About a month ago, the two destination clubs entered into a reciprocity agreement to allow each others members to use some of their luxury vacation homes. We checked in with both clubs on how this was going.

The initial feedback from both clubs is positive and our take is that this makes sense for both the clubs and their members. For the clubs it provides additional homes to offer their members at little or no cost. It also lets each of the clubs try out new destinations to assess how popular they are with members. For members it clearly gives them access to luxury vacation homes in new destinations.

The only downside is the potential impact on occupancy ratios, if a particular home gets heavily booked by members of the other club. In this case it clearly points to the club needing to buy a home of it's own in that location. Given that members in both clubs will have a finite amount of time that they vacation, the overall impact on occupancy ratios will balance out between the clubs. In 2006 BelleHavens had an occupancy ratio of just 25% and The Markers was close to 30%, so there should be plenty of room to allow for the sharing.

Under the reciprocity agreement, BelleHavens has allowed The Markers members to use their Jackson Hole, Hawaii and Deer Valley (pictured right) homes. The Markers has allowed BelleHavens members to use their Scottsdale, (pictured below) Lake Las Vegas, and Kiawah Island homes.

As Michelle Stevens from BelleHavens put it "Because The Markers is an entirely golf experience, they were able to offer their members an experience at some of BelleHavens mountain and beach destinations. While BelleHavens has some great golf destinations, The Markers homes offer BelleHavens members a unique experience because they are more golf-oriented, from décor of the homes to amenities that come with the destination."

Mitch Brinton, co-founder and managing director of The Markers told us, “We both felt that our members would appreciate the opportunity to request homes in locations not necessarily a part of each club’s current portfolio. Thanks to this strategic agreement we are pleased to provide our members with an even wider range of elegant, million dollar homes in more spectacular destinations, without having to lease properties.”