I attended the annual meeting yesterday. The Board members, officials from Starwood's office in Orlando, Angela Nolan (Area Manager for Hawaii villas) and directors/managers from the various departments at the resort were present. There were approx 20 owners in attendance.
The financial report was presented first, then each department manager spoke about what was done this year followed by a Question and Answer period.
It lasted approx 3 hours and 45 minutes and I will touch upon the major points:
Refurbishment of South villa rooms:
New carpets, sofa sleeper, dining room table and chairs, living room lounge chairs, black out curtains, heavenly bed, lamps, light fixtures, bedroom chairs, kitchen appliances, washer/dryers. New hallway carpets
Building 2 is completed and will start on Building 3 in April and then Building 4.
2015 2016
Resort Operations $1,089 $1,119
Reserves $420 $420
Taxes $277 $322
Bad Debt $16 $18
All others $470 $468
Total $2,272 $2,347
Rate of increase is 3.3%. Biggest portion is for taxes.
Micro turbine generators will be installed starting in April 2016, which will provide 90% of the energy.
Majority of the questions brought up by owners was concern about the annual fee increases since the resort opened. They stated the annual fees were approx $1,200 when they purchased about 12 years ago and were told the rate increases would be modest. Some owners expressed with the annual fees and higher cost of airline tickets was putting a strain on their budget. Starwood acknowledged they had underestimated the upkeep cost in their budget, along with the annual fees being partially subsidized initially by Starwood, higher energy costs and maintenance fee delinquencies, led to the increases we saw in the last decade. They stated, however, the annual fees are now under control have gone up on an average of 2% per year from 2011-2016.
Since I am not a WKORV owner, I asked an owner/client/friend to ask the following 3 questions on my behalf.
1. Will the WKORV and WKORVN inventory that Starwood has bought back through ROFR and foreclosures go with the sale to Marriott or ILG? The response was it will go with timeshare portfolio sale to ILG. I have a strong feeling Starwood still owns quite a bit of this inventory and if it went with the hotel sale, then the resort would get more guests through SPG and booking, especially during peak travel periods, would become even more competitive.
2. Will WKORV and WKORVN still be able to use the Westin brand name? Yes, there will be a 80 year license agreement.
3. Will the ROFR option still continue after the sale to ILG? Yes.
The timeshare portfolio will be a wholly owned subsidiary of ILG
After the meeting, I had an opportunity to speak with the Finance person about the current litigation with the County of Maui regarding property taxes. He explained there are two components to the increase- assessed valuations of property values and the millage rate. While property values in Maui have gone up, the argument is the timeshare owners are being unfairly taxed on the millage rate.
The people from Starwood's office in Orlando, the resort staff and Board members were respectful of owners questions and concerns. I was pleased to see the effort they are making to maintain the quality and service at the resort.
I am relieved about the reacquired inventory staying with the timeshare portfolio and the Westin brand name can be used for 80 years.
The financial report was presented first, then each department manager spoke about what was done this year followed by a Question and Answer period.
It lasted approx 3 hours and 45 minutes and I will touch upon the major points:
Refurbishment of South villa rooms:
New carpets, sofa sleeper, dining room table and chairs, living room lounge chairs, black out curtains, heavenly bed, lamps, light fixtures, bedroom chairs, kitchen appliances, washer/dryers. New hallway carpets
Building 2 is completed and will start on Building 3 in April and then Building 4.
2015 2016
Resort Operations $1,089 $1,119
Reserves $420 $420
Taxes $277 $322
Bad Debt $16 $18
All others $470 $468
Total $2,272 $2,347
Rate of increase is 3.3%. Biggest portion is for taxes.
Micro turbine generators will be installed starting in April 2016, which will provide 90% of the energy.
Majority of the questions brought up by owners was concern about the annual fee increases since the resort opened. They stated the annual fees were approx $1,200 when they purchased about 12 years ago and were told the rate increases would be modest. Some owners expressed with the annual fees and higher cost of airline tickets was putting a strain on their budget. Starwood acknowledged they had underestimated the upkeep cost in their budget, along with the annual fees being partially subsidized initially by Starwood, higher energy costs and maintenance fee delinquencies, led to the increases we saw in the last decade. They stated, however, the annual fees are now under control have gone up on an average of 2% per year from 2011-2016.
Since I am not a WKORV owner, I asked an owner/client/friend to ask the following 3 questions on my behalf.
1. Will the WKORV and WKORVN inventory that Starwood has bought back through ROFR and foreclosures go with the sale to Marriott or ILG? The response was it will go with timeshare portfolio sale to ILG. I have a strong feeling Starwood still owns quite a bit of this inventory and if it went with the hotel sale, then the resort would get more guests through SPG and booking, especially during peak travel periods, would become even more competitive.
2. Will WKORV and WKORVN still be able to use the Westin brand name? Yes, there will be a 80 year license agreement.
3. Will the ROFR option still continue after the sale to ILG? Yes.
The timeshare portfolio will be a wholly owned subsidiary of ILG
After the meeting, I had an opportunity to speak with the Finance person about the current litigation with the County of Maui regarding property taxes. He explained there are two components to the increase- assessed valuations of property values and the millage rate. While property values in Maui have gone up, the argument is the timeshare owners are being unfairly taxed on the millage rate.
The people from Starwood's office in Orlando, the resort staff and Board members were respectful of owners questions and concerns. I was pleased to see the effort they are making to maintain the quality and service at the resort.
I am relieved about the reacquired inventory staying with the timeshare portfolio and the Westin brand name can be used for 80 years.
WKORV 2015 annual HOA Board meeting Resort Manager report
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