Jim Lewis Fired from WDWCo

[granmanh603]

Like Aulani issue opened a can of worms and when they looked back at the resorts he has opened since 2006 he did the same with all of them to make the numbers look good.....this is kinda scary... Just wonder how are they going to fix this mess and who is going to pay... Like all of us

 

[pilferk]

Wondering about the significance (if any) of the new person (Claire Bilby) having the title "senior vice president" as compared to Jim Lewis having been president of DVC?

Does this mean a "downgrade" to DVC in the pantheon of Disney businesses?

I don't think so.

I think it's a modification based on them installing another layer of "leadership" (some would say bureaucracy) above her.

I also suspect they were looking for a way to part company with Jim when Karl was put "above" Jim. Though, going by the reported Aulani mess up, there was GOOD reason to let Jim go.

 

[pilferk]

No severance for Jim Lewis points to something very bad that must have happened.

While I do agree it could have been several things building up over time, there maybe was something else that we have not hear about yet.

I can't stress enough the no severance thing is big and also perhaps a bit of a message to DVC owners that the company was not happy and heard the complaints from the owners.

Termination with no severence usually means it's "with cause" and not "at will". With the Aulani mess up, I don't think it's hard to figure out just what Disney will point at as cause.

 

[nunzia]

We think it is odd a DCL exec was also fired. Perhaps something to do with smaller blocks of cruise cabins available on points? Or even the no cruise option for new resale owners?
No severance package for those fired, sounds like there might be more to this than Aulani.
I don't want to think this way, but perhaps all the DVC resorts built under Lewis's reign? Could all those resorts have been sold with under estimated annual dues?

I was just thinking that in regards to VGC..although it's very small and shares space with lots of hotel rooms..still...

 

[BigEeyore]

I am so impressed by how many people on the Dis are so up on what is going on inside the halls of DVC HQ!
For those of us who are not so attuned (ahem, such as myself) - could somebody just summarize what all the problems with Jim Lews were? I read the stunning article about all the problems w/ Aulani, but what else?
Thanks for enlightening me...

 

[jennypenny]

There is more to this than just a dues issue at Aulani. I would think legal issues have to be involved. No severance is almost unheard of except for pending litigation or bankruptcy.

The problems in Hawaii make me wonder about BLT and the assumed GFV. I wonder if Lewis will disappear like Hoffa and end up in the foundation at GFV

 

[CMOORE185]

I would be worried if I bought any resort built since JL was in charge, especially BLT considering their dues are so low and the poor quality of materials that they used. Look for a possible significant increase in dues over the next couple of years.

 

[tjkraz]

I have often questioned the low dues at BLT and now you have to ask did Lewis do the same thing to BLT and will the owners be faced with a dues increase. The other executives fired seemed to have moved on to other jobs, when did they work with Lewis, prior to BLT being built?

Bill

DVC is going to have to do some damage control to address these questions.

The one saving grace of other recent resorts is that their budgets would have gone through independent audits. If those audit results were not reliable, they have much larger problems.

The biggest factor in BLT's low dues is the higher point charts. More points in the resort--comparatively speaking--means each point pays a smaller share of the operating costs. Still it's clear there are lingering quality issues at BLT that will need to be addressed.

 

[nytimez]

There is more to this than just a dues issue at Aulani. I would think legal issues have to be involved. No severance is almost unheard of except for pending litigation or bankruptcy.

The problems in Hawaii make me wonder about BLT and the assumed GFV. I wonder if Lewis will disappear like Hoffa and end up in the foundation at GFV

I know people who have been fired by Disney and given no severance. Not hourly employees, either.

 

[dianeschlicht]

DVC is going to have to do some damage control to address these questions.

The one saving grace of other recent resorts is that their budgets would have gone through independent audits. If those audit results were not reliable, they have much larger problems.

The biggest factor in BLT's low dues is the higher point charts. More points in the resort--comparatively speaking--means each point pays a smaller share of the operating costs. Still it's clear there are lingering quality issues at BLT that will need to be addressed.

I wonder if audits are pending? I have always expected BLT dues would increase once the resort was sold out, and it sounds like sell out is near.

 

[mjc2003]

Termination with no severence usually means it's "with cause" and not "at will". With the Aulani mess up, I don't think it's hard to figure out just what Disney will point at as cause.

Exactly. I said a few days ago, before this news about Claire and the clarification on the Aulani mess broke yesterday, that JL was fired unceremoniously (not "parting ways" or "agreed to leave the company" but fired) because of something specific. This is not an aggregate firing. They (Disney) feel comfortable with not only not paying him a severance, but letting that information be made public. This would indicate that they have a "smoking gun" with Jim's fingerprints on it. I suspect the discovery of this MF "mistake" led them back to BLT, and a quick review of the books there showed them that the problem was actually a pattern.

I am confused about one thing: How did he benefit from low MF's? Just from a sales perspective? Is a $1 difference in MF's that much of an anchor on the speed of sales? Maybe it is, I just think it's crazy to think that you can ignore the pending shortfall in MF's for the quick sale. Didn't he know that eventually this issue would come home to roost?

 

[tjkraz]

There is more to this than just a dues issue at Aulani. I would think legal issues have to be involved. No severance is almost unheard of except for pending litigation or bankruptcy.

The dues issue is very much a legal matter. Those numbers were provided to Hawaii regulators as part of the sales approval process and they've been given to thousands of current and potential owners.

Disney is going to have to subsidize dues of early buyers for decades to come and deal with the perception that leaders of their timeshare "Club" attempted to defraud buyers by floating fabricated numbers.

It seems clear that a great deal of blame falls upon Lewis' shoulders. Either this was a coordinated scheme to boost sales by publishing fraudulent dues figures or it started as an error and Lewis did not act properly to resolve the situation once discovered.

 

[sgtdisney]

It should be interesting to see how this all shakes out. Now hearing all this it makes me wonder even more about the OKW rehab. There should have been sufficient funds in the reserve to do a full remodel, and yet they did it on the cheap by refinishing furniture as opposed to replacing it, and left hard surfaces in place, etc. Wonder what more happened under Mr. Lewis' regime.

 

[tjkraz]

I wonder if audits are pending? I have always expected BLT dues would increase once the resort was sold out, and it sounds like sell out is near.

I believe the budgets are audited every year. A representative of the audit firm was present at last year's annual meeting to confirm the results of the audit and answer any member questions.

I never looked at it as a foregone conclusion that BLT dues would increase. Part of it goes back to the math. We all know how much higher the BLT point charts are than resorts like BCV, BWV, OKW, etc. Higher charts means more points. More points means each point pays a smaller share of the operating costs.

But dues may have to go up to help correct some of the errors in the original room design.

I am confused about one thing: How did he benefit from low MF's? Just from a sales perspective? Is a $1 difference in MF's that much of an anchor on the speed of sales? Maybe it is, I just think it's crazy to think that you can ignore the pending shortfall in MF's for the quick sale. Didn't he know that eventually this issue would come home to roost?

Two comments come to mind:

1. It's POSSIBLE that this started as a calculation mistake and Lewis' greatest error was not reporting / correcting it. It may not have started as a deliberate attempt to deceive buyers.

2. We'll have to see how the revised numbers look but I'm sure every dollar alienates some buyers. At some point, Disney was going to have to position Aulani as a resort that you could buy "just to get into the system." The more it costs, the harder such an approach is to pull-off.

 

[pilferk]

I am confused about one thing: How did he benefit from low MF's? Just from a sales perspective? Is a $1 difference in MF's that much of an anchor on the speed of sales? Maybe it is, I just think it's crazy to think that you can ignore the pending shortfall in MF's for the quick sale. Didn't he know that eventually this issue would come home to roost?

$1 per point can be a pretty hefty difference. Doing some VERY rough math, it looks like each 2 BR equivalent unit has AROUND 23,347 points into it (that's roughing out view, etc...so it's a REALLY rough estimate). Now, using the Aulani stated # of 2 BR equivalents (481), that would mean a difference in dues revenue (assuming sell out) of roughly $11,229,907 per year.

Eleven million dollars a year seems pretty hefty.

And that doesn't even take into account the hurdles (and ill will) they now have to deal with concerning the Hawaiian government.

 

[izzy]

I believe the budgets are audited every year. A representative of the audit firm was present at last year's annual meeting to confirm the results of the audit and answer any member questions.

I never looked at it as a foregone conclusion that BLT dues would increase. Part of it goes back to the math. We all know how much higher the BLT point charts are than resorts like BCV, BWV, OKW, etc. Higher charts means more points. More points means each point pays a smaller share of the operating costs.

But dues may have to go up to help correct some of the errors in the original room design.



Two comments come to mind:

1. It's POSSIBLE that this started as a calculation mistake and Lewis' greatest error was not reporting / correcting it. It may not have started as a deliberate attempt to deceive buyers.
2. We'll have to see how the revised numbers look but I'm sure every dollar alienates some buyers. At some point, Disney was going to have to position Aulani as a resort that you could buy "just to get into the system." The more it costs, the harder such an approach is to pull-off.

I think your first comment is important. From my experience and in watching some of the financial debacles in the world in the past 10 years or so, people don't normally get fired for a mistake. Where they get into trouble is when they start trying to cover up that mistake.

 

[mommacat56]

This is a reply I posted on another thread, but it seems to fit here as well. It was posted in response to a question about current Aulani owners dues and whether or not the "credit" mentioned would carry forward for a year or for longer:

It (the "credit") had better carry forward for the length of the CONTRACT, not just for one year! A two-tiered system is clearly possible with the current computer applications and is already in use for VB (?), from what I read here, though I do not own there and have no first-hand knowledge.

I purchased Aulani a few months back, just before they discontinued sales, obviously not knowing any of the problems with the finances we are all just learning about. The stated member dues amount of $4.31/point, clearly outlined in my CONTRACT (legal and binding between me and DVDMC), definitely figured into my decision to purchase.

If they now say that the amount should be double (or more!), that's fraud, pure and simple, especially if it was known to JL and his cronies, which seems clear at this point that he did! Imagine the lawyers lining up at their doorstep!

Now you know why JL and the others got the boot in an unceremonius fashion (and without severence) late on a Friday afternoon! And now we all know why they simply can't "fix" the dues amount at a new level and get on with sales. They are legally bound by the existing CONTRACTS to honor their word!

Thank you GRAYDON (or should we call you DEEP THROAT? ) for breaking this news!

And welcome to Ms. Bilby! You have a huge job ahead of you to turn this wonderful part of Disney operations around. I have owned since December of 1991 (yes, one of the first believers!) and have never once regretted my purchase (and multiple add-on purchases, direct and resale since then)... Please don't let Aulani be my first!

And please read the DIS regularly... happy owners, like me and many others, are your best assets! And, as you can see, we are totally unafraid to share our opinions openly and regularly, so you can start saving money on the polling...just come by here and sit a spell!
Welcome aboard!

 

[Scott H]

This is a reply I posted on another thread, but it seems to fit here as well. It was posted in response to a question about current Aulani owners dues and whether or not the "credit" mentioned would carry forward for a year or for longer:

It (the "credit") had better carry forward for the length of the CONTRACT, not just for one year! A two-tiered system is clearly possible with the current computer applications and is already in use for VB (?), from what I read here, though I do not own there and have no first-hand knowledge.

I purchased Aulani a few months back, just before they discontinued sales, obviously not knowing any of the problems with the finances we are all just learning about. The stated member dues amount of $4.31/point, clearly outlined in my CONTRACT (legal and binding between me and DVDMC), definitely figured into my decision to purchase.

If they now say that the amount should be double (or more!), that's fraud, pure and simple, especially if it was known to JL and his cronies, which seems clear at this point that he did! Imagine the lawyers lining up at their doorstep!

Now you know why JL and the others got the boot in an unceremonius fashion (and without severence) late on a Friday afternoon! And now we all know why they simply can't "fix" the dues amount at a new level and get on with sales. They are legally bound by the existing CONTRACTS to honor their word!

Thank you GRAYDON (or should we call you DEEP THROAT? ) for breaking this news!

And welcome to Ms. Bilby! You have a huge job ahead of you to turn this wonderful part of Disney operations around. I have owned since December of 1991 (yes, one of the first believers!) and have never once regretted my purchase (and multiple add-on purchases, direct and resale since then)... Please don't let Aulani be my first!

And please read the DIS regularly... happy owners, like me and many others, are your best assets! And, as you can see, we are totally unafraid to share our opinions openly and regularly, so you can start saving money on the polling...just come by here and sit a spell!
Welcome aboard!

Thank You , well said, we are also long standing members (1991) with several contracts and concur with your statements,

had we known this was coming I would have asked Holtz to sit and chat with him about DVC while on the Alaska cruise.

 

[pilferk]

This is a reply I posted on another thread, but it seems to fit here as well. It was posted in response to a question about current Aulani owners dues and whether or not the "credit" mentioned would carry forward for a year or for longer:

It (the "credit") had better carry forward for the length of the CONTRACT, not just for one year! A two-tiered system is clearly possible with the current computer applications and is already in use for VB (?), from what I read here, though I do not own there and have no first-hand knowledge.

I purchased Aulani a few months back, just before they discontinued sales, obviously not knowing any of the problems with the finances we are all just learning about. The stated member dues amount of $4.31/point, clearly outlined in my CONTRACT (legal and binding between me and DVDMC), definitely figured into my decision to purchase.

The contract also outlines how much they can legally raise those dues in a year. I think (but am not sure) it's around 15% per year. Other posters can correct me if that figure is wrong.

I doubt the difference will be double...MAYBE $1 a point more (so 25% difference-ish).

What DVC can do is raise those paying the higher rate of dues 2 to 4% per year (the normal increase), and YOURS the full 15%, until they hit equilibrium. Or, rather, make you pay more of the difference (lowering the credit they provide) between your dues and the "corrected" dues.

IF they're going to offer a "two tier" system, I'm pretty sure it's in their rights to do so, in order to close that gap, and unify the system.

 

[mommacat56]

Thank You , well said, we are also long standing members (1991) with several contracts and concur with your statements,

had we known this was coming I would have asked Holtz to sit and chat with him about DVC while on the Alaska cruise.

I purchased Aulani sight-unseen based on the Disney imagineering's artist renderings, DISer photos, and the promises made by DVDMC that this place would be special! I am planning to see it for the first time next May, when the first-ever DCL Hawaiian cruise lands there and I take an excursion over to tour it! I'm sure they will have plenty of shuttles heading over for those who have, or may, want to purchase there! That's assuming they ever get the go-ahead to start selling Aulani again!

I hope the whole new management structure is present, both on the Hawaiian cruise AND over at Aulani! I know from past DCL cruises that they have exclusive member events onboard. I would be very pleased to see Mr. Holtz and Ms. Bilby front and center, welcoming every single member, whether they are travelling on their points like me, or having paid cash for their reservations.

I would also like to see the DVC Guides assigned to this sailing, and also those at Aulani, getting a tutoring by them, so they hear the facts from the top! NO passing along false information or using pressure tactics of inferior timeshare operations (IMO), just to make a sale! ALL guides need to be on the same page, providing current and potential members with true and complete information, and delivering it in a considerate and professional manner, remembering that service AFTER the sale (promises made and promises kept) is more important than the sale itself (IMO).

If guides were on salary (not on commission), that would go a long way in elevating the professionalism of each guide (IMO). And the high-pressure, high sleeze factor guide would soon be a bad dream...

OR, better yet, they can hire us "old-timers" who have been there since the beginning...I always said that would be my ABSOLUTE DREAM JOB, since DVC sells itself! But, maybe not so much anymore

Here's hoping the new management can turn DVC around and again make it the premier timeshare operation it once was