Destination Clubs and Private Residence Clubs have a lot in common. The terminology can be confusing and the lines between these two are getting increasingly blurry. In many cases the terms are used interchangeably so you'll find some companies that might fit closer to a Destination Club, but which refer to themselves as Private Residence Clubs.

So if you're considering buying one of these products we certainly recommend that you look at the other.

One of the big differences is that with Private Residence Clubs you are buying a share in one property in one location. They are therefore great for folks who know that they want to go back to the same location year after year. Some of the PRC's also offer the opportunity to swap your time and location with other locations within their group or with other affiliates. Destination Clubs on the other hand provide access to all the properties within the Club, so that members have a variety of locations to choose from.

Another major difference used to be that Destination Clubs were all none equity "membership" clubs, whereas Private Residence Clubs offered true fractional ownership. Nowadays several Destination Clubs offer an "equity" participation in one form or another, either directly, by being structured as a REIT or indirectly by offering members a share in the increased value of the properties.

One other difference is the member, or owner, to property ratio. For Destination Clubs this is typically 6:1 (ie 6 members for every property in the club), but for PRC's the ratio is typically 8:1, so that each property has 8 owners. With the lower ratio, Destination Clubs, can offer their members a lot more flexibility and largely guarantee that the member can get the property they want when they want. It also means that Destination Club properties are only in use 40-50% of the time. PRC's have a variety of systems for sharing out time and including peak periods amongst their owners.

The table below sets out some of the key differences.

For more specific details on any particular club, see the sections on Private Residence Clubs and Destination Clubs.