Two Colorado destination clubs have merged to form the nation’s third-largest player in the industry.
The $62 million merger of Boulder-based Quintess and Greenwood Village-based Dream Catcher creates Quintess, Catch the Dream. The combined companies have 230 members and 38 homes in 24 destinations worldwide. Memberships in the club start at $175,000.
“We started talking a number of months ago and said, ‘Let’s quit fighting each other in the marketplace,”‘ said Quintess co-founder and chief executive Peter Estler, now CEO of the combined companies. “This will double the size of the company and accelerate sales. We will elevate ourselves to a level with Exclusive Resorts.”
Exclusive Resorts began accepting members in early 2003 and now leads in the burgeoning destination-club segment. It recently topped 2,000 members.
Fort Collins-based Private Escapes is the second-largest, with 300 members.
The consolidation of Quintess and Dream Catcher gives the combined companies a real estate portfolio with a fair market value of about $110 million. By comparison, Denver-based Exclusive Resorts has a portfolio of about 300 properties with a combined value of more than $300 million.
“The notion that in order to provide good customer service you have to have economies of scale is the right one,” said Brent Handler, president of Exclusive Resorts. “In order to be competitive in the marketplace from a consumer’s perspective, you have to be able to offer world-class service. The only way to do that is to have significant infrastructure.”
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
