Westin St John [Master Thread] - Part 2 (June 2014 and forward)

[SMHarman]

My week 32 reservation is intact, but I don't know what to do. On one hand, June 30 could become August 30 late in the game leaving me few options in 2018 where the kids are not in school.

On the other hand, I really want to support St. John in its recovery. If the Westin is open for business, I want to support the recovery with my vacation dollars. Frankly a less crowded island and a few less amenities has great appeal to me.

By that point in the game I think some buildings will be open and Vistana will deal with the balance of the buildings under business interruption cover.

 

[DavidnRobin]

How the 2018 operating budget has any operating in it. Surely they should run a huge operating surplus in 2017 as well. 3 months of no housekeeping, electric bills and many other big ticket items.

We can hope...
2018 MF bills due around same time. Of course - there could be a SA as well.
It would be good to get more info from VGV BOD. We are going to HI in June on our WSJ SOs. - $325/nt if 2018 MFs stay the same. Others will have different costs.
Spoke with CV owner - there is closer to ~$250/nite based their CV HOs and MFs.

 

[GrayFal]

How about if you are a non-VGV resale owner? Can you still use VSN to exchange or bank?

My resale CV 12/10/17 resie was only allowed to be deposited in II as an II points deposit. If you own BV resale it would be a week deposit. Resale Owners in BV, CV and if there are any yet, Sunset, can not bank SO because you don't have any with your ownership.
I am hoping to use my 2018 CV HOs in December 2018

 

[dioxide45]

I am sure that II and VSN has enough slack that they can fill the added demand that results from WSJ owners that can't use their weeks. I suspect this will put extra stress on II bulk banks by Vistana. I would expect to see far fewer of those, of the few that they were still doing, for the next couple years. Probably not a great time to own a voluntary resale at the moment.

 

[Helios]

My resale CV 12/10/17 resie was only allowed to be deposited in II as an II points deposit. If you own BV resale it would be a week deposit. Resale Owners in BV, CV and if there are any yet, Sunset, can not bank SO because you don't have any with your ownership.
I am hoping to use my 2018 CV HOs in December 2018

That makes sense. They are not giving anything outside your ownership rights.

I am not familiar with the way the II points work. Do you find them useful?

 

[Helios]

I am sure that II and VSN has enough slack that they can fill the added demand that results from WSJ owners that can't use their weeks. I suspect this will put extra stress on II bulk banks by Vistana. I would expect to see far fewer of those, of the few that they were still doing, for the next couple years. Probably not a great time to own a voluntary resale at the moment.

Yeah, at least not WSJ voluntary phases. Others still have the home period. Reason enough to plan ahead and do some clicking before eight months.

 

[GrayFal]

That makes sense. They are not giving anything outside your ownership rights.

I am not familiar with the way the II points work. Do you find them useful?

First time using them. Seems to be a fixed crossover grid.
I need to find the grid. . Must be somewhere in the II site.

I will be able to get several exchanges using my one 2BR CV deposit.

 

[Helios]

Seems like it could be a good value, better than week for week if you own a premium week.

 

[SandyPGravel]

I just got my cancelation for week 7

Did they cancel or did you cancel? (Just curious, nothing has changed on my account yet.)

UPDATE: Rez cancelled, SO in my account.

 

[tomandrobin]

Looks like we are going to Cancun!

I would like to go to Maui, but that 12 hour flight, with 1.5 hour layover is too much. Robin would never make it with her still recovering from her accident. Cancun is 3.5 hours, which is about her flight limits for now.

Now what to do with the other 419,000 staroptions......lol.

 

[GrayFal]

Just an update for my week 7 rental.
I contacted my renter now that the resie was canceled.
I forwarded the cancelation and told her to submit it along with our contract to her travel insurance company.
She stated she had not taken the insurance.

I offered to move her reservation to 2019 and it matches her kids vacay schedule.

I am happy, she is happy.
I will stay for 10-12 days in STJ when I go in December 2018.

Booked Harborside for May 2018.

 

[SandyPGravel]

I booked us 9 nights in a 2 BR LO WKOVRN, but if we don't find anyone interested in going I will drop it down to a 1 BR. Could get an OF in studio, not sure if I want to go that small. Found two one way flights at a pretty good rate (for the midwest). Still more $$ than flying to WSJ though.

 

[duke]

Hold on...
It is complicated - Duke isn’t wrong that they are walking a tight-rope. They may have just effective sold more SOs than owned (how many are going into II?), and certainly gained in MF value per SO. This is 9 months of SOs (or HOs) times 4 phases times #VOI-weeks - many that have high SO/HO holdings.
Al least they allowed SO banking until 2021 - that helps to buffer.

Isn’t that like selling more VOIs than you have? And they gain a benefit based on WSJ Owners decrease in SO value...

Thanks David - But, think about it. You've lost all of the WSJ inventory and VSE is giving the right to use the other Real inventory in the system? If you think VSE can deposit their owned inventory to "balance" it out that is false because they are then not getting anything in return. This is an imbalance plain and simple. The STJ owners are not putting any weeks in and are taking out weeks. That means others who are putting in real weeks are getting shafted. The reason there are not extra weeks or VSE weeks is because VSE would loose the value of those weeks because they are not getting anything out. Big problem. Bigger lawsuit from non-STJ owners.

 

[OCsun]

After receiving a letter regarding the Virgin Grand Villa's, I am feeling grateful that we have such a great board. They stated that the Virgin Grand Villa's has a special reserve fund to fill the 5% insurance deductible. I am so grateful to the foresight of people like Philip Scharg and Robert Werbel.

 

[EnglishmanAbroad]

I'm not sure why non-STJ owners would consider being shafted or consider lawsuits. The only 'right' all owners have is to preferred reservations at their ownership resort in the 12-8 month window and that's not changing. Being able to make reservations anywhere/anytime with SOs is not guaranteed. Admittedly it will become harder as there will be more competition, especially for resorts that offer a similar season and beach experience as WSJ if owners their seek a like for like vacation. All 4 Hawaii resorts still have SO availability today for late May/early June 2018 reservations.

 

[OCsun]

October 2017

Dear Fellow Virgin Grand Owner:

HURRICANE IRMA

We usually don’t write to you in the fall until after we have our meeting to consider and approve the annual budget, but we are writing now because Hurricane Irma has so profoundly affected the Westin St. John and the entire island.

As you know, the storm was devastating for our island and many other Caribbean islands. There was major damage in downtown Cruz Bay and most of the structures in Coral Bay were destroyed. Many people are homeless throughout the island. Fortunately, all staff members and guests who were at the resort when the hurricane hit were uninjured, and all guests were successfully evacuated to Puerto Rico to continue their travel home. As we write this, the only electrical power on the island is the power from generators, including generators at our resort, and we don’t know when the electric utility on St. Thomas will start up again. Most of the vegetation on the island was lost, and we all hope it will grow back. A few restaurants and markets on the island have recently reopened. The airport just reopened and mail service has resumed. Gifft Hill School and First Bank are now open, and the ferries and car barge are running, but on a limited schedule. While these are all encouraging signs of progress, the road to recovery will be lengthy.

At the resort, damage was extensive. The pool filled with sand and mud, as it did during the big storm a few years ago. Snorkels and the gazebo were destroyed. Several buildings lost portions of their roofs - mostly those in the Sunset Bay development nearest the beach, but also the lobby building. Virgin Grand’s buildings, being further from the water, suffered less harm, although some water damage did occur. Vistana has engaged a contractor who has been conducting a careful inspection of all buildings and cleanup of debris has been ongoing for the past few weeks. The plan is to make all necessary repairs to the Virgin Grand units, as well as remediation to prevent hazards from molds, bacteria and other biological contaminants. Any furniture, furnishings or equipment damaged by water will of course be replaced.

As a result of the storm, management has determined to close the resort, at least through June 2018, while major repair work is being done. Vistana has recently communicated with owners regarding vacation opportunities during that time period.

INSURANCE

A piece of relatively good news in all of this is that years ago we anticipated that a major hurricane might occur and felt we needed to plan for it as best we could. Vistana’s insurance policy has a deductible of 5% of the property value, of which our share is 5% of the value of our buildings plus 5% of the value of a pro-rata portion of the common areas that we share with the other timeshare resorts on the property. Among the first things we did as Board members was to recommend that we build a special hurricane reserve fund into our annual budgets to cover the deductible, so that if a hurricane did occur, we would not have to have a special assessment. We have all been funding that reserve for several years, and the fund will have more than two million dollars in it by the end of 2017 - nearly all of the estimated possible maximum risk to Virgin Grand owners as a result of Irma. As a result we do not anticipate that Virgin Grand owners will have to incur any special assessment because of this storm. Of course, to the extent that our insurance reserve is depleted in order to pay for damage up to the deductible, we will have to continue funding the hurricane reserve in future years to replenish it.

THE PROPOSED 2018 BUDGET

The Board is further reviewing the proposed 2018 budget in light of the temporary closure of the resort, and we will be in touch soon to provide more information on this matter.

HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

It is understandable that the damage to St. John and our resort is causing disappointment and inconvenience to our owners who had been planning to enjoy a vacation at a place that they (and we) have come to love. However, we should not lose sight of the hardship that this has brought to residents of the island, who have lost so much of the little they had. They are desperate for humanitarian assistance in providing the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter. Each of us has made a personal contribution to the St. John Community Foundation and we hope that you will consider doing the same, be it to that organization or the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, which appear to be the two organizations directly committed to providing USVI humanitarian relief. Links to these organizations appear below.

http://thestjohnfoundation.org/ http://cfvi.net/

Philip G. Schrag
Robert H. Werbel

 

[DavidnRobin]

After receiving a letter regarding the Virgin Grand Villa's, I am feeling grateful that we have such a great board. They stated that the Virgin Grand Villa's has a special reserve fund to fill the 5% insurance deductible. I am so grateful to the foresight of people like Philip Scharg and Robert Werbel.

Me too... I am glad we have Phil/Bob on BOD, and thoughtful communications here and quarterly updates.

Not sure if many here nowadays recall this, but the WSJ Thread #1 was partially responsible for having a WSJ BOD (VGV phase) with elected officers purely by Owners - the only one in VSE/VSN!!! (SVO-WSJ did not use their vote - this was around 2009...). Phil blames me...

I have better understanding of Insurance situation - I didn't know the monies were to cover the hurricane insurance deductible - makes more sense now. Does BV, CV, and SB phases have a fund to cover insurance deductible?

PS. Dear WSJ-VGV - Can you now fix our MB shower in 3410?

 

[GrayFal]

2017

Dear Fellow Coral Vista Owner:

This is our second letter to you from your owner-elected representatives to the Coral Vista Board of Managers. We had planned to write to you following our budget approval meeting; however, because Hurricane Irma has so profoundly affected the Westin St. John and the entire island, we know that owners are concerned and want information.

HURRICANE IRMA

The storm was devastating for our island and many other Caribbean islands. There was major damage in downtown Cruz Bay and most of the structures in Coral Bay were destroyed. Many people are homeless throughout the island. Fortunately, all staff members and guests who were at the resort when the hurricane hit were uninjured, and all guests were successfully evacuated to Puerto Rico to continue their travel home. At present, the only electrical power on the island is the power from generators, including generators at our resort, and we don’t know when the electric utility on St. Thomas will start up again. Most of the vegetation on the island was lost, and we all hope it will grow back. A few restaurants and markets on the island have recently reopened. The airport in St. Thomas just reopened and mail service has resumed. Gifft Hill School and First Bank are now open, and the ferries and car barge are running, but on a limited schedule. While these are all encouraging signs of progress, the road to recovery will be lengthy.

The resort suffered extensive damage. The pool filled with sand and mud, Snorkels and the gazebo were destroyed, and the Sunset Bay buildings and lobby building suffered serious roof damage. Vistana has engaged a contractor who has been conducting a careful inspection of all buildings and cleanup of debris has been ongoing for the past few weeks. Fortunately, we have insurance coverage to cover the loss from the hurricane damage and the insurance claim is already in progress.

As a result of the storm, management has determined to close the resort, at least through June 2018, while major repair work is being done. Vistana has recently communicated with owners regarding vacation opportunities during that time period.

The Board is further reviewing the proposed 2018 budget in light of the temporary closure of the resort, and we will be in touch soon to provide more information on this matter.

We will share more news on the progress of the repairs and remediation as it becomes available. The annual meeting, scheduled for March 6, 2018, will be held as planned but will be relocated to Orlando, Florida.

HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

The residents of St. John and other US Virgin Islands are desperate for humanitarian assistance in providing the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter. Please consider providing support toward this effort. Following are links to organizations directly committed to providing USVI humanitarian relief.

St. John Community Foundation
Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands
St. John Rescue, Inc.
http://thestjohnfoundation.org/
http://cfvi.net/
http://www.stjohnrescue.com/

Thank you for your concern and support.

Nancy Gerding
nancy.coralvista@gmail.com James Miller, II
james.coralvista@gmail.com David Futransky
david.coralvista@gmail.com
You have received this message as part of your vacation ownership. Please do not reply directly to this system-generated email. Contact Vistana Management, Inc. at 9002 San Marco Court, Orlando, FL 32819 or click here.

©2017 Vistana Signature Experiences, Inc.

Privacy Statement | Terms & Conditions | 4868 | 17-WSJ-1389

 

[cubigbird]

I own at WSJ-SB and have not received any of these update emails.

 

[DavidnRobin]

I own at WSJ-SB and have not received any of these update emails.

Probably going to be similar to CV email.
VGV discusses covering hurricane insurance deductible.

Other phases have hurricane insurance, but what about funding deductible like VGV?

It will prove to be interesting...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tborr123]

So for someone who loves St. John, is this a resale buying opportunity long term, and if so, are the asking resale prices reflecting that? Or is it too early or owners holding on?

 

[DavidnRobin]

So for someone who loves St. John, is this a resale buying opportunity long term, and if so, are the asking resale prices reflecting that? Or is it too early or owners holding on?

I can only speak to VGV phase and my opinion.
Prior to Irma, VGV has an issue with delinquency (non-payment of MFs) by low season owners (as evident by the listings from the last 3 HOA sales), and a resale market of little to negative value of these weeks.

Now there is a real life scenario - with this SO exchange available for WSJ owners post-Irma (at least until June 30).
The low season (Gold) owners pay the same MFs (and USVI fee...) as Plat+ owners, but receive significantly reduced SOs.

In our case - 1 week gives me 95.7 SO (luckily - used to be 67.1K!) at a cost of ~$2600 (MF, PropTax, VSN fee). I like to think in increments of a 1Bd in HI (81K SO) since this is our normal usage (and plan to use 2018 SO for HI since we live in CA).
This works out to $325/nite ($2200/wk) for 1Bd HI villa - via VSN.

Someone that owns my villa type (2Bd TH) in Plat+ gets 176.5K SOs (!) - that works out for them... ~$176/nite ($1230/wk) for a 1Bd HI (81K SO).
45% less per SO.

I realize the Plat+ paid more (years ago if from SVO, or a highly variable resale market since) - but that is money gone. It is about cost going forward that matters. So these low season owners - especially those with less SO - look at this and seeing that their vacation costs are too much. They can't sell or give away (ours now has no value since $2200/81K SO is close to even as compared to renting... for example) - so what do they do? They walk...

So... who picks up slack? VGV HOA was innovative in taking back deeds and selling. Not to make money, but to cover delinquent MFs. If they can no longer sell these low season, and VSE-WSJ doesn't pick them up - the MFs increase for all owners - thus causing more to bail (this will always be case when Ownership costs become prohibitive).

as okwaiter stated (indirectly) - VSE-WSJ stands to pick up SOs cheap... or resale buyers will (both will still need to cover ongoing costs). There is no ROFR - so that helps resale buyers looking for a bargain. Future cost of Ownership will matter greatly (and my not be such a great bargain) - VGV was already seeing a tipping point.

CV and SB phases may likely be somewhat protected as MF are tied more to HomeOptions and not villa-type

IMO YMMV...

 

[SandyPGravel]

Does anyone know/understand how the deductible works when the resort gets hit by two named storms? Is the deductible for the first one only? Do you think any of the damage was officially accessed between the storms so they could say "No this isn't covered under the first storm deductible"?

I too would like to commend the forethought of the VGV BOD to plan for the deductible.

 

[okwiater]

Does anyone know/understand how the deductible works when the resort gets hit by two named storms? Is the deductible for the first one only? Do you think any of the damage was officially accessed between the storms so they could say "No this isn't covered under the first storm deductible"?

Good question. I don't think there would be grounds for denying coverage under the first storm deductible, though, because based on the extensive photo/video documentation of the damage done by Irma, to the extent Maria did any additional damage (with a far less severe blow to the island) it was largely or exclusively possible because of the damage already done by Irma. Typically these policies include language that when a covered event occurs, it is the policyholder's responsibility to ensure that reasonable efforts are made to secure the property to prevent further damage. Then, secondary damage that occurs as a result of the covered event would still be covered. IANAL

 

[Helios]

I own at WSJ-SB and have not received any of these update emails.

Same here. I sure wish SB does have the same fund. But it will certainly not be big enough to cover the damage because damage is more extensive and SB has had a short time to build the reserve, if there is any. Just my $0.02.

When was or will be your first use year? Mine is 2018. I may get a SA for damage that happened before my first use year...