Wyndham Destinations buys Travel & Leisure for 100mm and will rebrand using the newly acquired moniker...

[Iggyearl]

I didn't notice if anyone else saw this take on it, some interesting perspective

Odd: Wyndham Destinations Acquires Travel + Leisure

Timeshare company Wyndham Destinations is acquiring Travel + Leisure. Here's why I find this to be such a strange combination.

onemileatatime.com

Best quote of the article "....this would be like Applebees acquiring Capital Grille and then rebranding all restaurants as Capital Grille." Stinging.

 

[comicbookman]

here is more info:

New owner of Travel + Leisure eyes expansion of magazine’s travel club

The Travel + Leisure travel club and its 60,000 members were the big lures for the nation’s biggest time share resort company to pay $100 million to buy the publication from Meredith. “…

nypost.com

 

[geist1223]

You can put lip stick and mascara on a pig. But it is still a pig. Why does Wyndham Destination feel such a need to change its name and pay $100 Million to do it.

 

[Eric B]

It's a testament to the value of goodwill.

 

[chapjim]

I didn't notice if anyone else saw this take on it, some interesting perspective

Odd: Wyndham Destinations Acquires Travel + Leisure

Timeshare company Wyndham Destinations is acquiring Travel + Leisure. Here's why I find this to be such a strange combination.

onemileatatime.com

For sure, he picked one of the least attractive Wyndham resort stock photos.

 

[Lisa P]

Agree! The most recently opened Club Wyndham resorts (Clearwater Beach, NYC, etc.) are more upscale than the older Orlando Int'l (photo shown in that article ref. in post #24). Margaritaville Vacation Club® by Wyndham has opened a couple beautiful resorts too. This T+L purchase looks like an effort to expand Wyndham's presence in the upscale market. It makes sense to me as a business/marketing move. Travel + Leisure media "will continue to be operated by Meredith Corporation", so hopefully they'll give fair reviews of resorts & destinations. We'll see!

 

[chapjim]

LOL. Do people actually pay for that magazine? I just seems to be not-so-subtle advertising.

My dentist does!

 

[Arusso]

Timeshare king Wyndham Destination buys Travel + Leisure for $100 million

Wyndham strikes a clever deal to buy well-known travel publication Travel + Leisure from Meredith Corp.

finance.yahoo.com

“Wyndham Destinations believes the transaction will be neutral to earnings in year one after closing and accretive in year two. Once the deal closes in mid-February, Wyndham will change its corporate name to Travel + Leisure Co. and trade under the ticker symbol ‘TNL’ on the New York Stock Exchange.”

An interesting development I thought was worth sharing here.


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No doubt the acquisition is just part of a strategic plan. It may be a simple attempt to camouflage their current business by rebranding or it is part of a more comprehensive attempt to totally restructure their product and how it is sold and used. In light of what the industry needs to do to accommodate a new generation of "owners" who do not share the same values of prior generations, I tend to believe it may be the latter strategy.

 

[pedro47]

So it is going to be Travel & Leisure, Marriott’s and Diamond International in the travel and leisure industry.

 

[bobmnu]

That’s a good question. We will have to wait and see what gets announced moving forward. Obviously the Wyndham brand name is ultimately owned by the hotel company. I believe Wyndham Destinations currently pays some type of royalties to the hotel company for continued use of the Wyndham brand name.

Wyndham Destinations wholly owns several timeshare entities, including but not limited to Club Wyndham, SVC, MVC, and Worldmark. Only one of these entities explicitly uses the Wyndham brand name today. Does Wyndham see value in rebranding away from the Club Wyndham brand name? Perhaps.

The announcement makes mention of recovering the 100mm purchase price within roughly two years, so if we assume Wyndham Destinations pays royalties for the existing brand name, perhaps this is how they are, at least in part, recouping the 100mm over a two year period, by recouping the cost of existing royalties. This assertion would then require that all Club Wyndham resorts will rebrand to Travel & Leisure resorts.

That said,knowing Wyndham, I wonder if they might take this up a notch so to speak. What if Travel & Leisure becomes an entirely new brand and type of timeshare entity in and of itself? In my view, simply changing the existing Club Wyndham brand to Travel & Leisure would be like putting lipstick on a pig. Unless Wyndham fundamentally changes their suspect timeshare sales and business practices, doing so would simply tarnish the trust associated with the Travel & Leisure brand name. I therefore suspect something more than meets the eye is in play here.

For example, Wyndham made mention in the past two owner meetings of adopting some type of timeshare lease purchase temporal ownership option as opposed to lifetime ownerships in place today. Perhaps a new entity will be born that is attached to a new and different ownership model that will use the new brand name. Just one of many possible examples.


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About a week ago I received a phone call offering me a chance to combine my SVC points with Wyndham for more purchasing power. All I had to do was pay cash for my minimum number of points it would only cost me $20,000. If I didn't then I would only be able to use my points at SVC resorts. Any one who upgrades an use all Wyndham resorts. Is this another way to force owners to pay for more points to use my timeshare. I have seen several other offers for other timeshare groups. It seems to me that when the company needs money they change the rules and try to force owners to spend more money to enjoy their purchase.

 

[dioxide45]

About a week ago I received a phone call offering me a chance to combine my SVC points with Wyndham for more purchasing power. All I had to do was pay cash for my minimum number of points it would only cost me $20,000. If I didn't then I would only be able to use my points at SVC resorts. Any one who upgrades an use all Wyndham resorts. Is this another way to force owners to pay for more points to use my timeshare. I have seen several other offers for other timeshare groups. It seems to me that when the company needs money they change the rules and try to force owners to spend more money to enjoy their purchase.

Others can confirm, but if there is some cross booking between Shell and Wyndham, the point ratios are not going to be in your favor. You will use a lot more points to book Wyndham than it would for a similar Shell property.

 

[markb53]

Others can confirm, but if there is some cross booking between Shell and Wyndham, the point ratios are not going to be in your favor. You will use a lot more points to book Wyndham than it would for a similar Shell property.

Let’s do a comparison. I don’t have access to shell but I do to Wyndham. To stay at Vino Bello resort in Napa CA. In a 2BR Lockoff during the prime summer weeks, the cost is 362,000 Wyndham points. I believe that the conversion rate between Wyndham and Shell is/was 40:1. So 362,000 Wyndham points would convert to 9050 Shell points. If someone that owns Shell points can look at Vino Bello in a prime summer week and let us know from the shell site how many Shell points does it take.
Now the other comparison is the cost of the points. Using the current cost of CWA points, 362,000 points would cost $2631.74. What does 9050 Shell points cost. And how close to 9050 is the actual shell point cost.

 

[geist1223]

Let’s do a comparison. I don’t have access to shell but I do to Wyndham. To stay at Vino Bello resort in Napa CA. In a 2BR Lockoff during the prime summer weeks, the cost is 362,000 Wyndham points. I believe that the conversion rate between Wyndham and Shell is/was 40:1. So 362,000 Wyndham points would convert to 9050 Shell points. If someone that owns Shell points can look at Vino Bello in a prime summer week and let us know from the shell site how many Shell points does it take.
Now the other comparison is the cost of the points. Using the current cost of CWA points, 362,000 points would cost $2631.74. What does 9050 Shell points cost. And how close to 9050 is the actual shell point cost.

Also what the MF on 9050 Shell Points vs. 362,000 Wyndham Points.

 

[StapelmanMO]

Wyndham Destinations wholly owns several timeshare entities, including but not limited to Club Wyndham, SVC, MVC, and Worldmark.

1, 2, 3, we will say it again. Wyndham does not own Worldmark, Worldmark Owners own Worldmark. Wyndham just has an agreement with Worldmark Owners to be their developer and maintain their properties. The Worldmark Board of Directors can expel Wyndham's grasp at any time---once Worldmark Owners vote to expel the Wyndham employees and consorts of the BOD.
Just one of the reasons that Worldmark has a higher resale value than most timeshares.

 

[geist1223]

1, 2, 3, we will say it again. Wyndham does not own Worldmark, Worldmark Owners own Worldmark. Wyndham just has an agreement with Worldmark Owners to be their developer and maintain their properties. The Worldmark Board of Directors can expel Wyndham's grasp at any time---once Worldmark Owners vote to expel the Wyndham employees and consorts of the BOD.
Just one of the reasons that Worldmark has a higher resale value than most timeshares.

While the WM BOD could cancel the day to day management contract with Wyndham ( ) it does not have any control over Wyndham being the Developer of Worldmark. Cendant (Wyndham, Wyndham Destinations, and soon to be Travel and Leisure) bought those rights from Trendwest.

 

[markb53]

Also what the MF on 9050 Shell Points vs. 362,000 Wyndham Points.

As I pointed out in my post. Using the cost of CWA the MF is $2631.74. I am curious about the MF for 9050 Shell points.

 

[amycurl]

I think what they are buying are the 60,000 paid members of the apparently-existing two travel "clubs" operated by Travel and Leisure.

I'm surprised that no one here isn't talking more about that.

 

[Melder]

I think what they are buying are the 60,000 paid members of the apparently-existing two travel "clubs" operated by Travel and Leisure.

I'm surprised that no one here isn't talking more about that.

I believe the consciences is that Wyndham Vacation Clubs (Club Wyndham, WorldMark & Margaritaville) won't be impacted. The acquisition of T+L’s travel clubs (60,000 members) falls in line with what they are doing under the Panorama umbrella, which is operating the exchange, membership travel, and technology businesses.

The only change under the Vacation Ownership (Timeshare) side is the umbrella brand will change from "Wyndham Vacation Clubs" to "Wyndham Destinations".

 

[Melder]

Let’s do a comparison. I don’t have access to shell but I do to Wyndham. To stay at Vino Bello resort in Napa CA. In a 2BR Lockoff during the prime summer weeks, the cost is 362,000 Wyndham points. I believe that the conversion rate between Wyndham and Shell is/was 40:1. So 362,000 Wyndham points would convert to 9050 Shell points. If someone that owns Shell points can look at Vino Bello in a prime summer week and let us know from the shell site how many Shell points does it take.
Now the other comparison is the cost of the points. Using the current cost of CWA points, 362,000 points would cost $2631.74. What does 9050 Shell points cost. And how close to 9050 is the actual shell point cost.

@markb53 Since no one has responded, I'll take a stab. (I'm not a Shell Owner, so this is only a guess based on information that's out there)

According to the 2020-2021 Shell Member's Directory, you are spot on with the number of Shell points needed of 9050.

I found postings & sales that calculated out to ~ $.26 - $.275 per point in maintenance fees. The directory states, "You may rent extra Points from Shell Vacation Club at a Rate of $.27 per point", so let's use that for our calculation. 9,050 points X $.27 = $2,443.50

@rickandcindy23 did a similar calculation a couple of years ago for a Vino Bello Studio. Transaction and housekeeping fees were called out, so resale may not get free transactions or credits (only guessing). If this is the case then, you are looking at an additional $17.50 (online transaction) & $109 (housekeeping), bringing the total to $2,570.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Wyndham’s response has some good clarifying statements that help us to understand better the context of this recent announcement:

Wyndham Destinations Acquires Travel and Leisure Brand

clubwyndham.wyndhamdestinations.com

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[Sandi Bo]

You can put lip stick and mascara on a pig. But it is still a pig. Why does Wyndham Destination feel such a need to change its name and pay $100 Million to do it.

One of my favorite all time sayings.

 

[calphone1]

hello all. I'm a long time reader, first time poster.

so... nobody here has yet mentioned the most obvious (at least to me) reason for this transaction.... to release the goodwill linked to the Wyndham brand name from its often sorted timeshare sales shark body snatcher past, and return it back to the hotel development and franchise operations group?

that is, the timeshare (aka Club Wyndham) properties get (slowly?) rebranded to travel+leisure (or t+l club / TLC) while Wyndham Hotels & Resorts becomes the exclusive licensee of the Wyndham brand from Wyndham Destinations. perhaps ushered by a slew of "advertorial content synergy" about the abundance of exciting activities within close proximity of existing Club Wyndham facilities?

there's honestly not a whole lot of brand standard amongst the various Club Wyndham timeshare properties (other than nice/upscale), and there appears to be substantial demand within the hotel industry for "property re-flagging" given the way operating covenants were shattered by the pandemic. just look at what's currently occurring with the Sonesta brand.

imho the Wyndham name has much more prospective value to hotel developers looking to contractually escape the Marriott/Hilton/IHG oligopoly than it does to individual owners who are already contractually bound to their fractional share ownerships of an existing facility... regardless of which logo has been embroidered upon the bed pillows and bath towels.