RE: The "Transportation Fee @ Wyndham Bonnet Creek

[levatino]

I will pay the fee, rent a car, or stay elsewhere.

 

[am1]

My thinking it why would the HOA reverse the decision, and INCLUDE themselves in having to pay. Maybe I'm just not as generous of a person as the members of the board? :rofl: As you state, they just devalued their own level of service.

Bonnet Creek HOA is not the making the calls if they will now half to pay.

I will throw it out there that I have been the biggest winner because of this fee, (Got reservations cancelled at Bonnet Creek and Ocean Walk I did not cancel at 15 days), biggest loser and biggest winner because of this fee. $5/roundtrip per person is a lot cheaper than charging $12 a day/unit for everyone.

Who pays for all of the expense that went into announcing this fee and then changing it

 

[csxjohn]

My thinking is why would the HOA reverse/change the policy, and INCLUDE themselves in having to pay. Maybe I'm just not as generous of a person as the members of the board? :rofl: As you state, they just devalued their own level of service.

Many resorts provide goods and services that they charge all owner and quests.

At Coconut Palms II anyone can rent beach equipment including owners.

Tropic Shores provides ice cream sundaes every afternoon. Everyone pays $1

The HOA may have devalued their own level of service but if this was done to keep MF in line with what the board thinks they should be, good for them. It's nice to them try to look at the big picture.

Of course we really don't know for sure that owners will be charged this fee. We'll know sometime after March 1.

I can see as many complaints come in from those who plan to use the shuttle as they got from those who do not.

And I find if laughable that BC doesn't know who its owners are.:hysterical:

 

[DeniseM]

I feel sorry for the front desk - they are not responsible for making policy or explaining the thought process behind it, and it appears that some of you have called them multiple times.

 

[lcml11]

I will pay the fee, rent a car, or stay elsewhere.

According to Wyndham Corporate, a lot of people have cancelled or changed reservations to Star Island or the other Florida resorts.

 

[jjmanthei05]

According to Wyndham Corporate, a lot of people have cancelled or changed reservations to Star Island or the other Florida resorts.

How pissed would some people have to be if they had a reservation at BC. They canceled it because they had no intention of using the shuttle and didn't want to pay the fee. Now they wouldn't have to pay the fee but the reservation they canceled is no longer available.

Jason

 

[C30NY]

How pissed would some people have to be if they had a reservation at BC. They canceled it because they had no intention of using the shuttle and didn't want to pay the fee. Now they wouldn't have to pay the fee but the reservation they canceled is no longer available.

Jason

All part of the game. Same can be applied to many things.... Sometimes I fly from NYC because it is cheaper than my home airport, but then two months later rates from my home decrease. Sure it kinda ticks me off, but thats the game of chance. I havent been in the loop with Wyndham all that long, but while researching it appears things change often, like all of the other brands.

 

[geekette]

How pissed would some people have to be if they had a reservation at BC. They canceled it because they had no intention of using the shuttle and didn't want to pay the fee. Now they wouldn't have to pay the fee but the reservation they canceled is no longer available.

Jason

People live with the consequences of making rash decisions all the time.

 

[lcml11]

How pissed would some people have to be if they had a reservation at BC. They canceled it because they had no intention of using the shuttle and didn't want to pay the fee. Now they wouldn't have to pay the fee but the reservation they canceled is no longer available.

Jason

There are probably still a lot of people with reservations that still have that decision to make. That could go on for another year or so with the ARP reservations. It may take that long or longer for Wyndham to come up with a final answer.

Like one corporate Wyndham supervisor was quoted as saying, people will know when they show up. From the looks of it, it is the hands of the HOA and the Wyndham Management company at Bonnet Creek.

 

[Pietin]

agree. $5 round trip sounds pretty good to me, not predatory, and super-convenient over calling cab, etc.

I believe the buses are rented from Main Gate Transportation. As for being super-convenient, not. The shuttle runs ever 1/2 hour to either set of parks and stop running in the afternoon for a couple of hours. During the holidays they would fill up. Coming back in the evening, they would not run on time, traffic or what have you. They would be packed and in most cases the park would still be open and the last shuttle would have left already, so if you wanted to make the shuttle you would have to leave the parks early. This year the buses (full size buses) were in a little better condition that last.

As for an amenity, the resort description listed the shuttle service and it was a selling point at the sales meeting. When we stayed at Summer Bay about 3-4 years ago they used the same company and the service was free.

I don't mind driving to the parks if I need to, but saving $14 a day parking over 5 - 6 days add us to an extra nice meal at the parks. For this the inconvenience of the shuttle was fine. I don’t know how it is at other times of the year but the service is only OK. Again I think that the shuttle is a draw over the other Wyndham resorts in the area, but if it goes away, so be it.

 

[paxsarah]

It will be interesting to see how this all works on our March trip. We were planning on driving to the parks (we have annual passes so free parking) but were planning to fall back on the shuttles if someone wanted to leave at a different time as the rest of the group. I wonder how they will charge for half a round trip? Or will someone be able to hop the shuttle back from the park at all if they didn't take the shuttle there in the first place?

It makes sense to me for children under 3 to be free - if Disney doesn't even charge a park entry fee for them, it seems that BC could probably spare them the bus fee as well.

 

[csxjohn]

People live with the consequences of making rash decisions all the time.

My thoughts exactly when people started talking about buying points based at BC.

I've found in Timeshare World, if there's doubt about something, don't be the first mouse to the cheese.:ignore:

 

[Pietin]

My thoughts exactly when people started talking about buying points based at BC.

I've found in Timeshare World, if there's doubt about something, don't be the first mouse to the cheese.:ignore:

I am sure BC prices will retreat again.

 

[Ginger's Mom]

All I can say is that I am appalled that Wyndham and the HOA made such a brash decision without FIRST doing some research and polling. It wouldn't have been hard to do a poll--they have a captive audience right there at BC--hundreds of new ones every week or so!!!!!

And I find it extremely POOR customer service to force a fee on people who made reservations under another set of conditions (no fee)--no matter what the fee turns out to be.

I still believe a reasonable user fee (like $5 per party/room/day) is more in line with good customer service--as long as it is effective 13 months from now.

Just for fun--how many of you would have balked at $5 per room/day as a user fee to ride the shuttle?

I'm new here--can someone start a poll?

 

[am1]

It makes sense to me for children under 3 to be free - if Disney doesn't even charge a park entry fee for them, it seems that BC could probably spare them the bus fee as well.

Someone has to pay for them. I would think it would be better if space was available, kids under how many years ride for free if space is available. Or 1 free child per adult.

 

[paxsarah]

Someone has to pay for them. I would think it would be better if space was available, kids under how many years ride for free if space is available. Or 1 free child per adult.

I know that it's on a completely different scale, but Disney manages to let kids under 3 in for free (to the parks themselves, not just the transportation) without adding any caveats. Certainly BC doesn't have to let them ride for free, but if it were me I wouldn't want to put my resort in the position of looking more money-grubbing than Disney.

 

[am1]

Disney still makes money off of kids under 3 once they and their parents are in the parks. With very little additional expense.

BC is trying to cover the cost of the shuttle.

I know that it's on a completely different scale, but Disney manages to let kids under 3 in for free (to the parks themselves, not just the transportation) without adding any caveats. Certainly BC doesn't have to let them ride for free, but if it were me I wouldn't want to put my resort in the position of looking more money-grubbing than Disney.

 

[lcml11]

All I can say is that I am appalled that Wyndham and the HOA made such a brash decision without FIRST doing some research and polling. It wouldn't have been hard to do a poll--they have a captive audience right there at BC--hundreds of new ones every week or so!!!!!

And I find it extremely POOR customer service to force a fee on people who made reservations under another set of conditions (no fee)--no matter what the fee turns out to be.

I still believe a reasonable user fee (like $5 per party/room/day) is more in line with good customer service--as long as it is effective 13 months from now.

Just for fun--how many of you would have balked at $5 per room/day as a user fee to ride the shuttle?

I'm new here--can someone start a poll?

The basic issue here is not so much as the transportation fee as it is the fee for service model that Wyndham is using and/or its earlier verisions.

As I understand it, once upon a time the reservations were free, now they cost a reservation transaction unless you are Gold or Silver VIP.

Guest passes were not limited.

As far as I can tell house cleaning was not a fee, not sure on this one. Now it needs housekeeping credits unless you are VIP Gold or Silver.

Parking costs at some locations.

Kingsgate charges a amenities fee.

I did not totaly understand what happened at Smuglers Notch, but fees somehow got in the door in some form.

These are in addition to the program fees and maintance fees that are already paid.

The general drift, if one were a cynical, is that the direction that things are going is that the owner owns the underlying property interests, pays for the upkeep, then pays to use the faciltiy for them or their guests or clients.

Fortunatly, deeded property rights and rights given through various state laws are not necessarily a majority rule issue.

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

On the other hand, it might be due to Resales that resorts are doing this. Back before people knew what resales were, resorts were making big money off of resort (developer) purchases. With the advent of the Internet, and sites like eBay, people are buying timeshares at less than 0.01% of Retail. I understand WBC's point of charging for the bus, it's not cheap. Diesel costs, maintenance, personnel to drive, etc.

I think the best option would've been to offer a Bus Pass for $12 per day. That way, if a person just wants to stay at the resort, and not go to Disney, they don't pay. It's still a savings, since parking is $14, so the only way to make it worth it is to go to Disney every day you're there. My wife and I have Annual Passes to Walt Disney World, so it's not worth it at all (Annual Passholders get free parking).

TS

 

[csxjohn]

On the other hand, it might be due to Resales that resorts are doing this. Back before people knew what resales were, resorts were making big money off of resort (developer) purchases. With the advent of the Internet, and sites like eBay, people are buying timeshares at less than 0.01% of Retail. I understand WBC's point of charging for the bus, it's not cheap. Diesel costs, maintenance, personnel to drive, etc.

...
TS

What the developer makes off TS sales has nothing to do with the cost of operating the resort. The developer is not going to use it's profits from sales to subsidize long term costs of operations.

Those costs are divided up between all the owners so it doesn't matter if you pay $30,000 for your unit or $3, you'll make an equal payment toward those costs.

 

[lcml11]

What the developer makes off TS sales has nothing to do with the cost of operating the resort. The developer is not going to use it's profits from sales to subsidize long term costs of operations.

Those costs are divided up between all the owners so it doesn't matter if you pay $30,000 for your unit or $3, you'll make an equal payment toward those costs.

Does anyone know if member services (parking pass people) resort paid or Coorporate paid?

 

[JimMIA]

Does anyone know if member services (parking pass people) resort paid or Coorporate paid?

The front desk folks are paid by the resort and would be part of that resort's MFs.

The sales weasels at parking pass desks and other hiding places are members of the sales staff -- NOT the resort staff. That's why they are able to provide such interesting insights on timeshare ownership -- they have a direct line to the "truth."

 

[lcml11]

The front desk folks are paid by the resort and would be part of that resort's MFs.

The sales weasels at parking pass desks and other hiding places are members of the sales staff -- NOT the resort staff. That's why they are able to provide such interesting insights on timeshare ownership -- they have a direct line to the "truth."

Or the truth, according to Wyndham sales, as the case may be.

 

[luckyrose]

I was just there after Feb 15 and Manager told me that it will be maybe $5 charge for people who wants to use a bus, but not a resort fee for owners or guests, I did not pay anything and was not ask to pay. but if you stay at hotel part ( not timeshare part ) you have to pay fee.

 

[PlasWinder]

I was just there after Feb 15 and Manager told me that it will be maybe $5 charge for people who wants to use a bus, but not a resort fee for owners or guests, I did not pay anything and was not ask to pay. but if you stay at hotel part ( not timeshare part ) you have to pay fee.

Maybe so, but just a few days later, the story became:

"As a result of recent feedback, the Bonnet Creek Home Owners Association has reversed the recently communicated $12 per unit / per day transportation fee for guests staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. Beginning March 1, 2013, transportation fees will only be applied to individuals who use the Walt Disney World® Resort shuttles at the resort."

So we'll see what the fee is that gets charged next Friday and who they actually try to charge it. (It's vague in the wording above other than if you don't use the shuttle, you definitely won't be paying the fee. Beyond that, I wouldn't hold my breath just yet.)