Bonnet Creek - Canceling Guest Reservations or not allowing them?

[drepublic]

My brother plans to use my reservation (not yet transferred to him yet) mid July for a Disney Trip (assuming the parks are open). I can cancel short notice but wanted to see if they were open so I called Bonnet Creek yesterday. Lady on the phone said they just opened that day (yesterday), AND...she said they canceled guest reservations or are not allowing them. I thoroughly expressed my disappointment and concerns and basically she said this is all I know TODAY, and that things could change.

So here I am...holding a reservation in my name...hoping this is not true. I may call back in a month or closer to July or just call Wyndham and have them transfer the reservation to my brother using a guest reservation.

Any of you guys experiencing this or heard of this?

Robert

 

[cbyrne1174]

You could wait until a few days before to put it into his name and if they cancel it, they will have to refund the points.

 

[weleftmn]

As of right now, the flexible cancellation is only through June 30th. You could add Points Protection to allow it to be much closer to your check-in date.
With Disney Parks opening on July 11th, and other parks opening sooner, I would be surprised if the flexible cancellation goes past June 30th.
With the resorts operating at a reduced capacity, it does make sense to give owners a priority. I can only imagine the threads here if the resorts full of rentals while operating at 50% capacity

 

[dgalati]

My brother plans to use my reservation (not yet transferred to him yet) mid July for a Disney Trip (assuming the parks are open). I can cancel short notice but wanted to see if they were open so I called Bonnet Creek yesterday. Lady on the phone said they just opened that day (yesterday), AND...she said they canceled guest reservations or are not allowing them. I thoroughly expressed my disappointment and concerns and basically she said this is all I know TODAY, and that things could change.

So here I am...holding a reservation in my name...hoping this is not true. I may call back in a month or closer to July or just call Wyndham and have them transfer the reservation to my brother using a guest reservation.

Any of you guys experiencing this or heard of this?

Robert

Updated COVID-19 announcement

Received an email from Geoff Richards, COO of Wyndham Vacation Clubs this morning. I have copied portions below. Appears that for an unstated amount of time only reservations with owner names as the check in name will be allowed. Also appears, again for an unstated amount of time, that...

tugbbs.com

Wyndham Resorts - Any cancellations that have been happening - Keeping a list

I have heard some resorts like Bonnet Creek, Ocean Blvd to be specific, are cancellation reservations to keep occupancy rates down, and are planning on operating at less than full occupancy. Can we keep a list.....But thought this could be a one post list of the cancellations that are...

tugbbs.com

 

[Sandi Bo]

My brother plans to use my reservation (not yet transferred to him yet) mid July for a Disney Trip (assuming the parks are open). I can cancel short notice but wanted to see if they were open so I called Bonnet Creek yesterday. Lady on the phone said they just opened that day (yesterday), AND...she said they canceled guest reservations or are not allowing them. I thoroughly expressed my disappointment and concerns and basically she said this is all I know TODAY, and that things could change.

So here I am...holding a reservation in my name...hoping this is not true. I may call back in a month or closer to July or just call Wyndham and have them transfer the reservation to my brother using a guest reservation.

Any of you guys experiencing this or heard of this?

Robert

I've seen a couple different, but similar, announcements. One being the one dgalati posted above (that talks about prioritizing owners). But I read another that said only owner reservations would be allowed and all others cancelled. My experience has been they cancelled a reservation for June 6 checkin that had a guest on it (and it was booked long ago) while a reservation for an owner (for checking in May 27) was not cancelled. Talking to a VC, she confirmed all reservations with a guest on it were being cancelled.

Below is the current covid announcement on the clubwyndham website. I interpret that as all guest reservations are being cancelled at this time. Who knows when that will change? But for now, I would not expect a guest reservation to be honored. Maybe by July things will be different, good luck to you.

Resort Updates

We’re excited to announce that we will begin to reopen resorts in phases beginning May 26, 2020. For the list of resorts reopening and the schedule for future reopenings, please check out the list below. RESORT UPDATES Updated May 27, 2020 Frequently Asked Questions We are closely monitoring state and local orders and conditions to determine the right time to reopen each resort, and will reopen them on an individual basis and with a limited occupancy. Owner reservations are being prioritized above all other reservations. Guests, exchange, and rental reservations will be canceled in order to give owners sole access

 

[55plus]

Extra Holidays have a lot of Wyndham rentals across the board beginning July 1st. If that continue to hold true for July then there should be no reservation cancellations based on their 'owners first' and 'unit social distancing' policy. I wish 'owners first' policy was a permanent policy. That would make an ownership more valuable.

 

[chapjim]

I had a nine night reservation for a guest but the reservation was still in my name. I told the guest that nothing at the resort (yes, Bonnet Creek) would be available so the guest said cancel the reservation. Only one problem -- I couldn't cancel the reservation because check-in was less than fifteen days away and I would lose the points.

So, I got a guest confirmation and had it sent to myself. Two days later, the reservation was canceled by Wyndham and points were returned. The guest confirmation hasn't been returned yet but I expect it will be. I'm still on my free ones -- I'm not going to run out any time soon.

Talk about weird ways to get stuff done!

 

[Aftermath]

I am more concerned about listings for this summer, on sites such as booking.com! How does this happen when member units are being cancelled For the same time period?

 

[chapjim]

I am more concerned about listings for this summer, on sites such as booking.com! How does this happen when member units are being cancelled For the same time period?

Isn't this the same as the listings on Craig's List, RedWeek.com, etc.?

As long as the reservation is in the owner's name, it has a chance of surviving but when a guest is posted, the reservation goes "Poof!"

 

[dgalati]

Extra Holidays have a lot of Wyndham rentals across the board beginning July 1st. If that continue to hold true for July then there should be no reservation cancellations based on their 'owners first' and 'unit social distancing' policy. I wish 'owners first' policy was a permanent policy. That would make an ownership more valuable.

I agree! GC's were initially a way to gift vacations to family and friends but sales used the strategy "rent to cover maintenance fees" to sell more points.

 

[chapjim]

Extra Holidays have a lot of Wyndham rentals across the board beginning July 1st. If that continue to hold true for July then there should be no reservation cancellations based on their 'owners first' and 'unit social distancing' policy. I wish 'owners first' policy was a permanent policy. That would make an ownership more valuable.

Please expand on how the permanent "owners first" policy would work. Initially, it's "owners only." Then what?

 

[dgalati]

I had a nine night reservation for a guest but the reservation was still in my name. I told the guest that nothing at the resort (yes, Bonnet Creek) would be available so the guest said cancel the reservation. Only one problem -- I couldn't cancel the reservation because check-in was less than fifteen days away and I would lose the points.

So, I got a guest confirmation and had it sent to myself. Two days later, the reservation was canceled by Wyndham and points were returned. The guest confirmation hasn't been returned yet but I expect it will be. I'm still on my free ones -- I'm not going to run out any time soon.

Talk about weird ways to get stuff done!

Losing points or using the GC cancellation policy (loophole) to your benefit. It worked great for you this time but what If Wyndham didn't cancel the GC to yourself? IMHO I wouldnt even try using a GC (renting) at this point in time.

Please expand on how the "owners first" policy would work. Initially, it's "owners only." Then what?

Wyndham gave ample advance notice of their GC (rentals) cancellation policies. Owners use during the pandemic is Wyndham's priority over GC (rentals). Personally I would buy back in if Ownership costs were less compared to renting for my travel needs..

 

[cbyrne1174]

Losing points or using the GC cancellation policy (loophole) to your benefit. It worked great for you this time but what If Wyndham didn't cancel the GC to yourself? IMHO I wouldnt even try renting at this point in time.



Wyndham gave ample advance notice of their GC (rentals) cancellation policies. Owners use during the pandemic is Wyndham's priority over GC (rentals). Personally I would buy back in if Ownership costs were less compared to renting for my travel needs..

Didn't you have bad deeds last time? The lowest I've seen VIP-Platinum owners rent their points was for $12/pt, so for me it's still cheaper using my resale deeds and book when resorts are discounted 35%. I'm going to Bonnet Creek this week Sunday-Friday for $55/night. I don't need an upgrade, even though I can usually get one if I ask, but the 1 bedroom for $55 a night is all my family of 3 needs. My husband has an in person job interview in Lakeland that week as well, so I don't care for our room to be all that nice because he probably will have to do a few Skype ones on top of the in person one. Also, last time I went to SSR I still had to work 2 of the days of my exchange. It was a 4 day school week and I gave my kids 2 days to take the unit test with a sub. I still did those reservations because they were a good deal, but both were last minute and only at that price because it was in the 90 days window. I would not have seen them if I weren't an owner.

When you start using your 5,000 credit WM account, the savings comes with renting points from other owners for 6 cents a credit. The MF on 5,000 credits is $114 per thousand and you can rent whatever extra you need for $60 per thousand, but you can only do 1 reservation a year that way without having to pay extra for housekeeping. You will have to start keeping an eye out on Inventory Specials and Bonus time for any extra getaways. Monday Madness is now 9 cents a credit, so not really a good deal in my opinion.

 

[dgalati]

Didn't you have bad deeds last time? The lowest I've seen VIP-Platinum owners rent their points was for $12/pt, so for me it's still cheaper using my resale deeds and book when resorts are discounted 35%. I'm going to Bonnet Creek this week Sunday-Friday for $55/night. I don't need an upgrade, even though I can usually get one if I ask, but the 1 bedroom for $55 a night is all my family of 3 needs. My husband has an in person job interview in Lakeland that week as well, so I don't care for our room to be all that nice because he probably will have to do a few Skype ones on top of the in person one. Also, last time I went to SSR I still had to work 2 of the days of my exchange. It was a 4 day school week and I gave my kids 2 days to take the unit test with a sub. I still did those reservations because they were a good deal, but both were last minute and only at that price because it was in the 90 days window. I would not have seen them if I weren't an owner.

When you start using your 5,000 credit WM account, the savings comes with renting points from other owners for 6 cents a credit. The MF on 5,000 credits is $114 per thousand and you can rent whatever extra you need for $60 per thousand, but you can only do 1 reservation a year that way without having to pay extra for housekeeping. You will have to start keeping an eye out on Inventory Specials and Bonus time for any extra getaways. Monday Madness is now 9 cents a credit, so not really a good deal in my opinion.

$6/1000 was what I was paying on points rented in discount window. What would of cost me $5.43/1000 on 154000 points I rented at $6/1000 on 77,000 points or about 1/2 of what I would of paid in maintenance fees using my points. I get what you are saying. I like to check and book myself without depending on someone else. Owning also gave me the ability to rent from a VIP in the discount window when it was available and cheaper then using my own points. The Worldmark Ownership I still have a lot to learn and I am in the process of finding ways to use at a lowest possible cost. It was free with a July 1st use year with 4800 points available now and another 5k July 1st. I may be able to stretch 10-14 days out of the points available in the value season but for 1 years maintenance fee of $564 I have very little to lose. Worldmark seems like a better fit for me over Wyndham without buying up to VIP. The Inventory Specials and Bonus time for any extra getaways along with Monday Madness @ 9 cents a credit looks to fill my travel needs.

Didn't you have bad deeds last time?
.

Never had a bad deed. They all worked out very well for my travel needs. The only thing that changed was a negative points balance when I would sell deeds without current use year points. This policy was how Wyndham squeezed out " traders of deeds"from the skimming of all use year points then selling or giving away

 

[drepublic]

All great replies and thank you. I guess I'm more concerned for my brother. He may have the ability to cancel or shift his Disney Tickets already purchased but that time will run out when the parks open. I'd hate for him to be in a situation where his Disney tickets are non refundable and then his reservation get's canceled and he's hung out to dry or having to find another place on short notice.

 

[cbyrne1174]

$6/1000 was what I was paying on points rented in discount window. What would of cost me $5.43/1000 on 154000 points I rented at $6/1000 on 77,000 points or about 1/2 of what I would of paid in maintenance fees using my points. I get what you are saying. I like to check and book myself without depending on someone else. Owning also gave me the ability to rent from a VIP in the discount window when it was available and cheaper then using my own points. The Worldmark Ownership I still have a lot to learn and I am in the process of finding ways to use at a lowest possible cost. It was free with a July 1st use year with 4800 points available now and another 5k July 1st. I may be able to stretch 10-14 days out of the points available in the value season but for 1 years maintenance fee of $564 I have very little to lose. Worldmark seems like a better fit for me over Wyndham without buying up to VIP. The Inventory Specials and Bonus time for any extra getaways along with Monday Madness @ 9 cents a credit looks to fill my travel needs.



Never had a bad deed. They all worked out very well for my travel needs. The only thing that changed was a negative points balance when I would sell deeds without current use year points. This policy was how Wyndham squeezed out " traders of deeds"from the skimming of all use year points then selling or giving away

Not many, if any, VIP Plat owners are going to sell their points at $6 per thousand unless it's to a friend.

All great replies and thank you. I guess I'm more concerned for my brother. He may have the ability to cancel or shift his Disney Tickets already purchased but that time will run out when the parks open. I'd hate for him to be in a situation where his Disney tickets are non refundable and then his reservation get's canceled and he's hung out to dry or having to find another place on short notice.

RCI Last Call pretty much always has Vacation Village inventory worst case scenario. It's still an RCI gold crown resort. Orlando is so overbuilt, you will always find last call accommodations unless it's a holiday week.

 

[55plus]

Please expand on how the permanent "owners first" policy would work. Initially, it's "owners only." Then what?

It'd be nice if the 'owners first' policy was permanent, meaning owner's usages has a higher priority than a rental, including Extra Holidays rentals. It could work like the VA. I'm rated at 100 percent combat related. I have priority over all other veterans who are not rated at 100 percent. What's frustrating is no availability showing on Wyndham's website for a specific timeframe, but there are rentals on Craigslist, Redweek, Extra Holidays, etc., for that same timeframe. A policy like, anything available after a certain timeframe, let's say 15 days out from check-in as an example, can be obtained to rent out. Or, Wyndham enforce their policy of no commercial use. I assume that means rentals.

 

[chapjim]

It'd be nice if the 'owners first' policy was permanent, meaning owner's usages has a higher priority than a rental, including Extra Holidays rentals. It could work like the VA. I'm rated at 100 percent combat related. I have priority over all other veterans who are not rated at 100 percent. What's frustrating is no availability showing on Wyndham's website for a specific timeframe, but there are rentals on Craigslist, Redweek, Extra Holidays, etc., for that same timeframe. A policy like, anything available after a certain timeframe, let's say 15 days out from check-in as an example, can be obtained to rent out. Or, Wyndham enforce their policy of no commercial use. I assume that means rentals.

Your proposal is doomed because you cut Extra Holidays out of the picture. Wyndham can take availability inside 60 days but can't put it on Extra Holidays for another six weeks? Really?

 

[55plus]

Of course it's doomed. Wyndham owns Extra Holidays and even though Wyndham's own policy states, no commercial use, they will ignore their own policy because it's a revenue stream for them. It's wishful thinking on my part that they would follow their own policies.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Of course it's doomed. Wyndham owns Extra Holidays and even though Wyndham's own policy states, no commercial use, they will ignore their own policy because it's a revenue stream for them. It's wishful thinking on my part that they would follow their own policies.

So then ignore their policy and make some $$ in the meantime lol.

 

[littlestar]

I would put the points in RCI and do an exchange for your brother into one of the Hilton Grand vacation clubs or a Sheraton Vistana 2 bedroom (Sheraton has different sizes of 1 bedrooms so stick with a 2 bedroom). There is availability for July. That way you don’t even have to worry about this Wyndham Bonnet Creek cancellation problem. I see some Disney Vacation Club resorts available but not until August.

 

[cbyrne1174]

I would put the points in RCI and do an exchange for your brother into one of the Hilton Grand vacation clubs or a Sheraton Vistana 2 bedroom (Sheraton has different sizes of 1 bedrooms so stick with a 2 bedroom). There is availability for July. That way you don’t even have to worry about this Wyndham Bonnet Creek cancellation problem. I see some Disney Vacation Club resorts available but not until August.

The hiltons in Orlando are significantly more expensive. On top of the exchange fee, you have to pay $25/night. It ends up being over $1000/week for a 1 bedroom.

 

[littlestar]

The hiltons in Orlando are significantly more expensive. On top of the exchange fee, you have to pay $25/night. It ends up being over $1000/week for a 1 bedroom.

They are nice, though. Sheraton Vistana would be the cheaper one for sure.

 

[cbyrne1174]

They are nice, though. Sheraton Vistana would be the cheaper one for sure.

Yea but you're better off booking the Sheraton using a Priceline express deal. That's the price of a 1 bedroom ($76/night).

 

[littlestar]

Yea but you're better off booking the Sheraton using a Priceline express deal. That's the price of a 1 bedroom ($76/night).

View attachment 21515

Some of the 1 bedrooms are glorified studios - around 450 square feet. I won’t book a 1 bedroom there.