# Just got this......[Franz Hanning retiring]



## John_and_Val (Dec 2, 2016)

*From Franz Hanning* 
View it as a web page




















Dear CLUB WYNDHAM® Platinum Owner, 

After three decades of service to Wyndham Vacation Ownership, I have decided to leave my current role as President and Chief Executive Officer to start a new chapter in my life — one that is focused on my family. I wanted to ensure that our CLUB WYNDHAM® Platinum members were among the first to hear this news. 

Although I will greatly miss playing a role in delivering unforgettable vacation experiences, I am confident that the team at Wyndham Vacation Ownership will remain steadfast in their commitment to serving you. I'm pleased to let you know that Stephen P. Holmes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Wyndham Worldwide, will be stepping in as interim CEO until a successor is identified. A timeshare owner himself since 1980, Steve is passionate about Wyndham Vacation Ownership and fully committed to the owners we serve. 

When I look back on my time as President and CEO, it's humbling to have been part of the steady evolution of CLUB WYNDHAM®. Among all of the exciting things that have taken place during my time with Wyndham, perhaps my favorite part has been getting to know our owners and realizing the meaningful impact vacationing can have on families through the years. It has truly been an honor to be part of your ownership journey with Wyndham. 

While this will be my last quarterly update, please know that we remain committed to continuing this email series. As a CLUB WYNDHAM Platinum Owner, you will continue to receive exclusive news and updates about your Club. 

I hope your ownership continues to provide you and your loved ones with priceless experiences that enrich your lives for years to come. 

Yours truly,












Franz Hanning


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## wjappraise (Dec 2, 2016)

Could this be related to the State of Florida looking into the unwarranted suspensions of dozens of VIP owners, without due process?


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## BellaWyn (Dec 2, 2016)

Probably not but interesting he is addressing this to Plat owners.  Also love the BS spin in this letter that states "I am confident that the team at Wyndham Vacation Ownership will remain steadfast in their commitment to serving you."

Wjappraise....  are you still feeling that love these days still?  Ron says he is and that they have dealt with him "fairly" so what check isn't he having to write in the settlement exit strategy?


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## ronparise (Dec 2, 2016)

BellaWyn said:


> Probably not but interesting he is addressing this to Plat owners.  Also love the BS spin in this letter that states "I am confident that the team at Wyndham Vacation Onwership will remain steadfast in their commitment to serving you."
> 
> Wjappraise....  are you still feeling that love these days still?  Ron says he is and that they have dealt with him "fairly" so what check isn't he having to write in the settlement exit strategy?




I never said I was feeling "love"  only that I am being treated fairly


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## TUGBrian (Dec 2, 2016)

seems like i read the DRI ceo was out as well.


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## BellaWyn (Dec 2, 2016)

TUGBrian said:


> seems like i read the DRI ceo was out as well.



Brian, did you post a link on the DRI CEO?  If so, I can do a search for it because that would be an interesting read also.


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## TUGBrian (Dec 2, 2016)

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/david-palmer-is-out-as-ceo.248622/


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## BellaWyn (Dec 2, 2016)

TUGBrian said:


> http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/david-palmer-is-out-as-ceo.248622/


Oh! Awesome!  Thanks Brian!  WOW, that's a was a zippy response!  Super appreciate!


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## wjappraise (Dec 2, 2016)

BellaWyn said:


> Probably not but interesting he is addressing this to Plat owners.  Also love the BS spin in this letter that states "I am confident that the team at Wyndham Vacation Ownership will remain steadfast in their commitment to serving you."
> 
> Wjappraise....  are you still feeling that love these days still?  Ron says he is and that they have dealt with him "fairly" so what check isn't he having to write in the settlement exit strategy?



Thanks, BellaWyn.  The deep abiding feeling I have right now cannot be correctly classified as "loved" by Wyndham.  The better classification would be "disdained" or "contemptible."  And by this, I mean the feeling of which I am the recipient.


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## raygo123 (Dec 2, 2016)

It seems every CEO that's fired wants to spend more time with their family


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## OutSkiing (Dec 2, 2016)

If anyone should have had cross - area knowledge about sales tactics / encouragement of cancel / rebook for VIP owners / assistance provided by vc's it should have been Franz since he came from sales.  I know that was not the root cause of the points balances that lead to the 'audits' but it seems a sore point that may have contributed to the irrationally long time the audit took.

Bob


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## TUGBrian (Dec 2, 2016)

raygo123 said:


> It seems every CEO that's fired wants to spend more time with their family



im sure the severance package would make their families pretty happy this holiday season!


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## pedro47 (Dec 2, 2016)

That is two (2) CEO leaving their position by 1/1/2017 (DRI & Wyndham). 
What up as the new generation declare !


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## whitewater (Dec 2, 2016)

TUGBrian said:


> im sure the severance package would make their families pretty happy this holiday season!


yep big paycheck without any workie workie.....  gotta love it.


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## BellaWyn (Dec 2, 2016)

OutSkiing said:


> If anyone should have had cross - area knowledge about sales tactics / encouragement of cancel / rebook for VIP owners / assistance provided by vc's it should have been Franz since he came from sales.  I know that was not the root cause of the points balances that lead to the 'audits' but it seems a sore point that may have contributed to the irrationally long time the audit took.
> 
> Bob


The audit "took???"

How about TAKING..... *None of the audits have yet be resolved to date.*  The points balance audits are happening because WYN has mis-managed the accounting of the points system, period.  Has nothing to do with cancel & rebook.  Any owner, VIP or non-VIP is at risk of their points balances being audited if they have ever credit pooled their points. 

Franz's stepping down is probably more likely a result of the long drawn-out whistle-blower lawsuit than the suspended accounts audit.  That situation more publicly exposed Wyndham than the points audit situation has, which seems to be confined more to conversations happening in TUG forums.


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## ronparise (Dec 3, 2016)

BellaWyn said:


> Probably not but interesting he is addressing this to Plat owners.  Also love the BS spin in this letter that states "I am confident that the team at Wyndham Vacation Ownership will remain steadfast in their commitment to serving you."
> 
> Wjappraise....  are you still feeling that love these days still?  Ron says he is and that they have dealt with him "fairly" so what check isn't he having to write in the settlement exit strategy?



Are you aware that one of the "benefits"


BellaWyn said:


> Probably not but interesting he is addressing this to Plat owners.  Also love the BS spin in this letter that states "I am confident that the team at Wyndham Vacation Ownership will remain steadfast in their commitment to serving you."
> 
> Wjappraise....  are you still feeling that love these days still?  Ron says he is and that they have dealt with him "fairly" so what check isn't he having to write in the settlement exit strategy?




Why is it "interesting he is addressing this to Plat owners."?   

Are you aware that one of the benefits of a Platinum ownership is Quarterly CEO Updates  A quarterly email message from Wyndham Vacation Ownership CEO Franz Hanning.  We have been getting  letters from Franz for some time. 

The interesting thing isnt that its addressed to Platinum owners, The interesting thing is that his replacement is Steve Holmes.(CEO Wyndham Worldwide)


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## BellaWyn (Dec 3, 2016)

ronparise said:


> Why is it "interesting he is addressing this to Plat owners."?
> 
> Are you aware that one of the benefits of a Platinum ownership is Quarterly CEO Updates  A quarterly email message from Wyndham Vacation Ownership CEO Franz Hanning.  We have been getting  letters from Franz for some time.
> 
> The interesting thing isnt that its addressed to Platinum owners, The interesting thing is that his replacement is Steve Holmes.(CEO Wyndham Worldwide)



Thanks for sharing what is of the most interest to YOU.

For me, Steve Holmes stepping in as "interim" is of minimal interest right now.  It's his decision as head of Wyndham Worldwide to decide who temporarily replaces a key person in the face of whatever embarrassing situation occurred to create the near immediate removal of that individual. It didn't have to be him but apparently Holmes believes he is the most qualified to direct the clean up.  He's doing his job, period. Regardless, "interim" translates to "temporary" which will become more interesting when "permanent" gets announced.

Addressing first to Plat owners interests ME because the stepping down of a CEO who is supposed to represent the WHOLE of the Wyndham Vacation Ownership appears, on the surface, to once again prioritize importance of membership levels.  The larger base of owners still remains the non-VIP owner.  One would think this is an important enough announcement to share with ALL levels of ownerships because it effects everyone.

As to the quarterly CEO update to Plat owners, this announcement was not part of that so whether I, personally, am aware those exist or not is of zero relevance in the conversation.


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## ronparise (Dec 3, 2016)

BellaWyn said:


> Probably not but interesting he is addressing this to Plat owners.  Also love the BS spin in this letter that states "I am confident that the team at Wyndham Vacation Ownership will remain steadfast in their commitment to serving you."
> 
> Wjappraise....  are you still feeling that love these days still?  Ron says he is and that they have dealt with him "fairly" so what check isn't he having to write in the settlement exit strategy?



Are you aware that one of the "benefits" of platinum ownership is regular


BellaWyn said:


> Thanks for sharing what is of the most interest to YOU.
> 
> For me, Steve Holmes stepping in as "interim" is of minimal interest right now.  It's his decision as head of Wyndham Worldwide to decide who temporarily replaces a key person in the face of whatever embarrassing situation occurred to create the near immediate removal of that individual. It didn't have to be him but apparently Holmes believes he is the most qualified to direct the clean up.  He's doing his job, period. Regardless, "interim" translates to "temporary" which will become more interesting when "permanent" gets announced.
> 
> ...



I would expect the second in command to step up to interim CEO rather than the CEO of the parent to step down. Unless of course Hanning  is the first part of a larger housecleaning. Now that would be interesting (to me)


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Dec 3, 2016)

Hi Ron , BellaWyn and others,
IMO - both of your viewpoints have validity . I think VIEW point is the operative word . You are both seeing and analyzing the same group of SILOS but from different "locations", -
therefore the SILO closest to you is the one most in your vision / view . ( same for other Wyndham owners & perhaps "Wyndham itself "

*******

I am writing this midday Sat Dec 3 2016
Here are the (6) most recently updated  Wyndham TUG threads .

1)Ex Wyndham salesperson awarded 20 million in lawsuit ...

2)Wyndham Whistleblower  ( linked to an article about the same lawsuit judgement)

3)Acct review email {Acct Suspended } ....

4)Just got this ...{ Franz Hanning Retiring } ...

5) Ovation

6) Very Important call from Corporate ... ( ie is it really just a ploy for selling   points )

*******

Only when you reach thread # 7 is there  the mention of a resort .

IMO - In many ways 1-6 are just parts of the same story - a corporation entity with significant SILO issues .

In a perfect world the viewpoints being posted on TUG  in all (6 )threads could be the mirror for Wyndham that would
help them improve the experience for all -

.


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## ronparise (Dec 3, 2016)

Ok so you have given us 6 dots.  The question is how to connect them and are there dots that none of us see

Frank Hanning started his career in the salesroom at Fairfield glade and now something like 40 years later they are using the same high cost marketing and high pressure sales and some of the same lies to sell this stuff. Perhaps they finally realized that those tactics won't continue to work in the internet age. And it's time for some fresh blood and a new approach.   That their sales tactics were exposed in open court and that lawyers representing suspended owners are sniffing around sea harbor drive might have been the occasion. 


Me? I believe that all these possibilities are just symptoms of the real issue. I believe that the trust  is out of balance, that somehow there are more points in circulation than there are condos to support them


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Dec 3, 2016)

Hi Ron ,
I posted my thoughts in this thread  primarily because it was recently started . I think I could have posted in  most of the others .
In part my thoughts were also for "Wyndham themselves " .  My " all- " includes "  everyone who works there .

I agree with with you :  - it is 6 dots I saw this morning - and these are a part of  a bigger picture .

If you are correct that  points exceed units --- ( real sold points not IT issue points )
then simplistically Wyndham has to either build more units or "retire" more points via Ovation or buying  on ebay etc.

******
In many ways I am glad I own Mayan / Vidanta where the owner continues to build ,
AND get back inventory via RTU contracts with timelines of payment /renewal to continue "  ownership ".
They build and staff in pesos and get MF in dollars - not a bad business plan .

added -hard to own and rent for much of a profit  unless you have their elite holiday weeks /  which are like a 51-52 .


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## bnoble (Dec 3, 2016)

ronparise said:


> Perhaps they finally realized that those tactics won't continue to work in the internet age.


Except that they do. Tour flow has increased, and conversions seem steady. Yet, TUG and the like have been around and easily accessible for as long as google has existed. Nothing seems to be changing.

Timeshare is an aspirational purchase for most folks. They are on vacation, having the time of their lives, and someone promises them they can bottle that magical feeling for years to come "at today's prices." When they sign, they feel really good about the purchase, and most of them do not go looking for reasons why that decision was a bad one---at least, not until it is too late.

I think the whistleblower thing might have something to do with it. As you've said before, no one likes being made to look the fool.



ronparise said:


> I believe that the trust is out of balance, that somehow there are more points in circulation than there are condos to support them


I suspect that there is enough slack in unsold inventory to cover that. I also suspect most of those extra points have either been (a) transients created in the switchover to no-cancel-points (so not systemic and easily recoverable) or (b) concentrated in very high-churn accounts (e.g. those currently frozen). They probably do not know how to solve (b) just yet, but that's not to say they won't ever. You are living in the middle of reason (b), but there just aren't that many of you.


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## massvacationer (Dec 3, 2016)

I really just think he simply  retired.  He's hit retirement age and it's time to take it easy. 

 Club Wyndham seems to be performing well financially, so I think it's just  a regular retirement and not anything more.


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## nicemann (Dec 3, 2016)

massvacationer said:


> I really just think he simply  retired.  He's hit retirement age and it's time to take it easy.
> 
> Club Wyndham seems to be performing well financially, so I think it's just  a regular retirement and not anything more.



If I had his money, at his age, I agree....time for me to retire.  Fun reading all the theories though.


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## am1 (Dec 3, 2016)

TUGBrian said:


> im sure the severance package would make their families pretty happy this holiday season!



Good riddance.  Anyone that could so poorly manage a company will not be missed.


nicemann said:


> If I had his money, at his age, I agree....time for me to retire.  Fun reading all the theories though.



Either way a good time to retire.  As everything is hitting the fan.  Looks like it is going to get ugly.


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## BellaWyn (Dec 3, 2016)

bnoble said:


> Timeshare is an aspirational purchase for most folks. They are on vacation, having the time of their lives, and someone promises them they can bottle that magical feeling for years to come "at today's prices." When they sign, they feel really good about the purchase, and most of them do not go looking for reasons why that decision was a bad one---at least, not until it is too late.



Completely agree with this...  The TS industry, even with today's more immediate information, still banks on guests being on a "vacation crack" high when they sit down in a sales meeting and they have been working that euphoria since the industry began. 



bnoble said:


> I suspect that there is enough slack in unsold inventory to cover that. I also suspect most of those extra points have either been (a) transients created in the switchover to no-cancel-points (so not systemic and easily recoverable) or (b) concentrated in very high-churn accounts (e.g. those currently frozen). They probably do not know how to solve (b) just yet, but that's not to say they won't ever. You are living in the middle of reason (b), but there just aren't that many of you.



Right, hospitality by it's very design, will always have some element of unsold (or contingency) inventory at any given time.  It's not about not having enough units to cover the points, its about the points ACCOUNTING systems that are currently in place that were never designed to handle the increasingly complex rules that come on board every time they introduce a new "Club" with unique rules.  At some point all those Clubs are still pulling inventory from the same giant pool of inventory product and points.  It's a gross mis-management of the accounting processes.  

How they are going to fix it is something only time will tell.   I don't think the problem is unique to only high point owners or mega-renters. At some point, the system has got to get reconciled and that process will ripple throughout the entire ownership base, regardless of which Club the owner is a participant.


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## bnoble (Dec 3, 2016)

massvacationer said:


> I really just think he simply retired. He's hit retirement age and it's time to take it easy.


I thought so at first too. He's 62, and while that's a *little* early, it's not too early given he's been making north of $5M per year recently. Not a bad time to kick back, enjoy the grandchildren, and do a little traveling while you still have your health.

But, the fact that his erstwhile boss is serving as his interim tells me that (a) this was not contemplated in advance and (b) there was no succession plan in place. If you're going to retire, and you are a C-level executive, you don't just walk into your boss' office and give him your two weeks notice. You sit down and say "In six months, I'd like to retire. Let's start planning how we handle that so that the right person is ready to take over."


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## nicemann (Dec 3, 2016)

bnoble said:


> You sit down and say "In six months, I'd like to retire. Let's start planning how we handle that so that the right person is ready to take over."



Great point.  Think with a little notice they would have found someone.  Maybe it was one of those force retirements.


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## ronparise (Dec 3, 2016)

bnoble said:


> I thought so at first too. He's 62, and while that's a *little* early, it's not too early given he's been making north of $5M per year recently. Not a bad time to kick back, enjoy the grandchildren, and do a little traveling while you still have your health.
> 
> But, the fact that his erstwhile boss is serving as his interim tells me that (a) this was not contemplated in advance and (b) there was no succession plan in place. If you're going to retire, and you are a C-level executive, you don't just walk into your boss' office and give him your two weeks notice. You sit down and say "In six months, I'd like to retire. Let's start planning how we handle that so that the right person is ready to take over."



Exactly


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## cayman01 (Dec 4, 2016)

Look at it this way. if things were going along just swimmingly would he have retired? Probably not. But the proverbial crap is hitting the fan from all directions and he wants no part of it. Holmes is stepping in to try and clean up the mess. He has a very difficult job ahead while Franz goes sailing off into the sunset. I hope his severance is exactly zero.


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## TUGBrian (Dec 4, 2016)

cayman01 said:


> I hope his severance is exactly zero.



if only the corporate world worked this way!


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## wjappraise (Dec 5, 2016)

massvacationer said:


> I really just think he simply  retired.  He's hit retirement age and it's time to take it easy.
> 
> Club Wyndham seems to be performing well financially, so I think it's just  a regular retirement.



That might be the case, but don't ignore the elephant in the room:  No replacement is taking over, his boss is filling his job in an interim status.  If a football coach plans to retire the team has a new coach ready to take over, he may even work with the existing coach for years.  If the football coach is fired or forced out, an "interim" coach takes over.  Seems sudden to me, not planned.


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## gottashiner (Dec 10, 2016)

I never received this notice and I'm Platinum.  Guess I've complained too much lately.


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## BellaWyn (Dec 10, 2016)

gottashiner said:


> I never received this notice and I'm Platinum.  Guess I've complained too much lately.


Continunuity with Wyndham is not their jam.  Am certain not all Plats got this notice.


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## lcml11 (Feb 4, 2017)

wjappraise said:


> Could this be related to the State of Florida looking into the unwarranted suspensions of dozens of VIP owners, without due process?



Anybody here any additional information on if the retirement and the suspension issues are linked?


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## ronparise (Feb 16, 2017)

so heres another theory regarding Franz Hanning's retirement. 

We have speculated here that it might have just been time. He is 62 years old and has had a career that went from timeshare salesman to running the entire timeshare division at Wyndham Worldwide, Last year gross revenue at WVO was 2 billion dollars, as Steve Holmes said in the 4th quarter earnings call "The fourth reason I'm confident in our future is that we are recharging our Wyndham Vacation Ownership business, which is already an absolute powerhouse. Let me put that into perspective. While the business had some challenges in 2016, gross VOI revenue exceeded $2 billion. That's a first for any developer in the history of the timeshare industry and double the size of our nearest competitor".. 

So Franz Hanning is going out on top, and there is no reason to suggest he was forced out for any reason. Perhaps its just time


We also speculated that the $20 million that a former salesman was awarded in a wrongful termination lawsuit and/or the suspensions mess that is still going on, might have been responsible for his early retirement. Lets face it, the suspensions wont cost wyndham any money  and 20 million is just 1% of 2 billion.. That cant be the reasonn Franz is leaving (at least I dont think so

But heres something else that could be the answer.  


someone asked a question in that earnings call about how the search for Hannings replacement was going and heres the answer (the underlining is mine)


*Joseph R. Greff - JPMorgan Securities LLC*

Steve, with respect to filling Franz's spot in Vacation Ownership, can you talk about the progress in that search, and then maybe focusing on that search. How important is the new person having public company or public company timeshare experience?

*Stephen P. Holmes - Wyndham Worldwide Corp.*

And the second part of the question is a interesting way of asking the same question you asked last quarter about the spin, I guess; very, very clever way of doing it. The answer is, it's important that somebody has public company experience, I'm not saying that we're looking for someone necessarily who's been a public company CEO. But certainly as the board has directed me, we want to keep our optionality open. So we want to be able to bring somebody in who is capable of leading an organization, if that's what the board chooses to do. But that's again, not making any more statement than I made last time about how the board is looking at all of its options and will continue to do so

for context heres the question and answer from the 3rd quarter call


*Joseph Greff*

All right. Then my final follow-up here, and I believe I've asked this before in the past both on conference calls even probably related to you, Steve, given the size of your company now versus when it's [indiscernible], why not here today or sometime today think about spinning out into two or three companies? The evaluation that it's hard for you to grow through inorganic means and M&A and spinning out might allow you to do that, how do you think about those things right due to more real world economic cycle? And that's it for me.

*Stephen Holmes*

Okay. Well just to show that I'm consistent, Joe I will give you the same answer I gave to when we were speaking privately. It's something that we constantly look at. The board is very active at looking at different opportunities and that is something that we have talked about before and we will probably talk about in the future, but if we had anything to announce, we would announce it today. We are constantly looking for ways to drive more shareholder value and more than that I can't say because the board has to deliberate and we have to all decide what the right thing is for the company



What the guy from JP Morgan was asking is this. Are you looking for a replacement for Hanning that has experience running a stand alone public timeshare company... so that if you spin off the timeshare division, you will have the right guy running it.   And the answer, as I read it, was yes, thats exactly what the board has instructed me to do.. 

so heres my speculation   Franz is just a good old boy from Pascagoula Mississippi.  (ever wonder why we have a
Margaritaville  Vacation Club? Jimmy Buffet is from the same town) who took the timeshare division from a few Fairfield Resorts when he started  to a 2 billion dollar company today,, Good job;  but to take it public they need someone with experience running a public company

Anyway food for thought.


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## lcml11 (Feb 17, 2017)

ronparise said:


> so heres another theory regarding Franz Hanning's retirement.
> 
> We have speculated here that it might have just been time. He is 62 years old and has had a career that went from timeshare salesman to running the entire timeshare division at Wyndham Worldwide, Last year gross revenue at WVO was 2 billion dollars, as Steve Holmes said in the 4th quarter earnings call "The fourth reason I'm confident in our future is that we are recharging our Wyndham Vacation Ownership business, which is already an absolute powerhouse. Let me put that into perspective. While the business had some challenges in 2016, gross VOI revenue exceeded $2 billion. That's a first for any developer in the history of the timeshare industry and double the size of our nearest competitor"..
> 
> ...



Or, maybe since he apparently hit the earlier retirement age, he just did not want to take the reduction is SSA monies associated with make to much money.


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## BellaWyn (Feb 17, 2017)

lcml11 said:


> Or, maybe since he apparently hit the earlier retirement age, he just did not want to take the reduction is SSA monies associated with make to much money.


SMH


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## ecwinch (Feb 17, 2017)

Haven't most of the other hotel companies spun off their timeshare divisions (Marriott, Starwood, etc).


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## lcml11 (Feb 17, 2017)

ecwinch said:


> Haven't most of the other hotel companies spun off their timeshare divisions (Marriott, Starwood, etc).



You may want to add Cendant

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cendant


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## theo (Feb 17, 2017)

BellaWyn said:


> Brian, did you post *a link on the DRI CEO*?  If so, I can do a search for it because that would be an interesting read also.



I you're interested, over on RedWeek.com Jeff Weir has written and posted several articles about the "DRI Chronicles".  You can (no RW membership required) access the articles via "From the RedWeek Blog" link found toward the bottom of RedWeek's home page. RedWeek discussion forums are lame beyond belief or comprehension,  but Jeff Weir is a great writer and a real asset as RW's "chief correspondent".

I have no interest in DRI, but always enjoy reading Weir's articles on assorted timeshare industry foibles. He collects and assembles accurate and complete facts, understands the inner workings of the industry very well, is a timeshare owner himself --- and pulls no punches in his excellent writing. Definitely worth checking out. I'm not Jeff Weir, nor am I his agent or his promoter; I just enjoy his writing .


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## ronparise (Feb 17, 2017)

lcml11 said:


> You may want to add Cendant
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cendant



Cendant the didn't spin off their timeshare division. Cendant broke up   Nothing was left  and cendant ceased to exist

The Wyndham part that resulted from the cendant break up was the Wyndham worldwide we see today (hotels exchanges and timeshare)

What I am speculating here is  a breakup of, or spin off from Wyndham worldwide And the creation of a stand alone timeshare company.  That's different that cendant's breakup


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## bnoble (Feb 17, 2017)

ronparise said:


> so heres my speculation Franz is just a good old boy from Pascagoula Mississippi. (ever wonder why we have a
> Margaritaville Vacation Club? Jimmy Buffet is from the same town) who took the timeshare division from a few Fairfield Resorts when he started to a 2 billion dollar company today,, Good job; but to take it public they need someone with experience running a public company


But, if that's the goal, why not do this in a more reasonable succession plan, keeping Hanning on until you find the right guy? I suppose that was the plan, and Hanning said "Let me do the spin out or I quit right now," and his resignation was regretfully accepted. But, that's an awfully thin skin for someone who made their bones selling timeshares.


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## ronparise (Feb 17, 2017)

bnoble said:


> But, if that's the goal, why not do this in a more reasonable succession plan, keeping Hanning on until you find the right guy? I suppose that was the plan, and Hanning said "Let me do the spin out or I quit right now," and his resignation was regretfully accepted. But, that's an awfully thin skin for someone who made their bones selling timeshares.


Or they have a buyer subject to a new CEO on board (perhaps one of their own choosing)


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## Ty1on (Feb 17, 2017)

Wyndham has historically been the buyer, not the buyee.  Anything could happen, though.

I would think that if this were a leadership alignment tied with a tender offer, the acquiring corporation's person would be in place by now.  Also, the acquisitions I've followed have gone:  Announcement, then completion, then leadership transition.

I really think this sudden retirement had to do with a business direction that wasn't working.  I doubt it is the points fiasco.


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## ecwinch (Feb 17, 2017)

I guess it is possible that WVO is being taken private. Top of the market is an unlikely time for private equity to step in however. Their model is more a leveraged buyout, then shortly afterward refinance to pay themselves a special dividend. Paying top dollar for the asset makes that more difficult.


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## lcml11 (Feb 17, 2017)

ronparise said:


> ... "What I am speculating here is  a breakup of, or spin off from Wyndham worldwide And the creation of a stand alone timeshare company.  That's different that cendant's breakup"



Difference noted.


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## Iggyearl (Feb 17, 2017)

The Patricia Williams whistle-blower announcement ($20 Mil) was made late on 11/17/16.  The Hanning separation announcement was made on 11/28/16.  His employment agreement called for 2 years base pay ($794K/yr.) as a settlement if he wasn't terminated for cause - which he wasn't.  Some may have not noticed, but his resignation calls for him to assist in a transition until his final date of 3/1/2017.  Whether he is there now, who knows.

Of note is the fact that there were originally 5 sales people who sued Wyndham in California.  Four of the original plaintiffs settled out of court.  It was only Ms. Williams' fortitude and tenacity that got her through 4 years of litigation.  I would fashion that this case and the negative press it got Wyndham (as well as the money) is what lead to Mr. Hanning's departure.  For comparison, I would direct you to the following article which was written and published less than a month before he departed.

http://resorttrades.com/the-remarkable-franz-hanning-rrp/    I don't think Mr. Hanning was filing retirement papers when this was written.


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## Don40 (Feb 17, 2017)

Being a timeshare sales person, if his lips were moving we know there are lies forth coming. I have more respect for him now than before for growing the company.


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## CO skier (Feb 18, 2017)

Don40 said:


> Being a timeshare sales person, if his lips were moving we know there are lies forth coming. I have more respect for him now than before for growing the company.


He was the ultimate sales weasel.  He made a lucrative career out of it.  How can anyone have any respect for him?


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## Don40 (Feb 18, 2017)

Respect, might be the wrong word (point taken) but he did help to make WYN, grow into a very large timeshare company.  Maybe regard for the growth strategy.  I do enjoy the numerous locations in WYN sure beats most of the other companies.


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## Avislo (Mar 17, 2017)

cayman01 said:


> Look at it this way. if things were going along just swimmingly would he have retired? Probably not. But the proverbial crap is hitting the fan from all directions and he wants no part of it. Holmes is stepping in to try and clean up the mess. He has a very difficult job ahead while Franz goes sailing off into the sunset. I hope his severance is exactly zero.



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...-bz-wyndham-franz-hanning-20170310-story.html


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