Fractional home ownership, according to Ragatz Associates, generated $624.7 million in sales in 2004 and has boomed in ski resorts, which now comprise the largest segment of all fractional properties in North America.Backed by luxury hotel brands such as the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and St. Regis, the latest mountain fractionals lure buyers with location, elegant architecture and a slew of services that go above and beyond standard luxury hotel offerings. Purchasing a fractional share often comes not only with deeded ownership, it also delivers around-the-clock concierge service or a live-in innkeeper, a full-size SUV in the garage, ski passes for family and friends and memberships to some of the most exclusive dining and golf clubs in ski country.

When Dennis Howe and his wife Patty of Cornelius, N.C., decided it was time to establish roots in a place where they could participate in their favorite winter pastime, they specifically sought a fractional-ownership property. “I can’t justify owning a place all year if I’m not going to spend much time there,” Dennis Howe says. The couple checked out Sun Valley, Steamboat and Big Sky—three highly desirable ski destinations in Idaho, Colorado and Montana, respectively—before settling on Beaver Creek. “I asked myself if I would be happy skiing here two weeks a year,” he recalls. The fact that it was an easy flight, provided a more intimate atmosphere than larger ski resorts and had an active summer season were also selling points for the couple. The ultimate dealmaker, however, was the promise of Ritz-Carlton services.

Howe purchased a three-week share (two winter weeks and one summer week) in a ski-in/ski-out two-bedroom condo at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch. As a member of the hotel’s residence club, he enjoys standard Ritz-Carlton hotel services, such as con­­cierge, twice-daily maid service, room service, spa access and ski valet. His residence club membership also provides six ski lift tickets per day when in residence, access to Zach’s Cabin, a private dining facility on the mountain, and membership to the private Red Sky Golf Club, an amenity that Howe uses for entertaining clients and guests during the summer months. Howe, who recently did a hike-to-ski adventure there with the club’s staff members, appreciates the personal attention provided by the Ritz-Carlton. “When I show up, my refrigerator is stocked. Every morning my skis are tuned and waiting for me,” says Howe. “The staff makes you feel important, even if you’re not.”