# Do wristbands work?



## Quilter (Apr 5, 2013)

I'm here at Ocean Pointe for one more week.   Been talking with other owners who have enlightened me about trespassers on the property.  

Seems people from the other side of the road not only use the internet but also the pools and the free washer/dryers that are on the first floors of the buildings.  There was a surfing event earlier this year and at the end of the day owners observed young people with the yellow and white towels gathering their things and leaving by bikes etc.   

One owner did and unofficial sweep of the parking lot and counted 70 cars without parking passes.   Some of those could be visitors of guests or guests who failed to put the pass in the window.   But all 70?   

Other resorts use wristbands to control trespassing.   Is it effective?


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## dioxide45 (Apr 5, 2013)

Quilter said:


> I'm here at Ocean Pointe for one more week.   Been talking with other owners who have enlightened me about trespassers on the property.
> 
> Seems people from the other side of the road not only use the internet but also the pools and the free washer/dryers that are on the first floors of the buildings.  There was a surfing event earlier this year and at the end of the day owners observed young people with the yellow and white towels gathering their things and leaving by bikes etc.
> 
> ...



They really are not effective if they don't check them and enforce the rules. They only do checks on parking passes at night in my experience. Had a note on our car one morning at Ocean Pointe after I had forgot to put the pass in the window the evening before.


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## jpc763 (Apr 5, 2013)

I am at Shadow Ridge right now and they are really enforcing the parking pass rules.  We also have "Towel Cards" that you get when checking in.  If you turn the towels back in, you get your cards back.  If you don't turn in your cards, you pay for the towels.

At Ko Olina they enforce the wristband pretty well.


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## Passepartout (Apr 5, 2013)

Wristbands, cards, parking passes and gates only work if security has the authority and cojones to boot out the offenders, tow unauthorized cars and charge owner/guests for towels not turned in. Otherwise it's just inconvenience for owners and their families.


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## jpc763 (Apr 5, 2013)

Another thing they are doing here at Shadow Ridge is enforcing the 30 minute limit for leaving your lounge chair.  Security walks around and if they see a camp that hasn't had activity in a while they will blow a whistle and if nobody comes out of the pool to claim, they clear everything off and put it into lost and found.

This morning a couple was incensed that they had their camp removed while they took off to the marketplace to get a Starbucks.  They were gone for about an hour.


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## RichardL (Apr 6, 2013)

*I favor pool chair policing*

Traveling to wonderful resorts and finding no pool lounges available because people placed their towel down at 7:30 am then went back to their room, and then out to breakfast is a pet pev on mine.  I would appreciate the resort putting a 60 minute timer on the lounges and if a pool attendant comes across a loung were the timer is blinking say like an expired parking meter, just clear the items and put them in a plastic bag in lost and found.  The idea of blowing a whisle I like because it enforces everyone's attention that there are consequences to breaking the rules and imposing on the rights of others.


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## pedro47 (Apr 6, 2013)

Passepartout said:


> Wristbands, cards, parking passes and gates only work if security has the authority and cojones to boot out the offenders, tow unauthorized cars and charge owner/guests for towels not turned in. Otherwise it's just inconvenience for owners and their families.



This is why we liked Sea Pine Plantation security; you must be a property owner, a timeshare guest, a hotel guest or a visitor that has pays to be admitted to Sea Pines Plantation for a one day visit.

Security does not play.


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## dioxide45 (Apr 6, 2013)

pedro47 said:


> This is why we liked Sea Pine Plantation security; you must be a property owner, a timeshare guest, a hotel guest or a visitor that has pays to be admitted to Sea Pines Plantation for a one day visit.
> 
> Security does not play.



I think the problem at Ocean Pointe is people sneaking in to the property. While the gates have a pass code, it is pretty easy to tailgate in behind an owner that has the code. The laundry are pretty much accessible to anyone that can get on property and tailgate behind a guest in to the elevator lobby areas. In some cases the doors don't latch properly and anyone can just walk in.


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## Janette (Apr 6, 2013)

Works pretty good at Grande Ocean. We have day pass bracelets just for the two of us that must last all season. Any guests with us get paper bracelets. Security does walk around, fold towels, ask to see wrist band, etc. We always get to know security so that they will know our plans and that we might be on a short walk but tell them how long we plan to stay. Pool bar Jim has a different entrance now. It is not fair for golfers to reserve chairs before they leave so they will have a chair after their round. We noticed that Ocean Watch does a good job also.


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## windje2000 (Apr 6, 2013)

RichardL said:


> I would appreciate the resort *putting a 60 minute timer on the lounges* and if a pool attendant comes across a loung were the timer is blinking say like an expired parking meter, just clear the items and put them in a plastic bag in lost and found.  The idea of blowing a whisle I like because it enforces everyone's attention that there are consequences to breaking the rules and imposing on the rights of others.



+1 - That's a good idea.


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## DB-Wis (Apr 6, 2013)

Canyon Villas has used wristbands for several years and I think it helps.  Sure, enforcement is needed too, but the absence of a wristband makes the trespasser stand out.  Of course, that won't be enough to stop all of them, but it's probably enough to stop a good number who don't want to face the possible embarrassment of being evicted.

I'm surprised to hear about use of a whistle.  That strikes me as a cure that worse than the cold.  A loud whistle would significantly diminish my enjoyment of the pool. I'd be a very angry parent if a whistle woke up my napping kid.

But I agree something needs to be done.


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## TRAVELING FOOL (Apr 7, 2013)

We were at Ocean Watch over Spring break and couldn't believe how early people were out there reserving their pool chairs! The weather wasn't even warm! I hate to see it in the summer!


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## dioxide45 (Apr 7, 2013)

TRAVELING FOOL said:


> We were at Ocean Watch over Spring break and couldn't believe how early people were out there reserving their pool chairs! The weather wasn't even warm! I hate to see it in the summer!



Ocean Watch doesn't seem to have any rules again reserving chairs as long as you don't do it prior to 8:30am. In fact I would think that the sign "Reserving of Pool Lounge Chairs Prior to 8:30am is Prohibited" actually encourages or tells people that you can reserve chairs, as long as it is after 8:30am.


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## vacationhopeful (Apr 7, 2013)

DB-Wis said:


> ..  That strikes me as a cure that worse than the cold.  A loud whistle would significantly diminish my enjoyment of the pool. I'd be a very angry parent if a whistle woke up my napping kid....



Really ... you are assuming your sleeping child was on a lounge chair? Or how about the child's grandparent who needed a lounge chair to enjoy the toddler's adventures close to the pool?

I was in PHX about 10 days ago - the 2 towel placers were out there before 8AM and each taken 8 chairs in the BEST locations - nearest to the pool and under large umbrellas with 2 towels spread over each chair. Then, they went back to their hotel room - as they were NOT dressed for sun or pool. 2 days we saw this til we left.

So the hotel has 32 towels USED for the chair "HOLDING". I know IF I came out with my family, I would be sitting on their "held" chairs before I sat on concrete or got sunburn.


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## Big Matt (Apr 7, 2013)

Ocean Watch is a joke.  We had a family of 12 (two villas) who came down to the pool every day, take a dozen chairs all in a row and leave.  I saw it because I went to get my coffee at the market about the time all the reserving took place.  One day they never showed up until 3:00.  They had gone to spend the morning and mid day at Broadway at the Beach.  They laughed about it.  It didn't impact me since we only needed four chairs and they weren't that hard to get if you didn't care where they were, but man it was not cool.

The other thing that was fascinating was how folks got their chairs, etc stolen from the ocean front storage cubicles.  One guy was screaming at his wife about how their boogie boards were gone.  I'm sure some kids just decided to take them.



dioxide45 said:


> Ocean Watch doesn't seem to have any rules again reserving chairs as long as you don't do it prior to 8:30am. In fact I would think that the sign "Reserving of Pool Lounge Chairs Prior to 8:30am is Prohibited" actually encourages or tells people that you can reserve chairs, as long as it is after 8:30am.


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## davidvel (Apr 7, 2013)

Big Matt said:


> Ocean Watch is a joke.  We had a family of 12 (two villas) who came down to the pool every day, take a dozen chairs all in a row and leave.  I saw it because I went to get my coffee at the market about the time all the reserving took place.  One day they never showed up until 3:00.  They had gone to spend the morning and mid day at Broadway at the Beach.  They laughed about it.  It didn't impact me since we only needed four chairs and they weren't that hard to get if you didn't care where they were, but man it was not cool.
> 
> The other thing that was fascinating was how folks got their chairs, etc stolen from the ocean front storage cubicles.  One guy was screaming at his wife about how their boogie boards were gone.  I'm sure some kids just decided to take them.


After an hour or two, I would remove the towels and let nature take its course.


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## icydog (Apr 7, 2013)

*Disney does a better job at Beach Club Villas*

At least when it comes to pool security.  Everyone gets a wrist band and there's a security guy who checks them.  There's only one way in, and you're checked each time you enter.  Also, if they don't see activity for an hour or two by the lounge chairs, they'll remove your stuff.


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## MabelP (Apr 11, 2013)

*Marriott Ocean Ponte...no chairs with seven people at pool.*

I was at Ocean Pointe Kingfish building week of March 30th. There were seven people at the pool but no chairs available! All the other ones were covered with towels. I said something to a Marriott employee, but was told he had just come on and didn't know how long the chairs had been vacated! Refused to ruin my vacation and went to beach.

Yes, I do think parking passes, wristbands, and chair rules should be enforced. It allows for smooth sailing on vacation. We are the ones paying hefty maintenance fees for a product that should be seamless. But then again, I'm preaching to the choir!!!


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## m61376 (Apr 11, 2013)

RichardL said:


> Traveling to wonderful resorts and finding no pool lounges available because people placed their towel down at 7:30 am then went back to their room, and then out to breakfast is a pet pev on mine.  I would appreciate the resort putting a 60 minute timer on the lounges and if a pool attendant comes across a loung were the timer is blinking say like an expired parking meter, just clear the items and put them in a plastic bag in lost and found.  The idea of blowing a whisle I like because it enforces everyone's attention that there are consequences to breaking the rules and imposing on the rights of others.



While I'd hate the whistle idea, since it would really interfere with the serenity of a vacation and would wake anyone napping with a startle, the timer idea is great! A long time ago I had suggested something akin to munimeters- if you are going to leave your lounge, you need to get an expiration ticket for the chair. I do think though that you need to allow an hour and a half, since often I'm in the water for more than an hour. I think just having a timer system in place would really minimize the abuse.

Several years ago the Surf Club instituted a chair tag system, so as to prevent guests from reserving chaises both at the pool and the beach and going back and forth during the day, or using one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, while leaving vacant but reserved chaises at the other. It made a huge difference, cutting back on that type of abuse.

I think inconsiderate people respond to those types of constraints. Furthermore, it helps cut the abuse cycle. For example- even if you don't intend to go down to the pool until late morning, if you know you must reserve the lounges early, even though they'll be vacant, you're apt to do it if everyone else is doing the same thing. But if chairs are going to be free later on, you're not under a compulsion to reserve them earlier than needed- or to keep them reserved during midday just so you can use them later in the afternoon, etc. But a few chair hogs create almost a domino effect, in that more and more people act in kind not to find themselves without a chaise or without sun protection. Unfortunately, all that pre-reserving detracts from everyone's vacation experience.


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## Luvtoride (Jul 12, 2013)

Hi Mabel, 
Just saw your post about chairs at Ocean Pointe.  I've experienced similar things there (I own there too) but nothing like in Aruba at the Surf club!  There, they definitely enforce the chair vacancy rules.  Be interested to hear more about your experiences at other marriott resorts.  Thanks.
Brian


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## chunkygal (Jul 13, 2013)

here at Ko Olina they are asking for wristbands and clearing off chairs. 
I would be interested in how well the towel thing (cards) works. I personally have never had the desire to take home the blue and white striped towels. clearance on lands' end is a better towel and if people thought about it, they are paying for it one way or another.


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## dioxide45 (Jul 13, 2013)

chunkygal said:


> here at Ko Olina they are asking for wristbands and clearing off chairs.
> I would be interested in how well the towel thing (cards) works. I personally have never had the desire to take home the blue and white striped towels. clearance on lands' end is a better towel and if people thought about it, they are paying for it one way or another.



I asked a similar question about pool towels in this thread a while back.


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## Lisa8192 (Jul 13, 2013)

We just got home from Barony Beach. The lounge chair police were very active every morning. I thought it was wonderful. Last year you couldn't get a couple chairs after 10 in the morning, yet 75% of the chairs were empty! Barony did a great job. You had 45 minutes to "at least" stop back at your chairs and remove the green ticket. We have oceanfront and would watch people mark chairs at 7:00 am and not come to the pool until 10. Incredibly rude. The bracelets on the other hand I think are a waste of our maintenance fees. They don't enforce them. I hardly wore mine because it was uncomfortable. I kept it in my pool bag but wasn't asked once to show it. Same last year. It's not enforced. My kids had to show it once to get back through the gate after a night walk, so that was a little reassuring.


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## pwrshift (Jul 13, 2013)

I was at a hotel resort last summer who changed from coloured rubber bands for your wrist to one that the front desk has to put on you when you check in...something like a hospital ID wrist band.  The only way you could get it off was to cut it.  Didn't like it at first, but noticed the pool areas had less people.  It appears the change was made because people kept their rubber bands and gave them to friends and non registered people to use.

Brian


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## Quilter (Jul 13, 2013)

pwrshift said:


> I was at a hotel resort last summer who changed from coloured rubber bands for your wrist to one that the front desk has to put on you when you check in...something like a hospital ID wrist band.  The only way you could get it off was to cut it.  Didn't like it at first, but noticed the pool areas had less people.  It appears the change was made because people kept their rubber bands and gave them to friends and non registered people to use.
> 
> Brian



This system was used recently at a garden tour we went on.   I liked it.   Previously you would get a brochure and have to stop at the front table of each home and have your brochure checked off.   This created a log jam of tour participants.   With the new system you just flashed your wrist and went in.


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## pwrshift (Jul 13, 2013)

Last March around Spring Break I saw from my BeachPlace balcony people coming down with a big bag full of flip flops, magazines, towels, hats, etc., before there were any other people there...putting one item on several on the best located chaises.  A non uniformed 'do gooder' came down later and took all the stuff off them and piled them in a corner.  About 11 am a group of people arrived and were very very upset, but nobody gave a damn or claimed the deed.  Quite humorous but I was waiting for a fight to break out over it.

Brian


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## Quilter (Jul 13, 2013)

Lisa8192 said:


> We just got home from Barony Beach. The lounge chair police were very active every morning. I thought it was wonderful. Last year you couldn't get a couple chairs after 10 in the morning, yet 75% of the chairs were empty! Barony did a great job. You had 45 minutes to "at least" stop back at your chairs and remove the green ticket. We have oceanfront and would watch people mark chairs at 7:00 am and not come to the pool until 10. Incredibly rude. The bracelets on the other hand I think are a waste of our maintenance fees. They don't enforce them. I hardly wore mine because it was uncomfortable. I kept it in my pool bag but wasn't asked once to show it. Same last year. It's not enforced. My kids had to show it once to get back through the gate after a night walk, so that was a little reassuring.



What are the green tickets referred to in this post and how do they work?


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## Lisa8192 (Jul 13, 2013)

The employee policing the chairs walked around with green paper tickets. It explained the policy and noted the time he has there. It stated that in 45 minutes if the chairs weren't occupied that their belongings would be taken to the counter by the beach for safe storage. The tickets were spring clipped to the chair.


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## enma (Jul 13, 2013)

We were at Aruba Surf Club few weeks ago. My teenager son and his friend met some girls that stayed at Ocean Club. The boys followed the girls to Ocean Club pool but were asked to leave just after few mins because they had Surf Club wristbands, not Ocean Club. At least the wristbands worked this time but not to their benefit!


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## Fasttr (Jul 13, 2013)

enma said:


> We were at Aruba Surf Club few weeks ago. My teenager son and his friend met some girls that stayed at Ocean Club. The boys followed the girls to Ocean Club pool but were asked to leave just after few mins because they had Surf Club wristbands, not Ocean Club. At least the wristbands worked this time but not to their benefit!



No bands used at the Ocean Club.....they should have just removed their SC bands.  Sounds like they were preoccupied or perhaps they would have thought of that. :whoopie:


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## ciscogizmo1 (Jul 14, 2013)

I'm not sure how well wrist bands work.  I know we had them at Aulani in Oahu and they had a different color for each day.  They were very cool looking.  However, the place was still crowded and hard to find chairs but I think that had to do with the fact there are more people than available chairs.

Also, we've had them at Ko'Olina and it was enforced.  You had to go to the pool hut to get them everyday.  But we never had trouble finding chairs at Ko'Olina.  But we have only visited during Thanksgiving week.

At WKORV they only have the no saving chair policy.  On Thanksgiving week we went and went down to the pool for the day and all the chairs with umbrellas above were taken.  So, we picked some chairs to enjoy our day.  About an hour into our day the sun was getting hot and we noticed a set of chairs with umbrellas near us were not being used.  So, we had to ask the attendant to remove items.  He did.  We spent the day reading, playing games, swimming in the pool and the ocean.  We were going back and forth all day long.  It was a great day until the party came back to claim their chairs at 3 pm.  YIKES... they were very upset.  But get this they went to Maui Aquarium for the day.  They were very rude about it.  But the pool attendent took care of it.  This kind of vacationer just ruins it for everyone else.  We usually only claim one day of our vacation as pool day.  Otherwise, we'll swim every day but for like 45 mintues to hour.  We just don't claim 4 chairs.  We might just put our stuff on one chair.  I really can't wait until we can travel without kids so, we can travel off season.   This selfish "me" attitude gets old real quick.


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## MALC9990 (Jul 14, 2013)

At busy times of the season Phuket Beach Club pools can be very congested. Many guests come down early and place items on pool chairs and then disappear for several hours or longer. The resort and hotel do have a 45 minute rule but it has not really been enforced. The pool teams are all Thai and the Thai nature does not like confrontation. So staff simply would not enforce the rules. This year, with a growing Russian presence at the hotel the staff was augmented by a young Russian lady who spoke several European languages (English, French, German etc). Her main job was to be an interpreter to the Russian Guests with the Thai staff who could generally speak some English.

But her other role was pool chair police. Boy was she into confrontation in a big way. She made sure staff did follow the rules and dealt with the complaints directly and with politeness but was unmoved by bluster and arguments from those who transgressed.


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## MALC9990 (Jul 14, 2013)

Deleted - duplicate


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## dioxide45 (Jul 14, 2013)

Wristbands are no more than security theater if there is no enforcement behind them. People learn real quick if they can take advantage or not and whether the staff will enforce the wristband and pool chair rules.


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## Luckybee (Jul 14, 2013)

Fasttr said:


> No bands used at the Ocean Club.....they should have just removed their SC bands.  Sounds like they were preoccupied or perhaps they would have thought of that. :whoopie:



Shhhhhh !!!! Pls dont give them that idea .


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## 4Reliefnow (Jul 31, 2013)

*How Chair Saving and Towel Cards work at Royal Resorts*

We have had the bad luck in the last few trips to have cold weather at every Marriott stop.  the pools did not get crowded with the temps around 70.  But, I spend Christmas at the Royal resorts in Cancun and can share.

They use towel cards and you sign for the towels you take from a central activities desk.  When my towels were late coming back, I got a phone call day before check-out to return or pay.

They have the obnoxious chair saving crowd as well and I found this solution.  Man and woman (probably the grandparents ) went down at 8:00 to reserve a row of 8-10 chairs in the only all day sun with ocean view section of the Royal Mayan.  My room was directly adjacent so I was alerted by the chair dragging.  I plopped my middle age behind in one of the empty (except for towel) chairs. Some hostile words were exchanged where they claimed the chairs as reserved and I quoted the rules of no reserving occupied chairs.  She said they come every Christmas and always have the same chairs.  Stayed just long enough to give grandma agida and went about my day.

The next morning I went to the marketplace and got my coffee, pastry and paper.  Then I arranged four of the chairs in the prized location at 7:30 am and had my coffee and read the paper.  You can imagine the family was lost with the idea of sharing their "Private Chairs' with the slumming public.  

Now you can vote who is a bigger [_jerk_  ]:  The people who claim the right to reserve the best chairs every day for years or the aggressive owner who decides to take matters into his own hands.  Don't try this yourself if you are going to get upset and diminish your vacation. 

If you are the family from New York that I pissed off, I am NOT sorry.


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## jont (Jul 31, 2013)

4Reliefnow said:


> We have had the bad luck in the last few trips to have cold weather at every Marriott stop.  the pools did not get crowded with the temps around 70.  But, I spend Christmas at the Royal resorts in Cancun and can share.
> 
> They use towel cards and you sign for the towels you take from a central activities desk.  When my towels were late coming back, I got a phone call day before check-out to return or pay.
> 
> ...



Love it David! It's sad how some people have a sense of entitement. I'm sure that family is still talking about the ***** with the funny pants . I often wonder why some people judge their enjoyment of their vacation  based upon on their pool chair location.


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## m61376 (Aug 1, 2013)

The worst part is that reserving chairs suffers from the domino effect- even if you hate to do it, you feel compelled to lest you be left out in the cold (or, in this case, sitting on the floor).

I wish resorts wouldn't allow you to reserve starting at 7 or 7:30 and then allow chaises to sit vacant for 90 minutes. They should not allow any towels on chairs until 9AM- for those wanting to enjoy sitting by the pool at 7 or 8, that's fine- as long as the chaise is occupied, and not by one person holding multiple chaises.

I'm from NY too- and I hate the sense of entitlement, but it's not just from us NewYorkers- selfishness is geographically blind.


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## kwindham (Aug 1, 2013)

I HATE wrist bands, to me they are uncomfortable and bothersome.  I like the idea of the chair tags, or maybe being able to put your wrist band in your pool bag etc, but having to wear one would definitely hinder my pool enjoyment.


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## jimf41 (Aug 1, 2013)

Complaints about chair hogging have been going on for as long as I've been a TUG member and probably since the first chair was put out at the first resort.

The only way to stop it is to rent the chairs. Wristbands, tags, signs, pool attendants, towel removal all have proven not to work effectively. Charging for chairs would at least prevent family from hogging 10 chairs at a time and only using 3 or 4 but it would also provide employment for someone to be in charge.

Chair hogging is so rampant at some resorts I've been to that I would never return again. Getting up at the crack of dawn to get a chair is not my idea of a fun vacation.


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## LUVourMarriotts (Aug 1, 2013)

The Aruba Surf Club has been doing the wristband thing for at least 5 years.  When they first started, it didn't really work out that well, because there were only random times when the security team swept the area to kick out offenders.  But, a few years ago, I noticed a significant change in the number of security members, and the frequency of their sweep.  They were very effective to keep only Surf Club guests in the pool area.

Our friends just used our week in Aruba Surf Club a few weeks ago.  They also said that the security team was very noticeable and did a great job to remove people that should not have been there, or not allow them in the area in the first place.


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## m61376 (Aug 1, 2013)

LUVourMarriotts said:


> The Aruba Surf Club has been doing the wristband thing for at least 5 years.  When they first started, it didn't really work out that well, because there were only random times when the security team swept the area to kick out offenders.  But, a few years ago, I noticed a significant change in the number of security members, and the frequency of their sweep.  They were very effective to keep only Surf Club guests in the pool area.
> 
> Our friends just used our week in Aruba Surf Club a few weeks ago.  They also said that the security team was very noticeable and did a great job to remove people that should not have been there, or not allow them in the area in the first place.



I agree, but I think there is a rather unique situation there, in that some of the guests at adjacent Marriott properties really prefer the pool at the SC. The wristbands were begun because Ocean Club owners wanted to enjoy both their less crowded beach without sharing but use what some consider to be the superior pool facilities at the SC, and many SC owners felt that either all the facilities should be shared or none of them; in all fairness, it couldn't be a "what mine is mine but what yours is mine too" type of situation, so the GM's decided in everyone's best interests to keep the facilities separate, since no equitable sharing arrangement could be reached. 

So at the Surf Club the wrist bands prevent overcrowding at the pools, and to a certain extent demand for chairs, but doesn't really take care of the chair hogging. Guests being given single tags for chaises helped a lot- preventing the practice of reserving a chair at the pool and anther one at the beach, which had been rampant. Many people like to spend a few hours at one place and then switch to the other, but want to reserve their prime spots at both. 

I still think they need to go a step further to prevent the holding of unoccupied chaises, but the problem is not unique to the SC, nor the Marriott resorts. Except at very high end properties with limited guests, it is found at timeshares, resorts, cruises, etc. An unfortunate manifestation of human nature.


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## Mamianka (Aug 2, 2013)

dioxide45 said:


> Wristbands are no more than security theater if there is no enforcement behind them. People learn real quick if they can take advantage or not and whether the staff will enforce the wristband and pool chair rules.



VISIBILITY of enforcement ( "gee, they are not kidding about this!") works.  You cannot have some sweet teenager in a booth, afraid to talk to guests - you need someone affable yet empowered to walk AMONG the chairs, every single hour.  Wristbands for those who are allowed to use the facilities are better and safer than pins, clips, or hand-stamps - annoying but necessary.  TAGS of some kind, with a time stamp on them, clipped onto a chair, would work IF IF IF empty chairs were monitored by vigilant staff - how much would it cost to pay a young staffer to do this? - and have that staffer in a shirt that said CHAIR POLICE or something similar - Pool Security, etc.  Rules are rules - and make it fair for all concerned.  Of course, guests would have to be TOLD in no uncertain terms - in writing in the welcome package, and then POSTED in big plain notices "EVERY chair must have a tag on it.  Untagged or unoccupied chairs will have abandoned possessions taken to Pool Security for safekeeping after 1 hour."  This eliminates folks strewing things over 8 chairs,then going out to breakfast.  Each chair tag comes with one towel, too - you return the towel and the tag.  Boom.  Done.

Timing could be done with a digital stamp, like a time clock.  I had students who would try to falsify the time on a hall pass.  So I bought a cheap digital time-stamp.  Kids loved using it - and it was beyond falsification.  I am sure that Marriott has time-clocks they are not using - again, the VISUAL impact of this looks no-nonsense.

I took kids on trips to NYC every year to see Broadway shows or to Yankees games.  Every kids was wearing a matching T-shirt (part of the cost of the trip, and a nice souvenir - and easy to spot them.).  I made a BIG DEAL of being very visible, talking to the Police or Security at every venue.  Mainly I handed them my business card with my cell phone #, and told them to just keep looking serious the whole time - that I was the teacher in charge, and although every single one of these kids was mine and had EARNED the trip, they needed to see the *appearance* of no-fooling around in the matter of security.  When people think that "nobody is watching", problems arise.  When they think that there ar strict but fair RULES - law and order happens.  I think that what worked for my 13-year-olds would also work for gaggles of people on resort vacations, too - people are people, no matter what.

I have been on BEACHES where every so often, a young person (often a HotBody swimmer . . ) comes up with package of *beach tags* - you pay for permission to use the beach for that day.  Their job is to walk around, sell these, and then see who is *new* on their return walk.  Nothing is perfect, but the tag sales pay for their salary, I bet.  Never saw what happens if somebody refused to pay for a tag . . . 

Just my 2 cents.  Whew - in my "law and order" mode today! 

Mamianka


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## MALC9990 (Aug 2, 2013)

When we were at PBC earlier this year we encountered the management's solution to the blocking and hogging of pool chairs. All 3 pools are shared with the JW Marriott and all are well staffed each pool with a team lead by an experienced staff member assisted by his deputy and a fully trained life guard who is also the trained first-aid staffer. However these staff are all Thai and it is not their culture to enter into confrontational situations. As a result the rules were always being broken by those coming to the pool very early to take a block of beds and then disappear until sometimes after lunch. Others would leave a bed or beds for several hours in the middle of the day whilst they went off for a long leisurely lunch.

This year management introduced a new approach. The increasing number of Russian guests at the hotel most if not all spoke no Thai nor any English, required that the hotel hire a Russian speaker to provide an interface for Russian guests with hotel staff. They hired one or possibly two attractive young Russian ladies who also spoke good English and were improving their Thai language skills on the job.

As well as their role helping Russian guests with any problems at check in, or any of the other hotel/resort services, they were also employed to monitor the pools and enforce the rules about blocking/hogging beds around the pools. They were very effective. Polite but firm with those guests who were attempting to flout the rules. Life around the pool was a lot easier this year, providing you followed the rules, those who did not were soon re-educated.


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## Mamianka (Aug 2, 2013)

MALC9990 said:


> They hired one or possibly two attractive young Russian ladies who also spoke good English and were improving their Thai language skills on the job.
> 
> As well as their role helping Russian guests with any problems at check in, or any of the other hotel/resort services, they were also employed to monitor the pools and enforce the rules about blocking/hogging beds around the pools. They were very effective. Polite but firm with those guests who were attempting to flout the rules. Life around the pool was a lot easier this year, providing you followed the rules, those who did not were soon re-educated.




YES!!!  Russian women!!!!  Get we get work permits for a lot MORE of them???

Mamianka - "sto procent Polska"


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## rovitm (Aug 2, 2013)

I was at the Surf Club last week.  I would say most of the time security was present and checking for wrist bands.  The tagging of chairs is another story.  Secruity was walking around but I never noticed them removing tags.  We would normally get down to the pool at 11am and easily found chairs so it was not a big issue for us.  

Aruba was great and I am thinking of purchasing a week but, the crowds at the Surf Club pools and the beach were a big turnoff.  




m61376 said:


> I agree, but I think there is a rather unique situation there, in that some of the guests at adjacent Marriott properties really prefer the pool at the SC. The wristbands were begun because Ocean Club owners wanted to enjoy both their less crowded beach without sharing but use what some consider to be the superior pool facilities at the SC, and many SC owners felt that either all the facilities should be shared or none of them; in all fairness, it couldn't be a "what mine is mine but what yours is mine too" type of situation, so the GM's decided in everyone's best interests to keep the facilities separate, since no equitable sharing arrangement could be reached.
> 
> So at the Surf Club the wrist bands prevent overcrowding at the pools, and to a certain extent demand for chairs, but doesn't really take care of the chair hogging. Guests being given single tags for chaises helped a lot- preventing the practice of reserving a chair at the pool and anther one at the beach, which had been rampant. Many people like to spend a few hours at one place and then switch to the other, but want to reserve their prime spots at both.
> 
> I still think they need to go a step further to prevent the holding of unoccupied chaises, but the problem is not unique to the SC, nor the Marriott resorts. Except at very high end properties with limited guests, it is found at timeshares, resorts, cruises, etc. An unfortunate manifestation of human nature.


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## hcarman (Aug 2, 2013)

At Crystal Shores the resort has to heavily rely on wristbands since the public accesses the beach and restaurant through the resort.  It is not uncommon to see the public stopping to take a dip in the pool, use the facilities, wash their feet off in the pool, etc.  Security is very good at enforcing - of course we pay for that added security - but this trip my guests forgot to put on their wristbands and were promptly stopped at the elevator.  They were a bit taken back at first, but I explained the situation.  Problem is you still have legitimate guests that seem to have a problem remembering to wear a wristband.  These are nice bands, so not sure why.


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## Fasttr (Aug 2, 2013)

rovitm said:


> Aruba was great and I am thinking of purchasing a week but, the crowds at the Surf Club pools and the beach were a big turnoff.



Aruba Ocean Club is a bit quieter at both pool and beach.  Just tossing that out there as an option....and no wristbands at that resort.


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## rovitm (Aug 2, 2013)

Fasttr said:


> Aruba Ocean Club is a bit quieter at both pool and beach.  Just tossing that out there as an option....and no wristbands at that resort.



I think we will try to stay there next year and decide.  My kids liked the lazy river but were not super impressed with it. 

The prices are comparable for a 2 bedroom ocean view.  Surf club seems to rent very well which will be helpful.  Ocean club may rent the way but maybe I haven't been paying attention to it.


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## laurac260 (Aug 2, 2013)

Lisa8192 said:


> We just got home from Barony Beach. The lounge chair police were very active every morning. I thought it was wonderful. Last year you couldn't get a couple chairs after 10 in the morning, yet 75% of the chairs were empty! Barony did a great job. You had 45 minutes to "at least" stop back at your chairs and remove the green ticket. We have oceanfront and would watch people mark chairs at 7:00 am and not come to the pool until 10. Incredibly rude. The bracelets on the other hand I think are a waste of our maintenance fees. They don't enforce them. I hardly wore mine because it was uncomfortable. I kept it in my pool bag but wasn't asked once to show it. Same last year. It's not enforced. My kids had to show it once to get back through the gate after a night walk, so that was a little reassuring.



We were at Barony 5 years ago, for our one and only trip there.  The lounge chair reserving was horrible.  We had our elderly mother with us, and we wanted to give her some shade (at the time shade was difficult to come by there, perhaps they have gotten more umbrellas?)  At any rate, there was one area we wanted, and the same folks were there every morning.  One morning my husband decided to park his keister in "their chairs" before they got to the pool.  When they arrived and we were already seated, we got some very nasty looks.  This family sat at the chairs across from us and continued to glare at us for the better part of the day.  

My other pet peeve on that trip were the folks who are on a workation.  You know, the ones who are on their cell phones very loudly, doing all their important officing.  This one guy was on the phone for the better part of 4 hours, very loudly, closing sales deals and telling everyone he talked to how wonderful it was to be able to work and vacation at the same time.  Wonderful for HIM I suppose, but for us it was unbearable.


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## Fasttr (Aug 2, 2013)

laurac260 said:


> My other pet peeve on that trip were the folks who are on a workation.  You know, the ones who are on their cell phones very loudly, doing all their important officing.  This one guy was on the phone for the better part of 4 hours, very loudly, closing sales deals and telling everyone he talked to how wonderful it was to be able to work and vacation at the same time.  Wonderful for HIM I suppose, but for us it was unbearable.



That's when a set of noise cancelling headphones are worth their weight in gold!!!   He was probably a timeshare salesman.


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## kwindham (Aug 3, 2013)

:rofl::rofl::rofl::hysterical::hysterical:





Fasttr said:


> That's when a set of noise cancelling headphones are worth their weight in gold!!!   He was probably a timeshare salesman.


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## MikeM132 (Aug 13, 2013)

Fasttr said:


> No bands used at the Ocean Club.....they should have just removed their SC bands.  Sounds like they were preoccupied or perhaps they would have thought of that. :whoopie:



They can tell from your towel color. Saw this myself. They booted a Surf Club guy from the Ocean Club pool---he was the only person in the pool at the time and the chairs were far from full. Surf Club was VERY crowded, though. We stayed at both that time.


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## sea&ski (Aug 15, 2013)

*NCV wrist bands at work*

I noticed a Marriott employee checking on wristbands yesterday at the top pool.  We had never seen that before.  Many times we blow off the use of them, but for some reason, we all had them on.  I didn't realize what was up until I saw several guests digging through their bags to find their bands.  We have never seen a particular problem here either.

Two years ago at Waiohai, an employee stopped by the hot tub and booted some locals.  He must have recognized them as I wouldn't have doubted their legitimacy.  No wristbands in use there, if I am remembering correctly.


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