Marriott Aruba Ocean Club Owners Being Ripped Off By Marriott - READ IF AN OWNER

[marksue]

To all Marriott Ocean Club owners. I am not sure if you are aware but you are about to be hit with 2 assessments that could be $1,000 for each of the next 2 years. The reason is Marriott has to completely replace the roof and some of the supports due to poor construction.

How many of you realize that the building was bought by Marriott after it was partially completed? Of course you were never told that. Did you ever wonder why when ever it rained the building flooded? It seems there were problems to the roof from day one and Marriott ignored the problems until they could get the owners to pay a portion of the repairs. Marriott is requiring the Owners to pay a major portion of the repairs. So therefore the roof repair and regular refurbishing projects will costs us additional funds over our already high maintenance.

I have been in touch with the board and have gotten the details of what is taking place. A board member said to me if you find a lawyer who would like to take on a class action suit there would be many people who would be willing to be part of the suit.

I have been in touch with Marriott but they have refused to give me a satisfactory response except to agree to what I have mentioned here.

If you are unhappy about this you should contact customer care. Maybe if enough people speak up Marriott will do the right thing.

Let me know if you are interested in pursuing a class action suit against Marriott.



Mark

 

[lovearuba]

Somewhat interested

Hi Mark
I would be interested if Allen Cohen the president of the owners association endorses this action. I trust that he is looking out for our best interest. I would love to see a class action suit related to the unfair way sales people market the timeshares and fail to disclose all of the rules of the program. They only provide the positive side of the transactions and I am not naive but what they fail to disclose is an intentional omission. I think the issue related to Marriott's unfair business practices are much broader than just the roof at the ocean club. A class action suit to address all of the unfair practices would get a lot more attention and I'm sure there wouldnt be a problem getting folks to sign up. My thoughts.

 

[marksue]

Marriott Ocean Club Owners Being Ripped Off By Marriott - IF YOU ARE AN OWNER READ

I actually spoke with Alan and he is the one that suggested getting people togehter and trying to find an attorney to start a class action. I spent a great deal of time talking with him as well as calls into Marriott. The roof and infrastructure is a major issue as the cost is in the multiple of millions to repair and it should all be covered by Marriott as the roof did not last as long as we were told it would. I do not believe many people understand what this is going to cost them.

I am certainly open to your thoughts as well and if you know others that want to be part of a suit I have a contact that knows class action lawyers and I could speak with them.

 

[dioxide45]

What would a class action really do? If Marriott was to loose a class action suit, those costs would just be passed on to owners and Marriott customers. The cost and fees that the attorneys take will eat up much of the return. Other than gratification of winning, you will still have to pay for the repairs. The customer pays all costs that Marriott incures.

 

[cp73]

Aruba or Maui?

Is this Maui or Aruba your referring to? MOC??

 

[thinze3]

Is this Maui or Aruba your referring to? MOC??

I was just wondering the same thing, although I assumed he meant Aruba Ocean Club as OP appears to own Aruba Surf Club as well. Hmmm?


Terry

 

[thinze3]

What would a class action really do? If Marriott was to loose a class action suit, those costs would just be passed on to owners and Marriott customers. The cost and fees that the attorneys take will eat up much of the return. Other than gratification of winning, you will still have to pay for the repairs. The customer pays all costs that Marriott incures.

I think it is the OP's intent to have MVCI pay for the roof which was known to be defective before many of the units were sold.


Terry

 

[marksue]

That is exactly right. MVCI should be paying for the roof and structural repairs and not pass those costs on to the owners. If they were to lose the suit they would not be able to pass those costs on to the owners. If they had done the apporpriate due dilligence when they bought the building then the roof would have been repiared prior to completion of the building.

 

[lovearuba]

sign me up

Sign me up Mark. I'l send you a private message with my email. I also disagree that marriott would pass those fees for the lawsuit along to us. There can be stipulations in the settlement that require Marriott to pay the attorney fees and not to pass certain costs along to the owners. I do think there is merit to a larger lawsuit and I do think attorneys will be interested in it.

 

[Zac495]

I'm interested too. Let me know. 2000 in 2 years? Yikes!

 

[dioxide45]

That is exactly right. MVCI should be paying for the roof and structural repairs and not pass those costs on to the owners. If they were to lose the suit they would not be able to pass those costs on to the owners. If they had done the apporpriate due dilligence when they bought the building then the roof would have been repiared prior to completion of the building.

The point I was trying to make was that while they may not directly pass those costs on to owners as a SA, those costs will and have to get passed on too all Marriott customers, and it's owners are also customers.

 

[rthib]

Companies don't pay lawsuites (or taxes either)

dioxide45 is right.
Besides making alot of money for some lawyers, all the lawsuit will do is raise the cost of Marriott Time Share maintenance for everyone.
Companies just pass along any costs to their customers. Those include lawsuit settlements and increases taxes.
Since Marriott gets a fee for managing the properties it will just raise the fee to cover the costs.

Class action lawsuits are rarely a monetary gain for anyone but the lawyers.

 

[qlaval]

The special assessment is for the ten year refurbishment not for redoing the roof...!?!

As for the roof:
"The original building, when purchased by Marriott Vacation Club® International was a concrete structure with an existing roof.
The original roof manufacturer is no longer in business so the original warranty is null and void.
The roof must be replaced to protect the integrity of the building structure as well as the overall health of the building.
The main roof is 14 years old this year. The Association, however, has only realized 10 years of the actual useful life of the roof.
Marriott Vacation Club is paying the prorated cost of any years of life that the Association has not utilized.
The roof repair is estimated to be $1.6 million of which Marriott Vacation Club will be responsible for 43% of the cost.
The expected cost of the assessment to fund the roof replacement through the common area Reserve Fund will be approximately $90.00 per individual Owner."

 

[JimC]

You may want to have your HOA open discussions with Marriott to attempt a negotiated resolution. You might seek legal counsel simultaneously to better understand what legal remedies, if any, exist.

If you want to engage legal counsel, then do your homework to find law firms that have knowledge of the timeshare industry and a demonstrated record of getting meaningful results for clients. Interview them. Ask about your legal rights and options to resolve the issue.

Litigation is expensive and time consuming. If you seek litigation, make very sure you understand what that means in time and cost. Ask about their retention agreements.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Another downside of litigation is that it could give this particular resort a black eye thereby potentially affecting it's market value (negative publicity).

 

[Steve A]

Qlaval's contribution clearly explains the roof issue.

I see no problem and certainly no need for litigation. The current HOA has been extraordinarily vigilant in protecting owner's interests and I highly commend them.

 

[marksue]

Sorry for the delay for further postings. I want to let everyone know I will be posting additional information over the next week or so. After being at the general meeting and hearing how the owners are being ripped off with over 30% increase for the maintenance and the assessment I am having further conversations regarding the class action suit.

A key question will be disclosure; did Marriott disclose to the attorney generals of all 50 states and numerous countries the status of the building they were purchasing? How many of you bought knowing that Marriott was building over a poorly constructed shell, that is now going to cost the owners million of dollars to repair? Included in this is the cost to owners to repair the damage to the ocean front rooms which were damaged by Omar. I have heard over 200k do to the fact that Marriott did not properly maintain the building (more details to follow).

Also speaking with owners who attended the meeting a majority have decided it is time to sell their units.

Please stay tuned there will be more information posted as I put together all the info I have gathered from the meeting.

If you know other owners please share this with them and let’s start accumulating contact information. I will be speaking to an attorney shortly and will post more data from him as well.

 

[lovearuba]

I am still interested

Hi
I also spoke with Allan on this and got the impression he wanted to try to work it out with Marriott first. If you email him he will respond and he will call you if you want to chat. I did let him know if it ends up as a lawsuit he had my support. Remember to sign up for the newsletter so Allan can keep you up to date.

He was reluctant to post info on this website because it is monitored by Marriott and I imagine some of the positive input about Marriott is self reported. To sign up for the newsletter go to

www.arubaoceanclub.com

 

[marksue]

After attending the meeting and listening to the Marriott representative, I think his name was Dirk, it is quite obvious that things have not worked out in favor of the owners. There were lots of questions concerning the poor condition of the building and why hasn't Marriott stepped up over the years to maintain the building and fix the problems. Dirk's basic response was, and I am paraphrasing, this is wear and tear on the building and not a real issue. Oh was it wear and tear that the roof only can support 20 lbs of pressure or that in some cases there was an inch of caulking or that the building was not built to be waterproof. Come on Dirk lets get real and stop thinking we are all dummies.

Listening to some of the board members speak and you realize they are Marriott mouth pieces, even thought they are supposed to represent us the owners. Listening to the women speak about the finances was a joke, all she talked about was Marriott does this for the other timeshare property which she is president. No one in that room cared about her other property we cared about the Ocean Club.

As an example and I haven’t put all my notes together yet, a question was asked regarding the roof issue, if this was a problem on day 1 why is it the owners have to pay about 60% of the costs, why doesn’t Marriott step up and pay for the entire thing. THe response from the board is Marriott is giving us 1.7 million for the renovation. So instead of paying for the entire roof as they really are, they are putting the money else where. Ask yourself why not just say you are paying for the roof and stop the issue all together. It is because if they paid for the roof they then admitted that they did not do the proper due diligence when the building was built and they would then have been responsible for all the other damage that owners are paying for over the years.

For me I bought because I trusted the Marriott name. I know when they build something it is quality. I no longer trust or have faith in Marriott based on their deception during the sales process and not being honest about the building.

Like I said there will be a great more about this meeting posted in the near future, but I do not believe that Marriott is acting fairly with the board and we the owners need to band together to ensure we get fair treatment. The board is not going to fight for us the way we need them to. They will be bullied by Marriott, if the owner speak up, we will be treated fairly. If i felt we were being treated fairly I would not be spending my vacation time doing this.

Too bad you are not down here right now and listening to the anger in the pools as people talk about the Ocean Club. Potential buyers are coming up to us and asking if they should buy in the Surf Club as they hear what is being said. I know a few that decided not to buy based on what is going on with the Ocean Club and what it is now costing the owners. Just so you know the maintenance of the 1 bedrooms is almost the same price as a 2 bedroom in the Surf Club. And you thin Marriott is being fair, I don’t and neither do a lot of others. That is why we will probably need to take this to court.

 

[lovearuba]

we need more owner feedback

I would love to see more owner feedback and if there is an email for us to contact people at Marriott I will send them some input.

I am sorry your vacation is being hurt by this, was there any mention of Marriott trying to let Surf club folks use ocean club beach, that would make me sell. Its the one advantage the ocean club has.

 

[marksue]

When there is beach space at the Ocean Club there is a charge for Surf club members to use it. THere is a no sharing policy between the units.

The point here is to start getting the owners to get involved. There is what i consider more disturbing news which will be posted here once 1 put all the info togehter concerning how Marriott is trying to control the Ocean Club board.

When i get back i would be glad to speak directly with you.

 

[AOC Board]

Notice to Ocean Club Owners

Dear Fellow Aruba Ocean Club Owner:

The Board of Directors is writing you to address a very serious rumor that has recently appeared over the internet. This untrue rumor concerns ongoing issues at the Ocean Club and the Board’s relationship with our management company – Marriott International.

It has been almost 10 years since the Ocean Club opened. As with any high use resort facility located in the hot, humid Caribbean climate, the facility is starting to show signs of its age. As a result, the need for maintenance and repairs has increased over the past several years. While the Board has been faced with a number of challenges related to the aging facility, we have been primarily focused on the replacement of the existing roof. As many of you know all to well, we experience leaks in many parts of the resort during heavy tropical rains. The roof replacement is needed to prevent water intrusion in and damage to the building. We are pleased to report that the roof replacement is on schedule and should be complete in early December. The Board also recognizes and thanks Marriott for contributing its fair share to the necessary repairs.

The Board has been working hand in hand with Marriott to resolve these and other related challenges. In the past year, the relationship between the Board and Marriott has grown stronger because of a renewed sense of cooperation, mutual understanding and improved communications.

The false rumor found on some websites alleges that the relationship between the Board and Marriott has deteriorated to the point that the Board has suggested that owners consider pursuing a class action lawsuit against Marriott.

The Board categorically denies making any such inference. The Board is working collaboratively with our on-site management team and with Marriott. With the arrival of Corey Guest, our own dedicated General Manger, the Board has never been more confident in the staff’s ability to provide the owners the very best vacation experience possible while at the same time, effectively and efficiently managing our property.

The hard work is not yet done… especially with the challenges brought on by hurricane Omar. However, the Board and Marriott are moving forward together to meet those challenges with a sense of mutual respect and cooperation.

 

[lovearuba]

AOC Board

To AOC Board

Post your name and your relationship to Marriott

 

[lll1929]

There is a 30% increase in Maint Fees this year? Did they disclose the new amounts? If so, can you post this information. I was prepared for the assessments for the next 2 years, but not for this drastic of an increase in Maint fees.

 

[marksue]

It is nice to see the AOC board posting here. What you posted is on the AOC website and was mentioned in the meeting as well. No one wants a lawsuit, but how else can we the owners be treated fairly unless we step up and let our voices be heard. It is obvious to me that the owner’s best interests are not being taken in to account. I do believe the fiduciary duties of a board are to protect the owners, then please step up and protect the owners. I know the board has tried to get results, but Marriott is not supporting the owners and it appears to me telling the board to do it their way. It is great that the board did get 43% of the costs of the roof and about 1.6 million of other concessions but that is just a drop of the bucket in terms of the overall costs to the owners. WHy is it Marriott refuses to admit that the roof was defective? Is it because thentehy would know they are responsible for all the following damage? In the meeting the board said they are still talking to Marriott, but at this time and listening to the Marriott representatives speak I doubt we the owners will be satisfied.


Let's get an accounting of all the costs of repairs, owners have had to pay for, since the AOC opened, due to the poor construction. I have observed the leaking since I purchased in 1999. Let Marriott then reimburse us for all those costs and I would bet we would be saving a tremendous amount of money. Why is it 120 rooms are out of service due to Omar and the owners are paying for the damage? The surf club lost a couple of rooms and that building was built by Marriott. Seems to me we have not had proper maintanece on the Ocean Club building.

The increase in maintenance for a 2 bedroom in the surf club has gone up a reasonable amount from 1098 to around 1250, I don’t have the exact numbers. Why should a 1 bedroom in the Ocean club go from 886 to 1198 and then the assessment on top of that? That is a 35% increase. Then the assessment is on top of that 540 for year 1 and 421 for year 2, for a 1 bedroom.

The 2 bedrooms are going from 1172 to 1616 and the assessment is 774 for year 1 and slightly less for year 2.

I can certainly appreciate some of the increase but this is outrageous.

Everything I have posted here is public information that Allan, Steve, Michele all spoke about at the meeting.

I would love to stop these posts and be able to post Marriott has done right by us, but that will not happen until an equitable solution is reached. Come on Marriott step up and do the right thing. Right now you have so many upset people that the Marriott reputation is taking a major hit.