I was reading on the Timeshare User's Group (TUG) board this morning about a petition that Wyndham owner's are circulating and signing. It was only published just two days ago, and already has 200 signors. This is just one more example of the responses Wyndham owners are taking against Wyndham in response to these insane changes. The petition itself is pretty non-specific. Here is what it says:
The petition:
We, the undersigned Wyndham owners and other supportive
parties, petition Wyndham Vacation Ownership and the
Fairshare Vacation Owners Association to restore and retain
inviolate and in perpetuity all duly obtained and purchased
Fairshare Plus Program Options and VIP Program Benefits
as listed in the 2006-07 Member's Directory and/or as
delineated in the applicable directory at the time of an owner
making a qualifying purchase; options and benefits which were
the expressed basis for making initial and subsequent
Wyndham timeshare purchases. In particular, we petition
Wyndham to keep the Fairshare Plus owner option of
transferring points between owners and to restore free (without
charge) guest confirmations for VIP Gold and Platinum level
owners, both of which were key elements in the sales
presentations and timeshare purchase agreements at the time
qualifying timeshare purchases were made and which have
been an option and benefit of said programs for a decade.
Links:
This site contains detailed information about Wyndham's
business practices which defraud Wyndham owners of the
benefits promised at time of purchase
http://www.wyndsham.com/
a Wyndham owner shares his viewpoint on Wyndham http://www.wyndhamvideo.com/
and THE site where some 4,500 Wyndham owners share their
viewpoints on all things Wyndham
http://www.wyndhamowners.org/
Each of these websites have some very powerful information to
share about what is going on among Wyndham owners. I
simply do not understand why Wyndham, nor the FairShare
Plus Board of Directors do not care more about what they are
doing to their 400,000 plus owners. It baffles me (and not in
a pleasant way).
Click here to go to the petition
But the fact that 200 owners signed this petition in 48 hours is not what I find remarkable. I don't even find it remarkable that the author knows of something that baffles him "in a pleasant way". Ok, I admit, that is slightly remarkable. What is amazing is what the respondants are saying when the sign the petition. First of all, out of 200 people who have signed there is not even one of they usual "naysayer" who will pop in a statement like "I fully support all of these changes". You see that sort of crack-pot in just about every petition, but not this one. Leaving comments is not required, but many owners have gone out of their way to not only take then time to sign the petition, but have left some very strong comments (without dictionaries).
Check out what they have to say!
A key element in making the decision to purchase and now you want to charge for our guests that we want to purchase as well. Is your decision based on greed as so many other coporations are doing. Why are you so dead set in following a bad practice? We have been loyal customers and have brought several others. This is how you thank us!!!
After my parents first purchase of Fairfield(now Wyndham), they attended several other sales meetings (suppodedly owner updates). they were sold on the fact of being able to rent out points/reservations for extra money and help pay the annual maint. fees. Wyndham, through their own Extra Holiday
Rentals are duly trying to take this benefit away from all of us.
As a past developer purchaser, I would no longer consider purchasing a Wyndham timeshare product in the future for fear of losing rights and priveleges sold to me at the tine of purchase.
cendent gets richer and the owners get screwed harder every years
Fairshare Plus Platinum VIP owners with resorts in Virginia and Florida
Give us what was promised at the time of the sale. It was those things that "encouraged" us to buy. It is not right to take them away after using them to gain a sale
Hi I wanted to rented out my points for the first time in 20 years as we ae senors almost 70 and cant alwaystrave The income would have helped as we are on a fixed income
Hope this helps-there is strength in numbers
I agree with this petition! WE are VIP Platinum and have lost many benefits in the short time we have owned. We would like to see all of the lost benefits of the last 18 months restored. Plus, we would like to stop getting harrassed by the sales staff when we stay with our points. We are done with Wyndham sales staff liars! Sleazebags!
I am a VIP Gold member and have owned since 2001. The benefits that were taken away I have never used but was considered using in 2009. I am worried that more benefits will dissapear soon as well. What will they take away next? Wyndham needs to give back and enhance value to our investment.
I am a VIP member and have decided not to purchase anymore Wyndam points until I see a significant change at the corporate office. In addition to the references in the above petition how about better telephone and web page service. How about Wyndam having more interest in servicing the needs of existing owners and less interest in selling ownerships that the current infrastructure cannot handle.
I am a VIP Platinum owner with over 3 million points. I bought more and more points over the last 10 years based on the outstanding resorts at the time and faith in the benefis assured to me. I am dismayed and concerned about the rapid deterioration and removal of the options I was promised. I heartily agree with this petition and will fully pursue the restoration of these promised benefits, or at an open and honest explanation of why they were removed.
I am a Wyndham owner who lives in California. I own 518,000 points, all resale, so I am not VIP.
I am an Alabama resident and have been an owner for over 10 years - over a million points. Fairfield had an awesome product before selling out to Cendant. Now Wyndham has taken all the promised owner benefits away and raised fees up to 500%. Their corporate greed must stop. When will an Attorney General take notice and issue an immediate cease-and-desist order against them? Hopefully before they have taken everything from us owners to support their own corporate ventures!
I am an owner of 303,000 points. The ability to transfer/trade points with other owners is a key feature I had counted on.
I am from Iowa and I wholeheartly support this petition. When I originally purchased this was one of the benefits I was sold on was free guest certificates and transfer of points. There have been other benefits also taken away that should also be returned to us.
I became a Platinum owner with Wyndham (nee Fairfield) primarily to obtain the benefits being offered for that level of ownership.
I cannot believe how greedy Wyndham is - taking away benefits, increasing fees......all of the changes benefit only one party - Wyndham Extra Holidays. Shame on Wyndham!!
I fully support and agree with this petition as stated above as a Wyndham VIP Platinum Fairshare Plus Program owner since 2004. I am very concerned with the many policy changes that have clearly diminished the value of our original purchase as outlined when we purchased our timeshare.
I have been happy with Wyndham ownership up until all these changes which have taken away our privileges.
i object to the elimination of owner transfer of points. it was the main reason why i purchased points with wyndham. i am not interested in renting just want to share with family.
I own 630K points at Ocean Walk and I agree that a lot of the reasons why I decided to own are now being taken away.
I own a small deed of 154,000 points used for family vacations, and Wyndham is consistently and systematically making it near impossible to use. They are taking away all of the rights promised to us by their own sales staff.
I used to be a supporter and now I tell everybody to avoid Wyndham as it has become a rip-off. If you want owners to help you sell more timeshares, then stop scewing us over!
I was sold a Gold VIP membership that included the above options when I bought it in 2005. This "VIP" membership is now essentially worthless. I feel that I have been defrauded by Wyndham Sales and Wyndham corporate and request that the benefits that were sold to me be restored.
I wholeheartedly support this petition.
I will not be buying any additional points because of the erosion of benefits. I have owned wyndham-fairfield resorts for over 10 years and am a gold vip . I have purchased additonal points over the years but will not buy more. I am especially unhappy about the inability to transfer points to other owners after march 1st.
If the present FSP Board and staff continue to abuse the fiduciary responsibilities they have to the owners and NOT to Wyndham, they should be asked or forced to resign by the collective owners. I have asked Deanne Gabel several times for the 2007 and 2008 FSP Board Minutes and have been told she is working on getting them. I have also asked when the Board elections are and how do you run for the FSP Board with no response.
It is hard to fathom why any owner would want to abolish the ability to transfer points. Having that ability does no owner any harm and can be a signficant advantage to ownership - which was promised when the purchase was made.
My home is in New Mexico. We own in excess of two million FSP points and have been owners since 1989.
My parents are VIP Platinum Owners and I attended the various sales meetings when they made these purchases. This was for family vacations and for the flexibility for my daughter and I to take vacations separately. I had planned on buying points also to supplement what my parents own. With all the negative changes that have taken place I definitely will not be making a purchase. Taking the unlimited guest confirmations away was a really bad move. Wyndham has done nothing to display that they care about their owners. The 15 day cancellation policy has also had a great impact on us for obtaining last minute weekend getaways. This program use to have great flexibility and that has been ruined by all of the policy changes Wyndham has made.
Myself, my wife and her sister own 336K annual points and 131 EOY points. It is an important feature for us to be able to transfer points between our accounts, for our PERSONAL use. Never for sale or rent.
Never dreamed that so many of the benefits we purchased for, would be eliminated one by one.
Not affecting me directly at the moment, but agree with the petition. I believe members who bought before the new rule came out should get to keep the benefits they bought and signed for
owner 3 years - lost all benefits - want them back
Owners since 1999 and want to retain all VIP benefits that were promised.
PLEASE work for the benefits of owners without reducing benefits! Thank you!
Respect for Wyndham Corporation has fallen just about as low as it can get.
Restore owner rights and benefits!!!
Rights should be grandfathered to the very first contract purchased.
SC residents - we purchased to VIP level at Glade in 2006, based on recommendation from son and benefits promised by salesman and sales manager of being able to transfer points, add guests to reservations for free, and get free newspapers. Now all we have left is a 50cent newspaper! Please restore our ownership back to what we were promised.
Shame on you "W" for taking back what we paid for. Owners in Kentucky, and no longer proud.
Since Wyndham has taken over I have seen that I get less then what I had signed for when I bought.
Since Wyndham took over Fairfield its all been downhill for owners. They seem more concerned with Extra Holidays and marketing than owners!
Stop ripping off owners for your own corporate greed!
Stopping the transfer of points is like stealing our rights. Next they will try and stop us from being able to transfer our deeds.
the cancellation change has directly hurt me. two years ago i praised fairfield. now i condemn wyndham with everyone i meet and i meet many timeshare owners
The degradation of benefits has had a negative impact on our Wyndham ownership. We can no longer fully enjoy our ownership and will no longer be an advocate for this company.
The timeshares I own have been devalued by the actions of Wyndham. Not being able to sell points is absolutely the wrong policy.
The VIP benefits that were promised to us at the time of purchase were the ONLY reason we bought retail points from Fairfield/Wyndham. It is unethical that they are being taken away one by one, without any input from the owners
This benefits mentioned above have been offered to me at least two times during sales presentations. Luckily I did not buy into them. I certainly feel for my fellow owners, however, and these changes will certainly not inspire me to buy any more wyndham interests (points) that offer any such benefits that are revoked and changed at will
Very upset that we are constantly told by Wyndham that "we, the owners have asked for these changes." No Way!!
We are totally discouraged and disappointed at the way we are being treated after spending more than $60,000. on out 518,000 points. The people now running Fairfield Resorts should be sent to prison for what they have done!!!!! It is nothing short of stealing our money and telling us to shove it. If we could get our money out of this program we would sell it in a second!!!!!!
We like to travel with family members who are also owners, but with fewer points than we own. We use the points transfer option in order to book one reservation using points from both families. This program change will negatively affect our ability to share reservations in this way, and we are extremely angry about it! We purchased these points for a large amount of money and should be able to do with them what we please!
We were sold on the promis of these extra benefits. That is the reason we bought devloper points to become platinum owners. Now Wyndham is taking away all of our benefits, that we paid a high price for.
What an idiotic idea - most of the signers of this petition do not understand what they are signing or saying.................
When we purchased, there were specifics that were not optional. Now that we have purchased, you want to eliminate some of the very features that helped in determining to make the purchases. It is not ethical as business owners to eliminate these benefits, now that you have our money!
without these options being restored, the sales pitch given to us would be false. Please restore our privileges
Wyndham Corporate--Please rethink & then rescind your actions.
Wyndham has defrauded thousands of us. Act like a good corporate citizen and restore our owner benefits.
Wyndham is contiously taking all the benefits/reasons ,why we purchased so many devloper points ,to become a platinum owner.
Wyndham is taking all owner benifits away and continuing to increase fees for no reason except corporate greed!
Wyndham Management - I appreciate the need to contain costs. But it is unethical to remove rights that were part of the original purchase contracts. These contracts should remain in force. If you feel the need to curtail benefits, please do so for any future contracts with new Owners.
Wyndham,You on the board are killing this timeshare program.
You have removed the benefits that made Wyndham worth it!
You, wyndham, have taken away some of my benefits that were paid for by my purchase of property you sold me. I want this stopped and the benefits restored, as promised.
Your taking away our right to transfer points has ended our family vacations. We and our parents have been owners at Fairfield since the Glades first stage and were enticed to points as a way to share so our mother could travel after our fathers death. One year ago, mom paid thousands to turn her original weeks to points so we could all share. She is now out her original weeks, and does not have enough points to get out of Michigan for the winter. We cannot pool our points with hers, or afford to pay for week upon week of guest fees if we book on her behalf. There is absolutely no excuse for this change, I do not want my "safety" protected thereby making my ownership worthless. We have spent 50,000.00 for a cadillac that you have swapped with an old Pinto. Please explain why it is worthwhile to continue with Wyndham.
It is hard to fathom why any owner would want to abolish the ability to transfer points. Having that ability does no owner any harm and can be a signficant advantage to ownership - which was promised when the purchase was made.
We are platinum owners and sometimes cannot use all our points because of time constraints. Renting point to fellow owners is a simple & useful option. To change the rules of the game after it has started is hardly just or reasonable.
I think that the changes made over the past year with doubling fees, and taking away member benefits is a disgrace. Wyndham clearly is not concerned about providing their owners with a flexible product. Major decisions regarding fees and member benefits are changed without input from the owners and then we are continually lied to with explanations that this is what owner requested.
Please don"t take away the privleges that we had at the time of our purchase if i wanted a chevette i would have bought a chevette.
Wyndham has been reducing the value of my investment. They have been eroding the benefits for which I have paid thousands of dollars. Only corporates on the board
So, we've learned a couple of things from this two-day old petition. One, the people at Wyndham have apparently abandoned hope of being able to solicit any current owners for future sales and completely disregard anything they have to say. Two, owners are PISSED. and, Three, you don't have to spell very well to be a Wyndham timeshare owner.
Until next time ---- happy vacationing.
