The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club and Annika Sorenstam Announce New Partnership
ORLANDO, FL (March 30, 2010) — Unveiled March 23, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, an equity-based, luxury destination club, and Hall of Fame golfer, Annika Sorenstam, have entered a new partnership where Annika will serve as an ambassador for the brand. For the benefit of Club Members, this partnership presents the opportunity for elite experiences that mirror Annika’s passions and growing lifestyle brand.
As part of the exclusive partnership, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club will create an “ANNIKA sense of place” at Club locations with branded products from signature clothing and fragrances, to wines and autographed photography. Culinary events, wine tastings and golf outings with Annika will provide memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for Members. The ANNIKA Academy will also take the team on the road to select Club locations to inspire players of varying skill levels to reach their potential by transferring more energy and power from the gym to the golf course.
“We are thrilled to have Annika Sorenstam represent The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club,” said Peter J. Watzka, executive vice president and chief operating officer for The Ritz-Carlton Development Company, Inc. (an affiliate of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC). “This partnership is an excellent opportunity for The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club to work with one of the world’s top golfers and offer our discerning Members extraordinary experiences they will not find anywhere else but at our Clubs.”
“I am honored to represent The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club brand, which is the most prestigious Destination Club in the world,” said Annika. “There is a lot of symmetry between the lifestyle The Ritz-Carlton affords their Members and the products and services my brand represents. Together we will provide inspirational Member experiences.”
The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club created the “Lion & Crown Golf Series,” a sequence of Member/Guest tournaments at key Club destinations, which Annika will serve as host in 2010.
Depending on a Ritz-Carlton Destination Club Member’s vacation aspirations, they may select a Home Club Membership which provides a one- to four-bedroom, titled residence and guaranteed usage at their favorite resort every year, or a deeded Portfolio Membership which affords the opportunity to discover a wide variety of locations, accommodations and experiences around the globe through the use of Club points. The new Hotel Exchange Program also enables Members who enroll in a Portfolio Membership to utilize a portion of their Club points at more than 70 Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts.
Club Members benefit from an exceptional level of service as they are paired with their own member experience manager who serves as their primary travel liaison. The member experience manager coordinates everything from airport pick-up and pre-arrival provisioning of the residence, to unpacking and pressing pre-sent garments and arranging a complete vacation itinerary. Membership pricing ranges from the low $100,000s – low $800,000s per membership. A typical membership is approximately $250,000.
Visit www.annikasorenstam.com and www.ritzcarltondestinationclub.com
Jacqueline Ader-Grob
The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club
407.513.6950
Elizabeth Benz
Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc.
212.708.3329
SOURCE: Ritz-Carlton Destination Club
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I am writing to express our dismay and displeasure of the way the invitation we received for the Annika Sorenstam and Carolyn Wente wine tasting event on 4/12/2010 was handled. The invitation I received reads:
“You may share this invitation with three additional guests at your discretion. The favor of your reply is requested. Please call 415.247.1140 or email kensey.teubner@ritzcarlton.com.”
Yet, today when I called to reply that we and our two invited guests (total of 4) will be attending the event, we were told by Ms. Teubner that the event was sold out and the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club SF couldn’t accept any more guests despite there was NO date requested for our RSVP per our invitation.
We found the handling of this event by the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club quite unacceptable because you cannot send out formal invitations to people by mail and then rescind it later because you realize that you had sent out too many invitations. This is the luxury Ritz-Carlton brand and to mishandle the invitation of an event like this is mind boggling.
We are extremely appalled by the way the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club San Francisco just nonchalantly told us who received FORMAL invitation through the mail that since the response was so overwhelming, now we are NO longer invited despite there was no deadline for RSVP listed on our invitation. This is NOT acceptable for a destination club of your stature.
We’d request that you add our names to your confirmed guest list and consider moving the event to a bigger ballroom to accommodate all the people who had received invitations such as us.