Original Message:
Re: Diamond Resorts reduces owner benefits again! (by DIamond R.):
Thank you for expressing your views with respect to Points owners. Our leaseholders' in many cases have been coming to both of our St. Maarten Resorts since the early 1990's and some even earlier. As such, many if not most of them have no interest in trading, or a portfolio of resorts and therfore no interst in "Points". That is what RCI and/or II was to provide - the privilege to exchange. Many of our Members have been promoted quite heavily to surrender their leashold interests and convert to points. Many of the Members have expressed a strong view that these two resorts are their home away from home. Friendships haven been formed as the same people are in residence at the same time each year. Members and other leaseholders do not have any requirement to make reservations 12 or 13 months in advance as the leasehold interest is for the most part tied to a specific Unit. It is interesting that you say that you pay $2,100 for "annual fees" versus the $1400 paid by leaseholders. One might imagine that your annual fee includes the infrastructure and overhead that supports the product that your purchased.... not a leasehold. Your ability to utilize your "points" at other Diamond properties appears to be that product. In the case at hand for the leasehold Members, it is believed that the maintenance charges requested and paid are not just for budgeted maintenance and expenses specific to our resorts, but also include perhaps the same things that your annual fee pays for. As you say -- you pay an annual fee. Leaseholders pay "maintenance" which includes a hefty management fee for Diamond to run the resort. The budget numbers presented by Diamond have skyrocketed and continue to do so. That is undisputed. The members of the Association want to see their resorts properly maintaned; but they expect complete transparency and production of financial records to determine if the money paid is for the benefit of each of the leasholders resorts and not for things that we call "off-island" and unrelated to " maintenance". The contracts entered into and being litigated are pre-Diamond and call for payment of "maintenance". Dutch law may be somewhat different than American law in that there is a heavy burden to demonstrate that if there is a dispute, what is asked for is "fair and reasonable". Our goal is to ask for proof that what is invoiced as maintenance in accordance with our contracts is actually a maintenance budget. The Association maintains it is not. The Association does not accept Points holders as Members as we are litigating specifically on our contracts that pre-date Diamond.