# I just blew my only free guest certificate for the current year



## sun starved Gayle (Oct 15, 2018)

I booked one night on bonus time for a friend, who had a family emergency and had to cancel. To re-book with a guest certificate would be $99.00 for me. The change from free took place about a month ago, according the the rep I spoke with. I only have 6000 credits a year, so only get one certificate. Apparently it goes up to 2 certificates with 8000 credits, and so on. Not sure if the amount goes up with every 2000 more credits or what.

On the plus side, you can change the name on the reservation even up to the day of check-in. If you don't have a guest certificate left it will cost you $99.00 though.

Live and learn.


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## clifffaith (Oct 15, 2018)

My understanding is that the name can't be changed, although I could be mistaken.  Folks on Facebook are saying keep the reservation in your name until the last minute to avoid losing a guest certificate if your friend or family needs to cancel at the last minute.


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## sun starved Gayle (Oct 15, 2018)

I was told yesterday by a rep I could change the name on the reservation as late as the day of check in, for a $99.00 fee of course.


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## ecwinch (Oct 15, 2018)

VPC apparently has some flexibility to add days to a guest reservation without triggering another GC charge (unlike Club Wyndham), but yes - waiting until the last minute to add the GC is the best strategy given that they are non-refundable.


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## uscav8r (Oct 15, 2018)

Why didn’t you just cancel the booking and remake it under your name? Was it inside the cancellation period (48 hours prior to check in for Bonus Time)?


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## uscav8r (Oct 15, 2018)

Also, the GC ratio is one per 10,000 credits or portion thereof. 

So you get 2 GCs for 11,000 to 20,000 annual credits. 


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## sun starved Gayle (Oct 15, 2018)

uscav8r said:


> Why didn’t you just cancel the booking and remake it under your name? Was it inside the cancellation period (48 hours prior to check in for Bonus Time)?
> 
> I did cancel the booking. I could not rebook under my name because I would not be there to check in. From the website:
> 
> ...


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## DaveNV (Oct 15, 2018)

I learned the same lesson.  I added a day onto the front of an existing reservation that was set up under a guest's name, because they would be checking in before I arrived.  Plans changed, and the day I added meant I'd be the one checking in.  I asked to cancel the guest certificate, since it won't be needed.  They said Fine, but there was no way to recover the GC.  Lesson learned.

Dave


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## uscav8r (Oct 16, 2018)

I get that GCs are nonrefundable. Your post seemed to say that you’d need an additional GC to get the reservation back into your name, not that you wanted to change to a completely different guest which costs an additional $99 if you are out of free ones. If you used your one free one on this cancelled Bonus Time, you will only lose out on $99 if you want to make another guest reservation sometime during the rest of your Use Year. 


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## TheHappyWanderer (Nov 20, 2018)

Are guest certificates required for Worldmark "FAX" reservations?


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## geist1223 (Nov 20, 2018)

Another great program designed by Wyndham and heartfully adopted by WMTC BOD. Down with the small account owners. They do not matter to the WMTC BOD. You can not help your family or friends without paying an additional cost.


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## ecwinch (Nov 20, 2018)

TheHappyWanderer said:


> Are guest certificates required for Worldmark "FAX" reservations?



Yes. If the owner is not checking in, a GC is required for all reservations - credit, FAX, Bonus Time, Inventory Special, etc


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## ecwinch (Nov 20, 2018)

geist1223 said:


> Another great program designed by Wyndham and heartfully adopted by WMTC BOD. Down with the small account owners. They do not matter to the WMTC BOD. You can not help your family or friends without paying an additional cost.



Where is the value of being an owner, when non-owners can stay at our resorts at the same cost as those who have invested thousands to join the Club?


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## geist1223 (Nov 20, 2018)

This was sold as a FAMILY FRIENDLY Resort System. Not anymore.


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## ecwinch (Nov 20, 2018)

It still is a family friendly resort system. For the majority of members, 1 GC per 10k is sufficient to let family members use reservations booked with credits.

The main impact is on using cash options to book for family & friends (Inventory Special, FAX, etc). Asking non-members to pay more when booking for cash makes perfect sense.


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## chemteach (Nov 21, 2018)

Related but slightly different - if I am travelling with my family and friends, and I book 3 units for the same week, will I need a guest certificate for the additional 2 units?  Can I add my sister's name to my account so that she wouldn't need a guest certificate when traveling with me (if a guest certificate is needed whenever I have reserved more than 1 unit)?


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## geist1223 (Nov 21, 2018)

Yes you will need 2 GCs if you Reserve 3 Units. You can have up to 2 people listed as Owners. It will cost you $299 to add your Sister's name.

Question if Ownership is a Trust is the Reservation in the Trust's name and can anyone listed as a Beneficiary of the Trust check in without need of a GC?


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## ecwinch (Nov 21, 2018)

geist1223 said:


> Question if Ownership is a Trust is the Reservation in the Trust's name and can anyone listed as a Beneficiary of the Trust check in without need of a GC?



That's a great question. Hopefully someone knows the answer. I suspect that is one of the reasons we have the Permission Addendum (as the Declaration says only members can make reservations), and at present authorized users on the Permission Addendum appear to be subject to the GC.


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## uscav8r (Nov 21, 2018)

So I just learned that any change to a reservation that already has a guest will burn another GC. Shorten it. Lengthen it. Doesn’t matter. 

This is completely ridiculous. 


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## uscav8r (Nov 21, 2018)

Oh, and the VPC failed to tell me that any change would use my remaining GC before he burned it. If he had informed me of such, I would not have changed the booking, or I would have left the guest name off the new version of the reservation. So training has been lacking. 


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## geist1223 (Nov 22, 2018)

ecwinch said:


> That's a great question. Hopefully someone knows the answer. I suspect that is one of the reasons we have the Permission Addendum (as the Declaration says only members can make reservations), and at present authorized users on the Permission Addendum appear to be subject to the GC.



A Trust can not check in. I am afraid that Wyndham will say a GC is needed for each Beneficiary of the Trust.


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## VDoV (Dec 31, 2018)

Not sure if you guys aware of this, but there's the Petition Against The GC Fees. If someone interested in signing and forwarding to your friends and family, here's the link  https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/remove-the-fee-on-charged?r_by=20845118&source=s.fwd


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## geist1223 (Jan 1, 2019)

Do I have to include my email and telephone number?


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## ecwinch (Jan 1, 2019)

If you were on the WM BoD how many signatures would you need to see on this petition to consider it a meaningful call to action?


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## ecwinch (Jan 1, 2019)

geist1223 said:


> A Trust can not check in. I am afraid that Wyndham will say a GC is needed for each Beneficiary of the Trust.


It has been reported over on FB that it is one named Trustee that is allowed to check-in for the Trust, and one other member (if the acct has two members).


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## bizaro86 (Jan 1, 2019)

ecwinch said:


> If you were on the WM BoD how many signatures would you need to see on this petition to consider it a meaningful call to action?



5% of owners. But realistically the only objections that will carry any weight are those at the sales table.

And the most likely way they overcome that is by adding free guest certs to travelshare...


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## CO skier (Jan 1, 2019)

VDoV said:


> Not sure if you guys aware of this, but there's the Petition Against The GC Fees. If someone interested in signing and forwarding to your friends and family, here's the link  https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/remove-the-fee-on-charged?r_by=20845118&source=s.fwd





ecwinch said:


> If you were on the WM BoD how many signatures would you need to see on this petition to consider it a meaningful call to action?


The WM BOD knows that the Guest Certificate fee will affect 10% of owners, or about 22,000 owners.  Would the BOD have made the same decision if 20% of owners were affected?  Probably.

The petition might give owners a feeling of “action” in response to the Guest Certificate policy, but a petition with only a few hundred or a thousand names on it (how does the BOD know any of the signatories are actual owners?) will serve to confirm the BOD made the correct decision.  It might even lead them to believe the GC will have less of an impact than estimated.

What if the BOD had put it to a vote of the membership?

1)    Should a $10 fee apply to every reservation? or

2)    Should a $99 fee apply only to reservations made in the name of a guest?

 Even without mentioning free guest certificates as part of the second choice, the outcome of the vote is obvious and leads us to where we are now.


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## CO skier (Jan 1, 2019)

I see that the new Guest Certificate and No smoking/vaping policies are included in the "Your Vacation Is Just Around The Corner!" reminder emails.

*Important Information*
• WorldMark’s guest usage policy states that the guest listed on the reservation must be present at check-in and occupy the unit. The guest name must be added prior to check-in by visiting worldmarktheclub.com or calling the Vacation Planning Center.
• This resort prohibits smoking and vaping except in designated smoking areas. Smoking and vaping are prohibited in all guest units, unit patios, decks and balconies. Please check with the resort’s front desk for information on designated smoking areas or any other site-specific smoking policies.


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## geist1223 (Jan 1, 2019)

ecwinch said:


> It has been reported over on FB that it is one named Trustee that is allowed to check-in for the Trust, and one other member (if the acct has two members).



Many/most times the beneficiary of the Trust is not the Trustee.


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## ecwinch (Jan 1, 2019)

And perfect is the enemy of the good.


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## ecwinch (Jan 1, 2019)

CO skier said:


> The WM BOD knows that the Guest Certificate fee will affect 10% of owners, or about 22,000 owners.  Would the BOD have made the same decision if 20% of owners were affected?  Probably.
> 
> The petition might give owners a feeling of “action” in response to the Guest Certificate policy, but a petition with only a few hundred or a thousand names on it (how does the BOD know any of the signatories are actual owners?) will serve to confirm the BOD made the correct decision.  It might even lead them to believe the GC will have less of an impact than estimated.
> 
> ...



Good point. Knowing that it affected 15% of the members, that is likely a decent threshold.

And to understand the necessity of doing something about non-owner usage, I don’t think you need to look much further than the petition comment of the member who has 20+ siblings. Where is the equity of allowing that many nonowners to book on the same cost basis as a dues paying member?

I am all for a reasonable accommodation for family usage - but I cannot envision an accommodation that would not impact that person.


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## VDoV (Jan 2, 2019)

geist1223 said:


> Do I have to include my email and telephone number?



Sorry for late response... Name, email and optional comment


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