Time-share owners left wondering

Cassandra Hibbert, Associate
Director CITA

Friday,  February 18, 2005

For many months now, June and Peter Adams of Long Island, USA, have received no communication from Indies Suites - the hotel in the Cayman Islands with which they have had an almost ten-year relationship as time-share owners.

Since 1996 the Adams, who are also 15-year time-share owners in Plantation Village as well, have been visiting the Cayman Islands and spending their annual February vacation at Indies Suites under their time-share agreement.

Since Grand Cayman re-opened its doors to visitors late last year Mr and Mrs Adams tried making contact with Indies Suites.

“We visited the web- site but we got only basic information. We made every attempt to make direct contact by emailing and phoning, but we received no response or direct communication.”

“We received only one email from Indies Suites’ e-mail address. The writer said he or she was alone at the Hotel and would not be able to help,” Mrs Adams explained.

“We expected details on our investment as time-share owners as this is what we received from Plantation Village when we contacted them,” Mrs Adams said.

“We are here in the Islands now because this is the time we normally visit and we had already made bookings to travel from early last year,” Mrs Adams explained. “More importantly, we planned to use the time on this trip to find out about our investment in Indies Suites,” Mrs Adams added.

For the Adams, their concern is heightened by the fact that information on the hotel’s website, posted on 20 January, reveals that the hotel will remain closed for another 12 to 18 months from that date. 

Coupled with the fact that even while being here, they have not been able to make direct contact with the owner of the hotel, Ronnie Foster, the Adams have become even more anxious about their investment.

“Will we not be able to get any information for 18 months?” Mrs Adams asked. “That is not the way investors should be treated.” 

Efforts by Cayman Net News to contact Mr Foster by email and by phone with regard to the Adams’ complaints were up to press time in vain.

Meloney Syms of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Casandra Hibbert of Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) are encouraging all property owners to maintain direct contact and open communication with their investors during the time that they remain closed for post-Hurricane Ivan repairs. Neither organization however has heard from Indies Suites directly about the current circumstances and has been unable to offer the Adams’ any more information than had already been discovered.

“Most closed properties have kept their web- sites updated or have provided CITA with necessary information on their refurbishing or rebuilding exercises and re-opening schedules,” said Ms Hibbert.

However, at the same time, Ms Hibbert acknowledged that there was need for hotel investors to receive more than general information normally posted on a site. She said that based on reports received by CITA she was assured that time-share property owners had made contact with most of their investors.

DOT’s Tourism Development Services Manager, Meloney Syms, said however, that in instances where direct contact has not been made by the property manager or owner to answer the concerns of investors, then “the matter is essentially a private one between the owner and the investor.”

“The DOT hopes for amicable solutions in cases where there is a lack of communication between time-share owners and property owners,” Ms Syms explained. She said the public is encouraged to use the DOT site to get information on properties or make contact with the Department. “One of our many responsibilities is to smooth things out for visitors or to help them,” Ms Syms explained.

“Some properties are completing repairs and getting licensed pretty quickly. However, there are others that have reported that they will not be open until 2007 or late in 2006,” Ms Hibbert revealed.

“There are no rules governing the speed with which a property re-opens. In fact, CITA is extremely happy with properties that have taken the stance to rebuild from scratch, and this, we expect, will take time,” Ms Hibbert explained.

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