Need Clarification on Watercolor Amenities

[melscuba]

Yes, may I second that--THANK YOU!!!

I agree that it seems there is no way WCVR can restrict access to the homeowners and guests, but according to the paperwork that has been posted on this thread, they are attempting to do just that. Although Tsutcli has given the answer I want, does he, or she, have any paper work that supports it?

 

[melscuba]

Homeowners in WC have access to all amenities as do their guests. If they rent their property through WC then their rental guests have access also, but if they don't rent through WC then their guests are restricted on access to some amenities (kayaks for ex. ). WC has est. a 2 tier rental program for 2010 with much reduced charges to the homeowner and more in line with other rental management cos.. This is a business at the end of the day and WC can and should have a business model which emphasizes their benefits to increase their customer base.

Wait an minute, wait a minute. In the first sentence you state that homeowners and their guests have access to all amenities, but then you go on to say if they don't rent through WC, then the guests have restricted access to amenities. Isn't someone staying in my home as a renter a "guest" of mine? How can they tell the difference between someone who is staying as a guest of a full time resident, vs. a weekly renter? Doesn't the owner of a second home pay the exact same HOA fee as the full time resident? On another note, my information is coming straight from WCVR's mouth. They are telling people who are inquiring about renting a home over the summer that unless you rent through them, you do not have access to all of the amenities.... AND they are charging a "resort fee" for amenity access. I posted the question here because I felt sure the multiple reservationists I've spoken with have been given faulty information. I do appreciate all of the feedback, and am hoping someone can post some paperwork giving me the answer that falls on the side of the homeowner.

Quote:
I know that the past year has been economically tough and I appreciate your partnership and trust. As a special “Thank You” our team here at WaterColor Resort would like to offer you a newly lowered management fee and some additional benefits.

The WaterColor Elite Package offers all the great services that you enjoy now, plus some added benefits for a newly lowered fee of 35%. There is no need to worry about a new contract, we'll just add the newly lowered fee to your contract and you'll automatically be enrolled. You will enjoy the exclusivity that the WaterColor Resort Elite Package offers that no other homeowner or guest will have access to. Please view the WaterColor Elite Package.

We are also offering a new WaterColor Advantage Package that allows a lower commission structure of 25% and the option to add services ? la carte. Our team will be happy to go over the differences of the two packages to see which one best fits your needs. Please call (850) 231-7708.

 

[Beach Bound]

Wait an minute, wait a minute. In the first sentence you state that homeowners and their guests have access to all amenities, but then you go on to say if they don't rent through WC, then the guests have restricted access to amenities. Isn't someone staying in my home as a renter a "guest" of mine? How can they tell the difference between someone who is staying as a guest of a full time resident, vs. a weekly renter? Doesn't the owner of a second home pay the exact same HOA fee as the full time resident? On another note, my information is coming straight from WCVR's mouth. They are telling people who are inquiring about renting a home over the summer that unless you rent through them, you do not have access to all of the amenities.... AND they are charging a "resort fee" for amenity access. I posted the question here because I felt sure the multiple reservationists I've spoken with have been given faulty information. I do appreciate all of the feedback, and am hoping someone can post some paperwork giving me the answer that falls on the side of the homeowner.

Quote:
I know that the past year has been economically tough and I appreciate your partnership and trust. As a special “Thank You” our team here at WaterColor Resort would like to offer you a newly lowered management fee and some additional benefits.

The WaterColor Elite Package offers all the great services that you enjoy now, plus some added benefits for a newly lowered fee of 35%. There is no need to worry about a new contract, we'll just add the newly lowered fee to your contract and you'll automatically be enrolled. You will enjoy the exclusivity that the WaterColor Resort Elite Package offers that no other homeowner or guest will have access to. Please view the WaterColor Elite Package.

We are also offering a new WaterColor Advantage Package that allows a lower commission structure of 25% and the option to add services ? la carte. Our team will be happy to go over the differences of the two packages to see which one best fits your needs. Please call (850) 231-7708.

OK, hot off the presses from WCVR. Please look at the attachment and the new addition of the asterisks on this second page. According to their office, all amenities are available for homeowners - period. Guests of homeowners (through other rental companies) have access to the Beach Club and Camp pool. However, guests renting through other companies will not have access to camp activities or DVD rentals. While the HOA owns the pools, it is Noble House that is in charge of some activities. So, this could be a real sticking point if the kids have their hearts set on making ceramics or stepping stones at the camp. On the other hand, not sure if the staff will be sticklers for this. Time will tell. As a homeowner, it makes me wonder if we should remain with WCVR instead of changing.

 

[Matt J]

I think one of the big issues is that renters from other companies show up in the front office at the Inn requesting Ving cards and other items that have to be obtained at the Homeowner's association. They don't hear the last part and complain that they are being denied something. To my knowledge the HOA does not pay one red cent to staff the Inn or it's front desk. In other words if you rent a non-WCVR home and check in on Saturday you'll be waiting until Monday to get the Ving card to the pools.

 

[coondog]

Thank you! I have been waiting for someone to respond who knows the real deal. After all, the HOA owns the Beach Club, the Camp and the Tennis center. We were at the Homeowners meeting in October and there is no way they can deny access to these amenities for homeowners or their guests.

Unfortunately, two years ago at the Watersound Homeowners meeting, the Regional President of St. Joe stood up in front of the Homeowner's telling them that St. Joe only intended to retain ownership to the beach directly in front of the Beach Club when they turned over the HOA to the owners; however, now that it is turnover time, they are trying to retain ownership of 1,400 front feet of beach (one-third of the entire beach). In other words, they say one thing, and then do another thinking they are the 800 pound bully in the room and that no one will push back.

 

[Kurt]

I think one of the big issues is that renters from other companies show up in the front office at the Inn requesting Ving cards and other items that have to be obtained at the Homeowner's association. They don't hear the last part and complain that they are being denied something. To my knowledge the HOA does not pay one red cent to staff the Inn or it's front desk. In other words if you rent a non-WCVR home and check in on Saturday you'll be waiting until Monday to get the Ving card to the pools.

Cards for non-WC renters are usually in the unit when renters arrive. But your point is valid that some renters will impose on WaterColor (Noble House) staff. I'm sure there is a lot of friction.

 

[coondog]

Cards for non-WC renters are usually in the unit when renters arrive. But your point is valid that some renters will impose on WaterColor (Noble House) staff. I'm sure there is a lot of friction.

Here is the information/response posted by one of the non-St. Joe Managment Companies:

As some of you have heard, over the last few weeks St. Joe & Noble House have begun working on plans to impose new restrictions on the use of certain amenities at WaterColor.
Since we first heard whispers of the plans, we have been actively engaged in trying to understand exactly what is proposed so that we can both plan effectively and communicate directly with you and our guests to ensure that everyone understands the issue and anticipated changes. To date, I have met with Patrick Murphy who runs the operations for WaterColor, spoken many times with Alicia who manages their onsite rental team, had several discussions with Brad Yuhas who manages the HOA, and most recently appeared before the WaterColor board of directors. Based on these discussions, this is my understanding as of this morning.
Why Is St. Joe Making Changes?
As most of you are keenly aware, over the past few years St. Joe has steadily been losing properties off of their rental program to newer companies that offer better service at better rates. Most recently, thanks to your loyalty and your generosity in spreading the word about 360 Blue to your neighbors, we have had a significant number of new WaterColor properties leave St. Joe to join our program in the last two months. The issues for these owners were always consistent -- they were paying too high of a commission rate, they were pay too much in maintenance fees, they felt that their homes were not being cared for, and despite the high costs, their homes were not being rented as often as they should be.
With properties leaving their program in rapid succession, it appears to us that St. Joe decided a few weeks ago that rather than attempting to compete with improved service, they would essentially try to coerce owners and guests into staying with their program by limiting access to the amenities that they directly own.
St. Joe's Plan
The plan, as communicated to us, is that effective immediately St. Joe will be limiting the use of the three amenities that they directly own -- (1) the fitness center; (2) the Camp (the building only); and (3) the Boat House -- to be available to only Owners and guests of Owners that have their property on St. Joe's rental program. Guests of owners who do not rent, and guests of owners who either rent themselves or rent through outside agencies would have limited or no use of these three facilities. The use of the other main amenities in WaterColor including the pools, lawns, tennis center, beach, etc., which are all owned by the homeowners, would be unaffected.
Under this new scheme, the fitness center will not be available to any guests unless they purchase a monthly membership. The Camp WaterColor classes will not be open to guests of any owners not on the St. Joe rental program. The HOA owns the Camp pool and playground so those will still be available to everyone. The only restriction will be on the use of the Camp building and the Camp classes. With respect to the Boat House, the restrictions will be identical. Guests of owners who do not rent and guests of owners not on the St. Joe program will not be allowed to rent canoes and kayaks from the Boat House.
Our Response
Our response to St. Joe’s plans is essentially twofold: (1) first and foremost, ensure that we provide our owners and guests with the best possible experience during their stay; and (2) to proactively challenge St. Joe’s efforts because they are bad for WaterColor.
Guest Experience
In terms of guests' experiences, they will continue to respond to those companies and properties that provide exceptional service and convenience at the best value. For the many, many guests that we have discussed the proposed changes with over the last two weeks, we have not had a single guest that elected to book with St. Joe because of the proposed changes. They love your properties, the way they are maintained and cared for, the friendliness of our staff, the competitive rates of our listings, and the overall experience we provide them during the reservation process and during their stay.
Despite this, however, we still recognize that it is important to address guests’ perceptions, and it is important to have a great answer when guests ask – “Do we still get all the same type amenities, etc. when we rent through you? Along those same lines, we want the right answers for the minority of guests who are very focused on one particular type of amenity. We want to be able to provide those amenities in a seamless an effortless fashion. As such, we are taking the following steps:
(1) Fitness Center - we are finalizing arrangements with Grayton Beach Fitness to allow our guests to conveniently use this facility, which is immediately west of WaterColor, and which offers larger and better facilities than the St. Joe fitness room.
(2) Canoes & Kayaks - We have confirmed that our guests still have use of the main dock at the Boat House facility, so guests can still rent canoes and & kayaks from any of the many vendors in town, and they can still launch from and return to the Boat House dock. We are finalizing options with various vendors to make this a seamless option for our guests, and of course there is option to provide these with the house -- as with bikes. More importantly, we are working with the HOA through Brad Yuhas to get approval from the Design Review Board for the installation of storage facilities at an alternative WaterColor HOA dock for our guests and other owner's guests. Pending permission, we plan to build facilities that would allow our guests to use at their convenience a fleet of 360 Blue canoes, kayaks and YOLO boards. It is not a frequently requested item, but we actually look forward to this being one of the potential specia l perks of renting through 360 Blue.
(3) Camp Experience - All guests at WaterColor, including 360 Blue's guests and non-rental owners' guests will still have access to the Camp pool, lawn, playground, etc. To offer an alternative to the camp 'classes,' which principally function as a unique babysitting service for the guests, we are finalizing arrangements with a large, local well-known sitting service to create a seamless baby-sitting arrangement that offers a true 'experience' for the guests' kids. The concept is to offer a service for the adults to get away, while providing a fun beach related experience for the kids. To accomplish this, the sitting service would come to the house during one of the offered time periods, and would have pre-set beach related activities for the kids based on their respective age groups. Whether it is coloring starfish, or something similar, the idea is to create a unique in-home experience for a few hours for the kids to have fun, an d the adults to get away.
Challenging St. Joe's Efforts
Despite the ability to replace St. Joe's in-house amenities, we nevertheless firmly believe that St. Joe's plan is counter-productive for the community, unnecessarily divisive for the home owners and guests, and quite frankly a plan that flies in the face of the collective good faith 'partnership' that we all have with St. Joe as WaterColor homeowners. We believe that it also has the potential to decrease the property values of all of our homes because of the perceived impact to new investment purchasers. Finally, we have been told by counsel that it potentially runs afoul of federal anti-trust provisions. For these reasons, and as homeowners in WaterColor, owners of 360 Blue, and representatives of our collective group of owners, we believe that it is important we challenge St. Joe's efforts.
To date, I expressed our concerns to St. Joe and Noble house's employees, and more importantly, met with the Board of Directors of the HOA. Currently, our board is made up of three St. Joe developer's representatives and two regular homeowner appointed representatives. I made clear to the Board that I believed that their failure, on behalf of homeowners as whole, to proactively defend against St. Joe's actions would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to all of us as homeowners.
I think in the end a combination of pressure from the collective group of homeowner's and concern over potential legal violations will convince St. Joe that this plan is bad for the entire community, the owners and St. Joe themselves. In fact, based on the conversations I've had with prospective owners to date, I think their approach will backfire and just cause more owners to be turned off by their tactics and overall approach to customer service. We think business and owner loyalty should be earned, not forced -- and we intend to continue to earn that trust one owner, one phone call, and one booking at a time.

 

[hnooe]

Ok....Eureka...just as I was thinking as this thread has progressed.... There are posters on this particular thread that own or have interests in a competing rental company (or companies) operating within Watercolor currently. How naive of me!

 

[coondog]

The point is, for those that purchased homes in Watercolor from St. Joe, or otherwise, was it ever disclosed to you by St. Joe that if you chose to rent your home when it otherwise wasn't in use and you for whatever reason elected not to rent it through their management company that they would deny your guests the right to use certain community amenities?

 

[melscuba]

The point is, for those that purchased homes in Watercolor from St. Joe, or otherwise, was it ever disclosed to you by St. Joe that if you chose to rent your home when it otherwise wasn't in use and you for whatever reason elected not to rent it through their management company that they would deny your guests the right to use certain community amenities?

Thank you Coondog for re-centering the thread. I have appreciated the responses however and have found them very helpful. There should be concern about future buyers and what this might mean to them. It is my hope this gets resolved openly and honestly.