New WM policy on cancellations

[Tacoma]

I read last night that WM is no longer going to refund credits if the unit gets booked but you have cancelled past your cancellation date. This would also be a major cash grab for Wyndham as most reservations have to be cancelled a month in advance and a lot can happen in a month. Has anyone else heard this? So many places that can't be trusted for real information these days.

 

[rhonda]

It was posted yesterday as a hidden "part B" of another topic yesterday. Very sad.

 

[geist1223]

The current thought is if you miss there 30 day cancellation deadline then wait until the day before check-in to cancel. That way Wyndham can not rent it out.

 

[ski_sierra]

Do you think they will give back the HKT/TOT?

It's not clear on the webpage:

https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/news/reservation-guidelines.shtml

Cancellation guideline change.

The current cancellation guideline states that an owner canceling after the cancellation date will be penalized to the extent that other owners cannot use the same time period. A manual process has been created to allow owners to request penalized credits or rental fees be restored if any nights of the reserved time period are booked by another owner.


Beginning Aug. 5, 2020, if a reservation is canceled in less than the required number of days, the owner will be charged the applicable number of vacation credits and/or Bonus Time fees for that use, and the manual process of restoring credits and fees will be removed.


This update to the cancellation guideline ensures:

• A simplified guideline that allows for a fair and equitable result when canceling owner reservations.
• Process improvement to maximize effort for Vacation Planning Centers and system enhancements.

 

[Eric B]

The current thought is if you miss there 30 day cancellation deadline then wait until the day before check-in to cancel. That way Wyndham can not rent it out.

While this thought would have the effect of “sticking it to the man” and preventing Wyndham from profiting from your canceled reservation, it would also have follow on effects of reducing potential short term availability for fellow owners as well as the rental income. I’m not sure they make that much on last call rentals anyway. IMHO, its not a particularly beneficial act to anyone to delay cancellation in order to reduce the value of the reservation; instead it’s somewhat antisocial whether or not there is a means in place to mitigate the loss of value to the owner.

A better approach would be to attempt to make a last minute availability known to TUG users through the last minute rental forum or the sightings/distressed forum. My preference is always to see if someone else can use it rather than preventing someone else from using it.

 

[Eric B]

There's also the sticky thread on free hospitality requests/offers as an option for use of a reservation you can't use yourself. It's at:

Free hospitality requests and offers - members only

This is something new that we are trying. Here are the rules: All offers and requests must be completely free. All negotiations should take place privately for privacy and security. Only TUG members may participate. Do not post your phone number. The post should include the city...

tugbbs.com

 

[Tacoma]

I do believe you would get back HK and any fees associated with the reservation. You always did right when you cancelled.You just had to wait till after the reservation was completed then call in and request an audit (to see if all of that room type was booked) to get your points credited back. Let's say you had a 7 night reservation cancelled after the cancel by date, if only 3 nights rented out you got back only the credits for those 3 nights. I once had to cancel I reservation I picked up to go to the Grey Cup in Vancouver when the weather made the roads dangerous. Because it was a weekend and very desirable I got back all of my credits. I have always loved the flexibility of my worldmark timeshare but they keep chipping away at it.

Eric I like the idea of the free section but if I gave away worldmark dates I would have to pay the HK, any taxes or fees like TOT, and the guest fee of $99 so that won't really work for worldmark owners.

 

[Firepath]

So what’s the point of canceling at all? Just so Wyndham can make some extra money?

 

[Eric B]

....

Eric I like the idea of the free section but if I gave away worldmark dates I would have to pay the HK, any taxes or fees like TOT, and the guest fee of $99 so that won't really work for worldmark owners.

I understand the costs involved, not getting the HK, TOT back and the guest fee, but I don't think that's something that couldn't be negotiated off line between the hospitality offeror and the user. It's not something I would discard out of hand, particularly if it's a desirable set of dates like the one you cancelled for the Grey Cup. Given that it's not a perfect fit, it might actually be better to set up a different sticky thread for late WM cancellations here in the WorldMark The Club forum or on WMOwners instead of just giving up on it. Just my take on the situation....

 

[JohnPaul]

The prior policy was quite generous and I imagine quite labor intensive. While it was nice it’s not surprising that it is gone. In general I find WM cancellation policy more lenient than most - especially for closer in bookings.

 

[geist1223]

So what’s the point of canceling at all? Just so Wyndham can make some extra money?

To get any cash outlays back such as TOT. But you do not get any Guest Fees back.