~ SMTA: PM has good grasp of situation ~
PELICAN--Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams has an "extremely good grasp" of the situation pertaining to the Pelican crisis as it stands now and is actively working on solutions, St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) said last night.
The association was one of the entities that met with the Prime Minister on Monday to discuss the Pelican crisis, and described the discussion as "very frank and open." It reported that there was consensus that consumer protection timeshare laws that exist only as island regulations should be both upgraded and updated now that St. Maarten is a country.
"This issue is of importance to all of St. Maarten's timeshare owners, who have long been recognised as the backbone of our economy, but who have been wondering when their concerns would be addressed. As tragic and as dangerous to St. Maarten as this closing is, there is some comfort that we can emerge stronger in partnership with our timeshare tourists," the SMTA said.
It said the PM, instead of trying to assign blame, was taking a leadership role in finding solutions. "The resort believes it cannot operate sustainably with the status quo and the workers believe they need to be protected within the law. We wish her and the rest of our Government success in helping to bring a resolution to this crisis," the SMTA said.
"We believe that the Simpson Bay Resort wants to resolve other problems, including re-establishing the faith and trust of the timeshare owners. The SMTA hopes that this longer-term prospect leads to success for all concerned."
Regarding providing alternate accommodation information for "Pelican" (now Simpson Bay Resort and Marina) owners on its Website
www.timesharestmaarten.com , the SMTA reported some delay due to time lag between servers.
Nevertheless, it said, the newly renamed Simpson Bay Resort and Marina has included the information in its newsletter, which should be reaching the timeshare owners soon. The information was also sent to other Websites.
"Working with both the SHTA and AHSM, the French-side hotel association, we have been able to secure very scarce hotel inventory to ensure all Pelican owners who want to come to the island and those who are already here to have a place to stay. Maho, Great Bay, and Horizon View have already given generous allotments at a substantial discount," the SMTA said.
"In a wonderful show of destination solidarity, Beach Plaza Hotel, Le Flamboyant and Mercure St. Martin have also made large allotments and very nice pricing available as well. Our gratitude goes out to both the SHTA and the AHSM. We are not stopping there in our efforts to demonstrate the importance of the Pelican owners to St. Maarten."
The SHTA has already reached out to its wider membership to secure special discounts for Pelican owners for the duration of the closure. These discounts will be made public soon and Pelican owners are required to show proof of ownership to receive them.
"We suggest bringing along a copy of their maintenance fee invoice as proof," the SMTA said. "We also would like to appeal to businesses that are not members of SHTA to do something special during this time, which starts on February 19 and 20. If you have a car rental, restaurant, service or shop and want to participate, please e-mail
info@timesharestmaarten.com to let us know and we will help you get the word out. Let us prove as a destination that we can weather any storm, natural or man-made."
Weir Japan Disability Restaurants Social networking War crimes
No comments:
Post a Comment