# THE Club dues?



## winger (Nov 17, 2015)

Has anyone received their dues online our in the mail, yet? If I remember right, normally these would have been made available by now.


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## artringwald (Nov 17, 2015)

I got the billing for the maintenance fees, but am still waiting for the Club dues. It's not showing up online either. Last year's Club statement was dated 11/24/2014.


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## johnrsrq (Nov 17, 2015)

winger said:


> Has anyone received their dues online our in the mail, yet? If I remember right, normally these would have been made available by now.


last years' explanation on club bill:
Q.1. What are assessment fees and who determines them?
A.1. Assessment fees are made up of *three components*:
THE Club® Fee: Covers all the services required to operate the provide the benefits of THE Club®, such as call center and operational services,
II exchange and Gold membership, member publications, as well as audit fees.
Base Standard Assessment: Covers the fixed costs to operate the Members Association and is paid equally by all members irrespective of how
many points they own. It is determined by the Association’s board of directors.
Point Standard Assessment (Fee per Point): Encompasses the expenses to operate, maintain, and refurbish each resort in the Collection, as
well as variable costs incurred by the Members Association. The board of directors of the associations of each resort in the Collection creates an
annual budget that estimates the expenses to operate. These expenses are apportioned across all owners and therefore the charge to the Collection
is dependent on the amount of inventory that the Collection owns at that resort. This process is completed for all resorts in the Collection and the
total is divided by the number of points in the Collection.

This years' explanation :
Q.1. What are assessment fees and who determines them?
A.1*. Your statement includes assessments levied both by the Diamond Resorts U.S. Members Association and THE Club*®:
 Assessed on behalf of the Diamond Resorts U.S. Members Association:
o Base Standard Assessment: Covers the fixed costs to operate the Members Association and is paid equally by all
members irrespective of how many points they own. It is determined by the Association’s board of directors.
o Point Standard Assessment (Fee per Point): Encompasses the expenses to operate, maintain, and refurbish each
resort in the Collection, as well as variable costs incurred by the Members Association. The board of directors of the
associations of each resort in the Collection creates an annual budget that estimates the expenses to operate. These
expenses are apportioned across all owners and therefore the charge to the Collection is dependent on the amount of
inventory that the Collection owns at that resort. This process is completed for all resorts in the Collection and the
total is divided by the number of points in the Collection.
 THE Club® Dues covers all the services required to operate the provide the benefits of THE Club®, such as call center and
operational services, II exchange membership, member publications, as well as audit fees. THE Club® Dues is made up of several
components:
o THE Club® Base Collection Assessment: A base fee paid equally by all members within the membership class irrespective
of how many points they own.
o THE Club® Point Collection Assessment: A per point fee assessed to all members within the membership class for
points associated with Affiliated Collections of THE Club®. This includes the Premiere Vacation Collection, Monarch
Grand Vacations Club, Cabo Azul, Diamond Resorts California Members Association, Diamond Resorts Hawaii
Members Association, Diamond Resorts U.S. Members Associations. Additionally, a per point fee is assessed to
Qualifying Interests enrolled in THE Club CombinationsSM.

I received the same amount of invoices as per prior years but it is (the club bill) different. Maybe more progressive but there is a fee that might be missing. I certainly do not miss it.


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## pedro47 (Nov 17, 2015)

Must be a huge increase coming.


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## johnrsrq (Nov 17, 2015)

pedro47 said:


> Must be a huge increase coming.



bite your tongue


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## Michael1991 (Nov 17, 2015)

johnrsrq said:


> This years' explanation :



Where did this explanation come from? I'm not seeing it at the DRI FAQ page.


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## artringwald (Nov 17, 2015)

pedro47 said:


> Must be a huge increase coming.



Last year was a huge increase for anyone with a large number of points due to deeded weeks in the Club.


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## johnrsrq (Nov 17, 2015)

Michael1991 said:


> Where did this explanation come from? I'm not seeing it at the DRI FAQ page.



This bill I received 11/10/2015
header:

Diamond Resorts U.S. Collection Members Association Assessment Fee Department
PO Box 8526
Coral Springs, FL 33075-8526
2016 Assessment Fee

The explanation was below the invoice on a separate page.


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## johnrsrq (Nov 17, 2015)

*other3*

2016 Resort Projects
In 2016, the resorts are budgeting over $74 million to continue their enhancements: Polo Towers will receive
extensive remodeling of the lobby and porte cochere; and Polynesian Isles will add a lobby convenience store. The
resorts have budgeted $23 million in suite renovations, which will occur with varying scopes at Daytona Beach,
Flamingo Beach, Grand Beach, Greensprings, Powhatan, Mystic Dunes, Palm Canyon, Riviera Beach, Riviera Shores,
Scottsdale Links, and Scottsdale Villa Mirage. Fitness equipment will be replaced as needed and fitness centers are
being renovated at Liki Tiki Village, Polynesian Isles and Riviera Oaks. This list is just a few of the projects budgeted
in 2016 at the 38 managed and affiliated resorts.
2016 Assessment Fees
The Board of Directors of each underlying resort’s association meets annually to create a budget for the upcoming
year. The boards review the actual year-to-date expenses to operate the resorts and then forecast the operating costs
for the upcoming year by making assumptions about changes—increases and decreases—in those expenses. The
boards also determine what amount should be contributed to the resorts’ reserve fund for future refurbishments,
repairs and replacements. These costs are then apportioned across all owners, and therefore the fees billed to your
Collection are dependent on the amount of inventory the Collection owns at each resort.
The Base Standard Assessment fee increased from $215 to $225, representing an increase of 4.65%. The Point
Standard Assessment fee increased from 0.1460 to 0.1518, representing an increase of 3.98%. The contributing
factors across the underlying resorts are the Operating and Reserve Contributions. Operating Expenses cover the
day-to-day resort operation expenses such as payroll, housekeeping supplies, insurance, utilities, and real estate tax,
just to name a few. Reserve contributions fund long-term capital expenditure projects such as unit repairs and
renovations, common area repairs and enhancements, appliances, HVAC equipment, etc. We continue to work
closely with the management company to help control costs and still provide an enjoyable vacation experience


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## winger (Nov 18, 2015)

pedro47 said:


> Must be a huge increase coming.



What makes you think that?


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## bobpark56 (Nov 18, 2015)

*That's strange*



artringwald said:


> I got the billing for the maintenance fees, but am still waiting for the Club dues. It's not showing up online either. Last year's Club statement was dated 11/24/2014.



That's strange. All our fees are on the web page and included in our total due.

Did you try pressing "make payment" and then the "statement" button?


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## winger (Nov 18, 2015)

bobpark56 said:


> That's strange. All our fees are on the web page and included in our total due.
> 
> Did you try pressing "make payment" and then the "statement" button?



I did that, but only statement available is fire deeded week.

Are you a member who enrolls your deeded week into the club each year for points our you are a pure trust based club member?


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## artringwald (Nov 19, 2015)

bobpark56 said:


> That's strange. All our fees are on the web page and included in our total due.
> 
> Did you try pressing "make payment" and then the "statement" button?



I have a deed with Club membership. The billing section shows the amount due for the maintenance fees, but shows $0 due for the Club membership. Just guessing, but deeded weeks in the Club may not get billed at the same time as collection memberships in the Club.


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## BobInNH (Nov 19, 2015)

*Here is all my data for the past eight years - including the statement for 2016*

Here are all my data from the past eight years including the growth of the point fee.  Can anyone understand why the management fee is so high and why it increases double digits every year?  This is driving significant inflation to our costs.  (I have 15,000 points)


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## artringwald (Nov 19, 2015)

BobInNH said:


> Here are all my data from the past eight years including the growth of the point fee.  Can anyone understand why the management fee is so high and why it increases double digits every year?  This is driving significant inflation to our costs.  (I have 15,000 points)



You're image doesn't show up. Others might not have the proper privileges to view it.


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## johnrsrq (Nov 19, 2015)

BobInNH said:


> Here are all my data from the past eight years including the growth of the point fee.  Can anyone understand why the management fee is so high and why it increases double digits every year?  This is driving significant inflation to our costs.  (I have 15,000 points)



what collection are you in? maybe you could attach your invoice files using the paperclip icon (above) and, share it as a pdf. I have not experienced double digit increases each year including this one. The larger jump for my total fees came from my local resort hoa fees(Grand Beach) which were up double digit but had been very limited for years. Other people in other collections experienced another fee last year and subsequently many jumped out of their skin. I had been paying those fees and was used to them. Now, however, some of those fees seemed to have evaporated- hopefully permanently.  I pointed out previously that I have received the same *number *of invoices as each year in the club so, I hope not to see any new bill.  Loyalty benefit changes have not been fully elaborated yet in my opinion and I expect some reductions. The travel insurance of $79 last year which had to be removed was not there this year which is fine but in retrospect, it was a decent plan.The cancellation coverage (no lose point for last minute cancels) can now be had for $225/ year or $79/per trip for all reservations after purchased..


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## Michael1991 (Nov 19, 2015)

BobInNH said:


> https://s5nrvw.by3302.livefilestore.com/y3pVJWqSzsyzwWWiG_P9psJ3AcgAuJJlj_JnQ77WbhneaPP9kRb3WJbi61sv98RvXbdCkodvy55cPQlCbKzLDs7PtxtEfATlWNPssdrGfN7RwzVm1uz_rtpuvIt9KF1WDrebY90emr1puMh7TNrTOGqgQ/DRI.jpg



This URL pointing to your image file requires a login and password. Perhaps a share setting needs adjustment.


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## BobInNH (Nov 20, 2015)

*Sorry, here is the data*






I am a member of the US Collection.  The management fee is shown in millions of dollars.


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## youppi (Nov 20, 2015)

This is the comparison between Hawaii and US collection MF.
In 2007, the diff was $20 and in 2016, it is $206.67 for 15000 pts.


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## BobInNH (Nov 20, 2015)

*So, the Hawaii collection is about 7.5% higher*

So, the Hawaii collection is about 7.5% higher


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## nuwermj (Nov 20, 2015)

BobInNH said:


> Can anyone understand why the management fee is so high and why it increases double digits every year?



Diamond's management contracts with the Collections (and with resort HOAs) are based on a cost plus calculation. This is a standard for the industry.

See
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1827418&postcount=185

Since the collection pays maintenance fees to HOAs for which deeds are owned, simple growth in the number of points owned by collection increases expenses and thereby increases DRI's management fee. The US Collection added 64,000 points in 2014.


For the year ending 12/31/2014

Total Collection Expenses
151,995,073

Management fee
19,553,389

Expenses less Management fee
132,441,684

Management fee as a percent of Expenses
19,553,389 / 132,441,684  

= 14.76%


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## johnrsrq (Nov 20, 2015)

In comparing straight points vrs a deeded plus points, the numbers are different. I would assume that's what club combo entrants experience as well. The factors differing the outcome are the local hoa to the deed and how many points there are assigned to each. I am hopeful the large rate increases are behind the US collection points and follow averages of low single digits. The acquisitions and the costs related to those came mostly at the expense of the owners of those deficient resorts (systems-imo). Some of the recent acquisitions appear to be of higher quality, lower need to totally redo and thus easier to integrate without causing conflict with existing pools- we'll see.

good luck, thanks for sharing.


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## BobInNH (Nov 20, 2015)

*Growth benefits DRI?*

So, if the management fee is fixed at 14.6% then it is in DRI's best interest to keep acquiring properties and dumping them into a Collection.  That way their management fees go up without doing anything.

So, here's my question on this.  Is the US Collection contractually bound to have DRI as the management company?  Or, could they put it out to bid?


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## artringwald (Nov 20, 2015)

BobInNH said:


> So, if the management fee is fixed at 14.6% then it is in DRI's best interest to keep acquiring properties and dumping them into a Collection.  That way their management fees go up without doing anything.
> 
> So, here's my question on this.  Is the US Collection contractually bound to have DRI as the management company?  Or, could they put it out to bid?



Legally, the collection trust makes decisions based on it's board of directors who are elected by the points owners. When owners don't vote, or go with the candidates recommended by the board of directors, the board will continue to make decisions favorable to DRI. Most trusts have board members that are DRI employees, or have very strong connections to DRI.


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## BobInNH (Nov 21, 2015)

*Rigged...*

Talk about a situation that is rigged.  DRI owns or controls, and has voting privileges for all unsold inventory. That amounts to controlling interest in the elections.  That's why three of the five directors in the US Collection are DRI employees.  How can they be unbiased and independent if they are employees?


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## artringwald (Nov 21, 2015)

BobInNH said:


> Talk about a situation that is rigged.  DRI owns or controls, and has voting privileges for all unsold inventory. That amounts to controlling interest in the elections.  That's why three of the five directors in the US Collection are DRI employees.  How can they be unbiased and independent if they are employees?



It certainly is a conflict of interest to have DRI employees deciding how much to pay DRI for management fees. As DRI gets more weeks put into the collection, they also have more control over the resort HOA's.


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## nightnurse613 (Nov 28, 2015)

While I agree, it's pretty hard to get a fair deal when your employees sit on the board; it's not much different when the Presidents of the corporation sit on their BOD and determine how much they should pay each other.  Well, I haven't heard the second shoe drop yet but, I got an email that my fees were due and said "Once logged in within our Member Area you will find in the *My Account* header the *Payments* section".   Do you have a *Payments* section?  All I have is a *Make Payments* or *Accounts & Payment*..... I hate it when a company presumes you are an idiot and then proceeds to give you inaccurate information (unless, of course, I am an idiot-which is a definite possibility).  Using the same terminology that a person needs to use to complete a task is a way to promote a desired result...


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## post-it (Nov 28, 2015)

pedro47 said:


> Must be a huge increase coming.



I received an email today for The Club fees.  Mine went up $9.50.


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## pedro47 (Nov 29, 2015)

post-it said:


> I received an email today for The Club fees.  Mine went up $9.50.



I just check my account the only thing showing is 2016 maintenance fee.


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## artringwald (Nov 30, 2015)

My statement for the Club dues just showed up online. It went from $409.50 to $422.25, an increase of 3%. This year they didn't try and sneak in "optional" travel insurance.

HINT: If you like getting paper copies in the mail, but still want to save statements as PDF files, you can momentarily change your preference from snail mail to email, and the statements will be available online for downloading. After you save them, you can change it back to snail mail.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Nov 30, 2015)

artringwald said:


> My statement for the Club dues just showed up online. It went from $409.50 to $422.25, an increase of 3%. This year they didn't try and sneak in "optional" travel insurance.
> 
> HINT: If you like getting paper copies in the mail, but still want to save statements as PDF files, you can momentarily change your preference from snail mail to email, and the statements will be available online for downloading. After you save them, you can change it back to snail mail.



I feel for the optional insurance bit last year, but then when I reviewed what as covered I considered it a steal.  (It covered all travel that you took during the year, for any purpose, to any destination, automatically.)

I figured that after rolling it out, someone at DRI realized they had made a mistake in the coverage.  Owner complaints provided a neat excuse to cancel the program.


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## pedro47 (Dec 1, 2015)

artringwald said:


> My statement for the Club dues just showed up online. It went from $409.50 to $422.25, an increase of 3%. This year they didn't try and sneak in "optional" travel insurance.
> 
> HINT: If you like getting paper copies in the mail, but still want to save statements as PDF files, you can momentarily change your preference from snail mail to email, and the statements will be available online for downloading. After you save them, you can change it back to snail mail.



My 2016 Club Dues are $446.00 up $14.00 from last year or an increase of 3%.


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## johnrsrq (Dec 1, 2015)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I feel for the optional insurance bit last year, but then when I reviewed what as covered I considered it a steal.  (It covered all travel that you took during the year, for any purpose, to any destination, automatically.)
> 
> I figured that after rolling it out, someone at DRI realized they had made a mistake in the coverage.  Owner complaints provided a neat excuse to cancel the program.



without a doubt. I actually looked for it but to no avail. The other cancellation coverage even last minute without loss is there but for $225 year. Last years tricky insurance optional add on was indeed worth it. I wonder if those that kept it were allowed to continue on with it this year.

fees in line with others


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