Calculation Of Resort Club Fees

Introduction

The subject of Resort Club fees (also referred to as ASL charges) is a very hot one. Debates will rage for some time over whether the figures being charged to owners and commercial operators represent good value or not. This article doesn't attempt to explain why Resort Club fees are set at the level they are but it does attempt to explain how they are calculated.

Who Pays?

The Resort Clubs Web site defines the financing of the Resort Club as:

"All members pay fees in order to assist with operating expenditures which are entirely focused on achieving the objectives of the Resort Club Arc 1950. These fees are paid each year and are based on the total area of the buildings m² shon [author's comment - shon is Surface Hors Oeuvre Nette - the total habitable area of the building + common parts). The Resort Club Arc 1950 also provides for its expenditure by means of contributions recovered from hotel guests and the lodging operator, as well as by income from the operation of certain equipment managed by the Resort Club Arc 1950 and finally by donations from sponsors. In addition, to help launch the Resort Club Arc 1950, Intrawest is providing funding on a voluntary basis"

For clarification, despite what different yarns may have been spun during the buying process, all owners pay resort club fees whether they own their apartment on a "leaseback" or "classic" basis. Additionally, the amount of time an owner spends in the resort has no bearing on the amount of the charge.

It's €25 per m² isn't it?

Well Yes..... and No. Let's explain.

The Resort Club Committee sets a value per m² to be collected to which French VAT (currently 19.6%) is added. For the year to 31st May 2005 (the Resort Club's year end), the price per m² was set on 30th November 2004 at €25 but adding VAT to that figure takes it to €29.90 per m². In addition for the 2006-2007 Resort Club year, the charge has been reduced to €26.91 per m² Inc VAT and for 2007-2008 to €23.92 per m² Inc VAT.

Unfortunately, its not just a case of multiplying your apartment size in m² by €29.90/€26.91/€23.92

The €29.90/€26.91/€23.92 charge applies to every m² of the "shon" of each building. This is the "Surface Hors Oeuvre Nette" and is defined by the Resort Club as the "habitable area + common parts"

The total charge for each building is therefore calculated by multiplying the "shon" by 29.90/26.91/€23.92

So having obtained a total charge for the building, the process of working out how much everyone pays uses the tantieme figure allocated to each apartment, cave and commercial operator in that building.

There are 10,000 tantiemes per building and your sale documents will tell you the tantieme figure allocated to your apartment and your cave. A surveyor calculated the tantieme figure for each apartment and commercial space "according to the surface area and the situation of the lots: floor area, sub exposure, location etc.".

This is why apartments higher up and facing the sun have a higher tantieme figure than similar size apartments on lower floors that do not have sunny balconies. Purely as an example, in Prince Des Cimes, one 41.94m² first floor, street facing apartment has a tantieme figure of 57 and a 42.6m² place on the fourth floor facing the ski slopes has a tantieme figure of 76.

Using these figures, the actual resort club charge for the year is worked out as follows:

                shon in m² * 29.90 (or now 26.91 for 2006/2007 and 23.92 for 2007/2008)
                ------------------------- * tantieme figure (total for apartment and cave)
                        10,0000

The "shon" figures for the apartment buildings at 1950 are:

Hameau Du Glacier - 7,573 m²

Refuge Du Montagnard - 6,192 m²

Prince Des Cimes - 8,896 m²

Jardins De la Cascade - 5,959.50 m²

Auberge Jerome - 9,968 m²

Sources De Marie - 9,964 m²

Manoir Savoie - 11714 m²

Using the figures above, we can show the actual charge for our example apartments in PDC and also how much that actually works out per m² of each apartment. Figures below are for 2005-2006 - please deduct 10% for the 2006-2007 charge and a further 10% for 2007-2008.

Apartment 1 - street facing one bedroom place 41.94m² on first floor has a tantieme figure (including cave) of 58. This makes the total resort club fee €1542.74 which divided by 41.94m² makes €36.78 per m²

Apartment 2 - slope facing one bedroom place 42.60m² on fourth floor has a tantieme figure (including cave) of 77. This makes the total resort club fee €2048.13 which divided by 42.60m² makes €48.08 per m²

These figures of €36.78 and €48.08 per m² show just how inaccurate it is to refer to the Resort Club charge as €25 or even €29.90 per m². Even for modestly located apartments without an attractive view the charge is way in excess of that and explains why there is currently such discord from owners over the level of the Resort Club fees.

Resort Club Charge Calculator

Below is an experimental calculator for working out your Resort Club charge. A couple of points:

• At the moment, we know the Resort Club charge per m² of "shon" for 2004-2005, 2005-2006 (both €29.90 inc VAT/TVA, for 2006-2007 (€26.91) and 2007-2008 (€23.92). Future years charges are currently set to €26.91 but will be adjusted should the charge change.
• The calculator now has the "shon" for all seven apartment buildings including Manoir Savoie.
• The figures the calculator produce include VAT/TVA.

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