# Wyndham continues to devalue Shell Vacations club



## Rjbeach2003 (Dec 5, 2018)

When we bought Shell in 2010 it was independent.  Since Wyndham purchased Shell a couple of years later, changes began to come.
The most significant to me was the policy for renting points.  59 days out you could rent points at various degrees of discount to use in lieu of using owned points. 
This proved valuable for vacations planned late.  You could also rent points 15 days or less at a 40% discount.  That is still in effect until December 31, 2018.
We were just informed that that will disappear as well.  Wyndham decided it wasn't making enough money.  They want those units to be rented through Expedia, Hotels or directly and make more money.

I am sure they will find other ways to devalue the points we own.  They somehow think that will convince me to buy more points.

Not gonna happen, as GHWB used to say.  Or maybe it was Dana Carvey.


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## bizaro86 (Dec 5, 2018)

That's a bummer. I've used that a few times.


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## TheHolleys87 (Dec 5, 2018)

I'm disappointed to learn that as well.  We used it only once, but I was contemplating future possibilities.  And not knowing yet which "Demand Season" the RCI resorts I'd like to swap to will fall in makes it impossible to sketch out anything other than future trips to our home club in Hawaii.


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## JohnPaul (Dec 5, 2018)

I'm not surprised they weren't happy I could rent a weekday hotel room at Inn at the Opera for $30.


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## breezez (Dec 5, 2018)

Wyndham seems to devalue most things they run.

I own WM and it’s been a slow slide down the Wyndham rabbit hole of lost value, flexibility and added fees for stuff that used to be free.

The only positive thing I’ll say is I seem to have better availability of Wyndham Club Select Resorts now as a Club Wyndham Owner.


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## raygo123 (Dec 7, 2018)

I always thought Wyndham took it over because it was on the verge of collapse

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## kpeiper (Dec 7, 2018)

Wyndham hasn’t done anything to enhance the program. They are reducing service and benefits to the lowest common denominator.  The MF remain at a premium level while the program declines.  They are missing the opportunity to develop Shell as a premium tier system - as our fees would imply.


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## 55plus (Dec 7, 2018)

Welcome to Wyndham.


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## breezez (Dec 7, 2018)

kpeiper said:


> Wyndham hasn’t done anything to enhance the program. They are reducing service and benefits to the lowest common denominator.  The MF remain at a premium level while the program declines.  They are missing the opportunity to develop Shell as a premium tier system - as our fees would imply.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It’s the Wyndham way,  but if you buy 1,000,000 points in Wyndham it will solve your value problem.   And you can pic those shell points for more Wyndham points.


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## JohnPaul (Dec 9, 2018)

raygo123 said:


> I always thought Wyndham took it over because it was on the verge of collapse
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk



That's what a salesperson tried to tell me once, but I think Wyndham really wanted their San Francisco, Napa and Hawaii locations.


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## 55plus (Dec 10, 2018)

JohnPaul said:


> That's what a salesperson tried to tell me once, but I think Wyndham really wanted their San Francisco, Napa and Hawaii locations.


It's location, location, location.


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## raygo123 (Dec 10, 2018)

JohnPaul said:


> That's what a salesperson tried to tell me once, but I think Wyndham really wanted their San Francisco, Napa and Hawaii locations.


At the time why didn't the owners pick a different management company if no one wanted them?

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## harveyhaddixfan (Dec 10, 2018)

kpeiper said:


> Wyndham hasn’t done anything to enhance the program. They are reducing service and benefits to the lowest common denominator.  The MF remain at a premium level while the program declines.  They are missing the opportunity to develop Shell as a premium tier system - as our fees would imply.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



This sounds like what’s going on with my Beachwoods unit since Diamond took over. What was $625 about 6-7 years ago is now $1150. I figured it up and $281 per week is for management fees and corporate allocation. And there’s nothing we can do about it because they own more than half the weeks. I’ll likely look into giving it away or giving it back to Diamond.


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## bogey21 (Dec 11, 2018)

breezez said:


> Wyndham seems to devalue most things they run.



Wyndham is not the only one.  It appears to me that they all do it one way of the other...

George


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## ronparise (Dec 11, 2018)

raygo123 said:


> At the time why didn't the owners pick a different management company if no one wanted them?
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk


the owners didnt really have a say, or a vote

as with most timeshare systems there three separate components 1) the developer 2) the manager and 3) the owners. 
Wyndham bought a company called Trendwest that was the Worldmark developer and I believe they bought the management contract. The owners are not really owners, except in the sense that they own use rights. They are members of a club, and the club owns the condos. There is a board of directors that could vote for s new manager, but the board has always been controlled by the developer. and has always voted to extend the management contract


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## 55plus (Dec 11, 2018)

Can you say, conflict of interest!


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## raygo123 (Dec 11, 2018)

ronparise said:


> the owners didnt really have a say, or a vote
> 
> as with most timeshare systems there three separate components 1) the developer 2) the manager and 3) the owners.
> Wyndham bought a company called Trendwest that was the Worldmark developer and I believe they bought the management contract. The owners are not really owners, except in the sense that they own use rights. They are members of a club, and the club owns the condos. There is a board of directors that could vote for s new manager, but the board has always been controlled by the developer. and has always voted to extend the management contract


So your saying the same holds true for Shell?

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## JohnPaul (Dec 11, 2018)

Yes   Wyndham bought the developer and management contract for Shell.   The property is owned via trust or similar by the owners


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## SeeMe (Feb 2, 2019)

JohnPaul said:


> Yes   Wyndham bought the developer and management contract for Shell.   The property is owned via trust or similar by the owners


It seems that Shell continues to decline all the while padding the pockets of Wyndham.  I’ve been told in sales prsentations,  that Shell was aquired by Wyndham because Wyndhan wanted it as their boutique division as they had some prime resorts, i.e., those in SF, The Vino Bello in Napa, the Kauai Coast @ the Beachboy in Kapaa, the Kona Coast Resort in Lailua-Kona etc.  i was also told it was sold due to it’s fnancial condition.  I’m really not sure if we will ever learn the whole truth as it is most likely due to a number of factors.
Once the sale was completed we were offered access to all of Wyndham’s inventory for aone time fee of only $10,000.....a one time offer it was said to be.  We said “No Thanks”.
Now the lastest, effective New Years Day.....Shell’s trading company is no longer Interval International but RCI, also owned by Wyndham.  So if they can’t get the money upfront they use the back door, the trading fees.  Another money grab at the expense of the owners.  And to add insult to injury, we were all Gold members with II, saving a few bucks on some really quality get-a-ways with the Westins and Marriotts etc. and also getting some great trades and now we have the Vanilla membership with RCI, that is unless we buy a whole boatload of points from Wyndham to become the Elite members or upgrade our membership at our expense. A fee I might add that goes to the pockets of WYNDHAM.  So much for caring about its members.
I just wonder what surprise the have next for use Shell owners.


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## kaljor (Feb 3, 2019)

Is a Shell ownership owned in perpetuity like the Wyndham ownership?  Is there a program for Shell owners like the Ovation program for Wyndham owners that lets you give back a paid for timeshare?


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## raygo123 (Feb 3, 2019)

SeeMe said:


> It seems that Shell continues to decline all the while padding the pockets of Wyndham.  I’ve been told in sales prsentations,  that Shell was aquired by Wyndham because Wyndhan wanted it as their boutique division as they had some prime resorts, i.e., those in SF, The Vino Bello in Napa, the Kauai Coast @ the Beachboy in Kapaa, the Kona Coast Resort in Lailua-Kona etc.  i was also told it was sold due to it’s fnancial condition.  I’m really not sure if we will ever learn the whole truth as it is most likely due to a number of factors.
> Once the sale was completed we were offered access to all of Wyndham’s inventory for aone time fee of only $10,000.....a one time offer it was said to be.  We said “No Thanks”.
> Now the lastest, effective New Years Day.....Shell’s trading company is no longer Interval International but RCI, also owned by Wyndham.  So if they can’t get the money upfront they use the back door, the trading fees.  Another money grab at the expense of the owners.  And to add insult to injury, we were all Gold members with II, saving a few bucks on some really quality get-a-ways with the Westins and Marriotts etc. and also getting some great trades and now we have the Vanilla membership with RCI, that is unless we buy a whole boatload of points from Wyndham to become the Elite members or upgrade our membership at our expense. A fee I might add that goes to the pockets of WYNDHAM.  So much for caring about its members.
> I just wonder what surprise the have next for use Shell owners.


The consolidation of timeshare systems has been going on for some time now.  Diamond, Marriott etc.  It has to be thought of as a distribution systems.  Boise Cascade is the perfect example of Wyndham.  Started as a paper company then retail office supplies, then a wholesaler.  Then United Stationers came along, think of that as II.  Customers thought why should I buy off if someone who is my competition?  The product is different but in the end people or boxes you just don't need trucks!

So, the customers started to consolidate.  Office Depot, Staples American offece products etc.  Each aligned with different bwholesalers and their own distribution systems.  Sound familiar?

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## raygo123 (Feb 3, 2019)

raygo123 said:


> The consolidation of timeshare systems has been going on for some time now.  Diamond, Marriott etc.  It has to be thought of as a distribution systems.  Boise Cascade is the perfect example of Wyndham.  Started as a paper company then retail office supplies, then a wholesaler.  Then United Stationers came along, think of that as II.  Customers thought why should I buy off if someone who is my competition?  The product is different but in the end people or boxes you just don't need trucks!
> 
> So, the customers started to consolidate.  Office Depot, Staples American offece products etc.  Each aligned with different bwholesalers and their own distribution systems.  Sound familiar?
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk


Would you rather be a small independent resort or small group
of resorts today?  The $ amount is curious, unless there are no fees like we have to go to Worldmark.  So you could turn into another Margaritaville!

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## raygo123 (Feb 3, 2019)

raygo123 said:


> The consolidation of timeshare systems has been going on for some time now.  Diamond, Marriott etc.  It has to be thought of as a distribution systems.  Boise Cascade is the perfect example of Wyndham.  Started as a paper company then retail office supplies, then a wholesaler.  Then United Stationers came along, think of that as II.  Customers thought why should I buy off if someone who is my competition?  The product is different but in the end people or boxes you just don't need trucks!
> 
> So, the customers started to consolidate.  Office Depot, Staples American offece products etc.  Each aligned with different bwholesalers and their own distribution systems.  Sound familiar?
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk


T dot Traveller, you know holiday systems.

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## bnoble (Feb 3, 2019)

SeeMe said:


> I’ve been told in sales prsentations


Anything you were told is almost certainly not true, especially if it in some way might make you more likely to buy something.


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## JohnPaul (Feb 3, 2019)

FWIW.  I am still able to get the dash away deals discount on new near term bookings.   

Supposedly that was going away 12/31/18.


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## SeeMe (Feb 4, 2019)

Actually many things I have heard in presentations are true and many things are not, afterall it is a sales presentation and I have met both honest salespeople and dishonest as well.  Sometimes what seem to be dishonesty is simply ignorance and other times is it simply not the truth.  I would not want to label all Timeshare sales people as deceitful. 
I have made 7 Timeshare purchases, 2 from developers and 5 on the aftermarket and have never regretted a purchases.  It really depends on your needs.  A developer purchase is the right way to go when you always need a time that is in High Demand Periods.  It is certainly worth the expense when you are able to look back years later and say “Wow, those were great times.  Glad we paid the premium to get those weeks.” ( you just have to remember a timeshare is a luxury so if you can’t pay cash, you can’t affort it.)
I just hate it, not when the monetary value of the timeshare decreases but when elements are taken away or changed.


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## bnoble (Feb 4, 2019)

SeeMe said:


> A developer purchase is the right way to go when you always need a time that is in High Demand Periods.


This is almost certainly not true for most timeshare systems. I know for a fact it is not true in Wyndham for in-club resorts. Points spend the same way in those resorts no matter how you got them.


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## Jan M. (Feb 4, 2019)

bnoble said:


> This is almost certainly not true for most timeshare systems. I know for a fact it is not true in Wyndham for in-club resorts. Points spend the same way in those resorts no matter how you got them.



You are correct and it wouldn't be true for fixed weeks either. The only two advantages with developer purchases that I know of are if the developer gives day use privileges at the resort that you wouldn't get with a resale purchase or if your intention is to accumulate enough points to reach VIP status.


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## raygo123 (Feb 5, 2019)

raygo123 said:


> T dot Traveller, you know holiday systems.
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk


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## raygo123 (Feb 5, 2019)

raygo123 said:


> If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view.
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> 
> 
> ...


This is SFX.  Note the reference to Diamond.

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