Diamond Resorts U.S. Collection Members Association, Inc.

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

Yes, that's the new name for CSV-1.

No, I didn't get elected to the Board of Directors. The 'winners' were Marylin Windsor and John Taylor. Yes, they, DRI elected an owner to the Board. I would like to thank Alan, Brenda, Bruce, Dale, Gary, Joe, John, Keith, Kenneth, Nicholas, Robert, Terrance, Wayne, Wayne, and Wei for their proxies, this list was presented to me when I arrived at the meeting. I also thank anyone else who voted for me.

I also had a letter waiting for me, delivered to the hotel, in it was a copy of a proxy from Warren, he said that his proxy had been receipted for by Sunterra before the deadline. If you notice his name was not in the list above, makes you wonder, but did not matter as each of the two new Directors received 130 MILLION votes or more, the power of the unsold inventory. I was the only non employee candidate there, Taylor was not there. Had many people come up to me afterwards and say that they had changed their vote to me after my 60sec talk.

Info:
CSV-1 has 52,000 owners
US Club has 101,000 owners
Europe has 48,000 owners
India Call Center is going away SOON
Better sofa beds with 2" thicker mattress and no 'bar' are coming
2008 Trust MF is 8.03cents/pt
Polo Towers, Cypress Point I, and Polynesian Isles inventory is being added to the trust

$17M in improvements include
New pool at Scottsdale links
New Pool at the Ridge
new beds, Serta King Pillow tops for $500ea
new linens, duvets, triple sheets 300threadcount, 18weight towels
new pool furniture
new/better fitness equipment
refurbs

bunch of new destinations (not available online) list forthcoming but includes Carlsbad, Coronado, Del Mar, La Jolla, San Diego, San Franciso, Cabo; these are not DRI resorts but are some sort of contracted space/availability similar to the temporary availability in Europe of Turkish Gulets a couple years ago.

My previously scheduled meeting with Stephen Cloobeck was cancelled; I was told he was out of town.

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

New ceiling for using points for member benefits is 50,000 (up from 30,000)
Refused to answer a question about devbuyback (said it wasn't material to this meeting)

101K+48K=149K members doesn't jive with info here.

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

[QUOTE=Spence;179056]New ceiling for using points for member benefits is 50,000 (up from 30,000)
2008 Trust MF is 8.03cents/pt

Spence thanks for posting a great update and it is really unfortunate about the results of the election. However were you able to ascertain if the member options got any better, because I believe the Fee option was around .0585 previously with increased MFs did they increase the rate at all.

[Ryne08 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ryne08]

First, I am very sorry you lost to be a member of the board.

Was there any discussions about improving Greensprings Plantation or Powhatan Plantation?

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

Yes, that's the new name for CSV-1.


Info:
CSV-1 has 52,000 owners
US Club has 101,000 owners
Europe has 48,000 owners
India Call Center is going away SOON
Better sofa beds with 2" thicker mattress and no 'bar' are coming
2008 Trust MF is 8.03cents/pt
Polo Towers, Cypress Point I, and Polynesian Isles inventory is being added to the trust

$17M in improvements include
New pool at Scottsdale links
New Pool at the Ridge
new beds, Serta King Pillow tops for $500ea
new linens, duvets, triple sheets 300threadcount, 18weight towels
new pool furniture
new/better fitness equipment
refurbs

bunch of new destinations (not available online) list forthcoming but includes Carlsbad, Coronado, Del Mar, La Jolla, San Diego, San Franciso, Cabo; these are not DRI resorts but are some sort of contracted space/availability similar to the temporary availability in Europe of Turkish Gulets a couple years ago.

My previously scheduled meeting with Stephen Cloobeck was cancelled; I was told he was out of town.

I like the new beds (good price on Serta pillow tops), like the new sheets with the high thread count and I like the better fitness equipement. However, from what I've seen of the fitness rooms larger rooms and more fitness equipement would be better. Seems to me some resorts have a fitness room in name only. This year we've been to two resorts who's fitness centers had only 4 or 5 pieces of equipement despite having > 100 units. Either the think people don't want to exercise while on vacation or they want the easy points to qualify for 5 star status with I.I.

I am concerned about Polo Towers units being put into the trust. That's a LOT of changes for PT's owners in a short time. We've had the SA for remodle. the buyout and offer to put our units in Club Sunterra's points program, an increase in MF's despite approving the large SA for remodle and now it looks as if we'll be offered the opportunity to turn our deeds over to Sunterra's trust. That's a lot to have happen in a relatively short time.

The trust MF would make it cost prohibitive for most PT's owners. For us, it would cost more. Our present MF's are around $1,728 for 26,500 points. At 8.03 cents per point our MF's would go up to $2,127.95. That would be an almost $400 increase in MF with not that much to show in return. I can't see myself giving up my deed AND paying $399.95 more in fee's.

The new destinations are interesting but would be of more interest if they were permanent rather than temporary. I still say expansion is best when done as Marriott has done.......build new resorts that are 100% owned by DRI and not through affiliation.

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

New ceiling for using points for member benefits is 50,000 (up from 30,000)
Refused to answer a question about devbuyback (said it wasn't material to this meeting)

101K+48K=149K members doesn't jive with info here.

Maybe the larger number includes weeks-based members.

When Crimeshare comes back online, it will be interesting to compare that European number with the one Sunterra gave a few years ago.

According to the Vogas site, whose numbers are about three years old, Sunterra was then claiming 89,000 members in Europe, 46,000 of whom were weeks-based. Their insider/supporter poster on Crimeshare, ''legal eagle'', has acknowledged the loss of 30,000 points members over a period of 3 threes in Europe. It would appear that the Vogas numbers are somewhere in the middle of that period of membership loss.

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

I like the new beds (good price on Serta pillow tops), like the new sheets with the high thread count and I like the better fitness equipement. However, from what I've seen of the fitness rooms larger rooms and more fitness equipement would be better. Seems to me some resorts have a fitness room in name only. This year we've been to two resorts who's fitness centers had only 4 or 5 pieces of equipement despite having > 100 units. Either the think people don't want to exercise while on vacation or they want the easy points to qualify for 5 star status with I.I.

I am concerned about Polo Towers units being put into the trust. That's a LOT of changes for PT's owners in a short time. We've had the SA for remodle. the buyout and offer to put our units in Club Sunterra's points program, an increase in MF's despite approving the large SA for remodle and now it looks as if we'll be offered the opportunity to turn our deeds over to Sunterra's trust. That's a lot to have happen in a relatively short time.

The trust MF would make it cost prohibitive for most PT's owners. For us, it would cost more. Our present MF's are around $1,728 for 26,500 points. At 8.03 cents per point our MF's would go up to $2,127.95. That would be an almost $400 increase in MF with not that much to show in return. I can't see myself giving up my deed AND paying $399.95 more in fee's.

The new destinations are interesting but would be of more interest if they were permanent rather than temporary. I still say expansion is best when done as Marriott has done.......build new resorts that are 100% owned by DRI and not through affiliation.

Of course you don't have to do anything with your Polo units. I would expect DRI's devbuyback to start bidding on the plethora of polo units that are out there for sale, all good buys presently from a priceoint standpoint with MFs lower than the Trust as you indicated.

DRI was adamant that they are a growing concern and that there will be the destination expansion that you are wishing for. There was an "Aquisition Summit" just this past Tuesday.

First, I am very sorry you lost to be a member of the board. Was there any discussions about improving Greensprings Plantation or Powhatan Plantation?

Nothing mentioned during the meeting but an after action conversation with a DRI insider said that there's a big meeting at Powhatan next week to discuss major changes and upgrades in Powhatan's expansion plans. A new name for one, Historic Powhatan Resort.

Spence thanks for posting a great update and it is really unfortunate about the results of the election. However were you able to ascertain if the member options got any better, because I believe the Fee option was around .0585 previously with increased MFs did they increase the rate at all.

The figure you quote used to be up over .07 if I remember correctly. There was no mention of any changes to the .0585 figure.

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

Maybe the larger number includes weeks-based members.

When Crimeshare comes back online, it will be interesting to compare that European number with the one Sunterra gave a few years ago.

If you went to the link and read it, Steve, it specifically lists the larger number as being Club families.

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

If you went to the link and read it, Steve, it specifically lists the larger number as being Club families.

Then maybe they are having a similar falloff in points membership in the US that they have had in Europe.

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

Then maybe they are having a similar falloff in points membership in the US that they have had in Europe.

Only you would say that.

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

It was better then and they ruined it

Only you would say that.

It is amazing for some who apparently like the concept of timeshare that there seems to be no major trade organization or developer that isn't looked at as scum. What a way to "enjoy" timeshares. If you look I guess there is always something that can seem to be a seamy underbelly to anything and conspiracies around every move ever made. I prefer to think that most companies set out to deliver a service and do the best they can to do just that. They aren't going to be perfect nor am I likely to agree with every change they may make. So if a plan/company/resort no longer does what I want I drop them. Timeshares included. Far easier than wailing about the "good old days". To each their own I guess.

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

Yes, that's the new name for CSV-1.

[FONT=Arial Black]...I also had a letter waiting for me, delivered to the hotel, in it was a copy of a proxy from Warren, he said that his proxy had been receipted for by Sunterra before the deadline. If you notice his name was not in the list above, makes you wonder, ....

Maybe this Warren character made an effort to give you a proxy vote but since he does not own a CSV share, his vote does not even count. I would not be surprised if any message delivered w/ the proxy was written by a CS rep

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

It is amazing for some who apparently like the concept of timeshare that there seems to be no major trade organization or developer that isn't looked at as scum. What a way to "enjoy" timeshares. If you look I guess there is always something that can seem to be a seamy underbelly to anything and conspiracies around every move ever made. I prefer to think that most companies set out to deliver a service and do the best they can to do just that. They aren't going to be perfect nor am I likely to agree with every change they may make. So if a plan/company/resort no longer does what I want I drop them. Timeshares included. Far easier than wailing about the "good old days". To each their own I guess.

My dad told me a long time ago when I was in sales to "Understand your contract and then work your contract." Essentially things always change so understand those changes and work them to your best advantage.

The same philosophy applies to most of life, including timeshare. Someone recently said that most things in timeshare are going to be radically different 10 years from today. As we initially got into timeshare in 1998 I'd say things have changed drastically.

In '98, RCI was, IMO the superior exchange company. I'm not so certain about that now. In '98 there were several fixed weeks developers and I was hearing a lot of complaints about floating weeks. Now it seems as if it's the other way around. In '98 I wasn't aware of a lot of points based reservations systems and people talked about how they could be manipulated to the owners detriment. Now it seems as if points based reservation systems are the prefered reservations systems. In '98 trading your week for services other than a weeks vacation was unusual. Today it's accepted practice. In '98 timeshare was a more exclusive club where one had to own a week to be a member. Now timeshare rentals seem to be easily available to the public.

Almost makes you wonder what the next 10 years will bring. The one thing I'm certain of is those years will bring more change. I can either learn to work with that change and my units or I can get out and find a better way to vacation.

Oh, I'll still complain but it's because I had become accustomed to working the system one way and now I must get use to another. It's when I can't get what I feel I've paid for that I'll truely be upset. What I feel I've paid for is the right to use the weeks I own as sold to me and be able to exchange those weeks for reasonable similar in quality resorts through an exchange company.

Right now DRI, the first company we purchased with, has expanded those abilities beyond what was initially promised in '98. Granted it's cost me another $2,998 to expand those benefits but, they are additional benefits I did not have from my original purchase.

The one thing I'm not please with is one exchange companies change in philosophy since our original purchase. 5 of our 7 timeshares are not with that company. At this point in time I've decided not to do business with that company and will drop our membership with them in preference of staying at our resort or using one of the independant exchange companies to facilitate our exchanges.

Change is constant. You can change with it or complain about it. The one thing you can not do is remain the same.

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

Maybe this Warren character made an effort to give you a proxy vote but since he does not own a CSV share, his vote does not even count. I would not be surprised if any message delivered w/ the proxy was written by a CS rep

Why would you surmise that? He sent me a copy of the proxy that showed that he owned and had signed it over.

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

Right now DRI, the first company we purchased with, has expanded those abilities beyond what was initially promised in '98. Granted it's cost me another $2,998 to expand those benefits but, they are additional benefits I did not have from my original purchase.

This is exactly what happened to me in '98 when I bought my first timeshare and Signature/Sunterra moved in and started Club Sunterra.