WorldMark^® Words

I don't use the online vacation planning search function very often. I normally use the 4 month booking calendar when I am checking availability. Today I decided to check for Bonus Time during the upcoming Labor Day weekend and logged in to use the search function for that purpose.

There has been a change in the search results display that I was not aware of. Now when there is availability for multiple resorts a tab for each of those resorts is displayed. For example, when I asked for a search for Bonus Time in Oregon there was availability in 5 different resorts. There was a tab for Eagle Crest, Gleneden Beach, Running Y, Schooner Landing, and Seaside, all of which had Bonus Time available in the next two weeks. When you click on the tab for a resort you bring up a page with a separate table display for each different unit size at the resort that has availability.

It's a nice improvement over the original display results display. On that one you had to page through all of the results to go from resort to resort. Now you just have to click on the tab for each resort you are interested in. I guess I should check things more often so I don't miss upgrades like that.

In case anyone is interested, there was Bonus Time before and after the Labor Day weekend in Washington, Oregon, and California. I didn't check any other areas. I did not find any Bonus Time available in those states for the Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights of Labor Day weekend. That didn't surprise me, the time to book those nights is long past. Any nights that were available when the 90 day booking window opened were probably quickly snapped up using credits.

Everyone probably knows about Bonus Time, booked up to 14 days in advance at 5 cents per credit. It applies to any resort that has space available within the 14 day booking window. A maximum of 4 days can be booked on Bonus Time.

But do you always remember the other options for booking with cash rather than with your WorldMark credits? Here's a quick owner ed review (or overview).

Inventory Specials are available at selected resorts which are announced online and in the Destinations Magazine. Inventory Specials are typically at resorts and time periods that are not expected to have heavy booking. In the summer you will find very few if any Inventory Specials. Off season there will be multiple resorts available. Inventory Specials can be booked for any duration and can be booked up to 60 days in advance of check in. They are booked at the same rate as Bonus Time.

The Vacation Stimulus Plan which has been revived again for the third or fourth time, allows booking any resort for cash at 8 cents per credit. Reservations can be made up to 13 months before check in. The Vacation Stimulus plan is currently scheduled to end on November 30.

The Monday Madness program allows booking of select resorts at 6 cents per credit. The resorts offered change every Monday and are announced on the WorldMark web site. Typically there are two or three resorts available for Monday Madness booking. Those reservations can be booked up to 11 months in advance.

There are some additional restrictions on both the Vacation Stimulus Plan and on the Monday Madness program. You will find the rules details on the WorldMark web site.

If none of the above cash deals will work for you there is also FAX time. Currently booked at 8 cents per credit, FAX time is subject only to the normal booking restrictions with one exception. You can only use FAX time once every 5 years in Red Season at the 8 cents rate. Additional Red Season reservations are available at a higher rate.

The Vacation Stimulus Plan, Monday Madness, and FAX time are all developer programs and may end at any time. There is no guarantee of how long they will exist.

The candidate answers to six questions concerning WorldMark have been posted on the WorldMark web site. The questions cover a range of topics, from how the candidates use their credits to why they want to serve as a director. You can read the questions and the candidates answers on the WorldMark 2010 Election Center web site. It's your club, it's your responsibility to learn about the candidates you vote for to be directors.

It's been a slow time around here for WorldMark activities. Yard and garden work has been a priority, leaving little time for vacation thoughts. Here are a couple of pictures from the backyard garden to tide things over. The swallowtail butterfly was busy visiting the flowers when I took these pictures.



At one point a wasp flew up behind the butterfly. When he got real close the butterfly turned around to face him. I didn't capture the face to face meeting, but here's a picture of the wasp approaching.



I'm getting caught up in the garden, there should be some WorldMark news to report soon. In the meantime, enjoy the butterfly.

If you are going to be at a WorldMark resort that is near a national park this weekend, you can enter the park without paying the normal entrance fee. That can save you anywhere from $3 to $25. A few of the national parks that are near WorldMark resorts are Zion and Bryce Canyon in Utah, Yosemite in California, and of course Rocky Mountain National Park here in Colorado.

If you miss this weekend there are a couple of more free days coming up. According to the National Park Service web site, upcoming free days are September 15 (Public Lands Day) and November 11 (Veterans Day). The downside to the free days is that the parks will probably be more crowded than usual. Don't let that stop you, enjoy those fee free days.

The Vacation Stimulus Plan is back. That is the plan that lets you make any reservation using cash rather than your credits. It is not restricted to specific resorts and normal booking and cancellation guidelines apply. That means you can make Vacation Stimulus Plan reservations up to 13 months in advance of your check in date. At 8 cents per credit it is more expensive than Bonus Time, Inventory Specials, or Monday Madness specials, but it is another way to book extra units when you are out of credits. The price includes housekeeping, there are no additional housekeeping fees for Vacation Stimulus Plan reservations.

It looks like the new version of the plan has the same restrictions as the previous version. You can book a maximum of 4 reservations under the Vacation Stimulus Plan and there is a 7 night maximum stay per reservation. As before, the rules don't state whether the 4 reservations maximum is a cumulative total applying to all versions of the plan that have been offered or if it starts over for this new reincarnation of the plan. This version of the plan started August 1, 2010 and runs through November 30, 2010. You can find the listed details of the plan on the WorldMark web site.

A couple of months ago I announced a new site that I am involved with, WorldMark Timeshare Information. At that time the site was just getting started. It figured it was time to provide an update about that site.

The site is being continuously updated, primarily with new information in the owner education section. That is the initial emphasis. Resort information is in place for all of the WorldMark resorts although the material needs more detail. There is also a photo gallery with pictures of many of the resorts. Progress is a little slow, summer and other activities take up a lot of time.

The number of people registering on the site has been about what was expected. It always takes time to get a new site established. More people are finding the site every week. Perhaps soon some of those who have registered will add new material, so far that has not happened. Time will tell who gets to be the first.

Take a look and if you feel so inclined, register and participate. Comments and suggestions are encouraged, there is a comment form on the site which can be used for that purpose. I've already listed the link at the start of this post, but in case you missed it, it is WorldMark Timeshare Information.

Do you want to know more about booking WorldMark reservations and about the TravelShare program? There is a new Quick Start Guide available on the WorldMark web site. It contains information about WorldMark credit and Bonus Time reservations which are available to all owners. It also has information about TravelShare Fun Time and RCI exchanges for TravelShare members. There is a list of contacts for additional information or answers to questions you may have. I didn't see anything earth shattering in the guide, but it could be a handy reference at times.

The link to the Quick Start Guide is on the WorldMark web site home page. You may have to scroll down a little to find it. Click on the link and it will open the guide as a PDF document. You can view the document online or save it to your computer so you always have it handy.

The nominees for the WorldMark Board of Directors election have been announced. There are 14 candidates for 2 director positions. You can find the candidate announcement and the candidate statements on the WorldMark web site. The election link is currently the 4th item down on the home page but that could change as new material is added. In answer to a question some have asked, and as you can confirm by looking at the announcement, I am not a candidate in the election.

This year an official election web site is being set up for comments concerning the election and the candidates. The details and a form which can be used to submit your comments are on the WorldMark web site. You can also submit comments via mail. Either way your comments need to be received at the WorldMark offices by August 6.

The election period ends at the annual owners meeting on October 21, 2010. I'm sure we will be hearing more about the election as we get closer to that date. I normally don't post much about the election and will probably follow that tradition again this year. I prefer to emphasize the many good things about WorldMark and much of the election chatter you hear stresses the negative. I could always change my mind though, you never know.

The WorldMark Pinetop resort is nestled in the woods in the White Mountains of Arizona. We have visited there quite a few times, the most recently being last month when we stopped for 3 days on our way home from Las Vegas. At an altitude of 7100 feet, Pinetop is a lot cooler than Las Vegas. It was 104 the day we left Las Vegas and Phoenix hit 112. The highest temperature in Pinetop during the three days we were there was 84.

You can be as active as you desire at Pinetop. There are many hiking trails in the area and we saw a number of people at the resort who had brought their mountain bikes with them. If you are into antiques it seems like there is an antique shop on every other corner. And if you want casino activities you can get that too, at the Hon-Dah Resort and Casino just a few miles up the road past the WorldMark resort.

Or if you just want to kick back and relax, you can enjoy the views of the woods from your deck as seen in the picture below. It wouldn't surprise me to see a deer come walking by, although all we saw were some birds and very busy squirrels.