# Worldmark Test Account



## cr4909 (Jan 16, 2009)

Just wanted to know if there was any way to get a "sneak peak" at Worldmark inventory availability by use of a test account or something similar.  I wouldn't even consider Worldmark unless I could actually see what's available at the resorts I'd be interested in.  

Let's do the math.  Approx 250K users - approx 6000 units times 52 weeks yields about 300K total weeks.  Making some general assumptions and throwing out some of the cornfield condos (Galena, Lake of the Ozarks, etc), my guess is that there's very stiff competition for those high demand summer/holiday weeks in Cali.

Any suggestions would be welcome.  You can send a PM if you wish.


----------



## Judy (Jan 16, 2009)

As far as I know, there's no such thing as a Worldmark "test account".  Post specifics on the sightings forum and someone will run a few searches for you (maybe me   )  But keep in mind, here today, gone tomorrow.  

There is great demand for some Worldmark resorts in high season, especially the "old" resorts on the west coast whose credit costs are more reasonable than the new ones.  To get into high demand/high season Worldmark resorts, its best to book 13 months in advance.


----------



## Jya-Ning (Jan 16, 2009)

WM has its occupancy statistic.  It can gives you some ideas.  Not necessary means it's difficuty level when you try to make reservation

Go to WM link http://www.worldmarktheclub.com/education/ and download the "Basic Owner Education Handbook" h(ttp://www.worldmarktheclub.com/education/) at left

Jya-Ning


----------



## LLW (Jan 16, 2009)

Jya-Ning said:


> WM has its occupancy statistic.  It can gives you some ideas.  Not necessary means it's difficuty level when you try to make reservation
> 
> Go to WM link http://www.worldmarktheclub.com/education/ and download the "Basic Owner Education Handbook" h(ttp://www.worldmarktheclub.com/education/) at left
> 
> Jya-Ning



Jya-Ning is right. History of past WM vacancies are right on the WM web site for all to see. Note that there are now 2 Owner Education Handbooks - a html and a pdf. You would want the pdf one. The Vacant Night Report is one of its exhibits. Know that it includes non-credit uses.

You would not be able to see real time availability without a WM owner letting you use his/her account. But that would not be as helpful as advice from seasoned WM owners if your desired locations, times, and unit sizes are known.

Also, to do the math, you have to know that WM is different from other timeshares. Not all owners have the same number of credits, not all vacation in red season (the credit values are dramatically different in different seasons), and not all room sizes take equal points. Also, in your math, you did not take into account the owners who let their credits expire (or used otherwise) without booking a WM or exchange vacation.


----------



## ladycody (Jan 21, 2009)

Go down to your local sales office and tell someone that you're NOT interested in a presentation but that you_ are _considering a purchase (have met people that love WM  ) and that you'd like a peak at how the online reservations work as well as availability before making a decision.  The worst thing they can do is say no....


----------



## cr4909 (Jan 22, 2009)

Thanks for the responses.  The Worldmark education book is great and I learned a lot.  The most important being that I'll have to reserve a week in Red time, unless you're less than three months from check-in.   This is especially bad since many of the Cali resorts are considered red all-year round.  Since I'm usually restricted to summer because of school holidays, I'm guessing that a 3 or 4 day trip will be pretty impossible at the Cali resorts I'm interested in.  Could a seasoned Worldmark vet give me an approximation of how far ahead I'd need to reserve at the following resorts, or even how hard it is to reserve at 13 months out?

1) San Francisco
2) Pismo Beach
3) San Diego - Mission Valley

Also, what is the likelihood that there is availaibility at less than 3 months (last minute cancellations??) so I could make a partial week reservation?  I'm guessing slim to none during summer time.


----------



## BocaBum99 (Jan 22, 2009)

cr4909 said:


> Thanks for the responses.  The Worldmark education book is great and I learned a lot.  The most important being that I'll have to reserve a week in Red time, unless you're less than three months from check-in.   This is especially bad since many of the Cali resorts are considered red all-year round.  Since I'm usually restricted to summer because of school holidays, I'm guessing that a 3 or 4 day trip will be pretty impossible at the Cali resorts I'm interested in.  Could a seasoned Worldmark vet give me an approximation of how far ahead I'd need to reserve at the following resorts, or even how hard it is to reserve at 13 months out?
> 
> 1) San Francisco
> 2) Pismo Beach
> ...



You can forget partial week stays at Pismo unless you book the rest of the week at another resort.  That fills up really fast.

San Francisco is available a lot.  You can get partial weeks there pretty easily.

Not sure about San Diego.  But, there are lots of resorts in the area with very high credit values, so it's might not be that hard.


----------



## Judy (Jan 22, 2009)

cr4909 said:


> Could a seasoned Worldmark vet give me an approximation of how far ahead I'd need to reserve at the following resorts, or even how hard it is to reserve at 13 months out?


I can't tell you about those specific resorts, but I can tell you that it's often possible to book less than a week in red time at popular resorts.  If you are willing to spend time online, sometimes stays of less than a week will become available, with the days on either side booked, making it impossible to book an entire week.  In that case, Worldmark will allow us to book however many days are available, even though it's less than a week and it's red time and more than 3 months in advance.  But it's hit or miss.





Worldmark New Orleans


----------



## roadsister (Jan 22, 2009)

You have to keep checking....I booked 7/30, 7/31, leaving 8/1 at Pismo by just checking online to see if less than a week opened up and it did!


----------



## starlifter (Jan 23, 2009)

Don't forget the ability to use the waitlist.  We have had very good luck using this tool.

If you plan on using Vacation Credits for your resort stay, the Waitlist is a l tool you can use to request the resort location and unit size you need for a given set of dates when they are not currently available. All cancellations are first checked against the waitlist requests before they are released to open inventory.

How does it Work?

    * Call the VPC and ask to be added to the Waitlist
    * You will give the counselor the resort / date information
    * The counselor will ask how many days you would be willing to accept (referred to as an "only space available" booking)
    * The counselor will inform you of where you are on the waitlist. There are three levels:
          o Level 1 - Extremely good chance of getting the request
          o Level 2 - Roughly 50/50 chance of getting the request
          o Level 3 - While the reservation may indeed confirm, you may want to add alternate locations / broaden your date range in order to increase your chances at a confirmation. 
    * Once your waitlist request confirms, you will be contacted by phone or email (you choose the option) - you will have until 9pm PST the following day to contact the VPC before the space is released / offered to the next person on the list. You may also ask to have an EXACT match auto-confirmed, so you do not have to worry about missing the phone call or email and losing your reservation.


----------



## LLW (Jan 24, 2009)

cr4909 said:


> Thanks for the responses.  The Worldmark education book is great and I learned a lot.  The most important being that I'll have to reserve a week in Red time, unless you're less than three months from check-in.   This is especially bad since many of the Cali resorts are considered red all-year round.  Since I'm usually restricted to summer because of school holidays, I'm guessing that a 3 or 4 day trip will be pretty impossible at the Cali resorts I'm interested in.  Could a seasoned Worldmark vet give me an approximation of how far ahead I'd need to reserve at the following resorts, or even how hard it is to reserve at 13 months out?
> 
> 1) San Francisco
> 2) Pismo Beach
> ...



San Francisco and Mission Valley are wide open at this time for this summer. That might change hugely in the next 3 months, but I think at the 90-day mark there will likely still be availability, especially in the economic climate of this year. In any case, as has been mentioned, you could check on line frequently for only-space-availables, and submit waitlist requests. The earlier you check/waitlist, the higher your chance. You would have to waitlist for 7 days more than 90 days out in red season, but specify that you would take a minimum of any one day during that timeframe. The days that come up are often less than 7.

Pismo is always hard to get into and needs to be booked 13 months out, because there are only 20 units. Again, stand-alone days may be picked up if you check often, especially early, in the 10-to-13-month time frame.

A high % of reservations are cancelled because of WM's liberal cancellation policy (reservations made from 90 days to 13 months out have a cancellation deadline of 30 days before check-in). The average WM stay is 3 days. You just have to know how to look for partial weeks. You need to book early then cancel when plans change.

Note that both San Francisco and Pismo have only one bedroom units; they are smaller than the typical WM unit, and may not be well-suited for families (you mentioned school holidays - either you are a teacher or have school age children).

Exhibit 2 of the Owner Education Handbook is a unit breakdown chart. The fewer the number of units, the harder it would be to get into that resort. Also, the higher the number of credits needed, the easier. Resort credit values may be found on the Worldmark site under "Resort Gallery".

For a point system like WM, the key to maximizing your ownership is in learning how to use it, both from Club documents and from others' experience. Much of the experience is shared on www.wmowners.com.


----------

