Are you happy??

[altiste1]

I've been considering buying a low maintenance fee Wyndham contract for a while, waiting for the right time and the right opportunity. But reading this forum consistently I've come away with a palpable sense of frustration, anger and cynicism from some of the owners posting here, which gives me pause about buying in. Some of the pain points in recent posts:

• Terrible, clunky website that makes finding and booking what you want difficult and painful, with seemingly no prospect of it improving.
• Check-in staff hassling owners to attend sales presentations.
• Revelations that Wyndham prioritizes its own rental bookings and inventory to the detriment of owners.
• A draconian crackdown on renting (that to my eyes appears to be scapegoating owners as a cover for the above shady practice of de-prioritizing owner inventory).
• The approved rental portal (Extra Holidays) that seems to operate barely better than a scam.

And that doesn't even address sales tactics, which need not be rehashed here. So here's my question to all the owners here: given how Wyndham operates, are you happy with your ownership? Are the vacations you get at Wyndham resorts worth the negatives mentioned above and elsewhere? On balance, if you had it to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you buy Wyndham again?

 

[chapjim]

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, did you enjoy the play?

 

[paxsarah]

I am happy, as a resale owner. While I do think some of the current problems with the website are terrible, I don't think the website as a whole is terrible, if that distinction makes any sense. For the number of reservations I make per year (typically 2-5 annually with 388,500 points), the website has not impeded my ability to make any of them.

I am becoming increasingly skeptical of Wyndham's ability to bring the website back up to speed and deal with increasing customer service issues such as the transfer to the new payment system (which is less of a "website" issue than a longstanding backend data issue that has resurfaced with a vengeance due to the transition). But I am generally still able to do what I need to, and my investment was intentionally low so that if I ever feel the need to walk away, I will. But I'm adding to my points, not getting out right now. I understand the system back to front and it still works for me.

I haven't had a problem with Wyndham prioritizing its own bookings (and I'm not even entirely sure that's true), because as a resale owner I tend to book 10 months out. Most of the issues people find with availability happen much closer in.

I don't rent, and it was never really a profitable prospect for me as a non-VIP with no guaranteed discounts. I could never compete on price with them.

Sales staff and the push to attend meetings is annoying, but "no" is still a complete sentence. I've been fortunate to be on the do not sell list since I gave back two contracts to Wyndham a few years ago.

I think a lot more of the dissatisfaction comes from folks who purchased from Wyndham and are generally VIP. Their sunk costs are higher, and their tolerance for changes that impact them negatively is lower, which is completely understandable. On this day in 2023 I would never recommend going this route from scratch. It's much easier to let stuff roll off your back as a resale owner when you can pretty much leave when you want (or within about six months of when you decide you're done).

 

[Rolltydr]

I’m a silver VIP owner with both developer and resale points. We purchased in 2014 and are very happy with the vacation resorts and resort staffs. We stay in very nice locations with great accommodations from our standpoint. We bought our timeshare for our family to enjoy, not to run a rental business. IMHO, most of the complaints about Wyndham as a vacation partner, come from those owners who rented out at least a portion of their annual points. As far as the process of booking reservations and enjoying the accommodations, I have no complaints.

As far as the website, I agree with paxsarah, it works for the basic task of booking reservations most of the time. Other functions, such as sccessing financial data, can be difficult and the data is often incorrect.

And as for the sales reps, just say no! Not no, because…. Just a good firm NO. I’m also now on the do not sale list but just saying no worked well for me. I never had to say it more than twice.

So, my advice to you is, if you’re looking to purchase a Wyndham timeshare for your family to enjoy when on vacation, jump in with a resale contract. If you’re looking to rent your points to “pay your maintenance fees” and make a little money on the side, forget it. Wyndham will stop you and you’ll be pissed at them although you know going in that EH is the only way, contractually, to rent your points.

Good luck!

 

[FirstMarie]

Hi good morning. The short answer is: We've made the best of it (VIP Gold for about 15 years). But today, in a world with AirBnB, no, I wouldn't do it again.

Our long story:

Our kids were 6 & 8, we came down to Myrtle Beach with a dirt-cheap certificate for 3 or 4 nights to have a pretty ok beach resort with a full kitchen to vacation at, it was attractive. Our first contract was 2006 for 192,500 or about? Then, later, they reeled my husband in to upgrade to gold (500k at the time) & the girl's hot flim-flam was Extra Holidays. My approach to a happy marriage is Be A Low-Maintenance Spouse so whatever + honestly if he wants to throw away money so his family can have nice vacations, great, how sweet!

I did jump on board when the salesgirl said Mid-Week Cleaning for VIP because my number-one problem with long stays anywhere in the US is no housekeeping but at the same time not enough cleaning tools for me.

Everything was fine, our capital costs totaled $60k, today we're long past the annoyance of paying it off, our maintenance is around 2k+/- We did many long off-season vacations with our VIP discount at our home resort and did a little renting (I thought it was a pain), then everything changed when Wyndham opened the Manhattan property. We live in Trenton, a bunch of our college friends & my brother-in-law live there. We're close enough that it's fine to go up/down, back/forth but a city sleepover is divine. But NYC hotel inventory, ack, who can afford it?

Now we can!! & with it being so close, I can just log in at the last minute, book it with an upgrade, and we jump on the train. We wear it out! We're there all the time! Last year, we were having construction on our real house & we spent most of the month at the Wyndham resort, hanging out. & it wasn't our only trip that use year.

Maybe I make it sound too exciting but back to my short answer: We've made the best of it & no I don't think I would do it again.

 

[troy12n]

** QUESTIONABLE CONTENT REMOVED BY MODERATOR **

As a non-renter, am I unhappy with my ownership? No...

Do I think the website sucks? Hell yeah, but do I regret my ownership because of that? No...

Do I tire of the endless sales tactics? Yes... but I ignore them more often than not, except that wacky lady Kim at Governors Green who makes my blood boil

Do I give a crap that people who rented lost their revenue streams... because at the end of the day, they were making money on the backs of other owners, and that's not the intent of timeshare ownership... so sorry, not sorry

 

[bnoble]

I'm a very satisfied Wyndham owner. That is possibly in part because I am not a "heavy user" of the system (at least, not by some measures), and I use all of my points for personal travel. I have about 840K points in total.

I have not had undue difficulty with the web site. My booking pattern is driven by desire, not availability, so I am not one of the people constantly looking at what is/is not there. Instead, I get an idea about what I'd like to book, and go see if I can book it. I plan well in advance (more than 10 months) for the "important" trips, and so far have been 100% successful getting those "important" trips booked. I've also been happy about what I've been able to grab after that point. Maybe I am not sufficiently discerning!

Does the web site have hiccups from time to time? Yes, but they haven't risen even to "I am very annoyed by that." At least, not for me. Some of the hiccups are advantages. For example, it is not always obvious that accessible units are not included in the default search. Guess which units last long after the other ones are gone? Those who know this have an advantage, and TUGgers know this.

The check-in thing can certainly be annoying. It's not particularly more annoying than many other timeshare systems, but there are a few that are much better. In most cases, it is probably a reason to avoid timeshare generally, as opposed to Wyndham specifically. The standout exception that I've experienced is Disney; they do not ask at all, ever. I find if I am intentional about it, it's much less annoying. For example, when I remind myself that I do not owe this person my time, it is easier to not feel bad about the conversation. They would like me to attend, and they get paid/keep their job if I do. I would like not to attend. My preference is the one that governs, but it is a sad/bad thing for them. So, I just repeat my regretful no, and it ends relatively quickly.

I'm with @paxsarah in that I am not convinced that the "prioritize" claim is true. However, the governing documents explicitly allow Wyndham to take inventory for its own use within 60 days of check-in, so they are entitled to do so in that window if they want.

I don't rent, and rarely send a family member without traveling with them. The anti-rental steps don't impact me negatively, and arguably impact me (very very marginally) positively. The idea that it has been cover for something more nefairous strikes me as a fever dream, but I'm a skeptic about "skepticism". Likewise, EH's deal doesn't matter at all to me. The fact that Wyndham--a for-profit company--stacks the EH deck in its favor is about as unsurprising as something could possibly be.

Of course @paxsarah makes another good point: Any question of the form "How much did you like X" is always answered as if were really "How much did you like X given how much you paid." The lower your investment, the easier it is to feel good about things. Presumably, you'd be buying on the resale market, and that value proposition is very different than someone who paid mid-five or low-six figures in acquisition.

I think the other big consideration is one's perspective. For this to work, you either have to decide to trust Wyndham has your interests at heart, or you have to decide that you don't care that they don't. I am in the latter camp. I don't think for one second that Wyndham cares deeply about my happiness. But, the system is structured in a way that serves my needs, and while that's true I'm just fine. When it's no longer true, I'll be happy to leave, because it has been and continues to be a good run.

 

[FirstMarie]

** QUESTIONABLE CONTENT REMOVED BY MODERATOR **

As a non-renter, am I unhappy with my ownership? No...

Do I think the website sucks? Hell yeah, but do I regret my ownership because of that? No...

Do I tire of the endless sales tactics? Yes... but I ignore them more often than not, except that wacky lady Kim at Governors Green who makes my blood boil

Do I give a crap that people who rented lost their revenue streams... because at the end of the day, they were making money on the backs of other owners, and that's not the intent of timeshare ownership... so sorry, not sorry

You seem upset (I saw before moderating intervention) & I don't know if it's directed at words in my post but if it is, I'm sorry to have been confusing. Was Airbnb a triggering term?

I just meant to say that as vacationers, Airbnb has full kitchens in resort locations (condos, beach shacks, whatever) but that service was still edgy (or nonexistent, I don't recall) at the time we bought in.

But now, the $60k we spent buying into VIP Gold ... that's years, of Jan/Feb or November Airbnbing in Myrtle Beach.

However, the Midtown resort makes it more par. It's good to run up for a quick weekend, have dinner with friends, have breakfast with my brother-in-law, take two days to see one exhibit at the MoMA, it's the best. When Timeshare Spammers call my phone, I blow up at them ("I use those maintenance fees staying weeks in Manhattan! Don't you talk to me like I'm a charity case!!" lol)

But I still don't think we would do it again lol

 

[FirstMarie]

I'm a very satisfied Wyndham owner. That is possibly in part because I am not a "heavy user" of the system (at least, not by some measures), and I use all of my points for personal travel. I have about 840K points in total.

I have not had undue difficulty with the web site. My booking pattern is driven by desire, not availability, so I am not one of the people constantly looking at what is/is not there. Instead, I get an idea about what I'd like to book, and go see if I can book it. I plan well in advance (more than 10 months) for the "important" trips, and so far have been 100% successful getting those "important" trips booked. I've also been happy about what I've been able to grab after that point. Maybe I am not sufficiently discerning!

Does the web site have hiccups from time to time? Yes, but they haven't risen even to "I am very annoyed by that." At least, not for me. Some of the hiccups are advantages. For example, it is not always obvious that accessible units are not included in the default search. Guess which units last long after the other ones are gone? Those who know this have an advantage, and TUGgers know this.

The check-in thing can certainly be annoying. It's not particularly more annoying than many other timeshare systems, but there are a few that are much better. In most cases, it is probably a reason to avoid timeshare generally, as opposed to Wyndham specifically. The standout exception that I've experienced is Disney; they do not ask at all, ever. I find if I am intentional about it, it's much less annoying. For example, when I remind myself that I do not owe this person my time, it is easier to not feel bad about the conversation. They would like me to attend, and they get paid/keep their job if I do. I would like not to attend. My preference is the one that governs, but it is a sad/bad thing for them. So, I just repeat my regretful no, and it ends relatively quickly.

I'm with @paxsarah in that I am not convinced that the "prioritize" claim is true. However, the governing documents explicitly allow Wyndham to take inventory for its own use within 60 days of check-in, so they are entitled to do so in that window if they want.

I don't rent, and rarely send a family member without traveling with them. The anti-rental steps don't impact me negatively, and arguably impact me (very very marginally) positively. The idea that it has been cover for something more nefairous strikes me as a fever dream, but I'm a skeptic about "skepticism". Likewise, EH's deal doesn't matter at all to me. The fact that Wyndham--a for-profit company--stacks the EH deck in its favor is about as unsurprising as something could possibly be.

Of course @paxsarah makes another good point: Any question of the form "How much did you like X" is always answered as if were really "How much did you like X given how much you paid." The lower your investment, the easier it is to feel good about things. Presumably, you'd be buying on the resale market, and that value proposition is very different than someone who paid mid-five or low-six figures in acquisition.

I think the other big consideration is one's perspective. For this to work, you either have to decide to trust Wyndham has your interests at heart, or you have to decide that you don't care that they don't. I am in the latter camp. I don't think for one second that Wyndham cares deeply about my happiness. But, the system is structured in a way that serves my needs, and while that's true I'm just fine. When it's no longer true, I'll be happy to leave, because it has been and continues to be a good run.

I think you & @paxsarah are right on abt what did you pay but also what is it worth? The first $30k contract was worth it to me because I knew where we'd vacation, beachfront, warm, & the kids would have a full refrigerator, no hungry, angry children with low blood sugar at an unfamiliar restaurant. To me, that was worth $30k bc whatever it's just money, we were young with so many vacations ahead of us. The next $30k contract, I had more ambivalence but ... I wonder if someone had come to me in 2009 & said, "If you give us $60,000 today, in five years you can stay more nights than you'll ever believe year after year in Manhattan" ... that's why I keep saying I don't *think* I would do it again. It was a game-changer, it's pretty sweet.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We are dumping a lot of what we own in Wyndham, as most of the posters here on TUG already know. You need to know before you buy that Wyndham points are worth basically $0, so if you buy for $0, then you are paying what it's worth. It could get better at some point, but for now, most Wyndham points are worth basically nothing. Now if you can buy points with low MF's, like Bali Hai or Canterbury, or some other over-pointed resorts, then you will do great with Wyndham.

Our VIP Platinum/ Founder's status, which cannot be sold intact is worthy of what we paid, which was a pittance compared to what it costs today--now that is valuable, but how many points can we sincerely use ourselves? That is the big question I am asking myself multiple times a day. We actually have two Founder's accounts. Yes, two of them, acquired when we were able to convert our PAHIO Bali Hai and Shearwater points to Wyndham for a small outlay of cash.

It has been a great run, and I don't regret any of it. I do think the current climate of Wyndham not allowing us to rent as owners is wrong, and I would like to be able to do at least some rentals, but we have been told no rentals. Maybe the salespeople ought to stop telling people they can rent. Even the Wyndham people in the title department have told us in recent weeks that renting is not against the rules. Well, I am not using Extra Holidays for anything. The risk is too great.

The climate on TUG has also been negative toward mega renters. They actually claim we are taking inventory from them, while RCI is chock full of rentals of Bonnet Creek under Extra Vacations. It's a joke. I posted a long list of rentals by RCI of Bonnet Creek and got very little response from TUG members. As long as the big corporation of Wyndham gets the money, it's okay whatever they do, but if owners do the same, some TUG members ridicule and attack.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I think you & @paxsarah are right on abt what did you pay but also what is it worth? The first $30k contract was worth it to me because I knew where we'd vacation, beachfront, warm, & the kids would have a full refrigerator, no hungry, angry children with low blood sugar at an unfamiliar restaurant. To me, that was worth $30k bc whatever it's just money, we were young with so many vacations ahead of us. The next $30k contract, I had more ambivalence but ... I wonder if someone had come to me in 2009 & said, "If you give us $60,000 today, in five years you can stay more nights than you'll ever believe year after year in Manhattan" ... that's why I keep saying I don't *think* I would do it again. It was a game-changer, it's pretty sweet.

Good for you for making lemonade out of lemons. I didn't pay anywhere near what you paid and own 6X what you own. Just had to say it.

Our oldest granddaughter is a ballet dancer, looking at several contemporary dance companies to join and has had 9 offers for next year after her auditions in Oklahoma City. She may choose a company in NY, so I will be right there with you, along with our other kids and grandkids, using these points to see her often. But we don't know what she will choose at this point.

 

[FirstMarie]

Good for you for making lemonade out of lemons. I didn't pay anywhere near what you paid and own 6X what you own. Just had to say it.

That's cool, omigosh, someone is always getting in on the ground floor before you somewhere, am I right? At least we didn't have to take their terrible (!) financing.

Ironically, it's the second contract I was ambivalent about that is making my whole lemonade stand work: if we didn't have VIPG with its discounts/upgrades going for us the whole thing would probably just be a total nightmare from our misspent youth.

 

[legalfee]

I bought resale fixed weeks 12 years ago and use the two TSs I own just about every year. My VRI I can easily trade and my Wyndham I can rent out through our owners group. I've never messed with points and do not want to convert. The only time I'm on Wyndham's site is to pay my maintenance fees. So yes I am happy.

 

[HitchHiker71]

You seem upset (I saw before moderating intervention) & I don't know if it's directed at words in my post but if it is, I'm sorry to have been confusing. Was Airbnb a triggering term?

I just meant to say that as vacationers, Airbnb has full kitchens in resort locations (condos, beach shacks, whatever) but that service was still edgy (or nonexistent, I don't recall) at the time we bought in.

But now, the $60k we spent buying into VIP Gold ... that's years, of Jan/Feb or November Airbnbing in Myrtle Beach.

However, the Midtown resort makes it more par. It's good to run up for a quick weekend, have dinner with friends, have breakfast with my brother-in-law, take two days to see one exhibit at the MoMA, it's the best. When Timeshare Spammers call my phone, I blow up at them ("I use those maintenance fees staying weeks in Manhattan! Don't you talk to me like I'm a charity case!!" lol)

But I still don't think we would do it again lol

Services like AirBnB have certainly become all the rage over the past 10 years in particular. That's why we're seeing timeshare entities like Wyndham try to adapt by offering Vacasa integration for example - but that's really tied to Wyndham Rewards and not Wyndham Destinations. We are sitting on more than a half million WR points right now, so I'm committed to try to use Vacasa this year for an AirBnB type rental for the first time. I think we'll continue to see changes in how timeshares are sold and packaged - we've been debating for the past few years here on TUG as to how that might take shape. I for one think we'll see more subscription type timeshare sales over time. Rather than "lifetime" type sales - we'll see lease type sales - buy xxxxxx/points per year over a five year term for xxx/month. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) models like this are increasingly attractive to many companies because the revenue is very persistent and predictive, not to mention the multipliers for stock value are higher for firms that have a majority of their future revenue streams coming from MRR.

Would I still buy into Wyndham today? I'm a fairly "young" owner in that I bought in as a VIPG owner in July 2018 - we paid about 27k all-in using two three bedroom PIC properties and own 718k annual developer points and subsequently bought 689k of NH resale points - so we own a little over 1.4mm annual points and we use all of our points for personal use - exception during the pandemic when we used a couple of points managers to rent some unused points. With the erosion of VIP benefits such as unlimited HKCs and RTs (RTs are now free for everyone), I’m not sure it makes sense to buy up to VIP levels any longer - so for someone like me I’m not sure I would buy back in even with PIC Plus.

We really love our Wyndham - we love the product and we love every resort we've been to for the most part. We have no love for the sales and marketing aspects of ownership. Given people can no longer request to be on the DNC lists - you have to put up with being hassled to attend sales updates forever now, unless you can somehow get someone from Wyndham to put you on this list of course. If you're looking at resale only - I think @paxsarah made some excellent points - little to no buy-in costs up front make for an easy exit if you were to ever change your mind about the utility of Wyndham ownership and if you use your ownership productively - even with paying the MFs you get enough utility out of the points owned to likely make it worthwhile especially over time. I'd love to get up to VIPP or VIPF but I just cannot justify the additional 50k+ expense - the ROI just isn't there - or if it is - it's 20+ years out at best and that's making quite a few long term assumptions about usage that may or may not actually pan out over time. 20+ years is also a really long time in today's world where a LOT can change given the change rate is accelerating across almost every industry segment. That's why we at TUG wholeheartedly recommend buying resale whenever possible. Here's a link to a couple of articles about Wyndham timeshare ownership along this line:

Is timesharing right for me?

The purpose of this article is to establish what we consider to be a few hard and fast rules to live by when attempting to determine conceptually if timeshare ownership is a good match to meet your…

wyndhamexperts.org

Did I Do the Right Thing?

Q: I just bought Wyndham points at the resort. Did I do the right thing? A: This is a question that has been asked, ever since they started selling timeshares in the ’60s. It’s a reasonable questio…

wyndhamexperts.org

 

[noreenkate]

Terrible, clunky website that makes finding and booking what you want difficult and painful, with seemingly no prospect of it improving.

WARNING RANT SCROLL PAST IF YOU NEED TOO…

So I am relatively new to Wyndham but essentially grew up with summer vacations at Lake Winnipesaukee A&A my parents timeshare. I am an early retiree with time on my hands and kids that are out of state. So adding a few small units to supplement what I already had through Wyndham resale seemed the way to go…I had asked here on tug a few years back about another system and was told Wyndham more destinations resale is a bargain yadadayada. I had an injury so I had plenty of time researching and the one thing that scared me was the website end.

While I will say do like the resorts I have stayed at so far my experience has been, IMO, terrible. Take that with a grain of salt cause my only experience buying timeshares before was DVC both direct and resale so I am a bit spoiled on the customer service end.

Wyndham on the other hand is a whole different animal customer service wise. To put it bluntly the company sucks. From day one I had issues- first someone at Wyndham decided to change my name and address so after months of waiting- and checking waiting and checking nothing showed up at the 7 month mark 1 of 3 showed up it was than that the phone reps would talk to me & Wyndhams account creation error was discovered and I had 3 contacts with 2 completely separate accounts.

They transferred me to owner care - equally useless IMO…first I was told whoops our bad no worries we will get this sorted go ahead and book your vacations. 2 months later I had to do all sorts of nonsense paperwork including notary’s to again fix their mistake. Well I followed their advice booked my trip. Well a week before what should have been my first trip they finally began merging the accounts - when they did they cancelled the trip. Well the day I found out a sales team called…I spent my most of my adult like working overnights in the NYC subway - well my loud obnoxious New Yorker came right out and I will let you fill in the cuss words.

First I have not been bothered by sales at all …no check in hassle’s parking pass gets handed to me and they ask how many wristbands. We are all very polite I am pretty sure that I have some sort of ticking bomb icon attached to my reservations now- fine by me.

I wish I could tell you all about ghost inventory being a problem but basically I still can’t login without a hassle. It was taking 3-4 days to try and login just to pay my maintenance fees…Another thing I find incredibly ridiculous- This is the only timeshare I own that doesn’t give you your complete bill for the year along with an option to pay monthly. Even called into financial services and asked so that I could stop the login nonsense and pay it outright and their response was just times whatever you think it is by 12!!!
WTF is wrong with this company… I picked an amount that “should cover it” but again no idea…

I tried to login to check dates this afternoon - hour later I gave up…

 

[Jan M.]

I've been considering buying a low maintenance fee Wyndham contract for a while, waiting for the right time and the right opportunity. But reading this forum consistently I've come away with a palpable sense of frustration, anger and cynicism from some of the owners posting here, which gives me pause about buying in. Some of the pain points in recent posts:

• Terrible, clunky website that makes finding and booking what you want difficult and painful, with seemingly no prospect of it improving.
• Check-in staff hassling owners to attend sales presentations.
• Revelations that Wyndham prioritizes its own rental bookings and inventory to the detriment of owners.
• A draconian crackdown on renting (that to my eyes appears to be scapegoating owners as a cover for the above shady practice of de-prioritizing owner inventory).
• The approved rental portal (Extra Holidays) that seems to operate barely better than a scam.

And that doesn't even address sales tactics, which need not be rehashed here. So here's my question to all the owners here: given how Wyndham operates, are you happy with your ownership? Are the vacations you get at Wyndham resorts worth the negatives mentioned above and elsewhere? On balance, if you had it to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you buy Wyndham again?

Yes that's all true. I and others could also to add another thing or two that are a p.i.t.a. to your list.

However we've happily used what we own to stay at the resorts for 20 years now.

Here's some hints on how to be happy.

1. Don't use your points for rental cars, flights or to pay your maintenance fees. They're a horrible value.

2. You aren't going to be able to pay your maintenance fees more than partially at best with their Rewards credit card.

3. When it comes to finding reservations luck favors the owners who are persistent in checking for availability. Owners who take one or two vacations a year tend not to be on the website all that much. Owners who have a lot of points and travel a lot are on the website a lot and find great stays.

4. Sometimes you'll get the best view, the best unit, and sometimes you won't.

5. It appears that renting to cover your maintenance fees is no longer a viable plan. Don't take on more points than you and your family can consistently use.

6. Yes you pay an exchange fee with RCI when you book something with the unused points you deposited in RCI at the end of your use year. Guess what, some owners deliberately deposit points they don't have to in RCI because they found a stay they really want.

7. Unless you buy a Discovery package you're never required to attend any kind of update or presentation. They get paid to sign you up so they're going to push hard. One suggestion is saying: "We don't have any time in our schedule but if something changes I'll give you a call." Some people tell them they don't go for any less than $200. If they get it, they let everything go in one ear and out the other because they know it's all b.s. They keep checking the time on their watch or their phone. When the 60 or 90 minutes is down to the last 1 5-20 minutes they say to the sales person "let's get this done."

 

[paxsarah]

Owners who take one or two vacations a year tend not to be on the website all that much. Owners who have a lot of points and travel a lot are on the website a lot and find great stays.

Owners who take one or two vacations a year and book those vacations at 10 or 13 months also find great stays.

Yes you pay an exchange fee with RCI when you book something with the unused points you deposited in RCI at the end of your use year. Guess what, some owners deliberately deposit points they don't have to in RCI because they found a stay they really want.

I’ve done this for years, especially with DVC while it lasted. I’m pretty vocal about not being forced to deposit my points to RCI at the end of the year - I always make note of my points deposit deadline and make use of it. I butted heads with another owner on Facebook who assumed that because I recommend using points deposit I somehow hated RCI - absolutely not, but I want to use it on my own terms, not be forced to deposit points there on December 31 and then feel obligated to use the points on RCI’s timeline.

 

[Sandi Bo]

At the risk of offending some, I would never have purchased a timeshare. I am more than grateful to inherit what we have. I realize the value of it, the family enjoys it immensely, we've had some amazing vacations - significant family reunions all over the country in them. But, nope, would not have been my first choice. In my younger years, I hoped to own an RV, be one of those old couples that works at the National Parks and lives in our RV. One of my favorite family reunions was Yellowstone, staying in a couple different places in the parks (tent cabins in the Grand Tetons, cabins by Old Faithful, the Yellowstone hotel). Similar experience at Glacier National Park. Those aren't timeshare vacations.

I'm not a Disney freak, don't like long lines. I love Bonnet Creek, we go there often. But rarely without some nights at Ocean Walk. Need my ocean fix, not the parks. I haven't been inside the parks since 2008 - the last time one of my kids performed at Epcot. We'll go in the next few years with grandkids.

We've spent quite a bit of time in Hawaii (not nearly as much as Cindy, lol). But that was before Wyndham. My husband's boss built a house on the big island and we could go over and stay. Before his house was built, there were privately owned condos we'd stay in. I enjoyed those condos, decorated with pride, little guest books to sign. No salespeople, lol. When we went to Kauai we stayed in a hotel room (needed 2) - I'd love to stay at a Wyndham in Kauai. We had a big family reunion planned for June 2020 - you know what happened to that. Now have family with medical issues and not sure when that'll get replanned.

Kudos to all who have done so much and work things so well. I've yet to book an RCI vacation. I should, maybe I will. When I do, I'll be thankful for TUG and ask questions here. I can't imagine what I would have done these past 10 years without TUG. TUG certainly helped me understand and make the best of what we own. Came into this thinking Wyndham (and timeshares) are shady and I expect I will leave with that same opinion. Albeit some great vacations and memories, but some not so great memories of the hassles and complications (and unacceptable, to me, customer service, care for their customers, or desire to stop their shady sales practices). Bottom line, why do I want to spend this much money with a company that treats us so poorly?

I get it, for some this is the cat's meow. For me, I dislike that when I go to plan a vacation, the first question is 'Where can I go where there is a Wyndham'.

 

[cbyrne1174]

I've been considering buying a low maintenance fee Wyndham contract for a while, waiting for the right time and the right opportunity. But reading this forum consistently I've come away with a palpable sense of frustration, anger and cynicism from some of the owners posting here, which gives me pause about buying in. Some of the pain points in recent posts:

• Terrible, clunky website that makes finding and booking what you want difficult and painful, with seemingly no prospect of it improving.
• Check-in staff hassling owners to attend sales presentations.
• Revelations that Wyndham prioritizes its own rental bookings and inventory to the detriment of owners.
• A draconian crackdown on renting (that to my eyes appears to be scapegoating owners as a cover for the above shady practice of de-prioritizing owner inventory).
• The approved rental portal (Extra Holidays) that seems to operate barely better than a scam.

And that doesn't even address sales tactics, which need not be rehashed here. So here's my question to all the owners here: given how Wyndham operates, are you happy with your ownership? Are the vacations you get at Wyndham resorts worth the negatives mentioned above and elsewhere? On balance, if you had it to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you buy Wyndham again?

I like pairing Wyndham with my legacy Marriott week. I can find a great deal on II from my Marriott priority and add some time at a nearby Wyndham. I did this this summer when I found a Frenchman's Cove week for half the cost of staying in the same unit using DC trust points. I added 5 extra nights at the Wyndham Limetree resort. Wyndham has a much better way of getting decently cheap inventory by owning a low MF location resale and staying S-F. If you can find a week on II that's a Fri or Sun check in, you can add annother 5 weeknights to your trip for pretty cheap.

 

[schreff]

I've been considering buying a low maintenance fee Wyndham contract for a while, waiting for the right time and the right opportunity. But reading this forum consistently I've come away with a palpable sense of frustration, anger and cynicism from some of the owners posting here, which gives me pause about buying in. Some of the pain points in recent posts:

• Terrible, clunky website that makes finding and booking what you want difficult and painful, with seemingly no prospect of it improving.
• Check-in staff hassling owners to attend sales presentations.
• Revelations that Wyndham prioritizes its own rental bookings and inventory to the detriment of owners.
• A draconian crackdown on renting (that to my eyes appears to be scapegoating owners as a cover for the above shady practice of de-prioritizing owner inventory).
• The approved rental portal (Extra Holidays) that seems to operate barely better than a scam.

And that doesn't even address sales tactics, which need not be rehashed here. So here's my question to all the owners here: given how Wyndham operates, are you happy with your ownership? Are the vacations you get at Wyndham resorts worth the negatives mentioned above and elsewhere? On balance, if you had it to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you buy Wyndham again?

You hit a home run in our view. We have owned for over 35 years and were Founders until the recent bankruptcy of Wyndham Fairfield Plantation Tara III we are now just Platinum. All, from A to Z, that we were promised by sales has been taken away. I knew that the contract gave Wyndham the ability to do so but sales told us " oh don't worry Fairfield/Wyndham will never do that it would hurt their great reputation ". Well, the chicken came hold to roost and over the past 10 years so have their promises. Listen one, " Don't listen to sales ". The truth, from fake news to our politicians and military, doesn't exists anymore.

Note: We are away on vacation now and will not be in a position to react to specific question promptly so please don't viciously attack this post as there will be no response until a later date. Thank you.

 

[keno999]

We're happy with our Wyndham ownership. I started off buying a 505,000 resale Waikiki Beach Walk contract (I'm thinking of getting rid of this one). Then my MiL wanted out of her 308,000 Grand Desert contract and gave it to us along with her Silver VIP status. After that I "accidentally" won an ebay auction for a 1,025,000 Ocean Blvd contract. I did get to use VIP benefits for Both developer/resale contracts for a couple of years but now use our account much like @HitchHiker71 does. The MF's are all less than CWA so it works for us.

While the website isn't the greatest and could use some more enhancements / fixes it generally serves it's purpose for us. Same goes on the WorldMark side of things since they have transitioned over to the same software/website as Wyndham.

The sales tactics at the resorts are annoying but I pretty much just have to say no 1-3 times and they give me the key card / bracelets.

My advice is don't obtain a contract to rent the rooms out. Also, don't get caught up in the big mega-renter debates. It triggers a few folks on the Wyndham forum here on TUG and should have been played out by now, but.....

 

[rickandcindy23]

We heard the sales' pitch several years ago at Donatello about using the Wyndham Rewards to pay MF's. It was a sham, and so much lying. He said we would get 10X points on everything we buy, so we should put every charge on that card and we would never pay MF's again for our Shell points. He knew I would not convert Shell to Wyndham, so this was the big sell. I heard another person being told the exact same thing in a table near us, and I almost went over and called the saleperson out, seriously. I did call our salesperson out, just by asking him to prove what he was saying. "Show me in writing that I will get 10X points on MF's!" He scrambled for answers, left for a while, came back with a new person who said, "No, you don't get 10X on everything." So I said, "Okay, I am done with the lies, let me out of here."

 

[rickandcindy23]

You hit a home run in our view. We have owned for over 35 years and were Founders until the recent bankruptcy of Wyndham Fairfield Plantation Tara III we are now just Platinum. All, from A to Z, that we were promised by sales has been taken away. I knew that the contract gave Wyndham the ability to do so but sales told us " oh don't worry Fairfield/Wyndham will never do that it would hurt their great reputation ". Well, the chicken came hold to roost and over the past 10 years so have their promises. Listen one, " Don't listen to sales ". The truth, from fake news to our politicians and military, doesn't exists anymore.

Note: We are away on vacation now and will not be in a position to react to specific question promptly so please don't viciously attack this post as there will be no response until a later date. Thank you.

I am sympathetic with your situation. Platinum is still great. It's more vacations than most people even need, and since we can no longer rent anything, it's been a conversation we have had over many different meals lately. We need to discuss this with the kids next. What do they want, now that they are in their 40's and looking forward to travel in the future.

And as I said before, our granddaughter is choosing a contemporary ballet dance company currently and fingers crossed will be in a company near Wyndham. It's my hope that we can visit often.

 

[schreff]

We are going through the same thing with our kids and grandkids as it is time for us super seniors to roll back. We made our last purchase with the idea of of spending our golden years snowboarding to our home resort in the general location requested in the Tower we love. That Wyndham promise was guaranteed by not. only the sales team but also Wyndham management when we became Platinum. Of course, we did not expect to get the specific unit requested but we did expect to get the building with the general location as Platinum owners ( Founders). This worked until about 5 years ago when the request for a specific unit benefit flew further south. Now, anyone can ask for a specific unit so Wyndham should not advertise this as a VIP benefit as this is just another lie. Just another Wyndham VIP benefit " goes down the drain ". Yes, we live in a time when promises and handshakes mean nothing and verbal contracts are worthless. These tactics contribute to the divide and moral decay of a once great nation which has lost " the principles it was built on ". Think about it.

Note: We are away enjoying perhaps our last vacation and will not be in a position to react to specific question or comments promptly. Please don't viciously attack this post as it will perhaps take time to respond to piranhas at work . Thank you.

 

[paxsarah]

Now, anyone can ask for a specific unit so Wyndham should not advertise this as a VIP benefit as this is just another lie.

As a non-VIP, this is incorrect. I do not have the ability to request a specific unit number at the time of booking. I can call the resort a week or prior to check-in with a general request (eg two units close to each other, a certain tower, etc) and maybe the resort will make an attempt to honor it, maybe not. But that’s different than the specific unit number request Gold and higher VIPs can add to their reservation at the time of booking.