Festiva takes over resort

[Sou13]

Another unhappy FAC member

From: Festiva Resorts November 10, 2009

Dear Sir or Madam

This year has been an exciting year for the Festiva Resorts Adventure Club, but we sure aren’t sad to see it go. 2009 has been a tough year for nearly everyone and the Adventure Club is no exception. On the positive side, there have been some great additions to the Adventure Club this year and there are more to follow in 2010 and beyond. We would like to take this opportunity to update you on these recent additions and inform you of some exciting future additions and some unfortunate changes that may not be as pleasant.
Festiva Resorts has added four fantastic destinations for members to choose from. All are not available for your next vacation with the Adventure Club. From skiing in Maine to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or from relaxing on the beach in one of America’s oldest cities to fall leaf watching in New England, the Adventure Club has made it available for you.
• Rangeley Lake Resort in Rangeley, Maine
• Frenchmen Orleans 519 in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Ocean Gate Resort in St. Augustine, Florida
• Southcape Resort & Club in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
During 2009 we heard feedback from many of our members that were not happy with the $89 multiple reservation fee that was charged for any stay booked after the first reservation transaction. We are happy to announce that effective immediately the $89 multiple reservation fee has been eliminated and there will be $0 charge for making multiple reservations.
Festiva Resorts has added nearly 4,000 new members to the Adventure Club through its sales efforts in 2009, bringing total membership to nearly 16,000 members.
We would also like to remind you that you may accelerate a future year’s allotment of points and/or rent additional points in order to complete any reservation.
Unfortunately the Adventure Club has seen the effects of the economic recession just as it has impacted many other industries, businesses and individuals. In 2009 we have seen an increase in delinquencies and defaults. As a result the Adventure Club is facing some very large deficits in 2010. In order to face those deficits head on and to ensure that the Adventure Club continues to fulfill its mission of providing superior products and services to its members, the maintenance fee structure is being adjusted to include nearly $1.7 million in expected bad debt and defaults. To be straightforward, that will result in an increase in fees for everyone. At this time the assessments have not been completed and we will not have the specific maintenance fees amounts available until immediately before your invoice is mailed. The Owner Services department does not have this information at this time.
Festiva Resorts passes this new along with sincere empathy as it has certainly felt the pain firsthand. Festiva Resorts (while under no obligation to do so) has subsidized the Adventure Club’s bad debt in an amount approaching $1 million during 2009 and will again contribute and estimated $1 million in 2010.
We mention the above contributions as we predict that the news of this increase could be met by accusations and rumors spread among members through various internet outlets or at the resorts. The facts are that people have been hit pretty hard during 2009 and quite simply many of them can no longer afford their home or their car, let alone their Adventure Club membership. To lessen the impact of this deficit on all members Festiva Resorts is going above and beyond its obligations by contributing $2 million in subsidies by the end of 2010 that otherwise would have been used to further enhance the Club and its resorts. We ask for your understanding and to come to terms with the fact that you the members and we the founders of the Adventure Club are in this together. We know that these economic woes will eventually pass and we also know that in order to protect your investment and ours all parties involved must act responsibly and face this burden squarely and completely.
We want to provide you with the facts and be as transparent as possible as you will be receiving your Maintenance Fee invoice by mail in the next few weeks. Again, we appreciate your understanding and have confidence that the efforts of responsible members like you along with those of Festiva Resorts will help to continually improve the Adventure Club program and its family of resorts. We look forward to servicing your vacation needs in 2010 and moving forward.

Sincerely,
Festiva Resorts Adventure Club

Here's what a disgruntled new FAC member has to say:

I never paid fees before since I'm a new owner, but my fees for a 2010 for a 3800 pt bi-annual was about $750. I thought this was considerably more than we had been quoted when buying (we got suckered at a weekend thing but have since learned a great deal). I told my husband I wasn't sure this was really going to end up saving us on our vacations every year and that we might be better off paying it off and donating or giving it back just to avoid paying this outstanding fee every other year.

I find it bad business to punish those of us who are in good standing for those that had to default. Why didn't they just stream-line the maintenance or cut down on remodels for awhile until things picked back up? I know they have to keep trying to sell in order to grow, but I have a feeling they are going to gain a lot more returns as a result of the maintenance fees cost - which in the long run is only going to make things worse for the company. It's too bad too, I think they might have a decent thing going otherwise.

 

[Sou13]

Here's another Festiva takeover discussion:
Timeshare Forums > General Timeshare Topics > Horror Stories - Bad experiences at Timeshares
Festiva goes to points and charges Thousands

Go to the bottom of the page and find "Refbacks" to the TUG discussions!

 

[Sou13]

$10 for 2500 Festiva points?

I had to submit the above post but then went on to the Timeshare Forums to read the latest posts. I then went to the timeshares for sale and found a $10 bid for 2500 Festiva points with only 2 hours 17 minutes left to bid:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220523636269

 

[Sou13]

MF for 2010

A Southcape summer week owner who let the Outfield Marketer come to her home and fell for his scare tactics has now received her Festiva MF for 2010. She paid the $3185 and signed over her deeded week to Festiva thinking she'd be escaping escalating Southcape MFs and the SAs that Festiva members are supposed to be avoiding. In addition, instead of paying the Southcape MF of $593.88 for 2009, she had to pay Festiva $700 for 4800 points. Yes, she avoided the $400 special assessment, but now her Festiva MF for 2010 is $828 for 4800 points while she'd be paying Southcape $595 MF for 2010 if she's given the sales rep his walking papers.. Is she happy with Festiva? NO!!!

 

[e.bram]

Question. Do Festiva points owners have any home resort advantage(ARP) for the resort or specific unit and time advantage for early reservation ?

 

[ChrisH]

?? Is this really an advantage?

If you own a deeded fixed week (non Festiva) you are guaranteed that fixed week and unit every year. If you change your plans at anytime - you may then deposit that week in whatever exchange system - RCI or II of which you are a member.

If you give up your deed to become a Festiva Adventure Club member, you can use your fixed week and possibly your exact unit at your home resort- if you reserve that exact week at least 12 months in advance but not more than 13 months in advance. If you miss that time window, there is no guaratee from FAC that you will get any reservation week at your resort.

Festiva also has Platinum, Gold or some other kind of membership upgrade (that you probably have to pay more bucks for) and then those people get precedence over all owners/members - isn't that special!

 

[Sou13]

What I really don't understand is what week you own if you convert a "float" week at Southcape. I met an unhappy Festiva convert who discovered that in order to get the same week she had always been able to reserve as a "float" week owner, she had to pay Festiva additional money to buy enough points to get her that week. But how can she ever get that week again? Does Festiva reserve a week for FAC members and does she get first crack at it?

Here's what happens to "float" week owners. If you reserve a week in November you have to reserve whatever is left over for the following year. Is Festiva required to wait until that week has been used before being able to reserve a week for the next year? Are "points" owners being held to the same requirements as deeded owners?

I know this doesn't make much sense to fixed weeks owners, but the facts are that Outfield Marketing has been targeting float week owners for a reason. Go to the Barnstable County Capeview Internet Access and see for yourselves how many "float" week owners have been targeted and snared by Outfield Marketing.

 

[Sou13]

Nearly 1/2 of all the conversions to the FAC owned "float" weeks in Southcape I. These "float" week owners could have exchanged through Interval International and many of them did. They could also have rented out their weeks for cash, and many of them did. But now their choice is to pay a higher MF to Festiva in addition to the $3185 they paid Outfield Marketing to dupe them out of their deeded weeks.

Yes, I do mean dupe them out of their deeded weeks.

I've also discovered at least two Sandcastle owners who somehow got their weeks deeded back to them. Did they finally see the light?

 

[e.bram]

Float owners are particularly vulnerable to the NEVS Festiva complex. The conflict of interest could allow Festiva to reserve all the better weeks for their club leaving the weeks owners with the worst weeks. However, I believe this conflict of interest would allow those owners of negative value weeks to bail out with impunity. If the Festiva owners stop paying causing them to bulk bail out, this could be the coup d' grace for the TS.

 

[ChrisH]

I think that's a little mixed up

If you are a fixed week owner and don't join Festiva - they cannot give out your week to anyone, you own it, not FAC.

If you 'owned' a fixed week and did join FAC - you can reserve that same week if you notify FAC atleast 12 and not more than 13 months in advance, according to their POS. However, it doesn't say you will get your regular 'unit' that week. You may get a 'comparable' one. That is, if they follow their own script> :hysterical:

 

[e.bram]

ChrisH:
I was referring to float weeks only. A March or November week might be palatable, whereas a January week on the Cape is intolerable.

 

[Carolinian]

A Southcape summer week owner who let the Outfield Marketer come to her home and fell for his scare tactics has now received her Festiva MF for 2010. She paid the $3185 and signed over her deeded week to Festiva thinking she'd be escaping escalating Southcape MFs and the SAs that Festiva members are supposed to be avoiding. In addition, instead of paying the Southcape MF of $593.88 for 2009, she had to pay Festiva $700 for 4800 points. Yes, she avoided the $400 special assessment, but now her Festiva MF for 2010 is $828 for 4800 points while she'd be paying Southcape $595 MF for 2010 if she's given the sales rep his walking papers.. Is she happy with Festiva? NO!!!

These people who were lied to by the Outfield / Festiva / NEVS slugs should file complaints with the state AG. Enough complaints and this crowd should get the Missouri treatment, and they richly deserve it. They give timesharing a bad name.

 

[ChrisH]

Thanks for clarifying

ChrisH:
I was referring to float weeks only. A March or November week might be palatable, whereas a January week on the Cape is intolerable.

Thanks, I guess I got that a little confused.
Chris

 

[e.bram]

The good and the bad:

The best thing about Festiva taking over some units is they mostly acquired dog non prime units and will have to pay MFs ans SAs for those units that some owners will eventually walk away from .
The worst thing about FAC taking control of units will happen if many FAC club members bail(less of a moral issue here since it is an anonymous club not fellow owners). FAC either has to pay all the MFs or none(since one default can be imputed to all the FAC owned units). Losing all the MFs due by Festiva could inflict serious financial harm(perhaps fatal) to the TS.

 

[Carolinian]

The best thing about Festiva taking over some units is they mostly acquired dog non prime units and will have to pay MFs ans SAs for those units that some owners will eventually walk away from .
The worst thing about FAC taking control of units will happen if many FAC club members bail(less of a moral issue here since it is an anonymous club not fellow owners). FAC either has to pay all the MFs or none(since one default can be imputed to all the FAC owned units). Losing all the MFs due by Festiva could inflict serious financial harm(perhaps fatal) to the TS.

That scenario did, in fact, happen to a Pennsylvania resort a few years ago. One of the points operations simply refused to pay the m/f's for its collection of weeks and the impact on the resort's finances was so severe that it went belly up. A points club in South Africa went belly up a few years before that and it nearly sank a number of timeshares where they had blocks of weeks.

This is just another of the many concerns about a group like Festiva acquiring a block of weeks. Control of the HOA is, however, the biggie. The poison pill used at Stouts Hill in the UK is the best way to avoid that.

 

[e.bram]

and the ugly:

The poor suckers who paid to surrender their deed and join a worthless(actually less than)club. They would have been better off paying a PCC to rid themselves of the burden of ownership.

 

[Sou13]

Did they finally see the light?

Nearly 1/2 of all the conversions to the FAC owned "float" weeks in Southcape I. These "float" week owners could have exchanged through Interval International and many of them did. They could also have rented out their weeks for cash, and many of them did. But now their choice is to pay a higher MF to Festiva in addition to the $3185 they paid Outfield Marketing to dupe them out of their deeded weeks.

Yes, I do mean dupe them out of their deeded weeks.

I've also discovered at least two Sandcastle owners who somehow got their weeks deeded back to them. Did they finally see the light?

One of the two FAC "converts" whose week was deeded back to him has a current listed telephone number, so I gave him a call. He was surprised to learn that Festiva has deeded his week back to him, wanted to know how I found out. I told him how to access the Barnstable County Capeview Internet Access and put him in touch with a Sandcastle owner. He has not yet reported back to me but I hope an update will be posted here.

The other FAC "convert" had 5 Sandcastle weeks deeded back to her on December 4 but doesn't have a telephone number listed. I'm leaving it up to Sandcastle owners to contact her for her story.

 

[Sou13]

Sandcastle owners, where are you?

The Sandcastle owners haven't updated this puzzling registry entry, and Lois Martin in the AGO is interested. Sandcastle owners, where are you?

 

[Sou13]

Update

The Sandcastle owners haven't updated this puzzling registry entry, and Lois Martin in the AGO is interested. Sandcastle owners, where are you?

The Sandcastle owner whose week was deeded back to him according to the Barnstable County Capeview Internet Access is supposed to be contacting Lois Martin today. He thanked me for bringing this matter to his attention.

I've also updated my signature, which I never realized wasn't linking to the "Terms and Conditions" until now. When you click on the "Thread" link at the top of the "View Single Post" page you are taken to the "ff" which couldn't be contained in a single post.

 

[Carolinian]

More Festiva slime - from the Nassau Tribune

http://www.tribune242.com/sports/01192010_Complain_business_Page1-2

 

[Sou13]

Split weeks at Southcape Resort

Today I found a publication dated "Summer 1983" which addresses float week reservations and split weeks at Southcape Resort, a practice which has been in place for more than a quarter of a century. I will email anyone a copy of this publication upon request.

 

[carl2591]

SO i guess FestivaRep has flown the coop.. ?? have not seen a post since aug 09 or so..

hard to defend these guys all the time i guess.. oh well "another one bites the dust" as the song goes..

 

[ecwinch]

In this post, she outlines that she will not be posting anymore.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=776993&postcount=1052

I would agree that the track record for industry reps participating on TUG is dismal.

 

[carl2591]

thanks.. seem like i missed that part..

i guess the kitchen got to hot for her to handle or the boss decided too much company laundry had been drug through the light and it was better to keep it in hiding..

they come on here thinking we are the same smucks they are sellling to everyday and will have there way...

guess NOT..

 

[FestivaRep]

While it’s true that I’ve stopped being active on this forum, it’s not because of any of the reasons listed by Carl2591.

Actually, I do periodically catch up on reading the postings here, as do several of our executives, but there are so many opinions constantly providing misinformation that we’ve found it best to resolve issues with individuals who will contact us directly so that we have clear communication.

Once again, we invite any Festiva owner or FAC member on this forum to contact us directly at comments@festiva.travel to begin a productive conversation that will resolve your issue or to schedule a visit to meet with us personally at our headquarters in Asheville.