Worldmark Questions

[dvcforus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dvcforus]

We moved to Seattle 3 years ago and it now seems WM may be our best option for weekend trips we can drive to. I have spent a lot of time reading up on WM but still have concerns. If anyone can help I would be so appreciative:

1. Worldmark is now owned by Wyndham and it seems the general thought is this is bad and could mean negative changes down the road. Thoughts?

2. How hard is it really to book on the weekends? If I wanted OR summer or Victoria is that possible?

3. Is it true no one has any booking advantage over anyone else?

4. What is a good price per point resale?

5. Have you found WM to be a good trader in RCI and II?

Thank you!

[itchyfeet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close itchyfeet]

For everything you've ever wanted to know about WM, check out WorldMark Owners Community There are many seasoned owners there who know the "ins" and "outs" of the system.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

We moved to Seattle 3 years ago and it now seems WM may be our best option for weekend trips we can drive to. I have spent a lot of time reading up on WM but still have concerns. If anyone can help I would be so appreciative:

1. Worldmark is now owned by Wyndham and it seems the general thought is this is bad and could mean negative changes down the road. Thoughts?

2. How hard is it really to book on the weekends? If I wanted OR summer or Victoria is that possible?

3. Is it true no one has any booking advantage over anyone else?

4. What is a good price per point resale?

5. Have you found WM to be a good trader in RCI and II?

Thank you!

1. Worldmark is not owned by Wyndham. Worldmark by Wyndham is the devleoper and builder of resorts that are conveyed to Worldmark. Also Worldmark by Wyndham has been hired as the manager of Worldmark's resorts. Most of Worldmark's board is comprised of Wyndham employees.

2. Oregon, Victoria, Vancouver are possible bookings for the summer IF you book at 13 months (plus throwaway days sometimes). The good news is that if you do book that far in advance and your plans change before 60 days before check in you can cancel without penalty.

3. Yes, except that large point owners can book more days at 13 months that you might not be able or willing to throw away reservation days. For example, if I have enough points that I am willing to "throw away", I can start booking 2,3, 4, 10 days ahead of you, as long as my reservation bookings are consecutive days. They don't all have to be at the same resort but the reservation days have to be consecutive.

4. Right now, probably 35 to 40 cents a point.

5. One of the strongest traders in RCI and very good in II.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Itchy feet's recomendation of the Worldmark Owners Group for information is, in my opinion also, the absoluute best source of "all things Worldmark." They can tell you how to maximize trades, how to borrow credits, where the best restaurants are close to Worldmark properties, etc.

[dvcforus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dvcforus]

Thanks everyone, I have read a bunch on that forum but there is almost so much information it's hard to get through. We have loved the point system of DVC versus a full week at our other timeshares, so I really like that idea plus the availability of choices nearby.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Itchy feet's recomendation of the Worldmark Owners Group for information is, in my opinion also, the absoluute best source of "all things Worldmark." They can tell you how to maximize trades, how to borrow credits, where the best restaurants are close to Worldmark properties, etc.

True but you have to tolerate their extreme animosity towards Wyndham. Sometimes, it gets old.

[Presley Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Presley]

You have peaked my interest. Now, I am looking at those, too. Short frequent stays is my cup of tea, which is why I bought DVC.

I am trying to see about how many points something uses. Does anyone have any idea? Like a 2 bedroom in Big Bear for 3 nights? Just an example, anything will help. I'm trying to compare pricing for worldmark on ebay against the week long stuff I have been looking at it. Worldmark has higher price tag, but I have no idea how many nights per year that works out to be.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Older WM resorts like Big Bear were 10,000 points for a 2BR red week. Newer WM resorts are 12 to 15,000 points for 2BR red week. Many of the newer resorts have almost all red weeks. There are 3BR and 4BR units that obviously cost more points.

I would think you would want at least 10,000 or 11,000 points (same MF).

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

You have peaked my interest. Now, I am looking at those, too. Short frequent stays is my cup of tea, which is why I bought DVC.

I am trying to see about how many points something uses. Does anyone have any idea? Like a 2 bedroom in Big Bear for 3 nights? Just an example, anything will help. I'm trying to compare pricing for worldmark on ebay against the week long stuff I have been looking at it. Worldmark has higher price tag, but I have no idea how many nights per year that works out to be.

Hi Presley,

This SHOULD take you right to the credit values for Big Bear: https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/bb/#credits

You must be So Cal local if you are looking for Big Bear for 3 nights. I'm in So
Cal and LOVE my WM.

You can fish around the website and look at night credit values for all the resorts. As mshatty pointed out-newer resorts cost more credits...but the ability to mix and match and "string" weeks together, i.e Take a drive up the coast for say 7 nights but staying in 3 WM's along the way to total your week of 7 nights is awesome. Learning curve of course-but once you know what you are doing...you're golden.

Hi dvcforus,

mshatty has addressed your questions well. I do not belong to RCI just II and I find WM trades well. I haven't ever deposited a week but rather do request first knowing that the max credits I'll use is 10,000 for a 2bd. I have had success with flexchange too (60 days before check in) when it's only 4,000 credits for a 2bd. If you do a deposit-then WM picks you week and you could conceivably get a "dog" You can trade with the independents too (SFX,Trading Places, HTSE) With the independents-you CAN chose your week by making a reservation and then depositing it. I have done that successfully as well. That way you can tailor your week to the trading power you would like to receive.

You live in a great place to utilize WM. You would also have access to various resorts using bonus time as well-if you can travel last minute.

Hope this helps both of you!

[dvcforus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dvcforus]

Thank you all! It does help to know II would deposit a generic week. That always seems so odd to me when systems work that way. The further we get in our careers the more we need long weekends and it's harder to take full weeks off it seems, so I think WM fits the bill for our area too.

[itchyfeet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close itchyfeet]

If you buy a basic 6000 credit membership,you can "rent" credits from other members for around 6 cents. This is what I do. There are usually credits for rent on the WM Owners site. Also be aware that in "red" season, you must book a week at a time unless there are stand alone days. Some exceotions, but it would be dofficult to get high demand resorts for fewer days. Also as mentioned above, if you want a high demnd resort in the summer, you would have to book 13 months out, and sometimes have to use "throw away days" to get the week you want. For example I booked Depoe Bay (Oregon) at the 13 month mark for August of this year. *I had to book two days at Clear Lake, CA in order to get Depoe Bay. Clear Lake worked out for us because we like the resort, and it is not too far out of the way to DB.

[dvcforus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dvcforus]

So for high weeks you have to book a week at a time, but it could be at a combination of resorts? When you say "throw away" do you mean at a later date you can cancel those or are they truly wasted?

Also, if I bought a 6k membership, could I rent the points from other members to get to 10K to deposit in RCI?

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

So for high weeks you have to book a week at a time, but it could be at a combination of resorts? When you say "throw away" do you mean at a later date you can cancel those or are they truly wasted?

Also, if I bought a 6k membership, could I rent the points from other members to get to 10K to deposit in RCI?

Yes. Just for high demand locations. Depoe Bay is VERY high demand in the summer. Same for Marina Dunes, Ca. The key to the throw away days is that you can book in a lessor category. So-you might "throw" away 2 days in a studio in a low demand area to achieve a week in a 2bd somewhere else. It doesn't even have to make sense. i.e. a studio in Galena, Ill and a 2bd at Depoe Bay, Or.

Yes to renting credits. No matter how many credits you decide to purchase-it's wise to "max" your MF category. In other words, don't buy 11,000 credits when 12,000 is the top of the MF category. You would pay the same MF's for 11,000 as you would for 12,000.

With renting you just need to watch expiration dates because they do transfer to you with the same expiration dates as the owner. However, credits being rented close to expiration dates tend to be cheaper..as long as you get them in a reservation their life is essentially extended. So, say you rent credits expiring 7/11-you can make a future reservation...say for 12/11 and use those credits BUT if you need to cancel then it can get tricky..that's a conversation for later. If you take them and deposit them to RCI-then you have achieved the same thing giving them even more life because your deposit should be good for 2 years.

Hope this helps.

edited to add: Don't let the whole high demand throw away day stuff scare you. We are talking about the high demand locations. You have plenty of resorts available near you...and we don't know your travel habits. Maybe you don't need to travel in extreme high time?? That said-knowing the exact day to book (there is a nice calculator on the WM website) and being on it at 6:00 AM has always given me what I wanted..and if it doesn't-there is always the waitlist. The waitlist is awesome. I waitlisted Bass Lake, Ca (near Yosemite) summer and eventually had my choice of days. The waitlist really does work. WM has such a flexible cancellation policy that people do cancel...and people do wait...and then they get what they want.... it's a nice feature.

[dvcforus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dvcforus]

In some ways it sounds as if WM is almost too good to be true It's a bit daunting learning a whole new system, but it seems worth it so thanks for all for all the helpful insights and tips! We tend to dislike high season in high demand places...but as our kids get older that seems to be more likely. That is great about the "throw" away weeks -- such good info!!

[Presley Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Presley]

Any insight into what the resorts are like. I looked at reviews on a members site and all the California ones averaged about 2 stars out of 5.