# Sunterra and Vacation Internationale



## Spence (Jan 25, 2006)

Once upon a time there was Vacation Internationale.

Sunterra horned in and took over some management functions and it became Sunterra Pacific.

SP got fed up with Sunterra bungling and kicked them out, now they're VI again. 

Well VI bought some Sunterra property to be in their stable, they have 5-1BR, 2-2BR @ Santa Fe;  2-Studio, 2-1BR, 8-2BR @ Steamboat Springs; and have just added 1-Studio, 1-2BR, 9-3BRPHI, 2-3BRPHII @ Cypress Pointe;  they also have some stuff at Sedona Springs and Poco Diablo and I've heard they're getting more Sedona from Sunterra soon.  They also seem to have a lot of other Sunterra resorts AND Sunterra Erope resorts in their exchange inventory from time to time (lots of Carlton Court and Royal Regency).

Club Sunterra still claims to have some availability for the VI resorts.

Does anyone know what the real relationship between these outfits is these days??


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## ragtop (Jan 27, 2006)

Spence said:
			
		

> VI bought some Sunterra property to be in their stable, they have 5-1BR, 2-2BR @ Santa Fe;  2-Studio, 2-1BR, 8-2BR @ Steamboat Springs; and have just added 1-Studio, 1-2BR, 9-3BRPHI, 2-3BRPHII @ Cypress Pointe;  they also have some stuff at Sedona Springs and Poco Diablo and I've heard they're getting more Sedona from Sunterra soon.  They also seem to have a lot of other Sunterra resorts AND Sunterra Erope resorts in their exchange inventory from time to time (lots of Carlton Court and Royal Regency).
> 
> Club Sunterra still claims to have some availability for the VI resorts.
> 
> Does anyone know what the real relationship between these outfits is these days??



This has been explained in various VI postings and letters since the management agreement with Sunterra was terminated in 12/03.  The Santa Fe inventory was put into VI by Sunterra while the program was being managed by Sunterra.  The Steamboat inventory was put into the program by VI's founders before they sold the company to Sunterra in 1997.  The Cypress Pointe and Sedona inventory is not Sunterra inventory; those resorts are managed now by VRI, as is VI, and VRI added this inventory from foreclosure intervals at those resorts.

The exchange inventory between VI and Sunterra is based on a multi-year exchange agreement that was part of the agreement between those companies to avoid litigation when the management agreement was terminated.  That exchange agreement is the only ongoing relationship between VI and Sunterra now.  You can see Scottsdale Golf Links and other Sunterra resorts on the VI direct exchange program pursuant to this agreement.

Hope that helps!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 27, 2006)

ragtop said:
			
		

> This has been explained in various VI postings and letters since the management agreement with Sunterra was terminated in 12/03.  The Santa Fe inventory was put into VI by Sunterra while the program was being managed by Sunterra.  The Steamboat inventory was put into the program by VI's founders before they sold the company to Sunterra in 1997.  The Cypress Pointe and Sedona inventory is not Sunterra inventory; those resorts are managed now by VRI, as is VI, and VRI added this inventory from foreclosure intervals at those resorts.
> 
> The exchange inventory between VI and Sunterra is based on a multi-year exchange agreement that was part of the agreement between those companies to avoid litigation when the management agreement was terminated.  That exchange agreement is the only ongoing relationship between VI and Sunterra now.  You can see Scottsdale Golf Links and other Sunterra resorts on the VI direct exchange program pursuant to this agreement.
> 
> Hope that helps!



Thanks for the post.  That answers some questions I had, including the observation that the VI properties still appear on the Sunterra web page.

That's an intersting comment about VRI using foreclosures to add VI inventory.  Chalk up another point for VRI as a management company.


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## Spence (Jan 27, 2006)

ragtop said:
			
		

> The Cypress Pointe and Sedona inventory is not Sunterra inventory; those resorts are managed now by VRI, as is VI, and VRI added this inventory from foreclosure intervals at those resorts.


I understand what you're saying but looking at Cypress Pointe availability for instance.  Look at the last month available for booking Jan07 and every day you have the following available: 1-Studio, 1-2BR, 9-3BRPHI, 2-3BRPHII.  I just don't understand how foreclosure of *individual weeks* by VRI translates to the exact same availability for every day of the *month/year*???


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## ragtop (Jan 27, 2006)

Spence said:
			
		

> I understand what you're saying but looking at Cypress Pointe availability for instance.  Look at the last month available for booking Jan07 and every day you have the following available: 1-Studio, 1-2BR, 9-3BRPHI, 2-3BRPHII.  I just don't understand how foreclosure of *individual weeks* by VRI translates to the exact same availability for every day of the *month/year*???



Good question and the answer is that these are floating weeks that are assembled into consecutive weeks by the booking process of VRI's inventory department.  That preserves the nightly use promise made for VI ownership.


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## Spence (Jan 27, 2006)

Gotcha, thanks.


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## Spence (Jan 27, 2006)

ragtop said:
			
		

> The exchange inventory between VI and Sunterra is based on a multi-year exchange agreement that was part of the agreement between those companies to avoid litigation when the management agreement was terminated.  That exchange agreement is the only ongoing relationship between VI and Sunterra now.  You can see Scottsdale Golf Links and other Sunterra resorts on the VI direct exchange program pursuant to this agreement.  Hope that helps!


OK, so the Sunterra inventory on the VI direct exchange list is Sunterra's trade for Sunterra's continued access to VI properties that they advertise as having...


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 27, 2006)

BTW - the inventory reconciliation process described here seems similar to the process at the Embassy Kaua`i as it has been explained to me.

There are fiive types of ownerships at Embassy Kaua`i - garden view, partial ocean view, ocean view, and floating view.  A floating view unit can fit into any view category, and the resort has historically allowed floating view owners to reserve into a specifiic view category when they make a reservation.  All weeks are year-round float with respect to season.

The Embassy treats Club Sunterra just as it does any individual owner  who owns multiple weeks.  That is, the resort tracks which ownerships have been affiliated with Club Sunterra and what the ownership type is for each of those ownerships.  This then translates to a specific number of units available to Club Sunterra in each view category.  Club Sunterra is then allowed to make reservations on behalf of its members in accordance with the numbers and types of units that have been identified with Club Sunterra.

************

Where Sunterra appears to be sticking it to Embassy owners is in the floating view categories.  The floating view categories have traditionally been the most valuable ownerships because they have been able to reserve weeks in the resort without restriction.  

Since 40% of owners at the Embassy have historically deposited their units for exchange, there should be little to no problem for floating view owners to reserve ocean front and ocean view units.  Every time an ocean front or ocean view owner deposits a week, that is an extra week in that category available to a floating view owner.  Historically, floating view owners have had little difficulty securing ocean front units, even after all ocean front inventory had been sold out (which was before the resort affiliated with Club Sunterra).

Despite the advantages of floating view units, Club Sunterra only offers floating view owners points equivalent to partial ocean view if the unit is converted to Club Sunterra.  At about the same time they rolled out this program, the resort started telling floating view owners they could no longer reserve view categories - they could merely reserve time and the resort would then assign them to a specific unit at check-in.

I think there are two things going on here:

This puts pressure on floating view owners to convert and upgrade just to be able to continue to receive what they've already been receiving.

This allows Club Sunterra to actually increase its ocean front ownership.  The floating view units were the first ones sold at the resort - the view category sales did not commence until the resort had been in sales for about four years.  In the original sales program, the specific intervals that were deeded to owners started with Building 1, then went to Building 2, then to Building 3, etc.  The low numbered buildings are the ocean front buildings.  *Thus, most of the actual deeds underlying the floating view units are for ocean front units*.

Whenever Club Sunterra gets a floating view owner to convert and upgrade to ocean front or ocean view, they accept the owners current deed and give the owner a new deed for the selected category.  Note that the chances are very good that the actual deed they are acquiring is for an ocean front unit, even though the assigned view category for that deed is floating.  Since Sunterra is the developer, Sunterra can then convert that old floating view unit to an assigned ocean front unit in their developer inventory.  Now they can resell that formerly floating view unit as an ocean front unit.

This allows them to continue to offer ocean front inventory at a resort where the ocean front inventory was sold out befoer the resort affiliated with Club Sunterra.


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