Homeowner Barbara Bostock was owed $5,600 when her property manager, Premier Resorts International, handed over all of its Sun Valley operations to Hawaii-based Aston Hotels and Resorts at the beginning of October.
Premier handled 30 homeowner associations and 100 condominiums in the Sun Valley-Ketchum area in addition to several private homes of people like Bostock. Premier advertised and rented out Bostock's Elkhorn home. She said rent was paid to Premier, which would skim its 20 percent commission and give the rest to her.
But in the last months before Premier's departure, Bostock said Premier took more than its contracted 20 percent.
"Never would I think anything like this would happen," she said. "I'm just mad enough to not let this go."
Now that Premier is going through bankruptcy proceedings, Bostock is having trouble receiving the $5,600 owed to her or hearing a peep from the company. But she said she wouldn't let up.
"Imagine your boss taking your paycheck to run the business and then selling the company and saying, 'Too bad.'" Bostock said.
Like workers waiting for their paychecks, Bostock said she also needs the money.
Her lawyer advised her to send letters to Premier and the company's co-owner, Bradley Goulding, which she did about a week ago. But she hasn't heard a word, she said. Bostock said legal action will be next.
Repeated attempts by the Express to contact Premier and co-owner Barbara Zimonja over the past two weeks have also gone unanswered.
The only option for Bostock has been to talk with Aston, which has taken over Premier's offices in south Ketchum's Sockeye Square. But manager John Wells told her Aston only acquired Premier's assets, not its debt.
To confirm Bostock's statement and to get further information, the Express made numerous phone calls to Aston's Ketchum office asking for Wells, but none were returned. A reporter also visited Aston's Ketchum office on Monday, but was never seen by Wells. The Express eventually found Wells' direct phone number online and called on Monday, but Wells refused to answer a question and directed the reporter to corporate headquarters for the Hawaii-based company.
Aston President Kelvin Bloom was reached by phone and said that even though Aston stepped in for Premier, it's not legally responsible for debt the company left behind, if any.
"Certainly, we don't have any legal obligation," he said.
For that reason, he said he's unaware of Bostock's case or if there are other property owners or associations owed money by Premier.
Bloom said Aston has also offered jobs to the 20 employees who worked for Premier in Ketchum, and he expects the majority will take the offer.
Aston's customers also have the choice to stay with Premier's replacement or opt for a different property manager. Bloom said the "vast majority" of homeowner and condo associations have continued on with Aston.
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The Sun Valley Elkhorn Association consists of 14 subdivisions and 24 condominium associations. Eight of these used Premier: Bonne Vie Condominium Association, Bluff Condominium Association, Fairway Nine VII Condominium Association, Sagehill Association, Legends Condominium Association, Elkhorn Springs Condo Association, Elkhorn Springs Village Condos, and Elkhorn Springs Golf Lodges.
Jan Kaas, design review manager for Sun Valley Elkhorn Association, said each subdivision contracts its own property manager and predicts most of them will carry their contracts over to Aston since relations with Premier were "fine."
Bryce Turzian, project manager for Elkhorn Springs, said there were "no problems" with Premier, and the condo association will most likely cooperate with the Aston switchover.
"We're happy to stay with them at this point," he said.
But most of Elkhorn's associations probably haven't even come together on a decision yet, Kaas said. Associations were notified of Premier's departure only a few weeks ago and haven't had time to notify all the homeowners, she said.
Patty Rosewater, Sagehill homeowner and Elkhorn Association treasurer, was shocked to hear that Premier had left and said she hadn't received a notice. She's working with the same Premier employee, and when told of the company switch she looked back at e-mails and did notice that below her Premier contact's name now reads "Aston Hotels and Resorts."
Even though local associations haven't come forward and said Premier owes them money, others across the country have cancelled contracts because Premier is late on multiple payments, according to the Park Record newspaper in Park City, Utah.
According to the paper, three Colorado properties—Hotel Telluride, Manor Vail Resort and Beaver Run in Breckenridge—cancelled their contracts with Premier.
Joe Shackleton, general manager at Beaver Run, estimated Premier was in default on 15 contractual agreements ranging from financial issues to failure to communicate. He said the homeowners' association notified Premier of the failures on Aug. 4, but the company didn't rectify the problems. The contract was cancelled on Sept. 4, and the amount of money owed is uncertain, Shackleton told the Park Record.
The paper also reported that Premier was late on payments to Whaler's Cove on Kauai in Hawaii. J Witt, president of the association board at Whaler's Cove, told the Park Record he asked for a cessation of the contract starting Oct. 15, and the company responded by proposing Sept. 15. An audit is ongoing to determine what Premier owes the association.
Premier also ceased operations in Bend, Ore., and South Lake Tahoe, Calif., because of financial problems.
It's difficult to ascertain if these problems and outstanding debts also exist in the Sun Valley area. No one besides Bostock has come forth.
Bloom said he's unaware of any outstanding debt between Premier and associations.
"I don't have the details of that," he said.
Regardless, it shines a bad light on other local property managers, like Sheri Thomas, owner and founder of Boulder Mountain, who are already struggling. Thomas said her business is working on a "skeleton crew."
"It makes us all look bad," she said, adding that property managers don't have to earn any license to run a business. Community Association Institute is a local group with which she is affiliated that advises property managers to get certified by the national Association of Professional Community Managers, even though it's not mandatory, to show customers they are ethical.
"It needs to be more of a professional atmosphere," she said. "Hopefully, people will realize that."
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
In Ketchum, Premier Resorts is now Aston Hotels and Resorts. Photo by Mountain Express
