How on earth could it help out someone who is expecting not to be able to afford their MF, to spend thousands upfront (down the drain), just to have even more MF?
I have attended two presentations in the last four months and was given this pitch. The first one dragged on for over three or four hours and I did sign a contract for 200,000 new points. Allegedly, the new contract would generate additional points equal to my use year points (possibly once my regular points were used for bookings). Those additional or special points could be used to make additional bookings to be rented through Travel Share with the 60/40 split. The salesman said he would make Travel Share bookings for me for the first three years and these booking would generate very high rental dollars. He claimed he was very adept at this. After I got home, and without several sales people pushing on me, I was able to think this deal through and to check some of the claims. First, I concluded there was no way the salesman would book for me for three years. How could he do this when he had a lot of customers to which he had offered this same deal? Second, I have used Travel Share before to use left over points for rentals. And I investigated it some more to check out some of the salesman's claims. Travel Share is legitimate but there is no guarantee that the rental will be made. Third, availability of reservations for high demand resorts that could generate high rental fees, would be hard to get. Check out Oceanside. I didn't see any really high priced rentals on Travel Share rental site. Fourth, I realized it would take a LOT of time and energy to search for, reserve, and transfer booking to Travel Share to generate a hefty amount of maintenance fees. I rescinded.
I think we all do - it's far from just you Cindy. We all really dislike the Sales & Marketing practices and experiences, while enjoying Wyndham's operations business at the same time. I envy those who are on the DNS/DNC lists from the good old days, since they never have to deal with the Sales & Marketing folks like most of the rest of us (yourself not included IIRC).Good for you for researching and rescinding. Salespeople shouldn't be showing you the door, you should be slamming it behind you after they lie to make a sale. They are unscrupulous.
Nonetheless, as much as I despise Wyndham's sales' practices, I am thrilled to say that our beloved Hono Koa on Maui will be managed by Wyndham and it will be updated and perhaps we will see $$$ savings on our high MF's.
I basically have a love-hate relationship with Wyndham.
I consider being shoved out the door to be a major success. ALWAYS . . . . , when I tell the sales people I have to leave and they need to end the discussion they manage to come up with all kinds of stall routines that prevent me from getting my participation gift and getting out. Once I ended up yelling at a really obnoxious sales guy that wouldn't quit in front of all the other couples getting solicited. That only got me a little quicker to the door.
Fortunately Wyndham gives you the gift ahead of the sales update nowadays - that's been the case since 2022 timeframe during the pandemic when that switch was made. No need to wait to get the gift, at least at the Wyndham resorts when booking as an owner - not sure if this is the case if you're booking using any non-owner based method such as RCI, WR points, bonus time, etc. Agreed that if you get loud - they want to exit you quickly from the public area where most folks are all sitting at separate but adjacent tables.
I also dislike Wyndham Corporate as of last summer, but agree, the operations folks are aces.
Pretty sure at TOTG it was after the presentation in June. I believe NOLA and Newport were before.
Ouch, only $150? And you stayed an extra half hour. Brutal.
Oor experience at Governor's Green was we got the gift prior, but it was at the sales center. Some companies, Marriott notably, pre-gifts. They give you the gift at the time you sign up for the presentation. If you no show, they have your card on file and charge you the full (and inflated) value of the gift.
We did a presentation a TOTG in late May and were given the gift as soon as we arrived at the check-in desk for the sales update. We did not attend a sales update at Newport - and the last update we attended at OTA was before the sales update - I haven't not received a gift up front ahead of the sales update in over two years now across every resort we've been to over that time period. We always use our native Wyndham timeshare points. I suspect if you use WR points, or RCI, or any other method of booking other than native timeshare points, then you won't get the gift up front in comparison, but IDK for sure.
Nope. Regular Wyndham points. Gifted on the way out.
Interesting - I wonder aloud if Wyndham is starting to backpedal on the gifting up front policy - adding this as a question for my next Wyndham meeting.
Good question. My wife just signed us up. The woman says we can opt out at any time. What's the harm in trying it out?
That is always my question. They always say they can't do that. So I say BS.
Any owner can use Vacationshare. I created an account a couple of years ago when I first heard about it.