Bluegreen Vacation Club annual meeting notes

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

Jim,

As always, THANKS.

Great job representing us and thanks for sharing the notes you took.

It is great to hear that BG is moving forward with a number of the things you mention. It gives me some hope/belief that BG still has our interests in mind as they negotiate with DRI. They would not be continuing to spend time and resources on things that they believe will just get ditched in a potential sale. As a matter of fact, some of these things could just make us more attractive to DRI in some ways I suppose. Whatever the case, sounds like some good things coming and that is good for all of us.

Nobody likes to see MF increases, but anyone in business knows that keeping facilities in good shape like everything else has increased dramatically not to mention things like fuel and energy costs. So, while I'm not happy about the increase, I must admit that I think it is probably fair.

Online reservations and history sounds GREAT.

Thanks again!

BigTom

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

Which Trust is better?

Trust Fund B:
- 2008/2009: $170 + $.058/point
- 2007/2008: $170 + $.051/point

Trust Fund D:
- 2008/2009: $.064/point
- 2007/2008: $.058/point

Trust Fund E:
- 2008/2009: $310 + $.0371/point
- 2007/2008: $290 + $.0335/point

Each year we see questions about which Trust should your BG Points be in. And that always depends on the number of points you have, or want. So for 2008/2009....

6,000 Points:
Trust B: $518.00 ..... Trust D: $384.00 ..... Trust E: $532.60

7,000 Points:
Trust B: $576.00 ..... Trust D: $448.00 ..... Trust E: $569.00

8,000 Points:
Trust B: $634.00 ..... Trust D: $512.00 ..... Trust E: $606.80

9,000 Points:
Trust B: $692.00 ..... Trust D: $576.00 ..... Trust E: $643.90

10,000 Points:
Trust B: $750.00 ..... Trust D: $640.00 ..... Trust E: $681.00

11,000 Points:
Trust B: $808.00 ..... Trust D: $704.00 ..... Trust E: $718.10

12,000 Points:
Trust B: $866.00 ..... Trust D: $768.00 ..... Trust E: $755.20

13,000 Points:
Trust B: $924.00 ..... Trust D: $832.00 ..... Trust E: $791.00

At 6000 Points and lower, Trust D is the lowest and Trust E is the highest.

Between 7000 Points and 11000 Points, Trust D is the lowest and Trust B is the highest.

At 12000 Points and above, Trust E is the lowest and Trust B is the highest.

I should emphasize that my calculations and typing have not been verified by a second person. Feel free to check and report your findings.

Charles

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

Jim,

Thanks for all of your hard work and getting us this information. I can see that our concerns are being addressed.

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

4) Utilization stats. This was provided last year and voted upon by the board. We should watch these figures every year to see if there is a shift in utilization of Club inventory. As I recall, this is higher than it was last year. I believe that is good.
- 65% Club Points; 717k use nights
- 8.4% Bonus Time; 92k use nights
- 0.2% Exchange through RCI or II
- 7.3% for Sampler packages
- <1% for rentals at Bluegreen Rentals.com for delinquent owners
- 1.6% for employee use
- 5% for resort use and upkeep.

Am I correct in thinking that this means 65% of the use went to club members, rather than that 65% of club members are using their points? I'm surprised Sampler packages are such a high percentage of use. Although I suppose owners are making use of RCI and the like. I'm also surprised at the low numbers on RCI, since that's how we ended up in a Bluegreen resort in the first place.

5) 5 month Rule elimination. We learned that the average Bluegreen owner stay is 3.7 nights. Very surprising. So, elimination of the 5 months rule actually eliminated a lot of owners from booking full weeks only to cancel part of it when the 5 month mark is reached. Most owners book 4 months or less from checkin. With the exception of only a few resorts such as Shore Crest I in the summer, full week bookings have not been materially impacted. Very surprising findings.

Surprising, but nifty. It means short-time users aren't stepping on the toes of long-time ones - which means short-time users can continue reserving at eleven months, which I'm all for.

[kingement Member Find all posts View Profile Close kingement]

5) 5 month Rule elimination. We learned that the average Bluegreen owner stay is 3.7 nights. Very surprising. So, elimination of the 5 months rule actually eliminated a lot of owners from booking full weeks only to cancel part of it when the 5 month mark is reached. Most owners book 4 months or less from checkin. With the exception of only a few resorts such as Shore Crest I in the summer, full week bookings have not been materially impacted. Very surprising findings.

That is surprising. I think that it may still be a little early to see the full impact of this rule change. It hasn't been a full year since it's elimination. Just an observation... At the 10-month window, we were unable to get the full week we wanted at Big Cedar for late spring next year. That's ok. We decided to try something new and spend the rest of the week at Falls Village where we've yet to stay. It just goes to show if you're going to be less flexible of the unit/week/resort, you need to call as soon as you're allowed to wait list or book.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

That is surprising. I think that it may still be a little early to see the full impact of this rule change. It hasn't been a full year since it's elimination. Just an observation... At the 10-month window, we were unable to get the full week we wanted at Big Cedar for late spring next year. That's ok. We decided to try something new and spend the rest of the week at Falls Village where we've yet to stay. It just goes to show if you're going to be less flexible of the unit/week/resort, you need to call as soon as you're allowed to wait list or book.

Bluegreen didn't give me a list of the resorts that were negatively impacted by the rule change. They only used Shore Crest as the example. Personally, I believe that Big Cedar was directly impacted by the change. I used to be able to book Summer Cabins in Nov. Not so much anymore. However, it could also be because there are a lot more owners as well.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Am I correct in thinking that this means 65% of the use went to club members, rather than that 65% of club members are using their points? I'm surprised Sampler packages are such a high percentage of use. Although I suppose owners are making use of RCI and the like. I'm also surprised at the low numbers on RCI, since that's how we ended up in a Bluegreen resort in the first place.

65% means that of all the units available for booking, 65% of those were booked by owners with points. Technically, that means that 35% of owners points will expire unless they book them as saved points in the next year.

The good news is that this number is up from about 58% last year (if my memory serves me correctly). If it is up 7% year over year, I believe it's due to two rules changes. First, the elimiation of the 5 month rule. So, smaller size owners can book something without having expired points. Second, the elimination of the borrow points rule. That blocked a lot of owners from booking vacations. The higher percentage of owners who book points, the better for the Club. Those who don't use their points are the ones who go delinquent and end up selling their ownerships.

I was surprised about RCI last year when I found out how low the volume is there.

Surprising, but nifty. It means short-time users aren't stepping on the toes of long-time ones - which means short-time users can continue reserving at eleven months, which I'm all for.

I believe it was a good move by Bluegreen. Also, note that there is a limit to the number of cancellations an owner can do unless they are platinum premier. Evidently, owners have been abusing the cancellation rules to get their 3.7 nights. Rather than fight it. Bluegreen just adjusted to rules to accommodate what owners want to do with the Club while making it fair for everyone. This is a really good example of how Bluegreen is owner friendly. If DRI takes over, I hope they continue this practice.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Let's see. The dollar amount of everything else (except my retirement portfolio) has gone up so I am guessing the maintenance fees will continue to increase. It looks like my fees went up about 9.4%.

To figure out which Trust you are in, figure out how your fees were determined last year. If you bought BG points from BG since around 2003, it should be in Trust E. I have never seen it stated on any official BG papers in my many purchases.

If you are in Trust B, D, or E, maintenance fees are the same across the board.

Charles

Charles,

I need to prior year data to prove it, but I believe I know why maintenance fees have gone up so much for Trust Fund E over the past 2 years.

I believe it's because when there are a lot of small owners in the club of 9000 points are less, the $290 base fee made those owners pay on average a little more than the maintenance fees of the underlying resorts. The larger owners paid less than the average.

However since Bluegreen is selling 44% of sales to existing owners, that means the average owner size is going up. So, in addition the inflation due to the resorts costs going up, there is inflation for larger owners who were paying artificially lower maintenance fees.

I expect that over time, all the maintenance fee programs will end up having about the same maintenance fees for a set amount of points.

Jim

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

Based on the new maintenance fees, if I owned 9,000 points deeded to one of the 2 bed/2bath cottages, my maintenance fees would be $643.90. That's pretty steep. That's not counting the club dues. Makes $800 for a Florida beach week (through another company) look much better. I'm thinking BG could be getting close to maxing out here.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

could you pleae tell me where this new pool is at CMV? There is none to my knowledge (I live right here) and I have never heard anyone mention it. I did hear a vacation club owner tell me her fees had gone up because of the new pool at CMV, but where is it?

[kingement Member Find all posts View Profile Close kingement]

could you pleae tell me where this new pool is at CMV? There is none to my knowledge (I live right here) and I have never heard anyone mention it.

It could be that they meant the new pool currently under construction at Big Cedar WC.

[swirg53 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close swirg53]

Also, note that there is a limit to the number of cancellations an owner can do unless they are platinum premier. Evidently, owners have been abusing the cancellation rules to get their 3.7 nights. Rather than fight it. Bluegreen just adjusted to rules to accommodate what owners want to do with the Club while making it fair for everyone. This is a really good example of how Bluegreen is owner friendly. If DRI takes over, I hope they continue this practice.

I'm wondering if I mis-interpreted something about the new premier benefits in regards to cancellations.......I understood it to be that all owners still had unlimited cancellation privileges with a cost of $50 per cancellation. However, free cancellations were what changed: silver now has one free cancellation per year; Gold has three per year; Platinum is unlimited. All other ownerships have no free cancellations.

No matter what your membership level is, however, if you can cancel within ten days of the reservation, you will lose your points.

[swirg53 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close swirg53]

I'm also surprised at the low numbers on RCI, (0.2% Exchange through RCI or II) since that's how we ended up in a Bluegreen resort in the first place.

I’m not sure how to interpret this stat: What does it mean? My guess is one of these three things:
1. Out of all the weeks reserved to be banked with an exchange company, only 0.2% of those were banked with RCI or II. (I don’t think that is what it means, however.)
2. 0.2% of all of the usage nights were banked by BGVC owners with RCI or II.
3. 0.2% of all of the usage nights were reserved by RCI or II members through a banked exchange (most likely NOT with a BGVC week, but it could have been).

Does anyone know which one that means or is it something else?

65% means that of all the units available for booking, 65% of those were booked by owners with points. Technically, that means that 35% of owners points will expire unless they book them as saved points in the next year.

I interpret this number differently, but I wasn’t at the meeting and Jim was, so perhaps, based on additional information provided, he interpreted it differently than I do reading it on this forum. First of all, I would say the 65% usage booked from points, would include both current AND saved points. In other words, to this stat, points are points, regardless if they are saved or current. I don’t think you can draw the conclusion from this stat that 35% of owners’ points will expire this year.

Also, 65% usage does not mean 65% of points owned…………………….that means 65% of all usage nights in trust and/or owned by the Bluegreen Vacation Club. There are weeks that have never been sold (such as at Club 36 and the patio homes at Long Creek in Branson), yet reservations can still be made for and within those intervals.

That’s my interpretation anyway.

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

I'm wondering if I mis-interpreted something <snip> silver now has one free cancellation per year; Gold has three per year; Platinum is unlimited. All other ownerships have no free cancellations.

Small correction-currently, Silver has 3 free cancellations, while Gold has 5 and Platinum is unlimited. Owners still need to cancel at least 10 days in advance of their check in date.

[swirg53 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close swirg53]

Small correction-currently, Silver has 3 free cancellations, while Gold has 5 and Platinum is unlimited. Owners still need to cancel at least 10 days in advance of their check in date.

Thank you for the correction...........................my mind does not remember these things so well these days, when it isn't my level!

Mainly, I was just saying that every owner has unlimited cancellation privileges, but some/most will have to pay a fee to cancel and all will lose their points if the cancellation is done within ten days of the reservation.