As there is no way to contact the board directly, I mailed the following letter to Wyndham to forward to the board and decided to share here as well. Very frustrating to send this type of question to the board through the Wyndham "filters" and receive the generic corporate response in return. Does our board get feedback from owners? Is there opportunity for a town hall type meeting? We love our membership but we don't appreciate the lack of communication, absence of two-way communication with owners and the decisions made to please TNL shareholders at expense of owner satisfaction.
Letter:
I am writing to the board members to express my concern that decisions are made unilaterally by our management company, Wyndham, with a negative impact to the owners of Shell Owners Association West without effective direction from our association board to preserve the value and satisfaction of our owners. Our Shell Owners Association Board must serve with the interest of the owners when conducting business with our management company. Decision made by the board, or passively allowed by the board, that erode that our benefit of ownership are contrary to your responsibilities as board members.
I am aware of the symbiotic and balanced relationship that the association must maintain with the management company for mutual benefit. I understand both entities must be able to thrive. However, with Wyndham employee representatives serving on the board, many decisions are heavily in Wyndham’s favor. The board must be stronger at asking Wyndham to respect the balance of the relationship and advocate to preserve the ownership satisfaction. There is corporate benefit to care for the welfare of the members.
I have a few examples I’d like to share.
First and foremost, I have found it incredibly dissatisfying that Wyndham took the earliest opportunity possible to force our owners from Interval International, provider of high quality resorts and great customer service, to RCI with many sub-par, and aging properties. As a grandfathered Elite member, we were provided “RCI Platinum” memberships. Most of the benefits are a farce. I’ve never experiences the unit size upgrade and many of the premium properties are come with huge exchange fees – not the base fee of $99. The membership is not the same value that was provided with Interval International. Shouldn’t the membership have some voice in this matter? Where was the board in this decision? I understand that the exchange company selection ultimately belongs to Wyndham. The board has every right to question this decision and pressure Wyndham to do what’s right for the owner. They didn’t – Wyndham profits are more important that owner satisfaction. I asked if I could purchase an Interval International Membership directly and Interval International said that they could not work with me directly as Shell Vacations Club ended exchange agreements with them. Board members, why are you allowing our club manager to limit our choices? Why are you allowing them to force us to exchange only with RCI (owned by Wyndham). Can you not represent the owners? More exchange options make for a stronger club with higher satisfaction. That is why you represent owners as board members. Please do your job. Advocate for more exchange options and don’t lock us in. Wyndham has found a way to offer both Interval International and RCI to Worldmark Owners. Why can’t we do the same? Perhaps the Worldmark Board was more protective of owner value?
Secondly, I have been presented with the threat that I need to convert to Wyndham Club Prefer West before all the inventory dries up, before I am the only one paying maintenance fees to support SVC, before the neglected website stops working. The salespeople love to promote the death of SVC for the benefit of Club Wyndham sales. Actually, I support the idea and think there is simplicity to one club/one system. I believe I have a good understanding of the structure behind the conversion. For the most part, the VIP benefits and Elite benefits align well enough with one exception. As a Shell Vacations Club Grandfathered Elite, I have the RCI platinum with some exchanges at $99, even if it isn’t my preferred exchange provider. If I convert, I get regular RCI with a $279 exchange fee. That is crazy. My annual fees don’t see a reduction, but I would almost triple my RCI exchange fee. I would not even have the opportunity to pay for the higher level of RCI. Again, I would also not be able to pursue a membership with Interval International. (With significantly lower exchange fees and higher quality accommodations).
I have grown accustomed to the slow erosion of services and programs provided since Wyndham’s acquisition and I have learned to ignore the death toll that the salespeople predict for the unfortunate SVC owners. I realized long ago that this is not a brand that Wyndham will develop further – they will just work to generate revenue in the assimilation process. I resign to the fact that we will continue to be Wyndhamized as much as possible.
I just ask that you, the board, remember your duty to the owners to MANAGE the company that we have contracted with to run our properties. YOU have an influence over the benefits that the management company offers. If nothing else, we deserve choices when exchanging. None of us ever gave up our rights to exchange with II or RCI. What gives Wyndham that right to block our ability to trade and why is our board not representing the owners?
As the industry consolidates and the supply chains become consolidated and vertical, it seems that there may need to be more consumer protections added to real estate code to protect the owners. It may be a good time to legislate a higher burden of responsibility to association boards to require management companies to make decisions in the best interests of owners. Perhaps all associations should be required to seek an open market request for proposal for timeshare association management contracts on a periodic basis?
