# Diamond buys Club Intrawest



## nuwermj

Diamond Resorts International to Acquire Intrawest Resort Club Group

http://investors.diamondresorts.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251836&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2117471

http://www.clubintrawest.com/

Club Intrawest has resorts in the following locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia
Ucluelet, British Columbia
Whistler, British Columbia
Panorama, British Columbia
Blue Mountain, Ontario
Tremblant, Quebec
Palm Desert, California
Sandestin, Florida
Zihuatanejo, Mexico


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## Jason245

I don't like this... mostly because it probably means HGVC is going to lose access to all those resorts


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## mtm65

Jason245 said:


> I don't like this... mostly because it probably means HGVC is going to lose access to all those resorts



I agree.  We really wanted to check out the resort in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.  Hope they can come to some sort of agreement.


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## Jason245

mtm65 said:


> I agree.  We really wanted to check out the resort in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.  Hope they can come to some sort of agreement.




I was actually looking forward to some trips to Canada....


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## presley

Wow. I don't know enough about either system to make this comment, but it sounds like a step down for CI owners. Maybe they will enjoy the added resort locations, but they pay so much more for CI that I tend to think they have much nicer resorts than other systems.

I'm not so sure they will remove from HGVC affiliation. There is so much cross over between all the systems already.


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## Bill4728

Club Intrawest was ripe for a buy out I just never thought it would not be HGVC.

This is really bad news!!


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## Jodi0415

It's a bad news morning for me!! My daughter cleaned the henhouse and forgot to reopen it and our two chickens are gone!! Such a bummer! 

Maybe we'll get to keep access!! I have a 3 day reservation in Feb for Palm Desert. I'm thinking I may have gotten really lucky someone canceled and I called when I did!!


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## tashamen

Bill4728 said:


> Club Intrawest was ripe for a buy out I just never thought it would not be HGVC.
> 
> This is really bad news!!



I totally agree as the worst ts I've stayed in in the last few years was a  Diamond Resort.  Not that I've taken advantage of the agreement with HGVC, since I don't belong to Extraordinary Escapes with CI.


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## dsmrp

Oh wow, 2016 will indeed be a year of contraction in TS systems (pun intended).  Yes would have been much better if HGVC acquired CI. sorry.


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## Michael1991

Diamond maintains numerous reciprocal exchange agreements with other timeshare systems. That's how they expand their list of affiliates and they don't have to pay for the inventory. 

Why do HGVC members think this will end?


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## visor

The deal is better for DRI than CI, which I have.


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## henryk

*CI Owner - Not Happy.*

Last large change was moving from RCI to II, and suddenly I had to use a lot more points to make exchanges. My contract with CI indicates there is maximum of points 'available' per resort per year. They can move them around and adjust for seasonal demand, but the total available points to reserve stays the same in a resort (adjusted if they add more inventory from developer).  I'd expect my internal points requirements to stay the same, I have a feeling to do anything outside of CI will again cost me more.


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## nuwermj

Lots of unhappy owners here:
https://www.facebook.com/clubintrawest/posts/976909119035448


"So disappointed at the whole situation."

"I am very disappointed that you have chosen to sell to a Global Time Share group."

"It's like Walmart bought Chanel."


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## visor

This is such a drastic change that was never mentioned in any meeting minutes. Is CI allowed to do this? Do members have any recourse?


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## johnrsrq

nuwermj said:


> Diamond Resorts International to Acquire Intrawest Resort Club Group
> 
> http://investors.diamondresorts.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251836&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2117471
> 
> http://www.clubintrawest.com/
> 
> Club Intrawest has resorts in the following locations:
> 
> Vancouver, British Columbia
> Ucluelet, British Columbia
> Whistler, British Columbia
> Panorama, British Columbia
> Blue Mountain, Ontario
> Tremblant, Quebec
> Palm Desert, California
> Sandestin, Florida
> Zihuatanejo, Mexico



This is terrific news for Club members.


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## Bill4728

visor said:


> This is such a drastic change that was never mentioned in any meeting minutes. Is CI allowed to do this? Do members have any recourse?


Club Intrawest is really two things

1 The sold inventory owned by a "TRUST" which all the owners are suppose to control and not subject to sale. 

2. The unsold inventory owned by the developer  This is what was bought by DRI. 

What is not said is that by buying all the unsold inventory they (DRI) will become the biggest block of CI members and will soon control all communication and soon put their people on the BOD and soon be able to change any rules they want to their advantage. 

That is why you ( the members/owners)  want to be able to trust the developer.


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## visor

Bill4728 said:


> Club Intrawest is really two things
> 
> 1 The sold inventory owned by a "TRUST" which all the owners are suppose to control and not subject to sale.
> 
> 2. The unsold inventory owned by the developer  This is what was bought by DRI.
> 
> What is not said is that by buying all the unsold inventory they (DRI) will become the biggest block of CI members and will soon control all communication and soon put their people on the BOD and soon be able to change any rules they want to their advantage.
> 
> That is why you ( the members/owners)  want to be able to trust the developer.


Ah I see. 

But for $85 million, I'm sure we the 22,000 or so owners can scrounge up enough $ to buy that unsold inventory ourselves and truly make it members owned for only a paltry $3863 per member!

 That would surely be more advantageous than paying for a class action suit.


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## Jason245

visor said:


> Ah I see.
> 
> But for $85 million, I'm sure we the 22,000 or so owners can scrounge up enough $ to buy that unsold inventory ourselves and truly make it members owned for only a paltry $3863 per member!
> 
> That would surely be more advantageous than paying for a class action suit.


Good luck with that. ..

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## DanZale2000

visor said:


> But for $85 million, I'm sure we the 22,000 or so owners can scrounge up enough $ to buy that unsold inventory ourselves and truly make it members owned for only a paltry $3863 per member!



According to member posts on Facebook, "There are 4.3 million Club Intrawest points in total, Intrawest ULC owned 162,000 at the end of 2014. Those points give Intrawest 162,000 votes for the Board, Intrawest gets 1 vote per point. Members owned 4.1 million points, giving members 276,000 votes, members get 1 vote per 15 points."

"That means that we would need somewhere above 60% of the membership to vote to equal the voting power of Intrawest."

"Just read through a Purchase Agreement and found that if points are financed by Intrawest, the member has no voting rights until the loan is 100% paid out. Intrawest gets the votes, contract states that they do not have to act in members interest when voting etc... and that the loan can be assigned to anyone that the company chooses (Diamond Resorts)."


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## visor

From the independent directors, apparently even they weren't aware of it. 


"We understand and share the concerns you have for the future of the Club and we are working diligently to ensure that the interests of all the Members are protected. As the Independent Directors, we only received the information at the same time as all other Members. This is because Intrawest and Diamond are both publicly traded companies, and therefore were not allowed to discuss the transaction until it was publicly disclosed. Please allow us the opportunity to work with Intrawest and Diamond so that we may effectively provide you and all the other Members the information that you are looking for.

We will communicate back to all of you when we have appropriate information.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Smith and James Orr"


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## Maple_Leaf

Bill4728 said:


> That is why you ( the members/owners)  want to be able to trust the developer.



This quote should read:

That is why you ( the members/owners) cannot trust ANY developer.

Once the developer's interest fails to align with the owners', the developer gets the gold mine and the owners get the shaft.  Rinse and repeat.


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## Jason245

Hgvc just lost ability to make reservations at the club effective feb 15.. looks like you will be losing a lot of exchange ability and diamond will into grate into their system and kill Intrawest.  On bright side, your mf should only go up 20 to 50 percent next year. .

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## pedro47

Jason245 said:


> Hgvc just lost ability to make reservations at the club effective feb 15.. looks like you will be losing a lot of exchange ability and diamond will into grate into their system and kill Intrawest.  On bright side, your mf should only go up 20 to 50 percent next year. .
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk



MF, should not increase because the majority of these resorts have been maintain by the developer.  True or false?

Also, when will these new resorts become a part of DRI. The Club?


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## Jason245

pedro47 said:


> MF, should not increase because the majority of these resorts have been maintain by the developer.  True or false?
> 
> Also, when will these new resorts become a part of DRI. The Club?


I don't know what dri charges in management fees, but I would have to believe it is significantly more..

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## presley

Jason245 said:


> Hgvc just lost ability to make reservations at the club effective feb 15.. looks like you will be losing a lot of exchange ability and diamond will into grate into their system and kill Intrawest.



Where/where did you see this? I was on the phone with HGVC yesterday and almost asked about Palm Desert availability, but I didn't really think I'd be able to squeeze in a trip in the next year and never brought it up.

EDIT: Nevermind. I see the other thread.


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## pedro47

I assume under this new arrangements.  The Exchanges agreement with Hiltons Vacations are void /terminated.


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## nuwermj

The deal is final. The Club [FONT=&quot]must stop using the Intrawest name within 180 days[/FONT]. [FONT=&quot]The 9 locations will no longer be named Club Intrawest.[/FONT]


LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2016--       Diamond Resorts International, Inc. (NYSE DRII), announced today that it       has completed the previously disclosed acquisition of the vacation       ownership business of Intrawest Resort Club Group from Intrawest Resort       Holdings, Inc.     

http://investors.diamondresorts.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251836&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2133695


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## Jason245

nuwermj said:


> The deal is final. The Club [FONT=&quot]must stop using the Intrawest name within 180 days[/FONT]. [FONT=&quot]The 9 locations will no longer be named Club Intrawest.[/FONT]
> 
> 
> LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2016--       Diamond Resorts International, Inc. (NYSE DRII), announced today that it       has completed the previously disclosed acquisition of the vacation       ownership business of Intrawest Resort Club Group from Intrawest Resort       Holdings, Inc.
> 
> http://investors.diamondresorts.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251836&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2133695


Where are you getting that time frame from?

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## nuwermj

There was an email message sent to CI members on November 1 which included this time period. The message was posted on the CI facebook page. It appears the text has been deleted from the page. I have a personal copy. The relevant text is:

Will the Club Intrawest name change?
Yes, under the terms of the agreement with Intrawest, Diamond Resorts must stop using the Intrawest name within 180 days of the transaction closing. Therefore, at some point within 180 days after the closing of the transaction, the Club and the 9 locations will no longer be named Club Intrawest. The new names and the exact timing of the change are still to be determined.


Update: I found this text. It has been moved to an updated document (item 16):
http://www.clubintrawest.com/edm/members/announcements/dri/Diamond-Transaction-FAQs.pdf


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## Jason245

nuwermj said:


> There was an email message sent to CI members on November 1 which included this time period. The message was posted on the CI facebook page. It appears the text has been deleted from the page. I have a personal copy. The relevant text is:
> 
> Will the Club Intrawest name change?
> Yes, under the terms of the agreement with Intrawest, Diamond Resorts must stop using the Intrawest name within 180 days of the transaction closing. Therefore, at some point within 180 days after the closing of the transaction, the Club and the 9 locations will no longer be named Club Intrawest. The new names and the exact timing of the change are still to be determined.
> 
> 
> Update: I found this text. It has been moved to an updated document (item 16):
> http://www.clubintrawest.com/edm/members/announcements/dri/Diamond-Transaction-FAQs.pdf


Well so ends the club... 

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## presley

CI owners and HGVC owners can still do direct exchanges. I know most people on the forums don't check the marketplace often, but we can put links in our signatures to exchange ads in the marketplace.  It should work out exactly the same for HGVC owners as far as cost and points go.


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## ccwu

johnrsrq said:


> This is terrific news for Club members.



Don't count on the availability.  Most of the VI resorts in DRI website never have availability.  I tried Waikiki thru DRI, never found one 12 or 13 months in advance.  Luckily that I own VI.  It is not only easy to find availability thru VI and the MF is much cheaper.


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## T_R_Oglodyte

ccwu said:


> Don't count on the availability.  Most of the VI resorts in DRI website never have availability.  I tried Waikiki thru DRI, never found one 12 or 13 months in advance.  Luckily that I own VI.  It is not only easy to find availability thru VI and the MG is much cheaper.



VI inventory, as well as inventory all other affiliate resorts, does not show up in the club until 10 months before check-in.  The only inventory that is offered further than 10 months ahead of check-in is club member home resort advantage.  Since there is no home resort advantage for VI, it becomes offered to everyone at ten months before check-in.

The bigger issue with VI inventory is that much of what is available through DRI, is for less then seven day blocks.  So even within the 10-month or less general inventory, if you are looking for seven day intervals you won't see it.


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## johnrsrq

*CI*

I'm not counting on these six resorts addition to show up anytime soon although I guess the acquisition will move it in that direction. Based on other acquisitions in the east, DRI inventory eventually showed up. Fortunately, it's not in my current plans. I'm fairly certain the resale account I have won't have access to them.


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## T_R_Oglodyte

johnrsrq said:


> I'm not counting on these six resorts addition to show up anytime soon although I guess the acquisition will move it in that direction. Based on other acquisitions in the east, DRI inventory eventually showed up. Fortunately, it's not in my current plans. I'm fairly certain the resale account I have won't have access to them.


The Club's ability can reserve and make available to owners only inventory that has been made available to it via owners joining the Club. So at first there will be limited inventory, but as Intrawest owners join the Club, more of that Intrawest inventory will show up in the Club.

I would also expect that, at least initially, DRI may offer some amount of its unsold inventory to the Club as well.


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## WBP

I just learned this very sad news for Club Intrawest and its members.

Since Year 2000, I have questioned the longevity of one "independent board member" who, to the best of my knowledge, has served continuous terms as a Board Member of Club Intrawest - - CONTINUOUS TERMS - - I'm thinking for close to 20 years. 

I'm not the least bit surprised that (in my personal opinion) the "best interests" of the members of Club Intrawest have not been served.

I can not believe that Club Intrawest did not align themselves with companies of the stature of Marriott or Hyatt, but instead, went the Diamond Resorts route. 

As has been said above, I feel like the transfer of ownership of Club Intrawest is akin to Chanel going the way of WalMart (hypothetical). What a major disappointment, but one that I am not entirely surprised by, given the years of limited, independent member engagement in the activities and actions of the Club Intrawest Board of Directors. Also, as has been said above, this should be a lesson in how little control timeshare owners may have in timesharing arrangements like Club Intrawest.


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## youppi

WJS said:


> I can not believe that Club Intrawest did not align themselves with companies of the stature of Marriott or Hyatt, but instead, went the Diamond Resorts route.


May be Marriott and ILG (Hyatt parent company) didn't bet to acquire CI or didn't bet high enough.


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## DanZale2000

A Club Intrawest Board document says: Intrawest Holdings Inc. provided the Board a description of "an auction process conducted for IRCG by Deutsche Bank, resulting in two final bidders. IRCG believed Diamond to be the superior bid based on price and IRCG’s confidence in Diamond’s ability to complete the transaction and accomplish a smooth transition, given Diamond’s capabilities, experience, and plans to retain the majority of IRCG employees who manage the Club."

Personally, I don't think Marriott or ILG were the second bidder.


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## WBP

This is who the genius overseers of Club Intrawest decided would be in the best interest of who?? Certainly not the members. I'd like to know whose pockets were lined at Club Intrawest on this transaction, and who were assured jobs by Diamond Resorts, and at what ludicrous salary?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/b...using-hard-sell-to-push-time-shares.html?_r=0


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## pedro47

I feel that their will be very little inventory for Diamond Club members to exchange into Club Intrawest and I also feel that Club Intrawest members will not lose any exchange capability using  I.I. or RCI.


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## WBP

pedro47 said:


> I feel that their will be very little inventory for Diamond Club members to exchange into Club Intrawest and I also feel that Club Intrawest members will not lose any exchange capability using  I.I. or RCI.




If those issues are important to you, that's great, but they are of little importance to me. Personally, I could care less about Diamond Club members......they are no where near my radar screen. But what is on my radar screen is the credibility, integrity, and professional stature of the management company and developer of whatever Club Intarwest will be called in the future. In that regard, I believe that our (members) best interests were not protected by the leaders of Intrawest who sold Club Intrawest to Diamond Resorts.

With regard to what was once known as Club Intrawest, I feel like I've woken up in a bed with a horse's head in it, and a pig with lipstick.


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## visor

From Club Intrawest website, will no longer be able to book into Hilton Grand Vacations as of May 16.  This is the beginning of the decline of Intrawest or whatever it will be called... 

"Hilton Grand Vacations Club Update

This is to advise that Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC) has chosen to discontinue the affiliation agreement with ExtraOrdinary Escapes with the last reservation for 2016 arrivals being allowed on May 15, 2016. Only Members of ExtraOrdinary Escapes current as of February 16, 2016 will still be able to book reservations into the HGVC locations until May 15, 2016. Eligible Members can make new HGVC reservations by calling into Member Services at 1-800-767-2166. In addition, effective immediately, the ability to convert Club Intrawest Resort Points to Hilton HHonors points has also been discontinued. All the other benefits of ExtraOrdinary Escapes remain unchanged.

As with all components of ExtraOrdinary Escapes, the HGVC offering was subject to change, but we are currently reviewing the ExtraOrdinary Escapes offering, and are looking forward to be able to provide even more benefits and service options very soon."

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## tashamen

visor said:


> From Club Intrawest website, will no longer be able to book into Hilton Grand Vacations as of May 16.  This is the beginning of the decline of Intrawest or whatever it will be called...
> 
> "Hilton Grand Vacations Club Update
> 
> This is to advise that Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC) has chosen to discontinue the affiliation agreement with ExtraOrdinary Escapes with the last reservation for 2016 arrivals being allowed on May 15, 2016. Only Members of ExtraOrdinary Escapes current as of February 16, 2016 will still be able to book reservations into the HGVC locations until May 15, 2016. Eligible Members can make new HGVC reservations by calling into Member Services at 1-800-767-2166. In addition, effective immediately, the ability to convert Club Intrawest Resort Points to Hilton HHonors points has also been discontinued. All the other benefits of ExtraOrdinary Escapes remain unchanged.
> 
> As with all components of ExtraOrdinary Escapes, the HGVC offering was subject to change, but we are currently reviewing the ExtraOrdinary Escapes offering, and are looking forward to be able to provide even more benefits and service options very soon."
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk



I posted this some time ago.  But I also noted that it makes absolutely no difference to me or those other CI members who don't even belong to Extraordinary Escapes in the first place.  We like to stay at CI locations and never trade it.


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## WBP

tashamen said:


> ........We like to stay at CI locations and never trade it.



The (new) problem with that is that Diamond Resorts is left to now manage the club locations and the club infrastructure (e.g. Member Services, Reservations, Inventory Control, Club Governance, etc.). 

In my opinion, the sale of Club Intrawest was a complete bag job, made to look like the interests of the members were taken into consideration. Hah!


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## T_R_Oglodyte

WJS said:


> In my opinion, the sale of Club Intrawest was a complete bag job, made to look like the interests of the members were taken into consideration. Hah!



In that case, the transition to DRI should have no lurking surprises for you.


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