Sands Villas Atlantic Beach, NC 28512 charging extra cleaning fees for RCI TRADES !!!!!!

[tschwa2]

As of yesterday, it was still not listed anywhere on the RCI sight that any kind of additional fee would apply with the exchange.

 

[Egret1986]

I did a trade thru RCI through the hgvc portal and being my trade was less then a week, RCI showed I had an $85 cleaning fee. I knew what I was getting and I knew the extra cost.

The op traded into the resort thru RCI and did not know this fee would be added. Every trader should know their costs. They either choose to accept it or trade somewhere else. There has to be something illegal, if not unethical about not knowing how much something will cost.

One should complain to RCI. RCI is allowing the Resorts to be members with additional fees to traders. RCI should make sure to require the resort to list the extra fees. They should also try to discourage these fee by reducing their trade value and let these resorts know why. RCI won’t do neither unless they are getting lots of complaints and a loss of business.

Why bother most will say, nothing will change, probably right but no chance at all if we just sit back and say nothing.

I agree with you on the RCI part as far as complaining. "Every trader should know their costs." Illegal? I don't know. Definitely unethical. RCI has many unethical aspects to their business. Each individual will need to make their own personal judgment in deciding whether to escalate it in the hopes of making change.

I would absolutely escalate fees that were not disclosed by RCI when I made the exchange and then notified about the fees prior to check-in. It has happened to me. There's some smart-a$$ remark to the effect that, yes, you can cancel; but they do not advise it....... I will fight them to the end on this. RCI feels that it isn't their issue. The only thing that I could get RCI to do was cancel the exchanges and then demand that my points and the RCI exchange fees be refunded.

Resorts make changes to fees after exchanges are made. Resort issue? To some extent, definitely. RCI's agreements with their resorts should be that no fees that were undisclosed at the time of exchange will be charged to the guest at check-in. I have no expectation of paying these undisclosed fees. I have had to "go to the mat" with RCI on a couple of occasions on these fees. I wholeheartedly agree that the OP should fight paying these undisclosed resort fees. The OP should contact RCI. RCI should not allow these resorts to charge their members an undisclosed resort fee. It is impossible for RCI to get these fees waived by the resort; therefore, the only option is to cancel the exchanges and demand the return of points/TPUs and RCI fees. The OP may prefer to keep the exchanges. The OP's only option would be to negotiate the non-payment of the fees with the resort. The OP could try to use their pull as an owner to get the fee waived since the exchanges were made prior to the fees being charged.

Bottom line, to me, is that this is an issue with the resort. The OP's Board and management company chose to enact this fee on RCI exchange guests. If RCI hasn't already done so, the OP will receive an email/letter stating this fee will be charged. RCI is simply notifying their member of "new" fees that weren't being charged at the time of exchange. Yes, you would think RCI would discourage resorts from charging these "money grab" fees. It absolutely discourages my exchanging into a resort with these added fees. I believe RCI should be seeing an impact on exchanges for these resorts. Reading other threads on TUG which discuss these "money grab" fees, I'm getting the impression many are discouraged to exchange back in to these resorts.

 

[Egret1986]

I would like to know the date this policy went into effect so I can argue I made the trade BEFORE the policy was in effect.

Your Board and Resort haven't notified you? I got my notification of this ridiculous fee being charged to RCI exchange guests through a resort newsletter.

Again, I believe this is more of a problem with the resort/HOA/management. It would behoove RCI to hold these resorts accountable with these undisclosed fees. But the fees themselves; the resort/HOA/management are the ones that decided on these fees being charged.

 

[Egret1986]

It doesn’t make a different when as you weren’t told about it.

As much as it irks me how the resort double dips, RCI irks me more. If they did notify you after you made the trade but before you went, you would not have the option to say you don’t want to go there unless you chose to lose your trade fee. The resort gets there money if you show, RCI keeps the trade fee you paid whether you go or cancel and for you it costs you money either way. You either lose the trade fee or paid the added fee.

Again, I believe the beef should be with the resort. They are the ones charging the fees. They are the ones that apparently haven't submitted these "new" fees to RCI to be disclosed, yet will still charge the incoming RCI exchange guest these resort fees. RCI is culpable definitely, but I believe the complaints should go directly to the Board and management.

Panina, I know that although you are a member of RCI, you have an extreme intolerance for them. How as an RCI member can you have more contempt for them than a resort/Board/management company that "double dips"? How does RCI control the fees that are being charged? It's the resort charging you simply because you have exchanged into their resort. RCI did not come up with these fees.

No, I would not lose the exchange fee, etc. That's BS. As a member, I fully expect RCI to cancel my exchange if I request it (due to undisclosed fees at the time of exchange) and refund all fees and points/TPUs. To me, that is the extent of their obligation to me. Yes, you will have to take extra steps to get the refund of fees, etc from RCI. They won't readily offer that, which they should. I understand that they can't waive the undisclosed "junk" fees charged by the resort. However, they should take steps to discourage resorts from charging these fees to exchange guests only.

To the OP, if you keep the exchanges, then this is an issue to take up with the resort/Board/management company. If you cancel the exchanges, then demand the full return of your exchange fees and reinstatement of all points/TPUs.

 

[Egret1986]

Be aware if you make an RCI TRADE at Sands Villas AB you will get an extra cleaning fee of 115 dollars for each week. This is another ripoff by SPM RESORTS and The Board at Sands Villas.

How did you learn about this new fee for incoming RCI exchange guests? SPM? Board? Resort? RCI?

 

[Panina]

Your Board and Resort haven't notified you? I got my notification of this ridiculous fee being charged to RCI exchange guests through a resort newsletter.

Again, I believe this is more of a problem with the resort/HOA/management. It would behoove RCI to hold these resorts accountable with these undisclosed fees. But the fees themselves; the resort/HOA/management are the ones that decided on these fees being charged.

Yes it is the resort with RCI keeping everything status quo.

The resort HOA will have to have its ow

Again, I believe the beef should be with the resort. They are the ones charging the fees. They are the ones that apparently haven't submitted these "new" fees to RCI to be disclosed, yet will still charge the incoming RCI exchange guest these resort fees. RCI is culpable definitely, but I believe the complaints should go directly to the Board and management.

Panina, I know that although you are a member of RCI, you have an extreme intolerance for them. How as an RCI member can you have more contempt for them than a resort/Board/management company that "double dips"? How does RCI control the fees that are being charged? It's the resort charging you simply because you have exchanged into their resort. RCI did not come up with these fees.

No, I would not lose the exchange fee, etc. That's BS. As a member, I fully expect RCI to cancel my exchange if I request it (due to undisclosed fees at the time of exchange) and refund all fees and points/TPUs. To me, that is the extent of their obligation to me. Yes, you will have to take extra steps to get the refund of fees, etc from RCI. They won't readily offer that, which they should. I understand that they can't waive the undisclosed "junk" fees charged by the resort. However, they should take steps to discourage resorts from charging these fees to exchange guests only.

To the OP, if you keep the exchanges, then this is an issue to take up with the resort/Board/management company. If you cancel the exchanges, then demand the full return of your exchange fees and reinstatement of all points/TPUs.

As a trader my transaction to this resort would be with RCI, not the resort. I am paying RCI and my belief is they have an obligation to make sure that all my expenses to do this transaction are disclosed prior to me booking. It is irrelevant that the HOA decided to charge these fees. A HOA can do whatever they want if the owners allow them to. It is relevant that RCI does not make them disclosed them up front to traders.

It is not smart for the HOA to charge these fees without notification to traders as I am sure upset traders will give them low grades in the reviews. Too many low reviews and the owners of the resort will have lower trading value. With these fees, once disclosed, many will choose not trade into this resort and demand will be lowered having an additional effect on trading value for the owners.

The owners at the resort are the ones who need to complain to their HOA, not the traders. The traders need to be vocal to RCI so they require the disclosure from the resorts doing this.

 

[Egret1986]

As of yesterday, it was still not listed anywhere on the RCI sight that any kind of additional fee would apply with the exchange.

Has the OP stated where their notification came from?

My notification came from reading my resort Newsletter and then contacting the resort about it. I didn't have any RCI exchanges confirmed for my resort, so there was no reason for RCI to notify me.

I just went on RCI's site to check on how it is stated.

Urgent Information
Housekeeping Fees

"For all RCI points reservations: There may be a 125.00 U.S. dollars for all units, per stay. Only Credit Cards accepted"

For all RCI Points reservations for less than 7 night stay.

This is quite confusing. Is it "all RCI points reservations:" or is it "For all RCI Points reservations for less than 7 night stay."

What does "There may be a 125.00........per stay mean? What determines whether this will be charged or not, and to whom?

This is crap. It makes nothing clear. My only recourse is to contact the resort and try to get clarification in writing before making my last exchange in RCI before letting my membership expire. I won't be exchanging in if there is indeed a $125 housekeeping fee for all RCI Points reservations. My exchange won't be less than 7 night stay, but it will be an RCI points reservation. It says that there may be a fee, but doesn't that mean that there may not be a fee?

In November 2017, I owned a week in the RCI Points system. I reserved my Home week for 2018 and this is the notification that I received from RCI:

The staff at BARRIER ISLAND'S OCEAN PINES BEACH has notified us that effectively immediately, all weeks and points stays will be charged $125 fee, which covers housekeeping and linens to all RCI Inbound guests. The length of stay does not matter.

I contacted the resort regarding this notification and it was confirmed that this statement is true.

I thought I got notification through a newsletter, but haven't been able to locate it. Maybe my resort/Board/management company did not send out a notification since this is for RCI exchange guests and not owners.

I am at the time of my life where timeshares and exchange companies aren't making sense for my future travels. It's things like these that confirm "it's time" to move on.

 

[Panina]

Has the OP stated where their notification came from?

My notification came from reading my resort Newsletter and then contacting the resort about it. I didn't have any RCI exchanges confirmed for my resort, so there was no reason for RCI to notify me.

I just went on RCI's site to check on how it is stated.

Urgent Information
Housekeeping Fees

"For all RCI points reservations: There may be a 125.00 U.S. dollars for all units, per stay. Only Credit Cards accepted"

For all RCI Points reservations for less than 7 night stay.

This is quite confusing. Is it "all RCI points reservations:" or is it "For all RCI Points reservations for less than 7 night stay."

What does "There may be a 125.00........per stay mean? What determines whether this will be charged or not, and to whom?

This is crap. It makes nothing clear. My only recourse is to contact the resort and try to get clarification in writing before making my last exchange in RCI before letting my membership expire. I won't be exchanging in if there is indeed a $125 housekeeping fee for all RCI Points reservations. My exchange won't be less than 7 night stay, but it will be an RCI points reservation. It says that there may be a fee, but doesn't that mean that there may not be a fee?

In November 2017, I owned a week in the RCI Points system. I reserved my Home week for 2018 and this is the notification that I received from RCI:

The staff at BARRIER ISLAND'S OCEAN PINES BEACH has notified us that effectively immediately, all weeks and points stays will be charged $125 fee, which covers housekeeping and linens to all RCI Inbound guests. The length of stay does not matter.

I contacted the resort regarding this notification and it was confirmed that this statement is true.

I thought I got notification through a newsletter, but haven't been able to locate it. Maybe my resort/Board/management company did not send out a notification since this is for RCI exchange guests and not owners.

I am at the time of my life where timeshares and exchange companies aren't making sense for my future travels. It's things like these that confirm "it's time" to move on.

I am with you “it’s time to move on”. I can’t wait to finish using my RCI weeks and I am not renewing my private tpu account. So far, II is good. Will use them as long as it stays that way. Meanwhile my portfolio has everything I would be happy to use. My backup plan is to own where and when I would like to go.

 

[Egret1986]

The owners at the resort are the ones who need to complain to their HOA, not the traders. The traders need to be vocal to RCI so they require the disclosure from the resorts doing this.

I agree that "the owners at the resort are the ones who need to complain to their HOA, not the traders." The OP IS an owner that has exchanged back into their resort through RCI. Thus, I was directing my responses to the OP's situation.

I never stated that a non-owner should complain to resort/HOA/management company. For a non-owner, settling up with RCI is definitely the one and only option.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Most independent resorts that have a fixed week structure with seasons (red, white, blue or whatever) yet still charge the same cost, for the same size unit, regardless of season, are going to come under pressure and more and more blue owners no longer find any value in the high MFs for the low value weeks. These resorts then have to keep rising rates to those that remain, in order to keep the resort a float. These resorts are now looking at alternate ways to raise addition funds without putting more pressure on the current owners back and run the risk of having additional blue and white owners drop off and stop paying. Red owners are the only ones holding the bag and their pockets need to get deeper to keep everything afloat.

This is why many points clubs now only sell resorts as UDI points. They have a way better mechanism to collect and keep collecting MFs without owning dropping off like flies, especially the lower season owners. With points you only pay for what you get. if you have enough points for only a 2 BR in low season that is all that you pay for. High season will require twice as many points, and thus you pay 2X the MF as a low season 2 BR owner.

For fixed week resorts in locations that have a high enough demand even in lower season, these resorts will survive, places like FL or CA. But there are a lot of locations that have a very short seasons, for example Ontario Canada summer/fall maybe 12 weeks, winter maybe 8, so you have 20 weeks of MFs to cover the resort operating costs. Mrytle Beach has April to Nov, which is about 30 weeks. Many of the independent resorts that do not have a larger base of viable weeks are going to be under continued pressure as more and more owners stop paying MFs and turn over weeks.

 

[Panina]

I agree that "the owners at the resort are the ones who need to complain to their HOA, not the traders." The OP IS an owner that has exchanged back into their resort through RCI. Thus, I was directing my responses to the OP's situation.

I never stated that a non-owner should complain to resort/HOA/management company. For a non-owner, settling up with RCI is definitely the one and only option.

The op still did the trade and paid RCI. I am a hgvc owner and now they are charging resort fees of $25 a day at some of their resorts through RCI exchanges. I get that charged too. It is clearly stated when you exchange thru RCI . I have also spoken to hgvc about it and their policy is if you trade thru RCI as an hgvc member you get charged it too. Disclosure whether you are an owner or not should be on the RCI website.

 

[Egret1986]

I am with you “it’s time to move on”. I can’t wait to finish using my RCI weeks and I am not renewing my private tpu account. So far, II is good. Will use them as long as it stays that way. Meanwhile my portfolio has everything I would be happy to use. My backup plan is to own where and when I would like to go.

RCI has worked great for me since 1984. If I was still interested in "the game", I'd probably stick around for awhile longer in RCI. I know what I'm dealing with from RCI. For my 34 years of loyalty, I've had my requirements over the years. If those requirements hadn't been met, then I would have been out of there long ago.

Now, I do not see RCI, or any other exchange company, being able to meet my future needs. I have enough points for one last exchange before my RCI membership ends. I am anticipating a new era of travel and vacation experiences.

My portfolio was also adjusted over the years, like you have done with yours. Like you, I only owned timeshare weeks that I would be happy to use myself. I had daydreams of using all these timeshares when I retired. I built a portfolio that would meet that plan. I rented most of the weeks that I didn't personally use rather than deposit prime weeks with RCI. The last several years I've had different strategies that I utilize for exchanging with RCI.

The portfolio strategy changed a couple of times over the years. Since the kids grew up and it's only me and DH traveling, we have much more flexibility. As we progress with our lives; we want to explore other travel options, as well as seek out new and different places yet undiscovered. I had a high of 42 timeshares a couple of years ago. I'm down to seven and foresee being down to one by the end of next year. Since our overall strategy for future travel no longer relies on visiting repeat locations, the portfolio idea no longer has a place in our lives.

I'm a bit giddy with excitement at thoughts of the possibilities.

Ahhhhh, the phases of life.

Best wishes, Panina, on the enjoyment of your portfolio and the day that you wave bye-bye to RCI! Life's too short! And the crowd roared "AMEN!"

 

[bogey21]

I have also contacted 2 attorneys.

Question: Why 2 attorneys. Isn't one enough...
Comment: Hope you aren't paying them as there is nothing they can do for you in this situation. If you are to get any relief, you will have to do it yourself...

George

 

[allsmiles277]

Question: Why 2 attorneys. Isn't one enough...
Comment: Hope you aren't paying them as there is nothing they can do for you in this situation. If you are to get any relief, you will have to do it yourself...

George

Doesn't matter.....I never heard from either attorney.

 

[allsmiles277]

I think it was passed by the Board on January 28th and Richard Spore of SPM Resorts is the person who brought it up for consideration. Mike Borasky is chairperson of the Board and he is an attorney. I just don't understand how a cleaning fee can be charged twice when the person who spacebanked the week had already paid the cleaning fees in their maintenance fees.

 

[allsmiles277]

RCI has been very good to me over the years and it seems to me they could have some input on this policy. What if RCI dropped their affiliation with Sands Villas ? Maybe The Board is hoping for something like that. I heard from an owner that 2 units had been trashed in the recent past and I am wondering if The Board did it because of those 2 isolated instances.

 

[allsmiles277]

There are only 12 timeshares at Sands Villas 516, 520, 522. 524, 418, 420, 422, 424, 317, 319, 210 and 123.....all the others are year round ownerships. There are 18 units on each floor and there are 5 floors for a total of 90 units. 13 1/3 % are timeshare owners. Timeshare owners are a very small percentage of the total. That usually means timeshare owners have very little power since they are outnumbered 6 to 1. The Board may look at timeshare owners as a nuisance.

 

[Egret1986]

I just don't understand how a cleaning fee can be charged twice when the person who spacebanked the week had already paid the cleaning fees in their maintenance fees.

I don't understand it either. It's just a way to make extra money for the resort. A majority of owners may be okay with this new housekeeping fee since perhaps it doesn't affect them.

I heard from an owner that 2 units had been trashed in the recent past and I am wondering if The Board did it because of those 2 isolated instances.

If the two units were trashed and the resort failed to recoup the costs of repairs from those that were staying in the units, then there's a big problem.

Does Sands Villas reach a quorum at HOA meetings?

My SPM-managed resort on the Outer Banks instituted this bogus housekeeping fee also. The quorum is never met for voting and such. The maintenance fees are very low. When raised, it is only raised in small annual increments. The resort could be so much better if these fees were raised to a "healthy" level.

I recently saw a unit for exchange that I would really have liked to take next summer, but that extra $125 housekeeping fee kept me from doing so. If other folks feel this way and choose not to exchange in because of these ludicrous fees, then I would think this would eventually impact exchange power (points/tpu's) for the owners. Summer weeks at these beachfront resorts may still be taken in exchange, but I believe that the off-season weeks will be impacted even more so since there are other options for exchange where these fees aren't charged.

 

[Talent312]

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

Extra fees are becoming more the norm for exchanges and nightly bookings.
Rare will be the resort than doesn't tack on fees for "non-owner" bookings.
It's concerning. Yet, if it's a priority destination, I'll likely just absorb the cost.

.

 

[Egret1986]

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

We all make choices (and are entitled to do so) based on what works for our specific situations. Yes, extra fees are becoming more the norm. Like you, if it's a priority destination, I'll absorb the cost if I don't see another option.

As with the OP, I regularly exchange back into my home resort. In the future, I will not exchange back in because I choose not to pay this high housekeeping charge for this resort. There are other options out there, so I don't need to "absorb" this cost.

We're just sharing information, commiserating and exchanging dialogue; it's a forum, right?

 

[Kozman]

My resort, Lehigh Resort Club, Lehigh Acres, FL instituted an amenities fee of $25 which has increased to $30 for all non owners who visit. This is listed on the RCI exchange page however I think they still list $25. You'll probably see many other resorts jump on the band wagon when they see other resorts doing it.