Purchase IPADs for Board Members

My two cents,

I would have to agree, especially when each of us that owns just received a 2012 Member Guide in the mail. This are beautiful, expensive looking books? Why can't this be emailed to each owner (at a savings that far exceeds the Ipad purchases)?

I've only been an owner for 6 months, and I have already received 2 member guides! Before purchasing, I found TUG, and I found someone had posted a link to the 2011 member guide. I printed most of it, and learned enough to make me want to purchase. If we are really discussing cost savings, let's start there. How much does printing and mailing a book to each member actually cost?[/QUOTE]

When you log into your account online, go to My Account>Manage Communications. You can elect to receive some or all of: the member guide, Grand Times, HOA Communications and notices electronically.

poorguy said:

When you log into your account online, go to My Account>Manage Communications. You can elect to receive some or all of: the member guide, Grand Times, HOA Communications and notices electronically.

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I will do that... when the HOA buys me an iPad, or gives me credit against my MF's.

phil1ben said:

For example at South Beach the money could have been used to buy umbrellas and beach chairs so owners don't have to rent them at $50.00 per day. I am sure there are countless other places where the money could have been better spent. This was a needless and improper waste of operating funds.

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Or how about fixing the internet problem at South Beach. That is probably a $3k-$4k fix.

No need for iPads.

UWSurfer said:

True, I am expanding what the minutes said to the potential of a virtual meeting on-line (i.e.: video conferencing).

Now, if you go to the BUY GOTO MEETING link, you'll note: "Buy GoToMeeting and enjoy unlimited meetings for $49 per month." It has a free trial, but it's not a free product. Thats nearly $600 per person, about the same or more than purchasing a full featured iPad.

Like I said, I've been down this road before.

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A clarification... a single account of $49/month will support a meeting of up to 15 people. That's about $600 total per year, not per person.

Unless the iPad can offset travel/meeting expenses, or there's some other critical activity this addresses (not sure what that would be), I can only imagine that this is compensation for time on the board. Maybe that's a good incentive to have to get people to consider spending their time on the board, though perhaps that should be in a charter, not something voted on based on HGVC 'recommendations'.

That said, it's pretty unseemly to vote yourself an iPad to read minutes. I'd be embarrassed to do so without a clear functional reason for it. Boards should be fiscally prudent. It's hard to imagine that this board is thinking fiscally prudent if it's making decisions like this.

Talent312 said:

I will do that... when the HOA buys me an iPad, or gives me credit against my MF's.

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That is actually a good idea!

If HGVC gave owners the option to receive a digital copy via email or use the hgvclub to access the guide AND give a $10 MF credit, that would be fantastic.

Or reduce the fees by $10 for everyone and for those who want a printed copy, charge them $10.

I have an IPAD. I also own the computers in my office and a laptop that I keep at home.

I do not expect other HGVC members to purchase my personal electronic devices. I do not expect to purchase personal electronic devices for board members.

The member guide is readily available at the HGVC website and is easily downloaded in PDF format. The Grand Times mailings are also available at the HGVC website and may be easily downloaded in PDF format. I think it would be much more cost effective to stop mailing the hard copies and simply provide the information online. A simple email to the owners would be enought to advise us that a new member guide or Grand Times is available.

I would have a problem with this. I own in Hawaii and have
the security of owning in a small timeshare group in a well run condominium complex where the board members must be owners of a timeshare and are answerable to all and reachable in case of complaints or suggestions.

For those that care to cut, paste and send here is a copy of the letter I sent to the HGVC South Beach Board (you probably need to delete the film revenue paragraph for other facilities):

To: All Current Board Members of the South Beach Vacation Suites Condominium Association, Inc.:

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:

The minutes of the May 11, 2011 Board of Directors’ Meeting were recently published on the HGVC website. I was surprised to read the following in the minutes:

"Electronic Format for Meetings - Mr. Hutchinson discussed with the Board the idea of providing future board meeting material and other correspondence in an electronic format. All future material would be sent to the Board members electronically by providing each Board member an iPad. Mrs. Kidd made the motion to have management move forward with implementing the electronic format including the purchase of the necessary equipment as an operating expense for each Board member, general manager and assistant manager; seconded, after discussion, Motion carried (emphasis added)."

Suffice it to say, I am appalled that the Board would purchase iPads for their own use (and for the general manager and assistant manager) with funds paid by each Unit Owner for operating expenses. The purported purpose of the expenditure was to review Board material provided in electronic format. I suspect that all of the Board members already possess the capability to review documents in electronic format. In the unlikely case that they do not, the materials can be provided by hard copy. Alternatively, a Board member that does not have a computer can visit his/her local public library and review the documents there.

The Board should have been polled to determine whether each member has a means to review electronic documentation (i.e. do they have a computer?). In my opinion, this was a needless expenditure of funds which each Unit Owner fully expected would be used for maintenance and refurbishing of the facility. The fact that the iPads may be returned after a Member’s term does not change my opinion. The iPads will likely be obsolete by that time.

After reviewing the Minutes, I contacted the facility and spoke with the Manager who was very helpful. She informed me that the Board had an unanticipated revenue in the amount of approximately $11,000.00 attributable to filming activity at the property. She further stated that a portion of this sum was utilized to purchase the iPads. This sum should have been utilized for true operating expenses (i.e. repairs and refurbishing) and NOT for the purchase of iPads. If the Board believed that no such repairs or refurbishments were necessary, the funds should have been deposited as reserves or utilized to offset any maintenance fees for the next fiscal year.

The Board should consist of volunteers who perform their services gratuitously. In voting for this measure, I believe all of you have breached a confidence which the Unit Owners have placed in you. I further understand that HGVC recommended the adoption of such a purchase. The Unit Owners rely on all of you to review such suggestions and act properly. In my opinion, you have all acted improperly.

EXCELLENT letter that will, of course, be completely ignored by the Board. I have yet to see a valid reason for such a purchase. And the rules/laws of timeshares in most states are that any surplus to budget be returned to the owners or used as additional reserve funding. I've never seen the use for a perishable, non-resort purchase as an acceptable use of any "surplus" or unanticipated funds. What a total disregard for the owners.

Strangely enuff, I have not received a reply to my e-mail.
I expect to hear from Kim Krieger any day now.

Board members receiving IPADs

phil1ben said:

I am an owner at HGVC South Beach. I just read the May 11, 2011 Board Minutes and saw that the Board voted to buy each Board Member an IPAD so that meeting minutes can be delivered electronically. It was paid for as an Operating Expense and ; therefore, by each owner.

Are they kidding?

I suspect each Board Member has computer access. In the very unlikely event that they do not, then let them review the materials by hard copy. Or simply go to their public library. These Boards should simply be owners who VOLUNTEER to serve. They should not be paid with IPADS. The money should be used for "Operating Expenses" not Christmas gifts for Board Members.

Am I the only one troubled by this?

I intend to write a letter to the Board complaining about this action. If others agree, I hope they will join me.

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I totally agree with you. We have not bought IPADs for ourselves because of the price. Surely all of these Board members have computer access or could use the library. There is no excuse for buying them IPADs. These funds are to be used for resort expenses! Money could have been put into reserves for emergencies if not needed now.

I may have missed this in the thread. But, if there was a need for such a device, why not an Amazon Kindle or something else that is cheaper? The kindle would be 2/5 of the price and do everything they need. Apple products are higher priced and I consider them luxury items.

Ironically, my company was forced to buy me a macbook to diagnose customer problems which were specific to Windows emulation on the mac. Important customers needed this to work. Yay for me!

I seriously doubt that they really need to buy the Apple product. It's like saying that they have trouble parking at south beach so they need a stretch limo to pick them up.

DaveC said:

.... It's like saying that they have trouble parking at south beach so they need a stretch limo to pick them up.

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Don't give 'em any ideas... or perhaps they already do.

Here's another way of looking at the iPad issue. What question is the iPad answering?

How do we meet without visiting the property? How do we get documents to members for review quickly? How do we have a conference call where we all see each others faces? How do we assure everyone has the ability to view a document without prejudice toward their computer purchases or capabilities?

They are all legitimate questions that can be answered without purchase of an iPad. I love mine, but there's no way as a board member I'd expect to be given one for the sole purpose of conducting board business. They will clearly be used otherwise.

Are they insured? Are the board members responsible for returning them unharmed at the end of their tenure? Are they taxable gifts? Are they compensation for serving on the board?

I'd almost prefer they become the property of the board member due to the liability of the board for what might potentially land on those devices.

I'm all for facilitating communication, but I've never served on a nonprofit board that purchased communication devices for board members. PDF and a good old-fashioned computer seemed to work just fine when we didn't have in-person meetings.

Members need an ipad to view the Memebership Guide.

The board feels that it was necessary to purchase an electronic devise for board purpases and thought it would save money.

To keep costs down I encouraging meembers to veiw the online Member ship guide. May I suggest that all Owners be issued electronic devices (ipads) so we can all veiw the member guides electronically?

This is just another example of higher ups (Management, BOD's, CEO's) always getting away with expensing and justifying unnecessary expenditures.

I'm sure the BOD's already have incurred home expenses with having computers/laptops/ cell phones etc and an IPAD is just another one to "pad" the expenses.

I would be curious to see which properties Maintenance Fees will increase this year?

Board's Buying IPAD Issue - Suggestion

I do not run this Board and I do not know how to run a BBS. But to show the power of this BBS (which is mere numbers), and given the clear wrongful nature of the HGVC BODs actions in buying IPADS for their own use with Operating Funds, may I suggest that the Administrators' of the Board somehow (if possible) set up an electronic petition that each of us can sign and submit to HGVC and each of the BODs. The "petition" should state that we are all HGVC owners and believe that the BODs actions were wrongful and that we demand that each Board Member personally reimburse their respective Operating Fund for the cost of the iPADs.

Surely this is possible. How do we get this done?

How does a $599 iPad become a $825 iPad?

cgingrich said:

The board feels that it was necessary to purchase an electronic devise for board purpases and thought it would save money.

To keep costs down I encouraging meembers to veiw the online Member ship guide. May I suggest that all Owners be issued electronic devices (ipads) so we can all veiw the member guides electronically?

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You have a great idea there. Why not give every owner an iPad "to view the documents"?

It might surprise you to discover just what you as an owner would pay for those $599 pads. Of course there is the list price of $599 you'd certainly be asked to pay, plus the 10-20% profit margin for the only vendor allowed to supply them - the "approved" vendor (approved by Hilton/Marriott/whoever - guess who probably gets a cut of that?) and then the Management overhead of 15% which is applied to all purchases for the "trouble" of them forcing you to deal with their vendors and at their price.

So an iPad you could have got for $599 or less would likely cost you $826.62 each. A drastic example off why "name brands" fe are so high. These same type of "requirements" are applied to everything they do.

They demand that the Association only use their vendors at their price and then tack on an overhead. Far too much of every dollar spent goes to things that do NOTHING for the resort & owners. That is the real cost of having a "name brand" run your resort. It is not required to get the quality it is just free money for the "name" involved. Some demand more tan others but they all do it to a very large extent.

Better most every dollar go toward operation & maintenance of the resort as they do at a well run owner controlled operation. Even then it's hard to hold costs down. It's much harder when a profit is automatically built in to a corporate benefit alone.

"Our website is experiencing extremely high transaction volume the last week of the year. Please try again later today or tonight."

Um, instead of buying board members iPads, how about spending some $$ to upgrade/maintain your servers, HGVC?

Rgong:

They did not buy the Board Members iPADS - You did.

phil1ben said:

"They" did not buy the Board Members iPADS - You did.

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I gather that HGVC uses the transaction fees to cover the costs of its
service center. While annoying, IMHO, they are not terribly excessive
at this point.

However, if HGVC buys extra servers for just the last 72 hours, it could
increase fees for the rest of the year. Perhaps those using the services
in the last 72 hours should offer to cover the additional expense.

phil1ben said:

Rgong:

They did not buy the Board Members iPADS - You did.

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I see your point, but if someone uses my credit card w/o my permission, I don't consider that *I* made the purchase. Yeah it's our money, but someone else is making the decision as to how to (carelessly) spend it, as you've pointed out.

talent, I'm sure hgvc was shocked (not) that the traffic to hgvclub.com the last week of the year (not just 3 days) has overwhelmed their servers. I'm guessing they could lease capacity for a short period w/o having to invest in permanent infrastructure.

but what do I know, I'm just a lowly club member...

IPAD's, chump change

I had the pleasure of just being in South Beach for the New Year for 3 days. Upon check in, I was informed by Eva that there was no hot water. It took them 17 hours to fix, oops, I mean replace the hot water system in both bldgs. Wait till that special assement comes in. $$$$

phil1ben said:

I do not run this Board and I do not know how to run a BBS. But to show the power of this BBS (which is mere numbers), and given the clear wrongful nature of the HGVC BODs actions in buying IPADS for their own use with Operating Funds, may I suggest that the Administrators' of the Board somehow (if possible) set up an electronic petition that each of us can sign and submit to HGVC and each of the BODs. The "petition" should state that we are all HGVC owners and believe that the BODs actions were wrongful and that we demand that each Board Member personally reimburse their respective Operating Fund for the cost of the iPADs.

Surely this is possible. How do we get this done?

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If someone wants to set this up, I will gladly sign it...
http://www.change.org/