Wyndham Bonnet Creek resale info?

[discorsner]

Can anyone point me to Wyndham info? My sis in law and bro in law are thinking about buying into a timeshare but DVC is not for them. They are not extensive Disney lovers like we are and even though Disney will be in the vacation mix they want to be able to go other places and don't want to pay developer prices to do so.

She has asked me for some info because she knows we researched DVC for like 5 years before buying in! But not sure where to tell her to look. I have heard of TUG and Redweek but I've even looked on those for her some and I am not sure I understand the different systems that other brands use and what the rules are for resales at other brands/resorts.

They went to one of the brands (not sure which) presentation while they were in Myrtle Beach and were actually thinking it was a good deal. Luckily in texting with her that day I learned they were looking into a timeshare and was like don't buy direct!!!!! Come home, research and buy resale. It seems the one that they had looked into had some pretty strict resale rules though and if you bought it resale you could only use your home resort and no others so they won't be looking into that one further.

Anyway, I suggested she look into Wyndham because I thought I heard they use points and you can go different places even on resale. Also, I'm being a little selfish with suggesting it because I have heard Bonnet Creek was good and if they buy into Wyndahm then her family can use that while we use our DVC and we can still vacation together (yet separately) at times.

Do any of you own Wyndham? How does it work compared to Disney and where do you suggest reading the best info? I;ve even thought in when doing research for her maybe I will find something appealing for me to add to my DVC but I am skeptical because I love my DVC and I think I just want to add on!

Thanks!

 

[Dean]

Ebay is a great resource for Wyndham. I've seen several Bonnet Creek options come through lately but also many other good choices. Marriott, Bluegreen and Wyndham would be my top choices for this situation but BG and Wyndham will be cheaper and more flexible. Where do they live and where do they generally want to travel? BG might be cheaper yearly if they buy correctly, Wyndham has more resorts, esp out west and HI. I'd suggest they spend 6 months investigating and look at each and where they have resorts as well as looking at those resorts themselves. Ebay really is the way to go for both though, you just need to know enough to avoid pitfalls. It's not necessary for either to own Orlando and both have great Orlando resorts.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I'd really be interested in seeing this too. Maybe some detail about how Wyndham works, what its pitfalls are and so forth. I'd even go so far as to say it would be nice to have ongoing threads for all of these offerings (Marriot, BG, etc.) offering advice from those that own or have investigated them.

Where can you trade/stay?

What are the point requirements? How many do I need? How does 1 Wyndham point compare to one DVC point, for example?

Why is resale so cheap or is it really?

Why do I see ones on eBay with odd weeks and some with even weeks? What does that really mean?

What are the downsides?

How do the annual fees run?

Should one buy where they want to stay or does it really matter?

Assuming the moderators would let this discussion happen, and I Can't imagine why they wouldn't, I'd really like to see to ground-level talk as opposed to this 50k feet view we always get on the rare occasion these threads come up.

Teach us about Wyndham. Let have the discussion. I know that there are several of you in-the-know because you own there. Share with us what you know if you don't mind!

 

[dbs1228]

I would also love to see this discussion - got some information but not nearly enough. My parents own Wyndham, I have access but I do not know very much at all. They do not know how to fully utilize it either and did buy from developer which I know is not good (was shocked when they did) but fortunately it was their comfort zone and could easily afford to do so. Maybe I could help them!

 

[Dean]

I'd really be interested in seeing this too. Maybe some detail about how Wyndham works, what its pitfalls are and so forth. I'd even go so far as to say it would be nice to have ongoing threads for all of these offerings (Marriot, BG, etc.) offering advice from those that own or have investigated them.

Where can you trade/stay?

What are the point requirements? How many do I need? How does 1 Wyndham point compare to one DVC point, for example?

Why is resale so cheap or is it really?

Why do I see ones on eBay with odd weeks and some with even weeks? What does that really mean?

What are the downsides?

How do the annual fees run?

Should one buy where they want to stay or does it really matter?

Assuming the moderators would let this discussion happen, and I Can't imagine why they wouldn't, I'd really like to see to ground-level talk as opposed to this 50k feet view we always get on the rare occasion these threads come up.

Teach us about Wyndham. Let have the discussion. I know that there are several of you in-the-know because you own there. Share with us what you know if you don't mind!

Here's a brief summary of Bluegreen and Wyndham, the 2 most comparable that you can also buy very cheaply. Some might include Worldmark also but I'm not that familiar and it's more West Coast.

Usage - Wyndham has more properties and more West Coat/HI coverage. Bluegreen is more flexible to use in many ways with non home resort priority, less extra fees and it really doesn't matter where you buy. BG is also far more flexible for shorter stays. Wyndham does have a home resort priority.Wyndham you can only book 3, 4 or 7 days if you book at 10 months but can book as little as 2 on short notice.

Banking/Borrowing - BG you can borrow a year out but you pay the fees and you can bank for a year but there's a small fee and the points are somewhat restricted but not that much. Borrowing is limited with Wyndham. To bank (they call pool) you must do so before the UY starts (exceptions don't apply here) and they are good for 3 years though you do lose your home resort priority if you do so.

Yearly fees - BG is $320 plus 4.5¢ a point if in trust fund E which is for most and I'd recommend so there is definitely an economy of scale Wyndham Varies and is property specific but generally around the same for a comparable contract. It does make your home resort choice more important both due to fees and the possibility of home resort priority reservations. Comparing for a 2 BR for Orlando you're looking at somewhere in the range of $900-1100 a year for Wyndham (210K points) depending on home resort and maybe $1050 for BG (trust fund E).

Exchange - Both work mostly with RCI. BG is better for exchanging and esp for II as well. Neither are great for cheap exchanging at present. There are other choices that work much better for that. Neither limit your resort choices to exchange to like DVC does.

Extra fees - Wyndham likely has more but none are unreasonable and in the worst case scenario, they're all still cheaper than DVC.

Price, both can be had for essentially free plus closing costs. I picked up 14K BG points last year for just the $250 name change fee and I've seen many free offers plus closing not just on ebay. I can put you in touch with someone for BG if you need that, just email or PM me. The reason for the prices being so low is debatable but my view is that market forces don't work very well and they are undervalued for those that will take advantage of them.

Both sell every other year options and that's where the Odd/Even comes in. If you look at them as every year for half the points, you'll be pretty close.

The downside is you're committing to fees which could go up. If you'll learn the rules, plan ahead and use them they can be a GREAT option and money saver. We've been able to do trips that we could never have done without BG including nine 2BR units in Gatlinburg and seven 2 BR units in Nashville where we invited family at our expense. We also do this with Marriott on a slightly smaller scale, definitely not as cheap but still very reasonable. We also have had many exchanges in to DVC at a fraction of the cost.

Marriott is a different bird as for resale, it's more of a full week option and one where you really need to buy where you want to stay for almost all situations, esp for just 1 or 2 weeks owned. Purchase prices will be more but not a lot for many options, yearly fees will be more but still not much comparing a full week. But still less than DVC, generally by roughly 30%. DVC for a 2 BR for a week will be more in the $1500 range.

Brian, Jim and others will be able to give you a better perspective on Wyndham as they know that system better.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Great information, Dean. That's the kind of thing I wanted to see. Thank you for taking the time! I know it wasn't a quick thing to have to compose and post.

 

[Dean]

Great information, Dean. That's the kind of thing I wanted to see. Thank you for taking the time! I know it wasn't a quick thing to have to compose and post.

I'm glad to help as others have helped me over the years plus I love talking timeshares and helping people in general. It really takes months and effort to understand a system well enough to use it rather than it using you. We still see people here who don't understand very well how DVC works and it's simpler than most. Realize this is a comparison and there are many caveat's and some exceptions. Everyone also has their own perspective.

 

[Mick@Tink]

Dean, I too wanted to say thanks for your summary. Much like Wilson Flyer, I wish there was more, detailed information concerning other timeshares on this board. However, since it's the "DIS" boards, I doubt the mods would create such. Brian, Jim......anxiously awaiting your input as well.

 

[Dean]

Dean, I too wanted to say thanks for your summary. Much like Wilson Flyer, I wish there was more, detailed information concerning other timeshares on this board. However, since it's the "DIS" boards, I doubt the mods would create such. Brian, Jim......anxiously awaiting your input as well.

Certainly this is not the place for a formal board about such, there are plenty of other places for that. Even discussions about other systems for those comparing have been discouraged at times but as long as we're comparing to DVC, we're likely OK. The Timeshare Users group is likely the best single place for info including detailed info on other systems and links to other resources. There's a great set of articles on Wyndham as well as info on Worldmark, Diamond, DVC, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and the like. Only Bluegreen seems to be lacking. The key is to look at where you want to go, what the relative strengths and weakness of each system is, how well it works for your circumstance and for those with access to other resorts directly, how that system works. While DVC was my first love and we still enjoy it, plus I own several top Marriott's, Bluegreen has been my absolute best investment in terms of savings, options and true overall flexibility. But each fills their niche which is what I expected out of them. One of the benefits to buying something that's currently good and cheap like BG or Wyndham is that if it goes south tomorrow, he risk is very limited. Think where many of us who own DVC would be if the parks closed tomorrow for example.

 

[bookwormde]

One thing unlike DVC is that you can rent reservations in most cases for significantly less than the yearly dues for the same points, so ownership is really about having full control of a reservation.

 

[Dean]

One thing unlike DVC is that you can rent reservations in most cases for significantly less than the yearly dues for the same points, so ownership is really about having full control of a reservation.

In some cases you can save a few dollars but not for most situations that people would want and as you note you lose control, but more important, flexibility. Plus there are often other benefits of owning. We stayed 2 nights in a Presidential suite at the Fountains our last 2 trips for $79 a night plus tax. You also need to own to use the exchange options. One can also often rent DVC cheaper than owning, not to mention possibly using those cheaper timeshares to exchange in to DVC.

 

[Brian Noble]

The easiest way to learn about how Wyndham does (and doesn't) work is to read the directory. Nominally it is published for owners only, but there is a publicly accessible version here:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/memberdirectory11-12/

Wyndham you can only book 3, 4 or 7 days if you book at 10 months but can book as little as 2 on short notice.

This is true only for Prime Season reservations. For all other seasons, you can book any stay of two nights or more. Otherwise, Dean's summary is spot on.

One thing unlike DVC is that you can rent reservations in most cases for significantly less than the yearly dues for the same points

I would not say "most cases"---particularly now that cancel/rebook has become more of a chancy thing for VIP owners. It also depends on how well you shop for your own deed. My annual fees are still a good chunk less than the going rental rate, but I also own one of the better deeds in terms of MF/K. And for the most part home resort priority is less important in Wyndham than in some other systems, unless you need something very very particular (i.e. Cherry Blossom in DC, Mardi Gras in NO, etc.) Even some of the formerly hard-to-get areas (Myrtle or Destin in summer) are now possible, because some new resorts have been built/acquired.

 

[discorsner]

Wow thanks for all the replies!

The family I am talking about lives in NC but not near the coast. They like to visit NC and SC beaches and then throw Disney in too. They are a big family and don't really fly on vacation with all the kids so they like to go within one day drive of their home.

My family vacations with them sometimes but we are more flexible as a smaller family of four and we fly from Ny and meet up with them.

I guess I'm also interested in if they go wyndham and don't buy bonnet creek them how hard is it to get in a bigger unit for summer. Based on my limited experience with DVC so far it makes me think maybe they would want priority at Bonnet creek.

If they did go bonnet creek where can resale prices be researched? Wondering what price to pay for a contract that would be enough points for let's say a unit equivalent to the size of a Dvc 2 bedroom for a summr week.

Would love to hear how many points wyndham people own and typical resale prices.

Thanks for all the info!

 

[Brian Noble]

Right now, you can still get 2BR units for the last week of June 2012---just over three months from now. Going a little farther out, to the third week of July, there are 3BR units available as well. So, not really a problem.

I would just start paying attention to ebay closed auctions. They will quickly get a sense for who the players are, and where prices are going.

As for how many points they think they might need; the directory I linked to above has point charts. Pay attention only to the Club resorts, not the Affiliate or Associate ones, as they have much lower availability.

Edited to add: here is the availability for those two weeks I mentioned---when there is more than one unit listed for a given date/size, usually that includes some that cater to folks with various disabilities.

06/22/2012 7 1 Bdrm Pres Res Suite 224,000 N/A
06/22/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
06/22/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
06/22/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
06/22/2012 7 1 Bedroom Presidential 224,000 N/A
06/22/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
06/22/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
06/22/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
06/23/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
06/23/2012 7 1 Bedroom Presidential 224,000 N/A
06/23/2012 7 2 Bdrm Pres Res Suite 308,000 N/A
06/23/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
06/24/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
06/24/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
06/24/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A



07/20/2012 7 1 Bdrm Pres Res Suite 224,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 1 Bedroom Presidential 224,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 2 Bdrm Pres Res Suite 308,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 2 Bedroom Presidential 308,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 2 Bedroom Presidential 308,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 3 Bdrm Pres Res Suite 385,000 N/A
07/20/2012 7 3 Bedroom Deluxe 308,000 N/A
07/21/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
07/21/2012 7 1 Bedroom Presidential 224,000 N/A
07/21/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
07/21/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
07/21/2012 7 2 Bedroom Presidential 308,000 N/A
07/21/2012 7 3 Bdrm Pres Res Suite 385,000 N/A
07/21/2012 7 3 Bedroom Deluxe 308,000 N/A
07/21/2012 7 3 Bedroom Deluxe 308,000 N/A
07/22/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
07/22/2012 7 1 Bedroom Deluxe 166,000 N/A
07/22/2012 7 1 Bedroom Presidential 224,000 N/A
07/22/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
07/22/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
07/22/2012 7 2 Bedroom Deluxe 224,000 N/A
07/22/2012 7 2 Bedroom Presidential 308,000 N/A
07/22/2012 7 3 Bedroom Deluxe 308,000 N/A

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Everything asked above and are there any restrictions on points purchased at resale?

The owners' manual looks like a great source but it's obviously skewed towards those that already own.

I wanna know how to buy right and cheap.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Are those points for a full week, Brian? I don't have a common point of reference with DVC. I think that's one of the things I'm really missing.

 

[Brian Noble]

Yes, those are full-week stays. (The OP was asking about "one week in the summer".)

Everything asked above and are there any restrictions on points purchased at resale?

The owners' manual looks like a great source but it's obviously skewed towards those that already own.

Actually, the Directory does specify the main resale restriction---resale poitns are not eligible for the VIP program and its associated perks/benefits. A dispassionate analysis suggests that while some of those benefits would be nice, they are not worth even remotely what it costs to obtain them.

What the directory *does* do is explain the system, and that's pretty important to know before dipping your toe in the resale market.

Beyond that, I would strongly encourage you to join TUG (www.tug2.net) and/or Timeshare Forums (www.timeshareforums.com) and read, read, read in the Wyndham sections in each. The other major site for Wyndham info, the owners group, suffered a catastrophic computer failure, and has not yet been brought fully online. Most importantly: there is no hurry. The resale market is showing some signs of life, but these deeds are still pennies on the dollar, and the system is huge, so there are ALWAYS owners looking to get out.

 

[discorsner]

Thanks so much for all the replies!

A couple of questions we were still unsure about after our reading....

pooling credits... do I have this right? With Wyndham there is no borrowing. Banking as we know it for DVC would be their "pooling" and you have to pool the creidts by the first day of your use year. So... if you know you will not be using it in a use year you pool your points and they are good for three years? Can you pool multiple years therefore using 3 years of points at once? Do the pooled points keep the priority booking window of the home resort?

Also... if someone buys in a small amount to try this system and wants more later and buys another contract can the two contracts be combined for one stay? So let's say either my sister in law or I buy a contract for 166k points at Bonnet Creek but in a year or two we say you know what we need more. Can we buy another 100k or whatever and have the two play nicely together such as with DVC if you buy the same use year it jives nicely?

Thanks for any input! I love the dis!

 

[Dean]

Thanks so much for all the replies!

A couple of questions we were still unsure about after our reading....

pooling credits... do I have this right? With Wyndham there is no borrowing. Banking as we know it for DVC would be their "pooling" and you have to pool the creidts by the first day of your use year. So... if you know you will not be using it in a use year you pool your points and they are good for three years? Can you pool multiple years therefore using 3 years of points at once? Do the pooled points keep the priority booking window of the home resort?

Also... if someone buys in a small amount to try this system and wants more later and buys another contract can the two contracts be combined for one stay? So let's say either my sister in law or I buy a contract for 166k points at Bonnet Creek but in a year or two we say you know what we need more. Can we buy another 100k or whatever and have the two play nicely together such as with DVC if you buy the same use year it jives nicely?

Thanks for any input! I love the dis!

There is borrowing but it's limited and on short notice as I understand it. The pooled (banked) points do have to be done before the UY starts, there is a small feee and they are good 3 years. You can have multiple years of points pooled therefore getting enough for a larger trip. My understanding is that multiple contacts can be combined, even if different UY. They play well together other than expiration and banking windows is my understanding. I'll defer to others than are more adept at the system to be sure there are no nuances.

 

[RobDoc]

Since this is not a DVC related discussion, it will be best to participate in discussions about non-DVC timeshares on another site, like Timeshare Users Group - www.tug2.net - or Timesharing Today - www.tstoday.com .