One timeshare owner, Peggy Wilson, who lives in Toronto, Canada, and has been coming to the Brac for over twenty years, was informed by Cayman Net News that the Tiara had been shut down.

She and other owners she is in contact with had not been given any indication of this by the Divi Corporation.

"I have not missed a year at Divi Tiara since 1985, purchasing two weeks of timeshare before a shovel was even put in the ground," she said.

"I've supported Divi Tiara Beach through the good and bad years, through hurricane damage, through numerous re-organizations with management, and watched the dive operation grow from one single crew dive boat to a fleet.

"I've spent weeks in the hotel when timeshares were either under construction or under renovation."

Ms Wilson said that she not only has wonderful friends who come from all over the world to Divi Tiara, she also has cherished friends on the Brac.

"Many of whom have worked at Tiara as employees," she added.

"I am not alone. Along with so many others, we have never abandoned Divi Tiara for another Divi timeshare. This shocking news, with no warning, has left all of us confused and angry."

Ms Wilson added, "Last year, after staying in the hotel for so many years we were thrilled and excited to finally get back into our beautifully renovated units. For me, to find out I may never get to enjoy my timeshare again has left me disappointed and sad."

She told Net News that, from her email correspondence, it was clear that it was not just timeshare owners that were worried, noting that Divi Tiara is the dive operation that many other condominium owners or renters on the Island preferred to use as well.

Ms Wilson has been trying to contact the Divi Corporation lawyer and has said that other timeshare owners can contact her through Net News.

Meanwhile, a joint press release expected from the two ministries that were contacted by Divi Corporation, the Ministry for Tourism and the Ministry with responsibility for District Administration, has not been forthcoming.

Divi Corporation notified staff of the immediate layoff in a letter dated 8 September.

It states: "We have been in contact with the Minister of Tourism and the Leader of Government Business regarding Tiara's closure and are pleased to advise that the Department of Employment Relations (DER) stands ready to assist with your search for other employment."

In a brief conversation on Sunday with Tourism Minister, the Hon Charles Clifford, Net News was told that the Cayman Government had no prior indication of the resort's closing.

If they had known, the Ministers could have sat down with them to discuss the situation, he said. Mr Clifford said that they were still trying to understand what had precipitated the move by Divi and to see what Government could do to address the issues.

He added that a joint press release would be made by both his Ministry and that of the Hon Kurt Tibbetts on Monday, but Net News had not received this by press time.

First Elected Member for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, Julianna O'Connor Connolly noted that Divi had threatened to shut down its operation several times in the past, but they had always been able to discuss this with them and the resort had remained open.

However, this time she thought, "I think it's fairly safe to say that these people intend to shut down permanently."

She said that among the ideas she had had about what to do in this situation, one thought was that the Government should find out the current market value for the Divi property and purchase it.

The hotel could be used as a hotel training school or a place where Government employees and anyone on the Brac for Government business could stay.

What was important was to prevent the property from sitting empty for several years until it became "a white elephant". There should be sufficient funds in the current budget to at least secure the property, said the MLA.

As far as the timeshare situation, Ms O'Connor Connolly said she cannot comprehend how that could not become a liability.

nicky@caymannetnews.com