Dear Club Orient Friends,

It’s been too long since we have updated you on our progress on the re-building program. Our apologies, but we have been waiting thinking we would have something more definitive in another day or week. Sometimes we do and more often, we don’t.

But, we cannot continue to leave a vacuum, as many people who are not correctly informed are eager to fill it with something they heard from someone, who knows someone and they said…. Anyway, here is the correct up to date information as it stands today.

The homeowners of Club Orient recently met in Orlando for three days at Cypress Cove and expressed overwhelming support for the rebuilding efforts. Copro continues to be hampered by the insurance company in Paris, which even though their expert declared Club Orient a total loss, have still not issued a check!
Why? We, as well as many other businesses, cannot get a straight answer. The insurance companies still owe millions of Euros to a large number of companies on St. Martin. Copro was told that they would have the money by May 1 and still, nothing has been received.

That does not mean everyone is sitting on their hands. The architect and contractor retained by Copro have a detailed set of plans and have prepared all the necessary applications for submission, as soon as the funds are received.

Both the Copro and OBC (Orient Beach Club) are still planning to have 30 to 50 rooms available to rent by this winter. We have not forgotten our promise to allow a head start on reservations, for all of you who have kindly donated or allowed us to retain your deposits. You’re the best!

How long for the total repair/rebuild? We currently estimate about eighteen months from start to finish. ALL the new units will be built with reinforced concrete instead of wood. We also intend to address several issues that will make the facilities more modern and efficient, including bringing in fiber optic cable for internet and phones.

Will we be adding additional rooms of more than one story? The current plan is to at some point, take the land behind the current Club Orient and be able to increase our available number of rooms. Plus, the government now requires us to have “safe areas” which are more than 3 meters above the ground, in the event of another hurricane. As Club Orient is below sea level and most of the damage to us was caused by water, not wind, we have to provide one or more concrete structures to house people.
This will be done without changing the basic layout and ambiance of the Club Orient which we all love.

We have also had several requests from many of you wishing to buy units from owners, who have for various reasons, decided not to be part of the rebuilding. If you are interested, please contact Alan at ClubOrientSales@comcast.net . Alan is a long-time homeowner who handles all the resales at Club Orient and is very knowledgeable about all aspects involved.

So, thank you again for the continued support and the very positive emails, many of which we share with our employees, at the monthly meetings we have to keep them informed of our progress.

Thank you for the update on your financial situation but as a TTOL member I was hoping your post would fill the vacuum, so I would not be eager to fill it with something
interesting...

What kind of bs response is that? Duh!!

Club Orient is so forward about donations and reservations! Club orient is a resort! I feel it a bit tacky to ask for donations as if they had no insurance and need true help!
I have yet to receive my insurance monies so it is not Copro alone that is feeling the pain. They use this platform to promote business so maybe being a sponsor here would
help me respect the post more... The architect and contractor retained by Copro was paid by donations? If they want to fill the vacuum of information maybe they should tell the whole story or tell it on their website.

Have to agree with sxmmartini. As much as I love Club O, I have felt from the beginning that a business (and that's what they are) should have their financial situation in order in case of a catastrophe. We had a deposit that we wanted back to be used for another vacation (we don't have unlimited funds for vacation !) So, yes, it was tacky IMHO. That being said, we will gladly go back to Club O as soon as it's possible.

Thank you! I know it took courage to go against the majority here. I too have had a terrible 8 months of waiting for my insurance check to clear so I can rebuild my villa.
I used my savings and banks to get the repairs started and did not have any outside donations or support. I wish Club Orient a strong recovery and speedy rebuilding.
I stayed at Club Orient for the first time in 1983 and have great memories. Best Regards, Wendy

Actually, I'm not sure that the majority here does disagree with your statement. I think most people think that any business should have their own contingency plans. I personally do not agree with ANY business begging for money.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but, I read that the donations went to the employees who were suddenly left w/o an income and much more. This would be a lot more acceptable.

Pretty sure the copro paid for architects and such. The donations were for and were distributed to employees. Where did this signal get crossed?

Thanks for the update. I have read or heard lots of "information." It is really helpful to get it from the source. A lot of employees are out of work (and/or lost their homes) with limited financial help from the government. Anything that can be done to help them is appreciated.

Although I could be wrong, often am, my understanding is that there were donations for employees, and then they were also asking for people who had reservations to donate their deposits to Club O.

If i remember correctly, and it was many months ago, they, Club O said something to the effect it would be appreciated if deposits were either donated, or held for a future stay to assist the rebuilding effort. The employee assistance donations was mostly a Go Fund me type effort, which they did work hard to distribute every penny they could, working around some tax issue. Correct me if that's wrong.

.....

Which we did for 3 reservations, November, February and July, but the way I understand it is they will use our deposit money towards rebuilding expenses but give us credit on a future reservation, so not really a donation but more of a loan to help with cash flow while waiting for insurance. Hopefully we can be back staying at Club O in February

The fund raiser was split among the employees which received 70% of their gross salary.

OBC (management) has received their insurance settlement. Copro (homeowners) the rooms, Papagayo, Office & Boutique are the responsiblity of Copro.

"For those who have donated to the rebuilding fund, without you we could not have retained the architect, which was crucial in our dealings with the government on the adjacent land." Florence Bernard

Oh. I thought that Papagayo, Boutique and Perch all fell under the management ownership.

We were a bit disappointed in some of the comments made by a few people after our recent update. Upon further reflection it appears may it is our fault for not explaining things better or repeating information that we had previously posted.
Let us try to respond to some of the items which were mentioned in the comments.
Club Orient did not start, organize or operate the GO Fund Me page for the employees, who were devastated by Irma. The site was the idea of Nancy Tieman of Bare Necessities and she talked with us, after it was in place, asking if we would help her in letting people know.
This money went directly to our employees, some of whom had no insurance or very little and were literally without housing and/or a roof. We posted photos of the money being distributed and some very grateful people.
We are very thankful for Nancy's kindess, and make no apologies for helping people who desperately needed help.
We thought we had been very clear in separating OBC (us) from the Copro (HOA). OBC received its insurance money very quickly and it has been sufficient to sustain us for nine months so far, without any income. People think our employees are on unemployment, they are not. Our employees have been receiving 85% of their net salary from OBC, this is called “chomage partiel”. The government only reimburses OBC a percentage of minimum wage. This is a very large difference in many cases.
If we are indeed able to open in late Fall or early winter, we will have survived for between 14 and 16 months with no income. How could we do that? Because we had sufficient insurance, including business interruption.
In addition, everyone who has needed their advance deposit returned has received it, to the best of our knowledge. We explained earlier why it took so long to begin this process. Unlike a Mom and Pop operation which may have 50 or 60 thousand in advance deposits, we had over 600,000 euros in advance deposits, to be distributed worldwide.
Our servers where all our information is stored, were looted and damaged, our offices, like the rest of Club Orient, were destroyed. In November, we found temporary space, got our servers back and used the “hot spot” connection on our phone to begin downloading the programs to access the information needed. A very time-consuming process.
We then had to wait for the banks to re-open and be operational, so we could replace our credit card machine, to more efficiently issue refunds. Banks were facing the same difficulties we were with lack of staff and working computers, it took a great deal of time. We have apologized individually to people affected and in some of our other postings.
Why are we grateful for people who have either donated their deposits or allowed us to hold on to them? Because no one expected the insurance company not to pay Copro the money which is due to them, so they could rebuild quickly. This continues to put a real strain on us.
The rebuilding fund was started by OBC because a number of people have been kind enough to ask how they can help. OBC has not paid for the architect or contractor of Copro. They have done that themselves. The money which people have been generous enough to give us for rebuilding, will be used to build the additional facilities, some of which the government now requires.
Finally, for people that say, “well, you just weren’t prepared”. You’re correct. We did not plan on the largest storm in the history of the Atlantic, where the airport wind gauge broke at 240mph. We did not plan on a 9-foot storm surge which wiped away almost all of Club Orient, including foundations in some areas. We did not plan on receiving no help from the military or government for a week after Irma to protect us from looters. We did not plan on no financial assistance to the island or its people from Paris. We did not plan on all but non-existent medical care, after the storm. We did not plan on many of these things.
I know it is very easy for some to sit thousands of miles away and say what they would have done. We hope you never have to find out just how difficult it can be.

Thank you for the detailed update! I've been chewing on the inside of my cheek unable to reply, so I'm sure we all appreciate having this post we can point to for those in need of the real, full story.

And thank you again for your continued efforts on behalf of Club O. Looking forward to the rebuild and my next visit! <3

Very well-stated, Club O! Thanks for your updates, and hopefully in the not too distant future we will be able to once again enjoy the place where "nothing is better".

Well put Club O! I sense your frustration and I share it after reading this thread. I can't image being in a situation where everything around me is destroyed. My job gone. My home gone. Oh sure I have savings, but if the bank is no longer standing, and their web access was destroyed as well, the money is inaccessible. We in the states should realize that not every entity moves at the same pace. That was evident when you consider the recovery efforts of Houston compared to P.R. Keep up the good work and I look forward to returning as soon as you are rebuilt.

Thank you for your reply and I do know what it was like to go through not one but two major hurricanes (Luis and Irma).
Club Orient has been through this destruction in 1995 and many owners knew what could happen again. Let's hope for fish storms this coming season!

Thanks again for your updates, having been to Orient in November, it was devastating to see what remained of not only Club O, but the island in general and the French side in particular. Our visit in February showed a major improvement on the Dutch Side, but not so much on the French Side, it seems having French Insurance, administered from Paris, along with the Government's new building codes being drawn up, had really hampered recovery on the French Side. It was great to spend time at Perch Lite and to rent chairs from Cedrick and Allain and to hear the plans for clear up of Club O. Keep up the good work and we look forward to the reopening and staying there soon

Bang on Club O ! Thanks for the detailed breakdown. The resident trolls on this board always try to find fault with most anything posted here. Hopefully your response will shut them up, for a while anyway.
We look forward to returning to Club O. Godspeed.

Thanks for the updates. After loosing your whole world and going to great lenghts for your wonderful employees well being, i commend you! Everyone is anxious for your quick recovery, but must be patient and let the process move at the pace required. Best wishes, hope to see you in the near future!

Amen

My reply was to what Hdrdr911 said.
Haven’t heard a lot for people on here saying anything about having to pay their maintenance fee for their timeshare weeks that they will be losing