Dear Members and Friends,

In September 2009 we decided that we would attempt to hold an event on the Monterey Peninsula with accommodations at the Inn at Spanish Bay in October 2010. Our intention was to be there for four nights, play rounds at Pebble Beach, Spyglass and Spanish Bay and hold our tournament.

The resort provided pricing and assured us availability and tee times. When we reviewed this pricing, we became concerned that the rates would not be acceptable to our membership. We asked for pricing at a less desirable time of year, March 2011, and learned that our rates would work out to $500 less per person if we visited in the spring, instead of the fall.

This was still going to be the most expensive 4-night event we ever held. We were told that pricing at the Pebble Beach Resort had not been affected by economic conditions and that demand remained very high so the prices would remain very high. Nevertheless, we decided to give it a try.

A contract was requested and provided. That’s where we learned just how demanding the Resort was going to be. First, we learned that a $5,000 non-refundable deposit was required within two weeks to hold the rooms and tee times we were requesting even though our visit was still 17 months away. We also learned that a cancellation fee would go in effect immediately. Should we cancel in the next eleven months we would owe the resort $28,000 (that is not a typo). This amount would go up as we got closer to our arrival date.

We would be permitted to drop 10% of the rooms reserved without penalty. So we’d be responsible for bringing enough members to fill 90% of the rooms we had reserved.

One further complication was that the room rates we were quoted were “estimated”. Plus the golf rates would not be locked in until March 20, 2010. This would have meant that we could not quote definitive rates to our members until March, even though we were already on the hook for $28,000.

Of course, I questioned these contractual conditions and asked for more reasonable terms. I could not get them.

Our pricing, based on a March 2010 event date, worked out to being nearly $4,000 (there is no recession in Pebble Beach). With such a high price, we were justifiably concerned that we would be unable to fill 90% of the rooms we reserved. And if we did not the penalty would be too severe.

For that reason, we have no other choice but to cancel our plans to convene at Pebble Beach in the near future. Should the resort become more reasonable or if our members make it clear that they are willing to pay such a high price, we will certainly reconsider.

Please excuse us for putting this event on the schedule before all the details could be worked out.

Your friends at NSGA,

Roger and Mark

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