ask-redweek-wyndham-guest-cancellations

They are making the owners with deeded weeks (not points) hard to book their room type in the summer.

Very strange. We've stayed at Bonnet Creek several times now. Each was by renting from individuals that apparently bought points and use them specifically to rent to others. They don't appear to use them as "owners" but clearly as a source of income to themselves. If Wyndham does not want this to be going on then they needed to have made it a condition of the original purchase. And going forward they'd need to see a way to undo what clearly has been going on for since it opened and probably longer at other similar facilities. Further, if they have so many "owners" that they were cancelling reservations that appeared not to involve the actual owners of said weeks then I have to wonder if they over sold their resort and would have to be canceling owners instead.

Sounds like a class action suit may be in their future.

Is WorldMark by Wyndham affected?

Class action lawsuit? I’m in too! Anyone know a class action attorney?

Probably most Wyndham owners who use Redweek or other platforms book within their points discount/free upgrade window to maximize the value of their points. Wyndham does have its own rental company – Extra Holidays – but EH will not accept reservations made in the discount window, they take an exhorbitant percentage of the rental amount, owners cannot specify a minimum rental amount, and EH will not notify an owner whether the reservation has been rented or for what amount. So, owners rent points themselves on Redweek.com or elsewhere.

There really is not an inventory shortage for owners desiring to travel if they book well in advance of the discount window. This costs the owner “full points,” but at least the owner gets a reservation for themselves, and they can always re-book during their discount window (and cancel the original reservation) if there is still inventory available. Owners are able to cancel up to 15 days prior to the check-in date and receive refund of points. So, there really is no inventory problem if owners who themselves want to travel plan ahead and make reservations well in advance.

This is a fiasco of Wyndham’s own making. They allowed owners to “roll over” unused 2020 points to 2021 or 2022 for no fee. Right thing to do in the pandemic? Sure, but better to have refunded maintenance fees on unused points rather than create this debacle by cancelling guest reservations already on the books. Or, Wyndham could have warned owners in advance of a future change coming, rather than cancelling existing guest reservations. Or, the website could provide a pop-up message on the guest confirmation page for any potential guest reservation that might be affected BEFORE the guest confirmation is actually added – at least that way, the owner could notify the potential guest immediately and refund their money before the guest purchases air fare, Disney tickets, etc. only to have their accommodations cancelled by Wyndham later.

At my level, Wyndham provides 30 guest confirmations per year. Now, they are upset that I am using GCs to recoup maintenance fees and are limiting how GCs can be used.

The problem goes way beyond the new guest policy, though. Whether intentionally or through ignorance, Wyndham sales reps have consistently misrepresented how the timeshare is to work -- in our experience 6 different encounters/purchases from 2005 to 2016 totalling nearly $180K (not including annual maintenance fees that go up every year), with each new incremental purchase intended to fix some problem with the previous purchase, only to create another unforeseen problem. Most people do not read the 2” thick stack of legal documents provided at the time of purchase.

Without going into too much detail, I originally bought in early 2005 in St. Thomas. When I went to make our first reservation a couple months later, I was told that I could not do so because I had purchased “fixed weeks.” To fix this problem, I purchased some “UDI” points at Bonnet Creek in May 2005. Then we learned we were being separately billed for real estate taxes at St. Thomas, in addition to timeshare maintenance fees. We had no representative assigned to help at that point, so at a third “owner update” at Wyndham Smoky Mountains in spring 2006, we were told all this would be remedied if we would convert all prior points (and purchase a few more) by trading to Smoky Mountains. Also, we were told we could use the points for airfare, and were presented a chart that showed the amount of points required for domestic/international flights. The points required on the chart were competitive with paying cash, so we “upgraded.” When I went to make the first airline reservation using points through Wyndham’s travel agency (this was the only way to use points for airfare), not only were the points required exponentially higher than the numbers shown on the chart from the sales presentation, there was also a $60 fee per ticket fee charged by Wyndham to use the points. This made using points for airfare economically infeasible. When I tried to reach the salesperson who sold us the Smoky Mountain points, I was told she was no longer there.

In early 2009 we used Wyndham points to travel to an El Cid resort in Mazatlan, Mexico, where we were promised that, if we bought into El Cid, they would sell our Wyndham timeshare. We were presented a computer printout showing recent sales of Wyndham points. It appeared we could recoup our Wyndham costs, so we signed on. Not only did El Cid not sell our Wyndham timeshare, we were scammed out of $27K five years later by a legitimate looking title company who said they had a buyer for the El Cid timeshare.

We met with a fourth Wyndham rep in spring 2011 in Branson who told us we needed to convert our points to the new “Club Pass” program (requiring still another points purchase) in order to be able to book reservations at over two dozen resorts (not just our home resort) more than 10 months in advance. A new owner rep would be assigned. We signed on, but this time I read all the legal documents and cancelled the purchase within the short 5-day cancellation window when it was obvious from the documents that Wyndham could change the rules at any time.

In February 2012 on a ski trip to Lake Tahoe, we met with a fifth Wyndham rep who told us we needed a few more Lake Tahoe points with a staggered use year, so that we could perpetually roll over unused points each year for no fee and get him assigned to our account as the Wyndham rep going forward. He claimed he was there to assist owners, not sell points, and that he could help with rentals to recoup some of our maintenance fees. So, we bought more points. This worked out okay (he actually did facilitate some rentals) until Wyndham changed the rules and consolidated all points into one use year. The Lake Tahoe rep who had been with Wyndham for over 20 years left the company in early 2013 within a year after this purchase. He did introduce us to another Wyndham owner who helped us rent points for the next few years, but took a 35% commission.

On another ski trip in early 2016, we met with a sixth Wyndham rep at Park City who sold us more points and converted existing points to the “Presidential Reserve” program. This gave us a new rep who had also been with the company for 20+ years, and provided a 50% discount/free upgrade window and 30 guest confirmations per year. While the legal documents specified that the purchase was not being made for the purpose of renting points, there is nothing that prohibits rentals – how else would one use 30 guest confirmations per year!? We also were led to believe that a Park City home resort would eventually sell more easily on the resale market in the future than a Smoky Mountains home resort. However, Wyndham has a right of first refusal, and any resale by us to a third party will cause the points to lose all the Presidential Reserve benefits otherwise afforded to points purchased directly fromWyndham.

So, there is no way that we will ever recoup the $180,000 we dumped into these purchases or the ongoing annual maintenance fees that Wyndham increases every year, regardless of need. This timeshare bleeds cash every year, and with this new guest policy Wyndham has now made it even more difficult for owners to recoup costs.

I tell everyone who will listen NEVER to buy a timeshare from Wyndham.

The super salesman sold us unneeded points because a purchase was "necessary" for us to "qualify" for Ovation (Wyndham's simple exit program). We are in our 70's now and were concerned about what to do with the timeshare when we were no longer able to travel. We told him we could hardly use the points we already had so we could not possibly use any more points . Quickly, he showed us his own posting to rent one of his weeks through Vacation Candy rentals. Renting would take care of the extra points plus help pay for maintenance fees he said! First of all, a purchase was not necessary to "qualify" for Ovation. The only requirement to "qualify" was to not have an unpaid contract and to have all maintenance fees up to date. Lies on top of lies! We fell for this and found out six months after the purchase (ironically at another Wyndham location) that all we had done was buy more points!! A purchase was NOT necessary to qualify for the exit program!!! So renting was the only option to pay the extra maintenance fees and use the extra points. Now we are told there are restrictions on when we can send a guest ???? This is hurting many owners and also Redweek! Redweek is so affordable and so easy to post a rental. Not only is Redweek perfect for timeshare owners but perfect also for renters who need a reputable, safe agency to look for vacation rentals! Twice this year alone we have had to cancel good rental weeks because Wyndham says no! Sandra A 07/27/21

I totally agree that this policy is not helping owners. I should be able to use my points how I see fit and they should not be changing the rules. I have filed a formal complaint with Owner Care and hope many other owners will as well.

Owners can/should also file complaints with the Florida Attorney General. If enough people do this, maybe the Fla. AG will do something. Go to myfloridalegal.com, then click "general complaints." You can file the complaint form online or download an Adobe Acrobat version and mail it in to the address on the website.

I think I am ready to leave Wyndham. In fact I felt this way before Covid.

This is HORRIBLE!!! I can't believe they are getting away with this!!!!

Wyndham needs to have to QUIT renting out Wyndham Units THEMSELVES. Owners ARE NOT allowed these times YET Wyndham constantly advertises units available fir Rental. What's Good for the Goose IS Good for the Gander 🤷‍♀️

Wyndham's new policy is ridiculous, especially with no advance notice. I would not consider acquiring Wyndham ownership. If you pay for usage, it should not be restricted. Doing it after it has been approved is even worse. They should be held responsible for any additional expenses..

This is totally unacceptable and ridiculous! There are some of us (not me) who have millions of points for guest reservations. If they have been purchased they should be able to use them in the manner that was intended. To say that there are no guest reservations is stupid! The sales people who are selling those millions of points NEVER tell you that!

I just got screwed out of a Wyndam property as described above in Austin. Actually had the balls to ask if I would like to rebook...for next year? This cancellation came WEEKS after the owner accepted the reservation. Pissed.

There should be a LAW, or Hire a Company to assist Timeshare Owners in all Legal matters, and I for one will appreciate now and in the FUTURE any way I can. The sooner the better, Sounds like a very Promising Business due to the amount of Owners NOW and in the near FUTURE... IT is a Shame that Timeshare Owners have no such REPRESENTATION what so ever !!!!!!!!!!!

In the past few months, I made several reservations that I was planning to sell on RedWeek.com. Fortunately, I found out from RedWeek (not from Wyndham) that Wyndham is limiting guest reservations to 2 during the restricted periods. I was able to list 2 of the reservations, and I now have 2 additional reservations that I can't sell nor can I give them to family or friends unless we travel with them. Wyndham claimed that they sent a couple of emails with this information, but I never received an email about this new policy. It is buried somewhere on their website and no owner is going to know to search for the information, which I did to no avail. Once again, I am furious with Wyndham and their changing policies. Once again owners are screwed! I wonder if Wyndham can still list & sell your reservation on their Extra Holidays website, even though we can't do that on sites like RedWeek. When I contacted various people at Owner Care, they were all very confused and couldn't give me a straight. One lady was even quite rude to me, saying I should understand what the website means, even if what it means is not what it said. I could go on and on! Maybe we should file a class-action lawsuit!.

I own and rent at Costa Linda Aruba. I noticed that other postings are not putting their unit numbers on the listing. It would help if this requirement was enforced, since location, location, location, helps greatly determine the rental price.

I don't like the new policy either. They have taken away our Rights of Ownership. We need to get this changed. I've filled out many Feedback surveys and none of them were nice.

As a Member of RedWeek When I book a Trip And Buy Air Fare and clear my work Schedule I expect that trip to Happen …..I consider this A BIG PROBLEM ✅ September 2021 I went to a Wyndham Timeshare meeting and didn’t Buy…NOW I’m GLAD 😀 In the room were lots of Folks ..that they where trying to get to buy MORE POINTS So I Guess if You have More Points you can bump others out of that week you want They Talked about renting out your weeks for Maintenance Wow…Time for a Class Action Lawsuit..but I’m sure they probably wrote something in small print to keep there Company Safe… Now as a RedWeek Member…Will I keep trying to buy Folks Weeks?? Knowing it COULD BE CANCELED Will I still Refer Folks to Join RedWeek if this Could Happen to them… NOT GOOD Not Feeling Good about WYNDHAM TIMESHARE PROPERTIES for Vacation Picks YIKES 😳 THIS IS NOT GOOD Will Marriott Timeshares ….BE NEXT ??

I don't like what Wyndham has done. They certainly didn't send information out to owners to let us know that their policies were changing and it is absolutely wrong of them to just cancel guests without any warning! That said, now that you've shared this information, I've reviewed their website and talked with member services and I don't find their posted information confusing. Have there been violations on what this says: https://clubwyndham.wyndhamdestinations.com/us/en/owner-guide/resources/reservations/owner-priority-reservations ?