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I hope this letter finds all of you well. I wanted to give you a few important updates on our budget and assessments for 2023: As you know, the owners of The Aspen Mountain Residences voted to change management companies in 2022 in order to improve the day-to-day management and upgrade both the service and quality of our property.  Effective December 15, 2021, East West Hospitality took over the management of TAMR.  As conveyed to owners by our previous Board, East West Hospitality would bring a more local and hands-on management style to our property and also offer a reduction in the annual management fee, a win-win for owners.  These changes have been very favorable overall for our property, but the year has also brought unforeseen challenges that have negatively affected our cost structure.  As a result, in spite of the favorable benefits of a new management company, we are forced to request a significant increase in the assessment for owners for 2023. Part of this is special assessments which we do not anticipate will be recurring.  Let me walk you through the issues that have attributed to the unexpected negative variance this year. Extremely tight labor market – In preparing the 2022 budget in October 2021, the Board was unable to foresee the difficult labor market which emerged as COVID restrictions eased and demand for services began to escalate sharply.  As I’m sure you have seen, inflation has been running at the highest level in 50 years, and this has become most pronounced in the services sector, especially in hospitality and leisure.  Wages have been under extreme pressure throughout the Aspen/Snowmass area, as service workers have been and remain in short supply.  As with most luxury properties in Aspen, we have had to fight to keep our staff. This has resulted in significantly higher-than-expected expenditures for staff salaries including front desk, bellmen, housekeeping, maintenance personnel, and concierge
 Frequency of housekeeping services – In preparing the 2022 budget last year, housekeeping was assumed to continue on an every-other-day basis through 2022.  Recall that during the economic shutdown of 2Q 2020, all housekeepers were let go, and then housekeeping services were slowly reinstated as the economy began to reopen.  Naturally, we were not the only luxury property in Aspen looking for housekeepers, which were in short supply and have remained so to this day.  Due to the difficulties in finding housekeeping staff and because of escalating wage costs, the prior management company and prior Board budgeted three day/week services for 2022.  However, as pandemic restrictions slowly lifted and occupancy began to improve, it became apparent we would need to offer full-time hours to our housekeepers or lose them to other properties. At the same time, feedback was suggesting that owners expected regular housekeeping services when they were on-site.  Therefore, we reinstituted daily housekeeping services starting in January 2022, even though the budget was set for every-other-day housekeeping services throughout 2022. 
 Maintenance projects – Following the transition to East West Hospitality, we found some essential maintenance projects that needed to be performed which had to be undertaken or brought forward.  For example, we had to purchase two new vans this fall which were not in the budget until 2024 in order to ensure that we could provide the requisite transportation services to owners during the approaching ski season. We also had to undertake some critical infrastructure investment to address the plumbing in the building, which should have been done annually but in fact, had never been done. We have adequate money in the Reserve Fund (currently $9.9 million) to take care of budgeted projects in the coming years, including an extensive remodeling of the lobby beginning shortly and room upgrades/refurbishments which will occur in 2023 and 2024.
 Deficits in 2021 and 2022 –  Through 2019, the property had very modest deficits or surpluses each year.  Naturally, COVID ended this, initially creating a surplus in 2020 followed by two years of deficits as occupancy picked back up.  During the onset of COVID, management quickly cut costs to reflect the realities of the darkest days of the pandemic, resulting in a budget surplus for 2020.  However, like most businesses, management could not fully anticipate the rapid increase in the desire to travel once COVID restrictions were lifted.

This uplift meant we had to bring back staff faster than anticipated in the 2021 budget, causing operating costs to be higher than budgeted that year.  At the same time, our assessments decreased by -10.6% Year over Year (YoY) in 2021 following the pandemic, meaning revenues were also lower.  This resulted in a cost overrun in 2021 of approximately $877,000. Netting this amount against a surplus of $350,000 in 2020 left us with a deficit at the end of 2021 of $527,000, a figure that came into focus as the transition to East West Hospitality was occurring. 

Unfortunately, the cost pressures have only worsened this year, which no one could have anticipated in the 2022 budget.  As a result, we forecast that we will end the year with another deficit of circa $419,000, bringing the total two-year net deficit to $946,000.  The total of these deficits will be covered in the 2023 assessment, and the Board considers this a one-off adjustment that should not occur beyond this year. 
 Refurbishment costs – As mentioned earlier, we will be starting the refurbishment of the lobby next month, and the upgrade/refurbishment of the rooms in the fall of 2023, which will extend through 2024.  Although we have built a project reserve fund which is now over $9.9 million as of 10-20-22, the combination of inflation and supply-chain disruptions will likely mean that the prices for the refurbishment will be higher than budgeted two years ago.  In addition, we need to ensure that there are adequate funds in reserve for ongoing capital and project maintenance expenses that occur year-to-year.  For this reason, the amount of the assessment being earmarked to the reserve fund in 2023 will increase by $180,000 (between $68 and $268 per fraction depending on the size of the unit) compared to the amount set aside in 2022 budget.
 Legal fee reserve – As you know, the HOA is disputing the excessive legal fees that were charged by our former counsel in conjunction with the legal suit against Hyatt, which was ultimately settled out-of-court.  The Board has agreed to enter into a definitive settlement through mediation/arbitration with our former legal counsel, and we expect this to be resolved during the summer of 2023.  The fees being charged by the legal firm far exceed the rather modest value we obtained in the termination of the management contract with Hyatt.  Nonetheless, we believe it is prudent to set aside a legal reserve of $750,000 at this time to help cover any settlement.
None of this is good news as far as your annual fees go. It is important that owners understand that the increase in assessments has probably been managed at too low a level over many years.  Since 2015, assessments have only increased 8.8%, or on average, 1.2% per/annum.  For the same period of time, inflation in the area has increased by more than +28.6% or 3.6% on average, according to the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Consumer Price Index report published by the US Bureau of Statistics. The chart below shows the trajectory of assessments for a 3BR unit since 2013.
We are requesting an increase in the assessment this year of 26% on our operating and reserve funds (compared to last year), excluding the legal reserve fund and the recovery of operating deficits from 2021 and 2022.    The table below breaks down the property-level assessment for forecast 2022 vs budget 2023, before and after the special one-off charges.  It also depicts the legal reserve fund, project reserve fund and evolution of the deficits (2021 and 2022) and deficit recovery for 2023.
Based on recent feedback, the Board believes that other properties in the Aspen area will likely experience substantial increases in their annual assessments this year, too, in the range of at least 18% to 20% versus 2022.  Unfortunately, we as owners have no recourse as far as rising inflation, severe labor shortages, and increases in costs related to the supply chain and similar COVID-legacy issues.  If you review the forecast for this year versus the 2022 budget line-by-line, you will see that we were on target with the vast majority of expenses.  It was only labor costs that were excessively high and unfortunately out of our control.  It “is what it is”, and there is no way around any property having to absorb these costs. The Board believes that this round of assessments will put the property on firm footing to achieve the objectives we have ahead of delivering a high-quality product with excellent services, as well as undertaking an overdue and needed refurbishment of the common areas and the rooms.  It should also go without saying the Board, working alongside local management, will continue to focus on a combination of other revenue streams and cost efficiencies to further enhance the value of our property.  Our objective – like yours – it to have the prices of our fractional units (and rentals) continue to escalate.

Dear Fellow Owners,

I hope this letter finds all of you well. I wanted to give you a few important updates:

2023 Board of Directors Election:

While updating our governance documents, we added another owner-director position to the board for a total of six owner-directors plus the trust-appointed member for a total of seven board members. Our current one-year board of directors’ terms did not provide our owners with sufficient leadership stability. The recently adopted Amended and Restated Bylaws now contain two-year terms which will be staggered to avoid a complete owner-director board changing over each and every year. 

This year is the transition year. The top three vote-getters for the board will serve two-year terms, and the bottom three, one-year terms. Next year at this time we will have three open positions and each director will be running for a two-year term.  

The dates for the election of the BOD are as follows:

  • Start election – Sunday 10/23/22
  • End election – Saturday 11/12/22

Election instructions:

On 10/23/22 you will receive an email from invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com with your credentials and instructions on how to cast your votes for the respective candidates. You will also find information on the annual meeting agenda, last year’s meeting notes, and next year’s budget via links.  Please go to your email system and enter the above email address as an allowable email (safe sender), so it does not get caught in your spam filter. We will also send out a version of the credentials and a reminder via text. If you have not given East West Hospitality reservations your cell number yet, please do so to be added to our owner texting list.  

This year there are seven candidates running for the six open positions. You will be given six votes which you can cast for the candidates EACH VOTE YOU CAST WILL COUNT FOR ALL THE UNITS YOU OWN. So, if you own three units and you cast a vote for six candidates, each of your votes will count as three votes for each candidate.     

2022 Annual Meeting Date: 

Our annual meeting will be held in Aspen and via zoom on November 14th. 2022 at 11am MST / 1pm EST. If you wish to join the meeting, please use this zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87864005273pwd=K0Fib3pQTllpemEwWEMzT2ZHMHhvdz09

Meeting ID: 878 6400 5273

Passcode: 525114

The results of the election will be announced at the meeting.  If you wish to speak at the meeting, you must indicate so at the time of signing in for the meeting, or by emailing me in advance. Once confirmed you will be given a maximum of 3 minutes to speak. 

Dear Fellow Owners,

I hope this letter finds all of you well. 

The results of the recent survey among owners regarding our pet policy ended on October 3rd, and the results were as follows:

  • 276 of 456 total owners responded to the survey or 60.5%
  • 52% of the owners that responded own a pet, and 48% do not
  • 66.7% of owners that responded voted to keep our existing “no pets” policy in place, and 33.3% of owners voted to consider a formal vote to overturn the current rule

Given the results, the Board will work with the management team to ensure that our existing “no pets” policy – which has been subject to some abuse – is more strictly enforced.  This enforcement will begin immediately, meaning that the only animals which will be allowed on the property will be legitimate licensed service animals.  This means the following:

  • If an owner whose disability is not readily apparent requests to bring a service dog onto the premises, the association will provide a form to that owner which must be completed and signed by the owner’s physician verifying that the animal is a “service animal” before the animal will be allowed to stay at the property.
  • The service dog must be licensed and have a tag. If the dog has not been previously licensed, the owner must present documentation that the dog has been appropriately trained as a service dog and for what tasks.
  • Service animals must remain with their owners at all times that they are on-site at TAMR.  They cannot be left alone in the room at any time during the time the owner’s stay at our property.
  • Service animals should not bark or interact with other owners.
  • No aggressive behavior towards any guest or employee.
  • Emotional support animals are not service animals and will not be allowed on the property.

In addition, the owner must advise TAMR Reservations of the service animal at the time of the booking and must reconfirm at least 14 days before check-in. The existing rule enforcement will go into effect on November 5th. Anyone bringing their dog before then will still be subject to a $750 cleaning and disinfecting fee. 

The people responsible for enforcement of our pets’ rule are our employees, and it is important to understand that they do not set the rules. Accordingly, please do not cause a difficult or unpleasant situation by bringing your pet which is not a service animal to the property.  Should you arrive at the property with a pet without the proper paperwork already completed for a properly licensed service animal, you will not be allowed to check-in.  The front desk will have a list of kennels where you can board your dog during your stay. Owners that are found to be in breach of the no-pet policy will face a $1,000 infraction fine, a $750 cleaning fee, and immediate revocation of their reservation.  

Please note that misrepresenting a service animal in the state of Colorado is Illegal.  The law (House Bill 16-1426) criminalizes the intentional misrepresentation by individuals of assistance and service animals, making such misrepresentation a class 2 petty offense.

I ask any pet owner who is disappointed in the survey results to remember the Board is here to enforce the rules which have been agreed to by the majority of our owners.  In the case of the no-pets policy, these rules have been in place since the property’s inception.  

Owners –­ many of whom probably have pets – requested that the current rule be reconsidered, and the Board complied by undertaking the recent survey to gauge whether or not there was sufficient interest by the majority of owners to reconsider the existing pet policy.  The survey indicated that a 2/3 majority of owners did not wish to consider moving further on this issue at this time, so changes to the existing pet policy will not be brought to a formal vote.  Owners made this decision, not management or the Board, although it is the joint responsibility of management and the Board to ensure that the long-standing no pets’ rule of the property is more stringently enforced. 

Here is the link to the form which will need to be filled out and presented 14 days prior to arrival so the information can be verified: Verification of Disability

Dear Fellow Owners,

I hope this letter finds all of you well. I wanted to give you a few important updates:

Allan Sheres Has Resigned from the Board:

Allan Sheres resigned from the Board on September 23rd.  Unfortunately, Allan felt that he did not have the time to continue to dedicate to this position. The Board wants to thank Allan for almost three years of dedicated service on the Board, during which the Board oversaw the rather complicated separation from Marriott and transition to our current management company, East West Hospitality.  

Tom Kaplan Appointed to the Board:

The Board voted [unanimously] to appoint owner Tom Kaplan to replace Allan for the remainder of the 2022 term. Tom has been on the Marketing Committee and has very relevant professional and board experience.  He was a past president, vice president, and board member of Addison Reserve Country Club in Delray Beach, Florida and co-founded a marketing firm that represented over 200 clients primarily in the real estate, club and hospitality industries. Tom sold that business and has since transitioned to the financial services industry.

2023 Board of Directors:

If you are interested in running for the 2023 Board the deadline to submit your credentials is October 12th. All board positions are open for re-election, and we are also adding another owner-director spot for the 2023 term. 

Our New Vans Are In! 

Our two new transportation vans have finally arrived after a 10-month delay. Each has 4-wheel drive to make things easier to get back and forth from the ski areas in those snowy times. I would like to extend a special thanks to Allan Sheres who dealt with the dealers and got the vans to us before this year’s ski season.  The vans are now being measured for and will be logoed for The Aspen Mountain Residences. 

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram:

See photos, what’s new, and happening at The Aspen and around town!

Dear Fellow Owners,

It seems that change is a constant in these post-pandemic times, it comes with the territory. After 16 spectacular years of service, Roger Haneman has decided to pursue other opportunities in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Roger has been a fixture at our property and perhaps, more importantly, a “fixer” as well. He was always on the owner’s side, helping to get the right room or a room at all when we found ourselves in a pinch. His can-do attitude and willingness to help in any regard was a standout feature for all these many years. He literally knew every room, every studio, and seemingly every owner and could make things happen almost as if by magic. He helped make the TAMR experience what we know and love today.

The Board is presenting Roger with both a sentimental gift and a significant monetary gift on behalf of East West Hospitality and the owners. Roger has graciously provided us with his mailing address if you might like to separately send him a personal note or token of appreciation.

Roger Haneman

P.O. Box 454

Woody Creek, CO 81656

Susan is working hard toward finding Roger’s replacement and hopes to have an announcement soon.

On behalf of the Board, East West Hospitality, and the entire owner community we wish Roger the best of luck and many successes in his future endeavors.

Dear Fellow Owners,

Hello! It is a great day for all of our owners! I am pleased to announce the vote to approve the new Declaration has passed by an overwhelming 99%+ of non-Marriott/Trust owners who voted in favor of approval. The documents are now ratified and will be recorded in the public deed records of Pitkin County.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW DECLARATION AND THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:

  • Eliminates previous management controls that were dispersed throughout the original declaration. 
  • Protects the Trust’s ownership of 207 fractions, but prevents Marriott or the Trust from acquiring any additional fractions at our property in the future.
  • Transfers ownership from Developer/Marriott/etc. of all non-OWNER property to the HOA, including the ski/bike shop, business office, front desk & closet, offices, gym, food prep and storage area, concierge area, marble bar, and seven (7) remaining residential fractional interests (which will be sold on the open market). 
  • Permits a new float-time system of our choice.
  • ONLY HOA owners – including the fractions owned by the Trust but no other third-party Marriott/Hyatt property owners – will have access to our property. 
  • Unclaimed float time goes to the HOA exclusively.
  • Prohibits any Board member from being paid a wage, fee or salary.
  • Reduces the majority threshold required for a future change in any provisions in the Declaration from 67% to 60%. 

Here is a quick update on some other current items:

FLOAT TIME 

We can now move forward on the allocation of float weeks!!   

Most of you have already submitted your float week prioritization forms. The reservations group will start to assign the float time based on your choices immediately! We expect the process to take about two weeks. Once completed you will receive your float reservations via email. If you have not received the information on the new float system please reach out to our reservations dept ASAP at: AspenRes@eastwest.com.  

The 2024 float time selection process will be held in mid-January 2023 which is on a similar schedule we used to have! 

STORAGE 

Roger and Susan are reporting good progress in getting our storage issues under control. Owners who have been in residence have done an excellent job adhering to the new policy! If all goes as planned, we should be able to free up as many as 10 parking spaces which we can lease for about $6,500 per season ($130,000 per year income to the HOA).

E-BIKES

The electric bikes have been ordered and should be arriving soon. The bikes are free to owners who do not have bikes stored downstairs. Bikes can be reserved through the ski shop. If you have not been on an e-bike before you are in for a real treat! Trips down valley or even up to Maroon Bells can now be made with ease on our new e-bikes. 

OWNERS ONLY WEBSITE

The abcowners.com website functionality was moved over and became part of our new “owners only” website. The website now contains our Time and Trade section – if you had a current listing on ABC it was carried over into the new website. There are also many other sections showing unit floorplans, an owner blog, and much more!  There will be more functionality coming soon such as being able to see your reservations and receiving correspondence, including your annual assessments. An email was sent last week with your sign-in information. If you don’t remember seeing it, please check your spam filter/junk mail first, and if it’s not there please contact our reservations dept at: AspenRes@eastwest.com.   

LEGAL

Now that we have these things behind us and the float selection is underway, the board’s next major issue to tackle is negotiating our former attorney’s fees and tending to the lawsuit we filed against former board president Bob Weisman. We will attend a binding arbitration meeting sometime later this summer or early fall. We will keep you abreast of any developments in either situation.  

CONTACT INFO

We are now able to have multiple emails attached to each fraction. We are also trying to collect everyone’s cell number so we can text to get you the latest information. These options are always a good idea to ensure you receive you can be easily contacted and want to stay up to date.  Again, just reach out to East West Hospitality reservations.   

SUMMARY

In summary, it’s been a long time coming!!! We are now a completely independent property and are free to govern ourselves and make our own decisions on all aspects of the property including our policies and rules. For all of you, we hope you enjoy your time at the property. The board has a few more “loose ends” to take care of before we can do the same… 

Dear Fellow Aspen Mountain Residences Owners, 
“The Aspen Mountain Residences” Property Facelift Design Update:
A request for proposal or RFP was sent to seven design firms in February which are candidates to handle a [long overdue] refurbishment of the common areas and all of the units of Aspen Mountain Residences. Submissions came in on March 15th. The Board, the decorating subcommittee of the Board, and East West Hospitality will be reviewing the submissions to narrow the field to a shortlist of two or three candidates in the next two weeks. After detailed discussions and negotiations with the finalists, we expect to have a negotiated contract and a full Board presentation by the 2nd or 3rd week of April. As we get closer to the property facelift redecorating project for our property there are a few things you should know so please review this Important information:

Phase one of the redesign is the lobby and common areas, which we hope can be started in September and be completed before ski season starts. The plan is to maintain full service at the resort during that time.

Phase two will be the room “facelifts” which will be done in mini-phases of approximately 10-15 units per off-season (includes Furniture/Furnishings, Lighting, Flooring refinishing, replacement, Refurbishments or redesign, etc.). Our initial plan calls for one or two sample rooms to be ready for Spring 2023, with time for Owner input, and then we are hopeful to finish the first 10-15 units before Dec 1, 2023, and to complete the entire project by July 2025. In order to complete phase #2, the board will have to commandeer everyone’s 3 float split weekdays (of the 10 annual float days) from each Fractional unit for 2023 (and possibly 2024). This should ensure that we will have ten weeks of time per year to complete the project. Depending on the total scope of the work to be done in each unit, the project could be completed early.

We realize while we are doing the upgrades of the rooms – which will include the replacement of all the furniture, rugs, light fixtures, and window treatments – there are unique improvements that can be made that might be unique to several units.  Of course, no one knows what those improvements should be better than the owners of those units. For example, I own unit #7, a one-bedroom unit on the first floor. I have started the following list of potential improvements:
“Cubbies” could be placed at the far-left end of the hallway to increase storage space
The round dining table should be rectangular in shape to better fit the space
A towel hook is needed on the back of the bathroom door (door into the bedroom)Bathroom mirrors could be kept, but frames around then should be upgraded
The curtains could be mounted above the window or door moldings so that when they are pulled up, they do not block the great view (this could be done in every unit)

Just like unit #7, I’m sure owners have similar suggestions for units they own. We want to capture those ideas so we can try and correct the mistakes of the past and make each unit even better in the future! To accomplish this, we have put together a survey in which you can tell us the potential improvements which could be made in the units you own. Keep in mind these are not decorating ideas, but rather are specific suggestions/improvements to make your unit more livable and enjoyable to use.   You will have two weeks to complete the survey. We don’t want you to rush, so please spend some time thinking through what your suggestions would be for each unit you own before you complete the survey.  If you own units with multiple bedrooms, think it through for each of the A, B, and C rooms, and be as specific as possible.   When you are ready, please begin the survey, as it is very important to the Board and the decorating subcommittee that your suggestions are known in advance as we start to think about room-by-room work. Of course, the Board can’t make promises that every idea suggested will be accepted, but we can promise that every item suggested will be duly considered.  You have until 5 PM EST on April 16th, 2022 to submit your ideas. When you are ready to take the survey, take this link:

Dear Fellow Aspen Mountain Residences Owners,

On Tuesday, February 22, 2022 the board sent out background on our float program and a survey put together from our Float Time Selection Committee. Thanks to everyone who spent the time to fill out the survey.  

The results of the survey were as follows:

  • 333 (roughly 75%) of owners completed the survey
  • 50% of owners who completed the survey have owned for 15 years or more
  • A disproportionate number of owners (38%) who own weeks 51/52, 5, 12, 26, 35 filled out the survey where only 25% of all owners own those weeks
  • 58% of owners say they rent at least some of their time, 42% say they never rent
  • 61% of owners said they either “always got” or “mostly got” the time they wanted, leaving 39% who said they “almost or never got” what they wanted
  • 94% of owners said they believe the new system should be “fair to all owners”
  • 54.7% of respondents said they believe the new system should incentivize owners to occupy their units vs. renting them
  • 88% of respondents said the new system should help drive increased property resale values. Suggestions to increase property values included: 
    • Having a program easy to understand and explain
    • Being “Fair” was given multiple times
    • Avoid “2-hour” rush to reserve windows
    • Being transparent
    • A robust secondary market via an ABC-like website
    • Allow each owner to have some winter weeks some years
    • Owners of the 6 premium units (like unit 45) should always get premium unit choice
    • To rotate more valuable and less valuable weeks over a few years so that all owners get a chance to equally
  • 84% agreed every owner at Aspen should have an equal chance to book any float week as any other owner
  • Only 21% agreed owners who paid the most for their units have priority on float week selection
  • Only 26% agreed owners who have owned their units the longest get a higher priority
  • 46% agreed on seasonal “seasonal priority” – summer owners get summer float priority…
  • 43% agreed Fixed weeks adjacent to float-weeks (i.e., “edge” weeks # 51/52, 5, 12, 26, and 35) would have priority on the edge float-weeks 
    • Remember 38% of owners who took the survey owned one of these weeks
  • 85% disagreed distance of travel to get to the property
  • Which float selection process is best: 
    • The legacy float time selection process=19%
    • Weekly Rotational System=23%
    • Annual Float Priority Rotational Selection System=39%
    • TBD Criteria Based Float Priority Selection System=21%

With just about two-thirds of the votes, it seems clear that some type of priority system which ensures every owner is on an equal playing field in terms of float selection is the direction we should take.   

The board will consider the owner survey when voting on a new Float Time Selection System for our 2023 float time. You will be notified of the board’s decision in the next few weeks. 

Dear Fellow “THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES” Owners,

I hope this note finds you all on your way to fulfilling your New Year’s resolutions! We continue to move forward with our THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES brand and move into our next chapter of ownership. Here is an update of just some of the things that are happening now:

FLOAT TIME SELECTION PROCESS – UPDATE

The board is finalizing details of the new float time selection process and we would like to reassure owners that the new program will be designed to be fair and equitable for all owners.

People may hear bits and pieces of things and they often subconsciously translate these tidbits incorrectly. The board is always available for your questions, so please ask us. As long as you are receiving this correspondence, we assure you no one has more information than you.  We ask that owners please have accurate facts before including other owners in their emails or conversations. 

     > The FLOAT TIME SELECTION system will be fair to all owners as well as simple to administer. Nothing at all related to the previous complex program of points, and seasons we used to have. We promise stress levels will go down and the selection process will be much simpler. 

     > 2022 confirmed reservations: (fixed or float) – All reservations which were in the system pre-Dec 2, 2021 were transferred over and are now loaded into our new reservations system. If you had a reservation before December 2 for 2022, you have it now. 

> Unfortunately, despite our numerous advance email correspondences forewarning owners to “USE THEIR POINTS OR LOSE THEM” before December 2, some owners did not use their unused HRC points before the Dec 2nd deadline. Those points are now gone.

     > FLOAT SELECTION PROCESS TIMING – The float selection process for 2023 dates, will occur in the spring, by which time we will ensure owners will become familiar with the process. We still need a bit of time to finalize the program and get the systems ready to handle the float reservations.

     > NO MORE STRESS on the first Saturday in January! – The new system will not make our Australian/New Zealand owners get up in the middle of the night to call or sign in. No one will need to upgrade to the fastest internet speed, buy a supercomputer, or practice for the 3 days prior to prepare for the exact second that the float time is released.  

     > FIXED WEEKS: GREAT NEWS – Your fixed weeks (7 days per interval purchased) will always be protected! Unlike the previous system, you will no longer have to reserve what you purchased! Your week will always be on the calendar for you or your family to use.

     > In the proposed new system, all the time available in the property will be EXCLUSIVELY allocated to owners (20 fixed weeks, plus 20 float weeks, plus 10 “split weeks” including 2 weeks for deep cleaning=52 weeks). This means there will be no “unassigned” time at the end of the process. By the end of every Float selection period, every fraction, in addition to its FIXED week will also have their Float time “locked-in”. With those confirmed reservations you can trade time with other owners, rent, put the time into the Elite Alliance Program to trade for other properties (extending the life of those reservations by two years).  

     > With no time left over after the allocation, there is no need for points or seasons. Time is just “time”, calendar days are just “days”. You as an owner will determine how you value your selected/allocated week(s).  The value of each week will be based on the priority that you put on the weeks you select during the float selection process. 

     > As I mentioned earlier, the process has not been finalized, we are still listening to ideas and discussing certain aspects. Once we have approved a new program owners will be sent full details and we will set up zoom calls to answer all of your questions so everyone is clear. Yes, we will have a new system to learn, but it’s much less complex and fair than the one you are used to.

     > Once the time has been assigned and the float selection process has concluded, there will be many ways to get more of what you want (owner trades, rentals, and Elite Alliance exchange program). 

OWNER RELATIONS/RESERVATIONS DEPARTMENT 

Your new team is ready to give you personalized service.

     > Their email is: aspenres@eastwest.com. Phone number: 1-833-393-0981 

     > The Owner Relations Dept will be open Monday through Friday 8am-5:30pm MST and Saturdays 8am-4pm MST.

     > East West Hospitality’s Owner Relations Department has 18 years of Fractional Owner Relations experience and they look forward to getting to know you.  

GUEST CERTIFICATES

We have to control the way guest certificates are issued and confirmed. You as the owner are responsible for contacting our reservations group and informing them about your rental or owner exchange 

     > Real estate agents are not authorized to call the front desk or reservations and change the names on reservations so please contact our reservations group as soon as you have a confirmation of a change and need a guest certificate.  

     > Elite Alliance exchanges are exempt from this as the change is done automatically as part of the confirmation of ownership process.

ASPEN RENTALS

A new rental agency specializing in our property you can use                

I’ve found it’s not always a good idea not to put all of your eggs in one basket and only pick one realtor to rent your free time. Aspen Rentals is a premier condominium booking agent, managing 4 & 5-star vacation residences in Aspen and Palm Beach completing about 800 luxury rentals per year. Industry-leading, state-of-the-art property management hotel software is utilized to achieve our client’s financial goals. Their “Streamline” software creates monthly statements and enables payments to owner clients by direct deposits to their own entity banking accounts early each month. 

Aspen Rentals only charges a 15% commission. Their software integrates your rental availability in real-time with multiple hotel and resort advertising websites and platform channel managers. Websites include but are not limited to expedia.com, booking.com, hotels.com, orbitz.com, airbnb.com, VRBO.com, HomeAway.com, CanadaStays.com, etc., totaling approximately 25 advertising websites.

>Please visit them by clicking this LINK to review our Aspen Owners web page and fill out the form at the bottom or contact Jade or Chris Slade available at 970-300-3410 and owners@aspenrentals.us for any information.  

NEW RESORT WEBSITE

Our new website, aspenmountainresidences.com, is now operational. There will be much more content added in the coming weeks.  On the website, there will be an owner log-in to access the new owner portal, which is still in development. When you are able to log in, there will be a link to allow you to view your reservations and personal statements, as well as some of the functionality we formerly had on the ABCowners.com website such as “time and trade”, “messages from the board”, “unit floorplans”, and an “owner blog”. Access to your reservations data will be available in the next few weeks and full reservations data for 2022 should be available by early February.

RESORT SIGNAGE

We will be presenting ideas for our new resort signage to the Aspen planning commission soon. Signs for our new brand will be more prominently located so passers-by will see the new brand on our building and on the wall above the ice rink.  

ELITE ALLIANCE
Our new exchange partner. Everyone should have received a packet and several emails from our new exchange partner Elite Alliance. The program is now in effect for 2022 & 2023. Instead of renting your unused time consider giving it to EA. Putting your reserved time into their program will extend the time you have to make an exchange by two years. Just a few things you should remember about the program:

     > Our owners were given the Presidential level in their program

     > There is no additional cost for owners unless you wish to utilize the program

     > The quality of their exchange properties are similar to our property

     > You can only deposit a 1 bedroom unit or larger into their program as it has to have the kitchen, living and dining room (no studios)

     > They have 3, 4 or 7-day exchanges

     > If you give your confirmed reservation to EA, you cannot take it back 

Note that some trades may cost up to $795 but those are select properties and you get what you pay for… I can personally recommend at least one of their properties (the Reefs in Bermuda) it’s a fantastic place to visit!  

All the pieces of our new puzzle will work together:

     > The new float selection process, 

     > The owner portal for communication and exchanges, 

     > Using realtors to rent your extra time (an in-house rental program is also being worked on as an option) 

     > Exchanges with other Aspen owners

     > Elite Alliance Exchange program (to extend the time to take a trip for your deposited reservations by two years)

OWNER SURVEY

The board plans on sending out a few surveys to all owners to get feedback and ideas on a variety of different topics. 

SALES UPDATE

Tom Carr Our resident owner realtor reported this week we are down to 15 listings left at The Aspen. Since, Jan 2021: 53 interests closed, and 2 interests pending. 

Dear Fellow THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES Owners,

I hope this note finds you well! Today marks a new beginning for our property.  At 12:01 AM last night we officially became THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES!!!!  and we begin our next chapter of ownership. There are so many things are happening behind the scenes right now to get ready for your next stay.  

Here is an update of just some of the things that are happening now:

Marriott Management and East West Hospitality have worked well together to ensure a smooth transition of management.  The board wants to thank both companies for their professionalism.

The invoices for our annual assessment will be sent out today (Dec 15th) via both email and “snail mail” through East West Hospitality, our new management company.  Payment will be due by Jan 5th which gives you the chance settle the invoice in either 2021 or 2022.  I can now confirm we are adding a new “pay by credit card” option which can be used for an additional fee. This will offer you additional flexibility when paying your annual dues.

Our new Owner Relations /Reservations department is operational as of today! Your new team is ready to give you personalized service and help you make reservations, add guests, exchange with other owners etc.

Their email is: aspenres@eastwest.com. A toll-free number will be in place shortly but will not be available for another week or so. The Owner Relations Dept will be open Monday through Friday 8am-5:30pm MST (will also be open Saturdays 8am-4pm MST starting in January).

East West’s Owner Relations Department has 18 years of Fractional Owner Relations experience, and they look forward to getting to know you. 

We understand you may have many questions around making new reservations and the new owner portal, however, more formal information about booking future reservations and access the online component will not be available until after the New Year; so, keep an eye out for updates when the 2022 reservation system and online portals are solidified.

Please note: All reservations for 2022 are secure so feel free to call Owner Relations to confirm your dates if needed. Just note that they are loading all the reservations starting with week #50, 2021 and will not be finished loading everything till years end so you might want to give them some more time if you are enquiring about weeks later next year.

If you were not able to secure additional reservations using your HRC points before the Dec 2nd deadline, unfortunately you have lost that opportunity to secure any additional time for 2022. No information about prior HRC point balances were transferred from Marriott so there is nothing Owner Relations can do to help you secure additional time.   

New Resort Website – our new website is under development https://aspenmountainresidences.com/ we should have content shortly. On that site there will also be owner log-in to access the new owner portal. Once you log-in you and see your reservations and personal statements as well as some of the functionality we formerly had on the ABCowners.com website such as “time and trade”, “messages from the board”, “unit floorplans” and an “owner blog” will all be there.  Access with limited reservations data will be available in the next few weeks and full reservations data for 2022 will be available shortly after the new year.

Don’t forget!!! Our float selection period for 2023 will be moved back to at least April. This will give us the time needed to finalize our new float selection process and get our systems in place. Nothing else about your intervals will change. More information on this will be coming soon. 

Most of you have heard of the supply chain backlog due to covid. Not only is everything costing more to ship they are also taking much longer to both manufacture and ship. Together with East West Hospitality we began immediately ordering items we knew we would need.

Logo items – such as robes, writing pads, stationary, front door mat, pens, phone surrounds, signs, key and key card folder, skis and ski boot & poles stickers, even the logo which shows on your TV all need to be replaced. All had been ordered as soon as we had the logo in place. Some of these items are already in place and others will be arriving in the coming weeks.

If something was not expected to arrive on time, we needed to order “blanks” to use until the logo item arrives. A good example of this are our room keys which have been ordered but have not arrived yet.

Resort vehicles – We ordered two new 14 seat luxury transport vans in early summer. Tech chip issues impacted availability which caused the delivery dates to keep moving back from the initial Dec 2021 date to the current timeline of April 2022. Unfortunately, they will not be in place this winter when we wanted them. Once they arrive you will see they are a big step up from what we have now.        

Your marketing committee has been working with East West to put out a series of press releases highlighting our transformation to an independent property. In the next few weeks our press releases will highlight our commitment to the local community. We will be highlighting our employees and partners, CB Burger, Aspen Sports, The Marble Bar, as well as the Silver Circle Ice rink and more. Stay tuned!

Speaking of the ice rink – Look for our logo to be added under the ice in the center of the rink. We want everyone to know the rink is part of our resort. Also look for our newly “wrapped” Zamboni which will look like the renditions you saw on our van in the name reveal presentation. All vehicles will get the wrap treatment in the future. 

We will be presenting ideas for our new resort signage to the Aspen planning commission in the coming weeks. Signs for our new brand will be more prominently located so passers-by will see the new brand.  

Keep on the lookout for correspondence from Elite Alliance our new exchange partner in the coming days. The program will start Jan 1, 2022. Putting your reserved time into their program will extend the time you have to make an exchange by two years. You will start receiving correspondence from Elite alliance shortly explaining the program benefits and how to use it.

The board plans on sending out a survey to all owners to get feedback and ideas on a variety of different topics. The plan is to get the survey out before year’s end.

We have a lot going on right now so expect to hear more from the Board during the holiday season!

On behalf of your Board,

Al Kenney                                                                                                                                                                    

President

THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN RESIDENCES CONDO ASSOCIATION, INC.

Board Members and Owner Director Contact Information

Al Kenney – al@bluewaterfractionals.com                                                                                                                 

Allan Sheres – allan@jerig.com

Joe Ferguson – jferguson@rjrcapital.com

Tim Hall – timhl9999@gmail.com

Peter Wells – petercwells@yahoo.com

Charles Baron (Trust Appointed Member of the Board)