Guest Confirmations non refundable even in event of a Hurricane

I spoke with a rep at Wyndham and they told be that guest confirmations are never refundable. Even the event of a hurricane, resort closed for mandatory evacuation, etc. Seems like a new low for Wyndham. I also had to change a guest name because one guest could not fly in so they could check their guest in because of the Hurricane but someone else in their party who was suppose to stay with them this week cannot leave Orlando. This just proves that Wyndham cares more about profit then customer service, goodwill and being respectful in these circumstances.

I guess nothing new but just shows them in that light once again.

They used to allow cancellations with lost of points for weather effected resorts ... I had a unit booked at Wyndham Shawnee during another hurricane ... called the reservation line and points restored.

As for the GC in your case ... should have allowed you to add a guest for free who would be able to checkin.

vacationhopeful said:

They used to allow cancellations with lost of points for weather effected resorts ... I had a unit booked at Wyndham Shawnee during another hurricane ... called the reservation line and points restored.

As for the GC in your case ... should have allowed you to add a guest for free who would be able to checkin.

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Yes as well as refund the guest confirmations used in the event that reservations are cancelled because of a mandatory evacuation or otherwise.

But of course it is Wyndham. Is it possible that timeshares already have such a bad name that they really not care nor does the media?

Imagine a hotel trying to charge extra because of a hurricane or airlines charging cancellation fees.

Actually the fact that wyndam refunds the points is more than most timeshares would do. For most they may have unbooked time they could offer you in lieu of the closed time but I wouldn't even count on that. Most timeshares suggest next time you get something like paid timeshare travellers insurance and then you would need to submit a claim to be reimbursed but the timeshare doesn't have resources to refund you for a weather related emergency closing.

When is BCR opening up?

Anyone know what day BCR will open after the storm passes?

cyseitz said:

Anyone know what day BCR will open after the storm passes?

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When I talked to Bonnet Creek earlier today they weren't shut down. However they did tell me that no one was allowed on the roads after 5pm today until tomorrow morning.

The big concern at Bonnet Creek is losing power. No hot water or working refrigerators.

tschwa2 said:

Actually the fact that wyndam refunds the points is more than most timeshares would do. For most they may have unbooked time they could offer you in lieu of the closed time but I wouldn't even count on that. Most timeshares suggest next time you get something like paid timeshare travellers insurance and then you would need to submit a claim to be reimbursed but the timeshare doesn't have resources to refund you for a weather related emergency closing.

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Eleven years ago, Wilma hit the Hollywood Sands and we lost two years. The second year, because of a delayed openning, we were fortunate to be given a mid-March week for our missed week 5. Of course we paid mf both years and a big assessment.

tschwa2 said:

Actually the fact that wyndam refunds the points is more than most timeshares would do. For most they may have unbooked time they could offer you in lieu of the closed time but I wouldn't even count on that. Most timeshares suggest next time you get something like paid timeshare travellers insurance and then you would need to submit a claim to be reimbursed but the timeshare doesn't have resources to refund you for a weather related emergency closing.

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So you think it is alright that Wyndham keeps the guest confirmation fee in these cases? Or charges another to change a reservation to a different name in the party because the original cannot fly in first as was planned months ago?

am1 said:

So you think it is alright that Wyndham keeps the guest confirmation fee in these cases? Or charges another to change a reservation to a different name in the party because the original cannot fly in first as was planned months ago?

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Maybe Wyndham has decided that this is a mega-renter issue. Unfortunately many of us use our extra points and guest reservations for family and friends. If you've used all your free ones it can be very awkward asking family or friends for $99 to book them another reservation especially if you've already asked them to pay the guest fee for the original reservation.

Since they are able to see in the reservation history that a reservation under a guest's name was cancelled due to mandatory evacuation it seems like if we are booking a replacement reservation for that particular guest the fee could be waved that one time.

If you look at the financial report Wyndham doesn't account for the guest fees anywhere so where does the money paid for the guest fees go? I would think a failure to account for at least $500,000 to $1,500,000 if not more in income should be of concern to all owners.

Socialist?

am1 said:

I spoke with a rep at Wyndham and they told be that guest confirmations are never refundable. Even the event of a hurricane, resort closed for mandatory evacuation, etc. Seems like a new low for Wyndham. I also had to change a guest name because one guest could not fly in so they could check their guest in because of the Hurricane but someone else in their party who was suppose to stay with them this week cannot leave Orlando. This just proves that Wyndham cares more about profit then customer service, goodwill and being respectful in these circumstances.

I guess nothing new but just shows them in that light once again.

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So you took a financial action that went sour, and you want someone else to fix it? For free?

[Political comment deleted.]

inconviened said:

So you took a financial action that went sour, and you want someone else to fix it? For free? Sounds like a socialist mindset to me.

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Not really. The guests checking in had everything set until flights were cancelled. That changed who in the party could check in. Does Wyndham really need to profit off of a hurricane?

am1 said:

So you think it is alright that Wyndham keeps the guest confirmation fee in these cases? Or charges another to change a reservation to a different name in the party because the original cannot fly in first as was planned months ago?

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I don't think the fees that they charge are right to begin with.

I am just stating in the timeshare world, you're lucky you don't lose everything with a weather related problem. If their terms say non refundable and don't list exceptions then they are non refundable. I know when I rent I say non refundable but I do give an out if the actual resort is not accepting incoming guests or for the nights the resort closes and asks guests to leave early. I know at most places I own this means there is a 50-50% I eat that cost. I do specifically mention illness, weather or any other reason the renter does not show will not result in a refund and vacation insurance is strongly suggested. Late August, September and October in coastal regions is prime hurricane seasons. I doubly stress that when renting in areas regularly affected during the hurrican season just as I stress it during the winter months for snow and ice related problems.

bobpark56 said:

[Quote of political remark deleted.]

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lol

a) political posts are not allowed on TUG

b) wanting a for-profit business to factor in a few weather-related refunds because it's smart business to keep your customers happy is NOT socialism.

Hmmmm...

VegasBella said:

lol

a) political posts are not allowed on TUG

b) wanting a for-profit business to factor in a few weather-related refunds because it's smart business to keep your customers happy is NOT socialism.

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Hmmmm....I thought the poster was closer to demanding than to wanting.

You have to admit, I think, that there have been many posters on both TUG and Facebook forums who have expressed outrage that a resort would not reimburse them for non-availability or diminished enjoyment caused by weather, travel problems, accidents, sickness, etc.

[Political comment deleted.]

reimbursements?

Not a fan of the Wyndham mindset, but understand that Wyndham is in this business to make money. I think they have made that perfectly clear on all counts. They make it very clear that GC's are not refundable.

So let's put the shoe on the other foot and play Devil's Advocate here. Should all the people who received points thru Wyndham's software errors be made to pay for them? Whether they rented them or used them themselves? How about if they figured out how to exploit the system? The software problems were no more the people's fault (in most cases) than the hurricane was Wyndham's fault.

Wyndham has to eat the points and we have to eat the GC's. Cost of doing business. Yes, it would be nice to see a gesture of goodwill from Wyndham, but I think we can all agree that that is not forthcoming. They have hurricane damage to assess, fix, and assess again.

Even with the Wyndham management mindset it is one of the best vacation values out there.

Introducing political comments into this topic is off-topic, and against forum rules.

Please stick to the issue at hand.

If a guest cannot make a reservation due to circumstances beyond their control. Cancelled flights, mandated curfews, wyndham should credit the guest confirmation fee back. Disney waived all cancellation fees, southwest waived all change fees and they are all thriving businesses. Businesses thrive because of their Customer service and quality of their product.

How about with the situation at Ocean Walk, where Wyndham cancelled all the reservations. If by chance the resort reopens this week new reservations will have to be booked and a new guest confirmation fee paid for to add back the same guest.

cayman01 said:

Not a fan of the Wyndham mindset, but understand that Wyndham is in this business to make money. I think they have made that perfectly clear on all counts. They make it very clear that GC's are not refundable.



So let's put the shoe on the other foot and play Devil's Advocate here. Should all the people who received points thru Wyndham's software errors be made to pay for them? Whether they rented them or used them themselves? How about if they figured out how to exploit the system? The software problems were no more the people's fault (in most cases) than the hurricane was Wyndham's fault.



Wyndham has to eat the points and we have to eat the GC's. Cost of doing business. Yes, it would be nice to see a gesture of goodwill from Wyndham, but I think we can all agree that that is not forthcoming. They have hurricane damage to assess, fix, and assess again.



Even with the Wyndham management mindset it is one of the best vacation values out there.

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But Wyndham is NOT eating those points. They have suspended anyone with points over what they arbitrarily set as their threshold. And they've taken points from current year allotment to cover overages from last year. They don't play by any rules. They fear no one. Except maybe state regulators.


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wjappraise said:

But Wyndham is NOT eating those points. They have suspended anyone with points over what they arbitrarily set as their threshold. And they've taken points from current year allotment to cover overages from last year. They don't play by any rules. They fear no one. Except maybe state regulators.


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Sure they are going to eat points. Millions of them. Maybe billions. One of the deep throat guys said there were 80-100 suspensions but he/she never said how many accounts were actually effected. I'd be willing to bet there are several thousand that ended up with extra points AND used them. And I think there are a few select accounts that figured out how to abuse the error to the tune of tens of millions of points that were all used. Wyndham is going to eat all of those. Why do you think they are coming down so hard on people?

Now please understand I am by no means on Wyndham's side on this. I don't agree with any of their tactics especially their lack of communication with those with suspended accounts. It disgusts me. I am just pointing out that this is a cost of doing business for them. Points mistakenly given and used cannot be recouped. Tough luck for Wyndham. Renter loses a GC ? Same deal. It's a cost of doing business.

Sure, they could be like Disney and just hand out freebies, but understand it is going to make everything much more expensive! Disney is smart. They build it all in to the price to begin with. Why do you think everything is so expensive at Disney? All the freebies are paid for in advance! TANSTAAFL !!
There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.