Meet KBV IOA Board Candidate Brian Reichel

[bjreichel]

I've been a KBV fixed interval owner since 2005, and I visit the resort annually. For the past 28 years I’ve been an attorney in Denver, Colorado, and since 1998 I’ve owned and operated my own law firm. In that capacity, I’ve managed all aspects of a solo legal practice, including procuring clients, supervising support staff and functions, and facilitating all budgeting, billing and bookkeeping tasks. As an attorney, I strive to act ethically and with the utmost professionalism at all times while acting in the best interests of those I represent. As a Board member, I would do the same.

In addition to my law degree, I hold a PhD in Sociology and have a long history of teaching and coaching. I am an excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communicator with a proven track record of performing independently and as a team member. My devotion to community service has included serving on several non-profit boards, and I firmly believe that I would be an asset to the KBV IOA Board.

The primary issues I hope to address as a Board member include finding more effective and efficient ways to address bad debt, and conducting a legal audit of controlling documents (CCRs, Bylaws, Rules, management agreement, etc.), as well as the statutory obligations of the KBV IOA Board and Plan Manager, to ensure compliance with applicable legal obligations and improve administrative and cost efficiencies with respect to the continued operation of KBV and the goals of KBV owners.

I welcome your questions and concerns.

 

[DeniseM]

Hi Brian - Welcome to TUG, and thank you for posting!

Just to clarify - do you go by BJ or Brian?

 

[bjreichel]

Brian

Hi Brian - Welcome to TUG, and thank you for posting!

Just to clarify - do you go by BJ or Brian?

 

[TUGBrian]

Welcome to TUG!

 

[leehad50]

Hi Brian, I think it would be nice to have the involvement of an honest attorney. I do have one question, did you convert to Wyndham points?

 

[bjreichel]

No, I did not.

 

[Jeff From Salem]

Hi Brian, I think it would be nice to have the involvement of an honest attorney. I do have one question, did you convert to Wyndham points?

No, I did not.

That's a VERY good question. And yes, there ARE such things as "honest attorneys".

Those who are either deeded owners of Wyndham or are in the Wyndham Vacation Club generally would be fine with a Wyndham takeover. David Walters, the original PAHIO developer, had hired Wyndham as the KBV manager. Walters, at one point, sold the name PAHIO to Wyndham and sold Wyndham the clubhouse. This is part of the problem as to why we independent owners are behind the 8-ball. When Walters gave Wyndham about 1000 unsold and/or deadbeat deeds to Wyndham simply for the cost of the transfer to Wyndham, Walters had hoped the Wyndham would use their marketing sales force to sell the deeds at a retail and pocket the difference. The result, even though Wyndham would have made a lot of money, would have been getting the deeds in the hands of independent owners. Instead, Wyndham saw that their contract with KBV was going to be let to expire. Wyndham fought back by using the voting power of all those deeds to get Wyndham friendly people on the IOA and AOAO boards, and eventually end Grand Pacific's contract so that Wyndham could come back in as manager.

The several year fight to push back against Wyndham is on-going. Having a lawyer who can parse the ByLaws and CCRs as well as the attempts by Wyndham to wrestle back the management of the resort is something we need to continue to be vigilant on.

There are other issues that are going to be worked on, including creating an easy and obvious way of marketing the unsold deeds (as well as allowing those who want to give up their deeds to do so easily). Both available Fixed as well as Floating Week deed lists need to be made available, and easy methods for buying and selling need to be created. We need to figure out if there could be a way to get back control of The Clubhouse, where we check in. (This is going to mean buying it back.).

I welcome Brian and would love to see him be a vital Director of the IOA board.

Jeff

 

[bjreichel]

I strongly urge all past, present and prospective Board members to read this article:
https://charitableallies.org/news/board-liability/
Simply stated, I believe getting the IOA into compliance with our governing documents and Hawaii law shop be THE top priority right now.

 

[Jeff From Salem]

Brian, my dad had a Ph.D. in Sociology. His areas of expertise were Industrial Relations and Medicine. He started the Community Health Program at Tufts University.

What areas of Sociology did you focus on in your studies?

Jeff

 

[magmue]

Those who are either deeded owners of Wyndham or are in the Wyndham Vacation Club generally would be fine with a Wyndham takeover.

Do you have data to support this statement? I am not a Wyndham member, but if I were, I would still want KBV managed by the company that performed best.

David Walters, the original PAHIO developer, had hired Wyndham as the KBV manager. Walters, at one point, sold the name PAHIO to Wyndham and sold Wyndham the clubhouse..... When Walters gave Wyndham about 1000 unsold and/or deadbeat deeds to Wyndham simply for the cost of the transfer to Wyndham, Walters had hoped the Wyndham would use their marketing sales force to sell the deeds at a retail and pocket the difference. The result, even though Wyndham would have made a lot of money, would have been getting the deeds in the hands of independent owners. Instead, Wyndham saw that their contract with KBV was going to be let to expire.....

I actually did some research over the weekend, trying to get a clearer idea on the history of KBV's transition from Pahio to Wyndham, and it is still unclear to me. I found a few articles similar to this one from July 2006, using the same language: "Wyndham Vacation Ownership will assume property management, sales and marketing operations for Bali Hai Villas, Ka Eo Kai, Kaui Beach Villas, Shearwater and Makai Resorts". The implication, to me, is that it was all part of one agreement, as opposed to Wyndham starting as manager and later buying the clubhouse etc. And your archives on the savingkbv state that Wyndham was given a 10 year property management contract, which also fits in with that timeline.

 

[bjreichel]

Brian, my dad had a Ph.D. in Sociology. His areas of expertise were Industrial Relations and Medicine. He started the Community Health Program at Tufts University.

What areas of Sociology did you focus on in your studies?

Jeff

Public policy. Primarily technology and social change, and bioethics.

 

[Jeff From Salem]

Do you have data to support this statement? I am not a Wyndham member, but if I were, I would still want KBV managed by the company that performed best.


I actually did some research over the weekend, trying to get a clearer idea on the history of KBV's transition from Pahio to Wyndham, and it is still unclear to me. I found a few articles similar to this one from July 2006, using the same language: "Wyndham Vacation Ownership will assume property management, sales and marketing operations for Bali Hai Villas, Ka Eo Kai, Kaui Beach Villas, Shearwater and Makai Resorts". The implication, to me, is that it was all part of one agreement, as opposed to Wyndham starting as manager and later buying the clubhouse etc. And your archives on the savingkbv state that Wyndham was given a 10 year property management contract, which also fits in with that timeline.

The former was more of surmising, because any additional deeds brought into the Wyndham system (due to an owner trading his/her deed to Wyndham) would mean more inventory for Wyndham Club members, fewer for KBV deeded owners.

Surely any honest owner wants the best manager we can have. That doesn't necessarily seem to be the case with every player here.

 

[ecwinch]

When Walters gave Wyndham about 1000 unsold and/or deadbeat deeds to Wyndham simply for the cost of the transfer to Wyndham, Walters had hoped the Wyndham would use their marketing sales force to sell the deeds at a retail and pocket the difference. The result, even though Wyndham would have made a lot of money, would have been getting the deeds in the hands of independent owners. Instead, Wyndham saw that their contract with KBV was going to be let to expire. Wyndham fought back by using the voting power of all those deeds to get Wyndham friendly people on the IOA and AOAO boards, and eventually end Grand Pacific's contract so that Wyndham could come back in as manager.

As Maggie pointed out, this narrative is completely inconsistent with the facts that Karen Blackford described in her previous posts. David Walters did not "give" Wyndham 1000 unsold weeks for the cost of the transfer. The BoD - led by BoD President Trish Harrington - transferred these intervals over the years as part of a foreclosure agreement with Wyndham. Karen describes those events in detail in this post.

WYN acquired most of their units via the separate the Foreclosure agreement - and yes, during the recession it was sizeable. I can't say exactly how they use the inventory they got through foreclosures (they owned 799 as of 12/31/14 (per the annual audit report), that number is over a thousand now. I have always speculated that they use it to stock the Club Wyndham Plus (CWP) program. I do know that during my tenure on the board the inventory they had was never for sale.

​

So just stop with the divisive rhetoric.... because not all your fellow owners are blinded by their hatred of Wyndham like you are. But we should all be are interested in getting KBV on solid-financial footing and positioned for long-term success. We should all want transparent governance and for KBV to be well-managed.

But instead you want to make this some mccarthyist red-scare, where anyone who disagrees is an agent of Wyndham. Why is it so hard for you to focus on real issues/outcomes at KBV? Because the only person talking about bringing Wyndham back as manager is you.

 

[ecwinch]

The former was more of surmising, because any additional deeds brought into the Wyndham system (due to an owner trading his/her deed to Wyndham) would mean more inventory for Wyndham Club members, fewer for KBV deeded owners.

Surely any honest owner wants the best manager we can have. That doesn't necessarily seem to be the case with every player here.

I have addressed this point before, but you are factually incorrect in how the Club Wyndham assignment process works. Karen Blackford describes the process in this post.

Here is how CWP worked during the time that I was on the board .....

CWP owners pay monthly dues to CWP. WYN then pays the annual maintenance fees to KBV IOA for the CWP owner. Owners retain the title to the KBV IOA interval. (CWP does not own these intervals but rather individual owners have given up their use rights to the CWP. CWP owners still vote in the BOD elections)​

​

When a KBV owner decides to join Club Wyndham - they do not trade his/her deed with Club Wyndham - no more than you traded your deed with RCI when you joined RCI Points. Just like you did with RCI points, they assign their usage rights for their interval to Club Wyndham and retain their deed - to include the right to vote in BoD elections.

In that regard there is no difference between a Club Wyndham owner electing to use their interval, or another KBV owner exchanging their week thru RCI or GPX, or as you might do - exchanging their week for RCI points. In every instance, it is an owner using their week as they are legal entitled to.

So there is no loss of inventory for KBV owners. No more than there is with RCI points.

 

[ecwinch]

I've been a KBV fixed interval owner since 2005, and I visit the resort annually. For the past 28 years I’ve been an attorney in Denver, Colorado, and since 1998 I’ve owned and operated my own law firm. In that capacity, I’ve managed all aspects of a solo legal practice, including procuring clients, supervising support staff and functions, and facilitating all budgeting, billing and bookkeeping tasks. As an attorney, I strive to act ethically and with the utmost professionalism at all times while acting in the best interests of those I represent. As a Board member, I would do the same.

In addition to my law degree, I hold a PhD in Sociology and have a long history of teaching and coaching. I am an excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communicator with a proven track record of performing independently and as a team member. My devotion to community service has included serving on several non-profit boards, and I firmly believe that I would be an asset to the KBV IOA Board.

The primary issues I hope to address as a Board member include finding more effective and efficient ways to address bad debt, and conducting a legal audit of controlling documents (CCRs, Bylaws, Rules, management agreement, etc.), as well as the statutory obligations of the KBV IOA Board and Plan Manager, to ensure compliance with applicable legal obligations and improve administrative and cost efficiencies with respect to the continued operation of KBV and the goals of KBV owners.

I welcome your questions and concerns.

Brian,

Thanks again for tossing your hat into the ring.

Can you give us some insight on what areas of law your practice primarily focused on?

Did any of your other non-profit BoD service relate to homeowner associations or something of a similar nature?

Also what has drawn you to wanting to serve on the KBV BoD?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bjreichel]

Brian,

Thanks again for tossing your hat into the ring.

Can you give us some insight on what areas of law your practice primarily focused on?

Did any of your other non-profit BoD service relate to homeowner associations or something of a similar nature?

Also what has drawn you to wanting to serve on the KBV BoD?

Thanks in advance.

Hi, Eric-

Thanks for the opportunity to tell everyone a bit more about myself.

My Denver law practice is focused primarily on commercial litigation. Over the course of my legal career, I've handled many cases involving corporate officers and directors--I've defended them and prosecuted them. I also was involved with a team of other attorneys in obtaining the largest federal civil rights verdict in the history of Illinois, I briefed and argued a case before the US Supreme Court, and I was interviewed by Mike Wallace on "60 Minutes."

I still own and operate my own law practice in Colorado, but I moved to Wyoming last month in the hopes of retiring soon. To that end, I've now limited my law practice to servicing the collection needs of 2 corporate clients--one is a national moving and storage company, the other the largest liquor and wine distributor in the U.S.--for whom I set up a highly efficient and very cost-effective system to collect bad debt. While I haven't served on any homeowner or condo association boards in the past, I have had occasion over the years to provide litigation representation to some such associations and their managers. I believe the KBV BoD (and Association in general) desperately needs help with issues involving bad debt and the governing documents, and that I have some unique expertise to bring to the table to educate and guide the BoD and Association in the right direction. Now that I'm semi-retired, I have the time I feel is necessary to devote to the Association that I simply didn't have before.

 

[Jeff From Salem]

As Maggie pointed out, this narrative is completely inconsistent with the facts that Karen Blackford described in her previous posts. David Walters did not "give" Wyndham 1000 unsold weeks for the cost of the transfer. The BoD - led by BoD President Trish Harrington - transferred these intervals over the years as part of a foreclosure agreement with Wyndham. Karen describes those events in detail in this post.



So just stop with the divisive rhetoric.... because not all your fellow owners are blinded by their hatred of Wyndham like you are. But we should all be are interested in getting KBV on solid-financial footing and positioned for long-term success. We should all want transparent governance and for KBV to be well-managed.

But instead you want to make this some mccarthyist red-scare, where anyone who disagrees is an agent of Wyndham. Why is it so hard for you to focus on real issues/outcomes at KBV? Because the only person talking about bringing Wyndham back as manager is you.

Not blinded. Factual. And you miss the point, Eric. If someone poisons your food, do you care if it's with cyanide vs arsenic?

 

[ecwinch]

Not blinded. Factual. And you miss the point, Eric. If someone poisons your food, do you care if it's with cyanide vs arsenic?

Yes, I would care which poison was used. Arsenic poisoning has more treatment options than cyanide poisoning. So knowing which poison was used could be the difference between life and death.

Which belies the importance of accurate and factual information. Which is the point.