TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Club O office closing.

Club O management company (OBC) closing within 30 days. A sad chapter in this saga.

Not good, but no other choice as they have no resort to manage and no revenue coming in to pay bills .

Maybe now the dissidents will realize the damage they are doing to the earth and its people.

For those not on Facebook:

Dear Friends,

For those of you who have been following our postings online or read the emails we have previously sent, what we’re about to say should not come as a total shock. But, please read it carefully and understand the following only affects Orient Beach Club (OBC), which employs all of the staff and operates the resort. The Copropriété (Copro) which owns the land on which Club Orient is built and is similar to an HOA is responsible for the vast majority of structues.

OBC received its insurance money in full on October 31, 2017, which included business interruption insurance. It has now been over a year that OBC has been waiting for the Copro to receive its money, so the rebuilding can begin.

OBC has had to pay “chomage partiel”, which is similar to unemployment in some countries, but different in that the company must pay out 85% of an employee’s actual wages and is reimbursed at only a percentage of minimum wage rates. This form of unemployment has been a very expensive proposition.

We were comfortable doing this as the Copro believed we would have at least some of our units ready for the high season starting in November/December. This prognostication, unfortunately, has proven not to be the case.

Even if the Copro was to receive their money in October or November, they could not complete any of the necessary rebuildings and repair until Summer or even longer. OBC cannot afford to continue to operate while missing two full high seasons, last year and this coming year.

OBC expects to be legally closing its doors over the next thirty days with the assistance of a government liquidator. We have just about completed contacting all the people who still had advance deposits on hold for a future stay. To all of you who were kind enough to donate them or delay asking for their return, you are a big reason why we have been able to continue to survive this long. Thank you very much for your help.

Now, does this mean Club Orient is finished? NO. It merely means the management company OBC, which is the employer and operator of the revenue-producing areas is closing.

Once the Copro receives its funds and the re-building commences, a new management company would have to emerge to operate Club Orient. Hopefully, most of the same staff will still be available and return.

Once again, the only reason OBC must close is they have no resort to manage and no way to continue to pay the staff without revenue being generated.

So, this is a very sad time for all of us, many of us have given years and often decades of our lives to Club Orient as employees. Most of us have never felt like employees, but more like being a part of an extended worldwide family.
We cannot predict what will happen next, as we will not be involved. We know the Copropriété is continuing in its efforts to re-build Club Orient and has contracts in place, once the legal and insurance issues are resolved.

Our website and Facebook page will remain up for at least the next few months, and we have listed an email address to be able to contact a representative of Club Orient who is on the island.

Thanks to all of you for your support over the years and we have missed seeing you this last year. We are heartbroken this mess has not yet been rectified and hope that the Copro will be able to rebuild very soon, so we can once again welcome all of you back to paradise.

Au Revoir...

I feel so sad for the staff who are now unemployed due to the petty selfishness of a very small group of people.

Jenni--thanks for posting. They sent an email to the same effect, which I had just posted, and then removed, when I saw your post.

Sad.

Just read my email and saw the notice. I echo jenniboston's sentiments.

This is sad. I feel extremely bad for all the great staff loosing their jobs, the people who enjoy all the resort has to offer, and loss for the island as a whole.

OBC will be closing over the next thirty days. Au Revoir

OMG 67 comments on FB already with no reply from OBC...

I am so shocked after they knew the employment benefits were extended into 2019.

I really don't understand and what about the insurance money OBC collected for the buildings they owned the Warehouse, Utility buildings, Housekeeping building, Water sports and Spa building as well as the boutique???

This is very sad for all of us who loved Club O, but even worse for the employees.
Does this mean that Cedric will not be renting chairs and the Perch Lite will close?

This isn't clear. I'll ask around and see if we have any idea how this effects the Perch.

The perch lite was illegally built and will probably remain. Watersports is out of business so chairs and umbrellas will be run without a permit.
This is the worst news yet coming out of Club orient resort!

Very, very, very sad.

Club Orient Facebook page confirmed that Perch Lite and the chair/ umbrella rental will continue...

"If the court confirms the closure of OBC this will not affect the operation of the beach rentals and Perch Lite."

If Perch Lite is not paying rent maybe Heineken will be less?

The chair/ umbrella rental which is Water Sports chairs and umbrellas has me baffled.

What happens to the chair rental and Perch Lite? Do they close also?

There appears to be a lot of confusion and conflict about Club Orient. I sincerely do hope it eventually gets resolved.
I can only say that 1/1/2019 Orient Beach will still be there. With or without a chair and or umbrella, I will be there, as I have for the past 30+ years (except for last year).
I expect to have some Heineken beers and a Fuente cigar to celebrate the new year just as I have for all those years. Join me if you can.

Doesn't OBC own number of units? Or what were units.
I may be wrong but the impression from what I've read is that the 'non signers" in the Copro are responsible for the problem with the reconstruction and putting all those good people out of work. Plus, they haven't payed into the Copro in years. Hard to believe.

Being illegally built, I would not continue to count in the existence. The French government has not been friendly to other places that were "illegally built".

OBC is the management company for the unit owners and do not own any units. If the Corpro resolves it's issues with the dissidents then there will be hope for the future and the staff and employees will get their jobs back...maybe.

Does anyone know what the dissidents hope to achieve by blocking the rebuilding of Club O? Seems like they would be losing out too.

Tony, check this thread: http://www.traveltalkonline.com/ubb...m-club-orient-management.html#Post169772 and look for the posts from Maitre_Jim. He does a pretty good job of explaining.

Re reading the post by maitre_jim just makes me thing when time is the enemy it does not get better the next day. The longer this takes the less likely a reasonable outcome...for owners and future guests will be achieved

Not sure there's anything new in it, but the story is in the Daily Herald this morning.

Daily Herald story

Yep, just a rehash of what's been posted by Jenni here. The Copro is losing a good manager in Steve Payne along with his staff. They will probably be employed elsewhere by the time Copro ever resolves their issues and need to start another management company.
I'm sure The Collective knows the positive financial impact naturists bring to the French side and if they can get their own act together then they should create economic incentives to the Copro and it's dissidents to move forward with the rebuilding. Now the question is what incentives under their system/law could they possibly offer?

Maybe this will make the government get more involved and put some pressure on the copro to either poop or get off the pot. It would seem that the collective should be made aware of this website to see that there are many folks who frequent the island to be able to use that resort and if it were to be changed to a mainstream resort without the C/O option those folks will find alternative venues. That would mean a lot of income from tourists would be gone. I don't know about French law as to the ability of the government to force the copro to either settle or sell to someone who wants to cooperate with the intent of the copro. Don't pay your dues in a Florida HOA and they'll eventually foreclose on your property. Maybe that's what the French government needs to implement, if they are legally able to.

Just curious why you think the Copro needs some pressure applied? With the exception of the dissenters, they are very motivated to rebuild; they want to go back to our favorite beach just as much as you do! Unfortunately a small group of hold-outs seem hell-bent on spite for everyone else even though they have nothing to gain.

For the record; the local government has been very supportive. The Copro has permission for rebuilding as soon as the funds come through. Remember that they could have been told the property was just too unsafe to rebuilt on, but they haven't. What *has* been determined is that permanent year-round homes cannot be located on the property. So dissenters can't gain the private gated community they apparently were hoping they could force the Club into becoming.

Short of major legislative changes (which, face it, will not happen for all of France on the behalf of a very small group of largely foreign owners of a hotel in one of the smallest territories in the Republic) or the insurance company deciding that they're not going to continue to take advantage of the situation so they don't have to pay out the claim (I know: bwahahahahaha!) this is simply going to have to grind through the courts.

Fingers crossed that happens sooner rather than later!

This is a win win for Club Orient Owners. The number one complaint of owners was that the employee payroll was over the top. The new Club Orient will be able to have a new management and employee staff to keep payroll to a reasonable level. To all of you who donated your vacation monies to Club Orient Resort it was used to pay expenses that had nothing to with rebuilding quickly. The DH article hardly informed most of us about the situation and both owners and loyal guests are getting most of their information from Facebook and TTOL. To Club Orient Good Luck!

I suspect one could take the dissidents to court and vice versa. Many folks might not want to be named on either side of the suit. That was the case of a U.S. nudist resort that had a spat after decades amongst the original owners and their heirs.

Is that why we don’t here of either party taking the other to court ala francaise?

These dissidents, i don’t see where they ever prevail. The best I could see for them and any other reluctant rebuilder is to get their share of insurance proceeds and walk away.

Who are these cats and what could be their remaining motivation.

I see the point, they may want what martini indicates - a lower overhead club.......but it would never be free for them. Stuff (elect, water, security, etc) cost money.

The oBC shutdown, does put focus on the COPRO and the dissidents. Any dissidents out there reading this care to defend your honor in this situation?

Holy cow, this is just so wrong on so many levels it is down right insulting, especially to the employees who have now lost their jobs.

It is clear that you do not understand A) The relationship between the hotel and the Copro B) The value that the Copro places on all staff C) French employment law.

You are right that for now payroll is no longer an issue. However in this case no one wins.

I never said I was a nice sweet person but I tell it how I see it! If more owners started yelling and not bite their tongues maybe something would be done about this stupid cut your nose off to spite your face mentality!

To draw your attention back to a posting by Club O back in August (the whole posting is quoted somewhere here on TTOL):

"Now add into the mix that there is a very small minority of homeowners who seem to be bent on destroying Club Orient and basically turning it into a rest home for themselves. They have not paid homeowner dues OR INSURANCE PREMIUMS for 10 years! Yet, they have written to the insurance company demanding insurance proceeds be sent directly to them. They have also advised the insurance company that the Syndic is not authorized to receive any of the proceeds.
Unbelievable as it sounds, even though they have contributed nothing to the Copro or the insurance, and owe approximately one million euros in dues, under French law they are still considered members of the Copro. When this occurred the insurance company, not wishing to be sued by either the Copro or the small group of non-paying owners, simply said we will not release any funds until this is settled. There are now 4 lawyers working on this case for Copro [...]"

Jenni...Whose fault is that? The homeowners foundation/ association! They never addressed this problem and continued to allow this resort to be compromised and now closed. The problem now lands right in the lap of the homeowners which in IMHO is where the mistakes of the past bite them back!

I read that and get that. Does that prevent them from suing each for resolutions to disputes. Or is it as I wonder, they don’t want their names in court.

...Not really sure what you think all those attorneys are doing.

There is quite a bit of suing going on. No, I'm not going to share the particulars.

Ok. There is attorney haggling and there is attorney suing. If there is actual suing there are proceedings, documents and court appearances and hopefully legally binding court decisions. I havent heard of any of the latter, just entrenched holdout dissidents who dont cooperate with the majority who want to move forward.

TTOL has lots of savvy folks who can read french and find court documents. All im saying is the haggling phase appears to have gotten nowhere with dissidents unwilling to go along or take any buyout offer leading us all to see the demise of OBC.

Then we all know who will be the ultimate winners through all this. The Attornies.

This is unfortunately the ultimate truth!

Jenniboston.......thanks for good info as always. Just frustrated watching the situation.

Whom ever owns the land wil prevail, in my opinion. But to be honest, all of this back and fourth, Secret Society, no one other than JIm really gave an excellent explanation of the reality and insight to the internal workings of Club O! And to be honest, we all love the island, we are just curious. So just addressing the particulars in that manner is just BS!

Article in the Daily Herald:
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islan...-resort-expected-to-close-within-30-days

Yes, same article Carol posted a link to on Saturday. Daily Herald is likely not published today due to holiday.