Resort illegally rents owned unit.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

FWIW, here is a copy of DRI's rule for late arrivals. Granted all resorts are going to be different but, how many owners really read through all the paperwork and covenents and, if you do, how many remember all of them years down the road or can recall any changes that have been made by a developer controled timeshare where they have enough power to vote in any rule change they desire.

At any rate, DRI has done a fine job of creating a book called, THE Navigator, which clearly spells out all the rules and makes them easy to find. So, here's the way they have their rule for arrival at their resorts written.

15.2 Check-In After the Planned Arrival Date
If members are not intending to check-in at the resort on the
originally booked date of arrival or their plans change and they are
unable to arrive as previously scheduled, then they must contact
the resort front desk reception 24 hours prior to the original arrival
date and advise when they will be arriving.

Failure to notify resort reception may result in the cancellation of
the booking and the possibility that there may be no availability
when the member arrives. If a member does not check into the
resort, the member will forfeit all of the points used to make
that booking.

In this case, you can see that DRI has retained the right to cancel a reservation if you don't notify them of a change.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

A fixed week is a different animal than a points style or even float resort. If I OWN week(s) XX then I don't have to do anything but show up to use it. If it sits empty is MY loss - the resort has NO right to rent it (unless my fees are unpaid). The OP should go after this resort / management with everything they can. As Carolinian correctly states there is no legal basis for it and an Association Rule or Regulation CANNOT remove the owners use rights - only a deed restriction requiring such notice (never seen that at any resort) could impose such a rule. The OP has all the rent money coming to them at the least and should get more as this was not a legal act by management.

It would be interesting to see the results of such an action. Timeshare developers have extended their rights at times past the boundries I believe they can legally go. But, it takes money and time to fight city hall and I suspect most people will complain but few will ever do anything about it.

You are correct about owning a fixed week and that the resort should have no rights to rent or do anything with that week should the owner not show up but, different states are going to have different laws concerning this matter. Those laws are not always going to live up to common sense. While it would be worthwhile to check into the rights of the owner vs the rights of the management company, it would be tough to make a blanket statement that no resort can ever do such a thing.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

At Winners Circle (Friday checkin all weeks fixed), if you do not arrive by Sunday night and have not notified the resort, your unit automatically is placed into the rental pool.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

At Winners Circle (Friday checkin all weeks fixed), if you do not arrive by Sunday night and have not notified the resort, your unit automatically is placed into the rental pool.

Having thought about the above comments, it really doesn't make sense if you own a fixed week that the resort could do anything with that week should the owner not show up. After all, it should be the individual that owns the right to that week and not the resort. I'd like to think that any income derived from renting any portion of an owned week would legally have to be shared with the person that owns the rights to that particular time in that unit.

It would be interesting to know if there are specific state laws that deal with this sort of situation. I suspect there are not any specific laws but that one would have to actually go through the process of litigation to determine what can and can not be done by resort management. This would be an expensive exercise that would likely end in a net loss for the individual making the claim. Therefore I doubt that it will ever be done.

It's one thing to cry foul. It's another to actually prove it and then enforce what you believe your rights to be. Safe to say the best thing is to never assume anything about a situation but to call and make sure how the situation will play out. Making a call when you're going to be late is probably the safest and surest way to be certain your reserved time will be there when you arrive. It's been standard practive for me to confirm reservation prior to my arrival to avoid any unpleasant surprise.

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

With DRI, their rules specifically state that, if you're not going to arrive on your date of arrival, you MUST call the resort to let them know you will be arriving later or, they can list you as a no-show and rent your unit.

Anytime we're going to be arriving later than the first day we always call the resort to let them know. I have not looked through the fine print on any of our other ownerships but, it would not surprise me if this wasn't true for a majority of the resorts.

If one owns a deeded week, as opposed to their points scheme, mere ''rules'' do not give them legal authority to do that. It would have to be in the declaration of covenants. This is an extreme anti-customer provision, and somehow does not surprise me for Sunterra / DRI. The question is whether it is legal, or like many things that big developers / management companies do, which they simply impose, legal or not. For many resorts, ''resort transfer fees'' are another good example.

Who gets these rental fees? Do they at least get paid to the owner of the week, or does DRI pocket that? If the latter, this is theft, plain and simple.

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

This is for points members from the way it is worded. Points owners are always at the mercy of developers in many ways. Is there any indication that they also try to impose something like this on weeks owners?

FWIW, here is a copy of DRI's rule for late arrivals. Granted all resorts are going to be different but, how many owners really read through all the paperwork and covenents and, if you do, how many remember all of them years down the road or can recall any changes that have been made by a developer controled timeshare where they have enough power to vote in any rule change they desire.

At any rate, DRI has done a fine job of creating a book called, THE Navigator, which clearly spells out all the rules and makes them easy to find. So, here's the way they have their rule for arrival at their resorts written.

15.2 Check-In After the Planned Arrival Date
If members are not intending to check-in at the resort on the
originally booked date of arrival or their plans change and they are
unable to arrive as previously scheduled, then they must contact
the resort front desk reception 24 hours prior to the original arrival
date and advise when they will be arriving.

Failure to notify resort reception may result in the cancellation of
the booking and the possibility that there may be no availability
when the member arrives. If a member does not check into the
resort, the member will forfeit all of the points used to make
that booking.

In this case, you can see that DRI has retained the right to cancel a reservation if you don't notify them of a change.

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

At Winners Circle (Friday checkin all weeks fixed), if you do not arrive by Sunday night and have not notified the resort, your unit automatically is placed into the rental pool.

Again on what authority? If it is not in the declaration of covenants, but just something a developer or management company cooked up with ''rules'' they are on extremely thin ice.

As to legal remedies, in many states, a consumer protection lawsuit can be filed, with the member entitled to recover treble damages plus attorneys fees. The latter is important, because, in a slam dunk case, it is not that difficult to find an attorney who will take it knowing that judges tend to be very liberal in awarding high attorneys fees in this type of case.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Again on what authority? If it is not in the declaration of covenants, but just something a developer or management company cooked up with ''rules'' they are on extremely thin ice.

As to legal remedies, in many states, a consumer protection lawsuit can be filed, with the member entitled to recover treble damages plus attorneys fees. The latter is important, because, in a slam dunk case, it is not that difficult to find an attorney who will take it knowing that judges tend to be very liberal in awarding high attorneys fees in this type of case.

I'm not sure what the origins are. I don't have a copy of the covenants that were recorded with my deed.

It most assuredly is not something cooked up by the developer or the management company, as WC is very much controlled by the owners.

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

it really doesn't make sense

It doesn't really matter if it makes sense---all that matters is what the governing documents and applicable law says. I've been surprised more than once assuming that some bit of legalese made sense.

Again, the OP's first order of business is to find out if the rental of his unit really was "illegal". If it was, great! He's got a case. If it wasn't, well, then he's SOL.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

This is for points members from the way it is worded. Points owners are always at the mercy of developers in many ways. Is there any indication that they also try to impose something like this on weeks owners?

Other than that couple of paragraphs from THE Navigator literature on DRI's web site, there is no indication they would impose this on weeks owners. While I still have the original covenents given us at the time of sale, they are rather lengthy and I don't have a strong desire to go through them looking for rules concerning potential cancelling our reservations.

I've always found it to be a best practice to confirm reservations and call ahead if something about our expected arrival has changed. If the resort requests an anticipated arrival time and that changes, I'll even call to let them know we'll be either earlier or later than expected, even if it's the same date. I don't like unnecessary surpises when we arrive for a weeks vacation and potentially having a reservation cancelled because we didn't show up when the resort (or car rental agency) expected us causes me to worry needlessly. I just make the calls when something changes.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

It's always smart to call and confirm!

Truth be told, many resorts have a similar policy... Units that are unoccupied at the check-in deadline may be "accidentally" given away, placed into a rental pool, or even in some cases deposited with an exchange system for some type of limited exchange value certificate. The resort management simply tries to monetize the usage in any way possible. Whether it is legal or not doesn't ever seem to be big concern, as the few owners that are affected by such a policy aren't much of a risk.

Sure they can complain or raise a little fuss at the check in desk- but initiate a law suit? These are people that weren't organized or careful enough to confirm their vacation reservations prior to travel- the chances of them funding and establishing a law suit must seem pretty slim to the developer's risk assessment attorneys!

While this situation is certainly unfortunate for the OP- it's a good reminder for other owners to ALWAYS CALL AND CONFIRM prior to travel!

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I have seen this thread and not opened it til now, and have not read the other replies, but, yes, I have seen this before. In the many, many resorts rules I have read I have seen some that either require the owner to notify the resort with their intention to occupy their week or to show up by a certain time (without giving notice), and if the owner doesn't the resort has the right to rent it.

The first time I saw the rule, yes, I was surprised, but, then, figured if that was the rule and everyone knew it, then it was a good rule, since it put people in empty units, which has always been a pet peeve, and money in the coffer.

At our newest resort we get a postcard notice of our week coming up ahead of time, listing our options and asking us to reply with our intentions, so we may have the rule and I don't know it.

Frankly, I have not seen a list of the rules of operation for any of our resorts . . . over 20 years. Odd that I have read so many others when we have been visiting them, but not ours.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

As I mentioned above, I don't have the covenants and restrictions that went with the original purchase of our unit. I would not be the least surprised, however, if the covenants and restrictions included:

1. either a description of the timeshare program set up by the developer or integration of such a document into the covenants and restrictions.

2. procedures within the covenants and restrictions by which the timeshare program can be modified.

3. a provision stipulating that usage of the unit is subject to the provisions of the timeshare program as that document may be amended from time to time in accordance with the covenants and restrictions.

I know that if I were setting up a timeshare program I would include such language in the covenants and restrictions.

If language such as this exists it seems to me that the owners at a resort could institute various policies for no shows, provided, of course, that such modifications to the timeshare program are made in accordance with provisions of the timeshare program.

**********

I know of another resort that was sold with seasonal restrictions (floating seasons) that modified the program to make the resort year round float (no seasonal distinctions). I'm very sure that change was made without redeeding every unit in the property. (The resort did this because as a measure to make offseason weeks more attractive; the high season owners went along with the change because maintenance fees were getting too high due to the increasing number of foreclosed units.)

[mike823367 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mike823367]

Which resort? Do you have fix week/fixed unit? If so, have you contact the local AG?

If you have floating unit or point system, you may need to check your HOA document, but you still need to contact the local AG.

Jya-Ning

Resort is Westgate Vacation Villas, and week is wholly owned. I have found nothing in any document to deny our exclusive right to occupy. Have had extended correspondence with resort management, but so far they have failed to offer either a credible explanation or acceptable compensation.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

In 20 years I have never thought about it, but I bet most owners have never read the entire rules of operation of their resort.

Even fewer have read their covenants and restrictions. For our newest one, I actually have, actually went to the Recorders office and looked them up.

It only matters when it matters and that is not very often. And then it really doesn't matter, cuz it is what it is.