I'm not going. But would love a report. Is there something to be gained by attending? I never have done so, but have no valid reason short of thinking it was a bit of pomp and circumstance with no real purpose. Am I wrong?
Wes
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Pretty good turn-out. I watched the live feed.....Noticed they pushed "Voyager" a lot. Looking forward to what you have to say Ron.
By the way - did you win anything???
Does anyone know if Wyndham Travel services the Worldmark accounts as well? We hate the Expedia-type travel services that Diàmond Resorts utilizes. There are so many Worldmark resorts in the west (we are in Los Angeles) that we run our account down to zero each year, so we use our DRI account when we need to make other travel arrangements and it's like pulling teeth to make things happen.
Thanks Ron for the update.The annual Club Wyndhan meeting is a 3 part affair, 1) the official annual meeting of the Fairshare Trust 2) lunch 3) the exhibits and a q&a session
First of all lunch was great, really really good stuff, The Hilton does it right
Here is a list of the exhibits that I remember, RCI, VIP, Presidential Reserve, Wyndham at Home, Club Pass, Wyndham Travel, Percs by Wyndham, Hotel Division, And there was a Help center where you could learn how to use the website to make a reservation
and the best for last, a question and answer session was held toward the end of the day
Please understand, my purpose in attending this meeting was a whole lot different than most, so what I took note of and remember is not complete. Just because I dont talk about something here doesnt mean it wasnt covered at the meeting
My goal here was to confirm what I already know and that is Wyndham really doesnt like megarenter activity,.and I wanted to know if the top executives at Wyndham knew me. Turns out that to a man (and woman) they all know me. As one guy put it we all know who you are. I spoke with Geoff Richards, chief operations officer, Peter Hernandez, Hospitality Division Controller, Mark Johnson chief hospitality officer., Richard Scinta, Vice President, Club and Association Governance. I also met the top people in Ovation, Owner Care and Title services> I didnt get to the sales and marketing guy
The business meeting was about an hour and a half in the morning
Only 3 speakers,
Geoff Richards (Presidents report) 2) Peter Hernandez (treasurers report) and 3) Mark Johnson (Operations Report)
Geoff Richards opened with a general discussion of where we have been and where we are going. This is our 50th year; Fairfield Bay dates back to 1966) (http://visitfairfieldbay.com/city-of-fairfield-bay/history/) and They are calling this Wyndham Vacation Ownerships 25th year.
Geoffs big news was that Voyager would be operational by the next annual meeting. the features that interested me would be a better search functionality, 24/7 operations and the ability to do ARP online. I learned later that this will be the first phase. Worldmark and Shell would be brought in later, so Club Pass will ultimately be possible online and that there will be no wait list (for now). He also discussed the partnership with Norwegian Cruise lines, Club Pass and Wyndham Rewards. Oh and Wyndham is really proud of Ovation (I mean why wouldnt they like it, they get inventory at zero cost and can sell it at $200/1000 points... Whats not to like about that?)
Peter Hernandez presented the treasures report Its important to remember that this is a discussion of only the clubs budget, not the budgets of the individual resorts
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fyx5rdh47qicyax/2016 Wyndham Owners Mtg Fin Presentation.pdf?dl=0
Mark Johnson, As Chief Hospitality officer he is pretty much responsible for everything in Wyndham that isnt sales. His message was that there is no company without us; happy and satisfied customers.. At least that was my take. I dont have any notes on his presentation
Things I learned at the exhibits
Wyndham at Home: The pillows at the resorts can be purchased through Wyndham at Home. I knew that but I learned that the Blue Label pillows are whats used at the resorts. so I dont have to spend the money for the more expensive Black Label. (My wife and I really like the pillows at the resorts)
Wyndham Travel is a full service travel agency and you can use money, Its not just a points exchange
Things I learned at the Q and A
Owners still hate sales, but the sales department doesn't care.
Voyager is the answer to almost everything else,
Owners dont like that we have to buy a separate guest cert for each segment of a split reservations
Lots of owners do the cancel and rebook thing and think its their right as VIP owners to get every reservation at a discount
My admittatly narrow focus, and quite selfish take-away:
Wyndham really doesnt like megarenting because it generates so many complaints from the owners. They know me and what I do and think Im a reasonable guy that plays within the rules. They cant afford too many unhappy owners, so they have to do something about controlling rentals
True... forgot about that!All reservations in a single day are one transaction.
Comment: I would also think that Wyndham likes the mega-renters because they provide a steady stream of guests for timeshare sales.
Question: Was there any mention at the meeting of the specific steps management might take to make it harder on the renters (ie discontinuing platinum benefits for resale accounts or making cancel rebook more difficult)?
The problem Wyndham has with renting is I believe two fold, 1) it generates complaints. The average wyndhan owners has something like 250000 points When some guy that paid $35000 for those points and the privilege of paying $1500 a year for his vacation accommodations, shares a hot tub with a guy that paid me $1000 for the same thing, he is understandably upset and he complains,,, loudly Too many complaints and thats gotta hurt sales. and 2) Wyndham is in the rental business too, they have to be looking at the money guys like me generate and think that it should rightfully be theirs. Yes we bring in fresh meat for the salesmen, but when Wyndham does a rental it brings in fresh meat too.
Comment: I would also think that Wyndham likes the mega-renters because they provide a steady stream of guests for timeshare sales.
Question: Was there any mention at the meeting of the specific steps management might take to make it harder on the renters (ie discontinuing platinum benefits for resale accounts or making cancel rebook more difficult)?
I think there is a third factor too, and that's the one that Wyndham states is the reason for most of the changes they implement; to improve availability for all owners. In order for the guy to even have the opportunity to share the hot tub with the renter, there has to be availability, and the big points managers have all the reservations and availability tied up in the hundreds of accounts they manage. An owner finds he can't book with his points, yet there are numerous places online he can find availability to rent the very same unit (and to rub salt into the wound, he also discovers he can rent it for less than his maintenance fees).
I know that's what they say about availability but that's baloney. they can put you and me out of business but it won't create availability. There will still be the same number of units to reserve and the same number of points to reserve them with. The may not see my ad but they won't be able to reserve what they want either
That is not how they see it, of course. Said another way; if it at certain point in time, there are 60% renters and 40% owners at a resort, and by making changes, they switch that to be 40% renters and 60% owners. They have then created more availability for owners. Same number of units, same number of points; but more of those points are being used for owner reservations rather than reservations that are rented out.
It doesn't really matter whether you and I agree with this perspective or not; it only matters that the executives at Wyndham believe this is the case and are taking actions directed at effecting this revised occupancy mix.
Personally, I would look forward to that. The more 77000 point contracts they sell, pays the bills. And with bonus points., May, there was one at Nashville a young couple about 30, their first trip. Gives me some time before they become a problem. If they ever do.We do agree on what's gonna happen it's just that I don't think it will make any difference to most of the ownership
That is not how they see it, of course. Said another way; if it at certain point in time, there are 60% renters and 40% owners at a resort, and by making changes, they switch that to be 40% renters and 60% owners. They have then created more availability for owners. Same number of units, same number of points; but more of those points are being used for owner reservations rather than reservations that are rented out.
It doesn't really matter whether you and I agree with this perspective or not; it only matters that the executives at Wyndham believe this is the case and are taking actions directed at effecting this revised occupancy mix.