Worldmark Questions

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

On WorldMark Owners Community home page, you can access reviews & pictures of resorts. On the left hand side of the page click on WM Resorts. I just checked the California resorts, and there seems to be an error in "average" star rating. Read the reviews for more accurate information.

[odaddy Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close odaddy]

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!

Worldmark is fantastic, but you have to tolerate Wyndham's extreme animosity towards owners. Sometimes, it gets old.

Worldmark is a great system, many major timeshare company companies squeeze the owners as time goes by, DVC, Diamond, Wyndham, Marriott etc, dont let Wyndham scare you, the buy in is so cheap, you will get your value out of it.

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

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.

Depends what you are looking for. If you want granite counter tops..you probably won't find that with most WM resorts. It's not Marriott..etc. Some resorts are better than others. Some have location..location...location. Only timeshare that can offer you both a fabulous lake and Yosemite. LOVE Bass Lake. Only timeshare in Pismo Beach, Solvang, etc. City locations...Seattle, SFO, Vancouver,BC.

I own a mix. I have a GPR. A Marriott (for trading) and WM. I'm happy. If I want granite-I trade for it.

[odaddy Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close odaddy]

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.

Rooms are nice, clean, but lack some "resort" amenities, no restaurants, bars.Many resorts have rooms similar to some of the older DVCs for just the room itself. I agree with StressCadet, Lot of west coast locations where they are the best or only resort in town. I always say that I drive to Worldmark, and fly to an exchange.

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

Thank you all for the information. It does look like a good way to do a California road trip. I am not sure if I need granite or not. Honestly, I enjoy granite, but I also get mad when my hotel room is way better than my own house.

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

A question for World Mark owners

I have another question about WorldMark. How far in advance do you typically need to book your stay? I know points system is what works best for us, but we are also frequently spur of the moment type of people. In the least a 3 month window would be ideal for us.

Also, does WorldMark give significant savings towards cash reservations for times when points are all used up?

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

I have another question about WorldMark. How far in advance do you typically need to book your stay? I know points system is what works best for us, but we are also frequently spur of the moment type of people. In the least a 3 month window would be ideal for us.

Also, does WorldMark give significant savings towards cash reservations for times when points are all used up?

At 90 days out you can book less than 7 days. This will NOT work for high demand locations/times. Those will have been booked at the 13 mo mark. It WILL work for lesser demand area and/or times. This will of course depend on your travel habits..are you traveling prime time (school schedule) or shoulder season? Many places are just lovely in Sept or Oct..but might be booked solid in full swing summer (June, July, Aug)

WM offers a couple different cash type reservations. Every Monday a couple of resorts go on "Monday Madness" You can book at .06 cents per credit necessary to book normally. So if it takes 1000 credits for one night-it would cost 60.00. This is subject to normal booking guidelines...i.e. 7 days if booked further out than 90 days..and only 11 months in advance. I think you can have up to 6 of these reservations at one time (don't quote me-I'd have to look it up..but it's a few) This program is not permanent however it's been running the last two years.

The next program is Bonus Time. Units available in the next 14 days can be booked for .05 cents a credit necessary to book the unit. This inventory is fluid and can change daily.

Another is Inventory Special..click here to get an idea of what is currently on special. https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/inventory_specials/

You can read the guidelines for IS at the bottom of the page.

As mentioned previously..you can also rent necessary credits from other owners and that in a sense becomes a cash reservation. If you negotiate well on the price per credit..say .05 cents then 10,000 credits ( 7 days in a 2bd..for the most part) is 500.00 plus housekeeping. Not too shabby.

I'm paraphrasing a bit...let me see if I can find a copy of the Club guidelines and I'll come back and post a link for it.

Hope this helps.

ETA: Google Worldmark Club Guidelines. A PDF will come up that is current 2011.

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

Thanks, StressCadet. I have read/scanned a lot of info and have yet another question. Is the minimum buy-in 5000 credits?

In reading different posts on the WM owners forum, it sounds like many people suggest buying low quantity and renting/adding on later if needed. It looks like the ability to bank/borrow would make it worth it to start small for now.

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

Thanks, StressCadet. I have read/scanned a lot of info and have yet another question. Is the minimum buy-in 5000 credits?

In reading different posts on the WM owners forum, it sounds like many people suggest buying low quantity and renting/adding on later if needed. It looks like the ability to bank/borrow would make it worth it to start small for now.

Yes. 5,000 is the minimum but you are more likely to find 6,000 accounts. Buying resale (of course) you want to buy a "fully loaded" account. That would be a 6,000 annual account with 12,000 banked and a nearing anniversary date. That would give you the most bang for the buck. You would need to get 6,000 or more in a reservation before the next anniversary date so those credits don't expire. Credits are good for two years.

I did something similar. Bought a small account and then another and in the end combined them (it made more sense for me) The best advice is to try to max your credits with your MF's since they are tiered. OR just keep your small account and rent when you want/need more. That's the beauty of WM.

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

A couple more questions...

1.) If I buy 5K contract, I will get one housekeeping token per year? If I bank/borrow can I also bank/borrow the tokens?

2.) There's a lot of stuff about some settlement on the wmowners site. I really have no idea what it is about. Is it something I should look at before I buy?

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

A couple more questions...

1.) If I buy 5K contract, I will get one housekeeping token per year? If I bank/borrow can I also bank/borrow the tokens?

2.) There's a lot of stuff about some settlement on the wmowners site. I really have no idea what it is about. Is it something I should look at before I buy?

1. Yes. Just like the credits.

2. In my humble opinion, no. The WM Owners (site) is very politically active. The commonality there is that they all LOVE the Club and their vacations. I can pretty much guarantee you that while they are unhappy with the settlement-that none of them would ever sell their memberships. They will however continue to fight for what they believe is any sort of injustice to the value/owners of the Club.