Wyndham's new "Ovation" program offers exit solutions for their owners... interested?

I am a Shell Vacations owner and have been for years. I wish we could do a class action lawsuit about the fact that SVC stopped working with RCI, that was always helpful when SVC was not. Since going to Interval International, we have little to no use for SVC. I want out of this blood sucking useless, for the most part, program. We are called owners, but feel anything but. Just trapped into a monthly maintenance fee that could be used in better ways. My wife and I are 72 and now retired. We want out.

kyliec wrote:

We have been talking to Wyndham about their new program, Ovation, which was quietly announced to Wyndham owners a few weeks ago. The company isn't offering concrete details, but appears they are ready to customize exit solutions for their owners who no longer use their timeshares.

Jeff Weir has written an informative article for us with much more detail on this topic. Read about the initial introduction of the Ovation program here... and the Ovation update nearly a year later here.

IF YOU ARE A WYNDHAM OWNER, interested in what solutions Wyndham will offer to you, take us along for the ride! We would love to follow several owners as they contact Wyndham for a solution to see whether this program is all they are claiming it to be. If you're interested, please post here and Jeff will follow up with you.

Good news if you prefer RCI to II. Svc will likely go back to RCI before the end of the year. Shell changed to II just before Wyndham took over and as soon as the II contract expires, expect them to switch back to RCI, another company owned by Wyndham's parent company.

I talked to them and they didn't offer either money or points for three years. I couldn't keep the points we have in inventory We bought TrendWest/Worldmark in 1993 and have 35,000 points. Has anyone else tried to return Worldmark points?

I contacted Wyndham today to do Ovation. I have 3 deeded timeshares I only pay HOAs on and all are up to date on payments. Wyndham classified our gifted timeshares as resale and will not allow us to update our timeshares from the basic. So we can only stay where the deeds for and pay $193.00 monthly for the HOA fees. We used to be able to stay in timeshares on the West Coast where we live, but that ability has been removed. Wyndham has put an assessment of $1050 each on 2 of the timeshares in TN. I have no choice but to hand them back. I cannot afford the $2100.00. I spoke with George in the Ovation Department today - he is sending me the paperwork. This paperwork is to be signed, motorized and returned. Once received and processed they will stop taking the HOA fees. George told me if I stop making the HOA payments they will not do Ovation. So to me it sounds like if you are behind in payments they may not make this as an option. They refused us any points being moved to Wyndham Rewards Card - I get 329,000 per year of which for 3 yrs I've used none or very few the first year my daughter used the timeshare before they locked us out of usage. George refused My request to have points moved to my Wyndham Rewards Card or points to be used within a year period of time. They simply want the deeds back. I fear how long they will stretch this out and force me to continue making the HOA fees for something I cannot use.

Absolutely, I am interested! My purchases have been mistakes. I retired a month ago and want to get out of these contracts that are paid in full and current in maintenance fees. I have three days to rescind a contract with a timeshare transfer/termination company and just saw this option. I have 259000 points total at Wyndham Smoky Mountains and Cypress Palms. I have tried to sell and got bilked of nearly $5000 in two separate attempts in addition to spending $800 listing on a sale site. I have no one to will these to and have trouble getting into where I want to go. The rental programs on these travel sites is unfair given all that I paid for the privilege of using these resorts when travelers can just put down a few hundred dollars and take the trip for which I already have lost thousands of dollars in mortgage fees and maintenance fees. I can't count the ways I was misled and "worked" by manipulative and aggressive sales tactics. I just want out.

suzanw8 wrote:

Absolutely, I am interested! My purchases have been mistakes. I retired a month ago and want to get out of these contracts that are paid in full and current in maintenance fees. I have three days to rescind a contract with a timeshare transfer/termination company and just saw this option. I have 259000 points total at Wyndham Smoky Mountains and Cypress Palms..... I just want out.

Simply grab your phone, call Wyndham's Ovation program line at 1-855-312-9040, and ask them whether your Wyndham properties are included in Ovation. If they are, ask them to send the paperwork. Be polite. Don't burden the rep with your timeshare troubles. Say "Thanks." When the package comes, follow the instructions to the letter. Return the papers promptly. Celebrate with an adult beverage.

to barneyh4 , if you had a RCI membership ,you should be able to renew your membership with them and still be able to use it.Just because you don't bank your SVC with RCI doesn't mean you can't use their membership .They have lots of inventory for travel anywhere in the world, you just need to know how to use it, and when .We recently sold our property that used RCI as exchange co.and we called them because we still had 1 yr paid with them, and they said we can renew yearly without owning or depositing points or weeks with them.Now you may be somewhat limited as to where you can get in, but there are so many perks with RCI exchange , like extra vacations and last min getaways.They have deals and much more to offer that you can use as long as you are still a member. I forget what the yearly fee is but we usually prepay 3-4 yrs at a cheaper rate.I would then drop Intervol Intr. if you can't use it anyway, you don't have to use that exchange co. You should still be able to get into SVC resorts with your points or weeks you own ,if you want ,and then have more flexibility with RCI for exchange use if you want to choose locations other then I.I has to offer. You need to call RCI and find if your membership expired or not,if your still listed as a member then you are able to use it as I described .If you are not paid member anymore I would negotiate with them, and try to get it back . These things are possible if you are tough with them,demand they renew your membership on grounds of being a long time customer before SVC dropped RCI. I would explain the situation of not liking I.I as your exchange co. and they will probably be happy to get you back as a customer. Ask to speak to someone in charge such as a manager if you have to. We just got back from staying at a SVC resort in Barrie Ont, Carriage HIlls through RCI,and loved it.We saw their NEW plan for owners,and all the changes they are going through,adding Wyndham to their name increases their flexability. I believe Wyndham owns RCI now too,so not sure why SVC doesn't use RCI for exchange. Here is the member services # for RCI 1-800-585-4860 . Good luck with your program, at SVC, it looks like a pretty good program,and we've seen many . Maybe you just need to get in to a SVC T.S presentation to see how your program can work for you.Sometimes talking with someone can help you understand better the new partnership benefits.I understand your travel woes, we've had a few hiccups along the way,but one thing is for sure, we have enjoyed some mighty fine vacations because of ownership. AM

I am definitely interested... but I want to know a lot more about this program before I choose this option. I'll go read the "one year later" update now...

kyliec wrote:

We have been talking to Wyndham about their new program, Ovation, which was quietly announced to Wyndham owners a few weeks ago. The company isn't offering concrete details, but appears they are ready to customize exit solutions for their owners who no longer use their timeshares.

Jeff Weir has written an informative article for us with much more detail on this topic. Read about the initial introduction of the Ovation program here... and the Ovation update nearly a year later here.

IF YOU ARE A WYNDHAM OWNER, interested in what solutions Wyndham will offer to you, take us along for the ride! We would love to follow several owners as they contact Wyndham for a solution to see whether this program is all they are claiming it to be. If you're interested, please post here and Jeff will follow up with you.

Sounds like some Wyndham reps are responding to many of these posts. Read the fine print on Ovations

You don't pay any money on your maitenance fees? How? Wyndham rewards doesn't help that much $60 for every 10,000 points. Refereal program I don't want my friends hating me. Using points to pay the fees that is just stupid and no value. What are other options? You put it out there. I guess I could buy a couple of houses and rent them out and use the income to pay the fees. I know someone who has over a million points and does this option.

Jeff what relationship do you have with Wyndham? Do you own any Wyndham points? Do you work for Wyndham? How is Wyndham tied to Redweek? Even as a moderator of the pages your comments are somewhat pro Wyndham. Why?

I think Wyndham got lucky and found a buyer that did not want to pay full price. They will do this at sales pitches at the end. "If we can found a buy back in our inventory would you be interested" $14000 for over 700,000 points is a deal vs $70,000 at retail My numbers maybe off a bit but you got the point.

andrewr105 wrote:

Sounds like some Wyndham reps are responding to many of these posts. Read the fine print on Ovations

Dear Mr. Wet Blanket:

Some of us, who bought years ago from Fairfield, and lived long enough to find that we could now buy our same points on eBay and Redweek for about 2 cents per point or less, were simply delighted to find out that we could give our points to Wyndham without cost -- and in our case, at least, with three years worth of points at no charge. Is that OK with you?

I had requested information from Wyndham about the Ovation program and only fully paid-off timeshares are eligible for the program.

I have contacted Wyndham about their Ovation Program. I have two contracts (Smoky Mountains and Cypress Palms) that are paid in full and current in maintenance fees. I was given three options (deed over to a family member, sell through brokers Wyndham trusts, or deed back to them in exchange for my number of points for three years) and I chose the last one. I was told about details of the paperwork and currently am waiting for the paperwork. I was told I would be free and clear within a couple months and that they would send me proof that the deeds had been changed over to them which would free me from all future costs or responsibilities.

As I wait, I still am receiving phone calls from companies who want to charge me for getting me out of the contracts legally. Every one of them tells me that Ovation customers have come back to them saying that it didn't work as they were told and that they either were forced to buy more points or got stuck with maintenance fees for a long time. It would be nice to know whether certain problems occur with some of the Ovation strategies but not others. For example, I can imagine that reselling could take some time and that an owner would pay maintenance fees until the resale occurs. I can't imagine, though, how simply deeding it back to Wyndham can suddenly require the purchase of more points or the continuation of fees once the deeds are in Wyndham's name. Has that happened to someone?

After initially submitting this post, I went back to read the update to the Ovation article mentioned by the facilitator of this forum on the first page. The three options I was given are not the same as the three in that update. The Tribute option in which the purchase is simply deeded to someone in the immediate family is not mentioned. Option 2 for me was using recommended brokers to resell for me. The third option involved only having points for three years with no maintenance fees on a use-it-or-lose-it basis; I was not given the separate choices between just walking away and having the points. If most people wanted to just walk away, why would Wyndham do away with that option and keep the option chosen by 10% to have some travel points for three years. Is that where people are getting caught owing things they hadn't expected? I will be very wary when I receive my paperwork.

I hope you rescinded the contracts in time. If not you will be stuck until the mortgage is paid off.

Susan,

I have been dealing with Wyndham for nearly 20 years. I like your advice to simply call and have them send the paperwork and not get caught up discussing things with who ever answers the phone. My problem, however, is they want all your information without giving you anything in return. Before I even HINT to them that I want to get rid of this albatross I want to know if my timeshare is included and whether I am likely to get any cash. I am afraid to get caught up in more of their confusing double talk. I guess I am prepared to pay a couple of months more of HOA while they 'handle' my paperwork, but are they really efficient about what they are doing or are they playing the 'lose the paperwork' game? Have you sold back your timeshare? Do you know if there is any way to find out what their parameters are when they are deciding whether to take your property back? That would be really helpful!

I have heard most point deed backs only take about 3-4 weeks from the time you send in your paperwork. If you are deeding back a wyndham non point deed it can take a few months.

I am an independent journalist who typically writes about owner issues for RedWeek.com and TimeSharing Today. I discovered Ovation two years ago as part of my ongoing research into industry exit programs, which for the most part don't exist in any way that is easy or respectable for owners. I advocate to all major developers that they should provide clear exit program information at time of original sale and offer to buy back all timeshares, at any time, for whatever reason, for a percentage of the original sales prices, or the current resale value (whichever is higher). Ovation is the first industry program to really address the huge inventory of unsold resale timeshares on the market, so I give Wyndham credit for launching it. I think the program has many bugs, but it is better for an owner to go to Wyndham than a third party that will typically charge upfront fees to possibly get rid of your timeshare. I am not a Wyndham employee, nor am I a Wyndham owner. I own several timeshares at other companies. Re your last question, I am not aware that Wyndham has any official relationship with RedWeek. My background includes: Global public relations director for National Semiconductor; communications director for the Semiconductor Industry Association; press secretary, United States Senate (California); Washington DC correspondent for the Orange County Register (CA); Sacramento capital correspondent for the Register; and legal affairs writer for the Register.

Consider looking in to what Grand Pacific Resorts is doing with their resale program.