The January 25, 2017 Aimfair Gathering. A very lively event, and many attendees were not Aimfair members.
Gathering Notes and Survey Results - February 22, 2017
February 27, 2017
Aimfair Gatherings have been held each year since 2010 when Luxxe Tower One opened. We thought it would be fun to meet other Luxxe owners who were also Aimfair members. They were mixers, and they gave Luxxe / Aimfair members the chance to meet and socialize. In addition, discussions about the Luxxe properties and member experiences evolved. They were and still are great fun.In Novmeber, 2016 through February 22, the nature of the Gatherings changed slightly by having a member of Vida Vacations participate and answer questions. This was a generous gesture extended by Vida Vacations and Mr. Brett Estes, the Vida Vacations Member Sales Liaison. Both have been very gracious hosts. The information generated from these gatherings has been valuable.
JoAnn and Stan have attended and helped us enormously. Stan introduced Brett and JoAnn checked members in, took notes and generally helped organize activities. Lisa helped on the 22nd, and Linday helped on the 25th of January. Thank you everyone for helping us make the Gatherings successful.
JoAnn's Notes
Notes from February 22 meeting:
This was the 5th time that Brett Estes, the Vida Vacations Member Sales Liaison, has agreed to answer questions from members at Aimfair meetings. Brett is member relations person for Vida vacations at Nuevo resort only. He is not involved with Vidanta which is the overall corporation. Vida vacations is the sales and marketing arm of Vidanta.
1st concern and number one complaint is the elimination of a north entrance and exit to the property. Most members are extremely unhappy with this closure and the building of a new wall. No solution to this problem at this time or any response from top management. What can owners do??? Keep voicing concerns to sales and surveys.
Another main concern is reservations. New system has not worked although they spent 2 years developing it. It crashed February 1st - the busiest day of the year. Reality is that 90% of the contracts can not be serviced on line because of multiple addendums.
Nomencature: Too many rooms/units have similar names adding to problems getting the correct reservation.
Was wondering if Pickleball courts could be added to the resort. Also, more tennis courts.
- Example:1 bedroom loft, studio loft and penthouse loft etc.
- One individual mentioned that she met 6 people at the pool that were in the studio lofts but thought that they had reservations in the Penthouse Loft. Vidanta should clarify room descriptions.
Access to beach from Punta pool has been eliminated with closing of the steps.
Would like better communication from Vidanta regarding our concerns.
Shuttle service on property still has problems. Too few shuttles at peak times. Bad decision when they eliminated service to grand Mayan. Service is still inconvenient for many people including people with handicaps. Not enough shuttles for handicapped.
Grand Mayan pool water is too warm.
Another main problem is room assignment. Very difficult to please everyone. Based on equity - Number of registered rooms and equity. Also, it would be nice if the resort communicated to owners when buildings and activities would be closed due to maintenance - especially in summer when some entire buildings are closed.
Another suggestion to increase usage is to lower maintenance fees during the summer months when attendance is lower.
Many problems at Punta pool regarding reserving chairs hours before they are used. This problem is not being enforced by security. Numerous fights have occurred because of non-enforcement of this rule. Punta pool is the only pool area with this problem. Seems that the solution is easy - add personnel to enforce the rule!!!!!
More umbrellas are also needed.
Was suggested that each guest be given rules for proper attire and pool rules when registering for their room.
The new Vidanta app for iPhone is very good with good information regarding the resort.
Information should be available to owners regarding availability of defibrillators on resort. On site doctors are very good with good service.
Back of the House tour is very good with excellent information about entire resort.
No happy hour at pool 5. Also no restrictions on who accesses the pool. This may change in the future. Quinto restaurant is very good but small. New pools will be needed for Building 5 upon completion.
This about sums it up for the meeting. One person totally dominated the questions. Perhaps someone should help Brett field questions in the future.
Please let me know if you have any questions!!!
Lisa's Notes
- Discussion on differences between Vidanta (parent company) and Vida Vacations (sales and marketing arm).
- Brett’s job is to improve member experience.
- Of course the first issue asked about was leaving the property. Brett responded with encouraging us to keep asking for access and complaining about it on the evaluations. He said some small changes are being made so maybe they are listening.
- Pickleball was brought up and explained to Brett. It would be a perfect addition to the resorts as it is very popular in the U.S. and suits the age group of most of the owners. There is lots of interest and Brett said he would look into it.
- Asked about the website for reservations. There is a new software program but it is not working well. Brett : “ contracts are too complicated with all the various addendum's to make an online system work well, and making reservations online is probably not going to be possible. ” He said there is “an intense effort to improve reservations!”
- Talked about the crash at reservations on Feb. 1st. Terrible coincidence that it happened on the busiest day of the year at 7:00 a.m.
- There is much confusion when reserving rooms due to names being so similar. Be careful to be sure you are reserving the correct inventory.
- Members suggested it would be great that instead of a Vidanta newsletter telling us all that is new, we would be happier getting a letter addressing our concerns and what is being done to address the issues.
- A member suggested that heating the pools in January is a no - brainer and could be easily accomplished.
- Regarding room assignments: “it is very difficult to please everyone.” 70 - 80% of the requests are for 30% of the year (peak travel times). Brett says “come in October, no one is here!” Says weather is good from mid October in to May. Says there is talk of lowering the Maintenance fee for off season.
- Problem with chairs being held with towels but no one sitting in them for hours. Brett said some guests get down right rude when their things are removed from unused chairs. Solution suggested - Devise a list of rules and have the concierge explain the rules to guests upon their arrival. One member said she did see items removed recently by management when trying to save seats.
- Other items discussed:
- Need to know location of defibrillators (suggested to put information on the app.).
- Walkways need to be maintained better to encourage more use.
- Shortage of carts - ongoing process to keep carts going.
- Outsiders can make reservations on Open Table online but they hold back a portion for guests. Many of us observed difficulty getting reservations on site.
- Lastly: “We need to remember to focus on the positive side of things and the beauty of the resort.”
Survey Results
What Participants Have to Say...
- In our contract we have the term "alternate weeks" how is this different from residence weeks? 2.Is there a consideration for lowering usage fees if we vacation April, May June, Sept. Oct Nov. Dec. 3. Of course - having a way to egress the property that doesn't entail needing to get a taxi or walking through the sand or going through a passage that they don't want us to. 4. Booking with more facility.
- Shuttles to Sea Garden, restricting access to it by beach only is not doable by many older guests. Allow Luxxe members to receive their ID bracelets and be able to activate them wherever they choose to check in. Please review safety of Grand Bliss pool lounge chairs, quite a number of people have fallen backwards and injured themselves. Safety exit information in case of fire etc has been removed from the back of all Grand Mayan doors. Please ensure all staff handing out laundry soap are aware of how to put it in the washers safely, clothing comes out stained blue if incorrectly used.
- Feedback on management action on recurring issues.
- Have a knowlegable Vidanta Staffer attend. Someone who could give definative answers OR offer to get back with responses to legitimate concerns raised by the members. We attended 2 meetings & disapointed in the responses given by Estes. As the mean age is likely 65+ ensuring that emergency medical equipment & staff is readily available. After the meeting I asked 6 frontline staffers in building 1 where a defibulater(s) was located & non had any idea. Time to ask the Hard questions of the owners. We have been owners for over 17 years & love the place but as the years pass our health needs change. We appreciate what you are doing & offer to assist. James & Elizabeth Moore hange s.
- The meeting went off the rails from the beginning. Members spoke out of turn whether their hand was raised and Mr. Estes allowed this the entire meeting.
- Include more information in the monthly newsletters from Vidanta, & protocol around the pool enforced by security. (Not the activity staff). Dress code in all the lobbies....shoes & shirts required!
- Have someone from property planning in attendance.
- On 4. above since no questions can be asked about the contract, then investment confidence is not increased. Suggestions for future meetings. Appoint a person to allow everyone to ask one question. Then allow a 2nd question & so on.
- Insufficient umbrellas at the punts pools
- How to get better communication with Vidanta regarding membership problems
Photos
Thank you JoAnn and Lisa for all your help. FYI, JoAnn and Stan attended all five Gatherings. 
On behalf of the Aimfair members who were onsite for one of the past five Gatherings, we want to thank Vida Vacations for hosting the sessions and providing Brett Estes to participate. It was a risk management chose to take. Facing members who ask difficult questions that may not have immediate good answers opens the door to possible misunderstanding.
Our view is opening doors to communication is always good, regardless of the answers, so long as honesty prevails. It builds trust, which is a valuable, intagible form of capital. As we look around the property, walk the beach, enjoy the spacious accommodations, play two golf courses, enjoy meals and safely walk back to our unit and swim the beautiful pools, we tell ourselves there is no way we could afford anything close to what we can access at any of the Vidanta properties.