# Anyone have a good experience with Wyndham?



## deslagle (Apr 29, 2017)

Why does Wyndham hassle it's Shell Vacation Club members?
I have been literally attacked and lied to on the phone more than once.
I was told I had to  pay $10,000 to make my Shell Vacation Club points worth using.
In the process they would throw in a few Wyndham properties.  Just another CON.
I did not to buy into Wyndham to use Shell. 

Consequently, I have equity exchanged my shell properties to get away from Wyndham.
The phone calls are constant however and we just ignore them.

On Maui 4-6 years ago,  I went to a sales presentation with Wyndham guaranteed to last NO  longer than 90 minutes.
We said no about 5 different ways and 2 & 1/2 hours later we walked out the door.  We gave up our free enticement gifts just to get out the door.
They had 4 layers of management and we had to say no to each subsequent layer of Management. 
Wyndham did not make sense to me then. Shell Vacation Club worked well and had quality.  I already owned on two Hawaiian islands and did not need to
pay Wyndham high maintenance fees.

But I am out of Shell completely and will never go Wyndham.  The lies never stop with them!

Has anyone had a good experience with Wyndham?

DES


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## bnoble (Apr 29, 2017)

deslagle said:


> Has anyone had a good experience with Wyndham?


You bet. I've enjoyed every single Wyn resort I've stayed at. But, I've never ever been on a sales tour, and I don't answer the phone if I don't recognize the caller ID.


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## ronparise (Apr 29, 2017)

deslagle said:


> Why does Wyndham hassle it's Shell Vacation Club members?
> I have been literally attacked and lied to on the phone more than once.
> I was told I had to  pay $10,000 to make my Shell Vacation Club points worth using.
> In the process they would throw in a few Wyndham properties.  Just another CON.
> ...




Most of us here have had a good overall experience with Wyndham. The only negative is  sales. But even folks that paid full price have figured out how to manage what they own successfully


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## OutSkiing (Apr 29, 2017)

deslagle said:


> Why does Wyndham hassle it's Shell Vacation Club members?
> I have been literally attacked and lied to on the phone more than once.
> I was told I had to  pay $10,000 to make my Shell Vacation Club points worth using.
> In the process they would throw in a few Wyndham properties.  Just another CON.
> ...


I've had plenty of good experiences with Wyndham but their sales updates are what are bad.

One approach is to not accept the parking pass pitch for an update. Takes a lot of saying your too busy you do get out of it.  Then unplug the phone in your room.
My wife for some reason always enjoys talking to the 'nice people' at the updates .. tells me not to be rude to them.  She does know they always twist facts to try to make a sale but still wants to know anything new.

I sit and counter their comments whenever I can .. if they say you'll save program fees if you consolidate contracts .. I come back that its $.57 per thousand no matter what contract.  Helps keep me sharper on my Wyndham knowledge.  If I don't know the true answer I will look it up on my phone while they blabber.  Last time the annoyed sales lady point blank asked me if I was looking up the Wyndham Margaritaville she was boasting about.

I do mention that whenever we need more points we always buy resale.

Our 5 year old comes with us now and that gives plenty of incentive for the salespeople to get rid of us  .. more than once we've had a guy in suit coat sitting and coloring with her.   She spills water / takes things off their shelves and generally runs around.  Last time I instructed her to start acting up when I give the signal at an hour.  She was angelic about 30 minutes and then couldn't hold back any longer .. getting into things began. They ushered us out (with gift card) after about 45 minutes total!

Bob


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## vacationhopeful (Apr 29, 2017)

Wyndham is ALL about sales .... all upper management is from sales. Sales staff makes MORE money percentage wise from selling than from resort management. There is little glamor or ego in resort management. The big parties and FUN excursions are considered sales meetings and training seminars ... not the 11PM to 7AM Front Desk hours or making sure housekeeping does the changeover on time when working 10 days on Fri and Sat (plus Sun at those resorts).

And since the "Universal Agent" has taken over the front desk ... aka "wantabe" Sales Agents ... those staff members now 'can' or 'might' as just have plain access to offer better views, nicer units and/or free upgrades to 'prospects', new buyers or their friends. And most likely, will NOT get fired or wrote up .. but get rewarded and promoted.

As for Shell owners .. it is a cruel new world regarding your sales experience. Just say 'NO' and keep walking away ... you will enjoy your vacation stay way more.


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## scootr5 (Apr 29, 2017)

bnoble said:


> You bet. I've enjoyed every single Wyn resort I've stayed at. But, I've never ever been on a sales tour, and I don't answer the phone if I don't recognize the caller ID.



Ditto this. I've never done and update, and don't ever plan too. My time off is too valuable to me to listen to half truths and outright lies.


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## whitewater (Apr 29, 2017)

*Anyone have a good experience with Wyndham?*

Yes - never goes to sales presentations and buy resale.  Love the resorts and how it helps me plan time off.


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## Sandy VDH (Apr 29, 2017)

Love the product, just avoid Sales like the plague.


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## uscav8r (Apr 29, 2017)

deslagle said:


> Why does Wyndham hassle it's Shell Vacation Club members?
> I have been literally attacked and lied to on the phone more than once.
> I was told I had to  pay $10,000 to make my Shell Vacation Club points worth using.
> In the process they would throw in a few Wyndham properties.  Just another CON.
> ...



Interesting that you thought Wyndham maintenance fees are high. Shell MF are way higher in general!

I've been a Club Wyndham owner for over 12 years and I never recall being called at home for a sales pitch. I know they do happen, but I am also on the Do Not Call registry, if that happens to make a difference. 

In any case, I've had plenty of good experiences with Wyndham, and I haven't yet been to a bad resort. I also have taken the time to learn the product. 

I will venture into the lions den from time to time if the bribe/incentive is large enough, but I always keep them on time and make sure to never buy a thing. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MaryBella7 (Apr 29, 2017)

I love Wyndham other than dealing with sales.  Maybe the reason that the Newport resorts are my favorite is because there is no sales force there!


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## CruiseGuy (Apr 29, 2017)

Generally we like our stays and our units.  The worst part is the check-in experience where they don't want to let up and literally harass you to try to get you to go to a sales presentation (regardless of the name they try to call it).  It puts us both in an evil mood and gets the vacation off to a bad start. I try to be nice but that generally doesn't work because they won't take no for an answer when you're nice about it.  By the third "No" I'm seriously ticked off because I should never have to repeat myself more than once unless you have a hearing problem. We've literally had to yell at them a couple times to get them to leave us alone.  One time a rep went so far as to follow us out of the check-in building and back to the car on our way to our unit.  Another time there were two salesman waiting at my car in the parking garage, leaning on it and smoking which just got me to file a complaint. We also have to make it clear that they better not show up at the unit or they will be cussed out. I've even had agents yell at me that this will count against them, and that *I* need to call Wyndham and be put on the do Do Not Gift list and showed me others with the notation of DNG.  Unfortunately my understanding is that it is a sales determination of who gets set to DNG, and I would request it if they made it an option.  Once we get past that and get to our unit, we unplug the phone and tend to enjoy our stay.


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## happyhopian (Apr 29, 2017)

I'm going to take a pocket size mega phone to the next presentation and at 90 minutes I'm going to start announcing that someone should call the police as I am being held hostage...unfortuneatly they don't invite me anymore anyway


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## CO skier (Apr 30, 2017)

I Love my Club Wyndham and WorldMark by Wyndham experiences.  Ski vacations at less than half the rental rate for comparable accommodations (if I could find a comparable 3 bedroom as a rental),  weekend getaways on Bonus Time, Inventory Specials up to 11 months in advance without using any precious credits, Summer vacations in the mountains away from the hot city.

90% of the time I accept the update (sales) invitation.  I am on a first name basis with the parking pass people at my favorite resort.  $150 in restaurant credits is worth it for me (pre-62 retirement puts a whole new perspective on things versus employment years).

I have collected over $3000 of Wyndham incentives over the years.

On those rare and singular occasions when I am not in the mood for an update, I just collect my card keys and exit out the door without stopping by the parking pass desk.

So, yeah, I would have to say that I definitely have a good experience with Wyndham on my terms.


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## seascapemvy (Apr 30, 2017)

whitewater said:


> *Anyone have a good experience with Wyndham?*
> 
> Yes - never goes to sales presentations and buy resale.  Love the resorts and how it helps me plan time off.


I had a great time at my last sales presentation.  I took control of the conversation telling them of all the wonderful advantages of timeshares.  Why let them lead?  Finally after a while the actually looked up my account info and said I am a resale customer and they cant sell me anything.  Wow, maybe I will be lucky and they will leave me alone in the future.  However if they don't I may do another one for the right price and again take control and talk about what I want and waste their time.


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## seascapemvy (Apr 30, 2017)

lhumes7 said:


> I love Wyndham other than dealing with sales.  Maybe the reason that the Newport resorts are my favorite is because there is no sales force there!


I agree and it does make our yearly trip to Newport better than our Winter weekend trip to Atlantic City's Wyndham Skyline Tower.


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## frankf3 (Apr 30, 2017)

We love the Wyndham resorts, have truly enjoyed each of our stays and always look forward to our next trip.

I find the parking pass game frustrating, especially if we've just driven hours to arrive at the resort and would prefer a fast efficient check in process so that we could just go to our unit and get settled.  At times I find all of the lying from the sign up process to the sales meeting disguised as an update (that rarely contains any useful information at all) to be irritating.  But when we do agree to go to an "update", we're doing so with eyes open for the incentive and to see if we might see or learn something.  With the right attitude, I find the bs sort of amusing.


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## cayman01 (Apr 30, 2017)

Went to Edisto Beach last week. Was given probably the last unit NOT renovated since about 1957. Cobwebs in bedroom. Bugs. Dirty carpet and chairs that FARTED when you sat in them. To top it off, wife got talked into update while I was checking in. Complained NICELY the next day at sales presentation and got moved from Sea Palms loft to King Cotton Villas. Wyndham was extremely nice and apologetic about the whole thing. Sales guy was a newbie and i taught him a couple things. This was NOT the typical Wyndham sales group. Maybe it came with the territory (quiet beach town). They even gave us our gift BEFORE the presentation. I think the rest of Wyndham could take a few cues from these guys.


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## markb53 (May 1, 2017)

cayman01 said:


> Went to Edisto Beach last week. Was given probably the last unit NOT renovated since about 1957. Cobwebs in bedroom. Bugs. Dirty carpet and chairs that FARTED when you sat in them. To top it off, wife got talked into update while I was checking in. Complained NICELY the next day at sales presentation and got moved from Sea Palms loft to King Cotton Villas. Wyndham was extremely nice and apologetic about the whole thing. Sales guy was a newbie and i taught him a couple things. This was NOT the typical Wyndham sales group. Maybe it came with the territory (quiet beach town). They even gave us our gift BEFORE the presentation. I think the rest of Wyndham could take a few cues from these guys.



I had a good experience with an update at Edisto also. Got my gift card when I agreed to go. They guaranteed it would only be 30 min. The update started with group session that lasted about 25 min. The salesman sitting at the table with my wife and I, asked a few questions about how we use out ownership. That took about 5 min, then he looked at his watch and said. "Unless you have any questions of me you're fee to go"


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## ronparise (May 1, 2017)

cayman01 said:


> I think the rest of Wyndham could take a few cues from these guys.



If the sales at Edisto are better than at the other resorts then the rest of Wyndham will take notice 

If sales at edisto are below average, they will have to learn from the others


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## bnoble (May 1, 2017)

...where better is defined as "higher sales volume."


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## BoBird1314 (Jun 29, 2017)

uscav8r said:


> Interesting that you thought Wyndham maintenance fees are high. Shell MF are way higher in general!
> 
> My experience is to the contrary. For example, SVC's Paniolo Greens resort has the lowest maintenance fees for any two bedroom resort in Hawaii the last time I checked and are several hundred dollars below the lowest Wyndham resort on the Big Island. Part of the reason for that is that it is 1,000 feet up the volcano, which cuts down on maintenance costs. Part of that may also be due to the fact that so many units at the resort are privately owned that they control the board of directors and have an incentive to keep the maintenance fees as low as possible while keeping the value of the resort up. That resort was just refurbished with no special assessments. The one resort that I am aware of that is both a Wyndham and a SVC resort is Mauna Loa Village just south of Kona on the Big Island. The current Wyndham maintenance fees for a week of usage at that resort are close to $1,800. For the level of SVC points attached to that cost you get either 9 or 10 days of usage, depending upon if you go in the Gold or Platinum season. In addition, every time I have checked, the SVC portion of the resort had a higher trading status than the Wyndham portion of the resort. SVC just refurbished their units at the resort, while Wyndham last refurbished a number of years ago.


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## 55plus (Jun 29, 2017)

Yes, in my Wyndham stock investment. 
No, as a Wyndham timeshare owner.


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## hjsweet2002 (Jun 29, 2017)

deslagle said:


> Why does Wyndham hassle it's Shell Vacation Club members?
> I have been literally attacked and lied to on the phone more than once.
> I was told I had to  pay $10,000 to make my Shell Vacation Club points worth using.
> In the process they would throw in a few Wyndham properties.  Just another CON.
> ...


We love our Wyndham Vacations.  We have been places that under normal situations we would have never visited.  We usually do 3 week long vacations and 2 4-5 day vacations.  We have enjoyed family members visiting with us and letting them use them.  The biggest negative is sales which really is a different aspect of Wyndham.  We avoid them any way we can; we even unplug our phones so they can't call us.  We difference our resorts from sales.


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## 55plus (Jun 29, 2017)

So in other words, you like the resorts (physical locations), but not Wyndham corporate (sales weasels)?


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## uscav8r (Jun 29, 2017)

BoBird1314 said:


> My experience is to the contrary. For example, SVC's Paniolo Greens resort has the lowest maintenance fees for any two bedroom resort in Hawaii the last time I checked and are several hundred dollars below the lowest Wyndham resort on the Big Island. Part of the reason for that is that it is 1,000 feet up the volcano, which cuts down on maintenance costs. Part of that may also be due to the fact that so many units at the resort are privately owned that they control the board of directors and have an incentive to keep the maintenance fees as low as possible while keeping the value of the resort up. That resort was just refurbished with no special assessments. The one resort that I am aware of that is both a Wyndham and a SVC resort is Mauna Loa Village just south of Kona on the Big Island. The current Wyndham maintenance fees for a week of usage at that resort are close to $1,800. For the level of SVC points attached to that cost you get either 9 or 10 days of usage, depending upon if you go in the Gold or Platinum season. In addition, every time I have checked, the SVC portion of the resort had a higher trading status than the Wyndham portion of the resort. SVC just refurbished their units at the resort, while Wyndham last refurbished a number of years ago.


You assume that one must own in Hawaii to vacation in Hawaii. In your example of Mauna Loa Village, a week of usage in SVC is roughly $1200-1400. A Club Wyndham 2BR is 203k points in Prime Season. If someone owns a low-MF Wyndham resort, say National Harbor, this 2BR would be $914. If someone owns CWA (a proxy for "average" MF), the rate would be about $1240.

So in these cases, Wyndham is on par _or better than_ SVC in terms of MF. I care very little about trading power, especially as SVC trades in II and Wyndham is in RCI. If I want to trade in II, I will use my WorldMark points, and those MF are _BY FAR_ much cheaper than Wyndham or SVC.


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## uscav8r (Jun 29, 2017)

55plus said:


> Yes, in my Wyndham stock investment.
> No, as a Wyndham timeshare owner.


I have never had a bad experience at a Wyndham resort. And up until 2 months ago, I had no problems with the website experience. The new website has changed all that, however. I never give the sales agents a second thought.


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## 55plus (Jun 29, 2017)

uscav8r said:


> I have never had a bad experience at a Wyndham resort. And up until 2 months ago, I had no problems with the website experience. The new website has changed all that, however. I never give the sales agents a second thought.


Let me be more specific. The resorts are great and the resort employees are awesome except the sales weasels. I don't like being lied to and they are pros at lying. The stock has been very profitable. Unfortunately it's been at the expense of the owners.


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## Pietin (Jun 29, 2017)

Overall we have had great experiences at the resorts, only two bad experiences, one was corrected immediately, the took a call to owner care as the resort manager just wasn't interested in our issues.  Owner care not only called the resort and corrected it they credit our points.  

We had an issue with accounting that lasted almost 6 months, again until we got a hold so someone in owner care, with some authority , who help correct the issue.

Now as for the sales department, as everyone else has said, they sucks, but we always have the last laugh because all our points are resale.


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## Rob Bonner (Jul 24, 2018)

Has anyone been successful at getting on the famed DNG (Do Not Gift) list?  We were told about this at a meeting when we were close to buying more points.  Came to our senses the next day though.

We usually just smile and say no at checkin, over and over until they are board with us, or say we have to check with our bankruptcy attorney first.   And unplugging the phone so there are no 'Just checking on you' calls during our stay.


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## wjappraise (Jul 24, 2018)

Rob Bonner said:


> Has anyone been successful at getting on the famed DNG (Do Not Gift) list?  We were told about this at a meeting when we were close to buying more points.  Came to our senses the next day though.
> 
> We usually just smile and say no at checkin, over and over until they are board with us, or say we have to check with our bankruptcy attorney first.   And unplugging the phone so there are no 'Just checking on you' calls during our stay.



I’m on that list.  Been on it since I purchased more developer points at Myrtle Beach, then rescinded when promised perks weren’t spelled out in contract (promised to apply VIP benefits to my resale contracts).  

Haven’t had to sit through one since.


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## Crafty71 (Jul 25, 2018)

uscav8r said:


> I have never had a bad experience at a Wyndham resort.


THIS ^^^^...!!

We love our home resort (Smugglers Notch Resort). We have been multiple times this year. As for the sales updates, I spoke to a long-time Smuggs employee who said that the owners of the resort have told Wyndham to "dial it back" several notches on the lies and half-truths and certainly as a long-time owner, I have seen a difference. We rarely do the updates (because we are too busy having fun) but if we have time (or the weather does not cooperate), then we will do one.

I also recently found out that for shorter stays (3 nights or less), they usually offer 2X the gift. Now that I know that, I think I will hold out for more before agreeing to another update.

Cheers!


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## James Pegram (Jul 25, 2018)

Yep, avoid sales at all cost. It's the number one thing I hate about this. You are not required to do anything at a resort except check-in and check-out and if I have to make the gauntlet run through the vultures I tell them no once, if they ask again they get the obligatory if you ask me again we're going to have a serious problem. I'm sure I'm like most on here, I've become jaded to their feelings. Most places respect the ask once policy and politely move on with the process but some of them, I'd rather swim with a pack of hungry sharks.


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## James Pegram (Jul 25, 2018)

wjappraise said:


> I’m on that list.  Been on it since I purchased more developer points at Myrtle Beach, then rescinded when promised perks weren’t spelled out in contract (promised to apply VIP benefits to my resale contracts).
> 
> Haven’t had to sit through one since.


Never heard of this, if anyone is on that list I am. I have no inhibitions about going toe to toe with the vultures. I had one ask me once what could they do to get me to do an update. I told him buy the damn thing back. That shut him down real quick like. 

I did notice this past march that Ocean Blvd in Myrtle Beach must be sold out as there's really no sales center there anymore. We go for the marathon every year and it's always a pain to check-in. This time, it was super easy and quick. Here's your keys, parking pass, etc. It was actually nice being on the resort grounds and not having to avoid the vultures pecking on their prey for once.. lol


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## bendadin (Jul 25, 2018)

wjappraise said:


> I’m on that list.  Been on it since I purchased more developer points at Myrtle Beach, then rescinded when promised perks weren’t spelled out in contract (promised to apply VIP benefits to my resale contracts).
> 
> Haven’t had to sit through one since.



Does rescinding do it??


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## skotrla (Jul 25, 2018)

bendadin said:


> Does rescinding do it??



How about "Oh, I didn't know I was still eligible for that - after I rescinded the second time, the last resort told me I wouldn't be offered any more gifts?"  I suspect most sales people would run away at a statement like that and not bother checking whether or not it's true.

Or maybe "Are people in bankruptcy eligible?"

-Scott


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## shorts (Jul 26, 2018)

Rescinding doesn’t get you put on a no sales tour list. And the parking pass people don’t really care whether you are qualified to buy or not (bankruptcy, or whatever excuse) because they get paid to get you TO the presentation. It doesn’t matter to them if you buy or not, only that you attend. Now the salesperson is a different story and may be why some of them get frustrated when they get people who obviously had no interest in buying or even listening with an open mind but was obviously really pressured to attend.


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