Banff Rocky Mountain Resort Quit Claim Offer

[clipper]

I am reaching out to other owners of BRMR to see what they are planning to do. These are excerpts of recent communications from the resort.

In our case, we were considering reducing the number of timeshares we owned anyway so this seems to be the perfect opportunity to do this without much effort and no cost.

 

[Tacoma]

I own a 2 bedroom summer week at this resort. My first few years put it on TUG direct exchange form and exchanged privately for Manhatten Club, 2 bedroom ocearfront at Marriott Barony Beach and a one bedroom at San Luis Bay Inn. All were excellent trades for me in my opinion but the people who wanted Banff got a guaranteed week well in advance so they could plan their vacation. Then I tried to rent it for the week and rarely got much over maintenance fees even though it was a great week. Finally I put it on Airbnb and allow people to split the week. This gets me over twice my maintenance fees and has generally rented within a week of posting. I will be keeping this until the maintenance fees become ridiculous as it more than pays off for me. This year on top of increased maintenance fees the resort is charging an extra $200 plus tax to split the week. I understand how hard it is to get workers but that is a hefty increase when added together. The summer of covid restrictions we ended up using it ourselves as our American renters had to cancel and we spent an awesome week in a relatively uncrowded time at all of the highlights in the area. I just hope that they can still make a go of it since this is the only timeshare in Banff National Park. If memory serves me the maintence fees are the same for 1 bedrooms as well and those are tiny units directly under the 2 bedroom units. Only ever stayed in one once as we had a family of elephants above us. I suspect they had their ski boots on.

 

[Terry D]

Would someone be able to explain this communication. Is it really an offer to receive deed backs from owners. It does say "Prepaid Vacation Package Agreement" and not deed. It would be unusual for a resort to seek out deed backs, since the remaining owners would have to pay more due to fewer owners. Probably confusing since these were excerpts from the communication. Your thoughts?

 

[echino]

"Deed" as it relates to real estate is a US term and not used in Canada.

 

[jabberwocky]

"Deed" as it relates to real estate is a US term and not used in Canada.

Are you sure? The term deed is used in Canada with respect to real estate. From the Government of Ontario website:

What’s in the land registry?​

The land registration system contains official records of land and property in Ontario, including the:

• title, which is a legal term for the land rights held by a person or corporation
• deed, which is a term used for the legal document that transfers title from one person to another
• mortgage and other land documents.

I wonder the underlying property in Banff was likely leased from the Federal Government since it is in a National Park. The developer likely could not convey formal deeded ownership and instead sold these as vacation contracts.

I’ll have to ask my uncle if he knows anything about this. I think he owns a timeshare at that resort.

 

[djyamyam]

Would someone be able to explain this communication. Is it really an offer to receive deed backs from owners. It does say "Prepaid Vacation Package Agreement" and not deed. It would be unusual for a resort to seek out deed backs, since the remaining owners would have to pay more due to fewer owners. Probably confusing since these were excerpts from the communication. Your thoughts?

I wonder the underlying property in Banff was likely leased from the Federal Government since it is in a National Park. The developer likely could not convey formal deeded ownership and instead sold these as vacation contracts.

@jabberwocky has it correct. The property is leased from the government so we have certificates of use since we don't own the property (it's semantics of deed/ cert of use for the purpose of the discussion). Basically, the resort is allowing members to terminate their annual use requirement as result of the end of the government lease (and not knowing if it will be renewed).

@Terry D. I asked Marla the question about deedbacks. As you know, the resort also operates as a hotel via Banff Lodging Company. Basically, any "deedbacks" would get moved over to the hotel side for use from an expense/revenue standpoint. So the remaining timeshare owners don't get hit with a greater portion of fixed expenses because fewer units would be available to the timeshare owners.

When I was on the timeshare board of another resort, something similar was done except returned timeshare intervals were consolidated into the equivalent of one whole condo ownership and the whole condo was sold (property consisted of a collection whole condos that was a mix of whole ownerships and timeshare intervals)

 

[clipper]

Aside from not knowing if the lease will be renewed, the resort needs major upgrades/renovations IMHO. We were in a 2-bedroom in May 2023. The living room sofa was so worn out and uncomfortable to sit on. The cupboards and bathroom doors were scratched up. The location is great and there is amazing beauty in the surroundings and the wildlife you may encounter. We often exchanged our 1-bedroom with arrangements that say "only 5-star or gold crown units accepted".

 

[echino]

For a family or a group of more than two, better stay in a bigger place in Canmore. The units at BRMR are seriously tiny. Location is in Banff, but not in the town centre, so you need a car anyway.

 

[bizaro86]

I think it's nearly a certainty Parks Canada will renew the lease. They nearly always do, and the exceptions have always been things like wanting the land for some public purpose, which I seriously doubt would be likely here.

 

[jabberwocky]

Aside from not knowing if the lease will be renewed, the resort needs major upgrades/renovations IMHO. We were in a 2-bedroom in May 2023. The living room sofa was so worn out and uncomfortable to sit on. The cupboards and bathroom doors were scratched up. The location is great and there is amazing beauty in the surroundings and the wildlife you may encounter. We often exchanged our 1-bedroom with arrangements that say "only 5-star or gold crown units accepted".

Your description matches the reported reviews on other travel website. I’m wondering if the fact that the lease was coming up for renewal has meant that the “owners” have no incentive to put more money into an asset that could revert back to the government at a future point in time.

The way I look at it is that if you know you want out, this is a good opportunity. I wouldn’t feel pressure though if you like/use the property simply because there is uncertainty in the negotiations. If they go badly and it doesn’t get renewed then you’re off the hook anyway. If it does get renewed then they likely would do a refresh (which may mean a SA).

 

[jabberwocky]

For a family or a group of more than two, better stay in a bigger place in Canmore. The units at BRMR are seriously tiny. Location is in Banff, but not in the town centre, so you need a car anyway.

Please keep Canmore a secret so it remains accessible for us “locals”.

Seriously, I try to avoid staying in Banff proper unless it’s at one of the better hotels for a few nights. It’s beautiful to walk around for a bit and view scenery, but the crowds and “shopping” leave much to be desired.

Canmore has much better lodging/grocery/dining options for those used to a TS experience, decent scenery and doesn’t add much travel time to most of what you’ll want to see in the National Park.

 

[clipper]

Thank you all for your comments. My husband and I decided to cancel our BRMR contract. We will use our other timeshares to exchange into the area if we want to go back. I love Banff!

 

[spirit1]

Would someone be able to explain this communication. Is it really an offer to receive deed backs from owners. It does say "Prepaid Vacation Package Agreement" and not deed. It would be unusual for a resort to seek out deed backs, since the remaining owners would have to pay more due to fewer owners. Probably confusing since these were excerpts from the communication. Your thoughts?

Hi. If you go on Facebook there is a Banff Rocky Mountain Resort Owners Group. I am a moderator. Marla (who looks after the timeshare rentals is a member) You could ask your question there.....or if you ask nicely
I can repost your question and get back with Marla's answer. Cheers

 

[Terry D]

Hi. If you go on Facebook there is a Banff Rocky Mountain Resort Owners Group. I am a moderator. Marla (who looks after the timeshare rentals is a member) You could ask your question there.....or if you ask nicely
I can repost your question and get back with Marla's answer. Cheers

Yes, would you please ask the question on the Facebook page. I am not an owner but was just curious since most other resorts do not want to take back deeds. I think the answer is they can make more renting the units out. Thanks!

 

[spirit1]

Yes, would you please ask the question on the Facebook page. I am not an owner but was just curious since most other resorts do not want to take back deeds. I think the answer is they can make more renting the units out. Thanks!

Hi Terry. There have been many good answers here on this thread.
I think that the situation is pretty well explained here. The resort will take back the weeks with the owners filling out the proper forms. Having a hotel side as well as a timeshare side the units can move easily back and forth. BRMR is not just a timeshare company but a hybrid timeshare/hotel complex.
If you have any more questions...post here and I will try to answer them. Cheers.

 

[Patricia]

I am reaching out to other owners of BRMR to see what they are planning to do. These are excerpts of recent communications from the resort.

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In our case, we were considering reducing the number of timeshares we owned anyway so this seems to be the perfect opportunity to do this without much effort and no cost.

Hello Clipper: Yes, we also terminated our lease/deed with Banff Rocky Mountain Resort. Maintenance fees were getting too high for us. Also, there is lots of updating that needs to be done. But each to their own. By the way, it says the offer expires March 31, 2024. But when I phoned (because we didn't seem to receive any offer), I was able to terminate after March... I think it was mid-May. So give them a call, you may not be too late...

 

[Tacoma]

I am keeping my 2 bedroom summer week but am expecting there might be a cash call for upgrading sometime. I usually Airbnb my week for 2X my maintenance fees, Other times I do a direct exchange on TUG and have scored some awesome trades. As mentioned because the resort is a hotel and a timeshare the owners that choose to relinquish should not really impact our maintenance fees. The fees being around $1100 US per week is not that bad for a 2 bedroom but if my memory serves me the fees are the same for the 1 bedrooms and those are small and directly under the 2 bedroom units so they can be noisy. Particularly during ski season.

 

[barto]

I'm also keeping our summer weeks - same situation as Tacoma in terms of renting out. Sure hoping we can keep going, although an upgrade/cash call could be in the works. We mostly go in the summers, but bought into Grand Canadian Resort in Canmore as a backup in case the BRMR thing didn't continue. Turns out the 2-bedroom units there are quite nice and we like the location, so we've been staying there and renting out BRMR. And yes, Canmore's preferable for us, too, with just the occasional foray into Banff town.