Luxurious Journey Redefined: Exclusive Resorts’ New Imaginative and prescient

When the pandemic introduced the world to a halt, luxurious journey—like so many industries—was pressured to adapt. Yet, out of the restrictions got here a shift that has reshaped how prosperous vacationers take into consideration their lives and their time. For James Henderson, CEO of Exclusive Resorts—a personal membership providing 4,500 Member households entry to a $1 billion portfolio of luxurious properties and experiences, the transformation was not nearly locations, however about redefining what luxurious actually means: group, connection, and the power to speculate one’s most finite useful resource—time—properly.

“Life is far too short for should haves,” Henderson informed me in our dialog at Worth’s New York workplaces. “People devote endless hours to the pursuit of wealth, but what they really crave is time—time with friends, time with family, time well spent. The pandemic reminded us just how fleeting that can be, and it’s fueled a palpable shift toward experiences that matter, particularly in travel.” 

The lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 accelerated a pattern that was already simmering beneath the floor: a pivot away from simply materials accumulation towards experiences. For prosperous households, that meant valuing non-public properties over resorts, in search of curated adventures over cookie-cutter holidays, and prioritizing deeper connections with family members. Henderson, who has labored throughout non-public aviation, yachting, and now hospitality, has watched this shift firsthand. “There’s a tremendous amount of wealth out there,” he famous. “And what has really evolved in this space is a shift from materialism to something far less tangible but infinitely more valuable: experience. Life, after all, is finite—and the point is to make it count.” 

Exclusive Resorts, with its portfolio of greater than 400 luxurious properties and a rising array of “once-in-a-lifetime” curated journeys accessible solely to members, was completely positioned to fulfill the second. The firm noticed demand surge as households turned away from crowded resorts in favor of privateness, reliability, and adaptability. The attraction caught. As Henderson defined, “Once people experience the Club—the service, the homes, the community—they find it hard to imagine traveling any other way.”

At its core, the mannequin is structured not not like a rustic membership—at a minimal, it’s a ten-year membership that would lengthen to thirty years—however Henderson insists the true asset isn’t actual property, it’s time. “What people are really committing to is a legacy measured not in property lines or balance sheets, but in moments—time with their children, time for themselves, time together. And because membership is inheritable, that legacy endures,” Henderson famous. “Families can pass along not just wealth, but the habit of being together, of traveling together—a gift, really, for generations to come.” 

What started in 2002 as a luxurious trip membership has since grow to be one thing bigger and extra enduring: a group, a lifestyle. Henderson is fast to credit score the members for shaping that trajectory. “People join for the travel, but they stay for the community,” he stated. Today, Exclusive Resorts is as a lot about connection as it’s about curated villas or far-flung itineraries. The Club’s journeys—to  Japan, Southeast Asia, even the Antarctic—are much less about ticking containers on a map than about forging friendships that outlast the journey. With members whose backgrounds are as diverse because the locations themselves, these relationships typically grow to be as beneficial because the journey itself. “It’s like a reunion,” Henderson stated. “We bring together people with a  connective energy, and it creates an extraordinary power within the Club.”

While conventional wealth advisors concern themselves with preserving and rising capital, the Club helps members maximize their most irreplaceable foreign money: how they spend their days. Increasingly, Henderson notes, wealth managers have a hand within the resolution to hitch. The alternative typically comes down as to whether to purchase but  one other second—or third —dwelling, or to realize entry to a whole lot of them with out the burdens of possession. “From a wealth manager’s perspective, does it really make sense to take four or five million dollars out of a portfolio and put it into a home you’ll use six weeks of the year?” Henderson requested. “Or do you join Exclusive Resorts, where you have access to a whole portfolio of homes and experiences without the headaches?”

For advisors tasked with serving to purchasers stay extra holistically—balancing monetary safety with well being, wellness, and success—this mannequin resonates. Henderson added, “Most wealth managers are deeply involved in their clients’ lives. If you can open doors to connections and experiences that make those lives richer and more meaningful, that’s incredibly additive.”

The philosophy of constructing connection will not be distinctive to Henderson. It runs deep into the DNA of the corporate by means of its chairman, Steve Case, the co-founder of AOL—who first joined as a member earlier than buying Exclusive Resorts in 2003. In the Nineties, Case helped introduce hundreds of thousands of Americans to the web world, creating one of many first large-scale digital communities. AOL wasn’t simply an web service—it was a portal into a brand new sort of connection, the place individuals may meet, talk, and collaborate in completely new methods. Today, Case continues to be within the community-building enterprise, however with a unique sort of infrastructure. Through investments, actual property, and philanthropy, he has turned his consideration to constructing bodily communities—whether or not revitalizing neglected startup ecosystems within the American heartland or creating sustainable resorts and branded residential enclaves in Costa Rica and Hawaii.

Exclusive Resorts suits squarely into that imaginative and prescient. Just as AOL pioneered digital belonging, Exclusive Resorts creates real-world belonging amongst its member households. For Case, that continuity isn’t any coincidence: it displays a lifelong perception that shared experiences—on-line or offline—form stronger people, households, and societies.

That philosophy has guided the corporate’s enlargement as effectively. Under Henderson’s management, Exclusive Resorts has diversified past its core membership into companies that stretch its attain within the luxurious journey ecosystem. The strategic settlement with Accor to take a controlling curiosity in onefinestay, a high-end villa rental model, introduced new flexibility to these not prepared for a long-term dedication however nonetheless in search of curated, trusted choices. At the identical time, the corporate launched a brand new branded residential vertical, starting with a 20-home improvement at Punta Cacique in Costa Rica, designed for members who need prolonged stays or everlasting properties infused with the model’s service ethos. Some of these properties could move again into the membership’s portfolio or onefinestay’s community, making a seamless ecosystem throughout possession, rental, and membership. 

“There will always be people who want to invest in bricks and mortar,” Henderson stated. “But unlike the traditional vacation home, our branded residences come with a team that manages the details—maintenance, rentals, everything. After twenty years of running a $1-billion real estate portfolio, ownership comes with permanence—but also peace of mind.” 

Looking forward, Henderson envisions Exclusive Resorts because the LVMH of journey and hospitality: a multi-brand platform encompassing membership subscriptions, villa leases, residences, and curated experiences. To assist speed up that imaginative and prescient, the corporate has, for the primary time, welcomed exterior traders like Kemmons Wilson Companies (KWC)—offering capital that can help acquisitions and enlargement into adjoining classes. Henderson hinted at future strikes into curated journey corporations and concierge companies, in addition to broader arenas like wellness, philanthropy, and longevity. “Our mandate is to help members live richer, more meaningful lives,” he stated. “It’s beyond wealth. It’s about giving people the ability to invest their time wisely.”

Post-pandemic, the definition of luxurious has shifted. It is not nearly exclusivity or opulence. It is about curation, group, and connection. For Henderson and Case alike, which means serving to members not solely discover the right villa or bucket-list journey, but additionally the individuals with whom to share it. “You can always make more money,” Henderson mirrored. “But you can’t make more time.”

In that philosophy lies the essence of Exclusive Resorts’ imaginative and prescient—and maybe the long run not simply of journey, however of how the prosperous stay, spend their time, and outline what issues.