Shell Vacation Resorts

[DeeDibble]

ok guys - I keep hearing about Wyndham acquiring Shell Resorts and that it’s wonderful but I gotta tell ya nobody in Wyndham seems to know anything, ie: point conversion etc. etc. etc. I have a family member that says they haven’t used their Shell Timeshare in 3 years . She says they have some points on deposit with I I that will expire soon and wants to convey her ownership to us. I recall her saying they have 3800 points per year and that she thought they were gleaning 1-3 weeks a year. I don’t want to take it over if there isn’t any real value or at least the value we have inWyndham (Gold status). I’m wondering if I’m going to take on another 100 a month on in maintenance fees I might be better off working on finding an RCI Red Week and doing the PIC program. Anyone out there have some advise?

 

[VacationForever]

Shell MF is relatively high in the industry. While Wyndham has acquired Shell, it remains a different timeshare system from Wyndham.

 

[geist1223]

She'll be coming around the Mountain. Don't you love autocorrect?

 

[Sandy VDH]

Some shell inventory has been made available to Wyndham owners. I do not know if some reciprocal inventory swap was made to shell or if these units were unsold Shell inventory that was sold as Wyndham inventory.

My friend who owns shell makes the best use of it my using the shell points through II and getting last minute inventory, at reduced point values.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I have some Shell points since about 1/2 of my sibling collection is scattered in TX, AZ and California (think Western USA). I have stayed at the resort in PHX several times for Spring Training and San Diego for a wedding. Easy to book .. reservations are by the day .. so can do way more than the usual Wyndham Resorts 3,4 or 7 nights with certain checkin day... like 10 or more days.

As for the costs being HIGHER ... many Shell Resorts are associated with golf clubs or are city resorts in the Western USA and newer than many Wyndham resorts .. Shell Vacation Resorts could be more expensive to operate than a Wyndham Nashville Resort or a 35+ year old resort in the Poconos... esp with heavy in & out stays of less than a week.

 

[DeeDibble]

So with everything said does anyone know if we can use Shell points to get into Wyndham and Wyndham points to get into Shell? Anyone know the point conversion? Someone said they are “different” - does that mean Wyndham only owns it and the programs don’t “mix” like Wyndham and Worldmark? FYI: The $99 internal exchange fee and the lack of discounts between Wyndham and World Mark completely chaps my ass anyway.

 

[JohnPaul]

I recall her saying they have 3800 points per year and that she thought they were gleaning 1-3 weeks a year. I don’t want to take it over if there isn’t any real value or at least the value we have inWyndham (Gold status). I’m wondering if I’m going to take on another 100 a month on in maintenance fees I might be better off working on finding an RCI Red Week and doing the PIC program. Anyone out there have some advise?

3800 Shell Points will definitely NOT get you "1-3 weeks a year". Here are a few high season examples:

Donatello San Francisco (very large studio) 5150 Points
Suites at Fisherman's Wharf (one bedroom) 5150 Points
Crotched Mountain New Hampshire (one bedroom) 3750 Points
Desert Rose Las Vegas (one bedroom) 4550 Points
Vino Bello Napa (one bedroom) 5800 Points

Also, Shell has a number of clubs and your MF will vary based on the club they are associated with. At 9 months, you can book in any club but from 9 - 12 months out you can only book in your home club. So, for example, if you own in the West Club you can't book Hawaii earlier than 9 months before your stay.

There are also some basic club fees regardless of the number of points owned. This makes the per point rate considerably higher for small ownerships like 3800.

FWIW - I own in the West Club. I just "bought" 1500 points from someone (an amount that should never have been sold as a stand alone ownership). They have paid the 2017 MF on the points (which I get) and are paying all transfer costs and are paying me $89 (a $100 gift card less the $11 I paid on eBay). Obviously I"m reasonably happy with Shell as that gives me 17000 points.

I live in Sacramento and use the points mostly in San Francisco, Napa and San Diego.

 

[JohnPaul]

There are about a dozen Wyndham resorts that one can book through Shell. You book and pay in Shell points. However, this option is probably only available if you buy from the developer. If you want Wyndham or Worldmark you should probably buy that.

 

[Avislo]

Do not know much about Shell Vacation Club. Maybe this older thread may give a starting point.

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...tually-wyndham-confusing.247035/#post-1933978

 

[DeeDibble]

Thanks everyone - doesn’t t look like I’ll be taking the Shell contract off my family members hands. If I’m going to add $100 a month to maintenance fees I already pay I’m better off buying more Wyndham Access on Ebay

 

[VacationForever]

If your family member is no longer using it, they can call Wyndham to deedback through their Ovation program. No point throwing good money after bad...

 

[cassvilleokie]

Most Shell resorts now have Wyndham inventory available and use the Wyndham Point system. If anyone here is wanting to rid themselves of Hawaii collection Shell please direct message me.

 

[RJones]

Sorry if this question has already been asked, but if I am an existing owner, and I buy points on the secondary market, am I allowed to combine (use the total number of points I would have access to) and book 1 big trip?

 

[Avislo]

Deleted. Defer to the following post.

 

[JohnPaul]

Sorry if this question has already been asked, but if I am an existing owner, and I buy points on the secondary market, am I allowed to combine (use the total number of points I would have access to) and book 1 big trip?

I assume you are talking Shell not Wyndham. Shell does not use the terms ARP/RARP. With Shell, as long as your points are all in the same club they are all available to book Shell Resorts the same as if you bought from the developer. However, You have to ask that your resale points be included in your existing account. This is usually done at the time of purchase.

I have 17,000 points that were from at least a half dozen purchases. They are all in one account and I can book a single vacation using all those points (although that would be a long vacation).

 

[RJones]

Awesome. And what are the different ¨sub-clubs¨?

 

[JohnPaul]

West, Hawaii, Americana and Pacific.

West is Oregon, California and Nevada resorts.
Pacific is Whistler, BC.
Hawaii is Hawaii.
Americana is everything else.

You can't book in another club until 9 months out but can book your own club at 12 months.

 

[rickandcindy23]

You should browse the Shell website. Ask the current owner for the log-in information. Make an informed decision. If there are no resorts you want in the Shell system, you need to know that most exchanges are pretty expensive through II with Shell points. If you like the idea of booking last-minute through II, you can get some good deals through exchange with Shell points because it's 1/2 price.

 

[RJones]

So just to be clear, if I own at Kona Coast lets say 5000 pts. and another 5000 at Waikiki Marina, that would be a total of 10,000 available for me to use together in the West Club?

 

[JohnPaul]

Right concept EXCEPT you don't own points at a specific resort with Shell. (Also, those resorts are in the Hawaii Club - not the West Club.) You own points in one of the Shell Clubs and the clubs own the resorts. But, if you buy 5000 points in the Hawaii club and then buy another 5000 points in the Hawaii club you can ask that they be combined into one account. Once they are in one account then you can book a 10,000 point reservation in Hawaii at 12 months or spend your 10,000 points anywhere in Shell at 9 months.

FWIW some resorts were weeks resorts with Shell before Shell Vacation Club (points) started and so there are still people with ownership of Shell weeks in various resorts. These weeks are NOT part of Shell Vacations Club and have no points associated with them. They entitle you to use your week at your resort.

Note also that MF vary by which club you own in. I think Hawaii is the highest but I can't swear to that.

By contrast, if you bought 5000 points in the Hawaii club and 5000 points in the West club you could make a 5000 point reservation in the Hawaii club at 12 months AND a 5000 point reservation in the West club at 12 months. At 9 months out you can make a 10,000 point reservation anywhere. What you can't do (without banking or borrowing) is make a 10,000 point reservation in either club at 12 months out.

You can bank your points no later than 4 months before the end of your use year and have them to use in the next use year. However, you then can't use them in the current use year unless you borrow them back. They stay in the same club when you bank.

The borrowing rule is a little odd. You can only borrow ONCE from a use year, whether you borrow 50 points or the whole years points. Also, borrowed points can only be used for booking within the 9 month window.

(Shell has a ton of rules.)

If you own in two clubs the borrowing rule would apply to each club.

Last but not least. If you buy resale you get all of the usage of the Shell Resorts but not access to some of their other options like Shell Lifestyles (which has an exchange option with BlueGreen Resorts among other things). And any resale points will NOT count toward Elite/Signature levels.

We use our points almost exclusively for San Francisco, Napa and San Diego but did send a niece on her honeymoon to Hawaii.

 

[cobblover]

Hello,
I am considering buying resale shell vacation club west points, or wyndham, maybe even others. Basically I am just looking for what has lowest buyin costs, and maintenance fees, and can easily trade. I don't own any timeshares, but have gone to many presentations and think I would like to buy in at this point. I noted you have shell points so wanted to ask -

What are the shell lifestyles bluegreen resorts? Wondering if that will be a great loss not to have.
What are Elite/Signature levels?

I will be limited to going places during school holidays since we have kids in school, so points sound good to use for weekends, and not have to take off an entire week from school. But I know that will cost the most points as it is mostly more high season demand times.

We would mostly go to places in CA, coast, disneyland, sf, tahoe, with an occasional trip to HI. Does shell have last minute deals when there is extra inventory? Just wondering if there are more perks than just the week of points I would buy. I am looking to buy about 5000.

Is it easy to rent your points out, either privately or through an agency, and easily recoup MFs or perhaps make a bit of money, should I not be able to use them for the year?

Thanks for any questions you can answer!

 

[JohnPaul]

Let's start with costs. Shell MF are NOT low. Some of this comes from the fact that many of the places they operate such as San Francisco, Napa and Hawaii are expensive. This is why you can buy points for nothing or even get paid.

The points system is great in that it gives you lots of flexibility. As you noted, weekend nights are most popular and thus most expensive in points. Also, realize that you get a limited number of free housekeepings so lots of short stays can mean also paying a housekeeping fee.

Yes, SVC has "Dash Away Deals" where you can pay cash at a 40% discount for stays starting within 14 days. We have stayed mid week in a hotel unit at Inn at the Opera for $30 per night plus the $17.50 on line reservation fee.

SVC currently trades through II but since Wyndham owns RCI it's likely to change back at some point in the future. I did a number of trades to great Colorado ski resorts last year. However, the price (in SVC points) has gone up a lot since then.

I would encourage you to do a lot more study before you jump into anything. You might find Worldmark a much better match for your initial purchase than Shell. You will pay a few thousand dollars for your purchase (vs nothing for Shell) but you MF will be much lower. You will also have a much greater collection of resorts without any exchange fee and can make use of things like Monday madness. (I own Worldmark in addition to Shell (West) and a number of other timeshares.

 

[cowboy]

What are Shell Vacation Club Hawaii rules regarding how far in advance can one make a reservation?

 

[JohnPaul]

What are Shell Vacation Club Hawaii rules regarding how far in advance can one make a reservation?

If you own in the Hawaii club, you can book a full week in Hawaii at a year out. At 307 days out you can book 2 or more days.

 

[cowboy]

Thanks