Trouble using Platinum Benefits [merged]

[Timelover]

I apologize for posting back to back but I have soooo many questions.
I have yet to rent a single booking, only own an inherited million points.

In your original post you state that all reservations had GC on them. You, husband, dad, son and daughter.
Then you post that your daughter is a teenager. Isn't check in 21?

Who's name was on the Hi reservation?
If your husband is terminal and this is the trip of his lifetime, why not just enjoy?

I hate to offend but I really smell some other part of the story you aren't sharing.
It is rare to hear someone so angry without an axe to grind.

 

[travelwyndham]

travelwyndham - I have merged your posts on this topic.

A friendly request: When you wish to add more info., please post it here in the same thread, rather than starting new threads. Thank you

Will do. Thank you.

 

[travelwyndham]

I apologize for posting back to back but I have soooo many questions.
I have yet to rent a single booking, only own an inherited million points.

In your original post you state that all reservations had GC on them. You, husband, dad, son and daughter.
Then you post that your daughter is a teenager. Isn't check in 21?

Who's name was on the Hi reservation?
If your husband is terminal and this is the trip of his lifetime, why not just enjoy?

I hate to offend but I really smell some other part of the story you aren't sharing.
It is rare to hear someone so angry without an axe to grind.

No offense taken. The name on the reservation was my husbands. Like I said- Wyndham admitted wrong doing, but not until 3 weeks later and then restored the points. The problem is we wouldn't book the reservations if we wanted the points back. I want the rooms that I'm booking. I'm tired of them taking away and then finding out from the front desk (who is awesome by the way) that the room was given to someone because there was water damage and they (Wyndham) needed our room for another guest. You're right, this is stinky! Yes, my son is a teenager. He's 18 and he's on the accounts. The sales department had him sign the documents and even used his credit card for the monthly fees. Wyndham says that if we want to pay $99 then they will allow me to add his name as a guest, but they remove it and cancel the reservation if he's just added as the traveler to begin with. To have them tell me that if we go to presidential reserve for $70,000 then they'll un-flag our account and leave us alone- that's where I'm like "say what"? I'm not here because I have all this free time that I feel like arguing with people over it. I'm here to tell you all what is happening to us and that it can happen to anyone (I've read several similar stories). I'm not going to defend myself and I don't care if people want to believe what I'm saying. I just think that it would be wrong of me not to share what's been going on because it could happen to you. Thank you

 

[Ty1on]

A novice perspective

I'm new to all this and have joined this site because I want to learn as much as possible about timeshare before diving in. From my review of postings so far, this is my understanding.....

On one hand, a lot of standard owners are complaining that they can never get reservations when they want them outside their home property. I've seen complaints of Wyndham overselling shares to the point where owners who qualify points-wise for prime times and locations can't get them because those weeks have been scooped up, leaving mere mortals the slim leftovers of unwanted seasons and less desirable units and locations.

On the other hand, I read about owners, some of them mega-renters and some of them simply folks who can afford to own enough points to put them into platinum, allowing them to squeeze the aforementioned mere mortals out of desirable weeks before the masses can even touch them. Then, these platinum types can recycle their reservations within 60 days of check-ins, so that not only do they have the power to bully everyone else out of those weeks, but they do it with half points, allowing them to bully the same users out of additional weeks, which they then sell on the rental market.

So, in summary, because of a well-intentioned plan by Wyndham to reward their biggest investors and provide incentive to buy more, the vacation wishes of owners who paid good money for their points are being pre-empted by others to generate income for themselves. Whether you want to apply the euphemism that it is just to cover your maintenance fees, the fact is that it's a profit-seeking operation, whether you rent out all the weeks you reserve or just enough to defray some of your costs.

If I am wrong in my assessment, please correct me. I am honestly writing this to learn. If I am right, I can't imagine the everyday owner, who struggles to get the week they want where they want because of those tactics, could have much sympathy for someone who costs them their vacation by manipulating the sytem.

The obvious solution to the cancel/rebook problem would be for Wyndham to install a 96 hour lockout preventing an owner from rebooking at the same resort. The workaround to that would be for two accounts to partner up, one scooping up the other's cancellation.

 

[MaryBella7]

On one hand, a lot of standard owners are complaining that they can never get reservations when they want them outside their home property. I've seen complaints of Wyndham overselling shares to the point where owners who qualify points-wise for prime times and locations can't get them because those weeks have been scooped up, leaving mere mortals the slim leftovers of unwanted seasons and less desirable units and locations.

There are only a handful of places/times that you wouldn't be able to get at 10 months like Daytona during races or New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Glacier Canyon weekends and Myrtle Beach in the summertime are a few I know of. If I wanted to go to those places at those times, I would make sure I owned there (or CWA to those that apply). Other than the super high-demand places/times, I have had no problem going anywhere I wanted during prime time at 10 months out when it opens to all of the mere mortals.

 

[Ty1on]

There are only a handful of places/times that you wouldn't be able to get at 10 months like Daytona during races or New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Glacier Canyon weekends and Myrtle Beach in the summertime are a few I know of. If I wanted to go to those places at those times, I would make sure I owned there (or CWA to those that apply). Other than the super high-demand places/times, I have had no problem going anywhere I wanted during prime time at 10 months out when it opens to all of the mere mortals.

That's good to read, and I appreciate the response. Like I said, I am trying to learn, and in this case trying to reconcile those availability complaints and extra accommodations used by those manipulating the 60 day rule.

I wasn't trying to be incendiary with my "mere mortals" description. I just chose those words to differentiate between elite and non-elite owner statuses.

 

[Ron2]

The obvious solution to the cancel/rebook problem would be for Wyndham to install a 96 hour lockout preventing an owner from rebooking at the same resort. The workaround to that would be for two accounts to partner up, one scooping up the other's cancellation.

There is reason for your concerns about the impact that the cancel/rebook process has on the average non-VIP owner but as Linda said, if you want a particular reservation just be online at 7:00 AM Eastern when the 10-month window opens and you’ll likely get your reservation. As for your suggestion of a 96 hour lock out, I’m certain it wouldn’t work because many of the big time operators have multiple accounts that would allow them to immediately pick up the reservation. Wyndham has talked about a wait list which would work if all cancellations during the discount period immediately went to the wait list for booking at the full point value (not discounted). If no one wants the reservation, then it could be made available for anyone to reserve.

 

[ronparise]

I'm new to all this and have joined this site because I want to learn as much as possible about timeshare before diving in. From my review of postings so far, this is my understanding.....

On one hand, a lot of standard owners are complaining that they can never get reservations when they want them outside their home property. I've seen complaints of Wyndham overselling shares to the point where owners who qualify points-wise for prime times and locations can't get them because those weeks have been scooped up, leaving mere mortals the slim leftovers of unwanted seasons and less desirable units and locations.

On the other hand, I read about owners, some of them mega-renters and some of them simply folks who can afford to own enough points to put them into platinum, allowing them to squeeze the aforementioned mere mortals out of desirable weeks before the masses can even touch them. Then, these platinum types can recycle their reservations within 60 days of check-ins, so that not only do they have the power to bully everyone else out of those weeks, but they do it with half points, allowing them to bully the same users out of additional weeks, which they then sell on the rental market.

So, in summary, because of a well-intentioned plan by Wyndham to reward their biggest investors and provide incentive to buy more, the vacation wishes of owners who paid good money for their points are being pre-empted by others to generate income for themselves. Whether you want to apply the euphemism that it is just to cover your maintenance fees, the fact is that it's a profit-seeking operation, whether you rent out all the weeks you reserve or just enough to defray some of your costs.

If I am wrong in my assessment, please correct me. I am honestly writing this to learn. If I am right, I can't imagine the everyday owner, who struggles to get the week they want where they want because of those tactics, could have much sympathy for someone who costs them their vacation by manipulating the sytem.

The obvious solution to the cancel/rebook problem would be for Wyndham to install a 96 hour lockout preventing an owner from rebooking at the same resort. The workaround to that would be for two accounts to partner up, one scooping up the other's cancellation.

I think you are wrong... Full disclosure: I have several Platinum accounts

The advantage I have is the discount at 60 days, But those discounts are for reservations that are available to all of us, VIP or not. Or if I play the cancel and rebook game; its a reservation I already had. And if I made that reservation you could have made it too

We all play by the same rules and the reservations window opens at the same time for us all.

Wyndham doesnt oversell Those points we all have are not created out of nothing. every point represents a fraction of a piece or realestate. and they do not sell more than 100% of that piece of property

Mine is a profit making operation but I dont and I cant "pre-empt" or "squeeze" anyone

 

[jebloomquist]

So, in summary, because of a well-intentioned plan by Wyndham to reward their biggest investors and provide incentive to buy more, the vacation wishes of owners who paid good money for their points are being pre-empted by others to generate income for themselves. Whether you want to apply the euphemism that it is just to cover your maintenance fees, the fact is that it's a profit-seeking operation, whether you rent out all the weeks you reserve or just enough to defray some of your costs.

If I am wrong in my assessment, please correct me.

First, Wyndham VIP is not a well intentioned plan to reward big investors, but actually an overly hyped program with false promises TO GET big investors. Be clear about that. So, when VIP owners actually use these overly hyped benefits, why are you surprised and offended? Every one of us has been to sales presentations featuring and encouraging us to use these “rent your points for profit” benefits with the same opportunity to buy in. We all know what Wyndham is all about, PROFIT. If you don’t like it, sell out. The system is designed to attract owners who want to find a way to game the system. Why the shock and awe when somebody does it?

Secondly, I do a fair amount of rentals, and I do just receive enough to pay my maintenance fees.

Life is full of used car salesmen. Get used to it. I have just spent a month negotiating with one. We came within $90, but I walked away. Within a week I found something thousands of dollars cheaper and far better. That previous clown wouldn’t budge an additional $90 and lost the sale. You don’t have to buy Wyndham if it doesn’t smell right to you. Hilton, Hyatt, Disney, Marriott, and others will gladly accept your money. Buy and then go complain there. Oh excuse me, you said that you just wanted to learn. Sorry.

I apologize to the rest of you, but I just get fed up with some of the petty complaining that goes on here.

Jim

 

[Ty1on]

First, Wyndham VIP is not a well intentioned plan to reward big investors, but actually an overly hyped program with false promises TO GET big investors. Be clear about that. So, when VIP owners actually use these overly hyped benefits, why are you surprised and offended? Every one of us has been to sales presentations featuring and encouraging us to use these “rent your points for profit” benefits with the same opportunity to buy in. We all know what Wyndham is all about, PROFIT. If you don’t like it, sell out. The system is designed to attract owners who want to find a way to game the system. Why the shock and awe when somebody does it?

Secondly, I do a fair amount of rentals, and I do just receive enough to pay my maintenance fees.

Life is full of used car salesmen. Get used to it. I have just spent a month negotiating with one. We came within $90, but I walked away. Within a week I found something thousands of dollars cheaper and far better. That previous clown wouldn’t budge an additional $90 and lost the sale. You don’t have to buy Wyndham if it doesn’t smell right to you. Hilton, Hyatt, Disney, Marriott, and others will gladly accept your money. Buy and then go complain there. Oh excuse me, you said that you just wanted to learn. Sorry.

I apologize to the rest of you, but I just get fed up with some of the petty complaining that goes on here.

Jim

I seriously just want to learn. I don't own any timeshare, so I have not experienced my example. No sour grapes here. If you think I sound offended, maybe you are projecting some of your own affect onto me? I am a completely uninterested party here.

 

[Ty1on]

I think you are wrong... Full disclosure: I have several Platinum accounts

The advantage I have is the discount at 60 days, But those discounts are for reservations that are available to all of us, VIP or not. Or if I play the cancel and rebook game; its a reservation I already had. And if I made that reservation you could have made it too

We all play by the same rules and the reservations window opens at the same time for us all.

Wyndham doesnt oversell Those points we all have are not created out of nothing. every point represents a fraction of a piece or realestate. and they do not sell more than 100% of that piece of property

Mine is a profit making operation but I dont and I cant "pre-empt" or "squeeze" anyone

But if every point represents a fraction of ownership, and you get half-point deals at 60 days, doesn't that inflate the number of points in use vs the underlying deeds?

I don't, and didn't, think Wyndham oversells. My thought, which I may have poorly expressed, was that in the case of those who complain that Wyndham oversells (And I have read exactly those complaints), it may have been a case of the inflation I mentioned above. I suppose that there would be plenty of points that have been expired, forfeited, or simply unused to account for the extra buying power of the half point deals.

I do appreciate the non-patronizing responses to my question.

 

[uscav8r]

But if every point represents a fraction of ownership, and you get half-point deals at 60 days, doesn't that inflate the number of points in use vs the underlying deeds?

I don't, and didn't, think Wyndham oversells. My thought, which I may have poorly expressed, was that in the case of those who complain that Wyndham oversells (And I have read exactly those complaints), it may have been a case of the inflation I mentioned above. I suppose that there would be plenty of points that have been expired, forfeited, or simply unused to account for the extra buying power of the half point deals.

I do appreciate the non-patronizing responses to my question.

Where are you reading about complaints regarding no availability in Club Wyndham? I've not heard that as a common complaint in this system, but it is a resounding complaint in the sister system, WorldMark, which is a completely different beast.

In Club Wyndham, there is no way to "beat the clock" or to squeeze out other owners. In WorldMark, there are some differences that do allow for anyone to get a "jump" on anyone else, so while WM is more flexible, one might say Club Wyndham is more equitable.

Even this discount you seem to be focused upon is more of a paper tiger in that it can only be used if there is excess/available inventory; it is in no way automatic. For high demand resorts/times the "manipulation" as you call it (cancel/rebook to others) has a worsening probability of success. Other lower demand resorts/times may be more apt to have discounts applied, but this is a good use of inventory that may otherwise go unused. If it was desired enough, owners in general would constantly be looking for availability which, in effect, squeezes out the VIP discounters (or at least deters them).

In addition to your final sentence, there are owner points taken out of the system for cruises, airline tickets, hotel stays, etc., thus leaving available inventory somewhere in the system.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Ty1on]

Where are you reading about complaints regarding no availability in Club Wyndham? I've not heard that as a common complaint in this system, but it is a resounding complaint in the sister system, WorldMark, which is a completely different beast.

In Club Wyndham, there is no way to "beat the clock" or to squeeze out other owners. In WorldMark, there are some differences that do allow for anyone to get a "jump" on anyone else, so while WM is more flexible, one might say Club Wyndham is more equitable.

Even this discount you seem to be focused upon is more of a paper tiger in that it can only be used if there is excess/available inventory; it is in no way automatic. For high demand resorts/times the "manipulation" as you call it (cancel/rebook to others) has a worsening probability of success. Other lower demand resorts/times may be more apt to have discounts applied, but this is a good use of inventory that may otherwise go unused. If it was desired enough, owners in general would constantly be looking for availability which, in effect, squeezes out the VIP discounters (or at least deters them).

In addition to your final sentence, there are owner points taken out of the system for cruises, airline tickets, hotel stays, etc., thus leaving available inventory somewhere in the system.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

So you cannot cancel/rebook to obtain the discount in a resort that is booked out or nearly booked out?

The comments I've read were mostly in Ripoff Report, I believe. It is also entirely possible that I have bundled Wyndham and Worldmark in my mind.

 

[uscav8r]

So you cannot cancel/rebook to obtain the discount in a resort that is booked out or nearly booked out?

The comments I've read were mostly in Ripoff Report, I believe. It is also entirely possible that I have bundled Wyndham and Worldmark in my mind.

Just because a resort is "nearly" booked out does not mean the unit type you want is available. If there is just one free unit of the type you want (which can be freed up via your own cancellation), then you can get the discount. But realize that this can only be done at 60 days to check in... That is almost like 11th hour planning in the TS world. Aside from the case of a cancel/rebook, this means the inventory has not been booked (and kept) during the previous 8-11 months.

I would not say it is absolutely impossible to cancel/rebook a fully booked resort, but it is more and more improbable. One can always make the attempt and risk losing the whole thing; a backup plan is always prudent in these cases.

Take what you read from RR with a grain of salt. TS is not like a lemon car, or other more straightforward issues. TS is a complicated product and no two systems are exactly the same. Most TS complaints are either due to misperceptions introduced by a developer sales team on initial purchase or inability to use the product. This latter complaint may be resolved probably 85-95% of the time by learning how to use the ownership and how to take advantage of its strengths while minimizing its weaknesses. That is why resources like TUG can be so valuable. Mindset on the part of the consumer, to be flexible and adapt to changing booking patterns, cannot be overstated as a contributing factor when it comes to happy ownership.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Cheryl20772]

So, in summary, because of a well-intentioned plan by Wyndham to reward their biggest investors and provide incentive to buy more, the vacation wishes of owners who paid good money for their points are being pre-empted by others to generate income for themselves. Whether you want to apply the euphemism that it is just to cover your maintenance fees, the fact is that it's a profit-seeking operation, whether you rent out all the weeks you reserve or just enough to defray some of your costs.

Preston, I'm just a lowly SilverVIP owner. That just means we were willing to pay Wyndham over $50K to own 308K points and use the system for our vacations.

As long as I realize that resort units are subject to great demand at many times during the year and plan ahead with reservations accordingly, there's no problem enjoying what we bought.

It makes no difference to me if the other points in the system are owned and used by so-called mega-renters or other small owners like me. It also usually doesn't matter if the units are occupied by owners or renters. Owners might take better care of a unit than renters. I doubt that's been researched.

There are only so many points per resort in the system and they will be used by somebody and the fees will be paid the same.

 

[Ty1on]

Just because a resort is "nearly" booked out does not mean the unit type you want is available. If there is just one free unit of the type you want (which can be freed up via your own cancellation), then you can get the discount. But realize that this can only be done at 60 days to check in... That is almost like 11th hour planning in the TS world. Aside from the case of a cancel/rebook, this means the inventory has not been booked (and kept) during the previous 8-11 months.

I would not say it is absolutely impossible to cancel/rebook a fully booked resort, but it is more and more improbable. One can always make the attempt and risk losing the whole thing; a backup plan is always prudent in these cases.

Take what you read from RR with a grain of salt. TS is not like a lemon car, or other more straightforward issues. TS is a complicated product and no two systems are exactly the same. Most TS complaints are either due to misperceptions introduced by a developer sales team on initial purchase or inability to use the product. This latter complaint may be resolved probably 85-95% of the time by learning how to use the ownership and how to take advantage of its strengths while minimizing its weaknesses. That is why resources like TUG can be so valuable. Mindset on the part of the consumer, to be flexible and adapt to changing booking patterns, cannot be overstated as a contributing factor when it comes to happy ownership.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you! Your description of the complexity and the value of TUG is exactly why I'm asking stupid questions and learning everything possible before I tie myself up with an annual commitment.

The mindset of flexibility is an important issue. I'm a very "roll with the punches" type person, but my wife freaks out at the smallest contingency, so I might find TS isn't in the cards for us at all.

 

[Ron2]

Even this discount you seem to be focused upon is more of a paper tiger in that it can only be used if there is excess/available inventory; it is in no way automatic. For high demand resorts/times the "manipulation" as you call it (cancel/rebook to others) has a worsening probability of success. Other lower demand resorts/times may be more apt to have discounts applied, but this is a good use of inventory that may otherwise go unused. If it was desired enough, owners in general would constantly be looking for availability which, in effect, squeezes out the VIP discounters (or at least deters them).

Anyone who knows how cancel/rebook works, knows it’s not “excess/available inventory” that is booked through the cancel/rebook process. It’s actually available inventory that you create for yourself by canceling a reservation you already have (often a prime reservation) and rebook it at discount. If it was excess inventory, you wouldn’t need to cancel anything – just book the reservation at the discount rate. What makes this process so unfair to the non-VIP small point owners is that it often ties up two units for the same reservation. The ultimate goal in cancel/rebook is not to just get the 25 to 50% discount; it’s to get the larger unit that you want at the discounted rate of a small unit by also applying the free upgrade to the small unit once you cancel the larger unit. This practice ties up inventory that otherwise could be booked by others, especially the small point owners who only have enough points for the small units.

 

[Cheryl20772]

So you cannot cancel/rebook to obtain the discount in a resort that is booked out or nearly booked out?

The comments I've read were mostly in Ripoff Report, I believe. It is also entirely possible that I have bundled Wyndham and Worldmark in my mind.

You can always cancel, but if you try to rebook for a discount during a prime or high reservation time on the calendar, you will most likely just get your cancellation.

Cancel-rebook is not a VIP benefit. It's used by Wyndham sales people to show how to game the system without mentioning how the reservation can be lost. It's used by them to try to get a $50K+ sale. Can you blame people who spent that kind of money for trying to use it?

Cancel-rebook takes advantage of the VIP benefit of discounted points needed for any left-over units at short notice. As someone also pointed out, all of the owned points are never used for occupying units each year. They can be pooled to use another year, converted to RCI for exchanges, used with Plus Partners, or, if not used, they expire. Before I started using the credit pool I always had like 5-10K points leftover to expire and wondered how many expired total in the system each year.

Bear in mind that some of the people who may complain here or at places like Ripoff Report, might not understand how to use their points. They also might not have paid attention to the fact that there are no verbal agreements and only what is in their signed contract is what they purchased. The sales people are famous for making all kinds of promises in order to get that sale.

 

[Ty1on]

You can always cancel, but if you try to rebook for a discount during a prime or high reservation time on the calendar, you will most likely just get your cancellation.

Cancel-rebook is not a VIP benefit. It's used by Wyndham sales people to show how to game the system without mentioning how the reservation can be lost. It's used by them to try to get a $50K+ sale. Can you blame people who spent that kind of money for trying to use it?

Cancel-rebook takes advantage of the VIP benefit of discounted points needed for any left-over units at short notice. As someone also pointed out, all of the owned points are never used for occupying units each year. They can be pooled to use another year, converted to RCI for exchanges, used with Plus Partners, or, if not used, they expire. Before I started using the credit pool I always had like 5-10K points leftover to expire and wondered how many expired total in the system each year.

Bear in mind that some of the people who may complain here or at places like Ripoff Report, might not understand how to use their points. They also might not have paid attention to the fact that there are no verbal agreements and only what is in their signed contract is what they purchased. The sales people are famous for making all kinds of promises in order to get that sale.

I would never blame anyone for using anything at their disposal. Even if the salesmen WEREN'T using it as a sales crutch, and it were universally taboo, it would be the job of Wyndham to close the loophole, not of the owners to pretend it doesn't exist. I was just trying to understand the practice from multiple perspectives, and I misinterpreted that the practice significantly cost availability to others. Thanks all for your responses.

 

[uscav8r]

Anyone who knows how cancel/rebook works, knows it’s not “excess/available inventory” that is booked through the cancel/rebook process. It’s actually available inventory that you create for yourself by canceling a reservation you already have (often a prime reservation) and rebook it at discount.

Yes, I said this in a follow-on post: "If there is just one free unit of the type you want (which can be freed up via your own cancellation), then you can get the discount." The statement in my original post specifically mentioned the discount (in general) that PrestonCaldwell seemed to think was leading to "overselling" of points. You may want to read my original post again.

If it was excess inventory, you wouldn’t need to cancel anything – just book the reservation at the discount rate.

I also mentioned in a later post: "Aside from the case of a cancel/rebook, [booking at a discount] means the inventory has not been booked (and kept) during the previous 8-11 months."

What makes this process so unfair to the non-VIP small point owners is that it often ties up two units for the same reservation. The ultimate goal in cancel/rebook is not to just get the 25 to 50% discount; it’s to get the larger unit that you want at the discounted rate of a small unit by also applying the free upgrade to the small unit once you cancel the larger unit. This practice ties up inventory that otherwise could be booked by others, especially the small point owners who only have enough points for the small units.

This may be a valid concern, but it still does not address PrestonCaldwell's earlier comment that Wyndham is supposedly selling more UDI points than it has in physical inventory (keeping in mind the source of this assertion was Ripoff Report).

By your assertion, there should be a bunch of newly available smaller units within 60 days. The savvy small points owner would be scouring the website for opened units inside this window. I'm not saying this is an easy thing to do... it requires being online almost constantly.

However, remember the first rule of Wyndham booking: book early at 7 a.m. EST on the first day of the 10-month window (or call in for ARP). A small owner can get his or her own booking before a large point owner has booked two different-sized units as these things need to be done sequentially and the large points owner will likely book the larger unit (usually a smaller inventory pool) first.

 

[ronparise]

Thank you! Your description of the complexity and the value of TUG is exactly why I'm asking stupid questions and learning everything possible before I tie myself up with an annual commitment.

The mindset of flexibility is an important issue. I'm a very "roll with the punches" type person, but my wife freaks out at the smallest contingency, so I might find TS isn't in the cards for us at all.

The tried and true advice is, if you want guarantees, buy a fixed week. If you want flexibility buy points.

 

[travelwyndham]

Happy Owners Again

Wyndham Corporate has been in touch with me and seems to be making an incredible effort to right any wrongs. It just took 1-2 phone calls from various people to finally alleviate most of my stress and problems that we've been having. I don't know if it was because of my talk with certain influential people at the sales center or if was because of my postings. Whatever it was, our family is back to being happy Wyndham owners who are navigating the system well enough to be on a very very long world trip from all over the US to Hawaii to Europe using our points and RCI exchanges. We feel that it has been our privilege to be able to share the joy with others through our rentals and also have money to help us pay our maintenance fees in doing so. I feel bad that it came to me having to voice all my complaints and problems here, but if that ultimately helped us find our way- all I can be is elated going forward.

I think that if you can navigate the system and you know what your doing, then Wyndham is a great product. I exchanged many of my points to go to Disney properties, Fiji, New Zealand and more. The value for the Wyndham points seems to be high as I cannot get some of these same exchanges through my other RCI points based account. We've been owners since the Fairfield days and in all that time of travel we've only had 2 run-ins with any of the resort staff (both were front desk supervisors unfortunately). However, everyone else has been incredibly nice and professional and for the most part, the resorts are hard to beat.

I sincerely appreciate all the support and feedback. Hopefully, I'll have only wonderful things to say moving forward. Meanwhile, we are currently in Kauai, 1 week into our month long stay. Last month was Beach Walk and next month is Kona. We will be in Maui for most of August and September before making our way to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. We have had a reservation at a Wyndham resort every night since September 2011. If anyone has any questions about using the product or any ideas on what we MUST do while we are in a particular area, please let me know.

Thank you, Christine

 

[Bigrob]

Wyndham Corporate has been in touch with me and seems to be making an incredible effort to right any wrongs. It just took 1-2 phone calls from various people to finally alleviate most of my stress and problems that we've been having. I don't know if it was because of my talk with certain influential people at the sales center or if was because of my postings. Whatever it was, our family is back to being happy Wyndham owners who are navigating the system well enough to be on a very very long world trip from all over the US to Hawaii to Europe using our points and RCI exchanges. We feel that it has been our privilege to be able to share the joy with others through our rentals and also have money to help us pay our maintenance fees in doing so. I feel bad that it came to me having to voice all my complaints and problems here, but if that ultimately helped us find our way- all I can be is elated going forward.

I think that if you can navigate the system and you know what your doing, then Wyndham is a great product. I exchanged many of my points to go to Disney properties, Fiji, New Zealand and more. The value for the Wyndham points seems to be high as I cannot get some of these same exchanges through my other RCI points based account. We've been owners since the Fairfield days and in all that time of travel we've only had 2 run-ins with any of the resort staff (both were front desk supervisors unfortunately). However, everyone else has been incredibly nice and professional and for the most part, the resorts are hard to beat.

I sincerely appreciate all the support and feedback. Hopefully, I'll have only wonderful things to say moving forward. Meanwhile, we are currently in Kauai, 1 week into our month long stay. Last month was Beach Walk and next month is Kona. We will be in Maui for most of August and September before making our way to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. We have had a reservation at a Wyndham resort every night since September 2011. If anyone has any questions about using the product or any ideas on what we MUST do while we are in a particular area, please let me know.

Thank you, Christine

I am glad to hear of a happy conclusion to this for you.

If you don't mind me asking, what did they end up doing to take care of the issues you experienced? Did they reinstate your father's name on the account? What happened with the reservations you had that were cancelled? Etc.

Glad to hear you're happy owners again.

 

[travelwyndham]

It's a bit of a long story... We ended up purchasing the PR in hopes of getting things straightened out (getting back in good graces or whatever) only to have the VP of guest relations call us and offer us an out because she thought we were purchasing for the wrong reason (interesting). We had a long discussion and she assured me that they were working hard to resolve the issues and they didn't see many upset owners making additional purchases. They wanted to be sure we were happy.

Meanwhile, they said that 19 reservations were affected at the Emerald Grand and that they, in fact, were going to honor them all (they just didn't know how at that point- but they promised that the guests would be staying at Emerald Grand). Also, I had some new contracts that hadn't been added to the account, yet that we purchased with my father, mother, and aunt. Those contracts were finally added to our account and in doing so, my father's name is back on a a co-owner. They did give us back the points for our Waikiki Beach Walk (not what I wanted, I wanted the room) but at least it was something.

I don't know if this is all related to the purchase (I sure hope not) because we did end up canceling with Wyndham's blessing. We might purchase in the future because I really like the PR, but under different, non-emotional circumstances. We have been so "messed around with" that I feel great trepidation in canceling. I don't want to go back to having all those troubles. Wyndham guest services insists that everything will be good from now on. We'll see.

Thank you for the reply. I have been following this site (without comments) for a long time and I almost messaged you personally when this started because you seem so knowledgable. I feel fairly new to everything and have so much on my plate right now. I just need my vacations to at least be as stress and hassle free as possible. The last 3 months have been just awful. Anyway, Thank you again. I'll post any updates- Good or Bad. Christine