Attn UVC Owners / Villa del Palmar / Arco

beach.bar.bob said:

To all UVC owners:

Recently I was appointed to the UVC Member Advisory Council or MAC. The MAC is a group of UVC owners that provide input to UVC regarding member suggestions/issues/concerns and the like. This group meets four times per year with UVC management usually via conference call. Once a year the group meets in person at the annual UVC Member Social at Villa del Palmar Flamingos. I will be attending the meeting next week.

From UVC:
"The MAC’s mission is to generate and gather suggestions and ideas regarding membership products and services. The MAC provides ideas and recommendations on improving Club and resort programs and services. Further, MAC members act as Goodwill Ambassadors between the Developer, Management, staff, and all Club Members."

Before I head down there I thought I would solicit ideas from those owners that hang out here at TUG. I DON'T believe this group has any sway with how the developer sells memberships/upgrades, owner update meetings, membership benefits and the like. Rather, I believe this group can impact the interactions between UVC and members, the polices/procedures implemented at the resorts and the like. Recent discussions have included enforcing pool chair policies (good luck!) and revising/enforcing/educating no smoking policies across the resorts.

I see the position as an advocate for owners' views to the company. In that spirit if you have any ideas you'd like me to carry forward post them here or reply to me privately. I'm not much for just carrying forward complaints and bitching but rather issues with suggestions on how they might be resolved.

Thanks.

bbb

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AlbertaTravel
Did you make it to the meeting?

Slinger

Still not a word.
At what point should we become concerned?

beach.bar.bob said:

Don't worry ... I'm fine.

Just totally absorbed in road warrior mode.
Retiring in 33 days - totally committed to getting last client engagements wrapped up. On the road working with clients almost every day thru holidays.

Was not able to make trip to Nuevo Vallarta due to hurricane, but did participate in the meeting. I have notes that I'll share when I get a bit caught up.

bbb

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Sorry for the seriously delayed response. Finally finished!! Returned yesterday from my very last business trip! Been doing the road warrior consulting thing for a couple of decades - will be fully retired at the end of the month.
Feel very fortunate to be able to do so at a relatively young age (61) and in good health.

So...here's the update:

As mentioned, we were unable to make it to the actual meeting due to the hurricane. As it ends up we would have made it just fine and been able to enjoy great weather. But with the damage Hurricane Odile did to Cabo last fall in our minds (we were there just six weeks later), a flight scheduled to leave at 5:30 am well before the results on the ground would have been known we felt the most responsible action was to cancel. Delta Airlines and UVC were both great and cancelled everything with full refund, no penalties etc.

I participated in the Member Advisory Meeting via teleconference. Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties establishing the call and being able to hear and participate in the meeting. Thus, those of us on the phone missed the first 15 minutes and some were unable to participate due to a shortage of time as well as the technical problems. There was a hard end after 60 minutes when the conference call timed out. I was unable to bring to the discussion the items I had gathered here. I have emailed them to UVC and will retain them for discussion at the next meeting.

General observations - UVC seems to take these meetings seriously. I am impressed that for the first two meetings I participated in that all of the general managers of each resort have been involved as well as Bob Kistner UVC President, Rhonda Mayer UVC Club Director and other resort and UVC HQ employees. They were involved and forthcoming with information. Thus far I've seen this as a positive - They listen and if appropriate take action.

My notes and added comments from the discussion (that I was able to hear):
- Some members are becoming annoyed with the multiple calls/emails/contacts from the concierge pre-arrival. A single contact would seem to be sufficient. Management will look into it to improve process.
BBB Comment - these contacts are about selling all-inclusive, ground transportation, spa services, member update meetings and the like. I doubt we'll see a change as these contacts are revenue drivers. If I were running the joint I might even make more calls...

- Even with the new WI-FI systems there seem to be performance issues and dead spots. Some offered that they just bring their own WI-FI boosters. UVC responded that they have been finishing the implementation of the new system from a common vendor across the resorts. They have held back part of the payment as the vendor works to improve coverage via additional antennae and the like. The goal (and contract) is to achieve 100% coverage at each resort.
BBB Comment: I work in the technology field...its always a moving target. Now it's coverage ...later it'll be performance. There are bandwidth problems with the local internet service providers that are beyond UVC's ability to control. My advice is to have low expectations while at the resort - you're on vacation after all! Email, web browsing should be fine. On the other hand, don't come down with high expectations for streaming video content and the like as you do at home. Our WI-FI coverage was fine during out last visit to Arco in Feb '15 - just one dead spot in a certain location on the balcony.

- Investment has been made in new umbrellas and some straight chairs (as opposed to loungers).
BBB Comment: Seems this might have been specific to VDP Flamingos...not sure. I'll be at Arco in two weeks - we'll see if I notice a difference.

- Complaints at VDP Flamingos that the new restaurant is infringing on the pool area. UVC response is that they are trying to work it out.
BBB Comment: Have not seen new restaurant at Flamingos thus I have no opinion. Will be there Feb/Mar will respond if I notice anything.

- Linens usage...some are concerned about waste/expense. Do we need maid service every day? Such frequent linen service? UVC response was that they offer card in each room so you can indicate what you want done to linens/towels etc. The norm is that linens are changed mid-week.
BBB Comment: Use the card if this matters to you personally. I see no problems with current setup. I like daily maid service - so leave it alone!

- Activities boards/signups...some would like this to be more open/available. They would like more to participate in the scheduled activities. UVC response - we think it's okay.
BBB Comment: Leave me alone. I'm on vacation. Go organize someone else

- Members are getting phone calls from scammers. They have private numbers and know specifically we are UVC owners. UVC response...Kistner jumped on this big time. Says UVC is committed to protecting data. Says in this case this is not a UVC-specific challenge. Rather it is a timeshare industry problem. UVC is working with timeshare industry group, OSAC, US State Department and other governmental groups in US and Mexico. Arrests have been made, scammers have been shut down. "We're on it..."
BBB Comment: This is not a new problem. This has been going on since I first bought in 2008. Protect yourself...do not listen when you get these calls, by all means don't ever send them money. UVC asks that if you receive such a contact that you email Rhonda Mayer or call the call center with the pertinent details as they are actively working to shut these folks down.

- Seniors all-inclusive rate...some would like a lower all-inclusive rate for seniors (or a non-alcohol all-inclusive as well). UVC response = it would just be too darn hard for staff to support and make work.
BBB Comment: Don't disagree that it would be hard to implement...but what they really mean is they don't want to take the hit on revenue. I'm okay with that personally as I'm not an all-inclusive guy anyway.

- Resortcom records are a mess according to some. Reservations/weeks/points are not accounted for correctly and don't match our records. UVC response: We're working on a new system - testing it now at the call center. Will release it into production at the call center soon. Then after the bugs are worked out they will release the web front-end so that we can make our own reservations online.
BBB Comment: Boy, I sure hope that true! I've never had a problem with my records or reservations but I can't believe we don't have a modern web-based reservation system yet. They've been talking about this since I first bought. I last called the call center two weeks ago and they weren't using it yet. I'm not holding my breath on this one but look forward to the day when they finally roll this out. I actually believe we might see it soon!

And that's it...

We should have another call in Jan/Feb sometime. Feel free to post reactions or thoughts for future discussion on this thread or via private message if you prefer.

FWIW

bbb

Thanks for your participation and keeping us informed.

Nice job Triple B, enjoy your retirement! Thanks for the update, congrats and I hope to be joining the ranks this summer.

Thanks BB Bob - for giving all Tug members info on UVC

Hi BB Bob - I had read the start of this thread - pre hurricane and thought it was a good source of info as a non UVC owner . We own Mayan and also have separate RCI access for exchanging . I Appreciate your hard work on this as a UVC owner and want to say your posts are great background info for me when I'm looking for a future Mexican exchange .

I will be looking for your future updates on TUG

My question is this -- what will happen at Villa del mar/palmar in PV as the final contracts end this week - I had 2011 and 2015 contracts. I never got a letter in 2011 and I do not expect one now, but.....

Awesome review and info BBB! Thanks for the lengthy update. Very much appreciated!



Again and most importantly....congrats on the very soon upcoming retirement!

KarenLK said:

My question is this -- what will happen at Villa del mar/palmar in PV as the final contracts end this week - I had 2011 and 2015 contracts. I never got a letter in 2011 and I do not expect one now, but.....

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We were at the PV resort last year and from what I have heard, which is many things over the years, is that the Villa del Mar units are going to used as rentals for the developer.

I kind of think that this make sense as UVCi is building a new property on the Cabo corridor and expanding the golf course in Loreto.

UVCi was allowing VDM owners access to expired VDM contracts. These were listed on the myuvc website for a while.

A big "Thank You Bob" for being an owner advocate.

Bill

Thanks for providing us with this info, we appreciate your involvement!

BBB - I did think of one other question. There was a discussion either here or on Trip Advisor regarding transfer fees when selling. Do you know what they are?

timesharejunkie4 said:

BBB - I did think of one other question. There was a discussion either here or on Trip Advisor regarding transfer fees when selling. Do you know what they are?

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Take a look at this message...

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1896679#post1896679

In Quintana Roo, Royal Resorts provides a shuttle between their various resorts in Cancun, as well as a shuttle from The Royal Haciendas in Playa del Carmen (Quintana Roo) and Cancun (Quintana Roo). I realize this example involves only one state government. It would seem to me that the States of Nayarit and Jalisco could permit a shuttle between VDPF and VDP PV.

Another example involves Vidanta Resorts. Vidanta provide a guest shuttle from their massive compound at the South end of Nuevo Vallarta to the Mayan Palace in Puerto Vallarta.