September 2009 Developments - 40

Resort Management Effectively Managing Board of Directors’ Meetings anaging the day-to-day hospitality operations at a timeshare resort presents its many challenges. In any given day, the resort general manager may be facing personnel issues, physical plant problems, owner/customer concerns, or demands from a local governmental agency. There is simply no doubt it’s more than a full time job—but wait, they do even more! A timeshare resort general manager also has to concern themselves with managing the homeowners’ association and, more speciﬁcally, the Board of Directors who represent that association. Effectively and efﬁciently managing the relationship with the board is a critical aspect of the general manager’s job, fulﬁlling management’s ﬁduciary obligation to the association and earning that management fee check. Susan Kelley M be required to meet two to four times per year. The resort’s legal documents (usually bylaws) may specify the type of business to be conducted at board meetings. However, generally, the bylaws are written fairly generically when detailing board meeting requirements. One of the suggestions for running a smooth, effective meeting is to provide a clear, concise, and well-organized board packet. Listed below are some suggestions for those board packets. (1) They should have a professional appearance and be bound with pages professionally typed and printed. Each page should contain a page number so as to allow the board to easily use it as a reference guide during the meeting. (2) They should be sent to board members at least 10 days in advance of the upcoming board meeting to give the members time to thoroughly read and review the information contained in the package. This also allows time for the board president or other members of the board to contact management in advance with any questions regarding the upcoming meeting. (3) They should contain information on every topic to be discussed at the upcoming meeting. It is management’s responsibility to research the agenda topics and provide the board members with the supporting material necessary to make good decisions on behalf of the association. It is also management’s responsibility to make recommendations based on their expertise regarding each agenda topic that requires action. (4) They should, of course, always contain an agenda for the upcoming meeting, as well as minutes from the prior meeting, which will need to be approved. (5) They should always contain the most recent resort ﬁnancial statement as a reference for the board members when reviewing the property’s ﬁscal position during the meeting. (6) They should contain reports by any of the ofﬁcers in the association. It is management’s responsibility to assist the various board ofﬁcers in writing their reports if that ofﬁcer requests help. Additionally, there should always be a report from the resort general manager detailing activities and pertinent information about the property that occurred since the previous board continued on page 43 Tips for Success Managing the relationship with the board requires good communication and organizational skills, a solid knowledge of the resort and its legal documents, the ability to effectively facilitate a meeting, and certainly some polished political ﬁnesse. Most Board members are not and have never been in the timeshare business. They are caring, committed owners who are willing to volunteer their time to serve on behalf of the resort constituency. As a result, board members look to management for support, guidance, and counsel. The resort general manager is pivotal in providing that support, guidance, and counsel, while simultaneously encouraging board members to actively (but productively) participate in the decision-making process of operating the resort property. Perhaps one of the primary responsibilities of management is to ensure that the board has productive, effective meetings. Depending on the individual resort’s legal documents, the board may 40 Association Board of Directors’ Meeting Date: AGENDA: Roll Call Call to Order Proof of Notice of Meeting Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes from Board Meeting dated F. Reports • President • Treasurer • Committees • Plan Manager o General Manager o Financial Reports G. Unﬁnished Business • Previous Action Item List H. New Business • Item 1 • Item 2 • Item 3 I. Correspondence J. New Action Item List K. Adjournment A. B. C. D. E. Developments • September 2009

September 2009 Developments

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2009 Developments