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Annual Meeting

ronparise

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The Annual meeting is at the Bonnet Creek Hilton tomorrow

Is anyone else going to be there, or is it just me.
 

wjappraise

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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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ronparise

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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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I call it a dog and pony show.. I live just 3 hours away and its a nice getaway

But I have made some pretty good contacts here. (Wyndham execs)
 

ronparise

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Taken just as the meeting was about to begin yesterday..There was some big news announced yesterday... Ill post my notes when I get home
 

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John_and_Val

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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??? :)
 

ronparise

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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??? :)

As it turns out the solution to all the worlds problems is Voyager
 

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Interested in hearing what you felt were the important take aways and any other changes coming.

Thanks in advance, Ron!

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I am anxiously awaiting your post Ron.

Thanks for keeping us informed.
 

ronparise

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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, and of course me
 
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Sandi Bo

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Thanks for posting your notes Ron.

One of these years I hope to go to one of those Seems like a nice time to be in Orlando and would be interesting/entertaining.
 

clifffaith

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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.
 

ronparise

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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.

I asked that question directly and was told that they are different, but the same

I have never called Wyndham Travel but I did call Worldmark travel once. I was looking for a competitive bid for a flight I had scheduled.. They came in almost exactly the same as what I got through Orbitz.
 

buckor

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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
Thanks Ron for the update.

One would think that Wyndham would like Mega renters like yourself...you keep a lot of people happy and a lot of inventory in use with MFs paid.

The major thing you mentioned that I can agree with at this point is not requiring 2 guest certs for a 2 transaction reservation. I mean, that only seems like common sense...I would only second that with not requiring a second reservation credit. If Wyndham is offering 2 rooms to cover one entire reservation then it should only be one transaction credit and one guest cert (if required).

Just my $.02...but I am just getting started with all this so I don't know much!

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
 

Ty1on

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All reservations in a single day are one transaction.
 

henley1

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comment and question

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)?
 

ronparise

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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.
 

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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.

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).
 

Bigrob

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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 used to think they had a more symbiotic view of the mega-renter than they actually do. I reasoned that mega-renters were doing a lot of marketing and outreach and making "the Wyndham experience" available to many more people at their own expense, and that Wyndham recognized the value in this (for them) free marketing and exposure. However, they may have found that renters that pay discounted rates are not a good target for retail timeshare sales...

I don't doubt that they will continue to look for ways to make it more difficult for mega-renters while at the same time maintaining a level of benefits that provide differentiation from resale points. It's a difficult balancing act because whatever they implement has to be targeted so it doesn't adversely affect the VIP Owner who is using his ownership for personal use.

FYI, there are no platinum benefits for resale accounts. I think what you mean is if you add resale contracts to a platinum account, not allowing the VIP benefits to extend to the resale points. Just wanted to clarify as someone new might think resale accounts get VIP benefits... they do not.
 

ronparise

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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. They may not see my ad but they won't be able to reserve what they want either
 
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Bigrob

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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.
 

ronparise

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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.

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
 

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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
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.

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ronparise

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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.

I dont understand how Wyndham can call that more availability,(but of course they will when responding to the folks that complain they can get what they want whe they want it

You have described un-available units, no matter who is sleeping in them owners or renters they are un available to the rest of the ownership

But I agree 100%, thats the track wyndham is on. I wonder how successful they will be however as long as the respect the "rights" of deeded owners, like they did with the 10 nightly limit. The real popular places will fill up at 13 months and the rest of the owners that wanted a place for bike week, or Mardi Gras or comic con or a weekend at Glacier Canyon will still be upset when they see ads for those events on Craigs list

I know its going to continue (the squeeze on renting) but I also know its not going to make any real difference to most owners even if they put us out of business.
 
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