WorldMark Words

I browse through the old issues of the WorldMark magazines from time to time. I recently came across a feature article about the WorldMark Otter Crest resort at Newport, Oregon in the January, 1994 WorldMark Express newsletter. Here's what they said in the first paragraph of that article.

"Your Otter Crest Resort, with its panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean, is famous for its natural wooded beauty and rugged, jetting rock cliffs. The unique coastal environment at Otter Crest offers children and adults alike the wonders of marine life. The local towns of Newport and Lincoln City have lots of sightseeing, shopping and wonderful dining and entertainment. Otter Crest Resort offers all of the fine first-class amenities WorldMark owners have come to expect."

Otter Crest was one of the very first resorts in the WorldMark system. The WorldMark history shows that there were 6 units in the system at the end of 1989 and one of those units was at Otter Crest. From the above description it sounds like a very nice place. But things weren't all bright and shiny at Otter Crest. The December, 1996 edition of the newsletter contained this announcement:

"With Gleneden in full operation, after Jan. 1, 1997, your Vacation Planning Center will no longer book reservations for The Inn at Otter Crest. For all of us, Otter Crest has been an old friend, and a favorite for many of you. Your Board of Directors looked long and hard for ways to keep this long-standing favorite. With only nine WorldMark units and critical maintenance issues facing the resort, the only action that made sense was to build a new coastal retreat as close as possible to Otter Crest."

1996 was before my time with WorldMark but I'm sure many owners remember the Otter Crest resort. The fact that it was closed is somewhat significant in that it illustrates that it is possible to shed a problem resort from the WorldMark family.

What I find more interesting is illustrated in the following table, which shows the weekly credit values for the Otter Crest and Gleneden resorts and the percentage increase you would have paid to move from Otter Crest to Gleneden.

	Otter Crest	Gleneden	% Increase
1 Br Red Week	7,000	8,000	14.3
1 Br White Week	5,000	6,000	20.0
1 Br Blue Week	2,000	4,000	100.0
2 Br Red Week	8,000	10,000	25.0
2 Br White Week	6,000	7,000	16.7
2 Br Blue Week	3,000	5,000	66.7
3 Br Red Week	10,000	12,000	20.0
3 Br White Week	7,000	8,000	14.3
3 Br Blue Week	5,000	6,000	20.0

Look at the differences in those credit values. A one bedroom Red week jumped up by 1,000 credits. A one bedroom Blue week doubled in cost, from 2,000 credits to 4,000 credits. The other weeks show similar large increases.

Two things come to mind concerning the credit allocations. Otter Crest had a total of 9 units when it was closed and the announcement for the Gleneden resort indicated that there were a total of 80 units there. I'll assume that some of the credits generated by the opening of Gleneden were designated to offset the credits that were lost when Otter Crest was closed. That would prevent any reduction in the total number of credits and keep things in line with the legal requirements. But if you replace low credit requirement units with higher credit requirement units it is not a 1 to 1 unit replacement. Replacing the credits allocated to the 9 units at Otter Crest probably required only 6 or 7 units at Gleneden due to the higher credit values at the new resort. The total credits stay the same but the number of units is reduced.

The other thought is that since Otter Crest was one of the first WorldMark resorts and had low credit values, were there any protests when new resorts came in at higher values? A 14 to 100 percent increase in credit requirements is not a minor adjustment, it's a big jump. These days the higher credit values on some of the newer resorts are a hot topic for some owners. Was that the case back in the 1990's? Was there talk against moving from an 8,000 credit 2 Br Red week model to a 10,000 credit Red week? Or did those owners recognize the value of a new resort and were willing to accept the higher credit values? Any long time owners out there who can provide some insight on this subject? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts.

Are the winter blahs getting to you? Do you need to get away for a while? From now through the end of May there are many WorldMark resorts that are available as Inventory Specials. No credits required and only 5 cents per credit including housekeeping.

Want to play in the snow? How about Estes Park? It's not a ski area but it's a pretty sure bet that you will find snow on the ground in Rocky Mountain National Park. Want it a little warmer? How about Las Vegas? Two of the three resorts there are on Inventory Special through the end of May.

Those are two of the 31 resorts that are currently available as Inventory Specials. There are west coast resorts in California, Oregon, and Washington on the list so you should be able to find something in your area wherever you live. You will find the complete list on the Inventory Specials page of the WorldMark web site. You can book inventory specials up to 60 days in advance of check in. Beat the blahs, take advantage of those specials.

You probably have already noticed that the Bonus Time rate and the housekeeping fees have increased in 2010. The annual maintenance dues on your WorldMark account are also going to see another increase this year. That increase won't take affect until June. Here's the item in the February Destinations that mentions the increase.

"The board approved the 2010 operating budget which includes: a 2.5% increase to annual maintenance dues effective June 1, 2010, a 2.5% increase to housekeeping fees effective January 1, 2010 and a 4.17% increase to bonus time fees effective January 1, 2010 resulting in bonus time being calculated at $.05/credit."

So what will a 2.5% increase mean to you? The following table lists the old and new dues for some common account sizes based on a 2.5% increase. The figures shown are your basic WorldMark dues and do not include any additional amount for the optional TravelShare program. If you are a TravelShare member you will have to add your TravelShare dues to the amounts shown.

2010 WorldMark Maintenance Dues - Annual

Credits	2009 Dues	2010 Dues	Increase
5,000	$354.82	$363.69	$8.87
6,000	$462.68	$474.25	$11.57
7,000	$462.68	$474.25	$11.57
8,000	$570.54	$584.80	$14.26
9,000	$570.54	$584.80	$14.26
10,000	$570.54	$584.80	$14.26
11,000	$652.31	$668.62	$16.31
12,000	$652.31	$668.62	$16.31
15,000	$786.26	$805.92	$19.66
20,000	$1,001.98	$1,027.03	$25.05
25,000	$1,217.70	$1,248.14	$30.44
30,000	$1,433.42	$1,469.26	$35.84
50,000	$2,296.30	$2,353.71	$57.41

Are WorldMark dues unreasonable? I'd say no. I think you will find that if you compare WorldMark to other timeshares the WorldMark dues are consistently lower. For the price, WorldMark is a bargain.

Here's an item from the Notes from the WorldMark Board section of the February, 2010 Destinations Magazine.

"The board discussed the desire to increase the number of board directors. Proposed language to appear on the ballot will be discussed at the March board meeting."

An increase in the board size has appeared on the ballot several times in the past few years. WorldMark has over 70 resorts with over 4,400 total units and an annual budget approaching a quarter of a billion dollars. It's makes sense to have more than five board members to oversee an operation that large. Implementing the change requires a bylaw change which is why it needs to be on the ballot.

The "we hate Wyndham" crowd will probably rail against this change, perhaps based on nothing more than their sometimes stated attitude of "if they're for it, we're against it". Hopefully the majority of owners will see the merit of an increase in the board size and it will pass, it is something that is long overdue.

As long as we are talking about bylaw changes, another change that is long overdue is to eliminate the cumulative voting provision that is in the bylaws. You get one vote for each open position on the Board of Directors. If three directors are being elected you get three votes. Cumulative voting lets you cast all of those votes for a single candidate rather than one vote for each of three different candidates.

The problems with cumulative voting far outweigh any theoretical benefits. Cumulative voting makes it easy for disruptive, fringe, and single-issue candidates to get on the board and makes it difficult to remove a bad director. It's a concept that allows a candidate to claim much more support than they actually have by pointing towards the highly skewed number of votes they receive due to people casting all of their available votes for a single candidate rather than spreading their votes equally among the number of open board positions. Cumulative voting is a concept that needs to go.

Here's some additional information to go along with the rentals information I posted last week. It seems the local governments have noticed all of the private rentals that are taking place and want their tax money that those rentals should generate. Quoting from an article in the February 12, 2010 Denver Post:

"Under-the-radar renters are a growing problem for Colorado's resort communities. As ski towns wrestle with withering tax revenue and skyrocketing numbers of people hawking their homes on the Web, the push to find and tax private rentals has become a priority.

They are essentially hotels, and they need to be paying taxes like hotels," said Telluride's town manager, Frank Bell."

The article was talking about people who own homes or condos in the ski area towns, not timeshares, but with a ski season timeshare rental going for $1,200 or more per week you can bet they will be taking notice of those too. Colorado charges 12.4% tax on hotel rooms. 12.4% on a $1,200 timeshare rental is$ 148.80. A month's worth of those rentals would be generate $600 for the state and local governments.

The local governments already have people looking at advertisements for vacation rentals of homes. It's pretty easy to envision them extending that to include rentals of timeshare units. This quote from the newspaper article illustrates the effectiveness of their actions.

"Right now, most towns struggle to keep abreast of private rentals in their area. Telluride is watching about 400 private rental homes. Late last year, Steamboat Springs reached 450 private renters; today, all but about 30 have begun paying taxes. Breckenridge recently counted as many as 600 and found about 100 were not licensed or paying taxes."

So if you decide you want to make a few extra bucks by renting out a WorldMark timeshare unit be aware that the state or local governments might be watching. In addition to being liable for any damage to the unit that your renters might cause, you could also be facing a tax bill on your rental income. You can read the entire newspaper article by clicking on this link.

Inventory Specials Now Available for Online Booking!
Are you a fan of Inventory Specials? Do you prefer to book your WorldMark reservations online? If so, we are excited to share with you that Inventory Specials are now available for online reservations! Inventory Specials offer a way for you to take advantage of last minute inventory at a great price! Click here for a full list of resorts that are currently available for Inventory Specials. This list changes often so be sure to check back frequently to find terrific deals. Sign into your WorldMark account online and make your reservation today!

That's a quote from the WorldMark web site. I checked it out, it works. I logged into my account and checked availability at Las Vegas for March and April. Las Vegas is on Inventory Special for those two months, mid week only. You can book Inventory Specials for any length stay, up to 60 days in advance of check in. I picked a 5 day stay in April with Sunday check in and clicked on the Book It button. Even though the booking screen displayed the message "You can only use Vacation Credits for this reservation" it gave me the option to book with Vacation Credits; to book as an Inventory Special at a rate of 5 cents per credit; or to book with Fax Time at 8 cents per credit.

The online system used to prevent you from making a Bonus Time reservation if you had an Inventory Special reservation booked. I didn't check to see if that was still true nor did I check to see if you can make multiple Inventory Special reservations. Checking either of those would have required completing an Inventory Special reservation and I didn't want to do that.

This is a change many owners have been requesting for some time and is a welcome addition to the online booking capability. Next they need to add the capability to book grouped reservations using the online system. I know, I know, some people are never satisfied!

The opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics are tomorrow in Vancouver, Canada. WorldMark has three resorts in the vicinity of the Olympics and at least two others that are reasonably close. Special booking restrictions were placed on those resorts during the Olympics time period. Here's a comment I posted about the Olympics over a year ago.

"But even with the special booking restrictions I wonder how many of those units will be used by owners and how many will show up on the rental market. Seems there are always some owners who are out to make a profit at the expense of other owners."

Based on the advertisements I have seen, quite a few of those units were picked up by owners intent on renting them out. Even at this late date there are still a number of them being listed for rent. It is possible that some of those listings are for units that have already been rented. Some of them are probably going to sit empty though because the would be profit makers overestimated the demand for units at the price they are offering.

I don't know what others think, but in some ways I am glad to see that. I DON'T LIKE RENTALS of WorldMark units where the only intent is to make money. Typically those rentals suck off prime units that other owners would be sure to book for their own use if they were available. It's not just for the Olympics, you will see prime summer weeks at locations such as Depoe Bay on the rental market too. I'm not alone in my dislike for rentals, I hear from other owners who feel the same.

There shouldn't be an outright ban on rentals, that could end up backfiring. Owners need to be able to do things such as book units for a family or friends gathering with the cost shared among all attending. A rental ban could have the undesired side effect of prohibiting that type of thing.

For now there is nothing that can be done about it, the right to rent is in the governing documents. But if enough owners start to notice and complain about the rentals things could change. There are ways to make it more palatable to all the owners. At least to all except maybe those who are out to do nothing more than make a buck without regard for their fellow owners.

The Vacation Stimulus Plan has been extended again and currently applies to reservations made through February 28, 2010. In case you aren't aware of the plan or don't remember the details, the plan lets you make a reservation for cash, rather than using your credits. In that respect it is like Bonus Time or Inventory Specials. But the general booking rules apply just the same as if you were booking with credits. You can make a Vacation Stimulus Plan reservation up to 13 months in advance. Here's a repeat of the plan rules from the description on the WorldMark web site. Click on this link for a full description.

Normal booking and cancellation guidelines apply with the exception of the following:

• Limited to a maximum of 4 reservations during the duration of the plan
• 7 night maximum per stay
• Reservations may be grouped into multiple resorts as long as the grouping does not exceed the 7 night maximum"

The footnote to the plan description says, "Vacation Stimulus Plan reservations will be booked with FAX Credits that were assigned to the developer for use in WorldMark by WorldMark Owners who used their credits to travel out of network or to purchase an offered developer product." That means that it is basically a relaxation of the FAX credit rules, allowing you to make multiple reservations in Red season at the normal FAX credit rate. The cost is 8 cents per credit required for the reservation and includes housekeeping. That is the same rate that has been in effect for FAX credits for as long as I can remember.

A little clarification seems to be required though. Does the maximum of 4 reservations for the duration of the plan include last years' reservations? Or did the counter reset when the original plan expired at the end of last August? Does it reset each time the plan expires with a new count for each extension? Also, if you make a FAX credit reservation for White or Blue season do you use regular FAX credits rather than falling under the rules of the Vacation Stimulus Plan? There are no restrictions on White or Blue season FAX credit bookings, it would seem silly to have them restricted by the Stimulus plan rules. If you are contemplating a number of Vacation Stimulus Plan reservations these are things you need to know.

It's a good plan, it gives WorldMark owners options beyond using their credits. But what's with these continuing short term extensions? The plan was initially set to expire on August 31, 2009. Then it was extended to December 31, 2009. Then it was extended to January 31, 2010, and now is has been extended to February 28, 2010. Can we expect an extension next month too? Why keep extending it a month at a time? How about extending it through the end of the year? How about making it a permanent deal? That way when you are planning future vacations you know what your options are. That makes planning easier.

Here's an update on the Book Online and Win Sweepstakes I mentioned in my last post. The description of the sweepstakes in the electronic Destinations says: "Book online and stay at any WorldMark Resort between January 25th, 2010 and December 31, 2010 for your chance to win!" Hmmm, I booked online last fall for a trip we are going to take this year. Is that reservation eligible? Or does the reservation need to be made after January 25th?

Looking at the official rules it says: "Eligible entries include any resort reservation made using the worldmarktheclub.com website where arrival occurs between January 25th, 2010 and December 31, 2010." That sounds like only the arrival date needs to be within the stated time period, the reservation could have been made earlier. Sounds like I'm in the sweepstakes.

Just to be sure, I called the Vacation Planning Center and asked them the question. They said yes, the arrival date is the determining factor for eligibility. The reservation I made last fall for arrival this year will put me in the sweepstakes.

I can always use extra credits, it would be nice to win the monthly prize of 10,000 one time use credits. The annual prize would be even nicer. 30,000 credits, plane fare to Australia, and $1,000 in spending money via a prepaid Visa card. I normally make our reservations online anyway, except for those cases where the online system can't handle special situations such as grouped reservations. The sweepstakes is just a little more incentive to use online booking.

The first issue of the new electronic format of the Worldmark Destinations Magazine is available online. That blue text is a clickable link that will take you to it. Let's see what is in this new "interactive and dynamic format" that was announced last month. Animation, video movies with sound, travelogues, background music? Those could all be interactive and dynamic content.

First Item: Your 2010 Destinations Calendar. A description and calendar for the coming years issues that shows which issues will be electronic and which will be printed. Nothing interactive or dynamic there, it looks about the same as it would on a printed page.

Second Item: Meet the Newest Members of Your Board of Directors. A discussion of the election results. Pretty much a replay of the information that has been on the WorldMark web site for some time now. Nothing interactive or dynamic there, it looks about the same as it would on a printed page.

Third Item: WorldMark's 20th Anniversary Celebration Continues. A rehash of the WorldMark Celebration information that has been on the WorldMark web site for some time. Nothing interactive or dynamic there, it looks about the same as it would on a printed page.

Do you see a trend yet? Let's check a few more items.

Fourth Item: Book Online and Win Sweepstakes. A description of the continuation of the book online incentive program. There is some new info describing a new grand prize and an increase in the monthly prize to 10,000 one-time-use credits. But there is nothing interactive or dynamic there, it looks about the same as it would on a printed page.

The centerline items aren't showing the new interactive and dynamic format, maybe the resort feature articles will.

First Resort Feature Article: Awesome Australia! A description of the Flynns Beach and Cairns resorts in Australia and the Rotorua resort in New Zealand. The article does include some clickable links to surrounding attractions, maybe that's the interactive and dynamic part. But that is information that should be available at all times in the web site resort gallery, not just in a monthly article where it will get shuffled into the background.

Second Resort Feature Article: Coffs Harbour Treetops. A description of the Coffs Harbour resort in Australia. This one doesn't even have links to surrounding attractions. Once again nothing interactive or dynamic there, it looks about the same as it would on a printed page.

That pretty much covers the content. There is some advertising included in the electronic edition but I didn't look at that. I doubt if most owners will either. If the advertisers wise up to that they will request very low advertising rates.

If you get the idea that I am not impressed with this first issue of the "new and improved" electronic Destinations, you are right. Not impressed is a gross understatement, I am very disappointed. If all it is going to be is an electronic version of printed material the least they could do is make it PDF format so it would be downloadable and could be retained locally. PDF handles links as well as web format does so nothing would be lost.

It's the first issue, maybe things will get better as time progresses. It's supposed to be an exciting new interactive and dynamic format, printed material doesn't meet that criteria. Nor does providing a few links. Instead of an electronic form of a written description of a resort, how about a narrated video tour through the resort? Instead of a little printed blurb about owners education, how about an owners education video showing a demo of online booking? Come on folks, let's not use new technology for old concepts. Let's really make it interactive and dynamic. Let's make it jump out at the owners and get their attention.