Aruba Ocean Club abuse by the Board

[marksue]

I hope that you are doing well, by now you should have received your proxy notice and agenda for the 2011 AOC annual meeting and I want to update you on 4 items. I realize that this is rather long, but it will also be posted on our web site (www.aocconcernedowners.com for you to read at your leisure.



1. 2011 Annual meeting - Aruba - May 20, 2011 - I will be attending the meeting and look forward to seeing other owners on the Island, but if you are not attending you can write in my name on line 2 as your proxy and check the circle for number 3 . If you have any items that you want mentioned at the meeting, please let me know at c20854@aol.com . As you can see the Board and Marriott have changed the proxy form again limiting owners rights.



Your selection for the Appeals Board is between two qualified candidates. The appeals Board has never met and may never meet unless an owner is removed from ownership by the Board and appeals the decision. Stephen Rossetti has been helpful to me and the concerned owners and if called upon will be very supportive. I remember chatting with Mr, Lister and he seems responsive also.

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2. I have received the following report from one of our ownersThey have reviewed the current AOC Board of Directors 2010 expense reports. Last year,he also reviewed the legal bills claimed by AOC and was given totals without any explanation or justification for the expenditures. The Board to date have not addressed his valid questions.

What he found here may be more troubling to you. Here is the report



While we realize the time and effort that a Board member may spend there should be no reason why information other than personal data should be blacked out from a review by owners. My questions are: Who directed the General Manager to black out additional information and why ? (The Board does not allow for photo copies of any documents - thus we had to take notes). Why did the Board spend $1250, $500, and $215 for meals with their spouses in New York City staying at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square at a cost to owners of $500 per night. Why were so many of the reports illegible? Why were there no receipts for all expenses and who approved payment? The Board reimbursement policy (see below)clearly states that receipts must be submitted - who authorized payments without proper documentation and should the Board approve their own expense reports? You be the judge.




PLEASE TAKE NOTE: We tried to review the BOD expenses the best we could. Our manager of the Ocean Club Corey Guest had reviewed this report before they were presented to us for inspection .He was the person who blacked out the information on the reports. He knew that many of the reports were illegable yet he made no attempt to provide clean copies to us. He e-mailed me that he blacked out the "personal information" understandable, but he blacked out more then the personal information, he blacked out the expense reports by line item, why would he do that ? What was on those reports he didn't want us to see?




The information below is what we saw on the expense reports.
It might seem strange when you read these notes but please keep in mind ,we were trying to read the line items and so many were blacked out.




Each director claimed their $100 per diem per day per board policy and it averages around $1800 to $2000 for 2010. We found that many of the expense reports had no receipts to back up the expenses charged.




FRANK KNOX




JANUARY 15, 2010 THRU JANUARY 18, 2010

ARUBA MARRIOTT HOTEL

JANUARY 15 2010 896.00 ****

DINNER AT PAPAMIENTO'S $690.81

JANUARY 16 2010 $410.00 (NO RECEIPT )

JANUARY 17 2010 $ 276.00 (NO RECEIPT)

TOTAL EXPENSE CLAIM $1480.00




JANUARY 15 2010 CAR RENTAL $141.00 (no receipt)

TIPS $15 AND PER DIEM $ 300 CLAIMS $456.00




APRIL 14, 2010 THRU APRIL 16, 2010 ORLANDO FLORIDA

CLAIMING $1361.00 ON EXPENSE REPORT

NO RECEIPT




MAY 19, 2010 THRU MAY 26, 2010 ARUBA ANNUAL MEETING

EXPENSE REPORT CLAIMS $937.00 FOR FOOD

EXPENSE REPORTS CLAIMS $800.00 FOR PER DIEM....8 DAYS

EXPENSE REPORTS CLAIMS $105.00 FOR EXCESS BAGGAGE

ONLY 1 RECEIPT FOR CAR RENTAL $179.00


TOTAL CLAIMED ON EXPENSE REPORT $2562.00



OCTOBER 10 2010 THRU OCTOBER 18, 2010 ORLANDO, FLORIDA

HOTEL $4805.00 receipt

CAR RENTAL $540.00

EXCESS BAGGAGE $75.00

EXPENSE REPORT CLAIMS $5019.00

NO OTHER RECEIPTS



DECEMBER 8, 2010 THRU DECEMBER 12, 2010 MARRIOTT MARQUIS NEW YORK CITY

HOTEL RECEIPT $2000.00

DINNER DECEMBER 10,2010 $1250.00

(NOTE ON EXPENSE REPORT RICHARD AND SPOUSE ,M PERICOLOSI AND SPOUSE AND KNOX AND SPOUSE *NO RECEIPT *

DECEMBER 11 2010 DINNER $215.00 NOTE ON EXPENSE DINNER WITH R. DAVID - TOTAL CLAIMED ON EXPENSE REPORT $4181.00

======================================================================================================

TONY LIFRIERI



JAN.15 THRU JAN 19 2010 PERIOD

LIMO Olympic Limo Service (receipt # 1896 ) FROM (DOBBYS FERRY NY TO JFK AIRPORT AND RETURN FROM JFK TO HOME ) $291.00

CAR RENTAL IN ARUBA $ 258.00 (FROM AIRPORT IN ARUBA VISA RECEIPT)
THE ONLY ITEMS I COULD READ ON THIS EXPENSE REPORT WERE CAR RENTAL ,LODGING ,$100 A DAY PER DIEM PER DAY TOTAL EXPENSES $1812.00.




MAY 19,2010 THRU MAY 24 ,2010 EXPENSE REPORT


EXPENSES BLACKED-OUT - RECEIPT ATTACHED CAR RENTAL $318.00


OLYMPIC LIMO (ONLY DETAIL ON RECEIPT "NEWARK AIRPORT " $306.00 (TOTAL TIP $46.00 ). EXPENSE WERE A TOTAL OF $2196.00 THAT WE COULD READ AND COULD ONLY SEE THE FOLLOWING EXPENSES $316.00 $625.00 $600.00 (per diem)

( I have Google WORLD TAXIMETER (INTERNATIONAL TAXIS FARES CALCULATOR ) to see what the cost would have been if Tony would have taken a Taxis from Dobbys Ferry to JFK Airport (26 miles ) .The cost inclued tip is $63.41 round trip x 2 = $126.82 .........Tony Limo at $291.00)




OCTOBER 10.2010 THRU OCTOBER 18 2010 Orlando, Florida


TOTAL DOLLARS ON EXPENSE REPORT $2705 .00

RECEIPT ATTACHED AIR FOR TWO ,$873.00 \ 2 = $436.00 (ON EXPENSE REPORT THIS LINE ITEM( AIR ) WAS BLACKED OUT . DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS CLAIMED ON THE EXPENSE REPORT


OLYMPIC LIMO #1298 OCT.18,2010 $360.00 (TIP $50.OO ) A FAX CONFIRMATION FROM THE LIMO COMPANY.


HERTZ RECEIPT $479.00


$1430.00 CLAIMED WITHOUT ANY RECEIPTS IN THIS FILE. EXPENSE REPORT WAS BLACKED OUT TO REVIEW LINE ITEMS

=================================================================================================================




M.PERICOLOSI




EXPENSE REPORT JAN. 13, 2010 THRU JAN.17, 2010

CLAIMING MILAGE OF 194.00 ($97.00 A DAY IN THE US )


TAXIS EXPENSE CLAIM IN ARUBA OF $180.00 NO RECEIPTS

TELEPHONE EXPENSE IN ARUBA $124.00 AT HOTEL

MARRIOTT ARUBA HOTEL CHARGING $553.00 PER DAY.

PALAPAS FOR 3 DAYS CHARGED ON HOTEL BILL

PAID ON VISA $1791.00 TOTAL HOTEL BILL 2296.00 BALANCE ON HOTEL $0.00

TOTAL CLAIMED ON EXPENSE REPORT $1988.71




JANUARY 12 2010 $ 268.00 FOR FAIRFIELD INN AT JFK

NO AIRFARE RECEIPT LISTED ON EXPENSE REPORT




MAY 19, 2010 THRU MAY 25, 2010 M. PERICOLOSI

MILAGE EXPENSE MAY 19 2010 $ 61.00 CLAIMED ON EXPENSE REPORT

MILAGE EXPENSE MAY 25 2010 $61.00

TAXIS EXPENSE ON REPORT 240.00

HOTEL EXPENSE AT JFK AIRPORT $267.00 FAIRFIELD INN .

$180.00 IN TIPS CLAIMED ON EXPENSE REPORTS WITH NO RECEIPT ********

ON MAY 25 ,2010 $70.00 IN TIPS IN ONE DAY.


HOTEL BILL$898.00

TOTAL EXPENSE CLAIMED $1633.00

NO AIRFARE CLAIMED.

SHE CLAIMS 700.00 IN PER DIEM




M.PERICOLOSI OCTOBER 8, 2010 THRU OCT.12, 2010

OCEAN CLUB EXPENSE $1188.00 ( 297.00 PER DAY )

TIPS ON EXPENSE REPORT $120.00 WITH NO RECEIPT

CLAIMS 100.00 PER DIEM PER DAY ( $500.00 )

AIRFARE FROM NEWARK AIRPORT $692.00

*******COULD NOT READ EVERYTHING ON EXPENSE REPORT BECAUSE OF LINE ITEMS BLACKED OUT




M. PERICOLOSI NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 9 2010 MEETING -MARRIOTT MARQUIS HOTEL TIME SQUARE

CLAIMS ON EXPENSE REPORT $968.00 (1 NIGHT)

FAX SENT TO MHRS ARUBA OCEAN CLUB RE: EXPENSE REPORT SUBJECT NYC EXPENSE REPORT COMPLETELY BLACKED OUT,BY COREY.

HER HUSBAND IS WITH HER.

=========================================================================================





RICHARD STEVENS



MR. STEVEN'S EXPENSE REPORTING IS VERY LIMITED WITH FEW RECEIPTS SUBMITTED.



MAY 18, 2010

EXPENSE REPORT CLAIMS $1174.00 ONLY LINE ITEM I COULD READ WAS AIRFARE $654.00



APRIL 12,2010

CLAIMS $520.00

FLYS FROM SAN ANTONIO ON APRIL 12 TO DALLAS ON APRIL 13 FLYS TO COLORADO SPRINGS ON APRIL 14 To DALLAS THEN END UP IN ORLANDO LEAVES ORLANDO ON APRIL 15 TO DALLAS ENDS UP IN SAN ANTONIO .




MAY 18,2010 TO MAY 23 2010 ANNUAL MTG

REPORT ILLEGIBLE (BLACKED OUT )
HOTEL EXPENSE $635.00
CAR RENTAL $120.00
PACKAGE $60.00 San Antonio
TOTAL EXPENSE $1474.00 NO RECEIPT TO SUPPORT EXPENSE CLAIM.



EXPENSES CLAIM ON ONE EXPENSE REPORT.


AUG. 2010 $124.00 APRIL 2010 $90.00 OCT 2010 $1426.00


TOTAL EXPENSE $1641.00 NO receipts





EXPENSE CLAIM ON SECOND EXPENSE REPORT FOR OCTOBER 10 THRU 14 ,2010


2 EXPENSE REPORTS SUBMITTED


AIR $687.00 PLUS $150.OO (FOR THE SAME TIME PERIOD ABOVE AIR FARE IS CLAIMED AT $1426.00 AND THE OTHER EXPENSE REPORT CLAIMS $687.00 PLUS $150.00 ) DOES NOT ADD UP TO $1426.00 ********(THE 2ND EXPENSE REPORT WAS BLACKED OUT ON THE AIRFARE LINE. )


ARUBA MARRIOTT HOTEL BILL $2370.00




DECEMBER 8,2010 MARRIOTT MARQUIS NEW YORK CITY

EXPENSE REPORT BLACKED OUT.

LINE ITEM TAXIS $49.55

DINNER $500.00

EXPENSE REPORT CLAIMS $1520.00

NO RECEIPTS




You now see how your Board of Directors are spending Ocean Club funds. They have a fiduciary responsibility to every owner and should be subject to review by owners. Why should they be so secretive? We saw excessive rates at Marriott Hotels, if we cannot get a better rate, why not stay at another chain with better rates. How important is it to get the Marriott award points ? Why spend excessive funds for dinners and by going to New York City and Orlando? I hope that you will join with me to challenge this Board on how they are spending our funds. Please review the Board approved expense policy and be the judge as to whether or not they have adhered to it. (note that the President or Treasurer can approve their own discrepancies) We have seen how they have wasted $100's of thousands of dollars on legal fees and now this. What is next? No wonder they do not want owners to communicate with each other.

 

[marksue]

part 2

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ARUBA OCEAN CLUB BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT POLICY (as approved by this Board 9/29/09) Replacing the old expense policy. This one passed without owner approval allowed them to get reimbursed for 7 days in aruba vs 3. basically they get a free weeks vacation vs the 3 days necessary for an owners meeting.




It is the policy of the Aruba Ocean Club Board of Directors to reimburse its Board Members for the reasonable expenses, which they incur to fulfill their duties and responsibilities as members in attending Board or Board sub-committee meetings. To that end, the following policy has been adopted:


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Lodging – Expenses will be reimbursed for up to seven (7) nights lodging. If space at Aruba Ocean Club is unavailable and a member elects to stay at a location other than another MVCI resort or if a member incurs no actual lodging expenses (uses own week/points), expenses will be reimbursed for the approved number of nights at the MVCI Board member rate.
*****************

Meals – Expenses will be reimbursed for up to eight (8) days. Expenses will be reimbursed at a per diem rate of $100/day. Receipts only required for meals or group events outside of the per diem and must be approved by the Board President.

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

Transportation – Airfare will be reimbursed at the lowest available non-refundable coach airfare rate for a ticket purchased at least 14 days in advance of the meeting if schedule for meeting allows. If the member drives a personal car, they will be reimbursed at the prevailing IRS reimbursement rate (currently .55/mile) for miles to and from the airport and for parking. Lodging costs en-route at a reasonable lodging rate will be reimbursed. (Not to exceed the cost of normal airfare and rental car cost). Cab fare to and from the airport is also reimbursable.

*********************
Car Rental – Expenses will be reimbursed for up to seven (7) days for a rental car plus actual fuel costs. Cab fare is reimbursable if member chooses not to rent a car.
Telephone/Postage/Reproduction/Miscellaneous – Related expenses will be reimbursed with proper proof of expense. (printing, notary charges, etc.)
**************************

Receipts – Submission of proper receipts will be required for all expenses to be reimbursed, with the exception of meals within the per diem and mileage.
**************************

Expense reports should be submitted to the DOF within 30 days of the meeting.

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Members will be paid the amount submitted to the DOF within 15 days: any discrepancies to the policy will be forwarded to the Aruba Ocean Club Treasurer or President for approval.


AB 09.29.09 BOD Meeting



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3. Aruba Legal action - the Aruba Court finally ruled last week on our request to obtain the contact information for all owners. The decision has been translated from Dutch to English and is attached and will be on our web site www.aocconcernedowners.com. Although the case only refers to my name - a list of 30 other Owners representing 13 states, Canada and Belgium were added to the court case by our attorney. A verbal summary from our attorney was that the court restated our right to obtain the information retained in the Register of owners which we have, but that any email addresses were not available to us since they are under the control of the developer/manager.



Although somethings may be lost in the translation, the judge did not address our concern that the mailing addresses in the register being in Aruba will not reach the owners. Our request for the same method that management and the board use to reach each owner whether by mail or email addresses was our intent. Any appeal of this decision is to the 3 judge Court of Appeals in Curacao and would take us off the island of Aruba which would be encouraging. The court did charge us with legal fees of $3150 flors or about $1700. Our total legal costs that has been shared by so many owners has been $7000 and makes you question the AOC claim of spending almost $200,000, Why ?.



The Boards settlement offer has never acknowledged the misinformation that they have provided to owner, the unnecessary legal costs incurred, and the ability for an owner to send an uncensored correspondence to other owners. The Board has never addressed our response. Since the judgement the following letter was forwarded to the Board for a response.

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



AOC CONCERNED OWNERS



March 23, 2011

Dear AOC Board & Marriott Management:



As you know the Aruba Court affirmed last week that the Aruba Ocean Club (AOC) Board has the obligation to perform to the best of its abilities and allow owners the ability to make use of their democratic rights as owners and members of the Association.



In light of this decision as owners and members of the AOC, we want to make use of the Owner register to contact owners individually and uncensored. Since the owner register has only the local Aruba addresses, we want to confirm that if you receive correspondence addressed to each owner at the local Aruba address that you will forward it to them in a timely fashion by the same means that you the Board and management communicate with the owners at their permanent address.



In the past, we have addressed letters to owners at the local Aruba addresses and the letters did not get returned nor were ever received by the owners. Since many Owners only use their villas once a year and many do not use them at all, in our attempt to provide vital uncensored information to all AOC owners and confirming the judges statement of our rights we would like confirmation on what you and Marriott Management will do with the letters.



If we do not receive a response within 10 days, we will assume that you will not forward the letters. Thus making our ability to communicate directly and uncensored with each owner impossible.

Sincerely,


Allan S. Cohen, on behalf of the AOC concerned owners

9613 Eldwick Way
Potomac, Maryland 20854
e-mail: C20854@aol.com
301-299-4835 Fax
240-462-5000 Cell
301-299-2118 Home

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4. The future: The number of owners signing up on the concerned web site (www.aocconcernedowners.com has greatly increased this year, but almost every day we find owners who are still unaware of the issues and are happy to join when informed. I look forward to your insights as we continue to press forward in our efforts seeking transparency and full disclosure from Marriott and our Board of Directors. We have a beautiful resort which we all have paid dearly for. Let's make sure that our maintenance costs get under control, that our Marriott General Manager is responsive to the owners, remember he works for you and that we have a great vacation experience. As we wait to see how the destination point program and the spin off affects us as owners, let's see what actions the Board takes at the annual meeting and how they address the court decision and the questions raised from the expense report disclosures.







Note: If you are can be in the Washington area and can attend the Friday, May 6, 2011 Marriott International meeting it will be informative as Mr. Marriott explains the spin off of the timeshare division to his stockholders. I will be attending and if you need additional information contact me. The meeting is at the JW Marriott in Washington and every stockholder has the opportunity to address Mr. Marriott and the Board for 2 minutes. The spin off decision can have a great impact on all Vacation club resorts. Stay tuned.



Please let your voice be heard. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you - Allan

 

[EducatedConsumer]

IF this data is accurate, based solely on my review of the data, and no accompanying narrative justification, this is an absolute disgrace to Marriott and the Board.

Before this issue reaches scandal, I believe the owners should demand an audit by an Independent Audit firm.

 

[marksue]

I totally agree with you. Why would the board have to meet in NY. They couldn't do a video or conf call. And why should the owners pay for the spouses. If I go on a business trip I can not expense my spouses meals. Something very fishy here.

Some of the expenses are valid, but they have taken advantage of the owners. Guess that is why they don't want us talking to each other.

 

[davidn247]

IF this data is accurate, based solely on my review of the data, and no accompanying narrative justification, this is an absolute disgrace to Marriott and the Board.

Before this issue reaches scandal, I believe the owners should demand an audit by an Independent Audit firm.

Independent audit firm (producing an independent report) is the correct approach. I have been enough in audit, compliance and other financial management stuff to know that things could be differently interpreted as long as you do not have the full information/story.

I have heard about Aruba Ocean Club roof situation (do not know a lot about it), but maybe these expenses are linked to further meetings/investigations of BoD members on this topic. Who knows?

Keep asking questions (and... give the benefits of the doubt at this point!).

 

[timeos2]

That is pretty blatant and once again shows why OWNERS need to control HOA'S to properly monitor expenses. You cannot trust a developer/management company do do that correctly. There are too many conflicts period.

 

[SueDonJ]

All the bluster in the world won't mean a thing without expert support. Review the governing docs with a qualified attorney to determine if what the board members have done here is in compliance. If not, contest it as advised by a qualified attorney. If so, and you don't like what the board members are able to do, follow the proper procedures (as stated in the governing docs and as practiced in the jurisdictions) to put forth a vote for an amendment which could change what's now allowed. Everything else is just more noise.

 

[timeos2]

While I'm not one for conspiracy theories it is tough to make needed changes if the controlling group holds unfair advantage. The control of the HOA was supposed to go the individual owners but, through their sometimes questionable actions, developers often find ways around that and keep nearly total control. That appears to be the case here and the type of disclosure above shows how easy it is to abuse once you hold all control. It is not right and owners are wise to try to change it OR bail out if Marriott refuses to act ethically and to the intent of the resort documents.

 

[TJCNewYork]

As stated over here, the resort bylaws should spell out the details for annual meetings, budget meetings and special meetings including but not limited to notice requirements, quorum, voting method and place. It would make sense that all resort bylaws follow a standard convention applied w/in the scope of local statutes, but several issues have surfaced at this resort suggesting otherwise. Can anyone verify that the letter and intent of the AOC resort bylaws have been met or breached regarding this meeting?

 

[TJCNewYork]

Everything else is just more noise.

+1. If there are any AOC owners with a copy of the ByLaws, see the provisions under the article, "Special Meetings".

 

[Lardan]

This is quite shocking to me. I would not imagine something like this would occur. I have nothing to do with this particular resort, but it sure makes me wonder about the ones I do.

 

[Superchief]

Although I don't own here, I recall seeing Frank Knox's name on other BOD's (I'm almost sure he was on the BOD for Royal Palms in the past). I wouldn't doubt that he is abusing his board priveleges at those resorts as well, if expenses aren't being monitored. How should anyone expect that a person who abuses expenses in this manner will watch out for owners' interests in other matters.

These directors remind me of the former top executives at Westar.

 

[EducatedConsumer]

A few of Mr. Knox's expenses caught my attention:

FRANK KNOX

JANUARY 15, 2010 THRU JANUARY 18, 2010

DINNER AT PAPAMIENTO'S $690.81



OCTOBER 10 2010 THRU OCTOBER 18, 2010 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
OBSERVATION: October 10-18, 2010 is LOW SEASON in Orlando, with typically the lowest rates of the year. What kind of hotel room and how many rooms and/or other expenses charged back to the room could have cost $4805.00? Does Marriott not have a Special Rate for Board Members when they travel on association business? I won't even go down the road of all of the Marriott Rewards points that come as an ancillary benefit to these expenses.

HOTEL $4805.00 receipt

CAR RENTAL $540.00

EXPENSE REPORT CLAIMS $5019.00



DECEMBER 8, 2010 THRU DECEMBER 12, 2010 MARRIOTT MARQUIS NEW YORK CITY

DINNER DECEMBER 10, 2010 $1250.00
OBSERVATION: $1250.00 for 1 dinner for a party of 6, is that exercising one's fiduciary responsibility to the owners?
(NOTE ON EXPENSE REPORT RICHARD AND SPOUSE ,M PERICOLOSI AND SPOUSE AND KNOX AND SPOUSE *NO RECEIPT *

 

[pharmgirl]

I find it odd that there is a per deim of $100 yet also expenses asked for
usually the per deim is in place of expenses or the limit that will be paid

disgusting abuse, verges on criminal But who approves this? this approver should be fired

 

[windje2000]

I find it odd that there is a per deim of $100 yet also expenses asked for
usually the per deim is in place of expenses or the limit that will be paid

disgusting abuse, verges on criminal But who approves this? this approver should be fired

Pharmgirl, I agree with that observation.

I have no skin in this game, but what is unclear from any of these posts is whether or not the individuals are Marriott employees or owners.

Either way, directors owe a fiduciary responsibility to the owners. They are the watchdogs. When the watchdogs are in cahoots with the managers, there is potential for abuse. Blacking out pertinent info on the documents is a red flag.

Whether or not the expenses (and those of the spouses) are consistent with policy should be easy questions to resolve.

Note also that one could notify the IRS if the expenses are in fact reimbursements of impermissible non-business expenses. Such improper expense reimbursements might represent taxable income to the recipients. They almost certainly were not reported by the recipients as taxable income.

EDITED TO ADD: The behaviors noted above are consistent with those of folks who would rather not have the IRS poking around their tax filings.

One other note on a comment about the size of the taxi fares - there's a NYC flat rate to JFK of $45 + tolls + tip. Dobbs Ferry is in Westchester County, well north of The City. Moreover, a Dobbs Ferry cab returns to Dobbs Ferry empty (and therefore charges for a RT) since that cab may not legally pick up in NYC. There's no way the Google calculated cabfare is realistic.

 

[MALC9990]

I have no direct interest in this resort and its management and until now had taken only a mild interest in the law suit issue. However this information would lead me to suspect that the present board has much to hide and thus are desperate to keep Mr Cohen from getting access to the dirty secrets of their so called expenses.

This reminds me of the scandal in the UK of Members of Parliament expenses. MPs had a very lax arrangement of claiming "expenses" - that is until a national paper was sent details of all their claims over the years and exposed them for what they were. Now several have been jailed for fraud and the regime on expenses has been tightened s much that they are all squealing that they are being forced to suffer financial hardship.

Owners at this resort should insist on a full disclosure of all expenses and any breaches of the law should be punished.

 

[lovearuba]

Transparency

Owners of this resort have been asking for transparency for years

 

[ada903]

I can't believe my eyes. I work in local government and when I have to travel I am respectful enough of taxpayer money that I don't even ask for my $36 a day meal allowance or parking charges, and for shorter trips, gas is on me. Those room, limo and dinner and other travel expenses are outrageous. And that in addition to per diem!! Excess luggage??? My eyeballs are rolling out of my head.

 

[dioxide45]

IF this data is accurate...

No side benefits, eh? :ignore:

 

[EducatedConsumer]

If the claims are true and the data are accurate, never would I have thought those antics were possible by anyone assuming the fiduciary responsibility of a Board Member, or by Marriott. Again, I question the accuracy of that reported by a Third Party, and I believe the owners must demand an Independent Audit by Nationally recognized Independent Auditors.

I'm not sure which I find more disturbing, the suggested antics of the Board Members or the reported collusion by the General Manager of the Aruba Ocean Club.

In any case, my litmus test tells me that the board's behaviors smell. One has to wonder how many other Marriott Vacation Club Boards operate in the same fashion as the Aruba Ocean Club Board.

If true, this is disgraceful. Imagine if Mr. Cohen finally had access to the owners addresses, what the owners, en masse, might think and have to say?

I keep wondering how this might play out with the Securities and Exchange Commission, given Marriott's position as a public traded company, but I go back to the actions of the Board, as actions of the Board, and not Marriott.

 

[TJCNewYork]

I go back to the actions of the Board, as actions of the Board, and not Marriott.

Not to split hairs, if you mean corporate, I agree. However, as defined by the Management Contract, my take is that accountability is shared. BoD members must report expenses and submit receipts to the resort's Director of Finance (an MVC employee) w/in a specified time period. She/he verifies the receipts and amounts before inputting them into the corporate reimbursement system. It is my understanding that reimbursement checks are issued in Bethesda.

If the SEC approves spinco, then spinco will internalize administrative processing. My hunch is that increased owner involvement/transparency will be imperative to keep MFs in check. BoD expenses impact the operating budget. Spinco's shareholders and investors are less likely to be involved in the day-to-day operations, but increased MFs fall on the backs of legacy owners. From that standpoint, the business case for board-level owner representatives on spinco's BoD may have more merit. Following best practices, spinco would retain a firm to conduct a search and identify potential candidates.

 

[TJCNewYork]

Owners at this resort should insist on a full disclosure of all expenses and any breaches of the law should be punished.

On a hunch, the appearance of abuse and excessive BoD expenses at this Caribbean resort is likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Are the domestic BoDs exempt? What about BoD expenses for resorts in Hawaii, Thailand, Spain and France? Perhaps owners at all resorts should insist upon full disclosure?

 

[marksue]

With the owners meeting coming up in May, will be intersting if the board even addresses the expenses. Iam sure some owners will question and ask for an Independent Audit, but the board and Marriott will use the Parliamentarian to block any discussion. Anytime any owner brings up suggestions or proposals they are either told it is out of order or voted against.


I would love to be at the May meeting.

 

[dioxide45]

With the owners meeting coming up in May, will be intersting if the board even addresses the expenses. Iam sure some owners will question and ask for an Independent Audit, but the board and Marriott will use the Parliamentarian to block any discussion. Anytime any owner brings up suggestions or proposals they are either told it is out of order or voted against.


I would love to be at the May meeting.

Can owners not request agenda items to be added to the agenda?

 

[SueDonJ]

Can owners not request agenda items to be added to the agenda?

Yes, but there's an accepted procedure for doing so. You can't just show up at a meeting and introduce a new topic because the agenda is determined in advance. This is pretty much standard for all formal business meetings and why the Notices of Annual Meeting for MVCI resorts include an agenda.

These MAOC owners have come up against both blocks that Marksue has mentioned - where an owner tried to introduce new topics mid-meeting they were denied by the Aruban Parliamentarian (hired to run the meeting in accordance with standard procedure and local statutes,) and, where owners' issues were submitted in advance and placed on the agenda, they were voted against during the meeting.

No doubt there's a particular procedure for getting this particular discussion - board members' expenditures - on the table, but Marriott is not going to make it easy for the owners by saying what the procedure is, and the best forum may not be the Annual Meeting. This is just another in a long line of things where the owners can be best served by following the advice of a qualified attorney.