Private residence and destination clubs, are compared to full ownership of a vacation home in the research report "The Affluent Market for Vacation Homes". The Spring 2009 survey included a series of questions about familiarity, brand awareness, and plans to purchase.

The American Affluence Research Center conducted this Survey of affluent Americans and compared the results to their survey from 2007. This report is based on the responses of 640 men and women from households with an average income of $290,000, an average net worth of $3.1 million, and average investable assets of $1.4 million. The average age was 56 and 58% were males.

Key points from the survey are:

• About 40% of the affluent market indicate familiarity with either the private residence club or destination club concepts. Just over one- third indicated familiarity with the private residence club concept, with 3 in 10 indicating familiarity with the destination club concept. This represents some modest improvement from the 2007 study for both.
• Concept familiarity is highest among the higher income and net worth groups. For the private residence club concept, familiarity is about 45% among both the $200K+ income and $1.5M+ net worth segments. For the destination club concept, familiarity is about 40% among the same 2 segments.
• Among those indicating familiarity with the private residence club concept, 72% did not name a brand or company with which they are familiar. The other quarter most frequently named a hotel-affiliated brand, with Marriott Grand Residence Club and The Ritz-Carlton Club being the top two brands named. Some brands/companies not participating in the business were incorrectly named, thus indicating some confusion about the concept.
• Among those indicating familiarity with the destination club concept, 82% did not name a brand with which they are familiar. As some brands/companies were named incorrectly, this indicates some confusion about the concept. Exclusive Resorts was the most frequently and correctly named brand, but by fewer than one in five of those naming a brand. Among those indicating familiarity with the private residence club concept in the current survey, 12% did not check any of the listed brands (compared to one in five in 2007) as ones they had heard of. Those checking one or more brands averaged 2.9 brands, with 4 of the hotel-affiliated brands checked most frequently.
• Among those indicating familiarity with the destination club concept, over half did check at least one of the listed brands as one they had heard of. This was a slight improvement over the 2007 survey. Those checking one or more brands averaged 1.6 brands, with Exclusive Resorts checked by almost two-thirds of the respondents. This is relatively consistent with Spring 2007 results. Ultimate Escapes did not have the recognition of its predecessor Private Escapes.
• Over 28% of the sample reported full ownership of a second home with just over half (56%) of the homes used throughout the year and just under half (44%) used primarily on a seasonal basis. An additional total of 15% reported partial access to a vacation home, primarily through a time share, but also through private residence and destination clubs.
• As might be expected, the ownership for wholly-owned second homes was most prevalent among the $6M+ net worth group (64%) and the $1.5M to $6M segment (34%). Vacation home ownership was also higher among age 60+ and those with an income of $200K+. Time share ownership was most prevalent among those with an income of $200K+ and those with a net worth of $1M to $1.5M.
• The value of the second home generally increased with increases in income, net worth, and the value of the primary residence. The second home at an average value of $781,000 is typically valued at about two-thirds that of the primary residence ($1.2 million).
• Second homes used year-round apparently fell by "only"11% in average value, compared to the values reported in the 2007 survey, while those used seasonally declined by 35% in average value.
• Only 4.1% of the respondents indicated serious consideration of the acquisition of a wholly-owned second home versus 9.8% in 2007. The 2009 figure compares to the 2.3% who indicated plans to do so in Table 12. Intent to consider a time share or a private residence or destination club totals less than 1% and is essentially unchanged from 2007.

The results above show a higher awareness of both private residence clubs and destination clubs than the Ypartnership survey that we reported on last month. Although the Ypartnership had a higher number of actual owners of each, amongst it's survey participants.