Cancel & Rebook - no longer possible?

[JohnWC]

New to the forum and relatively new to Wyndham so hoping this turns out to be a good resource! The updates are great to get information but also a time sink.
Anyway, hoping to gain insight from other platinum owners on the impact of new automatic upgrades.
I called to cancel and rebook an upcoming reservation like I've done in the past to cut the points cost in half.
The agent warned me against it because of the new automatic upgrades feature, and that the system would grab the reservation as soon as it was cancelled.
Does anyone know if this is really true or know of a workaround?

 

[buckor]

New to the forum and relatively new to Wyndham so hoping this turns out to be a good resource! The updates are great to get information but also a time sink.
Anyway, hoping to gain insight from other platinum owners on the impact of new automatic upgrades.
I called to cancel and rebook an upcoming reservation like I've done in the past to cut the points cost in half.
The agent warned me against it because of the new automatic upgrades feature, and that the system would grab the reservation as soon as it was cancelled.
Does anyone know if this is really true or know of a workaround?

I would not cancel and upgrade right now...everyone Who has tried has said the cancelled reservation did not come back.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320AZ using Tapatalk

 

[buckor]

Deleted. Double post.

 

[vacationhopeful]

JohnWC ... start reading prior posts here on TUG in the Wyndham thread. We are a band of owners who realized long ago ... the more info and discussions, the better we can and have used our Wyndham ownerships.

Many of us own multiple millions of Wyndham points .. some have multiple Member Numbers (ownerships). And we truly know I may know A and someone else adds in the C and then, someone else links in the B part.

 

[chapjim]

People are having a hard enough time logging in, getting accounts fixed, searching, making reservations, cancelling reservations, determining how many points are available -- really simple stuff but beyond the capability of this system to handle on a consistent basis.

Cancel-rebook may never be a useful procedure under this new system but until the system can do the simple things consistently, there is no chance of performing more complex procedures.

Members are still trying to figure out what the business rules are by observing how things happen, kind of a backwards way of doing things but explanations from Wyndham reps have been all over the place. We really don't know yet how things work.

 

[Sandy VDH]

This is the new normal. Gone are the reliable cancel and rebook scenarios. Find another strategy for booking or pay full points and request that booking be upgraded if avail. Cancel is a black hole right now .

 

[BellaWyn]

JohnWC:

First of all, welcome to TUG!! We are really glad you found us!

As others have said before, until Wyndham can get the new "enhanced" site running CONSISTENTLY (i.e. populating inventory correctly, getting owner points corrected, fixing log-in inconsistencies, correcting contract information in owner accounts -- list goes on and on -- need to read some of this thread to get a perspective) we really won't know what is working the way it is intended.

As to your original questions on the cancel / rebook to get the reduction on the points on any given reservation -- it no longer exists in the way you were told it was supposed to function. Owners here are working to test the system to better understand it but Wyndham literally has not yet finished coding the site. They are coding on the fly in a live system. We here in TUG kinda think that's an insane approach. Feel free to chime in a share your take on the situation being a new owner and a new TUGGER!

Cheers!

 

[wanderround]

New to the forum and relatively new to Wyndham so hoping this turns out to be a good resource! The updates are great to get information but also a time sink.
Anyway, hoping to gain insight from other platinum owners on the impact of new automatic upgrades.
I called to cancel and rebook an upcoming reservation like I've done in the past to cut the points cost in half.
The agent warned me against it because of the new automatic upgrades feature, and that the system would grab the reservation as soon as it was cancelled.
Does anyone know if this is really true or know of a workaround?

In theory it should be possible to to cancel/rebook the smallest unit at a resort but it sounds like they usually disappear. Being platinum you have the best chance for a 1/2 point reservation and upgrade at the 60 day mark.

 

[ecwinch]

Yes, they seem to have introduced some logic to ensure that cancellations within the 60 day window do not come back into inventory soon after they are cancelled. A rather simple solution if you think about it.

 

[cayman01]

I would think the Only safe way to cancel and rebook is if the inventory of both halves of the deal are available. So, really it is just a new reservation and upgrade, then cancel your old one. Otherwise, you don't see it come back into inventory .

 

[wjappraise]

I would think the Only safe way to cancel and rebook is if the inventory of both halves of the deal are available. So, really it is just a new reservation and upgrade, then cancel your old one. Otherwise, you don't see it come back into inventory .

That's just "book." Not "cancel and rebook".


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sandi Bo]

Yes, they seem to have introduced some logic to ensure that cancellations within the 60 day window do not come back into inventory soon after they are cancelled. A rather simple solution if you think about it.

Yes, but they didn't need a new system to do that. I believe they've always had the ability to control when reservations come back. Maybe not random (but how hard could that be). Perhaps the new system allows them to grab them back easier for Extra Holidays?

One thing I never understood, in the past, was the overly helpfulness of VC's to help you with a cancel/rebook. If Wyndham really wanted to get rid of it, why were they so helpful - actually encouraging. Towards the end (of the old system) I was suspicious some were intentionally losing reservations. I would cancel and could see it in the system, and they couldn't. But usually I felt they were quite proud of their success rate, seems like we saw more incompetencies in last few months.

Can only guess that from a sales angle they wanted that helpfulness. Will be real interesting to see what kind of spin sales can put on this, and how the value of the VIP program can be touted (salvaged). Resales looking better all the time!

 

[Wyndhamgirl]

I've attempted to cancel/rebook twice. Both attempts were the smallest unit at the resort. One was Emerald Grande the other was great Smokey Mountain. Sadly the reservations fell into a black hole never to return. The Wyndham Representative said it is a live system and the reservation should return? I continued to check for hours but they never came back? I love the ability to cancel/rebook! Hopefully one day this will be possible? It's almost as if the new system releases inventory at random? If anyone could figure this out please share so we can all be helped

 

[ronparise]

Yes, but they didn't need a new system to do that. I believe they've always had the ability to control when reservations come back. Maybe not random (but how hard could that be). Perhaps the new system allows them to grab them back easier for Extra Holidays?

One thing I never understood, in the past, was the overly helpfulness of VC's to help you with a cancel/rebook. If Wyndham really wanted to get rid of it, why were they so helpful - actually encouraging. Towards the end (of the old system) I was suspicious some were intentionally losing reservations. I would cancel and could see it in the system, and they couldn't. But usually I felt they were quite proud of their success rate, seems like we saw more incompetencies in last few months.

Can only guess that from a sales angle they wanted that helpfulness. Will be real interesting to see what kind of spin sales can put on this, and how the value of the VIP program can be touted (salvaged). Resales looking better all the time!

Another possible explanation is that the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing

The lawyers and certain executives that cared about a "fair" system were concerned about cancel and rebook, but they never talked to the reservations clerks and owner care people about it

And the owner care and reservations staff was trained to bend over backwards to help owners in any way they could (staying within the rules, of course.) they didn't see the big picture and the harm cancel and rebook brought to the membership as a whole. Not only didn't they see the problem they didn't look for problems. All they cared about is that they handled an owners request and ended the call by making another owner happy about their ownership

i still believe that no one at Wyndham knew that their various departments were working at cross purposes until they talked to the suspendees late last year

 

[Nomad34]

Until the new site was started I booked the years reservations and was able to rebook so I feel good. Hearing the problems now I will not cancel the rest of my reservations and hope only for upgrades to come available at 30 days out for Silver VIP. I still am unsure of what has happened to the Trust owners who bought with the understanding of deed ownership with points.

 

[BellaWyn]

The lawyers and certain executives that cared about a "fair" system were concerned about cancel and rebook, but they never talked to the reservations clerks and owner care people about it

In my my experience working in large corporate entities, at both executive and mid-management levels, when executives get "concerned" about something the approach is not to sit on their hands musing about fairness. Good executives communicate those concerns down the ladder in order to effect change.

We have had a lot of discussion in this forum about SILO and right /left hand ignorances of departmental operational procedures. It seems to be the go-to scapegoat excuse to justify the ineptitudes and conflicting posturing between departments.

Let's not forget that Wyndham is HUGELY SUCCESSFUL WORLDWIDE corporation. You don't get to that level of success, with ever growing stock prices, because the executives are unaware of what is happening or are passive in their internal communications.

Your statement above also infers that some executives did NOT care about fairness. Only "certain executives" which one could conclude that not all executives actually are concerned about happy owners.

 

[Andrew Robertson]

Another possible explanation is that the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing

The lawyers and certain executives that cared about a "fair" system were concerned about cancel and rebook, but they never talked to the reservations clerks and owner care people about it

And the owner care and reservations staff was trained to bend over backwards to help owners in any way they could (staying within the rules, of course.) they didn't see the big picture and the harm cancel and rebook brought to the membership as a whole. Not only didn't they see the problem they didn't look for problems. All they cared about is that they handled an owners request and ended the call by making another owner happy about their ownership

i still believe that no one at Wyndham knew that their various departments were working at cross purposes until they talked to the suspendees late last year

I just got off the phone with Wyndham they have been planning this for years. cancel re-book for popular places is gone. Those who were Platinum and Gold members you just got shafted by design. They knew exactly what they were doing and kept it a secret. Now they will want to sell you more point so you can still enjoy the vacations you had at a cheaper price. The system is still not "fair" as all of were told when we bought we could save points by book and re-book. Wyndham even went out of their way to make us happy and use the system, why? so we would be hooked. Law suit?

 

[ronparise]

In my my experience working in large corporate entities, at both executive and mid-management levels, when executives get "concerned" about something the approach is not to sit on their hands musing about fairness. Good executives communicate those concerns down the ladder in order to effect change.

We have had a lot of discussion in this forum about SILO and right /left hand ignorances of departmental operational procedures. It seems to be the go-to scapegoat excuse to justify the ineptitudes and conflicting posturing between departments.

Let's not forget that Wyndham is HUGELY SUCCESSFUL WORLDWIDE corporation. You don't get to that level of success, with ever growing stock prices, because the executives are unaware of what is happening or are passive in their internal communications.

Your statement above also infers that some executives did NOT care about fairness. Only "certain executives" which one could conclude that not all executives actually are concerned about happy owners.

Ill bow to your experience; no doubt its more than mine with large corporations. And Ill modify my comments to say, no one cared about fairness, or better stated, concern for fairness was not anyones responsibility.

 

[Andrew Robertson]

That's just "book." Not "cancel and rebook".


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is now exactly that, a reservation with hope of an upgrade. Unless you are going to a less popular or out of season place that has availability at the time of booking for upgrades. Wyndham just stuck it to themselves, along with Gold and Platinum members. Resale point are nice except for the maintenance fees, bet they go up next. I want to hear the sales pitches now. Stand up for yourselves attend sales pitches and tell how we just got the shaft to everyone listening. Make your feeling known. They did away with you RCI upgrades 4-5 years ago now book re-book for less points is gone PIC weeks are next? Limited pic weeks 5-6 years ago. Is this a beach of contract?

 

[Andrew Robertson]

In theory it should be possible to to cancel/rebook the smallest unit at a resort but it sounds like they usually disappear. Being platinum you have the best chance for a 1/2 point reservation and upgrade at the 60 day mark.

If you cancel in the 60 day window the unit automatically goes into the upgrade pool first. You will not see it again. The earlier you put in for an up-grade the better odds of getting it. I just tried yesterday on making a reservation for less points as there was availability. Even though an up grade was available I did not do so. I went back to the system today and checked up grade requested. It went in the system. I did not get an up grade even though there were 2 bedrooms available so there is a loophole or a glitch in their system still.

 

[BellaWyn]

It is now exactly that, a reservation with hope of an upgrade. Unless you are going to a less popular or out of season place that has availability at the time of booking for upgrades. Wyndham just stuck it to themselves, along with Gold and Platinum members. Resale point are nice except for the maintenance fees, bet they go up next. I want to hear the sales pitches now. Stand up for yourselves attend sales pitches and tell how we just got the shaft to everyone listening. Make your feeling known. They did away with you RCI upgrades 4-5 years ago now book re-book for less points is gone PIC weeks are next? Limited pic weeks 5-6 years ago. Is this a beach of contract?

Technically no breach -- asked and answered in previous threads. There is no "guarantee" with a VIP ownership. What sales TELLS you vs what is actually in the contract are two different things. Wyndham is masterful at CYA when it comes to contractual agreements.

Do not disagree with you however related to the "planning for years part" of the equation. And yes, VIP owners are being hit pretty hard but so are the resale owners. Navigating the new website is no walk in the park for them either and there are plenty that are still struggling with just getting accurate account information to populate correctly in their online accounts. None of this is unique to the VIP owner.

Causal analysis. It's a thing. Large corporations use these formulations all the time.

 

[BellaWyn]

......concern for fairness was not anyone's responsibility.

Do you actually believe that or is this just snark?

 

[Andrew Robertson]

New to the forum and relatively new to Wyndham so hoping this turns out to be a good resource! The updates are great to get information but also a time sink.
Anyway, hoping to gain insight from other platinum owners on the impact of new automatic upgrades.
I called to cancel and rebook an upcoming reservation like I've done in the past to cut the points cost in half.
The agent warned me against it because of the new automatic upgrades feature, and that the system would grab the reservation as soon as it was cancelled.
Does anyone know if this is really true or know of a workaround?

You cancelled it goes to a pool for upgrades if none are demanding the unit then it goes back into reservation system. Probably the next day still testing the system to see. Platinum no more book re-book for less. Time to voice your concerns and how the system and promises are not being kept.

 

[Andrew Robertson]

Ill bow to your experience; no doubt its more than mine with large corporations. And Ill modify my comments to say, no one cared about fairness, or better stated, concern for fairness was not anyones responsibility.

Yes Wyndham Worldwide just had a new CEO from Hilton? but this roll out was before he got there. It has been planned and owners were lied to to sell more points. Everyone will now have to book at regular point unless going to certain resorts 60 , 45 or 30 days out and availability is there OR put in for an upgrade and hope? but at you max out for reduced points check again and book. Up grades will be rare.

 

[Andrew Robertson]

In my my experience working in large corporate entities, at both executive and mid-management levels, when executives get "concerned" about something the approach is not to sit on their hands musing about fairness. Good executives communicate those concerns down the ladder in order to effect change.

We have had a lot of discussion in this forum about SILO and right /left hand ignorances of departmental operational procedures. It seems to be the go-to scapegoat excuse to justify the ineptitudes and conflicting posturing between departments.

Let's not forget that Wyndham is HUGELY SUCCESSFUL WORLDWIDE corporation. You don't get to that level of success, with ever growing stock prices, because the executives are unaware of what is happening or are passive in their internal communications.

Your statement above also infers that some executives did NOT care about fairness. Only "certain executives" which one could conclude that not all executives actually are concerned about happy owners.

Wyndham's obligation is to grow stock for investors. THAT is all. Happy campers (timeshare owners) are a side or 2nd obligation. first to grow stock you need to sell a product successfully. They have done that. I don't know about now? What about Margarettaville? Wonder how that is going? Wyndham was starting to build again I wonder how sales will be if owners start attending again and saying they got shafted. Look to stock to drop. I just sold my shares.