Sands of Kahana Board of Directors

[BJRSanDiego]

I am posting this with the hope that it will be read by other Sands of Kahana TS owners.

I am running for Board of Directors of the Sands Vacation Club. There are four people on the ballot. Two of the candidates (Glenn Stockton, and Johnnie Santiago) are employees of the mgmt company or it's parent company and Arthur York is or was the insurance agent for the Sands. The 4th person, Bruce Rogers (me), is an independent owner that wants to ensure that the timeshare owners interests come first. Unlike the other candidates, he does not have a conflict of interest.

The current mgmt team is not doing a bad job, but it is unhealthy for the board to be represented by employees rather than owners. On virtually all healthy and successful fortune 500 companies, the Board of Directors is made up from varied backgrounds rather than being employees. The use of employees of business boards, IMHO, tends to promote "inbreeding". Vacation club decisions need to be made based on what is best for the owners. As an employee, their primary allegiance is supposed to be to the company that signs their paychecks. So they have a conflict of interest. I plan to work with the other board members to improve the Sands and to protect our mutual investment.

If you are a SOK owner, I would appreciate your vote. I will do my best to represent you. My bio is included in the ballot that So leil has sent to you. If you did not receive a ballot, please post here or PM me.

So-Leil and A-SNY employees, if you are reading this and disagree with my "pitch" I invite you to respond with a rebuttal if you wish.

Moderators, I am hoping that this is not in conflict with your rules. If it is, either edit or modify my post as you see fit.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

In the past the vacation club has sent a ballot with a simple "self-mailer". That is, the ballot would be mailed to the listed address using the guaranteed return postage. It has been this way for a long time. This year the vacation club decided to remove the address and the return postage. On the Facebook page for the Sands of Kahana Concerned owners there are numerous reports from people not knowing where to send their completed ballots. I think that this confuses some owners and they may possibly just throw the ballot in the trash rather than bothering to figure out the address or pay money to return it.

Also, the management company has started "robo calls" to owners alerting them to be on the lookout for a flashy white envelope with a red stripe that contains their "proxy voting materials". They have done this for the past few years. Wait, this gets better.... For the past several years this has been a document where there is a single box to check - - which negates the previous real ballot and assigns the votes to the vacation club to assign as THEY see fit. In the past this correspondence also includes a postage-paid envelope that is addressed. This confuses many owners and I think that many sign and return the proxy assignment.

So, if you are an owner at the Sands, I hope that you don't fall for any of this.

TUG, thank you for letting me post this.

 

[LisaH]

Good luck Bruce! It's commendable that Tuggers like you give time and energy to make their timeshares better. I used to own at SOK but have since sold it. Still love the resort and will exchange into it whenever possible.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I have received two "robo" calls asking me to assign my vote to the President of the vacation club who will vote as HE sees fit.

I have also received communications that if an owner sends their ballot to a special address (not the Las Vegas HQ or the Maui location) that their vote may not be counted.

I have also received communications that those people who received the ballot w/o the return postage or address, that an "envelope" is being sent to them. Well this is a week later and I haven't received it. I don't know about you, but if I get something in the mail w/o a stamp or an address I don't keep it hoping that I'll get an envelope later.

Then I get correspondence from an executive (who I alerted to all of these irregularities) who said that he suspected that he will get accusations, as in the past, that the election isn't "fair".

Duh!

If you are a Sands owner or know one, Please consider that it is time that So Lay, the mgmt company gets some real owner representation. There seems to be a bit too much "in-breeding" going on.

My opinions...

 

[TUGBrian]

best of luck! we always love to read about TUG members who take an active role in their resorts HOA/BOD!

 

[rickandcindy23]

Good luck, Bruce. We no longer own at SOK. The fees were increasing very quickly, and the unit assignments we received were not stellar.

It's tough fighting Soleil Management. They are in control of everything. Owners cannot take control at Hono Koa, and I have talked to several owners who think Soleil is doing a good job. Meanwhile, our fees went up again for next year, and we will be paying over $1,700 for our oceanfront 2 bedroom unit at Hono Koa. The land-lease payment, and the taxes are a huge portion of our fees, I realize, but our living room furniture is old and uncomfortable, and it's been nearly ten years since they replaced those.

And why doesn't Soleil post the budget and the shortfalls (of maintenance fees coming in) where we log into our accounts? That would be helpful. I would like to know why fees are going up. I can read a budget.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Good luck, Bruce. We no longer own at SOK. The fees were increasing very quickly, and the unit assignments we received were not stellar.

It's tough fighting Soleil Management. They are in control of everything. Owners cannot take control at Hono Koa, and I have talked to several owners who think Soleil is doing a good job. Meanwhile, our fees went up again for next year, and we will be paying over $1,700 for our oceanfront 2 bedroom unit at Hono Koa. The land-lease payment, and the taxes are a huge portion of our fees, I realize, but our living room furniture is old and uncomfortable, and it's been nearly ten years since they replaced those.

And why doesn't Soleil post the budget and the shortfalls (of maintenance fees coming in) where we log into our accounts? That would be helpful. I would like to know why fees are going up. I can read a budget.

When I go to the Soleil site I can look at the SOK budget for 2017. It is under the Correspondence tab IIRC.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

By the way. Here it is, about a week after most owners received their annual BOD ballot with neither postage nor an address. Six days ago I was told that the owners would receive a return addressed envelope with postage paid. I have not yet seen that.

When I get something where they want me to affix postage (my nickel), I typically toss it in the mail . Why? Because if it isn't important enough for them to pay the postage, then it isn't important to me either.

In the meanwhile, I have received two Robo calls asking me to send in the Proxy assignment document. It is a document that assigns my voting to the incumbent (management) owners. Many owners get confused by the proxy assignment and send it in. It is a way for the management group to remain in control and keep the owners from putting the operation contract from going out to bid.

Is the current mgmt company doing poorly? No. They are doing okay. That is why it is perplexing that they don't allow a little more owner representation. Could they do better? Yes, probably. But, they have nothing to lose to let me get on the board as they will still control the majority of the board. IMHO, if they were smart, they would vote their proxy votes to me just to the extent that it removes the stigma that the election is 100% rigged. A senior executive emailed me saying that people would think that the election was improper. My response: "Duh !"

 

[BJRSanDiego]

About 10 days ago most SOK owners received the proxy ballot that listed the four candidates running for the Board. The first three are either employees or otherwise have a conflict of interest. I am running as the 4th candidate and am just an independent REAL owner without those conflicts.

The proxy/ballot contained neither return postage NOR an address. This was an "error" and is the first time they have done this. I brought this to the attention of the President of Soleil and also the President of the Vacation Club (both current Board members). I received a reply that their mailing company made a mistake and they were correcting the error by sending out a replacement envelope.

Yesterday I received a replacement postage paid envelope that was addressed. At first I thought that the zip code on the postage paid envelope was incorrect, but I have since learned that it appears to be correct and the same zip code as was used last year. I am hoping that very few owners threw away or misplaced their candidate ballot because of the original lack of address and return postage.

 

[Norcaltraveler]

I am posting this with the hope that it will be read by other Sands of Kahana TS owners.

I am running for Board of Directors of the Sands Vacation Club. There are four people on the ballot. Two of the candidates (Glenn Stockton, and Johnnie Santiago) are employees of the mgmt company or it's parent company and Arthur York is or was the insurance agent for the Sands. The 4th person, Bruce Rogers (me), is an independent owner that wants to ensure that the timeshare owners interests come first. Unlike the other candidates, he does not have a conflict of interest.

The current mgmt team is not doing a bad job, but it is unhealthy for the board to be represented by employees rather than owners. On virtually all healthy and successful fortune 500 companies, the Board of Directors is made up from varied backgrounds rather than being employees. The use of employees of business boards, IMHO, tends to promote "inbreeding". Vacation club decisions need to be made based on what is best for the owners. As an employee, their primary allegiance is supposed to be to the company that signs their paychecks. So they have a conflict of interest. I plan to work with the other board members to improve the Sands and to protect our mutual investment.

If you are a SOK owner, I would appreciate your vote. I will do my best to represent you. My bio is included in the ballot that So leil has sent to you. If you did not receive a ballot, please post here or PM me.

So-Leil and A-SNY employees, if you are reading this and disagree with my "pitch" I invite you to respond with a rebuttal if you wish.

Moderators, I am hoping that this is not in conflict with your rules. If it is, either edit or modify my post as you see fit.

I am hoping you can help me…I have some questions re: the income received from FEMA and private insurance companies following the Lahaina wildfire. We were set to spend our week but received a number a calls requesting and then directing us to give up our week to house wildfire survivors.
Having been a CA wildfire survivor, I know how things work. FEMA and private insurance paid weekly or monthly market rate or above for the timeshare units. There seems to be absolutely no accounting for this windfall. We paid our SOK fees but in return for giving up our week, we were given a week through Interval International. If used, we will spend an additional $189. I have been attempting to contact Glenn Stockton and Bob McGrath, but their minion protect them well.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Your question is a good one and I too would like to find out where that $ went to.

Are you emailing Glenn Stockton directly or calling?

The financial management has changed. The VP of Finance and Accounting is now Emily Baxter. Her email is ebaxter@soleilmanagement.com and her phone is 702.933.5960. This is a replacement position for the CFO, which was held previously by Bob Wagner. I think that Emily will be more responsive to your request for info. If you do find out, please post it here or PM me.