"Equivest" (Wyndham) files Bankruptcy

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Word is that Wyndham has filed Bankruptcy for the Equivest resort group in response to the lawsuits involving Blue Beards Castle. This may mean that the owners there see little or nothing in settlement with Wyndham over fees due and resort improvements.

While I sympathize with the owners at Blue Beards Castle this is a case where, to this outsider, it seems that the Board/Association tried to get too much rather than meet their adversary somewhere in the middle. At one point it was reported that FF had put $12 million on the table to improve the resort, cover past grievances and past fees. The owners/Board wanted more and took them to court. Now the $12 million is no longer there, the resort has continued to fall into disrepair and legal costs have been significant. The bankruptcy most likely means FF will have no liability and the costs are left to the non-FF owners to cover. That $12 million must look awfully good now.

When dealing with a deep pocket adversary it is wise to know when to compromise as you simply aren't going to get anything more out of them. It seems the BB Board didn't see that and now may face the wrath of owners who besides paying the legal fees now face rebuilding the resort without the money from FF. A less than perfect compromise would have been a much better result.

I hope those at Summer Bay, Las Vegas who face a simliar choice of a perhaps less than perfect offer vs taking nothing and those who think that lawsuits against Fairfield or RCI are going to improve things will take note. The big guys have far too much money and way too many legal maneuvers when pushed to the wall. Better to reach a compromise and take what you can get in many cases.

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

Here is a little more info from street talk

ST. THOMAS: In the ongoing saga of the Bluebeard Castle HOAs vs Equivest/Fairfield Resorts (now Wyndham VO), which has been dragging along for several years now, it looks like Wyndham has followed through on its latest threat to bring things to a close.

Equivest St. Thomas, Inc., filed in the VI Bankruptcy court July 3, 2007. Case No. 07-30011. Guess who is their biggest creditor? Wyndham at $12.5M. All others? Under $50,000 each at most.

Says one disgusted Bluebeard owner: “Power play? You go figure… Let’s keep straight that Equivest St. Thomas was bought by Fairfield which was part of Cendant which is now Wyndham. Connect the dots? One would think.”

Well, that’s one way to get out of ongoing litigation and the expenses thereof. I understand that Fairfield has its own side to the story, but it all kind of reminds me of the way Epic Resorts did business, which leaves an unsavory smell…

So Equivest is bankrupt because they owe 12 million dollars to Wyndham ( the owner of equivest)

[somerville Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close somerville]

Please don't play so fast and loose with the Equivest name. There are several Equivests. As I understand it, only the developer of of Blue Beard's Castle, which was something like Equivest St. Thomas filed bankruptcy. Using the term "Equivest resort group" implies that there are other Equivest resorts/entities included in the bankruptcy.

While I do not own anything at Blue Beard's Castle, I have followed the litigation on and off. It is my recollection that there are other Cendant/Fairfield/Wyndham entities included as defendants, so I don't know that the plantiffs are without a remedy.

Quite frankly, the bankruptcy action doesn't speak well of Wyndham. Is this their development model for the future - create a shell corporation with no assets as a shield against liability if things go south?

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Equivest is a resort group not just a name

Equivest was a small resort group - Blue Beards was one of them - that Fairfield bought out. Originally the resorts were to be blended into the FF system - including Blue Beards Castle - but the issue over past management (actually mismanagement that predated even Equivest) and fees as well as required improvements meant the integration was never completed for that resort. It may be a technicality but one that is liable to stand up if Equivest as a group (now of one resort) claims bankruptcy and therefor negates any claims. It's happened with other resort groups such as Sunterra and, going way back, a bankruptcy is how the Fairshare Plus system was born. It saved Fairfield in the early 90's. It should be no surprise to anyone that timeshare developers would use bankruptcy or anything else they can, just as most corporations would, to protect themselves.

By the way in reading back through this saga the original agreeement was back in 2002 so it's already been 5 years of continuing costs and no resort improvements at Blue Beards Castle. If I were an owner there I'd question the wisdom of taking this to court rather than accepting the earlier settlement. I'm afraid this was an emotional move rather than a sound financial choice for the resort.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Bluebeards BeachClub (where I am an owner - we need to change the name ) and the Elysian on STT were also part of Equivest - but those HOA chose to go with Fairfield and now Wyndham.

How do you think this will affect the one 'owners group' at Bluebeards Castle that DID go with Fairfield/Wyndham??? - I believe there are 3 or 4 HOA's at the Castle and only one chose to go with Fairfield/Wyndham. The resort is falling down around ALL the owners - regardless of management company - a real shame.

When we visited the Castle (day use) in January 2006, the deferred maintanance was sadly apparent in the public areas.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

John, Once again you are defending the big boys and their actions. That $12 million had a lot of strings attached to it as to how it would be spent. The HOA's have been asking for mediation or arbitration which unFairfield has arrogantly refused. Now they are trying this bankruptcy ploy. Given the interrelationship between unFairfield / Wyndham and Equivest, and the fact that there are other entities as defendants, I suspect this may not end up the easy out that some of the defenders of the big boys may think it is.

The tactics of unFairfield in this case are a good reason never to touch ownership of a week at one of their resorts with the proverbial 10-foot pole.
In fact, if I get any opportunities, I will take tours of their resorts and loudly, where other prospects can here will tell the salesman that I don't want anything to do with their resorts because of the way they treated owners at Blue Beard's Castle.

I would really like to see someone start websites on Fairfield/Wyndham similare to Sunterrafied and Scambusters sites on Sunterra. The thugs at unFairfield richly deserve it.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

The thug in this case is long gone. Thats why they should have settled

John, Once again you are defending the big boys and their actions. That $12 million had a lot of strings attached to it as to how it would be spent. The HOA's have been asking for mediation or arbitration which unFairfield has arrogantly refused. Now they are trying this bankruptcy ploy. Given the interrelationship between unFairfield / Wyndham and Equivest, and the fact that there are other entities as defendants, I suspect this may not end up the easy out that some of the defenders of the big boys may think it is.

The tactics of unFairfield in this case are a good reason never to touch ownership of a week at one of their resorts with the proverbial 10-foot pole.
In fact, if I get any opportunities, I will take tours of their resorts and loudly, where other prospects can here will tell the salesman that I don't want anything to do with their resorts because of the way they treated owners at Blue Beard's Castle. I would really like to see someone start websites on Fairfield/Wyndham similare to Sunterrafied and Scambusters sites on Sunterra. The thugs at unFairfield richly deserve it.

Steve - I don't side with Fairfield or Equivest or Wyndham or the owners although of that group my heart is with the owners who are the true losers in all this. I've seen this type of war before, how it esculates, how emotions get involved, how old grievances surface - so in the end the players don't see whats best for the majority as each thinks they are 100% right and should "win". Unfortunately no one is ever 100% right, things have different sides and courts or arbiters or just the two sides of the dispute often have to look at what can be done NOW and how to equitably settle things. Strings or not Fairfield came in with a way to settle a dispute they didn't cause but inherited . Maybe they should have looked deeper into it before they bought but they didn't and they tried to make it right. It wasn't 100% of what the owners wanted but it wasn't 100% of what they wanted either. It was a compromise and it would have gotten the resort moving ahead rather than spending money they don't have on legal fees over 5 years ago. I'm sure the owners side felt they had all the answers too - mostly that FF owed them almost twice as much as they offered - but they had to realize that wasn't going to come without a fight. A fight they stood a good chance of losing. A fight that would cost them money. A fight that would drag out for years and let the resort suffer.

As for arbitration both sides have to agree to it. If one doesn't and choses instead to use the courts that is their right. If Wyndham wanted arbitration and the owners didn't then it would be the owners right to refuse. That doesn't make them or Wyndham arrogant - it does mean they are exercising their rights and power to choose how they want to proceed.

Is Wyndham in the right? Not 100%. Are the owners right? Could be but they are fighting a battle against a foe that sold out to Equivest years ago. It is not really a fight against FF/Wyndham at all except by proxy. If it had been my call, it isn't of course, I would have made peace with FF and got everything possible from them. I would have ended the suffering and got the resort rebuilt. That wasn't the path they took and now, maybe, the owners are going to be stuck for it all. I don't blame Fairfield for doing what they feel they have to after making what they felt was a fair offer. I don't blame the owners if they felt it wasn't enough and they prefer the risk of winning more. But I sense that the best road wasn't taken and for that everyone seems to lose. Thats the real shame of this story. While the real culprit, thug if you will , the original crooked developer/manager - is long gone and counting his undeserved winnings. Sad, sad story.

[somerville Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close somerville]

Equivest was a small resort group - Blue Beards was one of them - that Fairfield bought out. Originally the resorts were to be blended into the FF system - including Blue Beards Castle - but the issue over past management (actually mismanagement that predated even Equivest) and fees as well as required improvements meant the integration was never completed for that resort. It may be a technicality but one that is liable to stand up if Equivest as a group (now of one resort) claims bankruptcy and therefor negates any claims.

Again, you appear to be misrepresenting what entity filed for bankruptcy. There is no "resort group" in bankruptcy, olny Equivest St. Thomas, which is only associated with Blue Beard's Castle. I own interests in Equivest Vacation and Travel Club. It was part of the "Equivest resort group" you keep referring to. I can assure you it is not part of the bankruptcy action. Neither EVTC nor any of the other Equivest resorts were owned by Equivest St. Thomas.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Again, you appear to be misrepresenting what entity filed for bankruptcy. There is no "resort group" in bankruptcy, olny Equivest St. Thomas, which is only associated with Blue Beard's Castle. I own interests in Equivest Vacation and Travel Club. It was part of the "Equivest resort group" you keep referring to. I can assure you it is not part of the bankruptcy action. Neither EVTC nor any of the other Equivest resorts were owned by Equivest St. Thomas.

But weren't they all part of the Fairfield buyout? There seems to have been some cross links between the larger Equivest System and the specific resort in question. I fully understand that the bankruptcy has NO effect on the other former Equivest resorts that have now become part of Wyndham.

[somerville Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close somerville]

But weren't they all part of the Fairfield buyout? There seems to have been some cross links between the larger Equivest System and the specific resort in question. I fully understand that the bankruptcy has NO effect on the other former Equivest resorts that have now become part of Wyndham.

If you understand the bankruptcy has no effect on the other former Equivest Resorts, then why do you keep saying the "resort group" filed for bankruptcy. The press release quoted by Bill4728 says it is Equivest St. Thomas, Inc. that filed. All Equivest resorts were part of the buyout, but I have no idea what cross links you are referring to. There was no cross link between EVTC and Blue Beard's Castle, and not all former Equivest resorts became part of Wyndham. Please don't make generalizations about Equivest if you are not familiar with the history.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

John -

First, from what I have read, not all of issues in the lawsuit involve things done by the original developer, Some involve things done or left undone by unFairfield.

Second, the self-serving offer that controlled how money was spent, by unFairfield, is not ''making things right'' as you claim.

I hope the HOA's can nail the hides of the remaining defendants to the door!
Those thugs richly deserve it. There tactics have been to try to tie this thing up in knots rather than offering any realistic settlement.

The rabid anti-owner stance of unFairfield / Wyndham should make anyone think twice before buying at one of their resorts.