Recap letter to Arne Sorenson after shreholders meeting
Dear Arne,
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to chat after Friday's 2010 Marriott International annual meeting and I am sure you are just about out of patience with this matter, but you must realize that thousands of Marriott Aruba Ocean Club Concerned Owners are, too.
A few comments made during and after the meeting continue to raise the question of ethics, transparency and unfair tactics. To that point, I was very unhappy to also be informed at the annual meeting that Marriott International who in 2007, 2008 and 2009 was listed is no longer included in the 2010 Ethisphere Institute's List of the World's Most Ethical Companies. I now wish to comment on statements made:
1. Mr. Marriott stated he was "unaware" of the successful efforts of MVCI executive staff to have our notice removed from Aruba Today newspaper. MVCI senior staff confirmed this in court, but denied this fact to the owners at our special meeting in January. What other gaps of information have been withheld by senior MVCI executives?
2. You stated that "you have written some heavy checks at the resort including paying for windows", but owner trust and confidence cannot be bought. Yes, you have paid for a number of items, but you have never told the owners the complete story. The Owners expected a 1st class resort with a brand new building. During my term of 6+ years as President and Board member, owners paid huge sums for the repairs and maintenance of a building (including atrium windows a few years ago) that now is known to have had major issues inherited from earlier construction. a fact that was never disclosed to the Owners. Although every dollar that you fund and have funded is appreciated, many of the problems continue and funding is not the most pertinent issue here. Rather, the most pertinent issues center around the actions and ethics of MVCI management to prevent full disclosure and transparency to the Owners who are rightfully entitled to this critical information.
3. Mr. Marriott’s statement that: "talking to MVCI is talking to Marriott International" is so unfortunate. He asked if I had heard from Mr. Weisz personally about this -- the answer is "No". How you can continue to rely on this division’s actions when the shocking tactics of a few senior MVCI staff is causing a negative ripple effect within MI and will not go away. Some very simple math using extremely conservative numbers will show the ripple effect: If 1000 owners who stayed at Marriott Hotels & Resorts (not Vacation Clubs) at least 7 nights per year at a rate of $200 per night stopped staying, the loss to Marriott International would be $1.4 million dollars, not including the revenue from incidentals. Based upon the number of inquiries received from owners at other MVCI properties, the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club is only the tip of the iceberg. I personally believe that if a person like William Love was still at MVCI we would not be in this situation.
4. You stated that "you have read hundreds of letters from our Concerned Owners and spent many hours being briefed by MVCI and did not know what else you could do"; and yes as you stated there are certainly some "gray areas" . You should allow for neutral oversight of the actions of MVCI. We have offered many times our willingness to meet. We cannot understand your refusal to work together with us constructively in productive partnership to resolve these issues for our mutual benefit.
5. You stated that: "Marriott voted for me when I was first elected to the Board". While that is an accurate statement, did MVCI disclose that my election was to a Developers Controlled Board since Marriott owned the majority of the shares? MVCI openly and very proudly stated to me each year that after the Owners took majority control, they would never vote their shares against the owners’ interest. And they did not - until last year when the owners overwhelming voted against the current President, and MVCI voted to overrule that decision.
6. Mr. Marriott stated that during his visits to Aruba this year he had "met with owners who were very pleased and the Guest Satisfaction Score (GSS) is over 90%". Unfortunately, GSS measures a specific vacation week for renters as well as owners and there is no Owner Satisfaction Score (OSS) that measures owner expectations, perceived value and confidence in MVCI management. You are probably unaware that prior to Mr Marriott's visit MVCI informed me and the concerned owners that his visit had been canceled and he would not be on the island, so that we could not meet; and then when he did arrive they took owners off the property by calling a special owners meeting for concerned owners in the hotel, as a diversion during his walk through of the Ocean Club.
7. You stated that "84% of the owners had voted against my efforts" (a) that is 84% of the 37% of owners who actually voted, or in other words 31%). (b) These are not “my” actions but actions taken on behalf of over 1000 Concerned Owners, with 30 owners representing 14 states and 2 countries signing on directly, seeking owner to owner contact. (c) The statements made to the owners -- that the court ordered the special meeting and the proposed amendment which required the spending of over $100,000 of owners funds and more in Marriott corporate funds -- are not true, as MVCI executive staff are fully aware. The amendment as drafted with oversight of MVCI senior staff would allow the Owner Register to include addresses, making it available to the public and as they stated to potential telemarketers. That is not what the court ordered and not what we had requested or would support. (I have complete documentation to back my statements; additionally, we are well aware of what is done at the Marriott Grand Chateau in Las Vegas or the Marriott Custom House in Boston.) We even offered to allow MVCI to just send out the “Concerned Owners notice” on our behalf, to all owners, without giving us access to the list; and they refused. Why is MVCI so afraid of owner to owner contact specifically on Ocean Club business matters, an attitude and position that has at the very least the appearance of impropriety and willfully misleading the owners, and for what purpose ?
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As I get ready to leave for the Aruba annual meeting, I only wish you could be a fly on the wall and observe the actions of your MVCI staff. I can only hope that with their paid parliamentarian MVCI will not seize control of the owners meeting and use their votes against the owners’ interests yet again.
The Concerned Owners are ready to move forward in a positive way and I believe that we can resolve these issues and rebuild faith in the Marriott brand.
