T_R_Oglodyte
TUG Lifetime Member
So, now the Vila Vera properties in Zihuatenejo and Isla Mujeres are no longer available through Raintree, even by rental. (They stopped allowing members to book Vila Vera using points earlier - with the excuse that the resorts "weren't up to standards". Right. If that were the case then they shouldn't have been offering them through rental either.) Vila Vera sold the properties to Wyndham and they're going to become Worldmark Resorts. Presumably, Raintree had the opportunity to buy the properties, as they did the Vila Vera in Puerto Vallarta, but couldn't. If the properties are good enough for Wyndham you would think they would be good enough for Raintree. Which strongly suggests that Raintree just didn't have the cash to do so.
Or course, one of the key things that made Raintree attractive in the first place was the addition of the Vila Vera properties to the three Club Regina properties. So now Raintree's direct operations in Mexico are pretty much back to the original Club Regina properties, plus the Vila Vera in Puerto Vallarta. Of course, they've mothballed about 75% of the Vila Vera property in Puerto Vallarta due to low occupancy. The resort map, of course, continues to show a lot of dots because they have the limited inventory swaps with other resorts (Diamond, Bluegreen, Grand Regina). But the inventory is limited and are marked up tremendously from what those units costs to owners of those systems.
Continuing on, there's the saga of Miners Club, which at one time was Raintree's jewel resort but which Raintree was never able to buildout. Wyndham apparently took over the unbuilt portion and finished it off and is running the property successfully. And apparently Wyndham has even bought inventory in Miners Club that Raintree was unable to sell. And then there's the interesting Raintree 7 and Raintree 15 conversion programs, in which members can terminate their contracts early in exchange for a relatively modest upfront payment. In offering these programs, Raintree is essentially swapping future revenue for immediate cash. And there was the special assessment of several years ago, in which Raintree was hitting members up for money to cover what was essentially operating expenses.
Put it all together and this looks like a company that is cash short, lacks the finances to make reasonable investments to sustain long-term profitability and to meet long-term plans, and is actually struggling maintain liquidity. The long-term prognosis here just does not look good to me. I have been thinking that Diamond was going to move in on them, particularly since Diamond did have an purchase deal in place about eight years ago. (The deal tanked in the credit crunch when the lenders withdrew the bridge financing.) But now it's looking more as if Wyndham is the circling vulture.
We did the Raintree 7 conversion, and we intend to burn those points as quickly as we can. Of course, I would encourage other Raintree members to do the same.
Or course, one of the key things that made Raintree attractive in the first place was the addition of the Vila Vera properties to the three Club Regina properties. So now Raintree's direct operations in Mexico are pretty much back to the original Club Regina properties, plus the Vila Vera in Puerto Vallarta. Of course, they've mothballed about 75% of the Vila Vera property in Puerto Vallarta due to low occupancy. The resort map, of course, continues to show a lot of dots because they have the limited inventory swaps with other resorts (Diamond, Bluegreen, Grand Regina). But the inventory is limited and are marked up tremendously from what those units costs to owners of those systems.
Continuing on, there's the saga of Miners Club, which at one time was Raintree's jewel resort but which Raintree was never able to buildout. Wyndham apparently took over the unbuilt portion and finished it off and is running the property successfully. And apparently Wyndham has even bought inventory in Miners Club that Raintree was unable to sell. And then there's the interesting Raintree 7 and Raintree 15 conversion programs, in which members can terminate their contracts early in exchange for a relatively modest upfront payment. In offering these programs, Raintree is essentially swapping future revenue for immediate cash. And there was the special assessment of several years ago, in which Raintree was hitting members up for money to cover what was essentially operating expenses.
Put it all together and this looks like a company that is cash short, lacks the finances to make reasonable investments to sustain long-term profitability and to meet long-term plans, and is actually struggling maintain liquidity. The long-term prognosis here just does not look good to me. I have been thinking that Diamond was going to move in on them, particularly since Diamond did have an purchase deal in place about eight years ago. (The deal tanked in the credit crunch when the lenders withdrew the bridge financing.) But now it's looking more as if Wyndham is the circling vulture.
We did the Raintree 7 conversion, and we intend to burn those points as quickly as we can. Of course, I would encourage other Raintree members to do the same.
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