New Worldmark Owner

[markb53]

I am a new Worldmark Owner. I purchased 10,000 points resale back in April and I just got access to the website today. I have been a Wyndham owner for about 10 years and I have stayed in a few Worldmark resorts by renting from owners. So I decided it was time to have my own ownership. The contract is a July 1 to June 30 contract. There are currently 19,575 credits available right now plus 10,000 I can borrow so I am pretty happy.

Now I’m trying to understand some of the intricacies of the Worldmark system. One question I have is about grouped reservations. It looks like in my reading that it has to be in RED season and you can book several resorts totaling between 7 and 14 consecutive nights, right. My understanding is that you have to call in to book a grouped reservation and I assume it costs a housekeeping token for each resort in the group. Do I have that all correct.

 

[KimmieM]

I am a new Worldmark Owner. I purchased 10,000 points resale back in April and I just got access to the website today. I have been a Wyndham owner for about 10 years and I have stayed in a few Worldmark resorts by renting from owners. So I decided it was time to have my own ownership. The contract is a July 1 to June 30 contract. There are currently 19,575 credits available right now plus 10,000 I can borrow so I am pretty happy.

Now I’m trying to understand some of the intricacies of the Worldmark system. One question I have is about grouped reservations. It looks like in my reading that it has to be in RED season and you can book several resorts totaling between 7 and 14 consecutive nights, right. My understanding is that you have to call in to book a grouped reservation and I assume it costs a housekeeping token for each resort in the group. Do I have that all correct.

If you don't mind me asking. What price did you pay and who did you buy from?

 

[geist1223]

The biggest negative about a "Grouped Reservation" is that if you cancel part you cancel all. Each Leg had to be within 13 months. It sounds more like you want to do consecutive weeks.

Here is an example of doing a "Grouped Reservation:"

You want to do the Grand Tour of Oregon.

On June 30 you call in 13 months out you Book 7 days at the Running Y - July 30 August 6. 4 day later you call in and Book 7 days at Eagle Crest cancelling the last 3 days of Running Y. So now your Reservation is July 30 - August 2 Running Y; and, August 3 - 10 Eagle Crest. 4 days later you cancel the last 3 days at Eagle Crest and add 7 days in Seaside, Oregon.,. Etc.

I hope I have not made this too confusing.

With Worldmark you get 1 free HKC from 0 to 19,999 Credits. A second at 20,000, a third at 30,000, etc. Guest Certificate are 1 free for every 10,000 Credits or part thereof. So at 10,001 to 20,000 you get 2 free Guest Certificates, etc. You can have 4 free Wait Lists registered at anytime. Credits and HKC are good for 2 years plus about 1 month from the Anniversary Date. So Credits and HKC issued on August 1, 2021 are good until August 31, 2023. You can Book out 13 months so on August 31, 2023 you could use the about to expire Credits to Book a Resort for September 2024. Resell Credits are treated the same as Developer Purchased Credits for the 90+ Worldmark Resorts. You can cancel 30+ days before Check-in and get all your Credits and HKC restored. If the Booking is with expired Credits you can cancel by calling in and have the expired Credits placed into one of your other Bookings and you get the non-expired Credits and HKC put back into your Account. Worldmark also has various Cash Options - Bonus Time, Monday Madness, and Inventory Specials.

Worldmark is a true pure Credit System.

It is true that Worldmark is primarily West of the Mississippi but they have added Resorts in the Poconos, South Carolina, and Florida. They also have Resorts in Fiji, Mexico, and Western Canada (Canmore and several in BC). They are Building a new Resort in Moab Utah.

Worldmark has Resorts on Mau'i, Kaua'i, and the Big Island.

 

[markb53]

If you don't mind me asking. What price did you pay and who did you buy from?

I bought it on eBay from Resortsalesgroup. I paid $2160.00. I can’t say they were the best to deal with. But the winning bid was all I paid. No Closing costs or Transfer fee. And I think I got a lot of credits without being asked to reimburse the seller for the credits the seller still had in the account.

 

[markb53]

The biggest negative about a "Grouped Reservation" is that if you cancel part you cancel all. Each Leg had to be within 13 months. It sounds more like you want to do consecutive weeks.

Here is an example of doing a "Grouped Reservation:"

You want to do the Grand Tour of Oregon.

On June 30 you call in 13 months out you Book 7 days at the Running Y - July 30 August 6. 4 day later you call in and Book 7 days at Eagle Crest cancelling the last 3 days of Running Y. So now your Reservation is July 30 - August 2 Running Y; and, August 3 - 10 Eagle Crest. 4 days later you cancel the last 3 days at Eagle Crest and add 7 days in Seaside, Oregon.,. Etc.

I hope I have not made this too confusing.

What you described is exactly what I wanted to know. My question is: would you have to use a Housekeeping Token for each of the three, Running Y, Eagles Crest, and Seaside. Or just one for the whole group.

Thanks,

 

[TomCO]

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the WM "family". I think you have made a wise decision to join and you will truly enjoy the flexibility and options within the system. Also, it looks like you did well on your purchase cost along with a good bunch of "loaded" credits to get you started.

There are some expenses of which we do need to be aware. Yes, each individual room stay within a grouped reservation would require a HK token / fee as each unit would require a cleaning after occupancy.

If you are looking for additional resource material on WM, then I would highly suggest a visit to WMOWNERS.COM, if you have not already become familiar. Along with TUG, they are a wonderful group of people with the knowledge to help out.

Last thing - it would be much appreciated if you could assign your WorldMark proxy vote to WM Owners.com for the upcoming Board of Directors election to help get more owner input on the board.

PLEASE assign your proxy to: (this is the information you will need to fill out your proxy)
WM OWNERS, INC.
phone: 920-349-6060
email: wmproxies@gmail.com



Cheers,
Tom

Edit for typos.

 

[markb53]

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the WM "family". I think you have made a wise decision to join and you will truly enjoy the flexibility and options within the system. Also, it looks like you did well on your purchase cost along with a good bunch of "loaded" credits to get you started.

There are some expenses of which we do need to be aware. Yes, each individual room stay within a grouped reservation would require a HK token / fee as each unit would require a cleaning after occupancy.

If you are looking for additional resource material on WM, then I would highly suggest a visit to WMOWNERS.COM, if you have not already become familiar. Along with TUG, they are a wonderful group of people with the knowledge to help out.

Cheers,
Tom

Thank you Tom, I did join wmowners.com. At this point I am just more comfortable with the tug group so I asked the question here first. I do have another question. I was looking at Pismo Beach, which I know is a hard one to book. I noticed that the website didn’t show any availability until Nov. 18th 2022, which of course it beyond the 13 month point. Just curious why that would be. I’ve just be looking at a lot of the west coast resorts to see what the availability looks like. Plus trying to understand the different ways to make reservations with cash instead of points. I think I really going to enjoy my worldmark ownership.

 

[TomCO]

Great to hear you already joined the other site. Both are great, you can't go wrong either way.

Yes, the various cash deals really add value to your ownership by making short stays more affordable. Inventory specials at 7.5 a credit (up to 90 days out) generally allow you to travel for less than MF/points cost (currently about 9.5 cents/credit for a 10k account) as the HK is included. Monday Madness deals at $0.09 a credit are also very flexible as these can be booked up to 11 months out.

I believe what you have found is a case where multiple seven to 14 day reservations have been booked, which effectively blocks the start of any subsequent seven day reservations, as the start date would fall beyond the 13 month mark. WM Yellowstone, Depoe Bay and several other resorts I have never visited also experience similar booking issues.

I trust others more familiar with this situation can also add some insight.

Cheers,
Tom

Edit to add detail on cash deals.

 

[KimmieM]

Thank you Tom, I did join wmowners.com. At this point I am just more comfortable with the tug group so I asked the question here first. I do have another question. I was looking at Pismo Beach, which I know is a hard one to book. I noticed that the website didn’t show any availability until Nov. 18th 2022, which of course it beyond the 13 month point. Just curious why that would be. I’ve just be looking at a lot of the west coast resorts to see what the availability looks like. Plus trying to understand the different ways to make reservations with cash instead of points. I think I really going to enjoy my worldmark ownership.

Bonus time also a good value.

 

[KimmieM]

I bought it on eBay from Resortsalesgroup. I paid $2160.00. I can’t say they were the best to deal with. But the winning bid was all I paid. No Closing costs or Transfer fee. And I think I got a lot of credits without being asked to reimburse the seller for the credits the seller still had in the account.

Its a good deal with receiving all points available for 2 years without borrowing is a big plus. Best advise I can give is learn the system and use it for your travel needs. Worldmark ownership is a great fit with your Wyndham ownership especially for traveling out west.

 

[HudsHut]

Welcome @markb53

someone else recently asked about the oddity in Pismo inventory on WMOwners. Since all room types are showing the same Nov 18 dates for the first available, it may be a refurbishment. As far as I know, no one has called to confirm.
Note: as of June 5 2022, the Top Floor and Ground Floor inventories have been merged into "1 Bedroom" (so you can never knowingly reserve the top floor.) The Special Needs and Less Desirable will continue to show as separate inventory.

 

[CO skier]

The biggest negative about a "Grouped Reservation" is that if you cancel part you cancel all.

This is not true. As long as the end result is a reservation that meets the 7-night minimum in Red Season, other dates may be cancelled.

Have grouped reservation of 5 nights at Depoe Bay and 5 nights at Seaside with both booked at 13 months and want to cancel the last two or three nights at Seaside? No problem, because the ending reservation still meets the 7-night minimum.

Have a grouped reservation of 5 nights at Eagle Crest and 5 nights at Seventh Mountain? If the first three nights at Eagle Crest were booked within 13 months, the first 2 nights of the grouped reservation could be cancelled because the ending reservation meets both the 7-night minimum and the "first day of all segments must be within 13 months of check-in at the time of reservation."

 

[CO skier]

My question is: would you have to use a Housekeeping Token for each of the three, Running Y, Eagles Crest, and Seaside. Or just one for the whole group.

Just like Club Wyndham, when you check out of a unit it has to be cleaned and that costs a housekeeping.

eta Insider Tip: In the example, Running Y is "easy" to reserve, so I would book Eagle Crest and Seaside as a minimum 7-night grouped reservation. Then watch for Running Y to go on "Monday Madness" and add it (if more than 10 months in advance) using cash and the complimentary housekeeping. If less than 10 months in advance, just book Running Y separately and still save the housekeeping.

 

[CO skier]

It looks like in my reading that it has to be in RED season and you can book several resorts totaling between 7 and 14 consecutive nights, right. My understanding is that you have to call in to book a grouped reservation

No more segments may be added after 14 days, but the last segment could be for up to 30 days, so a grouped reservation could, theoretically, last up to 13+30=43 consecutive nights.

 

[markb53]

Just like Club Wyndham, when you check out of a unit it has to be cleaned and that costs a housekeeping.

eta Insider Tip: In the example, Running Y is "easy" to reserve, so I would book Eagle Crest and Seaside as a minimum 7-night grouped reservation. Then watch for Running Y to go on "Monday Madness" and add it (if more than 10 months in advance) using cash and the complimentary housekeeping. If less than 10 months in advance, just book Running Y separately and still save the housekeeping.

Thanks for the great information. I’m still a little confused about how to make a grouped reservation. I think what I understand is, using the same examples. I reserve a 7 night reservation at 13 months online at Running Y. Then 5 days later I reserve a 7 night online reservation at Seaside. Then I call and have them drop the last 2 nights at Running Y and group it with Seaside and if I want drop the last 2 night a seaside. And If I wanted to add 5 days at Depoe Bay, I would book 7 nights at 13 months online and call in again have have them add it to the end of seaside and drop of the last 2 nights at depoe Bay.

Do I have that mostly correct.

 

[CO skier]

Do I have that mostly correct.

Yes, that is correct.

You could book all three weeks, then group in one phone call.

Running Y does not book up right at 13 months, so you could book a week at Seaside and a week at Depoe Bay that do book up at 13 months. Then in one phone call, combine the two reservations dropping the unneeded days and add on the nights you want at Running Y to the front of the reservation.

 

[markb53]

Yes, that is correct.

You could book all three weeks, then group in one phone call.

Running Y does not book up right at 13 months, so you could book a week at Seaside and a week at Depoe Bay that do book up at 13 months. Then in one phone call, combine the two reservations dropping the unneeded days and add on the nights you want at Running Y to the front of the reservation.

It also sounds like from what you said. That if I added Running Y to the grouped reservervation using credits, and then later it showed up in Monday Madness or Inventory Specials, I could I could call and have them replace the Running Y credit reservation with a MM or IS cash reservation and get my credits and housekeeping fee back. Is that correct.

 

[CO skier]

It also sounds like from what you said. That if I added Running Y to the grouped reservervation using credits, and then later it showed up in Monday Madness or Inventory Specials, I could I could call and have them replace the Running Y credit reservation with a MM or IS cash reservation and get my credits and housekeeping fee back. Is that correct.

I did not say that. What you can do is wait for Running Y to go on Monday Madness and then add it using Monday Madness instead of credits. Even if it was MM 10-11 months in advance, you could add only a few days (instead of a full 7) at Running Y, since it would be part of a minimum 7-night Red Season grouped reservation.

I have never tried to convert a credit reservation to a cash reservation, so I do not know definitively. I would be surprised if this is possible, otherwise what would stop owners from converting credit reservations to Bonus Time?

I have done the reverse -- convert a cash booking to a credit booking -- and this makes perfect sense. Even here there is some fine print -- the credits must have been bookable in the account when the cash reservation was made; very rare situation.

 

[markb53]

Thanks @CO skier, I appreciate the help. I am starting to get a handle on the Worldmark system. I really like some of the features of Worldmark. I appreciate you and many other Tuggers that helped me learn the Wyndham system 10 years ago. I know I am really going to enjoy owning in the Worldmark system.

 

[james234298]

Thanks.