DC4MS

Solstice has about 90 members, 13 homes + yacht for a 6.4 “member” to “home” ratio.

If there are 5 Principals, 3 Directors, and 6 Advisors, then there are 14 Corporate Members (Chiefs) for the 90 Members (Indians).

Thus, there is also a 6.4 “Indian” to “Chief” ratio.

One possible explanation is that Mark Cibik is OVERWORKED and needs to delegate some of his workload to Mark Cain.

If this is the case, then Solstice needs to edit their description for Mark Cibik to delete the statement – ”Today, Mark provides members, prospective members and travel journalists valuable industry insight and often finds himself providing historical industry information and counsel as to the decision criteria and processes to follow when considering Solstice or any luxury residence alternative.”

LTTravel

It was a while ago and got advertising material covering the club and plans. Not as extensive as some of the other clubs but fine. I have been getting regular emails from them.

DC4MS

I decided to send a link to this thread to a few executives at Solstice to see what they thought about the series of e-mail from Mark Cibik, but I did not have their e-mail.

So I did some reverse-engineering and noticed that they used a common first initial and full last name as their e-mail address in front of the @solsticecollection.com.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear from Michel Ducamp, Solstice Chief Operating Officer and have included his response below.

Here are a few of my comments:

1. Apology accepted.
2. Michel Ducamp handled this situation very well and professional, bravo!
3. I really love the entire Solstice artisanal collection of homes.
4. The Andrew Harrper Travel service is a great feature.
5. There are 15 properties now (I originally posted 14).
6. A 50% occupancy rates is fantastic.
7. I would still like to receive a sales brochure.


-----Original Message-----
From: dc4ms@destinationclubforums.com
Subject: Solstice strange e-mail replys
Sent: 04/21/2008 09:37 AM
To: mducamp@solsticecollection.com

You may be interested in reading how Mark Cibik, Managing Director of Membership for Solstice reacts to people who send inquiries for information to the Solstice web site.

We believe he was unprofessional, what do you think?

Solstice Collection Destination Club - strange e-mails


-----Original Message-----
From: Michel Ducamp <mducamp@solsticecollection.com>
Subject: RE: Solstice strange e-mail replys
Date: 04/21/2008 01:21 PM
To: dc4ms@destinationclubforums.com

Thank you for forwarding this e-mail chain on to me. First and foremost I apologize that this situation has occurred. I assure you that our culture at Solstice is always to treat everyone professionally and with dignity and respect.

As I am an operational executive, the sales and marketing function does not report to me, so I have forwarded this issue on to our CEO for his consideration and action.

I again apologize for any affront that you and your associates have suffered, and know that in the future you will find us to be courteous and responsive.

Best Regards,


Michel Ducamp
Chief Operating Officer


-----Original Message-----
From: dc4ms@destinationclubforums.com
Subject: RE: Solstice e-mail
Sent: 04/21/2008 04:07 PM
To: mducamp@solsticecollection.com

Thank you for your reply.

It is my sincere desire to help promote the Destination Club industry and your club, with a $6.5m average home value, is the most ultra-exclusive of them all (excluding Yellowstone Club World). I do not have any hidden agenda other than to make people aware of the various destination clubs and let them decide which club is best for them.

DestinationClubForums.com receives several hundred visitors a day and considering how small this market is, that is pretty good Internet traffic. I have been funding this site myself without the help of any advertisers as it is currently a labor of love.

I would still appreciate it if someone can mail me a sales brochure (even though I have already seen the online PDF version) as 12 of the top 15 clubs have already sent me theirs. This is not a competition, I just like to see the layout, design, paper stock, and formatting of these brochures as most destination clubs have very impressive marketing materials.

Tedpilot

Bravo Michel, bravo. My faith in your company is being restored.

Kagehitokiri

very interesting. so while Mark Cibik's title is "managing director," it sounds like perhaps he is head of sales? i wonder what exactly his role has been at T&H, parallel, and solstice.

also, Mark Cibik could easily have forwarded the original emails to Mark Cain.

re andrew harper travel service, their hotel benefits/upgrades program costs $200/year. i believe they changed the name from Q Club to something else recently.

vineyarder

It will be most interesting to see whether Cibik sends an apology himself, and how the CEO responds... do keep us posted.