# Wyndham Austin



## Melder (Aug 2, 2017)

Wyndham is partnering with 54 Madison Partners.  Just like they did with Wyndham Desert Blue, Wyndham Midtown 45, and Wyndham Resort at Avon.

http://austin.towers.net/rise-apartments-converting-to-wyndham-vacation-property/


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## Sandy VDH (Aug 3, 2017)

I am happy it is a Wynd and NOT a Worldmark ONLY.  Too many WM is TX that are WM only.  Sure I have club pass, but there go all my VIP perks and Free reservation fees.  

I think they should build all new locations as split inventory.


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## ecwinch (Aug 3, 2017)

Sandy VDH said:


> I think they should build all new locations as split inventory.



Thats wishful thinking.  From the Annual Meeting it looks like VIP programs cost Wyndham a tidy $16mil+. Why grow that number and reduce the one good upsell they have (Club Pass).


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## bizaro86 (Aug 3, 2017)

That's just a reporter speculating it will be Club Wyndham, not an official line from the company. They might still go all Worldmark. It is interesting that the same developer has done a bunch of club Wyndham properties. 

It was in the Worldmark board minutes as a new property, do I think it's very likely there will at least be some WM units.


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## schoolmarm (Aug 3, 2017)

It was listed at the Wyndham board meeting as a new property...so if it was also at the Worldmark board meeting, perhaps it will be a split resort. 

I'm hoping that it will have Wyndham units. I go to Austin for research sometimes.  It would be nice to NOT be at the Super 8 (although they are nice for Super 8)


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## geist1223 (Aug 3, 2017)

In that WVR BOD and WM BOD both discussed this Resort I assume it is a shared Resort. In the last WM Management Report it showed an opening date of November 2017.


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## ecwinch (Aug 4, 2017)

The Worldmark Q1 - 2017 Mgt report stated that it would a shared resort between Wyndham/Worldmark with 89 units for WM and 100 units for CWA.


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## Melder (Aug 4, 2017)

geist1223 said:


> In that WVR BOD and WM BOD both discussed this Resort I assume it is a shared Resort. In the last WM Management Report it showed an opening date of November 2017.



Perfect! Just in time for Thanksgiving.  Maybe I can host family there.



ecwinch said:


> The Worldmark Q1 - 2017 Mgt report stated that it would a shared resort between Wyndham/Worldmark with 89 units for WM and 100 units for CWA.



Interesting.  According to 54 Madison Partners website there are 200 units.  I wonder what the other 11 units will be used for.


Amenities include a parking garage, 10th floor amenity area with 2-story ceilings, gourmet outdoor kitchen and fire pits, zero edge pool overlooking downtown Austin, and a 22nd floor fitness center

http://www.54madison.com/deals/rise/


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## dagger1 (Aug 4, 2017)

This will be a great addition if CWA points can be used.  Could be very hard to get into, though.


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## ecwinch (Aug 4, 2017)

Melder said:


> Perfect! Just in time for Thanksgiving.  Maybe I can host family there.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I would guess they would need more space for services a condo complex would not have - housekeeping services, front desk, and a sales center.


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## bnoble (Aug 4, 2017)

dagger1 said:


> This will be a great addition if CWA points can be used.  Could be very hard to get into, though.


I would imagine that all of the Wyndham inventory will be in CWA. There is zero advantage to Wyndham putting new inventory in anything else, because Wyndham retains voting rights for CWA inventory and it is trivial to "foreclose" on a CWA owner who falls behind in annual fees.


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## markb53 (Aug 4, 2017)

Also since Wyndham won't own this building it would probably be hard to sell deeds.


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## cayman01 (Aug 4, 2017)

bnoble said:


> I would imagine that all of the Wyndham inventory will be in CWA. There is zero advantage to Wyndham putting new inventory in anything else, because Wyndham retains voting rights for CWA inventory and it is trivial to "foreclose" on a CWA owner who falls behind in annual fees.



I think you are absolutely right. No more deeds at any of the new resorts. All CWA. And all high point values for stays to keep the MF rate artificially low. This will offset high MF contracts being brought into Ovation. We of course will not see what the actual rate is ( like Clearwater) but it will be factored in to lower the CWA MF rate. So maybe CWA doesn't rise as fast as we think?

Also, no voting rights for us with CWA and the ease of foreclosures makes deeded ownership an endangered species.....


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## ronparise (Aug 4, 2017)

cayman01 said:


> deeded ownership an endangered species.....



When wyndham (Fairfield) introduced points, that was supposed to be the end of fixed weeks, and yet there are still plenty of them still out there, and CWA was expected to be the end of UDI but it hasn't happened yet. Now with whole resorts being dumped into CWA will we see an end to all de dee ownerships?  I don't think so, there will always be Presidential Reserve; and Linda will never sell her snow-bird weeks in south Florida. 

I do believe that CWA is the future of club Wyndham. But I don't see deeded ownerships becoming an endangered species


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## Braindead (Aug 5, 2017)

ronparise said:


> When wyndham (Fairfield) introduced points, that was supposed to be the end of fixed weeks, and yet there are still plenty of them still out there, and CWA was expected to be the end of UDI but it hasn't happened yet. Now with whole resorts being dumped into CWA will we see an end to all de dee ownerships?  I don't think so, there will always be Presidential Reserve; and Linda will never sell her snow-bird weeks in south Florida.
> 
> I do believe that CWA is the future of club Wyndham. But I don't see deeded ownerships becoming an endangered species


Your right. I have been to CWA ARP resorts that still sell deeded ownerships also. Bonnet Creek - Oceanside Pier to name a couple.
They might push CWA first but if you request to own at the individual resort they always come up with points to sell.
If deeded ownership becomes an endangered species anytime soon it will because of customer base wanting CWA over deeded ownership.
If you go to Clearwater Beach or Austin and will only buy a deeded ownership at that resort they will sell you a deeded ownership at that resort.
That may change in the future.
I was at Oceanside Pier in late June a sold out resort years ago. Sales stated at times they don't very many Oceanside points to sell but at that time they had plenty to sell. Also shows not everything coming back gets dumped into CWA

I also think Ron is right that Wyndham buys off the secondary market at times. I wouldn't be surprised if they have been buying on eBay lately.
Everyone thought resale prices would tank without the mega renters buying. They did seem to dip a couple of months back but are back now.
There is definitely demand in the resale market either from Wyndham and or former renters becoming owners.


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## cayman01 (Aug 5, 2017)

ronparise said:


> When wyndham (Fairfield) introduced points, that was supposed to be the end of fixed weeks, and yet there are still plenty of them still out there, and CWA was expected to be the end of UDI but it hasn't happened yet. Now with whole resorts being dumped into CWA will we see an end to all de dee ownerships?  I don't think so, there will always be Presidential Reserve; and Linda will never sell her snow-bird weeks in south Florida.
> 
> I do believe that CWA is the future of club Wyndham. But I don't see deeded ownerships becoming an endangered species



I think that three or four years down the road, when Wyndham changes the mindset of the buyer it will be all CWA. You will have holdouts like Linda and I and others, but the new buyers will only know CWA. I don't own Worldmark, but I think  Wyndham wants to head in that direction.


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## WyndhamBarter (Aug 5, 2017)

Melder said:


> Interesting.  According to 54 Madison Partners website there are 200 units.  I wonder what the other 11 units will be used for.
> 
> 
> Amenities include a parking garage, 10th floor amenity area with 2-story ceilings, gourmet outdoor kitchen and fire pits, zero edge pool overlooking downtown Austin, and a 22nd floor fitness center
> ...



Here's a possible unit breakdown by size.  Dunno where this site got their specs, though.
Only *one* 3BR, sigh.  Looks like a nice location; any Austin-area experts care to chime in?

https://www.apartments.com/rise-on-8th-apartments-austin-tx/mvkjzsh/

*Beds* *Baths* *# of Units* *Average SF* *Available*
1 Bed   1 Bath    97            757 SF      None of these are available.
2 Beds  2 Baths  98         1,202 SF      None of these are available.
3 Beds  3 Baths    1         1,633 SF      None of these are available.


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## lwan (Aug 15, 2017)

It's downtown Austin. Depends on what you're looking for. It's within 'walking distance' of various locations.


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## scootr5 (Sep 28, 2017)

Austin is bookable now.


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## bizaro86 (Sep 28, 2017)

No 3 bedrooms in worldmark. Did club Wyndham get it?


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## scootr5 (Sep 28, 2017)

bizaro86 said:


> No 3 bedrooms in worldmark. Did club Wyndham get it?



Yes, it’s listed in the Wyndham units (500,000 - 550,000 points for the week, so $2500+ in MF).


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## Ty1on (Sep 29, 2017)

cayman01 said:


> I think that three or four years down the road, when Wyndham changes the mindset of the buyer it will be all CWA. You will have holdouts like Linda and I and others, but the new buyers will only know CWA. I don't own Worldmark, but I think  Wyndham wants to head in that direction.



but Clearwater is UDI, not CWA....It seems like they are deciding any new additions on a case by case basis....


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## lwan (Feb 18, 2018)

lwan said:


> It's downtown Austin. Depends on what you're looking for. It's within 'walking distance' of various locations.



There is a $30/day parking charge. Just FYI.

Nice room decor. Walkable to most downtown locations and nightlife.

/lester


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## Jan M. (Feb 19, 2018)

We just stayed at this resort from February 3-14! Not all the Wyndham units have balconies. No whirlpool tubs even in the presidential units. Not many other people were there and we were the first people to stay in our unit. The rooftop deck and pool area are nice but the weather was too cold to use them when we were there..

If you can walk two or three blocks pulling your suitcase, it is very easy to take the bus to get to the resort and back to the airport. The blocks in Austin aren't long ones. Walk out the door of their airport and go to your right to the bus stops. You want Route 100 and a transfer to 7 or 20. It will let you off at 8th and Lavaca. To get back to the airport you get on at 8th and Guadalupe. Both are one way streets, Lavaca is Northbound and Guadalupe is Southbound, that's why you get on and off at different streets a block apart. It is $2.50 for a ticket with a transfer and that ticket will get you anywhere the buses or rail runs for the next 24 hours.

There are both a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods with half to 3/4 of a mile. We unpacked and walked to Trader Joe's with our empty carry on suitcases to bring our groceries back to the resort. I think that started the staff's fascination with the crazy couple who left warm Florida to come to Austin in February! After that front desk staff and member services would greet us by name when we came through the lobby and want to chat with us about where we were going or where we'd been. We joked that they must be really bored because there were so few guests for our comings and goings to be so entertaining! The one young man working the front desk made a game of hustling over to open the door before we could when he saw us coming.

Voodoo Donuts - Cash only, no credit cards. Ask if they have any buckets. The buckets are $10 and we got 18 or 19 donuts in ours, about a dozen of those were the more expensive filled donuts and fritters. We paid around $8.50 for four donuts, and two of them were the cheaper donuts, before I read about the buckets online. We took half of the donuts from that bucket downstairs to the front desk. That made us even more popular with the front desk staff!

Moonshine Bar and Grill - The Berkeley House Salad is big enough to share, they even split it for us. DH had the Ranger Cattle Texas Wagyu Meatloaf and I had the Chicken Almondine.  Got to try a sample of the Green Chili Mac and Cheese. All were very good.

Iron Cactus - We got there early enough for Happy Hour. Great margaritas! They asked us if it was our first time eating there and kitchen manager came out with a sample of one of their appetizers, the picadillo purses. He talked to us about the different entrees. DH had the Mexican Meatloaf, a little spicy. The Mexican street corn that came with it is so good you could make a meal of just that. I had the Chile Relleno Rústico and it is stuffed with chicken, sun-dried cranberries, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), pepper jack, toasted pecans, verde sauce, and also comes with Mexican rice and a choice of beans. We both really liked our meals.

Hut's Burgers - Old diner atmosphere. We tried the blue plate special of the day which was okay but really wished we'd ordered a burger when we saw them going by our table! Talked to other people who said the burgers are amazing. On Wednesdays from 6-10pm they have 2 for 1 burgers.

Texas Chili Parlor - I had Freida's Chili Enchiladas. Two cheese enchiladas topped with your choice of chili. I had the black bean, beef and sausage chili which is fairly mild. DH had the same chili with a side of the mac and cheese. I recommend reading reviews to decide if this place is for you. It was crowded, noisy, kind of tacky, and the service wasn't great just like the reviews said. But it was fun, we liked our meals and we'd go back.

Stubb's Bar-B-Q - We shared a three meat combo plate. It was good but not the best barbeque we've had. They have a Sunday Gospel Brunch but you have to make reservations way ahead of time. Waitress said two months if you want to be seated in view of the bands. We wanted to try Franklin's barbeque but never got there. We were told you have to be waiting in line when they open at 11am and even then they might be sold out of some stuff by the time your turn comes.

Whataburger - Their special right now is a burger with mushrooms and swiss cheese, my favorite, and it was the best I've ever had!

The Capitol Grill in the Texas Capitol Building - We both had the large fresh fruit platter with cottage cheese and chicken salad. Nice break from the spicy foods we'd been eating and it was excellent. Prices are reasonable and they also serve breakfast. We toured the Capitol Building while we were there

Bullock Museum of Texas History - We had a nice surprise when we got there. They have free admission on the first Sunday of the month.

Governor's Mansion - You have to arrange your tour at least 2 weeks ahead of time so we didn't get to tour it. Next time!


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## ptprism (Mar 4, 2018)

Thanks for the tips. We are going in April and your info will be a great help since we have never been before.


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