Changes in the Royal Resorts Corporate Management Team

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We would like to share information about some changes in the organizational structure of the Royal Resorts Corporate Management team.
Effective January 1, 2019, Armando Millet Molina and Kemil Rizk will jointly hold the Presidency of the Royal Resorts Group. They will have specific areas of responsibility and some that are shared. Dr. Rizk will focus on Sales and Marketing, Reservations Center, Royal Resorts Signature Club and Special Projects, in coordination with the heads of these departments. Mr. Millet Molina will continue to head up the Corporate Office in Merida and will oversee Finance and Corporate Operations, working with the Management teams of each division.
Javier Vales Gonzalez has been promoted to the new position of Chief Operating Officer. The soon to be designated Director of Resort Businesses as well as the current Vice President of Resort Operations will report to him.
Moving forward, these changes will enable the Royal Resorts Management team to expand areas of opportunity, attend new growth areas and look for even more ways of improving service for members and guests.

More theme nights to enjoy at Cayo Largo, The Royal Islander

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Here’s some Royal Resorts dining news for members. The Royal Islander will soon have new theme night buffets for you to enjoy at Cayo Largo restaurant in addition to the a la carte menu.

By the end of February, the Cayo Largo dining week will look like this:

Monday                      Pizza and Pasta Night
Smoke BBQ lunch
Tuesday                    Poolside Cookout
Wednesday                Italian Night
Thursday                   Mexican Night
Friday                         Shrimp Festival
Saturday                    Fajitas Night
Sunday                       A la carte dining

There are also changes at Tradewinds restaurant in The Royal Caribbean. A Pizza and Pasta special with soup and salad bar is currently available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; Taco Night in on Tuesday and Thursday; Steak Night is on Saturday and Sunday is BBQ Night.

Information subject to change without prior notice.

Sign up for the Fourth Royal Resorts Foundation Race

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There’s still time to register for the Fourth Royal Resorts Foundation Race on Sunday, February 17 in Cancun Hotel Zone. Join fellow Royal Resorts members, employees and local runners to race for a good cause: education.
With our 2019 race partner Fundacion Lomas, our goal is to raise $435,000 pesos to give 12 scholarships to low-income students so that they can go to university.

You can help. Sign up for the Fourth Royal Resorts Foundation Race today
• 5 km or 10 km race
• 3 km walk
• Children’s Fun Run (4-7 years 500 m) (8-12 years 1 km)

When & Where?
• February 17 at 7 a.m. in Cancun Hotel Zone. Starting point: Captain’s Cove Restaurant to Westin Regina and back again.
• 3, 5 or 10 kilometers
•Age categories for men and women
Free (15-39 years) Master (40-49 years) Veteran (50 and over)
• Race Fee: i$280 pesos per adult and $230 pesos per child (includes a souvenir t-shirt and finalist’s medal, race number, chip, water and an isotonic drink at the finish line)
Prizes: for the first three places in each category in the 5 and 10 km races for men and women. The first three Royal Resorts employees to cross the finish in the 5 and 10 km races for men and women will also receive prizes.
• Open to 700 runners
• Deadline for inscriptions February 13

Register for the 2019 Race today
CLICK HERE or email: contact@royalresortsfoundation.org
Invite your friends and family to take part!

More about the 2019 Race cause
Fundacion Lomas seeks to make a college education in Mexico accessible for all and address the shortfall in Quintana Roo where a 2014-15 study indicated that more than 70 percent of 18 to 23 year olds had not gone to university.
Education is essential for development and combating poverty and by helping address the educational imbalance with college grants, Fundacion Lomas and the Royal Resorts Foundation will be giving opportunities and the hope of a better future to young people.
To date, Fundacion Lomas has given 247 scholarships and its goal is to grant 35 scholarships a year to students at senior high, technical college and university level. Fifteen grants are available for college students who need to do work experience as part of their degree. Ten additional scholarships are part of the Cero Rezago Educativo (No child left behind) program to enable students to complete primary and secondary studies so that they can continue to middle and higher learning.

2018 Advisory Council reports available online

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The 2018 Advisory Council reports and financial statements for The Royal Caribbean, The Royal Islander, The Royal Sands and The Royal Haciendas and the financial statement for The Royal Cancun are now available online. Click here.

The Advisory Council reports are also published in the printed and electronic editions of Royal Resorts Life, the annual magazine for Royal Resorts members, both of which will be available this month.

Grand Residences owners will find the Grand Residences Advisory Council meeting report for 2018 in the Owners Area of www.grandresidencesbyroyalresorts.com (owner log in required).

New Environmental Fee for all Hotel Guests in Cancun on March 1

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New Environmental Fee for all Hotel Guests in Cancun on March 1

Members due to travel to Royal Resorts this year should be aware of a new municipal green tax that comes into effect on March 1, 2019. As part of its work to protect the environment, the Benito Juarez (Cancun) Municipal Government will begin charging an Environmental Sanitation Fee to all hotel and resort guests in Cancun, including members and guests staying at Royal Resorts.

In accordance with Municipal Finance Laws, the Environmental Sanitation Fee that will be charged to your account at check out is as follows:

Room:                                                $25.35 pesos per night

Suite                                                   $25.35 pesos per night

Villa (2-bedroom)                           $50.70 pesos per night

This is the equivalent of just under US$19 for a week’s stay in a two-bedroom villa. This fee is not covered by the annual Club Service Fee for Royal Resorts members or by the REFINE All-Inclusive room rate.

What will the taxes be used for?

The proceeds from this new Green Fee will be used to contribute to environmental protection and sanitation initiatives in Cancun, such as:

  • Beach cleaning
  • Water treatment
  • Waste collection
  • Reduction of carbon emissions with LED lighting
  • Reef conservation
  • Coastal wetland management
  • Reforestation and other programs geared towards making Cancun a more sustainable destination

Why is an Environmental Tax needed?

The white sand beaches and coral reefs of the Mexican Caribbean are world-famous; its jungles and wetlands are home to rare species of birds and animals. Yet visitor numbers and population growth are outpacing public services and placing pressure on area ecosystems. More action is needed to improve water treatment and waste management for the health of the environment. The new Green Fee charged by the Benito Juarez Municipal Government will be used for such programs.

In the Riviera Maya, the Solidaridad Municipal Government began charging an Environmental Sanitation Fee to all hotel guests in Playa del Carmen and the surrounding area in the fall of 2017. The Puerto Morelos municipal government also introduced an eco tax for hotel guests on January 1, 2019.

Worldwide, popular tourist destinations ranging from Barcelona to the Maldives have implemented similar green taxes.

IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT NEW TIMESHARE SCAMS

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It is Royal Resorts policy to alert members of possible scams attempted by companies or individuals operating online. On this occasion we would like to share reports received from several member about a company called CTrip, which called or emailed them with offers to buy their villas.

This company claims to be a travel service provider in China, but the offer received by members has a Mexico City address.

CTrip representatives contact members to make them an offer for their unit, invariably more than the asking price to make it seem attractive. If the offer is accepted they charge the member a processing fee, which is a percentage of the price and runs into thousands of dollars. Sometimes they claim to be charging Membership Company fees (fees that your Membership Company does not charge you).

According to information the member received from the Owners Manual, which has seen evidence of a number of scams involving CTrip, when the member issues a check for the processing fee the representative sends a money order, which arrives late. The money order turns out to be a forgery with no funds when the member goes to cash it. Needless to say, the representative has vanished and the affected party has no way of getting his/her money back.

The Owners Manual has seen many cases where the fraudsters disappear with the check and the membership unit. They target the elderly and people who may have their timeshare on the market anyway. The red flags to be aware of are that scammers offer a ridiculously inflated sale price that sounds too good to be true and ask for money upfront to cover processing and administrative fees.

If you receive a call or email from CTrip or any of the companies we have alerted you to in the past, we recommend that you do not do business with them.

When such companies contact you via email or phone to offer unsolicited broker, resale, exchange or rental services and ask for cash in advance to cover “administrative fees” “guarantees” or “deposits” it is generally a good indication that they may not be genuine and if you pay it is very possible that you will not hear from them again.

Protecting your personal information

Royal Resorts has a rigorous privacy policy and is in full compliance with privacy laws. Our members’ personal information is confidential and we do everything possible to protect it. We do not sell and have never sold personal information to third parties.

Always follow these steps if you receive a suspicious email or phone call:

  • Check the source of the email if the company or individual claims to be associated with Royal Resorts. All Royal Resorts communications are sent from an official royalresorts.com email address, if this is not the case, then the email is not from Royal Resorts.
    • Disregard the email or phone call if money is requested in advance for resale or other timeshare-related services.
    • Do not supply personal data or the contact details of friends if referrals are requested.
    • Do an online background check on the company to see if it is legitimate.
    • Ask Royal Resorts if you are in any doubt, we are here to help you.
    • Above all, do not send any money.

We recommend that you avoid disclosing your personal information on forums, blogs and other open media venues and participation in Internet referral schemes that ask you to send the names and details of friends. When you provide your information to others in order to rent, sell or lend your unit please ensure that your information will be protected.

 

The latest news about The Royal Caribbean. August 21, 2018

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August 21, 2018 We would like to give you an update on the termination of The Royal Caribbean Membership Program and the sale of the resort. With regard to the sale of the resort, we are happy to inform you that after carefully analyzing the offer presented by a third party as well as the […]

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Update on the Sale of The Royal Caribbean. June 11, 2018

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June 11, 2018 We would like to give you an update on the termination of The Royal Caribbean membership program and the sale of the resort. Last Friday, June 8, the Company received an offer to purchase The Royal Caribbean. We are currently reviewing this proposal and will make a decision considering what is best […]

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Important News about The Royal Caribbean. June 4, 2018

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June 4, 2018

We would like to share some important information about The Royal Caribbean and the termination of the membership program.

As you know, the final interval is week 43 and the resort will close on November 3, 2018.

The membership agreement stipulates that The Royal Caribbean must be sold in a public or private sale and the net proceeds of the sale, after deducting taxes, commissions and other appropriate charges and expenses, divided among the members in good standing and the Company, with members having first priority.

Rombec S.A. de C.V., the company that owns The Royal Caribbean property, hired three valuation and appraisal firms to carry out independent market valuations of the property. HVS Consulting and Valuation, CBRE Valuation and Advisory Services, and JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group are all leading international valuation companies with years of experience in the hotel and real estate sector.

Each firm presented a valuation of The Royal Caribbean based on the best use of the property and current market conditions in Cancun and they are as follows:

HVS US$56,000,000.00
CBRE US$51,800,000.00
JLL US$54,800,000.00

After reviewing the appraisals, Royal Resorts decided to buy The Royal Caribbean and keep it in the Royal Resorts family.

An affiliate company in the Royal Resorts group will purchase The Royal Caribbean and will pay the highest appraised market value (the HVS valuation), a purchase price of $56 million dollars.

Advertising a resort property for public sale entails marketing costs, broker commissions and legal fees. This decision means The Royal Caribbean will be sold at the best market price and the fees and expenses associated with the sale will be kept to a minimum.

There will be no marketing expenses or broker commissions to pay which results in fewer deductions from the net proceeds available for Residual Rights distribution.

The fact that The Royal Caribbean will be remaining in the Royal Resorts group means that members at the other clubs will still have access to the facilities.

The company has obtained a loan to purchase The Royal Caribbean and will be formalizing the credit agreement in the coming months. The sale will happen on November 5, 2018, right after the last occupancy date. As a result, there will be no additional expenses associated with the upkeep of the resort to pay after the sale takes place.

Once the sale of the resort is formalized and the final report of resort operations and other expenses is available, we will be sharing additional information relating to the Residual Rights distribution, the payment process and timeline.

Residual Rights will only be paid to Members that have these rights stipulated in their membership agreement and are in good standing in accordance with the terms of said agreement. The amount they will receive would be distributed from the net proceeds resulting from the sale of the resort and its assets, after the deduction of expenses such as staff severance payments, debts, taxes and any legal and administrative fees associated with the sale. Any remaining cash reserves available at termination will also form part of the proceeds to be distributed; this includes the club cash reserve and hurricane cash reserve.

We estimate that Residual Rights payments will be sent in the first quarter of 2019.

In order to be eligible to receive their Residual Rights, members must be current with their annual Club Service Fee payments or any other debt on the date of the termination of the Membership program. Members who are currently in arrears are urged to settle their financial obligations now by contacting Interval Servicing.

We know that many members have concerns about The Royal Caribbean employees. They will receive severance payments when the resort closes, in accordance with the Mexican labor laws in effect in November 2018. It is likely that some of them will decide to retire or pursue their own business interests. The purchasing company also intends to hire many of the current employees in the future.

On May 24, Royal Resorts management representatives met with The Royal Caribbean Advisory Council members to brief them on actions taken to date and to present the plan for the sale of the resort. Click here to read their letter endorsing the decision to keep The Royal Caribbean in the Royal Resorts family.

We hope that this information is useful. We have prepared a FAQ section to answer any questions that you may have about the sale of the resort and the Residual Rights distribution. We will also be sharing additional details with you in the months to come.

This information was sent to The Royal Caribbean members by email.