New Wyndham Website (2020)

[Jan M.]

I keep telling myself that I have to keep trying and eventually I'll get used to this new website. That there has to be easier ways to search for stays and I just haven't found those ways yet. Each time I log in I can only last so long before I reach the point that I just can't take the aggravation anymore. This is what pushed me over the edge this morning. I typed in a destination and the first thing on the list that came up was an auto parts store. Through gritted teeth I whispered to my screen "Of course I want to %*&! stay in an auto parts store!"

 

[scootr5]

Unsurprisingly, I have yet to receive a response to my email to help@clubwyndham.com asking for assistance in logging in to the site...

Someone on facebook suggested doing the "forgot password", and by setting a new password I was able to log in. The new site at first glance appears to be not very search friendly.

 

[cbyrne1174]

My 13 month ARP isn't working in Myrtle beach for first week of June 2021. I have 96,000 Towers on the Grove points and I can't even book Towers, let alone Boulevard. I'm glad I went with the low MF method of acquiring deeds vs where I'd want ARP.

 

[HitchHiker71]

I also found it impacts the cancel confirmation if I have the iPad oriented on portrait. If I rotate to landscape it allows me to confirm cancellation.

What a cluster! Why can’t Wyndham have even marginal IT products?

Testing every device and every use case is nearly impossible. I run a QA organization as part of what I do - so I speak from direct experience. Most of the testing is for devices like this is done via software emulators since that's the only way to do so productively. Chances are the emulator QA smoke testing worked fine - however the actual behavior on a plethora of different devices yields different real world results. This has nothing to do with Wyndham really - every software organization struggles with supporting their website across a myriad of different device types, mine included.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Why on earth would they choose to roll out a new unproven website platform during the middle of a pandemic? During a time when their Resorts are shuttered and most employees on furlough.

Oh... that’s right. They are Wyndham. Where reason and logic go to die. Well done Wyndham. You’ve screwed us again.

There's another way to look at it as well - now is the best time to do so - since no one is currently using their resorts and system utilization has fallen precipitously over the past two months - I would do the same thing if I were them - I would prioritize changes to the systems now - while utilization is low.

The entire concept of waterfall testing and massive QA efforts tied to infrequent major code releases is very old school. We release to our SaaS platform twice a month - much more iterative - and we employ an MVP agile/scrum development approach - meaning the v1.0 will have the Minimum Viable Product elements - and then build from there. It's obvious to me this is the approach being used for the new website. People that expect the new system to have complete feature parity with the old system don't understand how agile software development works in the modern world IMHO. Of course YMMV but this has been my experience having worked for a cloud solutions software development centric organization for the last several years.

 

[HitchHiker71]

I keep telling myself that I have to keep trying and eventually I'll get used to this new website. That there has to be easier ways to search for stays and I just haven't found those ways yet. Each time I log in I can only last so long before I reach the point that I just can't take the aggravation anymore. This is what pushed me over the edge this morning. I typed in a destination and the first thing on the list that came up was an auto parts store. Through gritted teeth I whispered to my screen "Of course I want to %*&! stay in an auto parts store!"

For some reason they seem to be tied into Google Places for their availability search engine function. Not sure why at this point - I suspect something else is in play that we're unaware of at this time.

 

[Cyrus24]

There's another way to look at it as well - now is the best time to do so - since no one is currently using their resorts and system utilization has fallen precipitously over the past two months - I would do the same thing if I were them - I would prioritize changes to the systems now - while utilization is low.

What makes you think that utilization is low? Are you and insider with special knowledge? To me, we're all bored and trying to find vacations where we can use all these 'new found' points from cancellations. We are not touring new places or sitting about the pool. And, with 30+ million newly unemployed Americans, I suspect that a lot of them are just browsing the various websites thinking 'what next'. I can't imagine utilization being low right now.

 

[Eric B]

Gotta agree with @Cyrus24, resort utilization might be down, but system utilization is likely higher as a result of the number of cancellations of existing reservations and the need to figure out what to do with the freed up points rises. The unemployment probably isn't driving the issue unless it's folks trying to figure out the financial aspects of their current situation vis-a-vis continuing to pay MFs.

On the other hand, it might be the best time to accomplish a stress test on the new system since there will be a lot of usage.

 

[comicbookman]

There's another way to look at it as well - now is the best time to do so - since no one is currently using their resorts and system utilization has fallen precipitously over the past two months - I would do the same thing if I were them - I would prioritize changes to the systems now - while utilization is low.

The entire concept of waterfall testing and massive QA efforts tied to infrequent major code releases is very old school. We release to our SaaS platform twice a month - much more iterative - and we employ an MVP agile/scrum development approach - meaning the v1.0 will have the Minimum Viable Product elements - and then build from there. It's obvious to me this is the approach being used for the new website. People that expect the new system to have complete feature parity with the old system don't understand how agile software development works in the modern world IMHO. Of course YMMV but this has been my experience having worked for a cloud solutions software development centric organization for the last several years.

This is not an example of agile software development, it is an example of forced wholesale replacement. When that occurs it is perfectly reasonable to expect full functionality at the start. The "agile" part should be the roll out of the new bells and whistles. If this occurred with any piece of the industrial or financial software my department supports for our Utility, my users would, correctly, roast me alive. It is simply poor product development being passed off as a better way to do things. When you have no choice to stay with the old system while the new matures, near feature parity is a necessity. This new site doesn't even come close on the most basic features (searching, upgrades, points deposit) It is flashy but shoddy work. I also agree with Cyrus24 that i would expect during this period when people have more idle time and many unexpected points to spend, traffic would be up, not down. The reason Massive QA efforts tied to infrequent releases is now old school is that developers found out they could get away with using end users as guinea pigs and the same time claim to be first to market. In my 35 year IT experience, "agile" development only works in rare cases where the developer has a crack staff who is very diligent. Wyndham has shown that when it comes to software, they have neither, nor do they hire contractors who fit that description.

All that being said, Thank you for putting the list together. It certainly can't hurt and might just nudge them to fix a few things.

 

[wjappraise]

I can’t reserve a specific unit at my home resort. Another failure.

Also the list of my upcoming reservations had duplicates. And ones that don’t show up. So they kept the errant portion of the program. Stupidity.

 

[paxsarah]

My 13 month ARP isn't working in Myrtle beach for first week of June 2021. I have 96,000 Towers on the Grove points and I can't even book Towers, let alone Boulevard. I'm glad I went with the low MF method of acquiring deeds vs where I'd want ARP.

I just checked and I had the same result. Whether I try at Ocean Boulevard where I'm deeded or one of the other MB resorts, and whether I try to book with the combined total of my two OB deeds (which I have done before with no problem) or a smaller reservation that only uses fewer points than my larger deed, it tells me that I don't have enough points.

 

[bendadin]

For some reason they seem to be tied into Google Places for their availability search engine function. Not sure why at this point - I suspect something else is in play that we're unaware of at this time.

I was told it was so you could find hotel lodging if you can't find availability at a resort.

I was also told that Wyndham actually has a calendar. They can see month by month.

 

[HitchHiker71]

What makes you think that utilization is low? Are you and insider with special knowledge? To me, we're all bored and trying to find vacations where we can use all these 'new found' points from cancellations. We are not touring new places or sitting about the pool. And, with 30+ million newly unemployed Americans, I suspect that a lot of them are just browsing the various websites thinking 'what next'. I can't imagine utilization being low right now.

I've made the specific ask for the stats as of this afternoon and will see what I get back. I do think it makes logical sense given upwards of 30MM people are now essentially jobless - so most of these folks probably aren't out dreaming about their next vacation plans online. They are trying to figure out ways to put food on the table and are realistically pushing off any/all vacation plans out for months if not years. I've also observed quite a lot of anecdotal evidence on the FB forums that I moderate and/or frequent with people posting saying they never even knew of any upgrade and haven't even accessed the new site yet because they have no reason to do so given everything is shut down. Additionally, many older people have no plans to travel at all for the entirety of 2020 given the older population segment that is most at risk - which according to others here makes up the largest segment of ownership (another stat I've asked for metrics on). If I get more specific guidance and am permitted to do so, I will be happy to share it.

 

[HitchHiker71]

I can’t reserve a specific unit at my home resort. Another failure.

Also the list of my upcoming reservations had duplicates. And ones that don’t show up. So they kept the errant portion of the program. Stupidity.

By this do you mean you're not able to specify a specific unit number when booking? Do you not see the "Special Requests" area in the 4th and final section of the booking process? That's where this option has been placed, screenshot for reference.

 

[HitchHiker71]

I was told it was so you could find hotel lodging if you can't find availability at a resort.

I was also told that Wyndham actually has a calendar. They can see month by month.

Got it - sounds like they are trying to share design elements between the public and private site areas then. They may have to revisit this decision.

I'm actually glad to hear that Wyndham has a calendar function, I'm assuming you mean the Care reps do. If this is the case - then the design element already exists - which means it can be published to the owners without too much effort (assuming it's web based of course).

 

[GRapuser]

By this do you mean you're not able to specify a specific unit number when booking? Do you not see the "Special Requests" area in the 4th and final section of the booking process? That's where this option has been placed, screenshot for reference.

View attachment 20532

It's there, but when I tried to use it for a booking on Sunday the Submit button turned blue but was unresponsive. One more "feature" that does not work properly.

 

[cbyrne1174]

I was told it was so you could find hotel lodging if you can't find availability at a resort.

I was also told that Wyndham actually has a calendar. They can see month by month.

So we should call the owner number over and over again when we need to check calendar availability, then choose to book it online instead of paying the $39 fee. That should make them give it back to us real quick lol

 

[HitchHiker71]

https://www.facebook.com/384367218281960/posts/3183420198376634

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[capital city]

This isn't just a Wyndham thing. Big online video games do the same thing now. I'm sure most of you have heard of Call of Duty. Its a billion dollar game that they release every year completely broken and needs a 30 gig download to even get started. And everytime they do a update it has bugs in it. It's pretty much just release it and let the consumer tell us what we need to fix instead of us wasting time fixing all kinds of things that the consumer may not even notice.

 

[HitchHiker71]

This isn't just a Wyndham thing. Big online video games do the same thing now. I'm sure most of you have heard of Call of Duty. Its a billion dollar game that they release every year completely broken and needs a 30 gig download to even get started. And everytime they do a update it has bugs in it. It's pretty much just release it and let the consumer tell us what we need to fix instead of us wasting time fixing all kinds of things that the consumer may not even notice.

Yes, it’s called MVP or Minimum Viable Product and it is intentional:

What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

A Minimum Viable Product is the "version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort."

www.agilealliance.org

Regardless of what anyone believes, they are using a MVP approach here, by design, which is why feature parity is not important.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Eric B]

Yes, it’s called MVP or Minimum Viable Product and it is intentional:

What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

A Minimum Viable Product is the "version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort."

www.agilealliance.org

Regardless of what anyone believes, they are using a MVP approach here, by design, which is why feature parity is not important.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

* is not important to them.

It's also why it is important to complain loud and long when they don't deliver what you need/want to see in their system.

 

[HitchHiker71]

* is not important to them.

It's also why it is important to complain loud and long when they don't deliver what you need/want to see in their system.

Yep, user feedback when using MVP with agile/scrum is required - so be noisy y'all!

 

[cbyrne1174]

This isn't just a Wyndham thing. Big online video games do the same thing now. I'm sure most of you have heard of Call of Duty. Its a billion dollar game that they release every year completely broken and needs a 30 gig download to even get started. And everytime they do a update it has bugs in it. It's pretty much just release it and let the consumer tell us what we need to fix instead of us wasting time fixing all kinds of things that the consumer may not even notice.

Usually Activation Blizzard does open Beta. I never played CoD, but have played World of Warcraft since it came out when I was in high school. I don't think vacation clubs can launch an "open beta" website, but that's essentially what this was. That's why I wasn't worried about not having calendar view.

I do like how I can hover over Hawaii and click search area and see every single Hawaiian resort in both systems (Club Wyndham and Worldmark). It makes dual resale ownership more attractive if you have a Club Wyndham resale account as your main and a small WM account on the side for if you want to stay at a WM only location. I think Club Pass will always be broken, where you don't get 13 month ARP and have to pay a huge exchange fee, so getting 1 search engine to pop up all locations is a plus when deciding which membership you want to use to book your vacation ( WM or CW).

 

[HitchHiker71]

I do like how I can hover over Hawaii and click search area and see every single Hawaiian resort in both systems (Club Wyndham and Worldmark). It makes dual resale ownership more attractive if you have a Club Wyndham resale account as your main and a small WM account on the side for if you want to stay at a WM only location. I think Club Pass will always be broken, where you don't get 13 month ARP and have to pay a huge exchange fee, so getting 1 search engine to pop up all locations is a plus when deciding which membership you want to use to book your vacation ( WM or CW).

Supposedly under Privileges (if/when that comes to pass) has better Club Pass benefits - but IIRC that's only reserved for the Founders level at the very top. Better to find a WM resale IMHO - that's my plan as we head toward our retirement years.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Supposedly under Privileges (if/when that comes to pass) has better Club Pass benefits - but IIRC that's only reserved for the Founders level at the very top. Better to find a WM resale IMHO - that's my plan as we head toward our retirement years.

Idk why they can't just give all retail purchasers the ability to book Worldmark 10 months out with online availability calendars and just charge a reservation transaction as if the Worldmark properties were like any other Club Wyndham property that you don't have ARP for. Worldmark owners get 13 month ARP at all of their properties and they can give retail WM owners the same ability with Club Wyndham properties 10 months out. It literally makes non VIP retail purchases completely pointless.