Management Charges 2021

Dear Valued Members,

As we head into the final few months of 2020 we can reflect on a year unlike any before.  ‘Unprecedented’ hardly sums it up as we have seen a pandemic of mythic effect bring the world almost to its knees.  We sincerely hope that you and your loved ones have managed to keep safe and well throughout the Covid19 crisis and continue to be careful and respectful of the lockdown measures that are still in force.  It has been a difficult year for everyone but we look forward to 2021 with optimism and a determination to get back to normal as much as we possibly can.

The Karma Group has not been immune to the economic damage brought on by the pandemic.  The hospitality industry has perhaps been the hardest hit of all business sectors but we are pleased to say that we have survived the storm in decent shape.  This is largely thanks to the support of our amazing staff around the world and the encouragement from our Members to keep providing much-needed holidays even when it has not been easy for people to travel internationally. From the Isles of Scilly, UK, to Goa in India and Rottnest Island in Western Australia, we have seen a boom in domestic tourism that illustrates the continuing desire and essential need for holidays.  This bodes well for the future when restrictions are finally lifted.

As you are all aware, you have invested in a long-term holiday product that will give you amazing holidays for many years to come, so we should not be concerned when a single year’s opportunity is impacted and deferred.  Indeed, to ensure that you have not missed out on any holiday time, we have already agreed that 2020 entitlements will be carried forward.  The effects of the pandemic have been widely felt and it is possible that some destinations will be replaced with others to reflect demand and local conditions but we assure you there will still be the same wide choice as before, if not more. We have new properties already open or in the planning stage in India, France and UK with Australia also a priority.

While Members may have been unable to travel internationally for many months and occupancy has clearly been very low at some resorts, we have nevertheless continued to maintain all of them to their normal standard – for which we greatly thank the hard-working staff.  It was essential for this work to continue throughout the year in order to prevent insurmountable maintenance issues developing.  When all the Karma Group resorts finally re-open they will be in even better condition than when commercial operations were suspended. We will ensure that the vast majority of properties in the portfolio will be open and ready to receive you from the 1^st January 2021. However, we are very pleased to say that there have been savings. We took the decision very early on to cut costs wherever possible and have been very successful in limiting expenditure since lockdown began. As a result, we are delighted to announce that for all those Members who paid their 2020 management charges, there will be a credit carried over from 2020 of 17.5% (i.e. 17.5% applied against the pre-tax amount collected for 2020 charges). It should be noted that this credit will be spread equally over the next two billing cycles. In addition, we have budgeted to hold the base Management Charges for 2021 at the same level as we determined and invoiced in 2020 and as a result, this means your annual Management Charge for 2021 will be effectively lower than the prior year.  For members who have alternate membership and were not invoiced in the previous year, you will find only a modest increase since your 2019 fee invoice.  We are sure this will come as welcome news to everyone – we have done as much as possible not to hurt your wallet with this round of annual billing.  We are very aware that many Members have had their livelihoods affected and so money may be tight but what has been very clearly demonstrated in recent months is that holiday time is extremely important both for physical and mental health. Nothing is better after several months of living with social restrictions than to let one’s hair down with the holiday of a lifetime. Deprivation comes with a critical need for relaxation and rejuvenation. With that in mind, we sincerely look forward to seeing you next at one of the Karma Group properties.

Hopefully we will even be able to give each other a big hug and share a bottle of wine to celebrate the demise of the virus and its reign of terror.  Good riddance and here’s to many more years of holidaying!

Yours sincerely,

John Spence
Karma Group Chairman