Well Cliff, what if I just come and listen as you have a lot to go over I might learn a lot.Hi Chris
Not at the advisory committee meeting, we have an awful lot to go over, but any other time, I'd be happy to meet with you.
Cliff
Well Cliff, what if I just come and listen as you have a lot to go over I might learn a lot.
Especially since, as an owner, I know nothing about this advisory committee, heard it through the grapevine so to speak - never got any mailing or notification, no elections were held, or if they were I didn't get a mailing/ballot. Don't know who the people are, if they are owners or not, how they were selected etc.
I think we should at least be allowed to attend and hear what is happening first hand.
Chris
I don't think any of us are particularly comfortable about a closed meeting with a group of hand-picked representatives. If you want to hear what owners think, perhaps we should all be invited to this meeting.
I'm willing to meet with your "group" anytime you'd like. Why are you unwilling to do that?
First of all, our "group" isn't really a group as much as a loosely knit organization of deeded owners. We have no officers or leadership, at least for now, and exist for the sharing of concerns and ideas. The group consists of all deeded owners who have concerns about the Sandcastle, and, as I stated in my last posting, this is exactly who you need to be meeting with: all of us.
Also, keep in mind that we are scattered throughout the country, and most of us have full-time employment. We are not paid $10,000 per month to manage a resort, so dropping our lives and making a trip to Cape Cod is not that easy. I know that for me, the trip takes 7 hours by car and costs about $150 in gas and tolls. And that doesn't even take into account the expense of spending a night on the Cape.
I suspect that you were aware of all this when you issued your generous invitation. I don't pretend to speak for the other members of the group, but as far as I'm concerned, any meeting to discuss issues must be open to all interested deeded owners. And that means ALL deeded owners, including the ones whose identity are known only to you since you refuse to turn over the owners' list as required by law.
Do you really feel that you need a meeting? I'm pretty sure that by this point in time, you have a pretty good idea what the issues are. The time for talking about them has passed; it is now time to resolve them.
Michael Weinberg
I'm willing to meet with your "group" anytime you'd like. Why are you unwilling to do that?
When NEVMSLLC posted that "NEVS is selling weeks. If you'd like to purchase..." I accessed the BROWNtech Document Management Systems and looked for all sales by New England Vacation Services from Sept. 1, 2008 to present. The only sales were to INTERCITY ESCROW SERVICES!I'm a Sandcastle owner (week 37 and I'm posting this from my unit).
I'm concerned about what the changes at Sandcastle will mean to me as an owner and I don't have a crystal ball to figure out what's happening and what's best for me.
My intention is to return to Sandcastle each year. Same place, same time. (I even just found that some friends have been in P'town for week 37 for years.) Exchanges and points don't work for me. Obviously, I want to see the maintenance fees kept low enough so that it beats the cost of a one-week rental or a week in a B&B.
We got the sales pitch. We met with Mike who told us that the weeks system was an 8-track and points were a CD. Actually, I thought we had a gramophone and I was happy with that. As far as I could figure out, Mike wanted me to give him my 8-track for the honor of buying a CD player at full price. And I've have to whitewash the fence for Tom Sawyer.
Confused, I went hunting on the Internet. I hoped that this discussion on TUG BBS would be illuminating, but there's more heat than light. Further, some of Cliff's statements don't seem to jibe with what Mike told us.
For example, on this thread, Cliff said that his goal is to have a proper HOA, as should have happened 20 years ago. Mike said that they were hoping to convert 90% of the owners to points. Who owns the weeks that owners give up in exchange for Festiva points? Festiva? Does that mean that Festiva hopes to own 90% of the resort? What happens to the interests of individual owers if the majority owner is a corporation? Is Festiva trying to turn Sandcastle into a hotel? (I fail to see a meaningful distinction between using the points system and going to a hotel.)
We've thought about various possible scenarios. Is it the churn on units generating profit? Will units turned over for Festiva points be resold once they are upgraded (at a higher profit, obviously).
It'd be nice to know what Festiva's interests are, what Outfield's interests are, and what Cliff's interests are. Do they want people like me to get lost? If their interests don't align with mine, I'd like to know. Yes, I'd like some transparency. Cliff?
For those owners who wish to have their voices heard in the local Cape Cod media, here are some resources:
Letters Editor,
Cape Cod Times
319 Main St., Hyannis MA 02601.
Letters may be faxed to: (508) 771-3292.
Editor in chief: Paul Pronovost, 508 862-1166
Editorial Staff: Newsroom staff list
Ombudsman: Jayne M. Iafrate
The Cape Cod Chronicle
60-C Munson Meeting Way,
Chatham, MA 02633
508-945-2220 • 508-430-2700
Production Dept: 508-945-2228
Advertising Dept: 508-945-2229
FAX: 508-945-2579
The Barnstable Patriot
Submit Letter to the Editor
4 Ocean Street
Hyannis, MO 01206
Phone: 508-771-1427
Fax: 508-790-3997
letters@barnstablepatriot.com
The Provincetown Banner
167 Commercial St.
PO Box 977
Provincetown, MA 02657
Tel: 1 (508) 487-7400
Free: 1 (888) 782-2267
Fax: 1 (508) 487-7144
Here's the link to an article in TheGardenIsland.com: http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/10/09/news/kauai_news/doc4acede86743e7924716948.txtHanalei Bay timeshare resort in Hawaii is out from under the thumb of Celebrity Resorts and now in full control of its timeshare owners, after settlement of a lawsuit filed April 2009. Celebrity surrendered control of the HOA board and the owners agreed to a buyout of its current management contract. The new homeowner-run board contracted the management to TPI. Celebrity will still own the resort restaurant and will be able to sell or rent the weeks it owns at Hanalei Bay. Celebrity had purchased unsold inventory and developer rights from the original developer of the resort.
The key is organizing, getting a lawyer, and getting the matter in court.
Timesharing Today magazine commented ''Yes, there is a storm brewing and 2010 may turn out to be significant in terms of owners organizing and taking action"