A sign of the times or one of the first things scheduled for improvement? The tennis court at Lake Okanagan Resort was closed for the winter but it, along with other parts of the resort, are scheduled for improvements this year.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

It’s no secret that the once grand Lake Okanagan Resort has been on a long and steady decline for many years.

Constantine Nip was hired Jan. 1 as general manager of the resort and he's tasked with turning the declining resort around.

“As far as I would describe this place, ever since I’ve taken this over, I would describe it as – this is a very tough job,” Nip told iNFOnews.ca during an interview at the resort last week.

“We have seen the glorious days of Lake Okanagan Resort,” he continued. “I’m being tasked to do everything to get this place, not only functional, but back to its glory days.”

Those glory days for the resort on Westside Road across from the Kelowna, included a visit by the British Commonwealth leaders in 1987. Later it was bought and sold a few times, went into receivership and, finally, was bought by Lake Okanagan Resort in 2014.

READ MORE: Lake Okanagan Resort: Rapid decay and glory days

Four years later, hundreds of timeshare owners were issued notices that their timeshares would expire in 2023. They were given the option to buy their way out at a cost of $3,500 or pay what threatened to be ever increasing annual maintenance fees.

They were told, in that notice, that the timeshare model was no longer sustainable.

READ MORE: Changes happening at Lake Okanagan Resort

The latest blow to the timeshare owners was, after paying maintenance fees for this year, they were told the resort had been suspended by RCI “for quality issues.” RCI described itself, in an email to iNFOnews.ca, as “the world’s leading vacation exchange company.”

One of those affected was Catherine Conings of Burnaby who actually stayed at the resort for the first time in years in 2021 because COVID restricted her international travel.

“We found a bunch of changes there,” she told iNFOnews.ca. “The disco on the beach right down below the building that houses families and children that want to sleep before 2 a.m., the golf course in total disrepair and a sewage tank behind the building. We could see it was really disintegrating.”

She diligently paid her $1,036 annual maintenance fee in February after being threatened by a collection agency with having her credit rating ruined when she tried to stop paying a few years ago.

She is one of about 2,000 timeshare owners who are frustrated with a lack of information and threats from Lake Okanagan Resort.

But, according to Nip, some of those timeshare owners are actually at the root of the problems the resort has faced since it was bought in 2014.

“When the owner took over, years ago, from the get-go he has put in money to maintain, to repair, to upgrade this place,” Nip said. “Unfortunately, the revenue we have been seeing, meaning the funds coming in from timeshare and strata companies, has been going down. Nothing comes for free. We have to finance ourselves.”

While Lake Okanagan Resort is the corporate entity that owns the resort, Nip did not want to provide details about the parent company behind it.

The view over Okanagan Lake is a major draw for guests.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

There is a complicated mix of ownership at the resort.

On the one hand, there are five strata councils set up by owners of units in some of the buildings. They are supposed to pay fees to Lake Okanagan Resort but not all have done so, Nip said.

There are the 2,000 timeshare owners who bought into the property years ago and, by paying annual maintenance fees, were entitled to vacation there each year, or exchange their time for points in the RCI system.

Then there are some who own their own homes.

Out of the 217 units on the site, Nip could not say how many are owned by Lake Okanagan Resort. He also could not say if the timeshares are going to end next year, arguing he is too new to the job to have all those details.

And, despite people like Conings who paid their annual fees, many others have not, Nip said.

“I certainly understand the frustration, a lot of times, if I’m one of the timeshare owners,” Nip said. “If I paid so much, back in the 70s or 80s, and I expect for the next 20 years that I will be coming over if I’m paying, each year, my maintenance fees, that I deserve a week or two of the timeshare units at Lake Okanagan Resort.”

The other complicating factor is that more than 40 units (Nip doesn’t know the exact number) were contracted to a company called Cozystay Holdings Inc.

While some thought Cozystay was managing the resort as a whole, Nip says that was not the case as they were only managing the units under their contract.

Nip said that contract has now been cancelled but Cozystay told iNFOnews.ca last month that it has four rooms that it rents and the resort is still on its website.

“That contract did not go very well and, also, they were not paying us,” Nip said. “Last year, it was COVID. We understood. We reduced the management fee but they kept on delaying payments and it came to the point where they were not making any payments.”

That was a huge hit to Lake Okanagan’s Revenue stream but also a big impact on people who booked through Cozystay months ago and are showing up only to find there are no rooms available.

“I have seen people who went on the Cozystay website nine to 12 months ago and booked some rooms and they are showing up and they couldn’t get ahold of Cozystay,” Nip said.

They showed up at the Lake Okanagan Resort office.

“That’s the only office where we have lights on and, logically, they came in and we had to, unfortunately, reveal the fact that we did not get the funds,” Nip said, noting there haven’t been rooms available to accommodate them. “We feel very sorry. At the same time, we are consulting our lawyer to find if there is anything we can put on the Cozystay website so the general public, especially those who have reservations under Cozystay, can be informed.”

The problem for the resort, in Nip’s mind, is straightforward.

In order to restore it to a functional state, the owner needs to get revenue from the stratas, timeshares and room rentals.

Despite the fact that revenues declined last year by “five or six” times what they once were – and, Nip said, COVID was not the major factor – he’s been authorized to start making changes.

That means getting the swimming pool, fitness centre and marina running, making sure the golf course is green again, repainting lines on the tennis and basketball courts and patching some of the potholes.

The resort is getting "hundreds" of phone calls and emails a day from timeshare owners. There are so many that they can't be handled efficiently so people are asked to book a time to speak to the resort operators.

In 2020 the food services were contracted to a company that calls itself the Okanagan Beach Club and Resort, which includes a Tiki Bar on the beach of Okanagan Lake – referred to by Conings, the timeshare owner, as the disco on the beach.

The Tiki Bar is one of the few bars on the lakeshore of Okanagan Lake.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

“We have to watch them this year,” Nip said. “We don’t want any disturbance that interfere with any of the tenants.”

The contract includes noise provisions that will be strictly enforced this year, he said.

“I heard a lot of young people had fun there,” Nip, said. “OK, you had fun. You had a ball but, please do be considerate. There are people and tenants and kids that want a peaceful environment.”

Long term, there needs to be more development on the site, he said.

“The strategy going ahead, for Lake Okanagan Resort, we are planning to get more development in,” Nip said. “Be it townhouses, be it some more chalets, be it some more condos, or even a hotel, I do not know,” Nip said. “The reason behind getting those developments in is, we want to make sure this place is excited again and, also, with those new developments, we would have a stable suite of revenue so we can maintain Lake Okanagan Resort.”

More timeshares do not seem likely.

“This time share model worked perfectly in the 1960s and even into the 80s,” he said. “That can only do so well for the first few years, especially when the time shares are being sold and, in the first few years, when people are aware of what fees need to be kept up.”

The resort is covered by a land use contract that allows for 500 units.

An application to the Regional District of Central Okanagan in 2019 for 14 high-end duplex chalets was turned down. All land use contracts in B.C. have to be converted to regular zoning by June 30, 2024.

READ MORE: Decaying Lake Okanagan Resort loses chance for rebirth

Nip could not say when, or if, new development plans will be brought forward or how long it will take to restore the resort to its former glory.

While he’s determined to make the resort exciting again, he is also realistic.

“We’ve come up with this strategy,” Nip said. “If we’re not executing that strategy, it will continue to be very hard for all parties – tenants, timeshare unit owners, as well as this company that owns this land.”

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