Hi all,
I am coming to the end of a week at the Club and dare I say it, after it has been agreed by a " majority" to pay £50 plus vat per year to refurbish certain lodges on an annual basis, I question whether this is the right path on which to tread.
I question how committee or the management have been convinced that this is the right route to take and if so, by whom?
The lodge I am in is in my opinion deteriorating and after highlighting many issues last year were ignored and infact were worse this year.
I will stress that a few of the issues we're rectified by a maintenance department who attended pretty smartly, but other issues will need builders to rectify, and an empty lodge to probably repair the remainder.
Those guys on maintenance know their stuff and maybe their opinions should be sought rather than those who don't have that knowledge or experience making costly decisions.
Neither committee or management at Club have that knowledge or experience unless I am mistaken
One thing I have discovered this week is that this is not an isolated event with other lodges from the many owners I have met and have known for quite some time, and they are lodges not due to be refurbished in the programme for at least 5 years or more.
I actually wonder if anyone with knowledge has actually stepped inside every single unit and ascertained what is required to bring each up to a decent standard meeting all health and safety conditions as well as comfortable accommodation.
If this were the case lodges would not have been allowed to get into this state of disrepair over the last few years. This neglect is unforgiveable.
Too many owners have decided to not visit, too many owners are disillusioned(and my wife has become one of them, due to the ignoring of the issues from last year)and too many owners have handed weeks back hence the number of club owned weeks getting higher and higher.
I strongly feel we should be taking into account all owners and not just a few units and suspend all refurbishments until all lodges are made wind and watertight as well as a lodge where you feel and treat as a proper home from home. This they are not and it is becoming an embarrassment.
This is not the time for apathy The lodges do not have this time and owners are becoming frustrated.
The owners as well as renters are not impressed with what is seen by reading various comments on both booking.com and google, and once again it would appear that there is inadequate systems in situ for maintenance.
What are your thoughts?
Should we refurbish or should we repair.
I totally agree. Having complained, I reckon for the past 20 + years, about the dampness and smell in the lower floor rooms of our Highland Lodge, I was advised that this had been looked at and there was no dampness. Somewhat surprising given the previous sets of curtains and carpets literally rotted away with dampness. I reckon a body must have been placed under the floor of the ensuite bathroom floor to account for the smell!
One of the Bedrooms I found this year unbearable it was so damp and 'auld bones' just can't cope with it, the foot of the Mattress itself felt cold and damp and had to move upstairs to use what I discovered had become the Guests/Owners' Dog's bed! In fact the sheet on the pull down bed was still covered in Dogs Hairs! Ever tried sleeping on a two seater couch?
Suffice to say with Dogs now apparently ruling the roost at Rannoch inside H/Iodges plus barking/yelping outside, it felt more like Crufts than our peaceful Rannoch! For the first time in approx 45 years we had to pack up and go home! So I too would have to be convinced to return after this year's debacle.
The change from Time Share to prioritising short Lets has resulted in LRHC seriously deteriorating aded to fact Owners being asked to cover costs without any incentive to do so! For £700 a retired couple could have an offpeak week's stay in a nice Hotel in the Sun! Rannoch has definitely lost it's appeal!
I think the Committee appear to have lost sight that LRHC is a Time Share Resort and NOT a Self Catering Letting Agency. A total rethink is urgently required before Liquidation Notices are necessary.
One of the Bedrooms I found this year unbearable it was so damp and 'auld bones' just can't cope with it, the foot of the Mattress itself felt cold and damp and had to move upstairs to use what I discovered had become the Guests/Owners' Dog's bed! In fact the sheet on the pull down bed was still covered in Dogs Hairs! Ever tried sleeping on a two seater couch?
Suffice to say with Dogs now apparently ruling the roost at Rannoch inside H/Iodges plus barking/yelping outside, it felt more like Crufts than our peaceful Rannoch! For the first time in approx 45 years we had to pack up and go home! So I too would have to be convinced to return after this year's debacle.
The change from Time Share to prioritising short Lets has resulted in LRHC seriously deteriorating aded to fact Owners being asked to cover costs without any incentive to do so! For £700 a retired couple could have an offpeak week's stay in a nice Hotel in the Sun! Rannoch has definitely lost it's appeal!
I think the Committee appear to have lost sight that LRHC is a Time Share Resort and NOT a Self Catering Letting Agency. A total rethink is urgently required before Liquidation Notices are necessary.
Same with my lodge in the Pine Marten block.
Although refurbished or spruced up a bit about 4 years ago it’s obvious that a full refurbishment wasn’t done.
In the bathroom the towel rail situated at the end of the bath is heavily corroded on the underside thus transferring a brown stain onto the towels from the rust. It is clear that the towel rail had not been replaced during the refurb and so is probably at least 20 years old.
The symbols on the control knob on the oven are completely obliterated through use and therefore finding the desired function is guesswork, trial and error. Other areas of the lodge are in sub standard condition which include the patio roof etc. When leaving in 2023 after my annual stay I mentioned defects at reception in good faith in the expectation that these would be dealt with as soon as practicable however a year later in June 2024 I was disappointed to find that nothing had been attended to.
So I took the view that it was a waste of time to report any issues at reception in 2024 but later did in fact report the defects to committee along with a number of recent photos of the defects. Proper maintenance and renewal is most definitely needed and from the experience and accounts of others it would seem like this is the case for most of the LRHC development
Although refurbished or spruced up a bit about 4 years ago it’s obvious that a full refurbishment wasn’t done.
In the bathroom the towel rail situated at the end of the bath is heavily corroded on the underside thus transferring a brown stain onto the towels from the rust. It is clear that the towel rail had not been replaced during the refurb and so is probably at least 20 years old.
The symbols on the control knob on the oven are completely obliterated through use and therefore finding the desired function is guesswork, trial and error. Other areas of the lodge are in sub standard condition which include the patio roof etc. When leaving in 2023 after my annual stay I mentioned defects at reception in good faith in the expectation that these would be dealt with as soon as practicable however a year later in June 2024 I was disappointed to find that nothing had been attended to.
So I took the view that it was a waste of time to report any issues at reception in 2024 but later did in fact report the defects to committee along with a number of recent photos of the defects. Proper maintenance and renewal is most definitely needed and from the experience and accounts of others it would seem like this is the case for most of the LRHC development
No doubt after the " redundancy " of the maintenance manager a lot of the issues may be laid on this doorstep, and just maybe, this is correct, however when we have a highly paid management team this is where in my opinion, believe, the responsibility lies.
In particular if issues in lodges are reported to office or individuals and nothing done, there is an underlying issues in processes and procedures that needs resolved.
You can dress up graphs and charts to say whatever you like, but they don't solve the problems which still exist.
In particular if issues in lodges are reported to office or individuals and nothing done, there is an underlying issues in processes and procedures that needs resolved.
You can dress up graphs and charts to say whatever you like, but they don't solve the problems which still exist.
That sums it up in a nutshell. It’s always easy to talk a good show but if the basics aren’t being dealt with then eventually the cracks will appear, literally. A maintenance Manager of questionable qualifications there may have been but there has to be someone overseeing the maintenance Manager and ensuring that proper maintenance is actually done. To put 100% trust any one employee is very lax and would seem a bit naive to me.
In a relatively small organisation such as LRHC it’s not hard to work out where the chain breaks down but does anyone actually care ? Probably not so long as the wages are paid but let’s remember that it’s the owners who collectively pay the bulk of all income and thus effectively pay the wages and in many cases, in my opinion many owners would be well justified in withholding maintenance fees until such time as significant defects are rectified.
We can live and hope, but at the time of my departure after week 26 this year, I regarded the lodge as barely acceptable for occupancy
In a relatively small organisation such as LRHC it’s not hard to work out where the chain breaks down but does anyone actually care ? Probably not so long as the wages are paid but let’s remember that it’s the owners who collectively pay the bulk of all income and thus effectively pay the wages and in many cases, in my opinion many owners would be well justified in withholding maintenance fees until such time as significant defects are rectified.
We can live and hope, but at the time of my departure after week 26 this year, I regarded the lodge as barely acceptable for occupancy
I would not be surprised to hear if owners were withholding fees.
Over the last 6 years we have had at least 4 General managers, all with different qualities and egos.
It would appear all were rewarded for mediocrity, and even worse than that, ineptitude and failure, and it continues to this day.
The reserve fund in that time has greatly reduced and I do understand we had Covid, but we also had furlough and £100 paid by each owner for each week held along with large annual increases. Now we are paying £300 for each week held over the next 5 years due to poor planning and strategies, and still the site will not be refurbished totally.
Sometimes self realisation is a leveller, but an ego can dictate otherwise.
What we have also had is an ever increasing wage bill and I can think of, in my opinion at least £200,000 in the last few years that could have been avoided- sorry make that £235,000 now that our Sales Manager has left the building, and helped towards maybe getting lodges more habitable although I expect this would be disputed, but when accounts don't show real return, the comment becomes indisputable.
I can also think of a way of saving another £25,000 plus and at same time bringing in additional revenue of a further £25,000 which reduces the recent increases, but both would be considered controversial.
Sincerity, empathy, honesty and transparency have been sadly missing for some time, and unfortunately.
You mention trust and never more has this been questioned by so many and rightly so!!
Over the last 6 years we have had at least 4 General managers, all with different qualities and egos.
It would appear all were rewarded for mediocrity, and even worse than that, ineptitude and failure, and it continues to this day.
The reserve fund in that time has greatly reduced and I do understand we had Covid, but we also had furlough and £100 paid by each owner for each week held along with large annual increases. Now we are paying £300 for each week held over the next 5 years due to poor planning and strategies, and still the site will not be refurbished totally.
Sometimes self realisation is a leveller, but an ego can dictate otherwise.
What we have also had is an ever increasing wage bill and I can think of, in my opinion at least £200,000 in the last few years that could have been avoided- sorry make that £235,000 now that our Sales Manager has left the building, and helped towards maybe getting lodges more habitable although I expect this would be disputed, but when accounts don't show real return, the comment becomes indisputable.
I can also think of a way of saving another £25,000 plus and at same time bringing in additional revenue of a further £25,000 which reduces the recent increases, but both would be considered controversial.
Sincerity, empathy, honesty and transparency have been sadly missing for some time, and unfortunately.
You mention trust and never more has this been questioned by so many and rightly so!!
Last edited by LAMO003 on Tue Jul 30, 2024 7:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The sales expert is no longer then. Hmmmm.
Maybe now we can have some accurate numerical information regarding the lodge sales which were apparently on the increase but could only be talked about in terms of percentages, pie charts etc.
That didn’t do it for me.
I think that the LRHC owners are overdue a bit of clarification
Maybe now we can have some accurate numerical information regarding the lodge sales which were apparently on the increase but could only be talked about in terms of percentages, pie charts etc.
That didn’t do it for me.
I think that the LRHC owners are overdue a bit of clarification
From what I heard when I was up we also have a new accountant and one would hope this information will be freely available to owners however very little is normally said when things are not as rosy as predicted which is a concern.
Have you noticed there has been no boasts of any nominations or awards recently?
We may even find out eventually who was willing to provide a loan to the club mentioned at last AGM?
Not having a sales executive may give others a chance to shine, but when rentals are all some know and we have people at the helm who may lack this skill, maybe that guy AI can make a difference.
Have you noticed there has been no boasts of any nominations or awards recently?
We may even find out eventually who was willing to provide a loan to the club mentioned at last AGM?
Not having a sales executive may give others a chance to shine, but when rentals are all some know and we have people at the helm who may lack this skill, maybe that guy AI can make a difference.
Interesting. Was the outgoing Accountant not the very person who urged owners to accept the proposed 5 year levy ? ( in addition to the previous 1 off levy).
I was far from convinced about this and voted against the resolution but now LRHC owners are stuck with it for 5 years.
The cost per week is now becoming prohibitive and many lodges are poorly maintained.
Can’t envisage many awards surfacing anytime soon
I was far from convinced about this and voted against the resolution but now LRHC owners are stuck with it for 5 years.
The cost per week is now becoming prohibitive and many lodges are poorly maintained.
Can’t envisage many awards surfacing anytime soon
During our visit this year we met two Owners in the Hotel taking refuge from their equally damp Lodges. They BOTH had similar thoughts about withholding Maintenance Fees as the Contract is based on both LRHC and the Lodge Owner having to comply with its terms on the one hand of Owner paying said Maintenance Fee, and with the Lodges being Maintained to a good standard with any Maintenance issues raised by Owners being repaired or LRHC issuing a letter detailing reason for the work not being completed.
I think there is a simmering feeling amongst owners that they are being treated as fools, whilst subsidising cheap weekend breaks for non-owners!
The Club seems fatally flawed and on track to hit a Financial 'brick wall'!
I think there is a simmering feeling amongst owners that they are being treated as fools, whilst subsidising cheap weekend breaks for non-owners!
The Club seems fatally flawed and on track to hit a Financial 'brick wall'!