Well, This is a Fine Kettle of Fish - Festiva takes over Escape! Resorts

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

Finally, festiva has made everything perfectly clear. I left their email in in case any former Escapes! owners need to get ahold of them, but I will understand if someone feels the need to remove it. It's spooky that they somehow knew I would read it in the afternoon.

Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Wishicouldgetridofmytimeshare,

Festiva is currently managing the following Escapes resorts:

Hot Springs Village
Bella Vista Village
The Shores in Orange Beach
Branson Yacht Club

The following are not managed by Festiva:

Stonebridge Village
Escapes to the Palms at Orange Beach

Your home resort is still under the management and ownership of the Owners Association. However, Stonebridge Village is still considered an Escapes affiliated resort, so you will still call Escapes Member Services to get any account information and answer any questions about your account to the best of your ability.

The reason Stonebridge Village owners did not get any information about Festiva was because Festiva does not have involvement with that resort. You will still have your fixed week at Stonebridge Village as you have in the past. Nothing about your usage rights or account is changing.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Escapes Member Services.

Thank you!
Escapes

Member Services
Festiva Hospitality Group

521 College Street
Asheville, NC 28801

888-382-4386 - Points
800-266-7374 - Deed
escapes@festiva.travel

As for the part I underlined, all I can say is, "Huh? Why?" Especially in light of the first sentence in the next paragraph. So, "We are not involved in your resort, but you still have to call us for . . . ."????

Some answers seem purposely composed to create more questions.

[JLB2 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close JLB2]

I just came back to take care of loose ends in this thread.

1. The entity that was going to take some of our weeks, for free, to resell them, with us paying the 2014 fees, which we did, did not.

2. Festiva is still sending emails to us as if they were somehow affiliated with our timeshares, or us with them, despite all saying that is not the case.

3. The only email address I have been given for the only person who has responded to anything at that resort is no longer valid.

4. We have paid the 2014 fees for three weeks at our other resort and I have put those in their rental program, hoping to cut our loss on something we no longer use. A good thing about our online account with that resort is that it provides usage information for every night for every unit. In other words, I can see if the owner used it, if it was used as an exchange, or if it was rented out by the resort. I used a different type of rental program with that resort with a previous management company.

5. Unrelated, the dolphins were very active and entertaining yesterday.

Hope everyone had Happy Holidays!!!

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I just came back to take care of loose ends in this thread.

1. The entity that was going to take some of our weeks, for free, to resell them, with us paying the 2014 fees, which we did, did not.

2. Festiva is still sending emails to us as if they were somehow affiliated with our timeshares, or us with them, despite all saying that is not the case.

3. The only email address I have been given for the only person who has responded to anything at that resort is no longer valid.

4. We have paid the 2014 fees for three weeks at our other resort and I have put those in their rental program, hoping to cut our loss on something we no longer use. A good thing about our online account with that resort is that it provides usage information for every night for every unit. In other words, I can see if the owner used it, if it was used as an exchange, or if it was rented out by the resort. I used a different type of rental program with that resort with a previous management company.

5. Unrelated, the dolphins were very active and entertaining yesterday.

Hope everyone had Happy Holidays!!!

Jim I take full blame for what happened to you. Me and Tony tried to get you back but as you can see we have no idea what we are doing.

Sorry I trueley am

[JLB2 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close JLB2]

Jim I take full blame for what happened to you. Me and Tony tried to get you back but as you can see we have no idea what we are doing.

Sorry I trueley am

Oh, something happened to me?

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

Our resort finally sent out a letter warning about contacts from outside groups. It was very vague and they referred to clubs and exchanging and claims that owners had to join them in order to keep their timeshares. It did not refer to Festiva, or anyone by name.

It also named a company I have never heard of, and said they are the exclusive sales and marketing agent for the association, that they have representatives on site that can discuss any interest in an exchange program. I googled them and found no listing.

The letter said to call a number if you any questions. I did, at 2:30 PM on a Monday, no one answered, and there was no recording or voice mail available. I did a reverse lookup and the number is assigned to two ladies not at the resort. I googled the address and it is an appartment complex.

There was no letterhead on the letter, no name other than "Your Board of Directors" on the bottom, but it came in an envelope with the proper COA return address.

It appears "The Board of Directors" is going to continue moving in mysterious ways.

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

A person whose name I recognize as being one of the Board of Directors just called.

She did not really want to listen to anything I had to say; she just wanted it on the record I asked someone to call, and she did.

As to all the questions I have asked since all the changes started in December, 2013 (14 months ago), her answer was that all of that is covered in the Annual Meeting. I asked how many owners there are, and she said 4400. I asked how many were at the annual meeting and she said, "Not enough to have a quorum." As to there being no website, or email address, or any mailing to the general membership to explain any of what has transpired, her answer was, "You gonna pay for that? If you don't care enough to come to the annual meeting . . . "

So, nothing has been explained to 4400 owners except for this recent, vague letter, with a phone number that did not work, that she says works just fine.

As for the marketing and sales company mentioned in the letter, they were hired to market developer weeks the association acquired, and the association has no interest in helping owners get rid of their weeks in any way. No bulletin board, no newsletter, no nothing. She said we are free to do anything we want with our weeks. I offered two weeks, free, to the association, for the marketing company to sell, and she said, "We don't do that."

Well, there's my answer . . . one less loose end, which is a good thing.

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

This points out another thing that you do not know about a resort until it's too late, how, exactly, the powers that be go about running the place.

At one of our resorts there always used to be a quarterly newsletter, with Classifieds, a website with current and archived information, including a reference library containing all relevant documents. I also have several older Owners handbooks, updated and sent out once a year. Those items have been replaced by a website. Each employee's name and email address is made available, and Owner Services is available toll-free. Emails are answered in a timely manner. That resort also offers a rental program with weeks provided by owners. Until recently a local realtor handled resales. In fact, we bought our first week there from him 22 years ago whenwe were exchanging to another nearby resort and they sponsored activities. We bought our second week directly from the Association and our third week from a "local" referred by the association. Our annual fees there are $350/week.

Then there is the resort that is the subject of this thread, where the powers that be only provide information at the annual meeting, which they know none of the owners will attend, so that they know 4400 owners will not have the details of information as important as the collapse of the mini-system the resort was a part of, a lawsuit against that system and it's founder, so that only after outside companies continue contacting those owners with misleading information do they send out a vague letter with no letterhead, no signature, and a phone number that does not work. There is no website, no employees' names are provided, no email addresses, no interest in assisting owners who wish to get out, such as a bulletin board or newsletter. Inquiring owners are dealt with with contempt and comments like, "If you wanna know what's going on, you'd come to the annual meeting." Our annual fees there are $650/week.

Which resort would you rather own at?

FWIW, the first resort has always been considered to be a "lesser" resort, and the second one a Gold Crown.

Have a warm day!

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

Jim, If Festiva Resorts LLC is involved, maybe you should file a complaint with the MO Attorney General. Festiva settled a merchandising practices complaint with the AG's office in 2008. I know the issues are different, but since they went after them once, maybe they would be interested in your issues.

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

They're not the issue.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

After about 40 posts on the same subject by Jim, nobody is interested in his problem any more.

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

After about 40 posts on the same subject by Jim, nobody is interested in his problem any more.

Except for maybe those guests.

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

Except for maybe those guests.

Baidu Spider 09:03 PM Viewing Thread
Well, This is a Fine Kettle of Fish - Festival takes over Escape! Resorts

Baidu Spider 09:02 PM Viewing Thread
Well, This is a Fine Kettle of Fish - Festival takes over Escape! Resorts

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

Baidu Spider 08:57 PM Viewing Thread
Stormy Point Village

Guest 09:11 PM Viewing Thread
AOL Filing Cabinet

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Don't be impressed, they look at everything.

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

Maybe you can hear me laughing that little, frustrated laugh accompanied by an eyeroll.

Why?

Well it was 16 months ago now that I discovered our resort was no longer affiliated with Escapes! when I tried to pay our maintenance fees at the website I always had, and it no longer existed. I then discovered that Escapes! no longer existed. I then discovered that our resort had sued Escapes!/Coopershares. All of that on my own, with no notice or information of any sort from our resort.

It was at that time that I started my quest to get someone from our resort to give us any information about what was going on, those request finally getting the hateful, unprofessional phone call in February (Post 51), 14 months after I started. As I posted then, the lady told me if I wanted to know what's going on, I could come to the annual meeting, while in the same breath she said only 14 out of 6000 owners were at the last one. She said they don't have the money to have a website, do a mailing, or even have an email address for owners to use.

So, I'm laughing because in yesterday's mail we received two postcards (we own in two different names), reading:

IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM
STONEBRIDGE VILLAGE COA

ATTENTION STONEBRIDGE VILLAGE

FIXED AND FLOAT OWNERS

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

YOUR NEW OWNER SERVICES AND RESERVATIONS LINE IS

800-81-XXXXX

Please NOTE!!!!!

Escapes Travel Choice Members will still call 888-382-XXXX
For all Points related Reservations and Account Information
- - - - - - -

Wow! That's exactly what the postcard looks like.

You think maybe someone else was bugging them, since I gave up in Febraury?

I assume they will be sending me an invoice for the cost of the mailing, or our maintenance fee will be a hundred bucks more next year.