Is Wyndham really that bad?

[w.bob]

I am not very knowlegable about the Wyndham system but I have been reading about them. I know there are a lot of disatified owners for a variety of reasons ranging from bad management to higher maint fees including changes to some of their programs.

Some of the disatisfaction appears to be no different then what is found with other companies along with RCI & II. Are they really that BAD? I have been following some of the listings on Ebay and it appears that there is very little interest in the Wyndham properties. Example - a Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Village Hawaiian, 231,000 points, EOY with a maint. fee of $450.00. There were no bids when I saw it.

I thought that this resort was rated fairly high and thought it would have a lot of interest. I almost bid on it myself but decided to hold of not really being very familiar with the points system. I have only dealt with fixed weeks up to now. I realize that there may be a number of reasons people just are not buying right now but with all of the bad publicity with Wyndham maybe it is scaring everyone away although I have also read some positives from owners happy with the company.

I have been contemplating purchasing something on Hawaii or on HHI and just want to be sure if I decide on a Wyndham property that I am not getting into something I would regret.

Happy Holidays to all.

 

[timeos2]

Great system if purchased right

Only the sales and, when you have to deal with them, customer service aspects of Wyndham are terrible. If you strictly look at the resorts, the FSP Points system and purchasing via resale the system is hard to beat. Maybe not the absolute lowest in annual fees but inexpensive (to actually cheap) to buy resale, over 100 internal resorts in great locations, so flexible as to become confusing until you learn the ins and outs and the link to RCI with request first as well as a full blown membership makes it a great value. You really don't have to have much interaction with the sales or customer service aspects so overall Wyndham rates a "buy" (resale) rating. Right now most timeshares are a "hold" at best. A few, Wastegate as a prime example, are always "sell".

 

[Sandy VDH]

LOVE the product, hate Sales and Administration.

So it is a LOVE HATE relationship.

 

[Conan]

The Wyndham properties (the ones I've seen) are luxurious and well-maintained, and FSP points also give reasonable access to RCI Weeks trading.

Make sure you don't buy any more points than you'll need, since they're closing the door to transfers of unused points. And look closely at the maintenance fees - - they're higher than many non-Wyndham alternatives.

 

[bnoble]

On balance, I'm very satisfied as a resale purchaser, but I also came in with eyes wide open that features of the program can and will change, and not always for the better. I'm still able to get good usage out of my points and consider them a decent value.

 

[mshatty]

As with any large corporation, it's primary focus will also be on more profits. The current owners are an afterthought.

However, the number of resorts and their respective locations mean that you can vacation anywhere in the US as well as some locations in Mexico and the Caribbean.

Purchasing Wyn FSP resale, as timeos always points out, is one the best bargins in the TS world.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Welcome, Dear Owner, Welcome. How Nice To $ee You Again.

The current owners are an afterthought.

Except when the timeshare companies put the hard sell on the current owners so the companies can try to get the owners to spend big bux on more full-freight timeshares.

Then the current owners are 1st in the hearts & minds of the timeshare companies.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[lprstn]

I love owning Wyndham...like the above said...love the product...the sales team and management can frustrate you with the sales tactics and the program changes...but the basic program is still a winner, especially when purchased resale.

 

[tango]

I, too, have been looking to buy a Wyndham property, but have made apprehensive by reading about the plan changes. More specifically, I would like to own at KBV, mainly for personal use at that location. Other than MF's going up, I guess my biggest concern would be the financial viability of the company, and it's commitment to maintaining a first class property.

 

[bnoble]

The commitment to maintenance is going to be up to the resort's HOA---which may or may not be owner-controlled. My Wyndham resort's board is owner-controlled, and that part, at least, is sane.

 

[jacknsara]

... I have been following some of the listings on Ebay and it appears that there is very little interest in the Wyndham properties. Example - a Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Village Hawaiian, 231,000 points, EOY with a maint. fee of $450.00. ...

Aloha from Kauai,
I have no facts but suspect that the MF is $450 every year for use every other year - in other words about $900 per week of use.
Just guessing.
Jack

 

[w.bob]

Aloha from Kauai,
I have no facts but suspect that the MF is $450 every year for use every other year - in other words about $900 per week of use.
Just guessing.
Jack

Correct. From what I understand the maint fee is billed every year at $450.00

 

[wyndhamtimeshare]

Really that bad? Here is an item I posted this morning under another topic.

[Duplicate posts are not allowed on TUG.-DeniseM Moderator]

 

[slabeaume]

I, too, have been looking to buy a Wyndham property, but have made apprehensive by reading about the plan changes. More specifically, I would like to own at KBV, mainly for personal use at that location. Other than MF's going up, I guess my biggest concern would be the financial viability of the company, and it's commitment to maintaining a first class property.

If you mainly want KBV to use there and not for other Wyndham properties, why not just buy into KBV and not Wyndham. I believe your maintenance fees will even be a little bit lower.

 

[tango]

I didn't know you could do one and not the other.

 

[Jya-Ning]

I didn't know you could do one and not the other.

Make sure you figure out what you actually want before you buy. You will commit to pay MF the moment you get it transfer to your name.

Jya-Ning

 

[Sandy VDH]

I didn't know you could do one and not the other.

Since KBV existed as Pahio before Wyndham took over, there are likely existing owners who have NOT converted to Wyndham. Just buy a resale NON-converted week.

 

[tango]

I must be really dense.
So, it sounds like, if Wyndham is attached to the name KBV, then it is a converted week? And consequently one is buying a points TS. If it is just called Pahio, it is unconverted?
I'm sure that is not the case, and there will be TS out there for sale that are unconverted, that the advertisers have inadvertently (or not) added the Wyndham name. But it seems like most of the listings I have seen, say Wyndham KBV, or Wyndham Pahio KBV, and most of those mention nothing about buying points. A few do, but not most.

 

[Jya-Ning]

I must be really dense.
So, it sounds like, if Wyndham is attached to the name KBV, then it is a converted week? And consequently one is buying a points TS. If it is just called Pahio, it is unconverted?
I'm sure that is not the case, and there will be TS out there for sale that are unconverted, that the advertisers have inadvertently (or not) added the Wyndham name. But it seems like most of the listings I have seen, say Wyndham KBV, or Wyndham Pahio KBV, and most of those mention nothing about buying points. A few do, but not most.

No, you are not dense. It is one of the hardest thing to figure out. Sometimes, the seller don't know either.

Most likely, if an AD has point value, it is in the point system. If AD specific says the floating range or week (don't just depends on eBay required week field, some seller may just randomly fill one, read the ad), it very likely is a week.

If an AD says it is in point, and list underline week and unit, it is a converted week. If not, it maybe a converted week, maybe an UDI.

You need to get contract number from seller, call the resort to find out if what you buy is what the ad says.

Jya-Ning

 

[slabeaume]

I must be really dense.
So, it sounds like, if Wyndham is attached to the name KBV, then it is a converted week? And consequently one is buying a points TS. If it is just called Pahio, it is unconverted?
I'm sure that is not the case, and there will be TS out there for sale that are unconverted, that the advertisers have inadvertently (or not) added the Wyndham name. But it seems like most of the listings I have seen, say Wyndham KBV, or Wyndham Pahio KBV, and most of those mention nothing about buying points. A few do, but not most.

I would imagine most of the KBV resales that you see now are not actually Wyndham units. Wyndham took over the "management" of the properties within the last couple of years, but wants lots of money to convert Pahio owners into the Wyndham company. New sales at BAli Hai go into Wyndham, but everyone else had to buy another week (one of the new Bali Hai units) to convert all their weeks in to Wyndham. Not sure about the other Pahio resorts, but I think most of the KBV owners turned down the $17,000 or so fee to purchase and convert and are happy owning their weeks at KBV. Some are still in a points system---RCI points---but that may not transfer with a sale. We actually own 4 EOY weeks and 2 are in RCI points and 2 are in RCI weeks. I don't remember if things have changed, but even though the Pahios were in RCI points (as well as weeks), they had a rule that you had to still take a whole week at a time there. I wanna say Wyndham has the same rule for them, but I don't remember. So exchanging your KBV unit for points would get you a lot of points to use at some resorts on the mainland, but you couldn't split them up and go 4 days at KBV and save the rest of the points to use elsewhere.