expects to see more consolidations. “We’re not surprised that two up-and-coming destination clubs decided the combination of their teams yielded a stronger club.”

Quintess brought 17 homes and the yacht into the merger, while Dream Catcher supplied 20 more, according to Helium Report.

Vacation Club’s Woes Are Bad Trip for Rich

August 5, 2006 – The Wall Street Journal (Page A1)

By Avery Johnson and Michael Corkery [Subscription required]

On July 23, 62 corporate affiliates operating under the Tanner & Haley Resorts name sought federal bankruptcy protection [...]

Numerous competitors had begun offering similar products. Helium Report, a Web site for the wealthy, estimates there are now 24 destination clubs in the U.S. and Canada.

Bankruptcy Trouble in Paradise

July 29, 2006 – The Wall Street Journal

By Michael Corkery and Avery Johnson [Subscription required]

The troubles at Tanner & Haley Resorts, based in Westport, Conn., reveal potential pitfalls for consumers of these high-end hybrids between time-shares and country clubs that have proliferated in recent years. [...]

The Helium Report, a Web site that reviews luxury services, estimates that 24 clubs now exist, with about 600 homes valued at an average of $3 million each.

S.F. company packs $7M homes, yacht for vacation

July 14, 2006 – San Francisco Business Times

By Daniel S. Levine

Greg Shove, CEO and founder of San Francisco’s Helium Report, an online publication that serves as a Consumer Reports for the affluent, said Solstice has staked out the top of a category that as a whole is aimed at the high end.

“They are a boutique club. They are striving to produce a different experience, which is more intimate, with a smaller number of homes and a smaller number of members,” said Shove. “Instead of going for scale and size, they are going for exclusivity and luxury.”

Boca Man’s Car Club Throws Practicality to Wind – At 200 MPH

June 23, 2006 – Palm Beach Post

By Scott Cendrowski

Greg Shove, founder of the San Francisco-based Helium Report, which rates car, vacation and even high-end purse clubs targeted to the wealthy, said clubs similar to Collexium in different industries have gained traction in the past 10 years from customers who don’t want ties to only one vacation home, or boat, or purse.

“Choice is a big thing,” Shove said. “It’s the access to a different Ferrari fast or ski vacation.”

Steve Case’s Luxury Travel Club Growing

June 7, 2006 – USA Today

By Matthew Barakat, AP Business Writer

Jamie Cheng, co-founder of the Helium Report, which provides research and analysis for the wealthy on various products, including destination clubs, said Exclusive Resorts is the industry leader in a rapidly growing niche of the travel sector.

The industry as a whole has perhaps 4,000 or so members, Cheng said, but there are easily a million Americans or more who could afford a membership.

“As people get more comfortable with the idea, and as the clubs do a better job of explaining it, we think there’s a lot of growth potential,” he said.

The New Time Shares: How to Avoid the Traps

May 29, 2006 – Barron’s

By Robert Campbell Rowe [Subscription required]

“You’re parking your money in somebody else’s garage,” says Gregory Shove, who last October started Heliumreport.com, an online newsletter dedicated to covering destination clubs.

Quintess-ential luxury

May 28, 2006 – Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)

By Karen Mitchell

“Membership in these clubs is not really an alternative to investing in vacation real estate,” [Greg Shove, co-founder of Helium Report] says. “You’re joining a club with access to four-plus bedroom homes around the world; two- or three-bedroom apartments in big cities. These replace the need to go to five-star resorts for those families that want to travel luxuriously and avoid paying $1,000 or more dollars a night for unconnected hotel rooms.”

Extra space and services, set in the right location, make destination clubs compelling, Shove says.

“These affluent families want the ability to host friends or another family as a part of a vacation. For retiring baby boomers, the clubs are a convenient way to host their growing families, including kids and grandkids,” he says.

The Well-Heeled, Worldly Home

April 2006 – Lodging Hospitality (Trade magazine)

For now, the Helium Report is an invaluable consumer guide to the expensive world of the non-equity residence club, a world in which Shove feels at home.
“I’m a very typical destination club member,” says Shove. “The meat of the industry is aimed at families who like to travel and vacation and, to some extent, retiring Boomers. Retiring Boomers like it because they want to move around and the houses are big enough for them to entertain their friends. For people in my demographic that have kids under 18, the attraction is as a replacement for four-or five-star resorts.”

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