Special assessment

Reading Rodney23 notes above, going from $600. to $1800 on his eoy usage is ludricrous. The amount of money this would entail coming in from every owner is a very large amount of money. Don't get me wrong, we have stayed there 3 times as an exchange and I know how beautiful the grounds are but still. We own two other timeshares, one being Marriott New port Coast and I would highly question them raising my fees triple the usual amount. Two years from now when they want to upgrade all the hotel rooms to new villas, as Maui Marriott did, will the board decide to have speciall assessment then? I am certainly glad the owners are questioning these assessments.

The largest assessment was for 48% of the $12 million job for the emergency replacement of groundwater/stream diversion pipes installed to allow the Kahili and Ha'upu wings to be built, which were punctured by debris and failed during the "40 days of rain" in 2006, causing a very large sink hole (as I remember, there were 6 cars which fell into it) and flooding. Then, when the main job was done, the engineers determined that another section of diversion pipe which they thought they'd be able to seal had to be replaced, so that was another single assessment, charged this current year. The other assessment which hit this year was for the electrical generator system which will produce 50% of the resort's electricity PLUS, as an extra added benefit, all of the resort's hot water needs AND heat the pool (which - heating the pool -, Chris said, would cost $750,000 a year, alone, had the resort been doing it). So yes, this year was large, but the only special assessment which might be on this year's bill is the last about $200 of the "big job" assessment.

For an every year one week owner, these assessments were (1) about $600 for the "big job", billed at $200 a year; (2) $430 single year assessment for the discovered replace rather than repair pipe; and (3) $130 for the electrical generation project.

There is more to think about than these past costs. The entire resort is going through a renovation next fall, including the pool deck, all three restaurant areas, and the grounds - most (the pool is shared between the villas and the hotel) of which are hotel owned (not villa owned) portions of the resort. So the villas will be spiffed up with new furniture and fixtures, and the outsides will all be spiffed up, too.

You asked about conversion of hotel rooms. The VOA does not own the hotel side of things. Marriott does not own the hotel side of things. The decision to convert hotel rooms would be the hotel owner's, not the VOA's, and the VOA would not be paying for any such conversion.

kimm112 wrote:

After reading all the views from others, I believe this will not be the timeshare we buy into. Thanks to this forum we would not have been aware of all the extra expense it would involve.

good choice because one extra fee follows another it's never ending and don't let anyone tell you different.

neds5 wrote:

Traveler: those are the email addresses I copied down from the meetings four and three weeks ago (has it really been that long?). Chris LaLetin is the operations manager for Marriott at Kauai Beach (Marriott manages both the hotel for its owner and the Villas for the VOA). Art Gillespie is the chairman of the VOA board of directors, so he is the "lead" representative of the villa owners. Chris was GREAT - direct, transparent, responsive - during the meetings I attended. I was assured that Marriott has very good people taking care of the properties for us.

Thanks for your response. Don't you think Chris made a lot of sense? and we finally felt we had answers that satisfied us. I think, again, the lack of communication is a large factor in the mistrust. It is hard to understand through a letter the same material that is presented in person though. I felt Chris was very "authentic' and presented the facts with a lot of sensitivity to those in attendance. If everyone could experience this Q&A opportunity I think that the feeling of integrity of the program would be regained. I know our confidence has returned.

Somebody mentioned weekly meetings with Chris to discuss these issues. We are scheduled for June (long way off, I know) but would like information about these meetings. Can anyone help?? Thanks; and thanks for all the input. I'm more optimistic that the huge special assessments may finally be over...

rodney23 wrote:

Somebody mentioned weekly meetings with Chris to discuss these issues. We are scheduled for June (long way off, I know) but would like information about these meetings. Can anyone help?? Thanks; and thanks for all the input. I'm more optimistic that the huge special assessments may finally be over...

When you check in ask what day the meeting will be. I believe when we went (2 weeks ago) that they were held on a Monday but check to make sure. I got the feeling that Chris is open to talking to anyone at any time as long as he is there. But - the meeting is the best way because it is good to hear everyone elses questions too. You'll be impressed with his presentation and also the decisions our board has made. The assessments were high but they were left with few choices. And, in actuality, we are very lucky to have the hotel to share in the costs! Have a wonderful time - June will come quickly:)

neds5 wrote:

The largest assessment was for 48% of the $12 million job for the emergency replacement of groundwater/stream diversion pipes installed to allow the Kahili and Ha'upu wings to be built, which were punctured by debris and failed during the "40 days of rain" in 2006, causing a very large sink hole (as I remember, there were 6 cars which fell into it) and flooding. Then, when the main job was done, the engineers determined that another section of diversion pipe which they thought they'd be able to seal had to be replaced, so that was another single assessment, charged this current year ...

We visited the Kauai Beach Club two weeks ago. 20 months after the flooding, the parking lot is still completely torn up. Guests must park up the hill at the Kauai Lagoons parking lot. So there is obviously still a lot of work to be done to get things back in order.

The sad truth is that this is an aging hotel property that dates back to the 1950s. Old properties require a lot of money to keep them going. This is nothing new. In the 1980s, developer Chris Hemmeter poured an unbelievable amount of money into this property to convert the old Kauai Surf Hotel into the Westin Hotel. The Westin operated for only 5 years and lost money for its investors. Then in the 1990s Marriott poured in more money after Hurricane Iniki for timeshare conversions to breath new life into an unprofitable albatross. Smart business decision - and Marriott made a lot of money in the sales of those timeshares to be sure. But now Marriott (and the timeshare owners) are discovering how much it costs to keep an older property like this going. This goes way beyond new carpet and drapes. I'm talking about the infrastructure of a large resort (like drainage systems, and parking lots, and electrical generation, and pool heating systems, etc).

With such large infrastructure expenditures, the money for other maintenance seems to be running short. With each visit I am noticing more deferred maintenance issues (peeling paint, chipped tiles, inoperable hot tubs, non-functioning fountains, etc). It leaves you with the impression of faded elegance of a once-grand hotel.

The Kauai Beach Club is a huge resort. As maintenance issues continue to multiply, it will take a lot of $$$$ to put the shine back on this place. Thus all the special assessments. I hope it will be enough.

I'm interested to know which Hyatt Key West time share you have. We are owners at Hyatt Beach Club, but up to now have been using it every year. But at some point we may want to trade or rent out. Sue

We own at Hyatt Beach Club as well, but have always traded; it seems to trade very well. We've always used our week at the Kauai Beach Club because trading to Hawaii seems impossible. I assume you enjoy the Beach House in Key West???