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Re: MARRIOTT RIPPING OFF ARUBA OCEAN CLUB OWNERS

The following letter has been sent earlier this week to the board of the Aruba Ocean Club and the Customer Care office of MVCI. To all Board members, I am sure you are all aware how I and other owners feel in regards to the outrageous fees you are trying to charge owners of the Ocean Club as well as your siding with Marriott on the costs of bringing the Ocean Club up to the standard it should have been when it was selling the units. 1) As for the increase in our annual fees. For the 1 bedroom units the increase amounts to 27%, this does not include the reserve fund fees. Based on the governing document you may increase the fees by 7.5% above the inflation rate, (which is an annualized 9.1%) without a vote by the owners. I am asking to know when that vote will occur, since you have exceeded the allowed percentage. 2) Marriott sold to all of us a defective building, it has leaked since day , due to a poor roof and lack of waterproofing of the building. Why is it now we are saying the roof needs to be replaced, when it should have been replaced prior to final construction? Why is Marriott not paying for this replacement since they did not fully disclose to the owners what they were buying? Why is Marriott refusing to pay for the entire roof? 3) Why have we the owners had to foot the bill since day 1 for all the repairs due to do the roof and lack of waterproofing of the building? Please provide to all of us a detail list of expenses the owners have incurred due to these issues. 4) Why is it the Ocean Club was the only building to sustain such extensive damage due to TS Omar? The Surf Club and hotel had no such damage. 5) You are representatives of the owners, yet you fail to respond to questions, emails and letters sent to you. This was not the way things were handled when Allan was President. Why are you not representing owners in the discussions with Marriott. I was at the owners meeting and there was a lack of respect to the owners and it was clear that it was a meeting supporting Marriott and not the owners. 6) Why have we not received fair payment for the space leased by Marriott and other vendors. Why does Marriott feel they do not have to pay a fair price for renting space in the Ocean Club. We the owners deserve to see the accounting of all payments by Marriott and the other vendors. Also a report showing how the revenues we are receiving compare to the average for other similar resorts. 7) Knowing we were having financial problems why would we increase our expenses by hiring a dedicated GM versus continuing to share with the Surf Club? This was not a fiscally responsible move and we should look to going back and utilizing a shared resource. 8) I am recommending that a group of owners work with the board to negotiate a fair and equitable agreement with Marriott for the roof costs, payment back to the Ocean Club for the repair work paid for by owners, and fair compensation for use of Ocean Club space. I do believe that if the above items are addressed and resolved in an equitable way that the fees and assessments we are being asked to pay can and will be reduced. I would hope we the owners will get the courtesy we deserve, having elected you to the board, with answers and actions to the questions listed above. An owner of multiple units who is angry. Mark