Wyndham's Hand in my Cookie Jar ---AGAIN Week 8 Guest!

vacationhopeful · Feb 26, 2012

Early this morning at 12:07AM, my FIXED WEEK guest was denied access to my unit as another Guest was in it. Different resort, but in the same area. Only this time, there is a security guard manning the lobby. The guests were sent to another Wyndham Resort which had an empty unit for the night.

Naturally, at 7:02AM, I called the FRONT DESK who said neither my NAME nor my guest's name was on the download as the inbound guest for that unit and week. Front Desk supervisor LOOKED up the owner's records and found my name. The "other" guest had NOT shown up - so there my unit is available and my guest can NOW move back over from the other resort into the unit they SHOULD have had last night. The Front Desk is ACTING like "no harm, no foul" as they had a room. Said to be sure they get assistance in their MOVE back into the resort.

As the resort manager was at the HOA meeting last week, I am sure he knows HOW unhappy I am NOW. I see FREEBIES for my guests and MONEY for my disturbance and inconvience at being jarred out of a deep sleep and then, worried sick that my Fixed MF's paid to Wyndham had been going AWOL (which I spent a good hour reconcilling that 1 Wyndham resort).

Suggestions????

am1 · Feb 26, 2012

Ask for a full refund on this years fees.

Confirm fixed-week guests arrivals a few days before check in.

vacationhopeful · Feb 26, 2012

am1 said:
Ask for a full refund on this years fees.

Confirm fixed-week guests arrivals a few days before check in.

I emailed the guest letter on Feb 12 with a cell phone number to call if there is a problem. I wonder if the corporate system upload had REMOVED my guest request. Remember, even my name was removed whereas usually on a Fixed Week ownership, my ownership name remains when the resort adds my guest's name in the Comments field.

This was the senior Front Desk person on today ... she knows me. She immediately went to the HOA records as to ownership, having pulled that info before my 7:02AM call. She DID not understand how I had vanished.

Now my NEW problem is, having a security guard manning the resort is NOT THE SAME as having a night auditor, who would have had access to the empties in the resort and CALLED a senior supervisor INSTEAD of my guest calling ME.

timeos2 · Feb 26, 2012

Linda -

You have a serious problem. Part of my disillusionment with an otherwise great Wyndham system is their total disregard for owners and owners legal rights - all too similar to the infamous Wastegate operation. They hold all the seats of power - including those that should be in the hands of the individual owners - and place Wyndham stooges in them. So they are judge & jury and mere owners have virtually zero recourse to their mishandling or outright disregard of owners rights. It isn't a good situation. It means you can pay your fees and a Wyndham error may cause you to be denied your use or result in penalties or account blockage and you have no one to turn to! Even if you somehow manage to prove they made an eror they just shrug it off, call it a fluke (which all too often it isn't) and do nothing to make it right for you the paying owner.

It is a classic case of too much power in the wrong hands. Unfortunately our only answer was to sell our Wyndham ownership despite being otherwise satisfied with it and it's value. We saw the operation quickly deteriorating over the past few years and did not want to hang on too long as values tanked. Now we rent all our Wyndham use & it has cut the overall cost by about 2/3, given us easier access than we ever had to exactly the resorts/times & unit sizes we desire and we don't have to deal with the arrogant Wyndham management anymore. Overall a win.

I hope you are able to get this situation sorted out in your favor. This should not be happening to a fixed week owner. Period.

Joan-OH · Feb 26, 2012

After this thread just last week....
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164292 ..... this just floors me. You shouldn't have to, but looks like you will be spending a lot of time on the phone confirming your guests at the resort level a couple days before check in - at least until Wyndham gets their act together.

I'd be fighting mad for sure. Would love to hear how they plan to fix this AND compensate you.

Joan-OH

vckempson · Feb 26, 2012

vacationhopeful said:
The Front Desk is ACTING like "no harm, no foul" as they had a room. Suggestions????

That's B*llSh*t. They just blew off 1 day or a 7 day vacation for your guests. We all spend the first day getting settled in. For your guests, that won't happen till day two.

I'd also expect the ENTIRE MF to be waived with this repeat performance. Then I'd want to talk to the VP in charge of operations for all of Wyndham to discuss the steps they will take to make sure this never ever happens again. Don't work your way up the food chain to complain; start at the top and work your way down

Timeshare Von · Feb 26, 2012

Holy smokes Linda! That is so wrong on so many levels. I really feel for you and your guests. I hope that Wyndham does right by you, but given their reaction at the HOA, I remain skeptical.

If this is a systemic issue with Wyndham and how they are treating their fixed week owners, I'm even more glad to be done with mine! I'm just sick for you over their complete disregard for your ownership rights.

rickandcindy23 · Feb 26, 2012

That is truly mind boggling. How can Wyndham justify this?

I agree with John: Wyndham's way too controlling, they have all of the power, and they are essentially stealing from you.

This is despicable, and to happen again to the same person, you know it's either intentional or a stupid mistake. Either one, they are at fault and owe you some kind of compensation.

vacationhopeful · Feb 26, 2012

vckempson said:
That's B*llSh*t. They just blew off 1 day or a 7 day vacation for your guests. We all spend the first day getting settled in. For your guests, that won't happen till day two....

As a medical doctor in the regular uniformed Army, this week had a FRIDAY checkin date. The family DROVE down to South Florida, arriving around midnight, after he was off his shift at the hospital.

SOS8260456 · Feb 26, 2012

They are not only stealing the units from you, but they are stealing your reputation as a reliable rentor...

vacationhopeful · Feb 26, 2012

rickandcindy23 said:
That is truly mind boggling. How can Wyndham justify this?

I agree with John: Wyndham's way too controlling, they have all of the power, and they are essentially stealing from you.

This is despicable, and to happen again to the same person, you know it's either intentional or a stupid mistake. Either one, they are at fault and owe you some kind of compensation.

I do have MORE than 1 Fixed Week at this time of the year in the area. But the percentage is STILL way beyond a fluke.

vacationhopeful · Feb 26, 2012

SOS8260456 said:
They are not only stealing the units from you, but they are stealing your reputation as a reliable rentor...

Yes, I had thought it just might be MORE intentional. I am an evil landlord who is taking inventory from all the other Wyndham owners .... most grey hair owners don't understand this is NOT points inventory.

Will have to find out where this named person on the inbound list is from --- points or Extra Holidays.

SOS8260456 · Feb 26, 2012

vacationhopeful said:
Yes, I had thought it just might be MORE intentional. I am an evil landlord who is taking inventory from all the other Wyndham owners .... most grey hair owners don't understand this is NOT points inventory.

Will have to find out where this named person on the inbound list is from --- points or Extra Holidays.

That thought crossed my mind. I wouldn't put it past them. I think they would do anything to make sure that THEY get the rental income from our units.

stevelb · Feb 26, 2012

I think that you are at the point where you need to seek some legal representation. Just my 2 cents.

learnalot · Feb 26, 2012

vckempson said:
I'd also expect the ENTIRE MF to be waived with this repeat performance. Then I'd want to talk to the VP in charge of operations for all of Wyndham to discuss the steps they will take to make sure this never ever happens again. Don't work your way up the food chain to complain; start at the top and work your way down

Linda,

I agree with this advice. I also think that under the circumstances, they should refund your maintenance fees for this unit for this year. This is not merely the "inconvenience" of a guest staying in another unit for 1 night. It is a system failure that they failed to correct or address even after it was already brought to their attention. It damages your credibility with your guests and causes undue inconvenience for the guest and stress to you. Fixed weeks are supposed to take the guesswork and chance out of this process, not turn your reservations into a game of Russian Roulette.

Further, it sounds like this is not an issue that is happening at the resort level, which means that in order for it to get corrected, you MUST get the attention of someone at corporate. If you don't have a contact, start with owner relations but do not let them give you the run around. Insist that they put you in contact with someone who has the authority and means to rectify this situation. Let them know that unless you get some satisfactory resolution to this in a timely manner, they will be hearing from your attorney.

rrlongwell · Feb 26, 2012

vacationhopeful said:
... my FIXED WEEK guest was denied access to my unit as another Guest was in it. Different resort, but in the same area ... Suggestions????

Same as my post when this happened the 1st time. It absolutly appears to me that you are being "targeted" by Wyndham. If you just role over that encourges their continued behavior towards you. If distant memory serves, didn't Wyndham, or at least some of the resorts they manage, reject E-Bay rental guests for a period of time? There is a concept of Adverse Possession in a number of states that I am aware of. The possession has to be open and hostile and without the owners consent and they have to hold the disputed property for a very long period of time. In the case of Wyndham, they only have to hold it for a week at at time then the issue is moot for that year for the fixed week in question. I hope this is not what they are trying to put you through. You were right to get control of your unit back for the week. The Fairshare Trust Meeting is coming up in Flordia, I think in May. If you are available, you may want to attend.

Wish you luck in what is appearing (with or without the intent component) Wyndham's attempt to put your rental activities out of business. You may want to talk to an Attorney, depending on the state, your damages may now be higher than you think. There may be some out their that would take the case on a contingency fee basis. At a minium, in this case, you lost at least one full night of use on your unit. On other threads, some have talked of filing reports with the police department. I do not know if denial of use on a deeded timeshare is criminal theft or not. It might be worth a phone call to find out. If it is, you may want to make this incident a matter of record to perserve your rights if Wyndham continues this practice with you.

chapjim · Feb 26, 2012

rrlongwell said:
Same as my post when this happened the 1st time. It absolutly appears to me that you are being "targeted" by Wyndham. If you just role over that encourges their continued behavior towards you. If distant memory serves, didn't Wyndham, or at least some of the resorts they manage, reject E-Bay rental guests for a period of time? There is a concept of Adverse Possession in a number of states that I am aware of. The possession has to be open and hostile and without the owners consent and they have to hold the disputed property for a very long period of time. In the case of Wyndham, they only have to hold it for a week at at time then the issue is moot for that year for the fixed week in question. I hope this is not what they are trying to put you through. You were right to get control of your unit back for the week. The Fairshare Trust Meeting is coming up in Flordia, I think in May. If you are available, you may want to attend.

Wish you luck in what is appearing (with or without the intent component) Wyndham's attempt to put your rental activities out of business. You may want to talk to an Attorney, depending on the state, your damages may now be higher than you think. There may be some out their that would take the case on a contingency fee basis. At a minium, in this case, you lost at least one full night of use on your unit. On other threads, some have talked of filing reports with the police department. I do not know if denial of use on a deeded timeshare is criminal theft or not. It might be worth a phone call to find out. If it is, you may want to make this incident a matter of record to perserve your rights if Wyndham continues this practice with you.

I think criminal intent would be incredibly hard to prove. I also think it unlikely that Wydham has personal designs on the OP's rental business. A lot of us rent. How to explain OP's experience other than randomness? Something in Wyndham HQ's computer system, most likely.

presley · Feb 26, 2012

I'm not sure what would hold legally, but if it was me, I'd have a lawyer contact them and get my MFs back with some punitive damages. I'd also make them do a deed back, as I wouldn't want to support their company every again.

rrlongwell · Feb 26, 2012

chapjim said:
... Something in Wyndham HQ's computer system, most likely.

You are paritially correct, when Wyndham was trying to take my Myrtle Beach and Smokey Mountain timeshares from me, the attempt to do so was taken over by a Vice President of Legal, Jeff Cohen. I do not know if he is still in that postion or not. But since I would not give the timeshares they wanted, he put me on the formal bad people list. A sales person that was sympathic to me told me it was Jeff Cohen that was making the calls to the resorts to harass me. Another person told me that people on this list were provided to the resort for every reservation. I believe this list is the one that was accidently released by Wyndham in response to a request for information in a court case. In my case, I did prevail and maintained control of the properties but the harassment continues to this day even though the orginal disputes have long since been resolved. This appears to me the pass the orginal poster is now on.

massvacationer · Feb 26, 2012

rrlongwell said:
You are paritially correct, when Wyndham was trying to take my Myrtle Beach and Smokey Mountain timeshares from me, .......

rrlongwell:

Just curious:

Why were they trying to get your Myrtle Beach and Smokey Mountain timehsares ??

My understanding is that they are most concerned with selling inventory - not acquiring it. Why would they want to get control of your timeshares ???

chapjim · Feb 26, 2012

massvacationer said:
rrlongwell:

Just curious:

Why were they trying to get your Myrtle Beach and Smokey Mountain timehsares ??

My understanding is that they are most concerned with selling inventory - not acquiring it. Why would they want to get control of your timeshares ???

I was thinking the same thing. Why be scheming and devious when you can get the same thing for $1.

Sandy VDH · Feb 26, 2012

vacationhopeful said:
I emailed the guest letter on Feb 12 with a cell phone number to call if there is a problem. I wonder if the corporate system upload had REMOVED my guest request. Remember, even my name was removed whereas usually on a Fixed Week ownership, my ownership name remains when the resort adds my guest's name in the Comments field.

Did you just email, or did you email and get confirmation back via an email? or Did you call? or do both?

If this keeps happening I would be calling the front desk of the resort the morning of check in and confirming my guest name is still there at that time.

Problem is they don't know they are having a problem, so how can they call you with a problem. It does sound like a system problem, but you might try some timely phone calls just prior to your guest checking in.

I agree it should not have to happen, but experience is telling you that it is.

rrlongwell · Feb 26, 2012

massvacationer said:
rrlongwell:

Just curious:

Why were they trying to get your Myrtle Beach and Smokey Mountain timehsares ??

My understanding is that they are most concerned with selling inventory - not acquiring it. Why would they want to get control of your timeshares ???

The demand orginated primarily from National Harbor and Atlantic City. The demands were to give them those timeshares for free and buy what I indicated above. The explanation was that I had refused earlier offers that had offered equity trade for them and purchase into Access. Interesting enough, this was in the same time frame that Myrtle Beach was selling me a deeded property at Towers on the Grove.

rrlongwell · Feb 26, 2012

chapjim said:
I was thinking the same thing. Why be scheming and devious when you can get the same thing for $1.

They can get them for a $1 if they want, but then they would not get the massive amount of money they wanted. They were talking various things at various meetings with sales staff. A general rule of tumb for what they were asking was $115 plus per new point purchased in Club Wyndham Access. The earlier demands would give equity trades in exchange for a 1 million or above Club Wyndham Access Deed. The later ones did not provide for any Equity Trades. One Sales Manager at Old Town Alexandria claims they have a sales rep that did manage to sell the 1 Million point deed. I think this thread should not be focused on what happened to me but on the loss of use rights that the Original Poster has started to encounter. I dealt with and am dealing with my problems with Wyndham.

vacationhopeful · Feb 26, 2012

Sandy Lovell said:
Did you just email, or did you email and get confirmation back via an email? or Did you call? or do both?

If this keeps happening I would be calling the front desk of the resort the morning of check in and confirming my guest name is still there at that time.

Problem is they don't know they are having a problem, so how can they call you with a problem. It does sound like a system problem, but you might try some timely phone calls just prior to your guest checking in.

I agree it should not have to happen, but experience is telling you that it is.

Sandy, I thought you also had Fixed Weeks? It has been years since I had to confirm with the resort my Fixed Week ownership before showing up. Yes, I did that my first year of usage, but not again. This is their "NEW and IMPROVED" computer system. And I am NOT sure when the "last" computer update is done --- could be the night before check in. That would be when the last Points Guest Certificates are added. And even if uploaded a week ahead, a later update could "wipe" it out. Maybe the real question is, WHEN are the cash guests list added (Extra Holidays)?

Calling on day 3 before checkin might not change anything - if they update the list the night before checkin.

Wyndham's Hand in my Cookie Jar ---AGAIN Week 8 Guest!

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