Since its launch in 2007, the Luxus Premiere Collection has grown to over 200 members who own and use 30 luxurious vacation homes. The fund plans to add one more home before closing to new investors.

CEO Stephen Petasky told me they are formally capping out the offering on June 1st, 2013. The funds 31st and final home will be in the Caribbean and they've narrowed this down to one of two locations. The average property value within the fund is about $1.15m, and the entire portfolio is completely debt free as homes are purchased only when new investors join.

Stephen was keen to point out that Luxus has had a 99% retention rate since launching. Only 2 people have left the group to date with none on the resignation list. The 2 who left did so because of family issues and not due to their love for Luxus. This high retention rate seems to be a characteristic of equity based clubs, particularly the ones that have a defined lifetime and plan to sell their properties after a set number of years and return the proceeds to their investors. SherpaReport has certainly heard of similar high retention rates at equity clubs with these characteristics. Maybe people join these clubs with the comfort of knowing there is an exit strategy, and so are less inclined to look for an earlier exit.

Points Based Usage

The Premiere Collection has three membership levels ranging from an initial investment of $140,000 up to $234,000. Annual dues, which cover all the concierge service and professional property management range from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. Usage is based on a points system, with the entry level membership providing enough points for 3-4 weeks of vacations a year and the highest tier providing 7-8 weeks per year. Each member also receives "bonus days" which can be used at short notice, within 60 days of departure and don't count towards usage of the points.
Some of the Premiere Collection locations are Hawaii (including Maui, the Big Island and Kauai), Tuscany Italy, Costa Rica, New York, San Diego, Palm Springs, Scottsdale, and several Canadian mountain & lake properties.

2nd Fund Launched

With the Premier Collection coming close to sell out, Luxus launched its second fund last year. The Elite Collection is a higher-end portfolio (of $2-3.5m properties) and has added 7 properties already. There are 5 investment levels in this Elite Collection that range from $165,000 to $550,000 and provide from 1-2 weeks to 7-8 weeks a year.