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

[qlaval]

Here the latest BDO communication:

Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club
Frequently Asked Questions

In recent weeks, there have been a number of questions posed to the Board of Directors by Owners. Below, you’ll find answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Question: Is Allan Cohen, the previous President of the Association, still serving on the Association Board?

Answer: Allan Cohen continues to serve on the Association Board. Owners elect the Board of Directors, and each person serves a three-year term for a maximum of two terms. The Board elects its officers at the annual meeting each year. Mr. Cohen is in the final year of his second term.

During the January 2008 Board of Directors Meeting, the Board developed a succession plan to ensure a seamless transition from Mr. Cohen’s long and distinguished service to a new administration. The plan called for a new president to be elected in 2008 so that Mr. Cohen would have the opportunity in his last few months on the Board to mentor the new President. Mr. Frank Knox, Senior Vice President of BB&T Bank in Charlotte, N.C., was elected by the Board at its annual meeting to succeed Mr. Cohen per the agreed-upon succession plan.

Question: Why are roof and other repairs needed at Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club? Was the building defective?

Answer: The building and the roof are not structurally defective. A partially completed building was acquired by Marriott in 1995, reconfigured as a Marriott Vacation Club® property and subsequently opened as Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club in 1999. The original roof is now 14 years old and needs repairs beyond normal maintenance because of the extreme Aruban sun and wind.

Rather than simply repair the existing roof, the Board decided to replace the entire roof using state-of-the-art technology. The Board independently hired structural and environmental experts to ensure that the new roof was properly designed and installed and to confirm that there was no structural or other long-term damage. Our consultants have confirmed to the Board’s satisfaction that there is no structural damage and that the roof’s structure is sound.

Marriott Vacation Club is paying 48% of the cost to replace the roof, which is their share of the cost from the time they acquired the property. Original caulking around windows and doors has also deteriorated over time due to the Aruban sun and wind. As a result, the entire building will be resealed next year, a process that will include re-caulking all windows and doors and repainting the exterior with a waterproof paint and sealer. A Reserve Plan forecast estimated that the exterior building refurbishment was to be completed in 2010 but has been moved up, to late 2009 in order to maintain the integrity of the building’s waterproofing.

Question: Does the Board represent Owners or does it represent Marriott Vacation Club?

Answer: The current make up of the Board includes four multiple-week Owner members and one Marriott representative. The decisions the Board makes affects these multiple-week Owner

Board members the same as other Owners. The Board has and continues to perform its due diligence representing Owners.

Last year, the Board retained a corporate attorney to review all of the Aruba Ocean Club documents, including the management agreement with Marriott, and to advise the Board on its legal options to protect the interests of the Owners. The documents that govern the Association and its relationship with Marriott are legally binding.

As a result, the Board agreed that it is in the long-term best interests of the Owners and the Association to build a positive relationship with Marriott rather than continue the adversarial relationship that had developed over the past several years. During the past six months, Marriott has been working collaboratively with the Board to address a number of important issues and as a result, has made financial concessions approaching $2 million that otherwise would be the responsibility of the Owners. Having the Marriott name associated with the Aruba Ocean Club adds immeasurable value to our property and is what distinguishes Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club from other timeshares in Aruba selling for 1/3rd the value for comparable villas.

Question: Why are we getting such a big increase in annual maintenance fees, approved by the Board?

Answer: There are a number of specific reasons necessitating the increase in annual maintenance fees. The specifics have been detailed in a letter to Owners with the Annual Maintenance Fee invoices. Please see the abbreviated list of reasons below.

• Because of its age, Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club is becoming more expensive to maintain. The new roof and resealing of the building next year will help to keep future increases to a minimum.
  
• The costs of utilities, taxes and other fees in Aruba have dramatically increased during the past year and were not anticipated. Through our conservation initiatives, the Ocean Club reduced overall electricity consumption by 5% this past year, but the cost of electricity increased 42%.
  
• The cost of labor on the island has increased more than 10%.
  
• To provide better service to our Owners and more independence from Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, the Board approved the addition of several new staff positions this past year, including the new General Manager and Finance Director, which has further increased labor costs.
  
• The recent hurricane caused significant damage to the property and the cost of repairs is not covered by insurance.
  
• We have increased the amount of funds retained in the Reserve Account that will pay for future capital improvements and repairs, in order to avoid the need for future assessments.

Question: What are our assurances that maintenance fees won’t continue to escalate each year?

Answer: The Board establishes an annual maintenance fee based on forecast expenses for the coming year. With the rising cost of labor and utilities along with several unplanned emergency expenses in 2008, the Board had no choice but to increase the maintenance fees for 2009 to cover
anticipated costs.

The Board will go through the same process to set the maintenance fees for 2010. If in the coming months, utilities become less expensive and the cost of labor, shipping, taxes, etc. are less than expected, then the maintenance fee will be reduced. Hopefully, we will not see the extreme swings in expenses that we saw this past year and will be able to reduce next year’s maintenance fee below 2009 levels.

Question: Why is an assessment needed at this time, what will it accomplish and why are we paying for it?

Answer: The upcoming assessment has nothing to do with the cost of day-to-day operations or repair and maintenance of the property. The assessment will fund a complete renovation of the property. This is needed because the Ocean Club is approaching its 10-year anniversary, and with one of the highest occupancy rates of all the Marriott Vacation Club resorts, it is showing signs of age.

Unfortunately, over the past few years, the replacement costs for goods (i.e., furniture, televisions, appliances) has escalated from a 35% premium over domestic product cost to now over 69% premium. Our maintenance fee reserve contribution has not escalated as quickly as these costs have increased. The cost escalation along with the reduced useful life of some assets resulted in a shortfall of reserve funds needed to fully pay for the planned 10-year renovation cost.

If in prior years the Board had better anticipated the cost of the renovation we all would have been paying higher maintenance fees and there would not have been the need for an assessment.

The assessment, along with the current reserve fund, will completely cover the costs to renovate the Lobby, hallways and all villas and will pay to have the exterior of the building resealed, including new caulking on the inside and outside of all windows and doors. In addition to new furniture, all bathrooms in the villas will be updated with new shower enclosures and new double sink vanities with granite countertops. The kitchens will have all new appliances that are more durable than existing appliances, and all kitchen cabinets will be refaced with new wood fronts. Each villa will also include a desk, wireless Internet and new flat-screen, high-definition televisions.

Question: Why do we even need a renovation or at a minimum, why can’t it be put off for 2-3 years?

Answer: The Ocean Club is approaching its 10 year anniversary and it has one of the highest occupancy rates of all Marriott Vacation Clubs and as a result, is showing its age. Furniture is scratched and tattered and appliances are failing and being replaced on a piecemeal basis which is not cost effective. Owner feedback tells us that while our owners love coming to Aruba, the condition of the rooms detracts from their overall experience. The condition of the rooms and furniture continues to receive the lowest ratings in our owner satisfaction surveys and ratings continue to drop even lower. A sample of owner feedback from the first two weeks of December 2008 makes it clear that our resort is in desperate need of a top to bottom renovation. Here are a few excerpts from our Owners survey:

1. “My family and I were extremely disappointed in our room. The microwave did not work properly; the bathrooms were old and the shower stalls need to be replaced.”
   
2. “I thought everything outside my room was great, lots of activities for the kids, well maintained pool and beach area, friendly service at the pool bar, but the room experience was extremely disappointing.”
   
3. “This property is TIRED. The appliances need to be upgraded. The furnishings need to be upgraded. The linens need to be upgraded. The cookware needs to be upgraded. We're paying a lot of money to be in a less than ideal surrounding. Are we Marriott or Motel Six?”
   
4. “The Ocean Club is overdue for a makeover. It is starting to look shabby and we are concerned.”

Due to the current economic conditions, vendors and contractors have lowered their prices and we need to take advantage of this before the market rebounds. We estimate that if we delay the renovation for one year, it could add at least $750,000 to the cost of the project.

We need new furniture to replace broken or damaged furniture and our appliances are rapidly failing. While the staff has done a great job trying to repair appliances, we are spending more and more money each year from our annual maintenance budget to purchase new appliances. This is not cost effective. In addition, as part of the 2009 renovation, the building façade, all exterior windows and doors must be completely resealed to prevent water damage to the villas and common areas. The resealing will also include the windows inside the villas. If we proceed with this ad hoc approach crews will be in the villas stripping and replacing old caulking for the better part of a day making a mess and disrupting our guests. Resealing the building and interior windows as part of the 10 year refurbishment will be more efficient and will not in anyway disrupt our Owners.

Question: Wasn’t Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club renovated just 5 years ago? Why do we need another renovation now?

Answer: In 2004, curtains and carpets were replaced, couches and chairs were recovered and granite countertops were added to the kitchens. In 2006, all bedding was replaced with new mattresses and the same sheets and pillows that are used in all Marriott resorts and hotels. There has been no other renovation to the resort. The villas were not repainted, furniture and appliances were not replaced and nothing was done to the lobby or hallways. Now after 10 years of very hard use, the lobby, hallways and villas need to be repainted, 10 year old furniture and appliances need to be replaced and cramped bathrooms and leaky shower enclosures must be updated. The upcoming renovation will not replace the mattresses or bedding which were recently added in 2006.

The hospitality industry standard for hotels and resorts such as Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club is to replace “soft goods” (carpet, curtains and fabric) every five years and to do a total replacement (appliances, cabinets & furniture) and upgrade after ten years. A 94% occupancy rate coupled with the extreme Caribbean climate makes the renovation necessary.

 

[qlaval]

... 2/2

Question: Why is the renovation costing so much?

Answer: A standard 10 year renovation that Marriott recommends for a property of this size can average between $9m and $10m. When the Board reviewed Marriott’s recommended scope of
work, nothing was planned for the master bathrooms. Owner feedback continues to tell us that our bathrooms are small, have little storage space and are outdated. In addition, the shower enclosures leak and create a growing maintenance problem for our staff. As a result, the Board directed that the master bathrooms be completely renovated to include new shower tile and enclosures. We also added a granite-top vanity with a double sink and additional storage space to the master bathroom. All of which contributes to the higher than planned costs.

Question: How do we know that there will not be another assessment in a few years?

Answer: As previously mentioned, in prior years, insufficient annual maintenance fees were placed in the reserve account to fully fund planned renovations and unprogrammed maintenance and repair issues such as replacing all pool pumps and filters. The Board recently created a Finance Committee headed by one of our Board members along with several owner volunteers experienced in finance to help carefully plan and manage our reserve account now and into the future. This committee will be setting formal, written guidelines to prevent the need for future assessments.

Question: Owners used to be able to contact the former President about issues and concerns and he would respond directly back to them with an answer. Owners are now being asked to send their questions to a general email address for the Board instead of directly to the President of the Association. Why the change?

Answer: Until 6 months ago, there was a single General Manager responsible for both the Ocean Club and the Surf Club. Because the Surf Club was new and because of its size, Ocean Club issues took a back seat to Surf Club issues. As a result, the AOC President stepped into to fill the void by not having our own General Manager. Now that we have our own dedicated General Manager, we have an opportunity to improve the way we respond to owners’ questions.

The vast majority of issues raised by owners are operational in nature and are clearly within the purview of the General Manager to correct, often on the spot. To improve communications and to speed up the response time, our new General Manager has asked that all owner communications come to him directly. Funneling routine, operational issues through the Board only slowed the response to the owners in the past.

One of the Board’s goals is to ensure open and responsive communications with owners. In the past, owners have communicated directly to an individual’s personal email. To ensure consistency and continuity, we have created a single email address for the Board... aocbod@vacationclub.com which will remain the same regardless of who is on the Board. By creating this permanent address, the General Manager will now see owner’s emails at the same time the Board does and can take immediate action without waiting for the Board to forward the email to him for action. This new procedure will get questions answered and problems resolved much more quickly than in the past.


Board of Directors
Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club

 

[lovearuba]

Where did the letter come from

Hi
Did you receive the letter from the board or was it posted somewhere? I did not receive one so I'm curious as to who it was sent to. It does attempt to answer many of the questions we asked although there is a lot of skepticism on some of the answers. I am glad they at least acknowledge the fact that we the owners have been asking many of these questions. Thanks for posting.

 

[Eric]

Here's another opinion you won't want to hear. Stop fighting the fight on TUG. If I were considering purchasing Ocean Club, there is not way I would follow through with all this termoil. Keep the owners informed behind the scenes until this issue is resolved one way or another. Right now you have helped to make your resort fairly useless on the open market.

I know your answer will be BUT BUT BUT.... I hope you have a better plan behind the scenes because on the surface, you spend the whole time ripping up every comment the HOA makes. Thats great but it's not helping your cause.

 

[vincenzi]

I Received the Letter Also

Hi
Did you receive the letter from the board or was it posted somewhere? I did not receive one so I'm curious as to who it was sent to. It does attempt to answer many of the questions we asked although there is a lot of skepticism on some of the answers. I am glad they at least acknowledge the fact that we the owners have been asking many of these questions. Thanks for posting.

Yesterday, I received two e-mails. One was sent directly from the Board. Marriott Owner Services sent another stating I could down load the letter from the Board.

Previously, I sent a letter to the Board stating my concerns about the exorbitant maintenance fees and assessment. So, I assume that is why the Board sent the e-mail to me directly.

 

[FlyerBobcat]

... you spend the whole time ripping up every comment the HOA makes. Thats great but it's not helping your cause.

I've continued to follow this thread with a good deal of interest, and I understand that Mark and the owners have a number of legitimate gripes. But I have to agree -- to some degree -- with this comment from Eric...

 

[thinze3]

...When did Marriott's % rise to 48%, when as of a couple of weeks ago I was told by David Babich it was 43% or was the 48% a misprint. Congrats if you got them to pay 5% more, but they still owe us another 52%....

Mark, as an outsider who has been reading this thread, I have to ask one simple question. Marriott is paying for half of your new roof already. Why is it that you feel owners at AOC should not pay a single penny for 14 years use of a roof. I would expect that if the Marriott resorts I own get 14 years of use out of a roof, then I should be responsible for much of if not all of that cost. Yes, if a "30 year" roof were installed and we only got 14 years, then maybe someone should be responsible for the other half, but NOT all of it.

IMHO - Terry

P.S.
I do commend you for all your work and do think that maybe you should run for a BOD position in the future. BOD's need people with the kind of energy you have to offer.

 

[tlwmkw]

Why do you say this is half true?

They do seem to be attempting to respond to your questions and have some reasonable sounding answers. Isn't that what you have been asking them to do? Are you so angry that you are unwilling to listen to what they say when they do respond? The letter seems to spell things out pretty clearly and give good reasons why there are such dramatic increases. You may have more of a gripe with the board that they didn't fund properly for future expenses. I agree with Eric that you shouldn't destroy the reputation of your TS here on TUG- otherwise you will have a worthless unit and Marriott may decide to give up on you and leave you high and dry.

 

[Eric]

The reason why the roof issue at 100% will never fly is they did get over 10 years of usage out of it. Basically Marriott wouldn't have to pay anything under normal circumstances so paying 1/2 for a fairly old roof to me is not a bad compromise. Say what you want, I don't care who is running the HOA, expecting Marriott to pay more is unrealistic and certainly not worth running the resorts reputation over.

They do seem to be attempting to respond to your questions and have some reasonable sounding answers. Isn't that what you have been asking them to do? Are you so angry that you are unwilling to listen to what they say when they do respond? The letter seems to spell things out pretty clearly and give good reasons why there are such dramatic increases. You may have more of a gripe with the board that they didn't fund properly for future expenses. I agree with Eric that you shouldn't destroy the reputation of your TS here on TUG- otherwise you will have a worthless unit and Marriott may decide to give up on you and leave you high and dry.

 

[lovearuba]

Marriotts response

Hi
I dont think Marriott would have responded if this thread was not used. I also would not have been able to get owner support to send the letter they are now responding to. I think everyone would agree that Marriott should consider sitting down with a small group of owners to openly address the concerns we have. That could be done in a mutually respectful way if the ground rules are established first. So my challenge to Marriott is to set up a meeting where a small group are allowed to discuss those concerns and hopefully work to mutually close out our concerns.

 

[Luckybee]

just read the FAQ's you sent you. I have to tell you I am quite disappointed in what I would consider half truths and lack of answers to the questions we have been asking.

1) You do not address completely why Allan was forced out prior to the owners meeting yet left him there to lead the meeting. While the board is the same the attitude of the board is not. Having Allan as president there was a great deal of transparency and he was wore than willing to speak with owners. Frank, you refuse to speak with owners. Why did you take on the president role if you did not want to deal with owners and represent the owners. We do not need Corey answering emails we need our board to answer the hard questions without going to Marriott for answers.

2) You have yet to explain how in January you the board said the building was defective, yet now you say it was not defective. The lack of openness and truth about the building is impacting your ability to have the support of the owners. Can you explain why we have had leaks in the building since the doors opened? Can you explain why the windows have leaked since inception?

When did Marriott's % rise to 48%, when as of a couple of weeks ago I was told by David Babich it was 43% or was the 48% a misprint. Congrats if you got them to pay 5% more, but they still owe us another 52%.

3) How can you say the board represents the owners when we hear nothing from the board when we send emails. All we hear is from Corey, who has to go to Marriott for answers. Decisions are being made which are not necessarily in the best interests given the state of the economy.

Why are you spending 5 million more, as I heard from David Babich, then Marriott suggested for the renovation.

You say you want to build a positive relationship with Marriott. What about doing what is best for the owners. I believe Marriott corporate is a good organization, but MVCI is not looking out for owners. Seems to me wanting to build a positive relationship means giving in to what they want, therefore not holding them responsible. If Allan fighting for the owners was not a positive relationship, good for him, at least we felt we had someone fighting for us. Why has MVCI purposely kept MI out of this issue.

4) Tell us why Marriott has not paid there fair share for space utilized in the Ocean club. Why has Marriott not reimbursed us for the damage caused by the leaks due to a defective roof and waterproofing. The damage by the storm was due to poor waterproofing of the building why isn't Marriott reimbursing us for that.

If Marriott paid us our rightful dues, then we wouldn't have the large increase or special assessments you are now piling on to us owners..

Why not leave it up to the owners to decide if they want to have the renovation now or delay it due to economic conditions. Oh i forgot you don't care about the owners. If doing the work now would save 750k, why has the assessment not gone down. Seems like there is double dipping somewhere.


This whole issue could be put to rest if we could get MI to talk with the owners. Also if this board really wants to increase transparency then make board meetings open to all owners if they are in Aruba or not. Want transparency, talk to us not using Marriott and their puppets to speak for you. There is no confidence in this board. In fact I believe it is a 3 person board, Steve, Frank and Melissa. Why do I say that? When i received this email today I called Allan and asked him about it and he had no idea what I was talking about. I asked if he read my email to the board and he told me he did not have access to the board email account. Why is that Frank? What are you afraid of, that he may tell us the truth.

I believe this board needs to look inside and if they can not represent the owners as they are supposed to, then please resign and let us put it board members that will fight for the owners. This FAQ has not addressed the owners questions. We want real answers not MVCI answers.

I think that it is wonderful that as a result of some of Mark"s (and others)hard work the "board" is beginning to answer some of the tough questions. This is exactly what I think the owners want to see. That said I personally believe that the questions still being raised by Mark need to be answered. This could however be a start. What still concerns me , alot I might add, is that if Mark is correct, and Allen was not informed of this prior to the sending of same, is why that happened.
Leaving aside the roof and renovations for the moment, my biggest concern in this from the beginning is why some on the board seem to be confused about whose interests they are there to represent. When you take the board member who without question has been the most pro owner member, and play back door games to remove his authority the only one who benefits from that is Marriott, certainly not the owners. The fact that that seems to be continuing still worries me a great deal.

 

[Luckybee]

Here's another opinion you won't want to hear. Stop fighting the fight on TUG. If I were considering purchasing Ocean Club, there is not way I would follow through with all this termoil. Keep the owners informed behind the scenes until this issue is resolved one way or another. Right now you have helped to make your resort fairly useless on the open market.

I know your answer will be BUT BUT BUT.... I hope you have a better plan behind the scenes because on the surface, you spend the whole time ripping up every comment the HOA makes. Thats great but it's not helping your cause.

No "But, But , But" from me...I simply disagree. Had Mark not brought this forward on Tug and elsewhere, many more owners (and potential owners)would still be in the dark and this much would not have been accomplished. It is for exactly the reasons that you point out that the board and Marriott are "starting" to respond to owners concerns.

 

[bish60]

bish60

I am a relatively new AOC owner (and new to this site) and have been busy reading everyone's feedback regarding the increased maintence fees for 2009. I agree that these fees do indeed seem VERY accessive. You can surf the web and actually get cheaper Aruba vacations for what we will be paying in 2009 to own. BUT .... what are we to do, not pay them ?!?!? I understand everyone's frustration, but it seems we really don't have much of a choice.

As for the BOD issues, you can only hope that the people elected to the board (who are also owners) will do whatever they can to keep the best interests of the owners in the forefront.

I see that there are some very passionate people adding their feedback of these issues to this site. I will continue to visit on a daily basis and include my thoughts and as necessary.

 

[Eric]

I don't agree. Thats what you have a voted in HOA for. If I own Microsoft stock and didn't like the way Bill Gates was running the company, could I expect him to talk to me about it ? Again, thats not realistic and now how things happen in the real world. You have an HOA and can attend any open board meeting to address concerns.

Hi
I dont think Marriott would have responded if this thread was not used. I also would not have been able to get owner support to send the letter they are now responding to. I think everyone would agree that Marriott should consider sitting down with a small group of owners to openly address the concerns we have. That could be done in a mutually respectful way if the ground rules are established first. So my challenge to Marriott is to set up a meeting where a small group are allowed to discuss those concerns and hopefully work to mutually close out our concerns.

 

[Eric]

No offense but the only thing accomplished so far is pissed off owners and a bad reputation for the resort. What you are able to accomplish down the road, remains to be seen.

No "But, But , But" from me...I simply disagree. Had Mark not brought this forward on Tug and elsewhere, many more owners (and potential owners)would still be in the dark and this much would not have been accomplished. It is for exactly the reasons that you point out that the board and Marriott are "starting" to respond to owners concerns.

 

[Eric]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[qlaval]

...Leaving aside the roof and renovations for the moment, my biggest concern in this from the beginning is why some on the board seem to be confused about whose interests they are there to represent. When you take the board member who without question has been the most pro owner member, and play back door games to remove his authority the only one who benefits from that is Marriott, certainly not the owners. The fact that that seems to be continuing still worries me a great deal.

DITTO here.

...the Board developed a succession plan to ensure a seamless transition from Mr. Cohen’s... The plan called for a new president to be elected in 2008 so that Mr. Cohen would have the opportunity in his last few months on the Board to mentor the new President. Mr. Frank Knox, Senior Vice President of BB&T Bank in Charlotte, N.C., was elected by the Board at its annual meeting to succeed Mr. Cohen per the agreed-upon succession plan.

The Plan that was developed is called a "putsch".
The President should have been elected by the owners NOT the Board...

 

[timeos2]

Take the most effective approach

DITTO here.

...the Board developed a succession plan to ensure a seamless transition from Mr. Cohen’s... The plan called for a new president to be elected in 2008 so that Mr. Cohen would have the opportunity in his last few months on the Board to mentor the new President. Mr. Frank Knox, Senior Vice President of BB&T Bank in Charlotte, N.C., was elected by the Board at its annual meeting to succeed Mr. Cohen per the agreed-upon succession plan.

The Plan that was developed is called a "putsch".
The President should have been elected by the owners NOT the Board...

The owners do not get to directly elect the Board officers. That is an internal function of the Board itself. The owners get to vote for who those Board members are. This focus on who is the President (or any other Board position) is also misplaced as the spot is largely ceremonial and technical. Each Board member has exactly the same vote power as any other. Some just get to sign Board approved documents or letters to the owners.

As for the recent letter from the Board posted above I have to agree they make a good case and seem to give full answers. It appears some owners aren't going to accept any answer if it isn't what they want to hear. Thats OK but it doesn't make for a strong legal argument should it come to that.

Mark SHOULD run for the Board as it sounds like the term of the ex-President ends next year. The most effective way to get heard and to present your thoughts and ideas is to be on the Board. Far more effective than threatening to sue.

As for airing the dirty laundry in public here on TUG while I see a small potential downside overall, given the situation an owner trying to rally others to his/her cause faces, it is one of the few ways they can really reach out. I doubt it would have any long term effect on the value / desirability of the resort or ownership there as a relatively small group will see this and even fewer will remember or care. I wish every resort would post tons of information here or on their websites as informed owners/buyers/guests are the best.

 

[ecwinch]

My issue and the issue witht he hundreds of owners I ahve been speaking is the lack of transparency from the board. We just got a letter from the board that is onece again Marriott dictating what should be said. The information from that letter will be posted sometime today, with a response to the board.

I do not get it. You ask for transparency, that the board provides a detailed response to almost every question you raised on this forum. And you continue to rail on about this being a MCVI provided response.

Again while you may not like the response as it does not fit in with your perception of reality, you have to recognize that they have responded to your request for transparency from the board. And they are your elected BOD.

And it really hurts the merits of your position, when you constantly rant and rave about the MCVI conspiracy. For instance, letting Allan continue to run the meeting in which a new president was selected.

You have raised a number of questions. They have responded. Do not marginalize your efforts and the positive contributions you have made by nitpicking their response and continuing with the conspiracy theories.

 

[ecwinch]

Here's another opinion you won't want to hear. Stop fighting the fight on TUG. I

While I do agree with most of what you have to say, we disagree here. I applaud MarkSue for having this discussion out in the open, and responding to the "devil's advocate" type questions a number of us raised.

I have learned a lot about how HOA's operate from the discussions here. If this had occurred behind the scenes, I would have missed that opportunity and been the poorer for it.

And, if I was a prospective owner, I would rather be fully informed. Purchasing at OC, and then discovering this information post-purchase, might be lead to some terrifying moments.

 

[Luckybee]

I do not get it. You ask for transparency, that the board provides a detailed response to almost every question you raised on this forum. And you continue to rail on about this being a MCVI provided response.

Again while you may not like the response as it does not fit in with your perception of reality, you have to recognize that they have responded to your request for transparency from the board. And they are your elected BOD.

And it really hurts the merits of your position, when you constantly rant and rave about the MCVI conspiracy. For instance, letting Allan continue to run the meeting in which a new president was selected.

You have raised a number of questions. They have responded. Do not marginalize your efforts and the positive contributions you have made by nitpicking their response and continuing with the conspiracy theories.

I think I just entered the twilight zone...this isnt some bizarre conspiracy theory. There is without question some very questionable things that happened here. Are the people responding in this manner being so naive not to accept this ? This isnt Mark's "perception " of reality it is reality. Because of previous edited out comments I wont refer to the specific unscrupulous things that did happen but they werent anyone's "perception" .

 

[ecwinch]

I agree that there are some BOD decisions that have been made that raise questions. And a number of those have been responded to. You may not agree with the decisions, but you seemingly view every response through the prism that MCVI is influencing the BOD to make decisions that benefit MCVI and not owners. It really is the whole tone of the dialog. From the "removal" of President, motives behind the change in board strategy, accusing Eric of being a Marriott employee, etc.

I mean just in the post above:

Post # 423 - "Why has MVCI purposely kept MI out of this issue"
Post # 423 - "Want transparency, talk to us not using Marriott and their puppets to speak for you."
Post # 423 - "I asked if he read my email to the board and he told me he did not have access to the board email account. Why is that Frank? What are you afraid of, that he may tell us the truth."

And that is just one post, having gone through this thread since the beginning, there are numerous other examples.

 

[marksue]

Transparency

I am reposting this to show you a little that is going on behind the scenes. This is an email from an owner who was dialed into the board call last Friday. Allan who has supported the owners for years and been open to us is now ignored by the board. Once again he was looking out for owners.

He wanted to give us the option to decide to delay the renovation, but no, the board would not even second his motion. Why not let the owners decide? When he went to support a board memebr who looked at charging rentors a feww, once she got his support, she no longer would support it, becuase Marriott said no. Once again who dictates what the board does, owners or Marriott.



As concerned owners at the Marriott Ocean Club, I wanted to provide you
with information on what transpired at the Board meeting this past
Friday. Based on that meeting, all owner concerns about this Board seem
well justified as they seem to have little interest in hearing from
Ocean Club owners regarding any of the issues and they are moving "full
steam " ahead despite the significant economic problems that many people
are facing and outstanding isues about possible Marriott liability for
some of the roof and other structural conditions at the Ocean Club.

I happened to attend the Board meeting merely by chance as it seemed to
be a well kept secret by the Board, On Thursday, December 18 I was at
the front desk at the Ocean Club in Aruba when I noticed a small tent
card partially hidden at the end of the desk noting the Board meeting
for Tuesday, December 17 at 3PM. Upon inquiry of OceanClub management, I
learned that it was actually sceduled for 4PM on Friday, December 19 and
was later told it was really at 3PM. One would think that notice of a
Board meeting would be prominently and accurately displayed to owners.

The meeting was attended in person by a number of Ocean Club Marriott
staff including Corey Guest, the General Manager of AOC, some of his
staff including the CFO, the General Manager of the Marriott Resort on
Aruba (Ocean Club, Surf Club and hotel) and by telephone a number of
MVCI representatives and the AOC Board. All of the Board members phoned
in to the meeting which was chaired by Frank Knox, the newly installed
President, who finally surfaced although apparently does not like to
respond to owner Emails.

Most of the Board meeting discussion focused on the planned
refurbishments and renovations with Board member, Steve Richards
discussing how he had been able to cut some of the proposed renovations,
saving around a million dollars, before he added some back in to the
mix. It was noted that a potential problem with having assessments paid
in two years rather than all at once was that there would not be
sufficient money to pay for it all and costs could increase.
Apparently, Marriott will be helping in bridging this concern but the
discussion was not totally clear on the specifics. Projected
expenditures for renovations for 2009 are 13 million and for 2010 1.2 to
1.3 million.

Allan Cohen, former President of the AOC owner's Association, spoke of
the need for some renovations but noted that considering the sizable
increase in maintenance and reserve fees as well as the continuing
significant economic problems that most are feeling, the Board should
poll the owners on whether they support all of these
renovations/assessments at the present time. Allan made a motion to
this effect and since no one else spoke up, I asked to be heard. Knox,
referring to me as Mr. Berg, initially sought to disallow my comments,
but when I reminded him of my right as an owner which was confirmed by
Corey Guest's reading of the owner documents, he relented telling me I
had "2 minutes". Reminding Knox that I was Mr. Berkowitz and not Mr.
Berg(he seemed to have a "Mr. Berg" on his mind,) I reiterated Allan's
concerns and also noted that both Marriott and this Board had
credibility problems with owners as a result of their handling of the
roof and other structural issues and the lack of Board responses to
owner Emails and concerns. I further noted that the significant
increases in maintenance and reserve fees together with the planned
assessments could adversely effect many owners considering the
troublesome economic conditions worldwide and, therefore, it was very
important that on this issue the Board be transparent and submit this
matter to the owners for a vote. Led by Frank Knox, the Board voted
against this motion, with no one even offering a second. No one spoke up
or expressed any concern for the owners other than Allan and myself.

Another issue raised by Board member, Melissa Pericolosi, was to have
non owners e.g. renters or those who "trade in" pay a utility surcharge.
Utility costs were projected to rise significantly under the recently
approved budget for Aruba. Marriott spoke against this motion arguing
that it would violate its agreement with Interval International. Allan
Cohen asked that Board legal counsel review whether there were any
issues to prevent such a surcharge and again led by Knox, there was no
support for such a referral to legal counsel. Even Pericolosi, who first
raised it had no interest in pursuing a further legal evaluation.

Prior to adjourning the meeting, Board member Richards said that in the
interest of fair balance (I guess to my earlier comments of concern), he
needed to note that he had heard from owners about the need for
renovations. After the meeting Corey Guest mentioned to me that he
passes on to Richard any owner comments on conditions of the villas on a
regular basis and that was what he was referring to in his comments.

Happy to address any questions and I have no problem with these comments
being shared with any concerned owners. Regards, Ken

 

[marksue]

In response to some of the items brought up on here. First let me say, I respect what others have to say. I do have a great deal of energy around this and some people may not like my response because I come on strong. As I have said previously, there is a lot of info I have that I am not revealing here. I am also not alone in this effort. People smarter than me, including lawyers, Drs, and many concerned owners who are behind this effort and each doing their part. I thank them for their support.

We as owners only have threads like Tug to voice our opinions and get other owners behind us. I literally have hundreds of emails from owners who are outraged by the events that have occurred.

There is no resale value today for the Ocean Club. Why would you buy a unit at the Ocean club when you can pay almost the same price and save 500 in MF from the surf club?

Yes the letter says this was a planned switching of power. I can not reveal how I know but I do. Allan was forced out as president. He was forced out the day prior to the owners meeting; he was caught completely off guard. You could see how uncomfortable he was presenting to the owners. Frank wasn't even at the meeting. Allan also had to let Marriott answer most of the questions.

Yes the board attempted to answer questions, but they have not given us answers to what we were asking ie: Why in the papers for a lawsuit they said the building was defective, but now they don't. I and others want to know why the discrepancy.

Why was a board member not aware of this document, why is a board member not given access to the email sent to the board’s mailbox. Tells you that if you support the owners you are blocked and your opinion does not matter.

Why has the board refused to share with owners the engineers report on the roof and building? There is a lot of info they do not want us to know.

I can not address everything, but i think this highlights the lack of transparency.

As for the board, Marriott has the right to determine who can be nominated to the board. Why should Marriott have that right? Let who ever wants to run, run, and if the owners want that person, then Marriott should not have a say as to who is on the board.

There are many more issues that have not yet addressed but asked by many owners. These are difficult questions around the finance deals Marriott put in place that is keeping revenue from the OCean Club owners.

One other point, Melissa is President of her Marriott timeshare development in Florida. I believe there is a conflict of interest being on this board as well.

So that is why you see me pan the responses by the board. They are not answering the hard questions.

Mark

 

[london]

Most Posts & Disbanding From Marriott

This thread has the most posts that I have seen on the BBS.

As I recall some Marriott timeshares in Colorado could not agree with Marriott management on issues.

Those resorts elected to become non Marriott brand timeshares.

The board of directors represent the owners and should be looking out for the best interests of all owners.

The saga will continue for years to come.