Creating a Lasting Legacy of Travel

By Jackie Caradonio, Exclusive Resorts

Marti Gistaro was 67 years old when she and her husband Ed decided to take part in a 30-year membership with Exclusive Resorts. The Texas-based couple had been traveling for decades: summers at their vacation home in the mountains of New Mexico, trips to Los Angeles and San Francisco, safaris in Africa. But it was a desire to be closer to family—especially their four grandchildren—that made the private, members-only club a more attractive option.

“The vacation home was becoming a headache to deal with, and Exclusive Resorts was like a menu we could choose from, encouraging us to travel to places we would have never even thought of before,” Marti says. That applied especially to the one-on-one trips she took with their grandchildren, each of whom was gifted a “milestone trip” anywhere in the U.S. at age 9, and anywhere in the world at 16. There were stays in the club’s four-bedroom estates in Lake Tahoe and Jackson Hole, elegant city accommodations in Paris and New York, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences in the Galapagos Islands and Kenya.

Each vacation brought Marti, who now describes herself as a “full-time grandma,” fulfillment, connecting with her family in profound ways everyday encounters couldn’t offer. “Of course, Ed and I spoiled them rotten on these trips,” she says with a laugh. “But we also got to know who they really were, often in ways even their parents didn’t.”

Marti’s Exclusive Resorts membership has helped instill a love of travel among her grandchildren—and for the now 83-year-old, it ensures a legacy she can pass on to them. That’s because every club membership is inheritable, a gift of future travel access for the next generation. “The fact that this membership can be passed on to my children and grandchildren was a big part of why Ed and I joined,” Marti says. “We looked at it as an investment in our family and a benefit to all of our kids, even after we’re gone.”

“Our members have stock portfolios, retirement accounts, estate plans and insurance for pretty much everything. But no investment portfolio or second home will ever match the value of your time. And how you spend that time can transform your life,” says Rachel Regan, senior vice president of global sales at Exclusive Resorts. “As we accumulate wealth, we plan not only for our own futures, but also for the futures of those we love most. There are possessions we guard for our next of kin—a beloved timepiece, a family heirloom—but the experiences are far more challenging to ensure for our families. An Exclusive Resorts membership does just that.”

Launched in 2002, Exclusive Resorts boasts a portfolio of more than 400 luxury residences and curated travel experiences in 75 sought-after destinations, accessible only to the club’s closed network of 4,300 members. The club recently experienced one of its strongest years for new membership sales in over a decade, despite the pandemic and its associated challenges. Every family is matched with a dedicated ambassador who acts as their membership planner and real-time problem solver for each vacation.

While on site, a dedicated personal concierge takes care of every detail big or small, from dinner reservations and grocery deliveries to arranging in-home spa treatments and flight transfers. Like any club, members pay a one-time initiation fee (starting at $175,000 for a 10-year plan) and annual dues based on the number of nights they would like to travel each year. Most opt for 20 to 30 travel days to access the members-only suite of benefits, experiences and luxury residences starting at $29,300 annually.

For Marti, committing to a 30-year membership plan in her golden years made sense because it ensured a lifetime of experiences for her and her husband—and a promise to her children and grandchildren even after their passing. With her family spread out across the country, Marti began to view her annual Exclusive Resorts vacations as a way to lock in quality time together.

Make Travel a Family Legacy

“Today, more than 60% of our current members and 40% of our new members are empty nesters,” says James Henderson, CEO of Exclusive Resorts. “At this phase in their life, they’re traveling more often in a bigger group—kids, grandchildren, friends, nannies—and it can be overwhelming. They turn to Exclusive Resorts so they can spend less time planning their vacations and more time enjoying them. They see memberships as an emotional investment in the happiness of their family and the richness of their lives—a commitment to not let these wonderfully rewarding parts of life pass by.”

Now, as Marti’s grandchildren go on to establish their careers and get married, opportunities to come together as a family are all the more important, she says. And the knowledge that her love of travel and the support of the membership community has been imparted on each of them is perhaps the greatest gift of all.

“Exclusive Resorts has left a lasting impression on them for sure,” she adds. “It has become a part of our family legacy.”

To learn more about Exclusive Resorts visit exclusiveresorts.com.