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

[marksue]

No one is looking to dump Marriott. As stated over and over, we want the board to look out for owner’s interests and not buckle in to all Marriott demands. Many of the changes that have occurred over the last couple of months is due to the pressure put on by the owners.

Marriott works for the owners of the OC, we pay them for a service. They need us as much as we need them, but owners need a better deal. We also need hoensty from Marriott and the board and many of us do not feel we are getting that.

Marriott has voting shares to they also have x number of weeks that are in their inventory to rent. It is in their interests and ours to have a relationship that is not 1 sided as it is today. Can you imagine an independent company between the hotel and Surf Club. Marriott would not want that and neither do the owner of the OC.

 

[ecwinch]

MarkSue - I have a tremendous amount of respect for what you have accomplished so far. And certainly nothing happens without trying.

But the "one-sided deal" you are complaining about is the MVCI model for timeshare ownership. If they change that model for the OC, then they have to be prepared to do so for every resort they manage. That presents a significant change to their business, and for some of the items you mentioned a significant decrease in their bottom line. It clearly would be a good thing for owners, but clearly is not in MVCI self-interest.

Given the cost of making those changes, I think they would suffer the challenge of having a non Marriott property between the SC and the resort hotel complex in a heartbeat. Not exactly the same, but Steamside provides a hint of what MVCI is willing to endure.

Keep swinging for the fences. The physical location of OC does afford you some leverage, but be sure you do not overplay your hand.

 

[marksue]

Eric,

All along I have propsed that Marriott sit down and discuss the situation with a group of owners. We are not looking to make it a one sided deal, but right now we feel it is 1 sided the other way. I do believe there is a happy median given we have the right people representing the owners. There is so little confidence in the existing board and the up coming election that no matter what happens the trust will not return. We need some new players who the owners feel confident will balance the needs of the owners with Marriott's needs. But once again Marriott works for the OC owners we pay them a fee and they should not dictate what we can and can not do.

I do believe with the right people we can come up with a deal that works for both parties.

 

[OCsun]

OCsun,

Are you an owner at the OC? I assume that you are by you screen name but was just curious. I only ask because I was wondering what owners had thought of the e-mail that was posted above and you were the only one who really has addressed that. It does seem that whether owners like it or not the expenses of doing business in Aruba are high and I don't know how the board (or Marriott, or anyone) can lower those prices. As I said you can delay or stop the renovation but I would imagine many owners would be upset by that too. It's a very difficult situation and I think one that all Marriott owners are watching with interest to see how it resolves.

tlwmkw

tlwmkw,
Yes, I am an owner at the Marriott Ocean Club. My screen name, however, has nothing to do with the Ocean Club. The letters, "OC", are used by people from Maryland when referring to Ocean City, MD. My husband and I own a vacation home there and spend most of our summer, "down the ocean - hon"!

 

[AwayWeGo]

The Sound Of The Eastern Shore.

"down the ocean - hon"

Or, as you're apt to hear it over on the Maryland side . . .

. . . Down The Ay-shen.

(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

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

 

[OCsun]

Or, as you're apt to hear it over on the Maryland side . . .

. . . Down The Ay-shen.

(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

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

You got it!

 

[luckydude]

Good Intent Wrong Approach

I am an owner next door at the Surf Club and I have casually followed this thread since it started because of my concern of the possible impact it could have on the Surf Club. I have also followed this thread because I wanted to see how Marriott treats it's owners.

I understand some of the concerns of the disgruntled owners however I don't agree with how they are going about trying to bring about change. I also feel that the method that they are using is like playing with fire, you might get burned really bad. Marriott is a very large, well financed company with a huge legal staff and there is going to be a limit of how much pushing around they are going to take. Since I don't have any skin in the game I don't feel that I have a right to take sides so I wont. I am not questioning your cause however I am questioning your methods of trying to bring about the change you desire. As a multiple week owner of Marriott timeshares I would be very upset if members of my resort were putting Marriott's affiliation at my resort at risk.

My question is this, why are you going outside of the normal chanels of protocol and trying to impose your wishes on Marriott and the other owners at your resort? When voting members are unhappy with the performance of an elected board and their performance thay have the right to vote those members off. They also have the opportunity to run for the board themselves or to find other willing parties to run for the board. This tried and true method has been used successfully for a very long time. Plus this method doesn't put unwanted change in jeoporady like the overthrow the board and threaten Marriott methods that I have been reading about here.

To me the best method of achieving the goals of these owners would be to work within the system to reach their goals for change. If you are unsuccessful then you are free to sell your week(s) and move on to a resort or resort system that better meets your needs. Even though I am not one of them I am concerned for those owners that bought into the Marriott system and the Ocean Club and don't want to loose that, but might because of the methods of change that I have been reading about here.

 

[ecwinch]

All along I have propsed that Marriott sit down and discuss the situation with a group of owners.

I understand what you say you want. But I think what you really want is completely different.

Marriott has sat down with a group of owners - your BOD. I understand you have no faith in them, but they are your duly elected BOD. What you really want is for them to sit down with a group of owners that share your views on the events to date, and who will advance the claims you have made.

However, if Marriott agreed to meet with splinter owner groups individually, they would be circumventing the BOD. Which would set a precedence, and they would then need to be willing to do so for every splinter group at every resort. Next up will be PerryM's beer pong group.

And dovetailing into luckydude's comments, it would be best to work within the system. Send a owner petition to the BOD requesting that a special committee be formed to meet with Marriott on specific issues regarding the construction process.

But once again Marriott works for the OC owners we pay them a fee and they should not dictate what we can and can not do.

As I have said before, I think this is incredibly naive. You seem to indicate that if your resort decided to become clothing optional, MVCI should allow it, since they work for you. Likewise if you wanted to sub-let some space to a strip club, or to Wyndham for a sales center, or any other of a multitude of actions you might take that would run counter to their interests. You seem to want to completely ignore that it is Marriott's name on the door.

 

[lovearuba]

ridiculous

Some of the comments on what folks suggest Marksue is interested in are ridiculous. People have tried numerous attempts to get the issues addressed in numerous ways. It is not unreasonable to call a special vote and have a new election to put in place some owners that will represent the owners.

The thing that bothered me the most in all of this was the removal of the President of the board because he was looking out for the owners. There is no excuse for that.

 

[marksue]

THis will be short and sweet. We have tried going through the proper channels and the board has refused to communicate with the owners. No one who disagrees with the board has any chance to be elected to the board since the board choses who can run for the board. Calling a special meeting to remove the current board will allow ALL owners to vote if they want to remove the board or not.

Since the board will not support any of our efforts or be willing to meet with owners, or allow owners who are not in Aruba to attend a board meeting and speak, or open some key decisions to an owner vote for approval is why a new approach has to be taken.

Almost 20% of the sold units has signed up.

 

[ecwinch]

Calling a special meeting to remove the current board will allow ALL owners to vote if they want to remove the board or not.

Almost 20% of the sold units has signed up.

Congratulations. So the special meeting is eminent

In the interest of those owners who might want to try this at their resort, can you walk us through how this process will work.

1. Send request for special meeting to OC BOD.
2. BOD verifies 10% of owned units are requesting the special meeting, and schedules meeting.
3. Meeting is held?
4. ???

Do you have to publish notification of the agenda prior to the meeting?
What can be voted on at the special meeting? Only items on that agenda?
Do the by-laws allow you to recall the BOD at that meeting?
How will the members who do not attend participate?
Do quorum rules apply?

 

[luckydude]

Marksue why don't you put up a candidate or candidates that agree with your position and get the 20% of owners that you mentioned to vote for them. You should win easily with these numbers. The board has to open up the opportunity to those who wish to run. I would choose people that haven't signed any petitions or been vocal on this board as your candidates. The trick is to get the nominating committee to choose your candidate(s). If they don't, get your 20% of owners to all write in the same candidate. The other thing I would do is to get yourself and as many other owners as you could to attend the next board meeting and make sure you concerns are heard. I can't imagine a large group of owners attending the board meeting wouldn't get their attention. This could all be done within the proper rules and guidelines of your resort.

 

[lovearuba]

ecwinch

Ecwinch (Eric) as you have stated before you are not an owner so Marksue does not need to answer your inquiries or give you every detail of information so you can purposefully go through it and provide your critique on what you disagree with and share it with Marriott. For the owners that want to work on this, I am sure Marksue will provide information if you have signed up and are interested in this effort.

 

[ecwinch]

Ecwinch (Eric) as you have stated before you are not an owner so Marksue does not need to answer your inquiries or give you every detail of information so you can purposefully go through it and provide your critique on what you disagree with and share it with Marriott.

Thats a good one - that I would share it with Marriott. Like I have them on speed-dial or something. You guys and your bogeyman theories just kill me.

And beyond all of the above, I am legitimately interested in the next step. There is no on-line access to Aruba/Dutch legal statutes or the by-laws.

I had thought that was the purpose of TUG - to SHARE information and viewpoints. Sorry if I got it wrong.

 

[Eric]

I don't think she knows everyone else can read the posts. Its like a private club and unless you think everything posted is 100% accurate from Sue, you can't join... shhh. don't tell anyone

Thats a good one - that I would share it with Marriott. Like I have them on speed-dial or something. You guys and your bogeyman theories just kill me.

And beyond all of the above, I am legitimately interested in the next step. There is no on-line access to Aruba/Dutch legal statutes or the by-laws.

I had thought that was the purpose of TUG - to SHARE information and viewpoints. Sorry if I got it wrong.

 

[marksue]

47 people applied for board positions. Only 7 were spoken to only 3 were chosen. I know candidates that were more than quaified and were not even spoken with. One that we know of is pro current board and since Melissa and Steve, current board members were the nomination committe, you can only imagine they were not going to pick anyone who disagreed with them.

Depending on our special meeting, we are investigating a write-in candidate.

 

[Dean]

THis will be short and sweet. We have tried going through the proper channels and the board has refused to communicate with the owners. No one who disagrees with the board has any chance to be elected to the board since the board choses who can run for the board. Calling a special meeting to remove the current board will allow ALL owners to vote if they want to remove the board or not.

Since the board will not support any of our efforts or be willing to meet with owners, or allow owners who are not in Aruba to attend a board meeting and speak, or open some key decisions to an owner vote for approval is why a new approach has to be taken.

Almost 20% of the sold units has signed up.

Maybe I missed it skimming through this long thread. But I believe that as an owner you have the right to communicate with other owners. In some cases you can get the owners lists but most often you have to go through the management company. You likely would have to pay for the postage and handling. If enough people can network and ante up, you should be able to get this accomplished. It's likely the only way to reach a majority of owners.

 

[JimC]

No one is looking to dump Marriott. ...Can you imagine an independent company between the hotel and Surf Club. Marriott would not want that and neither do the owner of the OC.

I think that is a fairly safe bet on both sides.

I have not followed this thread for some time now, so you may already have covered this. I suspect that a careful reading of all of the legal documents that define the obligations and rights of the parties at OC would show that Marriott has, if not control, a significant amount of leverage over its property.

 

[marksue]

We are networking and that is how we are gathering names. Lots of people working the beaches in aruba, word of mouth and this blog.

Marriott is a contractor to the COean Club. Marriott can walk away and the OCean Club can fire them at the end of the contract. I beleive it is a 15 year contract.

As I said no one wants the relationship to end, but the owners are not happy now with what is percieved to be an unfair one sided relationship. ANd our current board with their siding with Marriott and not communicating with owners just builds that distrust.

 

[luvmypt]

Sooooo, what do we do with the limited proxys we got in the mail today? They're due April 27th for the annual meeting to be held May15th. I know I don't want someone else voting for me but at the same time I can't attend the meeting.

 

[iamnotshopgirl]

Don is there a line for a "write in" candidate on the proxy? I'm not an owner at OC but I thought on the last proxy that came through for SC I recall something like that. I could be wrong as it has been a while.

bob

 

[luvmypt]

Don is there a line for a "write in" candidate on the proxy? I'm not an owner at OC but I thought on the last proxy that came through for SC I recall something like that. I could be wrong as it has been a while.

bob

Yes, there is a "write in" space on the proxy in item 1 (2) on the page. Item 1 (1) already has a name on it and that's the current board president.

 

[Zac495]

Well what should we write or who should we vote for? Is there a suggestion being made by anyone?

 

[luvmypt]

Well what should we write or who should we vote for? Is there a suggestion being made by anyone?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[lovearuba]

isnt Alan still a board member

If Alan is a board member he can have my husband and my voting rights on this one