# Believe it or not - I went to a Wyndham Sales Presentation



## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

We just returned from Kauai Beach Villas, and at check-in we discovered that currently, the only way to (legally) use the _hotel_ swimming pool on the same property is to attend a sales presentation and receive "golden" arm bands.  Yes - it really is gold!  We also receive a $100 AMEX gift card.





I have to admit, I was also curious to see what the Wyndham sales presentations sounded like these days.

-The "concierge" at the KBV office told us the "owner's update" would only be 45 min.
-On the form we had to sign for the presentation, she wrote 60 min.
-The presentation was actually 90 min.

The presentation was at the Bali Hai resort in Princeville, which is lovely, but it's in-land and it "feels" like a densely populated condo property - not a Hawaii resort.

Some amusing highlights:

We presented ourselves as low income retirees who didn't know much about timesharing and stated upfront that we were there to sell back some of our timeshares to Wyndham, because we were struggling to pay the MF's since retiring.  We repeated this half a dozen times, and asked each new sales person if Wyndham would buy them back.  I didn't admit that I knew anything about timeshares.

We saw 3 people:

-Our sales person - probably newish on the job.
-Her supervisor - had been in the business for years - had a lot of forced "Rah Rah" including awkward touching, high fiving, and loud exclamations of "BOOM!" after he made a point.
-The closer - an elderly lady who offered us a trial pkg. and lead us to the gift desk in 10 min.  She also gave kind advice about how to rent our timeshares to cover our maintenance fees.

First there was a rather long presentation about the close relationship between Wyndham and Pahio and how the original developer carefully hand picked Wyndham to hand his precious resorts over to.

Then there was a rather confusing review of all the Wyndham benefits.  Even as someone who is familier with timeshares, this was confusing to me, and I'm not sure if the sales person was just not very good, or if they were trying to baffle us with BS.

Then her supervisor came in with copies of our deed info and stated that only 6 of our 7 weeks were eligible for Wyndham, because we only bought 6 of the 7 deeds directly from Pahio.  (Actually, we bought all of them on the resale market for pennies on the dollar, or free.)

He also congratulated us with great (fake) enthusiasm for owning timeshares worth over $400K.  (While at the same time stating that they had absolutely no interest in buying back any of our valuable weeks!  Which we knew, of course.)  With great joy he informed us that this qualified us for the highest elite status with Wyndham, which every Wyndham owner coveted, and gushed about our good fortune.

I didn't write numbers down, but to convert all 6 deeds to [Wyndham] points they wanted us to buy a Bali Hai deed for about $22K.  They told us this was an extra special deal available on a foreclosure, that only was available that day and not to tell anyone.  Plus a conversion fee of about $1,500 per week.  (And I think there was one other fee?)

They *GUARANTEED* that -

-We would have the exact same ability to make home resort reservations at KBV at 16 mos. (not true)
-We would *always* have first choice of RCI exchanges before other RCI members.
-We would *always* be able to make Wyndham reservations for 50% of the required points.
-We would *always* be upgraded.

I actually reviewed these promises with them (knowing they were untrue) to see if they would double down on them, and they did.

After we clearly stated that we couldn't afford to take on anything else, and actually wanted to down-size, they briefly offered us a much smaller pkg., and then a trial pkg., which we also refused.

Overall, as presentations go, it wasn't bad.  They were not rude or unprofessional, although, they lied, of course.


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## dagger1 (Aug 7, 2017)

Thank you!  And great job!!


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## Passepartout (Aug 7, 2017)

You deserve an Oscar! It sounded like you had fun, got the arm bands and made a hundred bux!


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## tschwa2 (Aug 7, 2017)

So the next time you go you need to make it known from the Get go that you are a moderator on TUG, very familiar with timeshares, plan to document the sales presentation experience on TUG and see how the experience changes.


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 7, 2017)

Be sure to keep this thread bookmarked ... you now have a 'sales profile' in the "great prospects for SALES" database ...and you will be quiz for all future trips to your Hawaii getaway.

And practice getting poorer each year ... dead car, dead a/c, dead alarm system (now afraid to leave home) ... and some year, maybe even play the "invalid husband" card and NEXT year, he plays the "sick wife" card.... but he got better.


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## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

I dont think we will go back - I was kind of entertained by the whole thing, but DH despises sales presentations!  We carefully preserved the armbands to use next time.


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## silentg (Aug 7, 2017)

Ok Denise, Nice job, but you said they lied. So you lied a bit too, but in a good way. Sounds like they ignored your question of buy back. Glad you got to keep the golden bands


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## pedro47 (Aug 7, 2017)

Great job, I agree you deserve an Oscar. I just cannot deal with all the lies anymore.


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## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

> Ok Denise, Nice job, but you said they lied. *So you lied a bit too*, but in a good way. Sounds like they ignored your question of buy back.



I actually didn't lie - if they would have taken them back, I would have sold them the 3 one bedrooms.  I retired 3 years ago, and my income decreased, and my DH is getting ready to retire very soon, and his income will decrease.  They didn't avoid my question about buying back - they clearly stated that they would not, but of course, they had a much better option for me!


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 7, 2017)

I think we should have an "ARM BAND EXCHANGE" thread .... or RENT your "ARM BAND"  thread.

Wyndham will change colors regularly.


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## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

Wyndham may not change colors regularly in this case, because the hotel has a different color armband every day of the week - 7 colors.  So in this case, they may stick with gold - We'll see.


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## 55plus (Aug 7, 2017)

Sales weasel can lie with impunity because of the clause in the purchase contract that basically states anything said during the sales presentation/process is moot and does not apply. Only the terms and conditions written in the contract apply. Therefore they can lie, lie and lie. And they do, do and do. Everything they say is dodo. . .


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## staceyeileen (Aug 7, 2017)

Wait, what?  They make you attend a sales presentation to use the pool?!


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## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

The timeshare and _hotel_ are separate facilities on the same property.  They were once affiliated, but no more.  To use the fancier _hotel_ pool, you have to have an armband.  No limitations to use the timeshare pool.

In the past, they had a reciprocal arrangement:  Condo-Hotel guests could use the TS tennis courts, and timeshare guests could use the Condo-Hotel pools.

Then, about 2 years ago, they started charging TS guests $20 per day.

Then, when Wyndham lost the TS management contract Jan. 1, the Condo-Hotel HOA immediately cancelled access for TS guests all together - unless you attended a Wyndham sales presentation.

I suspect that since Wyndham is now buying armbands from the Condo-Hotel for their sales promo, that part of the agreement states that the Condo-Hotel won't provide access to the new management company, Grand Pacific.

The condo-hotel is an all suite property, and some of the units have full time owners, and some are rented with Aqua as the management company.  I was told by the TS manager, that the HOA calls the shots at the Condo-Hotel property.

Wyndham and Grand Pacific are struggling for control of the TS's, because Wyndham owns part of the physical facility, and also some of the units are converted to Wyndham points, and Wyndham wants to get the Mgmt. contract back.


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## geist1223 (Aug 7, 2017)

Thanks. Sorry you had to take the 30 minute drive. Two years ago we attended the Wyndham Sales Pitch at Bali Hai. We got out in less than 45 minutes. My oldest son and DIL were with us. We only went so they could get discounts on 3 activities. Of course the $150 Amex helped. The first person knew nothing. After about 20 minutes her Supervisor joined us and he knew only a bit more. We got out so quickly because the day before one of the older Salesmen had a major heart attacked and died on the Salesroom Floor. The Salesroom Staff was a bit depressed. Sorry for his Family. Happy about the short period of time.

We actually like staying there for easy access to the North of the Island. We usually spend 2 to 3 weeks on Kauai. We split the stay between Princeville and then the Koloa/Poipu area. When we stay up north we do Kapa'a to Ke'e Beach. Then when we stay in the Koloa/Poipu area we do Lihue to Waimea.


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## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

One thing I learned is that the activity prices that they offer are not any lower (or just a few dollars lower) than the prices that I can book for myself online.

We like the north shore as well, but we don't want to stay at an in-land resort with no ocean views. That's #1 on our list for Hawaii timeshares - which is why we bought ocean front at KBV.

*Our View (note - furniture has been upgraded since this photo was taken)



 

 

 

Hotel pools:



 *


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 7, 2017)

The last Wyndham presentation we attended, the salesperson said Platinum members get unlimited free guest certificates.  I was immediately annoyed with the lack of information (or truth!).


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## taffy19 (Aug 7, 2017)

Hotel pool looks nice but do you have a picture of the KBV's pool?


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## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

It's been recently renovated, but it's small.  You can't see it in this shot, but there is a shaded area (like a patio), a new bar-b-que area with nice bar-b-ques, counter, and sink, and a lower deck with lounges and umbrellas, as well.


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## pedro47 (Aug 7, 2017)

DeniseM your photos are awesome!!!  Thanks for sharing.


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## taffy19 (Aug 7, 2017)

Thank you, Denise.


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## ronparise (Aug 7, 2017)

I bet wyndham will take back your deeds through their ovation program

I got a similar story when I converted my  Pahio deeds to points. Actually I didnt own any Pahio deeds, I bought some to take advantage of the deal.   Some of what I bought qualified to be converted and some didnt, It seems that deeds originally sold by Pahio (whether I purchased them from Pahio or not) qualified, but deeds originally sold by  wyndham would not qualify if I had bought them on the secondary market.   And like you the ones that qualified would make me VIP. (its the Platinum VIP status that would give you the 50% discount they offered.  Of course since you cant cancel and rebook for a discount anymore, you wont get the discount every time like they  said. 

I did the deal.   I had to buy one small new contract for each group of three deeds I wanted to convert, plus $89/deed. so I spent about $25000 to convert 6 deeds  You would have spent $31000.. So not that much different. Except that my deal gave me a Platinum VIP account when Platinum VIP was worth something

For those of you that still want a VIP account on the cheap, Denise just gave you the road forward.


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## slip (Aug 7, 2017)

I'm just shocked that they didn't want your $400,000 in timeshares.

Good story and you gotta love those views. We're like you, we have to see that ocean. We like Princeville but we go up the a couple of times while we're there and that's enough. 

We have a trip to New Orleans in a couple weeks, hope it dries out. Then Kauai in May, which has turned into our favorite time to go.


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## ronparise (Aug 7, 2017)

slip said:


> I'm just shocked that they didn't want your $400,000 in timeshares.
> 
> Good story and you gotta love those views. We're like you, we have to see that ocean. We like Princeville but we go up the a couple of times while we're there and that's enough.
> 
> We have a trip to New Orleans in a couple weeks, hope it dries out. Then Kauai in May, which has turned into our favorite time to go.


Given all that rain, you may see the ocean from your room in New orleans


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## slip (Aug 7, 2017)

I've been watching. Eleven days to dry out, we'll see.


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## Braindead (Aug 7, 2017)

ronparise said:


> Some of what I bought qualified to be converted and some didnt, It seems that deeds originally sold by Pahio (whether I purchased them from Pahio or not) qualified, but deeds originally sold by  wyndham would not qualify if I had bought them on the secondary market.   And like you the ones that qualified would make me VIP. (its the Platinum VIP status that would give you the 50% discount they offered.  Of course since you cant cancel and rebook for a discount anymore, you wont get the discount every time like they  said.
> 
> I did the deal.   I had to buy one small new contract for each group of three deeds I wanted to convert, plus $89/deed. so I spent about $25000 to convert 6 deeds  You would have spent $31000.. So not that much different. Except that my deal gave me a Platinum VIP account when Platinum VIP was worth something
> 
> For those of you that still want a VIP account on the cheap, Denise just gave you the road forward.


Can you still buy Pahio week deeds resale and convert them to points? I thought that stopped a few months ago unless you purchased the weeks before the change.


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## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

Yes - that is exactly what I was talking about in post #1.


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## Braindead (Aug 7, 2017)

DeniseM said:


> Yes - that is exactly what I was talking about in post #1.


Did you buy your weeks before February ?  I'm talking if you bought resale weeks today can it still be done ?
I called Bali Hai sales office in January and tried to buy weeks to convert. I was told they could no longer do it.


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## DeniseM (Aug 7, 2017)

Yes - I bought them in the past.  [Sorry - I misunderstood your original question.]  I have no idea what the rules are now.


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## WinniWoman (Aug 8, 2017)

taffy19 said:


> Hotel pool looks nice but do you have a picture of the KBV's pool?



Who needs a pool in Hawaii when you have the ocean and all those beautiful beaches? When we were in Hawaii we never swam in a pool.


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## ronparise (Aug 8, 2017)

Braindead said:


> Did you buy your weeks before February ?  I'm talking if you bought resale weeks today can it still be done ?
> I called Bali Hai sales office in January and tried to buy weeks to convert. I was told they could no longer do it.



You can't buy weeks from the sales office.


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## VegasBella (Aug 8, 2017)

mpumilia said:


> Who needs a pool in Hawaii when you have the ocean and all those beautiful beaches? When we were in Hawaii we never swam in a pool.



We swam in a pool once on our recent 10 day trip to Hawaii. The pool was exciting for our kiddo because this particular pool had cool colored lights at night that made the pool water change colors. He loved it. 

Mostly I felt like the pool is for people who are nervous about the ocean or who don't like sand/rocks or when the surf is rougher than is safe. Or when you want to visit the pool side bar while sunbathing/swimming. Or night swimming. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Luanne (Aug 8, 2017)

VegasBella said:


> We swam in a pool once on our recent 10 day trip to Hawaii. The pool was exciting for our kiddo because this particular pool had cool colored lights at night that made the pool water change colors. He loved it.
> 
> Mostly I felt like the pool is for people who are nervous about the ocean or who don't like sand/rocks or when the surf is rougher than is safe. Or when you want to visit the pool side bar while sunbathing/swimming. Or night swimming.
> 
> ...


When our kids were small we always used the pool, in addition to going to the beach.  There were times we thought the kids enjoyed the pool more.  

We have also used the pool on days when it wasn't nice at the beach.  This meant too windy to be comfortable, or it was just plain ugly in the morning which is when we usually go.  So sometimes we'd just go out by the pool for awhile in the afternoon when it was nicer.


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## klpca (Aug 8, 2017)

Luanne said:


> When our kids were small we always used the pool, in addition to going to the beach.  There were times we thought the kids enjoyed the pool more.
> .


We took the whole family to Kauai in 2008. We stayed at Hanalei Bay Resort (non-timeshare units) & Grand Hyatt. My girls strongly preferred the pools. We have a pool in the backyard and I wondered about the expense of flying them to Hawaii to sit around the pool! (But it was their vacation too, so I kept quiet). Then they all skipped the Captain Andy's trip to stay at the Hyatt and order room service. They had fun - so did we.


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## Luanne (Aug 8, 2017)

klpca said:


> We took the whole family to Kauai in 2008. We stayed at Hanalei Bay Resort (non-timeshare units) & Grand Hyatt. My girls strongly preferred the pools. We have a pool in the backyard and I wondered about the expense of flying them to Hawaii to sit around the pool! (But it was their vacation too, so I kept quiet). Then they all skipped the Captain Andy's trip to stay at the Hyatt and order room service. They had fun - so did we.


Oh room service!  My kids loved that.  You don't get it at a timeshare (at least not the ones we stay at) so the first time we did it they were in heaven.  Sometimes on trips my dh would do a room service dessert for them.

And we also had a pool at home.


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## tfalk (Aug 15, 2017)

Just came back from the same presentation at Bali Hai, $100 amex gift card.  Since we own 3 deeded weeks at
KaEoKai, they immediately tried the push for platinum, always able to book at 50% of the point value, etc.
I wanted to see how far they would push but they really didn't push that hard.  When I finally said no and that
we were considering ovation for 2 of the weeks, he came back with a cheaper package to convert that week
and end up vip silver instead.  Still too much money, I think it was $12.5K plus the 2395 conversion fee.
I was really surprised he let me keep the sheets with the sales pitch numbers on them.

Thinking at this point we may ovation the 2 older weeks and keep the best view one for now, then maybe pickup a WKORV
resale down the road to go with our EOY WPORV.


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## crowmg (Aug 19, 2017)

We do timeshare presentations while on vacation and usually on one of our quiet days but we don't take an offer from the resort, but from the little kiosks that we see in shopping areas.  They offer the best "prizes" for our time.  We know it will take half a day to do it but it's always good to check out the presentations.  The hubby used to hate it but he now has learned how to deal with them as I have.  As with DeniseM we find the salespeople and their managers are so overzealous and we have had a few that were downright nasty to us but we never take it personal.  It can be an adventure if you have the right attitude!


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## dagger1 (Aug 19, 2017)

mpumilia said:


> Who needs a pool in Hawaii when you have the ocean and all those beautiful beaches? When we were in Hawaii we never swam in a pool.


We always use the pool:  my wife is wheelchair bound, so needs the lift to get in and out; I prefer swim up bars!!!!  But the kids and grandkids tend to use the beach, use the pool as an end of day refreshing break.


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## Picker57 (Aug 19, 2017)

DeniseM said:


> One thing I learned is that the activity prices that they offer are not any lower (or just a few dollars lower) than the prices that I can book for myself online.



Very interesting.  We've always attended the Shell "updates" just to get discounts on some of the activities listed on their "Diamond Card".  I've been quite disappointed in their golf discounts and we've already done most of the pricier ones anyway (plus I don't do boats).  As I recall they did have good discounts on luaus, so that was nice when we had family visiting.  But will definitely go online before we head back to Big Island in October....maybe can avoid the sales pitch this time. 

                ZK


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## Picker57 (Aug 19, 2017)

crowmg said:


> We do timeshare presentations while on vacation and usually on one of our quiet days but we don't take an offer from the resort, but from the little kiosks that we see in shopping areas.  They offer the best "prizes" for our time.  We know it will take half a day to do it but it's always good to check out the presentations.  The hubby used to hate it but he now has learned how to deal with them as I have.  As with DeniseM we find the salespeople and their managers are so overzealous and we have had a few that were downright nasty to us but we never take it personal.  It can be an adventure if you have the right attitude!



I agree - the right attitude helps a LOT.  In all the years we've been attending these, we've only had one person that got absolutely snarky with us. The others have been pleasant and respectful of the fact that we already had more points than we could use, and the sessions turned into pleasant visits. Sure, you have to accept the fact that they're spewing bull "stuff" and not let it bother you.  Some members seem to relish getting into arguments with these people. Hey, whatever makes your boat float.....

-Zach


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## rapmarks (Aug 19, 2017)

There was a post on bluegreen timeshare secrets of a list of questions you should bring with, including show me in the contract were it says that, log me in to your personal account and show me what is available, let me take the contract with me and read it over, enough questions to give salesperson conniptions.  The one  person thought that was mean, and is being scammed with replies. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## LannyPC (Aug 19, 2017)

DeniseM said:


> -The "concierge" at the KBV office told us the "owner's update" would only be 45 min.
> -On the form we had to sign for the presentation, she wrote 60 min.
> -The presentation was actually 90 min.
> 
> Overall, as presentations go, it wasn't bad....



...just 45 minutes longer than promised.


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## overthehill (Aug 19, 2017)

Thank you, Denise. Your experience as described was not unlike those we have had the pleasure (?) of sitting through before. Having been to many such presentations since 1985, they're all pretty much the same except the misrepresentations have grown exponentially. I always tell my friends before they attend a timeshare presentation 'If the timeshare sales
person is moving their lips, they're lying.' Nothing's changed. Thank goodness TUG exists.


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## buzzytoes (Aug 24, 2017)

We just did our owner's update today at Bali Hai. We are Club Wyndham Access owners, barely purchased eight months ago, and this is our first trip with Wyndham. Sales lady was very much "Access is okay but this offer is way better and you'll never get it anywhere else." Got a lot of "I love your this, I love your that, what a nice shirt you're wearing" sunshine b!owing everywhere, until we said no thanks. Her entire demeanor changed. Not such a good poker face on that particular sales agent.


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## Avislo (Aug 24, 2017)

buzzytoes said:


> We just did our owner's update today at Bali Hai. We are Club Wyndham Access owners, barely purchased eight months ago, and this is our first trip with Wyndham. Sales lady was very much "Access is okay but this offer is way better and you'll never get it anywhere else." Got a lot of "I love your this, I love your that, what a nice shirt you're wearing" sunshine b!owing everywhere, until we said no thanks. Her entire demeanor changed. Not such a good poker face on that particular sales agent.



Mind sharing what the offer was?


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## taterhed (Aug 24, 2017)

DeniseM said:


> It's been recently renovated, but it's small.  You can't see it in this shot, but there is a shaded area (like a patio), a new bar-b-que area with nice bar-b-ques, counter, and sink, and a lower deck with lounges and umbrellas, as well.
> 
> View attachment 4462



I think this is the new pool look for KBV...nicely updated.  You can use Google Maps street view to tour the resort.
We've been thinking this might make a nice week for touring the east/north side of the island.

BTW, Worldmark let me do an update (solo, imagine that) at Camlin last year.  We got the short owner 'rah rah rah, sis boom bah....goooooo Wyndham!!!' speech at the start.  It was very funny, as most of the owners were VERY experienced and knowledgeable and were asking questions (interrupting the presenter) that the poor lady couldn't begin to answer.  Of course, each question clearly illuminated the fallacy of the points she was trying to make (or infer).
Overall though, the presentation was innocuous enough that it wasn't tough to sit through.  When the closer started, I told her--and her mentor when he came over, she was new--that I was interested in one thing and one thing only.  They made the pitch and gave me the numbers and explained that I was using my 'one time' offer so 'don't waste it unless you're serious' etc...  
Overall, my experience was painless, short and very honest.  Of course, the honesty began after my questions/statements made it clear that I would loudly and aggressively correct and question any statement that was adorned, dunked or painted with pure hogwash.   This behavior is rather frowned upon in the middle of the sales-floor or presentation room.  

It is fun to sit and watch the whole machine in action.  Kind of like watching a car-wreck; you just can't look away.


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## buzzytoes (Aug 24, 2017)

Avislo said:


> Mind sharing what the offer was?


We didn't even start talking numbers. She just told what the difference was between Access and being an owner at Bali Hai and that we would need to purchase another 120k points or so. We said no thanks, she mentioned how our maintenance fees would keep going up but Bali Hai's don't, we said no thanks again and I stood up from the table. Her attitude changed the minute we said no the first time lol


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## Avislo (Aug 24, 2017)

buzzytoes said:


> We didn't even start talking numbers. She just told what the difference was between Access and being an owner at Bali Hai and that we would need to purchase another 120k points or so. We said no thanks, she mentioned how our maintenance fees would keep going up but Bali Hai's don't, we said no thanks again and I stood up from the table. Her attitude changed the minute we said no the first time lol



Thanks.


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## philemer (Aug 26, 2017)

DeniseM said:


> I dont think we will go back - I was kind of entertained by the whole thing, but DH despises sales presentations!  We carefully preserved the armbands to use next time.



They'll probably change the color next year.   I'll ck. in Jan. to see what the color is then.


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## DeniseM (Aug 26, 2017)

It's possible, but the the hotel changes their armband color every day - 7 different colors, so Wyndham choose "gold" for the one you get for the sales presentation, so it's not one of the daily colors.  They can't really use one of the existing 7 colors, because it would be confusing.


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## Cedartree105 (Sep 2, 2017)

Decided to go to owner meeting at ocean blvd myrtle beach. The only package they are selling is 400 CWA and 700 CWA. All I can recall is 100 thousand to purchase lol. Salesman said they pushing everyone toward VIP. It's hurts to see them trying to take advantage of older people. I meet an owner who told me until they do right by me and my  reservations don't offer me anything!!!


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## Avislo (Sep 2, 2017)

Interesting.  I think the Seawatch Plantation Sales office also is over Westwinds, Ocean Blvd, and Towers on the grove.  It is even more interesting that only CWA was offered.


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## Cedartree105 (Sep 2, 2017)

Well to be honest I didn't even ask. I know last year it was CWA that they offered. All I heard is 100k. After that the conversation was over


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## Lisa P (Sep 4, 2017)

We're at Wyndham SeaWatch Plantation in Myrtle Beach, leaving today.  The beach north of this resort includes a mile or so of nearly deserted beachfront, and there were always plenty of poolside lounge chairs available.  Everything has been clean and nice.  The room has been beautifully refurbished since our last visit and we really like it.

Anyway, the parking tag lady told us that with the new CEO, they are "not bothering long time owners who are satisfied with how many points they own" but the owner update "just shows you how you can use the new website to pick out your room, get your ARP reservations, and use your Wyndham Rewards for vacation resort stays - all new features."  What she neglected to say to us is that doing these things would involve swapping out our ownership for a CWA contract at a hefty upgrade cost.  No thanks.  We unplugged the room phones on arrival so I have no idea whether they called to try again.

To their credit, the front desk rep asked for our cell phone number, "only in case of emergency".  I hesitated but did give it to her.  No one called, not for sales or anything.  It was a lovely long weekend here at the beach!  We really enjoy the Wyndham resorts very much.


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## vacationhopeful (Sep 4, 2017)

I have 2 cell phones ... a minute phone which I did not set up voice mail on' while the other is my contract phone with VM. For $7 a month, I can put a cell number (suggesting TEXT ME) on Craigslist ads, signs in buildings and to people who INSIST they must have my cell number. I keep the contact list updated ... using part of the first part of contact name as "DNA" followed by the name .. DNA is "do not answer". Oh, I do NOT answer that phone UNLESS I want to.

Cell phones can become electronic leashes ... interrupting your sleep, meals, family time, vacations plus when you are working on something YOU knew to get down and someone else doesn't care WHAT or WHERE you are busy on.

The Hangtag staff gets my $7 cell phone number ... which is off more hours on vacation than it is on.

PS My charger for the "minute phone" is far away from my bedroom ... my family has the phone number I can be reached at 24/7.


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## slabeaume (Sep 5, 2017)

geist1223 said:


> Thanks. Sorry you had to take the 30 minute drive. Two years ago we attended the Wyndham Sales Pitch at Bali Hai. We got out in less than 45 minutes. My oldest son and DIL were with us. We only went so they could get discounts on 3 activities. Of course the $150 Amex helped. The first person knew nothing. After about 20 minutes her Supervisor joined us and he knew only a bit more. We got out so quickly because the day before one of the older Salesmen had a major heart attacked and died on the Salesroom Floor. The Salesroom Staff was a bit depressed. Sorry for his Family. Happy about the short period of time.
> 
> We actually like staying there for easy access to the North of the Island. We usually spend 2 to 3 weeks on Kauai. We split the stay between Princeville and then the Koloa/Poipu area. When we stay up north we do Kapa'a to Ke'e Beach. Then when we stay in the Koloa/Poipu area we do Lihue to Waimea.



We had gone to the presentation the day the salesman died.  They had tried to call us to cancel our presentation, but we didn't get the message.  They just gave us our $150 debit card and sent us on our way.  Sad circumstances, but quickest we ever got out of a presentation.  Never even sat down.  I'm surprised they weren't closed.


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## Seeking439 (Nov 24, 2017)

DeniseM said:


> We just returned from Kauai Beach Villas, and at check-in we discovered that currently, the only way to (legally) use the _hotel_ swimming pool on the same property is to attend a sales presentation and receive "golden" arm bands.  Yes - it really is gold!  We also receive a $100 AMEX gift card.
> 
> View attachment 4452
> 
> ...



Going to a Bali Hai update on Monday. I’ll be interested to compare notes Denise. Thanks for your great insights. Can you pls clarify though: I understood that if you convert to Wyndham, that you do still retain the ability to book home resort reservations 16 months early!  We currently have a Bali Hai (2BR) and 2 Ka EoKai (2BR kick off) which we’ve owned for many yrs. We stay annually at Ka EoKai and usually trade the BH. In the past they’ve tempted by saying buy a small package, convert everything and end up Platinum. Then, the sun will shine, unicorns will emerge, etc. etc.   Thanks for all the information.


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## DeniseM (Nov 24, 2017)

Another poster who actually converted to Wyndham points said they were no longer able to book at 16 months, they had to book with points, and I was going by that.


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## ronparise (Nov 24, 2017)

Seeking439 said:


> Going to a Bali Hai update on Monday. I’ll be interested to compare notes Denise. Thanks for your great insights. Can you pls clarify though: I understood that if you convert to Wyndham, that you do still retain the ability to book home resort reservations 16 months early!  We currently have a Bali Hai (2BR) and 2 Ka EoKai (2BR kick off) which we’ve owned for many yrs. We stay annually at Ka EoKai and usually trade the BH. In the past they’ve tempted by saying buy a small package, convert everything and end up Platinum. Then, the sun will shine, unicorns will emerge, etc. etc.   Thanks for all the information.


Converted weeks can book at 13 months


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## Avislo (Nov 24, 2017)

Platinum should also get 2 ARP/RARP reservations at most Wyndham Club Plus Resorts.


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## Picker57 (Nov 24, 2017)

Avislo said:


> Platinum should also get 2 ARP/RARP reservations at most Wyndham Club Plus Resorts.


Just read the thread when the TUG notice showed up in my email.  Amazing timing, as we'd just walked in the door from a presentation, this one at Kona Coast Resort (Big Island).  Once again, the presenter was gushy and pleasant....until she finally realized we were NOT interested in more points (we're Shell owners). I agree, a lot of the other stuff got pretty confusing, at least for me, regarding different benefits from Wyndham, how you save money by buying more (uhh.........), etc.  And, again, no response when we asked about buybacks, Ovation, etc.
*Question*: We've now attended several presentations in a row, each time we're here on Big Island, and have used the stuff on the discount card (used to be called Diamond Card) quite a bit.  Do they rescind the discount sheet after several "no sale" visits?  
As the song goes, "Can't..Stop..Thinkin' About Tomorrow".

         Cheers,
                        Zach


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## Picker57 (Nov 25, 2017)

Picker57 said:


> Just read the thread when the TUG notice showed up in my email.  Amazing timing, as we'd just walked in the door from a presentation, this one at Kona Coast Resort (Big Island).  Once again, the presenter was gushy and pleasant....until she finally realized we were NOT interested in more points (we're Shell owners). I agree, a lot of the other stuff got pretty confusing, at least for me, regarding different benefits from Wyndham, how you save money by buying more (uhh.........), etc.  And, again, no response when we asked about buybacks, Ovation, etc.
> *Question*: We've now attended several presentations in a row, each time we're here on Big Island, and have used the stuff on the discount card (used to be called Diamond Card) quite a bit.  Do they rescind the discount sheet after several "no sale" visits?
> As the song goes, "Can't..Stop..Thinkin' About Tomorrow".
> 
> ...



OK, here's another question:  Have any Shell owners seen a benefit in buying more points via the Wyndham proposals? Does it really open up all the Wyndham properties (saleslady kept talking about 'flexibility')?  If so, are Wyndham properties visible on any Points Charts? Has the Wyndham stuff affected costs? 
Sorry, I guess that's more than one question.  Thanks for any observations you can share. 

--------------Zach


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## Avislo (Nov 25, 2017)

The answer(s) depend and may vary somewhat on what Wyndham's proposals are.  Are the offer(s) for membership in Club Wyndham Plus, Club Wyndham Access, Worldmark, etc.  All Wyndham properties do not march to  the same drummer.  If it is Club Wyndham Plus/Access and the Shell deeds are traded to Wyndham, then access to more properties in these clubs would be greater.  If you keep the Shell deeds and just do a new purchase, I do not know.  Betters answers may be forthcoming with the info on what Wyndham is offering.


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## Picker57 (Nov 25, 2017)

Avislo said:


> The answer(s) depend and may vary somewhat on what Wyndham's proposals are.  Are the offer(s) for membership in Club Wyndham Plus, Club Wyndham Access, Worldmark, etc.  All Wyndham properties do not march to  the same drummer.  If it is Club Wyndham Plus/Access and the Shell deeds are traded to Wyndham, then access to more properties in these clubs would be greater.  If you keep the Shell deeds and just do a new purchase, I do not know.  Betters answers may be forthcoming with the info on what Wyndham is offering.


I'm think it was the latter, though not positive.  I was damn near getting vertigo from trying to keep up with the different options/promotions/benefits, ad nauseum she was presenting.  But I think she was keeping it to the minimum involvement. 
                                         ZK


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## Avislo (Nov 25, 2017)

Wish you luck.


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## jacknsara (Jan 8, 2018)

DeniseM said:


> I dont think we will go back - I was kind of entertained by the whole thing, but DH despises sales presentations!  We carefully preserved the armbands to use next time.


Aloha Denise,
We checked into KBV yesterday for 3 weeks and did the Bali Hai presentation today for the arm bands and the $100.  Got out in 45 minutes.  Given the flimsy paper and the adhesive they're made of,  I'm curious how you were able to wear the bands, take them off and put them back on and have enough substance left to preserve.  I have a plan and will share details if successful, but would appreciate knowing what you did first. (I'm considering laminating with clear packing tape).
Mahalo,
Jack


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## DeniseM (Jan 8, 2018)

Hi Jack - We actually never put the armbands on.  When we went over to the hotel pool, I carried them in my bag, in case we were ever asked for them, but we were never asked.  The idea of laminating them with clear packing tape is really good - please let me know how it works.  AND - have a great trip!


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