Clubhouse: One Key: Unlocked Potential
The destination club meets the villa rental.
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Sharephotos by: Jackie Caradonio
August 1, 2008
In 2001, the launch of the Marquis Jet Card changed the travel industry. Suddenly, those who dreamed of flying sans security lines and screaming babies needed only a card stocked with prepaid flight hours to travel privately. Now, one former Marquis executive is hoping vacationers will make room in their wallets for the One Key Travel Card, which puts several remarkable homes at the jet set’s fingertips.Launched in August 2006 by former Marquis Jet vice president Jay Sapovits, One Key is intended as a low-risk, high-reward destination club. Different from the models of Exclusive Resorts and Quintess, which require six-figure deposits, One Key has no entry fees or annual dues—a feasible practice given that the club does not own the properties in its portfolio. Instead, the club’s collection comprises private, multimillion-dollar vacation properties that are placed into One Key’s pool when not being used by their owners. Members purchase nights using One Key Travel Cards, which are priced at $34,900 for 15 nights, $49,900 for 25 nights, and $84,900 for 45 nights. One Key prepares the residence, provides daily housekeeping, and plans and manages members’ entire vacations, from restaurant reservations and tee times to fishing excursions and private chef services.
"It’s a better way to travel when you’re going with kids, family, and friends," says Sapovits. "You don’t have to compartmentalize into a hotel, or go online and try to find a villa rental and cross your fingers that it’s in the right location, that the pictures weren’t misleading, or that the person you gave your credit card information to is still in business when you get there. It bridges the gap between renting and putting down hundreds of thousands of dollars for a destination club."
Currently, One Key maintains more than 300 homes in 30 destinations, including perennial favorites such as Maui, Nantucket, Tuscany, St. Bart’s, and Vail, and quieter havens such as Bend, Oregon, and Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. Sapovits says the company receives nearly a dozen inquiries a week from homeowners wishing to add their assets to One Key’s portfolio (the method by which most of the club’s roster is developed), but each submission must meet a rigid set of standards to do so. For instance, city accommodations must have at least 1,250 square feet of space and be located in a premier residential tower or hotel, while beach and mountain homes must comprise a minimum of 2,000 square feet and sit within close proximity to the area’s best golf courses, ski trails, or beaches. A One Key employee physically inspects every home to ensure that each offers high-quality linens and mattresses, a smoke- and pet-free environment, upscale bathroom amenities, up-to-date technology, and high-speed Internet access.
Sometimes, a property that does not meet the club’s standards may not be the home at all. "It could just be the neighborhood," says Sapovits. "I was recently at a home in West Palm Beach, and although it was a terrific home, I had to drive past monster trucks and trailer parks to get to it. That’s not the experience someone wants on vacation, but you wouldn’t have seen that in a picture."
The focus on location is evident in one of One Key’s flagship properties, a three-bedroom contemporary home in Malibu, California. Set on craggy cliffs above the ocean 20 miles north of Malibu’s city center, the quiet, nearly $10 million home is removed from the region favored by young Hollywood. And though California’s beaches are legally shared, the home’s rare, clandestine slice of sand is difficult for those not staying at the home to access, essentially rendering it private. "It’s a dramatic property. It’s an opportunity to put our members in a location no other club in this category has, and in an environment that is not typically attainable," says Sapovits. "You could live in Beverly Hills, and while it’s less than an hour away, that Malibu home would be a vacation for you."
One Key also offers plenty of opportunities to venture farther afield. The club expects to have 42 destinations by 2009, and homes in California’s Sonoma County and Pebble Beach, as well as Chicago, Martha’s Vineyard, and Anguilla, will be added this year.
One Key, 877.663.5399, www.onekeyworld.com
