Club Orient Status Update – July 2018

Dear Friends of Club Orient

Sorry, it has been so long since the update. Nothing moves quickly down here. Usually, that’s a positive, but not in our current situation. As we have discussed in previous missives, Club Orient is two separate and distinct entities, OBC which is Orient Beach Club which is responsible for the resort and its employees, and The Coproprietor which is like a Home Owners Association. The responsibilities are not designed to overlap. However, our common goal is to return Club Orient to the paradise we all have loved for over 30 years. The Copropriate or Copro for short is responsible for the repair and rebuilding of the individual units, as well as many of the common area buildings like the Papagayo. We were about to announce the repair and rebuilding of the resort had commenced and with some luck, be able to receive guests and owners back in November or December. For those of you who have visited us, you know the basic clean-up is already finished and the demo is underway. The construction fence is in place, for the first units to be brought back to life. But, we have just been informed the timeline has hit a roadblock. Because of an action taken by a few people, they have temporarily halted the repair and rebuilding of Club Orient. I am not able to give you details, either in this posting or privately, but Copro believes the delay will be rectified this Fall. The broad answer is the insurance money long promised is still delayed. I am sure you are asking yourself how the insurance payment can just continue to drag out. Our delay is not unique to the island. We understand that roughly half the claims on the island have yet to be settled. Even the French Collectivité itself has only received about 20% of what they claim they are due and the airport is in litigation with their insurance company. This is incredibly sad news for all of us who love Club Orient and especially for our employees who were so excited seeing the recent progress, to be told they must wait even longer to return to work. Accordingly, Copro must halt the construction work until the funds are received. This will result in us all needing to take a step back and reevaluate the schedule, but it definitely will mean that no units will be completed until 2019. This delay will have a serious impact on us (OBC) as we will not be able to begin renting units We are as frustrated as we know you are and believe us when we say no one wants to be back in our home, as much as those of us who have the privilege of working at Club Orient. the fall and will force us to change our strategy regarding how we can proceed. You may remember that OBC received our insurance proceeds in October. But, we have been having to pay partial salaries (chomage partial), office rent, and a host of other things for over ten months. It has taken a large portion of our proceeds to have gone this long with no revenue. But, thanks to the help of many of you, we’re still here and still determined. Thank you for everything and we hope these issues get rectified quickly and we can put the construction crews back to work. ©2018 Club Orient | 1 Baie Orientale 97150 Saint-Martin, French West Indies