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

[marksue]

Similiar to the agenda I saw lol

 

[Sunbum]

Start a new thread

The Ritz should probably under a new thread. Alot of interested people will not see it here. IMHO.

 

[Luckybee]

I think you are right - that was probably the whole purpose for his visit. His agenda probably read:

10:00 Arrive on MVCI funded jet
10:00-11:00 Review plans to keep Ocean Club defects secret
11:00-12:00 Coach Ocean Club BOD on what to say
12:00-2:00 Lunch w/ Aruba politicos to grease the wheels
2:00-3:00 Discuss plans to take advantage of Surf Club and future timeshare owners
3:00-3:30 Token visit to Aruba Resort as coverup
3:30-4:00 Drinks at Champions Sports bar
4:00 Depart

It is the attention to detail that sets the great businessmen apart.

- Just trying to add some balance.

Funny As much as I think you may have been writing tongue in cheek Im not sure that some of this is far from the truth, particularily the 12:00-2:00 pm part. It has been pretty much taken as a given by Aruban residents that that is exactly what did go on with the Marriott when most(if not all ) island development laws were either broken, changed or amended to give Marriott everything they asked for much to the detriment of the island, that however is another issue altogether.
The sad thing is that whatever his agenda we'd never know. The board would likely vote to keep that a secret too

 

[Eric]

Way to sound informed. A law was amended to accommodate the island, what a shocker. Marriott is the #1 job resource on the Island and tourism is what Aruba does. Stop drinking the koolaid and maybe things will be a little clearer.

Funny As much as I think you may have been writing tongue in cheek Im not sure that some of this is far from the truth, particularily the 12:00-2:00 pm part. It has been pretty much taken as a given by Aruban residents that that is exactly what did go on with the Marriott when most(if not all ) island development laws were either broken, changed or amended to give Marriott everything they asked for much to the detriment of the island, that however is another issue altogether.
The sad thing is that whatever his agenda we'd never know. The board would likely vote to keep that a secret too

 

[Luckybee]

Way to sound informed. A law was amended to accommodate the island, what a shocker. Marriott is the #1 job resource on the Island and tourism is what Aruba does. Stop drinking the koolaid and maybe things will be a little clearer.

Now this is funny, and shows truly how uniformed YOU are. Do you know anything about Aruba at all? I ask because if you did you would realize how silly your comments are. I am not going to derail this thread by lowering myself to your level and debate something that isnt open for debate. Let me simply say that perhaps you should inform yourself about Aruba better, the history of Marriott in Aruba, the needs and wishes of Aruban residents and then perhaps you might have something intelligent to add to the conversation....till then

 

[ecwinch]

Now this is funny, and shows truly how uniformed YOU are. Do you know anything about Aruba at all? I ask because if you did you would realize how silly your comments are. I am not going to derail this thread by lowering myself to your level and debate something that isnt open for debate. Let me simply say that perhaps you should inform yourself about Aruba better, the history of Marriott in Aruba, the needs and wishes of Aruban residents and then perhaps you might have something intelligent to add to the conversation....till then

You will not lower yourself to that level, but your not above insulting him.

 

[Eric]

I must have missed the part where you actually said something useful.

Now this is funny, and shows truly how uniformed YOU are. Do you know anything about Aruba at all? I ask because if you did you would realize how silly your comments are. I am not going to derail this thread by lowering myself to your level and debate something that isnt open for debate. Let me simply say that perhaps you should inform yourself about Aruba better, the history of Marriott in Aruba, the needs and wishes of Aruban residents and then perhaps you might have something intelligent to add to the conversation....till then

 

[DeniseM]

This thread is very close to being closed - please debate the issues and keep personal comments out of it.

 

[lovearuba]

DeniseM

Hi Denise
I think this post is extremely beneficial to us timeshare owners that have a place at the ocean club. I also think it serves other owners as a way of seeing what is coming their way. We are close to having enough signatures to get a special meeting and as a member of tug I am disappointed that you would consider closing the post rather than blocking the offenders from posting. I am hoping that is an option and I really do appreciate the effort it takes to monitor this site. Its one of the better sites and this post cleary is effective.

 

[DeniseM]

Hi Denise
I think this post is extremely beneficial to us timeshare owners that have a place at the ocean club. I also think it serves other owners as a way of seeing what is coming their way. We are close to having enough signatures to get a special meeting and as a member of tug I am disappointed that you would consider closing the post rather than blocking the offenders from posting. I am hoping that is an option and I really do appreciate the effort it takes to monitor this site. Its one of the better sites and this post cleary is effective.

I agree completely. Hopefully, the other participants will see the importance of this thread and behave in a civil manner.

 

[marksue]

I agree with Lovearuba. We are close if not there to call a special meeting. i am getting all the lists from the folks who ahve been in Aruba signing up additional owners. It is interesting that Dirk did call a meeting with owners the same time Mr Marriott was at the Hotel. You do have to wonder.

How many people ahve heard back from the board since they have submitted thier applications for the board?

 

[marksue]

Board nominees

Well the board members have gone thru thier"weeding out" process. Seems that 45 people applied to be on the board. They only spoke to 7 of the 45 and then chose the 4 they would allow run for the board. I know people who were more than qualified but yet never got a call from the board.

THen to add insult to injury the GM Corey, a Marriott employee, sends an email to all who were not selected, with a form letter saying they weren't chosen. Why couldn't Melissa and Steve (the nomination committee) do the right thing and send the letters out themselves. This is why we need to change the existing board through a special meeting.

It was really low that 1) they did not really consider everyone (could it be they already had thier choices made up prior to getting nomination forms), 2) take the upper road and personally send out the emails telling those who took the time to fill out the application and provided other relevant data, which was asked of them.

 

[timeos2]

100% Wrong. Raises big red flags

Well the board members have gone thru thier"weeding out" process. Seems that 45 people applied to be on the board. They only spoke to 7 of the 45 and then chose the 4 they would allow run for the board. I know people who were more than qualified but yet never got a call from the board.

THen to add insult to injury the GM Corey, a Marriott employee, sends an email to all who were not selected, with a form letter saying they weren't chosen. Why couldn't Melissa and Steve (the nomination committee) do the right thing and send the letters out themselves. This is why we need to change the existing board through a special meeting.

It was really low that 1) they did not really consider everyone (could it be they already had thier choices made up prior to getting nomination forms), 2) take the upper road and personally send out the emails telling those who took the time to fill out the application and provided other relevant data, which was asked of them.

This speaks volumes and none of them good. Why would/should the current Board "review" or approve candidates? An owner is an owner, therefore is automatically qualified to run/serve and it should be up to the voters (owners) who the top candidates are. They should see the resumes/candidate statements for ALL and let the votes decide the outcome. This really smacks of incestuous selection and, unfortunately, something to hide. Those who have followed this near record setting thread (maybe it is the record, I don't know) know that I have not been particularly supportive of MarkSue views. But in this case it is right on - this stinks!

If there wasn't a reason for a special meeting / recall before there certainly is now. Good luck to all.

 

[ecwinch]

This speaks volumes and none of them good. Why would/should the current Board "review" or approve candidates? An owner is an owner, therefore is automatically qualified to run/serve and it should be up to the voters (owners) who the top candidates are. They should see the resumes/candidate statements for ALL and let the votes decide the outcome. This really smacks of incestuous selection and, unfortunately, something to hide. Those who have followed this near record setting thread (maybe it is the record, I don't know) know that I have not been particularly supportive of MarkSue views. But in this case it is right on - this stinks!

If there wasn't a reason for a special meeting / recall before there certainly is now. Good luck to all.

Do you really think that a ballot with 45 candidates on it would be meaningful? I agree that process needs improvement - 4 candidates is too few - but clearly having a ballot with 45 candidates on it would be unworkable. Assuming 1/4 of page for each candidates resume and a very short statement, you would be looking at a 10 page ballot.

But I do think there has to be a better way.

 

[tlwmkw]

Try to get e-mail addresses for the few candidates that were selected and find out which of them has views similar to yours. Then you can let others who are voting the same way know and you should have quite a block of votes. It does seem odd that they vet the candidates and only let you pick from the favored few. Sounds like voting in a communist regime. Forty five candidates would be a lot to wade through, but it would make sense to have it a little more open.

 

[timeos2]

Who says they are good or bad candidates?

Do you really think that a ballot with 45 candidates on it would be meaningful? I agree that process needs improvement - 4 candidates is too few - but clearly having a ballot with 45 candidates on it would be unworkable. Assuming 1/4 of page for each candidates resume and a very short statement, you would be looking at a 10 page ballot.

But I do think there has to be a better way.

Sure it is unlikely a ballot of 45 will result in a new Board (the vote would be split over too many candidates) but why would the current Board be allowed/qualified to decide who is worthy to run and who isn't? If the resorts docs say an owner can run then they can. Period. If it allows for a run-off or selection process (I doubt it does) then that would be the rule to follow.

We have had as many as 26 candidates for 2 seats at resorts I own. Somehow the voters (owners) were able to sort it out and have a majority vote for 2. That is the only fair, above board way to handle it IMO.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Out-In-The-Open Nomination Process.

Last year, in response to a call for nominations for candidates to serve on a (non-Marriott) Florida timeshare HOA-BOD, I nominated myself according to the procedures set forth.

(I lost, but that's another story.)

I devoted some care & attention to writing up my platform & my statement of qualifications.

I would have been mightily steamed if, after I took the trouble to respond to the call, my self-nomination got filtered out via some unknown behind-the-scenes screening process that candidates had not known about in advance.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[SueDonJ]

I'd want to know a lot more about the process for selecting a BOD, both throughout the Marriott system and as applicable to a certain resort, before I'd be willing to say that the system in place at Aruba Ocean Club is wrong or not.

Previously in this thread I questioned how it all worked and at that time was told by marksue that the Nominating Committee based their candidate decisions on the simple application. That answer surprised me; it didn't make sense at all that more information wouldn't be necessary. Now here he says that the folks who did apply "...fill[ed] out the application and provided other relevant data."

What is the "other relevant data", and how does it impact the selection process? Is it personal/privacy-law-protected information that a candidate would not want disclosed, or a Nominating Committee legally cannot disclose, to the entire ownership base? If so, wouldn't that make it difficult to open every applicant to the voting process?

I don't know. I guess I just keep going back to the Nominating Committee, as members of the BOD, are voted in by the owners who do bear some responsibility for determining prior to purchase if the practices of the BOD are suspect. What about the bylaws? Is the BOD election process stipulated in them? If so, what "injury" has occurred to force a legal separation from the bylaws?

I also don't know how anyone can form an opinion about what is right and wrong here, without knowing the answers to all of the questions.

 

[lovearuba]

No Trust

It is clear that the owners have lost trust in the board and anything that comes from them is suspect. I get emails from the board, read them and treat them like the rest of my junk mail.

 

[iamnotshopgirl]

Most proxy statements I see have the ability to write in the name of someone "write-in candidate" on the proxy vote form. I do not know if OC does this. But say they do can't you Tuggers (I am not going to single out anyone) get together and run your own candidate? At least you would have a good shot of getting one who represents your thinking/views on the board.

bob

 

[ecwinch]

The dissidents here only represent a small, small fraction of the membership.

 

[iamnotshopgirl]

The dissidents here only represent a small, small fraction of the membership.

Well Eric it looks like MarkSue and others who have voiced their opinion on this thread have some networking to do. But I am sure with the hard work already done your "small, small fraction of the membership" can easily be changed to the "vast majority of the membership". It may take just some extra effort on their part but I am sure all would be up to the challenge.

bob

 

[lovearuba]

Let them never forget

Part of the reason for keeping this thread active is to inform Ocean club owners, and if our efforts reach just one person its worth it. I've seen many folks start off reading these threads with skepticism. Their first take is that people were just whining, eventually the folks that owned at the ocean club started to really listen to what was being said. Eventually, most of them changed their minds based on factual information that they received. No one wants to admit that their favorite hotel chain would intentionally deceive them but no one would ever believe that the stock market would drop as far as it did. The glass is no longer half full. The reality is that we are being taken advantage of. We have a right to notify other time share owners and to help other would be time share newbies of what their future may hold. I wish I knew what I know now.

 

[ecwinch]

Well Eric it looks like MarkSue and others who have voiced their opinion on this thread have some networking to do. But I am sure with the hard work already done your "small, small fraction of the membership" can easily be changed to the "vast majority of the membership". It may take just some extra effort on their part but I am sure all would be up to the challenge.

bob

I think the group here has done a great job of staying the course and withstanding the slings and barbs of the critics. Kudos to Marksue, LoveAruba, and LuckyBee. Likewise to the efforts of the former BOD president.

I just wonder if they figured out what will happen if they win. Thats the law of unattended consequences.

Is a future without Marriott management a good thing for the Ocean Club?

 

[Mr. Bill]

The Self-licking Ice Cream Cone Board Election Process

So you've had enough and you submit an application with the following:

As a multiple-week owner for many years, I feel like I am returning home when I get to the Ocean Club with its white sandy beaches. Over the last few years, I have noticed that maintenance appears to be slipping and I am shocked that my maintenance fees are increasing so significantly. I have also noticed that the staff is not as accommodating as they used to be. I think we owe it to ourselves to get back on the positive side of this equation and relationship. I do not want a negative perception attached to my Aruba property. I enjoy finding new problems to solve, and new challenges to overcome. As an elected board member, I would serve to reach an end product that will benefit all owners in a positive manner and not alienate Marriott. Working together we can have our slice of paradise on One Happy Island.

Then you get a thanks but no thanks lame rejection from Big Brother.

Then you send a response that reads something like this:

The procedure, process, practice... call it what you will of the Nominating Committee and the Board is a moving target with too many loose ends. This Board is not representative of the owners. There should be strict bylaws and they should be followed, not changed on a whim. When do the owners get a chance to participate and have a say about their investment? Between A Members, B Members, Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the like, I think it is time to use some common sense. If need be, please share my request with the Board: Please either have my information placed on the ballot - OR - please make arrangements for the Marriott Vacation Club of Aruba Cooperative Association Board of Directors to purchase back my Shares at the fair market value. Enough is enough. Again, these are the only two solutions that will be of satisfaction to me. I await your timely response.

Then you sit and wait and wait and wait... :zzz: