So if one of the properties divested was one you really liked - that would be fine with you? For instance, Canmore? It is a popular resort during the summer, but some rough math suggests that utilization is less than 60%.
Having researched it more - it is a model more harkening back to the early WM days. Not really building or owning resorts. Instead buying a few units in a condo or existing timeshare. Not sure how you shrink WM and 220k+ members into that model, as it seems the WM resorts with the greatest complaints are the shared resorts (i.e. Schooners Landing). But the concept of selling off underperforming resorts is something that Bob Hartsock has spoken about.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out for them.
I would certainly be disappointed if Canmore was sold off (as you know I go there frequently). However, I would be fine with that it IF it improved the quality of the club, and made it easier to get other desirable locations.
To work some numbers: Canmore has 112 units. It is is attached to the Grand Canadian Resort, which has some individually owned units. Based on sales there, I think the average unit at WM Canmore should go for $240k CAD. That works out to just over $20 million USD at current exchange rates. That seems like it should be possible to buy 20-30 units on Maui for that amount of money.
If they retired the difference in credits and added 20 more units on Maui I think the club would be better off. I would also be an interested buyer of a condo unit at WM Canmore if they were selling units there... The WM has tourist zoning, which is somewhat uncommon and very desirable in the Canmore market.
I think there are lots of places where the WM is under-utilized but individual condos (or even a whole resort) would be very saleable. Canmore is certainly on that list. Probably Big Bear, Angels Camp, Galena, Grand Lake, La Paloma, and Pine Top as well. Maybe some of the inland WA resorts? Very unfamiliar with those...
If they replaced owners who want out and underutilized resorts with less units in Hawaii/California Coast (the two locations that are booked solid at 13 months year round) we'd all be better off.
Anyway, that is pretty off topic to your original thread on governance, but I do think it's an interesting discussion.
As an aside, if I had WM BoD authority for a day I'd use the power to re-align credits to make them more fair on a seasonal basis.
Taking WM Canmore as a perfect example of this. 2-3 months of summer and 2 weeks at Xmas sell out at 13 months. A few other holidays and weekends sell out (especially in 2 bedrooms) but it is often on bonus time in off season. However, even on bonus time it isn't necessarily competitive with off-season rental prices in the area. To improve utilization and make things more fair, they should increase credits for a shorter red season (just true summer, week 7, and week 13 which is local spring break, and easter). Also bump the 2 bedrooms up. Use that increase to decrease credits on the smaller units and low season units. While that would be a wash for me as I tend to book 2 bedrooms in low season, occupancy would be way better. The peak times would still sell out at a 15k/week for a 2 bedroom, but the low season would too if you lowered the cost. That is just one example, and lots of resorts have a similar situation, most notably Yellowstone, where summer sells out at 13 months and winter doesn't fill at all.
I should say since I've owned Wyn has moved around the seasons at Canmore to better match demand, moving red to the shoulder around summer, which is a better representation of actual demand, so they are trying to improve things. I went to Canmore once in January when that was still red season, and I think I was the only one there. Now that it's white occupancy is better.
