Clocktower/Whistler for 2010 Olympics

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

From Vacation Internationale

On July 2, 2003, the International Olympic Committee bestowed upon Vancouver and Whistler, BC, the honor of hosting the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The resort of Whistler, in fact, was born on an Olympic dream. From February 10-28, 2010, Whistler will host the Winter Olympics and March 12-21, 2010, the Paralympic Games.

Some of our VI Owners will have the opportunity to join in the Olympic celebrations. The events on tap include the men’s and women’s slalom, giant slalom, alpine skiing, biathlon, cross- country skiing, ski jumping, bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton. With a total of 15 units available for use at
our Clock Tower Resort, the VIOA Board reviewed several options and selected a lottery system for accepting reservations for these prime dates.
The guidelines for how the lottery system will work are as follows:

All reservations will be 4 nights, thus giving more Owners the opportunity to participate.

Only Owners will be authorized to reserve a unit, and must occupy that unit with any guest each day. Only one unit per Owner number.

Identification must be shown at the time of check-in.

Owners will submit their names into a pool by a deadline; we will then pull names and notify Owners to begin booking reservations.

If the Owner decides to cancel, the space will return to general availability for any Owner to book. However, the same rules will apply. Look for more information to be provided in the coming months.

This way, no VI owner can enjoy the Olympics.

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

They are certainly planning ahead. Sounds like VI owners will be unable to book time to rent out for mega bucks. And none of these units will ever show up for exchange either. Am I interpreting this correctly? I know nothing about the VI system.

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

They are certainly planning ahead. Sounds like VI owners will be unable to book time to rent out for mega bucks. And none of these units will ever show up for exchange either. Am I interpreting this correctly? I know nothing about the VI system.

You're interpreting that correctly. The problem I have is not with the lottery, not with the owner having to occupy, but 4 days is not the right amount of time for a trip to the Olympics.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

You're interpreting that correctly. The problem I have is not with the lottery, not with the owner having to occupy, but 4 days is not the right amount of time for a trip to the Olympics.

I agree that the 4 day limit would seem to ruin it for all but nearby owners.

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

I agree that the 4 day limit would seem to ruin it for all but nearby owners.

...and that may well be the perspective taken by the Board as they and many owners are in the Seattle and Washington State area.

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

Thanks Spence for posting this. We own in Whistler and our resorts are trying to decide how to allocate the units to owners during the Olympic period in a fair and equitable manner. This provides a bit of insight what other resorts are doing.

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

I didn't see this earlier.

Club Intrawest is also doing a lottery. But for a full 7 days. They also are prohibiting renting the weeks. Personally, so many peolpe want them, I'm glad to know that anyone winning the lottery will be using instead of renting the weeks.

[ladycody Member Find all posts View Profile Close ladycody]

I get it...and appreciate the thought process behind it...but would still be bent that my documented rights as an owner were being denied with regards to renting simply because of an event (granted a big one) at a specific location....

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

I get it...and appreciate the thought process behind it...but would still be bent that my documented rights as an owner were being denied with regards to renting simply because of an event (granted a big one) at a specific location....

Then it's good that you're not in VI, isn't it?

I think it's good that timeshare owners have choices. Those people who want to be involved with a timeshare where owners make decisions that favor maximizing opportunities for owners to stay at the resort and enjoy their unit can find timeshares that are managed that way. Other owners who favor strict application of rules can find timeshares that operate that way.

This is very similar to the discussions about resorts that bulk bank. Many savvy owners don't like bulk banking because it often limits an owners to reserve and choose a specific week for exchange. The trade off is that bulk banking enables a resort to maximize the number of requests by owners to stay at their own resort during peak times.

Please note I am not saying one approach is better than the other. They are simply different and that gives opportunities for choice.

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

Spence, what do you think about a chance booking into the limited Sunterra's limited inventory in Whistler, or exchanging into a week via RCI or II during the Winter Olympics?

[ladycody Member Find all posts View Profile Close ladycody]

Then it's good that you're not in VI, isn't it?

I'm not sure yet if it would matter....and I take no offense...I can see the value to both sides of the coin. There've been rumors that WM has considered the same approach and I honestly dont know what the outcome will be.

Funnily enough...I'd probably have less issue with it if the rule were across the board for special events. For instance, if owners were not allowed to rent Seaside at the 4th of July or Daytona for the 500 or Whistler at xmas....

It's instituting a rule for this one event that bothers me most. Dont even ask why...it just does. Either allow owners to benefit full tilt from renting...or put rules in place across the board to protect those ultra red weeks for owner use...it's just how I feel.

(I'm a woman and allowed (in fact expected to possess by many) a full range of emotions, both rational and irrational...especially in the year I turn 40 I think.)

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

I agree. I don't like the 4-day rule. That would ruin it for those who win the lottery.

I think the lottery idea is fine.

I don't like the id rule to prevent renting although I guess I could live with it. I would be more concerned about the Board using this instance to limit ownerships in other ways. I don't like when boards of HOAs take away my rights as an owner.

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

The Olympics was a very hotly debated issue a couple months ago at the AGM of our Whistler resorts. The two ideas that came up was to take out the 2 weeks of the Olympics out of the pool and consider renting them en masse with the proceeds going back in some way to the entire ownership. I'm told that Park City did that with 4 weeks when the Olympics were in Utah and made a significant pile of money that went back the HOA.

The other idea was the lottery idea, both of a full week and also on a smaller basis, like 4 days. The concept of the 4 days is that it gives more owners the opportunity to participate in enjoying the Olympic atmosphere. What I'm referring to is the floating unit owners. One of our resorts has fixed President's week owners and they get the use of their week as normal (use or rent). We haven't decided how those that win the lottery will get to use their 4 days (actual use or rent). The board will do some investigating and then provide a couple options for the membership to vote on. Majority wins.

While this may seem quite a ways out, it's not. There are a number of resorts that allow owners to book 2 years out so it's really just around the corner and requires resorts to have a policy in place soon.