[2015] ARDA-ROC Voluntary Contribution on Annual Bill

[chapjim]

Got a maintenance fee bill from Diamond Resorts that included a line for $5 for ARDA-ROC.

Somebody please tell me what ARDA-ROC does for me?

 

[Jason245]

Pay to lobby for legislation that makes it easier for developers to screw new buyers while claiming to lobby for owners. I won't pay them a penny.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[Passepartout]

Got a maintenance fee bill from Diamond Resorts that included a line for $5 for ARDA-ROC.

Somebody please tell me what ARDA-ROC does for me?

Nothing for owners- it supports lobbying for the developers and resort operators. Subtract $5 from the MF bill. My MF bill (from a different resort family) clearly states that the contribution is optional.

Jim

 

[LannyPC]

Somebody please tell me what ARDA-ROC does for me?

Apparently, it backed this bill that so many owners hate:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224614

 

[SueDonJ]

ARDA-ROC is the Resort Owners Coalition of the American Resort Development Association. See arda-roc.org.

I don't understand why some people say that ARDA-ROC does "nothing" for owners. While it's true that it's not an owner-only organization, when the owners' needs align with those of developers and managers it can be an extremely powerful tool for owners. That alignment in opposition to outsider influence and legislation happens more often than you might think. For example, ARDA-ROC actively campaigns alongside ARDA in opposition to further taxation of timeshare properties (something on the horizons in quite a few states.)

One thing I really dislike that's done by ARDA-ROC, or by some resorts/management companies in deference to ARDA-ROC, is including the suggested annual donation as an opt-out amount on MF's bills. I understand it's a powerful feature at lobbyists' disposal but it just gives ARDA-ROC naysayers further reason to question the association. Look closely at your MF's bills and let your management company know if you want this practice to end.

I'm not trying to tell you to contribute to ARDA-ROC. It's a personal choice the same way any other contributions to lobbying groups should be. But I hope that you'll at least take a look at the information that's available, rather than blindly accepting a false statement that ARDA-ROC "does nothing" for owners.

As far as the resorts where we own, Marriott bills include the donation as an opt-in amount (all amounts are opt-in.) This year the bills included a page-and-a-half letter from the new Marriott owner-representative to ARDA-ROC. It's good to see this new effort being made to connect the Marriott owner-rep with Marriott owners.

 

[Fern Modena]

Good minds can agree to disagree. And I do disagree with SueDonJ here.

Any good that ARDA/ROC does for owners it does for developers ten times over. Its allegiance is with the developers, as is the rest of ARDA. I feel that they want devised ARDA/ROC so they could show us how concerned they were about us owners, and then maybe they could get some money out of us, too.

$5. isn't that much, you say? When they started extorting (oh, my bad, make that collecting) on the maintenence bills, it was $3. not $5. And $5. is a lot of money, even if only half a resort's owners pay, when the resort has, say 100 units. That's 5000--5100 unit weeks. Lets say half pay, that's $1250. Not that much, but many of the resorts asking are much bigger.

None of the smaller resorts seem to wamt ypu to pay, but all of the biggest ones do. And many of them are not an "add on," but you can cross if off it you want. Some don't even make that easy, have you asked why?

I didn't buy my timeshare to be coerced into extra payments like this, and I do feel the way it is billed by many is coercion. I won't ever pay it. And I don't think any informed timeshare owner should.

Fern

 

[Bwolf]

Thank you, Fern Modena.

 

[Jason245]

Any good that ARDA/ROC does for owners it does for developers ten times over. Its allegiance is with the developers, as is the rest of ARDA. I

You do realize that the biggest "owners" are the developers don't you?

Basically, they are getting the minority owners (individuals) to pay to lobby for the beneift of the large owners (developers).

It is a great Con Job, and it really does benefit the big owners

 

[Ty1on]

when the owners' needs align with those of developers and managers it can be an extremely powerful tool for owners.

When the owners' needs align with those of the developers, then ARDA, funded by the developers, is lobbying. If they don't align, neither ARDA nor ARDA-ROC funds go toward those causes. Therefore, in my estimation, ARDA-ROC simply funnels owner funds toward developer needs.

 

[ziravan]

ARDA-ROC backed this year's Florida Timeshare law changes that allow developers to claim good faith intent to bind owners to erroneous contracts that those developers would never allow owners out for good faith errors.

It was a one sided pro-developer change to the law.

That's the foot in the door because it passed near unanimously in part because ARDA-ROC verified that owners were represented. Not so.

Now. Expect more of the same.

With friends like ARDA-ROC, who needs enemies?

 

[Maple_Leaf]

ARDA-ROC is the Resort Owners Coalition of the American Resort Development Association. See arda-roc.org.

For example, ARDA-ROC actively campaigns alongside ARDA in opposition to further taxation of timeshare properties (something on the horizons in quite a few states.)

This is the only example anyone has ever been able to give me of ARDA-ROC and ARDA cooperating on an issue important to owners. It's like it is the raison d'être for ARDA-ROC.

 

[Jason245]

This is the only example anyone has ever been able to give me of ARDA-ROC and ARDA cooperating on an issue important to owners. It's like it is the raison d'être for ARDA-ROC.

They also cooperated to screw owners in florida.

 

[davidvel]

ARDA awarded the National Community Service Award to David Siegel of Westgate (this is true).

Probably for designing a convenient velcro pouch for safeguarding (ie. hiding) crucial documents like rescission instructions. :hysterical:

 

[Ty1on]

ARDA awarded the National Community Service Award to David Siegel of Westgate (this is true).

Probably for designing a convenient velcro pouch for safeguarding (ie. hiding) crucial documents like rescission instructions. :hysterical:

Hey, now, he is saving people's lives with every new sale!!!

 

[TUGBrian]

you will find that in most situations, the items that arda/arda-roc take a stand that benefits owners....is when that same stand benefits developers.

I cannot recall any example of a situation where ARDA took the side of owners over developers on any issue.

 

[BocaBoy]

ARDA-ROC is the Resort Owners Coalition of the American Resort Development Association. See arda-roc.org.

I don't understand why some people say that ARDA-ROC does "nothing" for owners. While it's true that it's not an owner-only organization, when the owners' needs align with those of developers and managers it can be an extremely powerful tool for owners. That alignment in opposition to outsider influence and legislation happens more often than you might think. For example, ARDA-ROC actively campaigns alongside ARDA in opposition to further taxation of timeshare properties (something on the horizons in quite a few states.)

One thing I really dislike that's done by ARDA-ROC, or by some resorts/management companies in deference to ARDA-ROC, is including the suggested annual donation as an opt-out amount on MF's bills. I understand it's a powerful feature at lobbyists' disposal but it just gives ARDA-ROC naysayers further reason to question the association. Look closely at your MF's bills and let your management company know if you want this practice to end.

I'm not trying to tell you to contribute to ARDA-ROC. It's a personal choice the same way any other contributions to lobbying groups should be. But I hope that you'll at least take a look at the information that's available, rather than blindly accepting a false statement that ARDA-ROC "does nothing" for owners.

As far as the resorts where we own, Marriott bills include the donation as an opt-in amount (all amounts are opt-in.) This year the bills included a page-and-a-half letter from the new Marriott owner-representative to ARDA-ROC. It's good to see this new effort being made to connect the Marriott owner-rep with Marriott owners.

Very well said. I simply do not understand the mentality that says anything that is good for the owners is bad for the developers and vice versa. Most of the time their interests are aligned. A healthy industry benefits us all. Developers are not the enemy. Without developers we would not have timeshares and most TUGGERS like their timeshares.

 

[pedro47]

Good minds can agree to disagree. And I do disagree with SueDonJ here.

Any good that ARDA/ROC does for owners it does for developers ten times over. Its allegiance is with the developers, as is the rest of ARDA. I feel that they want devised ARDA/ROC so they could show us how concerned they were about us owners, and then maybe they could get some money out of us, too.

$5. isn't that much, you say? When they started extorting (oh, my bad, make that collecting) on the maintenence bills, it was $3. not $5. And $5. is a lot of money, even if only half a resort's owners pay, when the resort has, say 100 units. That's 5000--5100 unit weeks. Lets say half pay, that's $1250. Not that much, but many of the resorts asking are much bigger.

None of the smaller resorts seem to wamt ypu to pay, but all of the biggest ones do. And many of them are not an "add on," but you can cross if off it you want. Some don't even make that easy, have you asked why?

I didn't buy my timeshare to be coerced into extra payments like this, and I do feel the way it is billed by many is coercion. I won't ever pay it. And I don't think any informed timeshare owner should.

Fern

Thanks you Fern!!! Five ($5) dollars per owner times 500,000 owners =$2,500.000 millon dollars for one year. There are over 800,000 time share owners around the world.

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks you Fern!!! Five ($5) dollars per owner times 500,000 owners =$2,500.000 millon dollars for one year. There are over 800,000 time share owners around the world.

ARDA estimates that there are over 9 million timeshare owners in the United States.

http://www.arda.org/aif-foundation/research/timesharedatashare/november2014datashare.aspx

 

[dioxide45]

Very well said. I simply do not understand the mentality that says anything that is good for the owners is bad for the developers and vice versa. Most of the time their interests are aligned. A healthy industry benefits us all. Developers are not the enemy. Without developers we would not have timeshares and most TUGGERS like their timeshares.

I certainly don't think that they do nothing for owners, but I don't agree with owners having to contribute to a PAC that helps the developers. The developers have deep pockets, if they find something important enough, they will put their might behind it and fight it.

I would have no problem contributing to an independent owner coalition. The problem with the ARDA-ROC is that owners don't have any input. They just want our money to help support their causes. Let owners serve on the board and be elected by the membership. I have no problem supporting owner and developer shared causes, but I refuse to also support issues that are heavily in favor of the developer and are very owner or consumer unfriendly. This is something that the ARDA-ROC has also supported.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I've called twice now to Starwood to get the ARDA off my SDO bill, I paid online and they said it would be removed after I paid and its still there…so peeved, I will be calling again on Monday.

 

[vacationtime1]

I certainly don't think that they do nothing for owners, but I don't agree with owners having to contribute to a PAC that helps the developers. The developers have deep pockets, if they find something important enough, they will put their might behind it and fight it.

I would have no problem contributing to an independent owner coalition. The problem with the ARDA-ROC is that owners don't have any input. They just want our money to help support their causes. Let owners serve on the board and be elected by the membership. I have no problem supporting owner and developer shared causes, but I refuse to also support issues that are heavily in favor of the developer and are very owner or consumer unfriendly. This is something that the ARDA-ROC has also supported.

+1

See http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224614&highlight=florida+legislation+arda for a really good example of ARDA and ARDA-ROC lobbying for changes in Florida law which favor developers and which diminish individual timeshare owners' rights.

 

[davidvel]

Many people believe that the "ROC" part of ARDA is not a coalition for owners at all, but simply a way to make those owners otherwise unwilling to donate to a developer group, willing to do so.

 

[dioxide45]

Many people believe that the "ROC" part of ARDA is not a coalition for owners at all, but simply a way to make those owners otherwise unwilling to donate to a developer group, willing to do so.

Reading through some of the information on the ARDA-ROC website, it appears that about 10% of owners contribute. They claim to have about 1 million owners voluntarily contributing. Given that ARDA claims there are 9 million owners in the US, that is a 1 in 9 contribution rate. Seems like they are doing pretty good.

I just got our Grande Vista MF bill in the mail (even though we are signed up for e-billing), there is a double sided letter to proclaiming the benefits of contributing.

 

[LannyPC]

there is a double sided letter to proclaiming the benefits of contributing.

What are some of the alleged benefits of contributing (according to this letter)?

 

[dioxide45]

What are some of the alleged benefits of contributing (according to this letter)?

Here is a copy of the letter