WorldMark^® Words

The rumor mill has been very quiet recently but there is one rumor floating around that might get the attention of some owners. You know how you hear about how hard it is to book some of the popular resorts? It’s all a matter of supply and demand. There is a limited supply of those high demand reservations. In a free market environment that would drive up the price, meaning that it would cost more of your WorldMark credits to book them. With the credit allocation fixed by the governing documents it is not possible to increase the credit cost for those bookings so the crunch is unresolved. Not necessarily. Based on what I hear from an unconfirmed but sometimes reliable source, there is a new plan in works to ease some of the congestion.

Credit allocations are fixed by the governing documents, but fees are not. In fact, the club bylaws give the Board of Directors the right to “promulgate rules and regulations regarding conduct of Club business . . . including, but not limited to . . . (C) reservations; (D) number of occupants and guests and fees; . . .”. I added the emphasis on the fees part.

The rumor floating around is that a new plan is being developed based on those rights that will attempt to make reservations more readily available at some of the most popular resorts. The gist of the plan is that in addition to the credits required for a unit reservation, a booking fee will be added when the reservation is made. The fee will be on the order of $400 for a 1 week, 2 bedroom, red season reservation. It is anticipated that this fee will discourage some owners from booking those popular resorts, making them available for other owners who otherwise would not be able to book them. Depoe Bay is said to be a prime candidate for a test run of the plan.

What happens to the fee? It will returned to owners as an incentive for making reservations at what are considered some of the less popular resorts. For example, if you book a week at Galena, Grand Lake, or Lake of the Ozarks with your credits you may receive a cash rebate for helping increase the occupancy at those underutilized resorts.

Will this plan work? Will it actually come to pass and be implemented? It seems farfetched at the moment, but stranger things have happened. Only time will tell.

Here's an announcement from the WorldMark web site. The Vacation Stimulus Plan has been extended for reservations made through January 31, 2010. That's the plan that lets you book a reservation using FAX time, at 8 cents per credit. That's more pricey than Bonus Time or Inventory Specials, but without the restrictions of those programs. FAX time reservations are subject only to the normal booking rules for WorldMark reservations and can be made up to 13 months in advance of your check in date. The details are on the WorldMark web site.

The "maximum of 4 reservations" for the life of the Vacation Stimulus Plan rule, which is the only significant restriction on the program, appears to still be in effect. It would be nice if they did away with that limitation. It would be even nicer if they did away with the "once every 5 years in Red season" rule for FAX time. Then they would not need a special Vacation Stimulus Plan. Any reservation, any time, could be booked using FAX time without triggering any special rules.

Here's an interesting note that is currently on the WorldMark web site. It concerns the upcoming October issue of the Destinations magazine.

"Your October magazine has something exceptional in store! This special edition of Destinations will be arriving a little later than usual, delivered to your mailbox by mid-October! Be on the lookout for this exciting issue!"

So what do you suppose that is about? What is the special edition? Here's my educated guess. First, consider the following list:

• June, 1989. Bill Peare is hired by Jeld-Wen to start a new company -
  • Trendwest Resorts, Inc.
• October, 1989. Trendwest records its first sale in Kirkland, Washington.
• October, 1999. 10 Year Anniversary Edition of Destinations -
  • Includes a WorldMark history summary.
• January, 2005. 15th Anniversary Issue of Destinations -
  • Includes an updated WorldMark history summary.
• October, 2009. To be announced.

Does the list give you any clues? I'd be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that the October, 2009 issue of Destinations will feature the 20 year anniversary of WorldMark, including another updated history summary. Will there be announcements of new programs and opportunities for WorldMark owners? That's another possibility. New resorts? That's doubtful with current construction on hold, but is still a slight possibility. Other announcements?

We'll have to wait a few more weeks to know for sure, but when you receive your copy of the 20 Year Anniversary Edition of Destinations, just remember, you heard it here first. And if it's something completely different? Well, even though it rarely happens, it wouldn't be the first time that I've been wrong. :-)

Ever wonder what the rich and famous do on vacation? Here are a few ideas from an article in this month's Smart Money magazine. Sorry, I can't post a link to the full article, it was in the print edition.

How about first class room service? At the Trump International Hotels you can have a chef come to your room and prepare your custom meal for you.

Fed up with the airlines and the hassle at the airports? How about chartering your own private jet? One way fares for a domestic trip start at $3,950.

Check out the private Destination clubs. Similar idea to a timeshare but way more upscale. Bring checkbook, they will take care of the rest.

Do away with the tour group and book your own private guide. No bus, no cranky or obnoxious tour members to contend with.

The cost for these luxuries? Except for the charter jet no prices were given. They are in the category of "If you have to ask you can't afford it". Let's see, where’s my Powerball ticket? What were those winning numbers?

Seems like for some WorldMark owners playing the blame game is the thing to do. Here's a theme song for those who want to play. To the tune of Ghostbusters - -

If you can't reserve
Any WorldMark room
Who you gonna blame?
Wyndham!

If your fees are high
Costs gone through the roof
Who you gonna blame?
Wyndham!

I ain't 'fraid o' no corp
I ain't 'fraid o' no corp

If you want the coast
But got the desert
Who you gonna blame?
Wyndham!

As I travel I am always on the lookout for potential new locations for WorldMark resorts. Not that I have any control of the selection of new resorts but I can make suggestions. On our recent trip I came across this property which would make an ideal new WorldMark resort.



First and foremost is the common real estate adage: location, location, location. Located in Wisconsin it is near Lake Michigan with all of the associated beachfront activities and is just a few miles from three golf courses. Winter brings snowmobiling opportunities and a host of other wintertime activities. Is it also about a 5 hour drive from Galena, Illinois, so it fits well with the WorldMark drive-to concept.

The building on the right could be refurbished to include a combination of 30 to 40 one and two bedroom units. The other building could contain the check in and exercise area on the first floor and feature one of the very popular huge presidential suites on the upper level. Not visible in the picture is a round structure which could be rebuilt as either a large spa or swimming pool.

This has been a gentle reminder that when we talk about WorldMark, we are talking about vacations and enjoyable times. We shouldn’t get so wrapped up in the nitty gritty details that we forget the fun part. I enjoy WorldMark, I enjoy our WorldMark visits, and I hope everyone else does the same. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

New WorldMark resorts are being announced every day. In August it was Long Beach, Washington; last week it was Red River, New Mexico; today it was Mission Valley, California, just north of downtown San Diego.

From what I hear through the grapevine, WorldMark is looking at expanding eastward in Canada too. I can't wait for the new resort near Banff National Park in Canada. It's not quite a drive-to location from here at nearly 1,200 miles, but with a stop at the new West Yellowstone resort that is under construction it's not too bad. 600 miles to West Yellowstone, and then 640 more and you are at the east entrance to Banff in Alberta, Canada. Banff National Park will be a lovely place to visit, especially while staying in a lovely new WorldMark resort.

According to this mornings Rocky Mountain News, a Denver newspaper, the company that owns the Steamboat Springs ski resort is exploring the possibility of selling it. That is not a resort condo complex they are talking about, it's the ski area itself.

How about that for an all encompassing WorldMark resort? Buy the ski area, build a lot of new units to expand the existing Steamboat Springs resort, and make it all available to WorldMark owners as a package deal. Skiing in the winter, gondola rides with extraordinary views in the summer. You can have Sunday Brunch at the top of the mountain. Cendant has those deep pockets; it should be easy for them to swing this deal.

This just out from WorldMark headquarters. Recognizing that some owners feel slighted by the high price of the new San Diego resort, the WorldMark Board of Directors reported that they have negotiated with Trendwest to issue a rebate to all owners. The rebate is in the form of 3,000 one time use credits that have been added to each owners account, effective immediately. 1900 of the credits may be used in Red season, 700 in White season, and the remaining 400 in Blue season.

Most owners are extremely pleased with this move and are already making plans for how they will use the additional credits. However, there is a small group of owners who are incensed over this latest development. Here are a few typical comments.

"Why only 3,000 credits? And only 1,900 Red season credits? What are we supposed to do with only 1,900? White and Blue season? Who wants to travel then? Cendant owns Trendwest, with the obscene profits they are making on the Midwest resorts they should be giving us 10,000. An independent board would never have allowed this to happen. They would have given us all Red season credits. This is just one more indication of the Board of Directors loyalty to Cendant. Incest, that's what it is."

"I was at a sales meeting last week and they told me this rebate was in the works. They assured me it would be 5,000 unrestricted credits if I upgraded my account. I was lied to."

"Why 3,000 to everyone? Shouldn't an owner of a large account get more credits than someone who only owns 6,000? If this keeps up pretty soon the large account owners will not be able to make any reservations since all the resorts will be booked by the small account holders using their 50% rebate? What was the Board thinking of this time?"

And on and on and on and blah blah blah blah blah . . . .

I just saw a report that there are plans in the works to expand both the Orlando, Florida and Steamboat Springs, Colorado WorldMark resorts. 168 additional units for Orlando and 71 new units for Steamboat Springs.

I'm still waiting for the the new Summit County, Colorado WorldMark resort. Dillon is mentioned most often but don't rule out Breckenridge. The announcement is still rumored to happen before the end of 2006.