WorldMark Booking Experience Question

[Soumak]

hey Guys,

Looking to buy worldmark for the first time (first time share also). I was wondering how the booking experience is for people. How does Worldmark balance # of points sold vs availability of existing resort? it seems it would get harder for people to book because its the same # of resorts trying to be booked by more individuals as more points are being sold? Is there a # of total point available for sale limit by Worldmark to ensure that they don't over sell points?

 

[Sandy VDH]

They can't sell more points than they have units for in the entire system. But all things are not equal. Some resorts are very high demand at certain times of the year. Mystic Dunes all year or Yellowstone in May through October, these are generally hard to get for anyone. You have to book these as soon as the booking window opens or they are gone, or hope that your wait list request comes through.

They keep adding new resorts, Moab is the newest, but there are 2 newer texas resorts in the last 4-5 years, Hunt and Marble Falls. That is how they get more points.

 

[easyrider]

There are some resorts that are hard to book and certain units in these hard to book resorts are even harder to book. That being said, for the most part, Worldmark is one of the easiest resorts we own to make online reservations. Other perks are bonus time and decent exchanges.

Bill

 

[ski_sierra]

They can't sell more points than they have units for in the entire system

it seems it would get harder for people to book because its the same # of resorts trying to be booked by more individuals as more points are being sold?

As Sandy said they don't sell more points than units. But they use another trick. They keep adding resorts that are not very desirable and in locations WM members don't care to visit. Many of them like in Pennsylvania or Mid-West sit empty more than half the year. Moab is an exception. I hope that one gets utilized more.

So in reality it is quite difficult to book ski resorts during winter and beach resorts during summer. But if you are ok with going to the desert resorts during summer, ski resorts during spring/fall, and locations in the mid-west, you can find a lot of availability.

Some resorts like Marina Dunes should be called mythical Dunes because they are so hard to book and some members have never been able to book there since they become members. It exists only as a myth for them rather than reality.

 

[VacationForever]

As Sandy said they don't sell more points than units. But they use another trick. They keep adding resorts that are not very desirable and in locations WM members don't care to visit. Many of them like in Pennsylvania or Mid-West sit empty more than half the year. Moab is an exception. I hope that one gets utilized more.

So in reality it is quite difficult to book ski resorts during winter and beach resorts during summer. But if you are ok with going to the desert resorts during summer, ski resorts during spring/fall, and locations in the mid-west, you can find a lot of availability.

Some resorts like Marina Dunes should be called mythical Dunes because they are so hard to book and some members have never been able to book there since they become members. It exists only as a myth for them rather than reality.

I managed to book Marina Dunes as part of a group booking before they changed the policy that every portion of the group reservations has to be at the 13th month mark and not longer. I padded the front with Pismo Beach, followed by Marina Dunes. It was pretty rundown but the location was great.

 

[ski_sierra]

It was pretty rundown but the location was great

Marina Dunes was run down or Pismo?

The city of Marina is not very appealing. Lots of homeless and drug addicts.

 

[VacationForever]

Marina Dunes was run down or Pismo?

The city of Marina is not very appealing. Lots of homeless and drug addicts.

Pismo was fine. Marina Dunes structure on the outside was pretty run down. I wouldn't want to book it for friends to stay at. Seriously bad. We like the location for going to Pebble Beach.

 

[easyrider]

I haven't had a problem booking multiple units on the Oregon and Washington Coast. I don't like California beach resorts because most of them are not on the beach but across the highway or further back.

Bill

 

[CO skier]

So in reality it is quite difficult to book ski resorts during winter and beach resorts during summer. But if you are ok with going to the desert resorts during summer, ski resorts during spring/fall, and locations in the mid-west, you can find a lot of availability.

This is so untrue.

At this moment, any WorldMark owner could book a Christmas vacation on the Oregon shore in a 1 bedroom at Gleneden Beach, checking-in on December 18 and checking-out on December 26, 2022. I guess any waitlists for this timeframe must have been filled and any cancellations are going to open inventory.

It is less than 100 days until Steamboat Springs, CO opens for ski season, and there are many ski vacations just waiting to be reserved, including Spring Break. The same holds true for WM South Lake Tahoe.

The early bird will, of course, get the best vacations, so plan to book right at 13 months for popular times like skiing in winter or the beach. The waitlist also works well, so book what is available as "Plan B" and enter a waitlist for any "Plan A" that is not available.

 

[ski_sierra]

Oregon shore in a 1 bedroom at Gleneden Beach, checking-in on December 18

This is low season for this area. But if you are trying to book summer weeks even a year in advance, the availability is quite limited.

I like WM but it is not great for peak season availability especially in 2 BR or larger units. It's great for shoulder season and off peak at the larger resorts in 1 BR or smaller units, but the nice properties are extremely hard to book, much harder than other programs like HGVC or Hyatt.

 

[CO skier]

This is low season for this area.

Christmas is low season for Gleneden Beach or any popular location? I do not think so.

Summer is, of course, when demand exceeds supply. It is easy to book something at Gleneden Beach right at 13 months for the following summer, but do not wait even a few days beyond 13 months ahead to book it. Any timeshare is like musical chairs -- wait too long and all the chairs will be taken.

Also, April and May are excellent times to visit the Oregon coast; there is a lot of availability still left for April and May, 2023 in a 2 bedroom at Glenden Beach.

I know from experience that August - October are also great times to visit the Oregon coast. Any WorldMark owner may book a 2 bedroom unit at Glendeden Beach beginning any date September 3-18*, 2023; they do not need to be there at exactly 13 month ahead.

*(September 18, 2023 is 13 months from today, August 18, 2022.)

So your comment

But if you are ok with going to the desert resorts during summer, ski resorts during spring/fall, and locations in the mid-west, you can find a lot of availability.

is overly negative and entirely untrue.

 

[Soumak]

Thank you all for the great feedback!! Can you "auto book" a resort if you know that you will go back there every year or do you have to do it manually?

When you all go in to book something in high demand, 13 months out, are you all fighting people for a slot (i.e people are glued to their computer right at the hour when its released) or at 13 months out its not that bad?

 

[VacationForever]

Thank you all for the great feedback!! Can you "auto book" a resort if you know that you will go back there every year or do you have to do it manually?

When you all go in to book something in high demand, 13 months out, are you all fighting people for a slot (i.e people are glued to their computer right at the hour when its released) or at 13 months out its not that bad?

1) Cannot autobook.
2) For high demand resort and weeks, I am armed with swords and knives to fight off others at 13 months out!

 

[CO skier]

Thank you all for the great feedback!! Can you "auto book" a resort if you know that you will go back there every year or do you have to do it manually?

When you all go in to book something in high demand, 13 months out, are you all fighting people for a slot (i.e people are glued to their computer right at the hour when its released) or at 13 months out its not that bad?

You must have reason(s) why you are interested in WorldMark.

If you are not tied to booking during school breaks, it will be easier to book your vacations.

To help us help you, why not give specific examples of which WM resorts and when you want to vacation in WorldMark and experienced WorldMark owners will be able to give you more relevant and valuable advice than just generalities about trying to book at 13 months (which you might not even need to worry about).

 

[Soumak]

You must have reason(s) why you are interested in WorldMark.

If you are not tied to booking during school breaks, it will be easier to book your vacations.

To help us help you, why not give specific examples of which WM resorts and when you want to vacation in WorldMark and experienced WorldMark owners will be able to give you more relevant and valuable advice than just generalities about trying to book at 13 months (which you might not even need to worry about).

We don’t really have a specific place we vacation. We tend to go to national parks for the most part. We don’t have kids so it’s easier for me to book something during school months. We do a trip with family once a year where we need 2BR for 7-9 days. We will then do another one or two short 3-5 day trip. Our only constant is Yellowstone where we go to every June timeframe(at least the past 6 yrs). Past couple of years we went to Hawaii late January. Prior to that we went to Lake Tahoe, Denali (Alaska), Sequoia NP, Grand Canyon, smokey mountains, ect. We live in Colorado so we always go into Rocky Mountain National park (typically day trips). I’m thinking 15k pts should be good enough to cover a long vacation and then one short vacation per year (unless we go somewhere like Hawaii in which case it would just be one trip that year). Our next upcoming trips are: Banff, Glacier, Redwoods, San Fran, Monterey Bay, places in Oregon/Washington, Grand Canyon North Rim, Mr. Rushmore, Acadia NP, Fall in New Hampshire. Ofcourse we'll continue to go to Yellowstone every year and RMNP also. Thoughts?

 

[VacationForever]

We don’t really have a specific place we vacation. We tend to go to national parks for the most part. We don’t have kids so it’s easier for me to book something during school months. We do a trip with family once a year where we need 2BR for 7-9 days. We will then do another one or two short 3-5 day trip. Our only constant is Yellowstone where we go to every June timeframe(at least the past 6 yrs). Past couple of years we went to Hawaii late January. Prior to that we went to Lake Tahoe, Denali (Alaska), Sequoia NP, Grand Canyon, smokey mountains, ect. We live in Colorado so we always go into Rocky Mountain National park (typically day trips). I’m thinking 15k pts should be good enough to cover a long vacation and then one short vacation per year (unless we go somewhere like Hawaii in which case it would just be one trip that year). Our next upcoming trips are: Banff, Glacier, Redwoods, San Fran, Monterey Bay, places in Oregon/Washington, Grand Canyon North Rim, Mr. Rushmore, Acadia NP, Fall in New Hampshire. Ofcourse we'll continue to go to Yellowstone every year and RMNP also. Thoughts?

I think I was one of the TUGgers who recommended Worldmark to you when you created another thread. Worldmark is still the best fit for you based on your list of desired travel. 15K is a good start, but I would probably go with 20K. However, there are cash purchase options for lower demand areas.

A word of advice, instead of creating several threads, just add on questions to the original thread which you had created, as it would give readers here a context of your new questions. Otherwise, you will have to repeat yourself with the same answers to readers who missed reading your earlier thread.

 

[WManning]

I think I was one of the TUGgers who recommended Worldmark to you when you created another thread. Worldmark is still the best fit for you based on your list of desired travel. 15K is a good start, but I would probably go with 20K. However, there are cash purchase options for lower demand areas.

A word of advice, instead of creating several threads, just add on questions to the original thread which you had created, as it would give readers here a context of your new questions. Otherwise, you will have to repeat yourself with the same answers to readers who missed reading your earlier thread.

20K is a cheaper option in long run for maintenance fees and you will also get 2 House keeping Credits. House keeping can be expensive to pay when you use up the free ones.

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