We spoke today to Gary Feracota, one of the founders of Pinnacle Yachts, a sail and power boat “leaseshare” program. We will profile his company and offering soon, but his thoughts on the keys to a successful fractional program are very relevant to anyone considering joining any fractional club. We asked him, based on his ten years of experience running Pinnacle, what was critical to a successful membership-based program – his response was two-fold:

• the screening of the membership, such that members would respect the assets (home, boat or car) and take care of them, so that they would be enjoyed by all members.
• a fair reservation system that allocated availability based on a transparent system, with no preference given to those who pay more, seniority or any other way to gain an advantage.

Members quickly realise that they cannot get access to the asset that they want, all the time, when they want it. If you demand that, then you should buy the home or boat yourself. But if members realise that they can get most of what they want, most of the time, and that the system for deciding that is fair, then they will accept the ups and downs of a shared use plan. Obviously, Exclusive Resorts has realised this, and recent changes to their reservation system for new homes reflects in part the need to be fair and transparent.

For prospective members, ask the club how their reservation system works – ask if there is any class of members that have better reservation rights than you will – and why. If you are uncomfortable with the answers, then consider asking for a clause in your contract that guarantees you the same reservation rights as any other member that has paid the same as you, or joined at the same membership level.