WestinOwner
TUG Member
Brief history:
Two days ago I negotiated a WSJ Contract here at Sheraton Vistana Villages whereby I would purchase a 2-bedroom EOY at Westin St. John for $27,500, and the on-duty manager agreed Starwood would waive the $40,000 minimum buy-in for WSJ purchases to requalify a resale. I completed the term sheet and then left it that I would come back today to sign all the documentation. I even provided the mandatory 10% deposit to "guarantee the deal". We are 4* Elite, and this purchase would be putting us up to 5*.
So... This morning I recieved a call from the sales agent to come down, everything is ready to sign. We met the agent and started signing the papers, at which time a senior manager came over and advised us Starwood would no longer be honouring the deal that had been agreed to.
Apparently, the manager who authorized the waiver of the $40,000 minumum purchase to requalify our resale did so "in error".
The sales rep, in my opinion, was faultless in this as he was taken just as much by surprise as we were upon hearing the news.
At this point, things took an even further turn for the worse. The manager advised that the deposit would be refunded, and then said "sorry this didn't work out". I said I wasn't authorizing a refund of the deposit, and that I expected Starwood to honour the deal we had entered into. My immediate concern was that I had given up 2 mornings of my vacation, and secondly, I am Canadian, and so whenever money is charged to my SPG American Express, Amex takes a 3% commission on the currency exchange aspect of the transaction... Therefore, I will be out approximately $180 as I would lose $90 in currency exchange fees on the charge, and then another $90 on the credit back.
The on-duty manager wouldn't even agree to refund me for my loss, but simply said they would give us 10,000 SPG points for the inconvenience of the deal not going through. I told them that was insufficient, and again rejected the "compensation" and said I expected the transaction to be completed as agreed to. At this point, the two managers disappeared and left it to the sales rep to deal with us, even though he wasn't authorized to do anything. Basically, we were told to leave. Before our departure, I requested a copy of the term sheet that was kept, and was told they no longer had it and couldn't (wouldn't) provide it.
I was able to get a copy of a blank term sheet and noted there is language which stipulates it is not a binding contract. I'm a lawyer in Canada, and my sense is that the law would be similar in Florida... although I agree the term sheet might not be a binding contract, the fact Starwood actually took my deposit and drafted the formal contract demonstrates an intention for the terms agreed upon to be a contract? Do I have a leg to stand on in Florida?
Anyhow, my real point here is my amazment at the manner in which we were treated (and disrespected). The funny part to all of this is that on Friday morning, about 30 minutes into the "Owner's Update" when they were trying to sell me the Westin St. John, I was the one who told the sales rep there was a $40,000 minumum purchase to requalify a resale. They were the ones to assured me, ultimately guaranteeing it, and then it becoming a term sheet agreement, that they would be able to have the $40,000 minimum buy-in waived.
My guess... this must be a first, to have Starwood show up and withdraw the sale of a unit mid-signing.
Cheers,
WestinOwner
Two days ago I negotiated a WSJ Contract here at Sheraton Vistana Villages whereby I would purchase a 2-bedroom EOY at Westin St. John for $27,500, and the on-duty manager agreed Starwood would waive the $40,000 minimum buy-in for WSJ purchases to requalify a resale. I completed the term sheet and then left it that I would come back today to sign all the documentation. I even provided the mandatory 10% deposit to "guarantee the deal". We are 4* Elite, and this purchase would be putting us up to 5*.
So... This morning I recieved a call from the sales agent to come down, everything is ready to sign. We met the agent and started signing the papers, at which time a senior manager came over and advised us Starwood would no longer be honouring the deal that had been agreed to.
Apparently, the manager who authorized the waiver of the $40,000 minumum purchase to requalify our resale did so "in error".
The sales rep, in my opinion, was faultless in this as he was taken just as much by surprise as we were upon hearing the news.
At this point, things took an even further turn for the worse. The manager advised that the deposit would be refunded, and then said "sorry this didn't work out". I said I wasn't authorizing a refund of the deposit, and that I expected Starwood to honour the deal we had entered into. My immediate concern was that I had given up 2 mornings of my vacation, and secondly, I am Canadian, and so whenever money is charged to my SPG American Express, Amex takes a 3% commission on the currency exchange aspect of the transaction... Therefore, I will be out approximately $180 as I would lose $90 in currency exchange fees on the charge, and then another $90 on the credit back.
The on-duty manager wouldn't even agree to refund me for my loss, but simply said they would give us 10,000 SPG points for the inconvenience of the deal not going through. I told them that was insufficient, and again rejected the "compensation" and said I expected the transaction to be completed as agreed to. At this point, the two managers disappeared and left it to the sales rep to deal with us, even though he wasn't authorized to do anything. Basically, we were told to leave. Before our departure, I requested a copy of the term sheet that was kept, and was told they no longer had it and couldn't (wouldn't) provide it.
I was able to get a copy of a blank term sheet and noted there is language which stipulates it is not a binding contract. I'm a lawyer in Canada, and my sense is that the law would be similar in Florida... although I agree the term sheet might not be a binding contract, the fact Starwood actually took my deposit and drafted the formal contract demonstrates an intention for the terms agreed upon to be a contract? Do I have a leg to stand on in Florida?
Anyhow, my real point here is my amazment at the manner in which we were treated (and disrespected). The funny part to all of this is that on Friday morning, about 30 minutes into the "Owner's Update" when they were trying to sell me the Westin St. John, I was the one who told the sales rep there was a $40,000 minumum purchase to requalify a resale. They were the ones to assured me, ultimately guaranteeing it, and then it becoming a term sheet agreement, that they would be able to have the $40,000 minimum buy-in waived.
My guess... this must be a first, to have Starwood show up and withdraw the sale of a unit mid-signing.
Cheers,
WestinOwner
Last edited:
... eom