WorldMark, The Club Review

This WorldMark, The Club (WorldMark) review has been created by a long time WorldMark owner, past employee of WorldMark by Wyndham (formally known as Trendwest Resorts, Inc.) and now the broker for TimeShare Angels, Inc., a timeshare resale company.  The objective of this review is to give the reader additional information to make a more informed decision when purchasing a WorldMark, The Club ownership.

Before I begin this review, I want to state upfront that I am a long time WorldMark owner who has been very happy with my ownership.  Is it perfect?  No.  But what is?  For the money that I spent on the purchase and ongoing maintenance fees, I have enjoyed the product and WorldMark’s customer service.  It has been and continues to be a great value and even a better value if purchased at the right price.

WorldMark History
 
Back in the late 80’s, Bill Peare, Jeff Sites and Mike Moyer got together to come up with a new way to sell timeshare.  They studied various timeshare products that were available at that time and talked to people who purchased a timeshare and people that did not purchase a timeshare to see what they liked and why they did not buy.  Then the men began to create a product where the owners would have the flexibility they desired and a security that no matter what happened to the developer, their timeshare ownership would be protected.  This was the birth of what would become WorldMark, The Club (originally it was called Club Esprit but since a particular brand of clothing already had that name, the club needed to change its name).
 
Funded by Jeld-Wen a privately held window and door manufacturer in Oregon, Trendwest Resorts, Inc. would distinguish itself from all other timeshare companies by selling their new creation WorldMark.   Trendwest began business in 1989 from their first sales office located in Kirkland WA. At the heart of the new company that took shape in 1989 was a point-based system. Instead of purchasing a traditional one-week block of time at a particular location, customers purchased what Trendwest called 'Vacation Credits.' After purchasing a minimum number of credits, owners could use the points to reserve vacation accommodations at various locations and different time periods. The number of credits withdrawn from an owner's account was determined by the location, size, length of stay, season of year, and whether the stay included the weekend.  To help the owners use their credits judiciously, a credit value book is given at the point of purchase.
For security of the ownership, WorldMark would be a legally and financially separate entity from Trendwest Resorts, free from any debt and guaranteed to always have sufficient resources to operate the properties through its own source of income from the annual dues paid by WorldMark members. WorldMark, a California nonprofit benefit corporation, is operated similarly to a large homeowner's association. Once Trendwest had developed a vacation property, it transferred the property to WorldMark, The Club free and clear of any monetary encumbrances in exchange for the exclusive right to sell the vacation credits created by the units transferred.
 

Over the next few years, the fledgling company, Trendwest Resorts, Inc. would increase its sales presence in the western United States along with its revenues.  And as Trendwest increased its sales of WorldMark, so also did the number of resort locations and overall number of WorldMark units increase.  After three full years of operation, Trendwest loomed as a rising force in the timeshare industry. Annual sales swelled to $45.5 million.  Between 1993 and 1998, the company averaged 30 percent annual revenue growth, as the number of units under its control nearly quadruple.  The company eclipsed $100 million in sales in 1996, posting $116.9 million, with $12.6 million in net income.  By the end of 1996, the total number of WorldMark resorts units was746 in 19 resort locations.  The company's point-based system had proven to be a market winner, serving as a model that other timeshare companies were emulating
Peare and his senior executives began preparing  for their company's public debut. The IPO, completed in August 1997, raised $51.8 million, giving the company the resources it needed to aggressively expand during the late 1990s. Jeld-Wen retained its majority interest in the company, controlling roughly 80 percent of Trendwest's stock.

With 52,000 members by the end of 1997, Trendwest could count itself among the industry's elite  In terms of vacation ownership sales, Trendwest ranked as the fifth largest company in its industry, occupying the same tier as Disney, Marriott, Hilton, and Signature Resorts. The company attributed much of its success to its strategy of situating its sales offices in metropolitan areas, rather than relying exclusively on resort-based marketing efforts
In 2002, Cendant was looking at expanding its timeshare portfolio and purchased Trendwest Resorts for nearly a billion dollars.  Cendant which also owned Fairfield Resorts and RCI would increase its presence in the timeshare market to 15% of the worldwide market.

In 2005, Cendant decides to break up the conglomerate company into 4 pure play corporations.  Since Trendwest Resorts is part of the hospitality section of Cendant is put with its sister company Fairfield and other vacation companies like RCI and hotel chains.  This new company is called Wyndham Worldwide.  The actual divestment takes place in July of 2006.  Within Wyndham Worldwide are different divisions.  One division of Wyndham Worldwide is called Wyndham Vacation Ownership which is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.  The companies that make up this division, are; Fairfield, Trendwest Resorts and Trendwest South Pacific.  However, it is at this juncture that these entities legal names are changed to; Wyndham Vacation Resorts for Fairfield, Wyndham Resort Development Corporation dba WorldMark by Wyndham for Trendwest Resorts and Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia-Pacific for Trendwest South Pacific. 
I hope that I have done justice with this condensed history of WorldMark.  I am sure that after 20 years of history, an entire book could be written about the men and women who worked night and day creating and building the company.  And I know that just from my own experience of 13 years with the company there are many fascinating stories that could be shared.  Who knows, maybe I will write a book someday.

WorldMark Products
 
 WorldMark by Wyndham basically has two products that it markets and sells.  The first one and largest is WorldMark, The Club, a Non-Profit California Corporation.  This is a points based timeshare ownership with approximately 69 resort locations located in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Fiji (as of May 2009).

The second product is called the Residence Club which is a Fractional timeshare ownership.  This type of timeshare ownership is sold in blocks of time which consists of multiple weeks.  Usually the block of time is 1/13 of a year’s time or 4 weeks.  For this review, I will not be discussing the Residence Club. 

WorldMark Resorts
 
 When Trendwest Resorts introduced WorldMark, The Club, they started a new wave of flexibility with timeshare ownership.  Instead of selling the traditional deeded week, the sold a pure points based program.  These points in the WorldMark system are called credits. 

 The minimum purchase when someone becomes an owner with WorldMark is 5,000 credits.  The current retail cost of these credits is $2.00 (as of June 1, 2009), and the sky is the limit on the number of credits that can be purchased.  The average starting ownership is 7,000 credits and then as owners become more comfortable with the ownership they will add additional credits to their ownership.  The credits are owned in perpetuity and can then be sold, willed and transferred like real property. 

 An anniversary date is created when an owner first purchases.  It is the 1st day of the month the owner makes the initial purchase.  Then every year on the owner’s anniversary, the account is replenished with new credits.  Credits that are not used will roll over to the next year and an owner can even borrow credits from one year in advance.

 WorldMark owners receive a resort credit value guide which shows exactly how many credits it takes to stay at a resort.  The matrix takes into account the size of unit, the number of days, season and resort location.  The types of units (hotel, studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, Penthouse and Presidential) that are available vary from resort to resort.

 WorldMark has come a long way with their reservation systems.  In the beginning, there was one person using a calendar to schedule owner’s reservations.  Today, there are dozens of reservation agents and the WorldMark website where you can check availability and make reservations without even having to talk to someone.

 The resorts are comfortable and very livable.  The units have TV’s in the living room and bedrooms and there is an audio system in the living room.  At almost all resorts, each unit has its own washer and dryer.  And the part my wife loves the most is, the kitchen is well stocked right down to the spices.

 WorldMark also has a program called Bonus Time.  This will allow an owner to stay at a WorldMark resort without using their credits.  Instead, they rent the credits by paying $0.048 (as of 6/1/09) times then number of credits that it would normally take to stay the night.  With the Bonus Time program an owner can stay 1-4 nights and book it up to 14 days in advance.  Of course everything is based on availability.

 Another reservation option is to do an exchange with either Resort Condominiums International (RCI) or Interval International (II).  WorldMark is a dual affiliate resort, meaning if you can have a membership with both exchange companies.  Currently, WorldMark is affiliated with RCI to sign up new owners because RCI is a sister company, but they were affiliated with II prior to being bought out by Cendant.

Conclusion and Recommendation:
Timeshare ownership if used and enjoyed is a great product.  But if not used it can be like having a 3rd car parked in a 2 car driveway.  It takes up space and you are constantly reminded that you should have gotten rid of it years ago. 

 I have met and talked to thousands of WorldMark owners who love their ownership and resorts.  In fact about 95 out of 100 owners are very satisfied with their ownership.  This rating gives WorldMark the highest in the industry.  The resorts are not glitzy but they are nice, clean, comfortable and the condominium units are well stocked with appropriate amenities and the customer service is excellent.  However, if you are looking to stay at a place that is ostentatious, grandiose, flamboyant and caters to multi - millionaires then WorldMark will probably not be your ownership of choice.  Overall, when compared to other timeshares, WorldMark offers a great value. 

 I am very happy that I finally relented and told my salesperson 13 years ago that I would like to purchase a WorldMark ownership.  This purchase has allowed my family and me to travel throughout the world in accommodations that are far superior to staying in a hotel room.  And because of my experience with WorldMark, I actually changed occupations and came to work for Trendwest Resorts starting out in a sales position and later taking on additional challenges in the management arena.

If you are interested in purchasing a WorldMark ownership or wanting to add additional credits to your existing ownership, you should seriously consider purchasing credits on the resale market.  Typically, a person can purchase additional credits for their ownership at 50% off the developer’s sale price.  And I would like to take this opportunity to refer you to TimeShare Angels; a company that is the largest reseller of WorldMark credits.

Disclaimer:
The following is a list of business names that were named in this review and are Trademarks of their respective companies. 

Cendant
Interval International (II)
Jeld-Wen
Resorts Condominiums International (RCI)
Trendwest Resorts
Trendwest South Pacific
WorldMark by Wyndham
WorldMark, The Club
Wyndham Resort Development Corporation
Wyndham Vacation Ownership
Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia-Pacific
Wyndham WorldWide

TimeShare Angels, Inc. is an independent business entity from the above referenced companies and does not have any ownership relationship with them.  TimeShare Angels, Inc. is in the business of offering timeshare products on the secondary and/or resale market.  Our only relationship is through the purchases and sales of individual WorldMark ownerships and working with their transfers department.

All information listed above is an opinion of the author and should not be relied on when making a purchase decision.  It is recommended that anyone who purchases a WorldMark ownership should do their own research prior to making a purchase.