Dave is right. If you believe this will have ANY impact on Marriott, you are sadly mistaken. Regardless of the outcome, in 6 months, nobody will remember !! Instead of pie in the sky demands that will never happen, take the somewhat fair offer and move on or sell.
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Marriott Aruba Ocean Club Owners Being Ripped Off By Marriott - READ IF AN OWNER
- Thread starter marksue
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 1,965
- Reaction score
- 241
- Location
- Texas
- Resorts Owned
- HGVC SeaWorld x 2, HGVC Las Vegas Strip x 2, MVC Mountain Valley Lodge, MVC Legend’s Edge
Eric: Dave's points are very well taken. However, in 6 months the people who have been treated poorly will still remember that they have been treated poorly. Although I am not an owner of a Marriott TS, I do stay at Marriott hotels and participate in Marriott Rewards. An issue like this affects the entire TS industry. This is a very active thread in an extremely popular website. I understand that Marriott cannot please 100% of the people 100% of the time. Marriott is a big company and this may not have any impact on Marriott. However, there are numerous owners who may not share Marriott's definitions of a "somewhat fair offer" and "pie in the sky demands". I hope that this conflict will be satisfactorily resolved outside the courtroom.
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vincenzi
TUG Member
Marriott's Founder...A Great Man
I have been reading a little bit about the background of the founder of Marriott, John Willard Marriott. Before his death, he summed up his philosophy of life, "A man should keep on being constructive, and do constructive things. He should take part in the things that go on in this wonderful world. He should be someone to be reckoned with. He should live life and make every day count, to the very end. Sometimes it's tough. But that's what I'm going to do."
He was a man of great integrity and set the bar high for his descendants. He valued his customers. We don't expect "pie in the sky". We expect you to do what is right. Sometimes it's tough...but that's what we hope you will do.
I have been reading a little bit about the background of the founder of Marriott, John Willard Marriott. Before his death, he summed up his philosophy of life, "A man should keep on being constructive, and do constructive things. He should take part in the things that go on in this wonderful world. He should be someone to be reckoned with. He should live life and make every day count, to the very end. Sometimes it's tough. But that's what I'm going to do."
He was a man of great integrity and set the bar high for his descendants. He valued his customers. We don't expect "pie in the sky". We expect you to do what is right. Sometimes it's tough...but that's what we hope you will do.
I have to question your animosity to the present board and president while, at the same time, you express support for, and satisfaction with, prior boards and officers. The current president may be unresponsive to you missives, but wasn't it prior boards that did not accumulate enough of a reserve for these repairs and the refurbishment?
I actually own at the Surf Club even though I am not sure it matters. Its been my experience many people who work for Marriott have no problem ripping them up so why would it matter. Would you feel better if I said Marriott should give you all your money back and give you free weeks etc like others have suggested ? Dave is about as diplomatic as they come but the bottom line is most suggestions/demands/attitudes have been less than professional. As MANY people have pointed out, suggesting the HOA is in Marriott's pocket and threating lawsuits is probably the worst route to take so good luck with that.
That isnt the case at all. The prior board president(who is still on the board now...but who knows for how long if Marriott has its way) and the previous board were basing reserves on what info they were provided by Marriott. Do not forget for a second that most of the figures and projections are based on info provided by Marriott people, certainly in the beginnig and to some extent even now. Only in the last couple of years have certain things begun coming to light. A perfect example of this is the 5 year status of the roof when the timeshares were sold by Marriott. The board was only made aware of this in the most recent past. If this was hidden then how could the board have known. Why in heavens name do you think that Marriott is agreeing to pay "a portion" of the refurbishment costs? When many things were questioned by the previous president and he began pushing for answers on behalf of the owners and providing information to the owners Marriott stepped in and tried to quelch things. By many of the recent actions it has become abundantly clear that Marriott and some of the members of the current board do not want owners to have any of this information. IMHO that is simply wrong and promote a great deal of mistrust. I find it quite strange that the most important thing to Marriott and the current board is to keep info from owners. Think of it this way...if you lived in a condo, and your maintenance fees were changing dramatically, but your board refused to discuss why would you not be concerned. To me it is the veil of secrecy that is most disconcerting.
Why would Marriott(and the current president and some members ) not want the owners to have all info? If one is trying to hide something that usually means there is something to hide. If the board and Marriott were operating openly dh and I would likely simply just "deal" . We are fortunately in a position where the increase isnt going to affect us. Many others are not so fortunate.
My concern is with the bigger picture which is quite frankly one of open and honest dealings. From all reports, the new president and board feels they have to account only to Marriott and not the owners. For heavens sake....Marriott is the management company FOR THE OWNERS!!! Mariott is NOT the owner, this is not one of their hotels. It is supposed to be our board. They should be telling it like it is to the owners who they are responsible to, explaining the situation honestly, not hiding, and prepared to deal with whatever flack there is. There's an old adage...if you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
This may or may not be a case for legal action, personally I quite frankly havent formulated my opinion on that just yet, but it isnt that difficult to get enough members involved to call for a meeting and I would suspect that those who are involved in this process are well on there way to so doing...it is perhaps time to change some of the bylaws to prevent this kind of nonsense from ever taking place again(and again by a perusal of the bylaws that also isnt that difficult). It may not have an effect on either the special assesment or the maintenance fees but it very well could have an effect on the way the board is run in the future.
Call it a hunch but I think for MANY of the owners getting to the bottom of what exactly is going on is in fact the main priority. I dont know if the board is in "Marriott's pocket" but I do know that something isnt passing the smell test and that does concern me. If you are an owner of a Marriott timeshare anywhere as you say, it should concern you as well. I wont question what you say about being an owner but having just read many of your previous posts re: Marriott let me just say that I can understand why a previous poster thought you might work for them...lol
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Right on target
Luckybee you are hitting the nail on the head. We expect to pay increases in maintence fees but we also expect an accounting for why we are paying these huge increases. We are entitled to explanations and expect to only pay for our expenses. I am hearing that Marriott may be starting to take phone calls on the situation so if you are one of the folks that has been trying to contact them via phone please try again. The contact number is in my email to the owners. If you are an owner and would like the number please send me a pm and I will forward it along. Lets keep this alive so we can get some resolution. Thanks
Luckybee you are hitting the nail on the head. We expect to pay increases in maintence fees but we also expect an accounting for why we are paying these huge increases. We are entitled to explanations and expect to only pay for our expenses. I am hearing that Marriott may be starting to take phone calls on the situation so if you are one of the folks that has been trying to contact them via phone please try again. The contact number is in my email to the owners. If you are an owner and would like the number please send me a pm and I will forward it along. Lets keep this alive so we can get some resolution. Thanks
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In the past the board, specifically the president of the board was open with owners. He would send out emails and take phone calls from owners to address their concerns. He always gave us a heads up on what was upcoming. Since he has been forced out, for being owner focused is my guess, there has been a complete feeling of secrecy. The new president does not respond to people's emails or calls. Additionally, if you attended the owners meeting, it was obvious the owners were not concern of the board, but Marriott was. Most questions addressed to the board, were answered by Marriott. When the board members did speak, I swore I was listening to Marriott. In fact our treasurer started her speech about how great Marriott is and what they did for her FL timeshare which she is president.
This is why the owners feel like they are being treated unfairly and are looking for more transparency as well as equitable treatment when it comes to paying the fees.
I am sure not being an owner makes it difficult to understand what we re all going through and why you feel we should just go away. We won't go away until we are treated fairly and there is openness from the board.
I have suggested that there be a team of owners that work with the board in the negotiations with Marriott. I believe having owners not tied to the boar without strings of Marriott can and will help drive an equitable solution. Once this is done, then we need to address the by-laws to ensure transparency.
This is why the owners feel like they are being treated unfairly and are looking for more transparency as well as equitable treatment when it comes to paying the fees.
I am sure not being an owner makes it difficult to understand what we re all going through and why you feel we should just go away. We won't go away until we are treated fairly and there is openness from the board.
I have suggested that there be a team of owners that work with the board in the negotiations with Marriott. I believe having owners not tied to the boar without strings of Marriott can and will help drive an equitable solution. Once this is done, then we need to address the by-laws to ensure transparency.
billymach4
TUG Member
What would annoy me!!!!
I love Aruba, I have visited AOC, I have stayed at ASC. Aruba is a great place. You folks bought in there to enjoy a vacation. Not to do battle with your Board or Marriott management.
How can you possibly enjoy your vacation experience with all of this external static from the Board and Marriott???
It is really a sour situation for all parties. I wish you all the best of luck!:annoyed:
I love Aruba, I have visited AOC, I have stayed at ASC. Aruba is a great place. You folks bought in there to enjoy a vacation. Not to do battle with your Board or Marriott management.
How can you possibly enjoy your vacation experience with all of this external static from the Board and Marriott???
It is really a sour situation for all parties. I wish you all the best of luck!:annoyed:
The collection of names for calling a special meeting is growing. Please continue to let those who own get a hold of me. I have from someone in Aruba now that owners are very upset with what is taking place. I know my contact information has been handed out so I expect to hear from folks when they return.
There have also been contact to Marriott corporate and I hear what occurred. The last I had heard is Marriott corporate is now looking into this issue.
I have also have placed a call into Marriott and had a follow up call with David Babich. I am expecting another call with them to listen to what they have to say. So far everything I have heard is the same thing as from the owners meeting. What Marriott does not understand is that they sold us a defective builidng and owe it to the owners to make good on thier deceptive sales practices in not revealing this information.
I did suggest that there be owners working with the board in the negotiations with marriott to add transparency to the process.
There have also been contact to Marriott corporate and I hear what occurred. The last I had heard is Marriott corporate is now looking into this issue.
I have also have placed a call into Marriott and had a follow up call with David Babich. I am expecting another call with them to listen to what they have to say. So far everything I have heard is the same thing as from the owners meeting. What Marriott does not understand is that they sold us a defective builidng and owe it to the owners to make good on thier deceptive sales practices in not revealing this information.
I did suggest that there be owners working with the board in the negotiations with marriott to add transparency to the process.
recent travelers
Hi
I also heard from an owner who recently stayed at the Marriott Aruba Ocean, she said people were pretty angry with the situation and really upset with the beach condition. Its a lot worse in the surf club area and those owners should be looking for Marriott to address that quickly. I took a look at trip advisor recent reviews of the surf and no one is happy with the beach situation, they are referring to it as sewerage. I almost changed my trade request from the ocean club to the surf but after reading those reviews decided it was not a good move.
Time for both surf and ocean club owners to ask Marriott to address this, if you dont have a good beach area there is no point in owning in Aruba.
Hi
I also heard from an owner who recently stayed at the Marriott Aruba Ocean, she said people were pretty angry with the situation and really upset with the beach condition. Its a lot worse in the surf club area and those owners should be looking for Marriott to address that quickly. I took a look at trip advisor recent reviews of the surf and no one is happy with the beach situation, they are referring to it as sewerage. I almost changed my trade request from the ocean club to the surf but after reading those reviews decided it was not a good move.
Time for both surf and ocean club owners to ask Marriott to address this, if you dont have a good beach area there is no point in owning in Aruba.
vincenzi
TUG Member
vincenzi
TUG Member
The News About the Roof is Incorrect
I e-mailed the manager, Corey Guest, of the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club. Has has responded. I have copied and pasted what he wrote to me.
(email contents removed at request of marriott, personal emails sent to members from marriott staff all contain a confidentiality clause at the bottom of the emails that prevent redistribution of the email content publicly and thus cannot repost the comments verbatim)
I e-mailed the manager, Corey Guest, of the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club. Has has responded. I have copied and pasted what he wrote to me.
(email contents removed at request of marriott, personal emails sent to members from marriott staff all contain a confidentiality clause at the bottom of the emails that prevent redistribution of the email content publicly and thus cannot repost the comments verbatim)
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I do not believe Insurance is going to cover the roof. Unless it is a deceptive practice insurance policy. There was never any indication that insurance even came into play and my conversation last week with representatives from MVCI gave no indication insurance was even in play.
Corey's response is just the typical Marriott response. They will not tell us the roof was subpar and leaking from day one. Talk to the maintenance people at the Ocean club and ask them about all the sheetrock they have had to replace over the years due to leakage. I have spoken to people who have spoken to the maint people and we have gotten consistent information
And I supposed the lack of waterproofing of the building is normal wear as well. Come on Corey, board and Marriott please start telling the truth to the owners. We are not fools who believe the half truths and Marriott propaganda. Frank Knox is totally unresponsive to every owner. I have emails from at lest 50 people who have written to him and not gotten a single response. Frank do us all a favor and resign the presidency. We the owners are used to being heard and responded to. Allan knew how to interact with owners and provide truths to us when he was president.
Open requests to the board to have an a group of owners participate in negotiations has been totally ignored. Wait until the new fees come out and see the uproar at that time.
Corey's response is just the typical Marriott response. They will not tell us the roof was subpar and leaking from day one. Talk to the maintenance people at the Ocean club and ask them about all the sheetrock they have had to replace over the years due to leakage. I have spoken to people who have spoken to the maint people and we have gotten consistent information
And I supposed the lack of waterproofing of the building is normal wear as well. Come on Corey, board and Marriott please start telling the truth to the owners. We are not fools who believe the half truths and Marriott propaganda. Frank Knox is totally unresponsive to every owner. I have emails from at lest 50 people who have written to him and not gotten a single response. Frank do us all a favor and resign the presidency. We the owners are used to being heard and responded to. Allan knew how to interact with owners and provide truths to us when he was president.
Open requests to the board to have an a group of owners participate in negotiations has been totally ignored. Wait until the new fees come out and see the uproar at that time.
roof
I am very confused as to what the manager told us and what is being said in response to our post. We will get the manager's name when we see him(We did not get it when we arrived) and ask him again as to what he told us.
We will post as soon as we get a response.
Why would he tell us so if it is not so knowing that we can check the info?
I am very confused as to what the manager told us and what is being said in response to our post. We will get the manager's name when we see him(We did not get it when we arrived) and ask him again as to what he told us.
We will post as soon as we get a response.
Why would he tell us so if it is not so knowing that we can check the info?
Munday
newbie
Look at your disclosure booklet which states maintenance fees will not increase over 7% during ownership. I questioned increasing rates for the past few years when our fees escalated over that 7%. Alas, there is some subsequent language that could allow for an increase over that percentage, but it might be worth looking into if you're considering a class action suit. Additionally, has anyone ever thought about the fact that the Marriott OC staff are paid in Florens; yet I believe the Association monies are banked in American banks. With the American dollar worth more than Florens, shouldn't the Association fees be gaining considerable interest while not spending as much on contractors, staff, etc.? I'm just a simple minded person, but I know my grocery bill in Aruba was cut almost in half when I paid in American money. Lastly, many thanks to Allan Cohen who functioned very well as our former President and did everything he could to make our ownership meaningful.
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jm2020
newbie
General Comment to all Ocean Club Complainers
I have read all the concerns and complaints regarding the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club.
First, I agree with most all of it, no question. However, these postings and complaints do absolutely nothing to solve the problems.
If there is an ACTION PLAN to go after the solutions you can count me in 110%. Just bitching doesn't do it and without action the new AOC Board and Marriott will have their way and screw the Owners. Period.
I have read all the concerns and complaints regarding the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club.
First, I agree with most all of it, no question. However, these postings and complaints do absolutely nothing to solve the problems.
If there is an ACTION PLAN to go after the solutions you can count me in 110%. Just bitching doesn't do it and without action the new AOC Board and Marriott will have their way and screw the Owners. Period.
jm2020
I agree with you that bitching doesnt work but we have written letters with no resolution, the intention of this post is to keep this active. Marksue is working on this by getting as many folks as possible to contact Marriott. Have you done anything to resolve the issue or are you just planning on criticizing others. Have you signed up to keep the number growing so we can get enough owners to take a special vote?
I agree with you that bitching doesnt work but we have written letters with no resolution, the intention of this post is to keep this active. Marksue is working on this by getting as many folks as possible to contact Marriott. Have you done anything to resolve the issue or are you just planning on criticizing others. Have you signed up to keep the number growing so we can get enough owners to take a special vote?