Amanda, Saver Express, other stuff for C&C members
The count of C&C contract holders I am in communication with is now 40! Some members are just finding these TUG posts for the first time only now. That implies that many more will yet hopefully find these TUG posts, and we will thus get to be a bigger group yet.
I caution members to be careful of how much personal and contract identification data one provides in posts on-line in this forum, as it is a public forum. Two of the C&C members I am in contact with are planning to create a web-site with a user-id and password protected private section for C&C members only. We will have to determine which applicants for membership on this web site are truly members and not imposters. Thus things like contract # and contact information and unit size etc might be criteria to help us do that. If it is already public knowledge, then that information is not reliable.
Now for the good news. It is becoming more and more likley that DNG will be honoring the core element of the C&C residence club membership, that being use of the Castles and Condos resort by the membership during a registered week, and also m-weeks if available. What else we get is what will take time to find out. Some minor proof that DNG is serious about honoring the contracts is that we know that some C&C members who already had reservations for 2009 already were put up in alternative accomodations in PV this year, and that DNG continues to work towards being in contact with all members and listening to their concerns and hoping to put C&C accomodation in place for registered weeks and continue to sell more timeshare weeks at C&C (DNG says through Amanda LaRosee that there is plenty of space available still, though in my opinion this is yet to be proven, but this is what Amanda says "Let me assure you that there is more than a sufficient amount of inventory available. The resort is far from full.").
Amanda LaRosee has sent emails to some of you already. If you have asked a question recently through Keith Thomson of Saver Express, through Resorts Advantage, or through castlesandcondospv at gmail.com to Sylvia or Mae, your questions has probably now been routed to Amanda. Amanda has been very recently hired by DNG to be the "new head of member services for DNG Capial Corp" and will handle the C&C customer relations for DNG. I am not sure whether Sylvia and Mae at DNG are assigned to her, or will go back to doing other work for DNG, but my guess is probably the latter (from Amanda, "Mae and Silvia are still here - they have other responsibilities and are not able to keep up with member correspondence"). In another email to me, Amanda also gave her role as "your new Member Service Representative", not mentioning being head of Member Services, so likely this is a one person member services department, but time will tell, perhaps Sylvia helping out when Amanda is away or needs extra support?
We expect DNG to issue a formal email to all C&C residence club members this week, likely first half of the week, regarding Amanda and regarding Saver Express also, either in separate releases or in a single email. There is a good chance other C&C members will beat me to the punch of announcing this letter has gone out and will have posted it's contents.
When that letter is posted has having been issued, if you are a C&C member and do not receive that email within 24 hours, I strongly recommend you contact Amanda as soon as possible. She is likely answering any email to castelsandcondospv at gmail.com, or will be providing her specific gmail address to each of us.
Amanda has noted "Resorts Advantage will remain as your Reservations and Accounting Contact", but I believe for reservations this will only apply once the C&C resort is ready for timeshare use. Use of M-weeks not at C&C will be done via Saver Express, likely through their web site via accounts C&C members may be provided with (re quote from Amanda "when you are enrolled you will be able to " (book a reservation at another resort is implied from context). Use of M-weeks at C&C is likely to be very limited, probably mostly during low season, since your contracts say "subject to availability", an escape clause really.
One comment I find confusing from Amanda is "DNG Capital Corp and Mr. Thomson are continuously working on a solution for reservations which is why Resort Advantage is not taking reservations at this time and those requesting were being directed to Mr. Thomson so he could explain this". Yet Amanda also states that reservations will be done by Resorts Advantage. So I expect that, as I noted above, reservations will be done through Resorts Advantage if you want to stay at C&C, and m-weeks not used at C&C will be booked through Saver Express. Since Keith Thomson of Saver Express has indicated to me that likely each C&C member will get "unlimited use" of Saver Express (and thus for unlimited weeks I would assume) then it really does not matter how many m-weeks you have for use if you use them outside of C&C, and in fact will be independent of whether you use an m-week at C&C - I doubt that will reduce the number of weeks you have to use through Saver Express, since there is no guarantee as to the maximimum price you will pay for a week booked through Saver Express (but an m-week at C&C has a maximum price - your registered week price).
I believe there are concerns for some members that were planning to mostly rent their registered weeks or even pay for and rent also m-weeks, or were planning on booking and exchanging registered weeks or m-weeks. I suspect if you wanted to rent an m-week at C&C, that you could try and book an m-week there, likely low season, and could then rent it out privately, as your contract does allow it. Will you be able to book a registered week or M-week at C&C and then exchange it? How? Perhaps through an Interval Exchange membership, but I don't think we will see that as part of the package offered to us, and that C&C will not be a member resort of Interval Exchange? But I am only speculating, and I hope I am wrong. I will expect Amanda will need to clarify this, but that it will not come out from the first email blast to members that DNG will do.
We will be asked to sign new contracts. From Amanda, "New contracts will indeed need to be signed by all members and DNG Capital Corp is busy with this process as we speek." When we see the new contracts we will know then how much we are losing in expected other non-core privileges outside of the use of a registered week and m-weeks, and each will have to decide whether to sign the new contract or argue for a better deal with DNG or through legal recourse. Or perhaps DNG would offer refunds, but I doubt it, but time will tell.
Regarding extra privileges like golf and driver service and II membership and yacht club and "platinum preferred membership", Amanda had this reply to me: "If M Dreams/Hotels paid enrollment fees to an outside company for additional services such as golf, yacht, and/or exchange affiliation then members would be entitled to those services." ... "The 'M' weeks will be available to use subject to availability. I am not sure what services will be provided to members staying at the resort at this time. I will update you as I find out."
I speculate almost with certainty that most likely M Dreams did not pay yet any enrollment fees to an outside company for additional services in the case of almost all contracts, and so likely it will just be up to DNG and Saver Express as to "what services will be provided to members staying at the resort", and I mention Saver Express because they will be selling any new memberships (there will be new memberships, as that is why Saver Express is involved).
However, I do note that the golf privileges are referred to in the core contract in at least my case, in the "addendum", as are free use of any gym or spa facilities there (but will there be any facilities? - Keith thinks so), and tennis courts if any (but there are none).
The other concern I would have for the new contracts is whether they will have wording that keeps them perpetual. The contract in its internal rules and regulations pages states the contract is in perpetuity. One of the big selling points of the contract is that one could pass them on to one's children and the new contract holders would have the same booking privileges. But the contract also states that "internal rules and regulations" can be amended from time to time by the residence provider where necessary.
That's all for now. I will continue to pose specific questions to Amanda and others from time to time as I have done so already that resulted in some of the answers mentioned above.
In my opinion, the developer DNG was aware of the privileges being offered by the company contracted to do its sales, or should have been through due dilligence, as it (DNG) was in communication (via Donald Busby and his representatives) with the sales company (via Fraser Smith and Daniel Mamann), and that this could be proven. It could also likley be proven that the provider, though now DNG Capital Corp, and previously Castles and Condos SA de PV, were essentially controlled by the same person and existed for the same purpose and thus have the same obligations. Thus in my opinion DNG Capital Corp should be obligated to provide its members with the privileges the sales company offered, as I am certain that DNG was aware of what privileges were being offered (ie II membership, Platinum Preferred Membership, etc). Whether we get that, time will tell.
Joe Faubert
