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ask-redweek-resorts-charging-owners-for-name-changes

My wife & I have owned at Vistana Resort in the Courts Section since the late 1980's. We own Thanksgiving week (most years) and went often when the kids were little and sometimes traded through RCI. A few years ago, after Sheraton put their name on things, the Owner's Association decided to completely rehab all the Courts units. It worked out we couldn't use our week for 2 years so we traded it to go somewhere else. Despite all the money paid in to the maintenance fee over the years they still had to assess each owner thousands to do all the work required to bring the place up to current standards. It came out nice and we were told we could now add our units to the Starwood group (for a fee). I did not do that at the time and later asked if I could get into the network. They said "no". The only way to get in is if i bought another unit from them. A few years after that I asked the resort sales staff during my "Owner Update" meeting if they could sell my unit. They said they don't do that so now the unit I own is not in what is now called the Vistana network and can't be added. A real rip-off. We used to have to pay our maintenance fee before we showed up. They changed that and began billing us at the start of the calendar year so they get the money in their account longer. Now they want to charge a fee if i let my adult son use the place on his own? It has all changed since Sheraton showed up. And I don't want to be welcomed to Sheraton's Vistana Resort. Sheraton had nothing to do with it except the rising costs.