Timeshare Companies

Wyndham's new "Ovation" program offers exit solutions for their owners... interested?

Feb 08, 2016

My wife &I need to sell our ownership, we are from Québec Canada.We own 154.000 points every ood year but we pay fees every mont and every year.The property location is 440 Olohana St. Honolulu,HI,968150000.We are (very)interseted. CHARLES PRATT

haydnj2 wrote:
i AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE EXIT PROGRAM BEING OFFERED PLEASE SEND DETAILS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE


Charles P.
Feb 08, 2016

markl18 wrote:
3. Where does the "risk of being ripped off by scammers" come into play? I don't see any such risk.

There are many scam artists targeting timeshare owners. Many of them claim they can get owners out of their contracts if you pay them an upfront fee. They might do what they say but many times they just take the money and hide. At least with Wyndham's Ovation program, owners are dealing directly with Wyndham rather than a questionable third party.


Lance C.
Feb 08, 2016

Yes. I sent Wyndham a request to be in the Ovation program. We are very dissatisfied with Wyndham. We are also considering other options like TimeShare Exit Team and Timeshare Discharge if Ovation does not work. Any opinions on best way to exit Wyndham Vacation points?


Alma T.
Feb 08, 2016

almat10 wrote:
I sent Wyndham a request to be in the Ovation program. ... We are also considering other options like TimeShare Exit Team and Timeshare Discharge if Ovation does not work.

Do not -- repeat, DO NOT -- pay ANY outfit to "exit" your timeshare points. Just send Wyndham a quit claim deed and walk away. The worries expressed in other messages about harming your credit score just tend to prevent your taking action. FIND OUT whether abandoning your timeshare points would, in fact, "hurt" your credit score. Then, if the answer is "Yes," find out how much it would "hurt" by determining whether or not such a "hurt" would really restrict your personal acquisition and use of credit if/when credit is needed. Don't let vague unfocused fear restrict taking action in your own behalf.


Stu M.
Feb 09, 2016

almat10 wrote:
Yes. I sent Wyndham a request to be in the Ovation program. We are very dissatisfied with Wyndham. We are also considering other options like TimeShare Exit Team and Timeshare Discharge if Ovation does not work. Any opinions on best way to exit Wyndham Vacation points?

Well if Wyndham does not accept your unit back, what do you think Timeshare Exit Team (or any other so called "cancellation" company) is going to do for you? It's just going to talk to Wyndham but perhaps with a little more conviction. You can try doing that yourself.

If that does not work, try advertising that you want to give your points package away. Even if you offer to pay the transfer costs (about $200) and the next year's maintenance fee for the new owner, you will still pay a lot less than using some "cancellation" company or law firm.


Lance C.
Feb 09, 2016

Good glad to see they finally got caught. 3% to charity was such a con. I'm referring to a very small non profit. I have owners who give them points to use as well as rent for a discount. I've dealt with them a lot and very credible organization. They have zero paid staff and all done volunteer. They aren't in the timeshare business just sent families suffering from cancer on trips to the resorts. Those are the facts to whom I'm referring to.

donp196 wrote:
NEVER pay anyone money to take your timeshare. The IRS is cracking down on the phony charity scams. They demand a large upfront fee then they put your timeshare on Ebay for $ 1.00 . There is no charity just a scam to get your upfront money. Timesharing Today just printed an article that says the Government has filed charges against Donate for a Cause for income tax fraud. The people who took a deduction off their taxes for the so called donations are going to have to pay penalties and interest when the IRS gets them. Don't fall for this SCAM !! . If anyone gives them money they will not only lose their hard earned money but they will be subject to civil and criminal penalties down the road. If you want a lot of sleepless nights then by all means go along with the scam.


Angela R.
Feb 09, 2016

People who use law firms are in litigation with Wyndham due to misrepresentation (wroth some proof) and are usually refunded what's been paid into their ownership as well as having the contact cancelled. Problem is is finding a good one at fair rate. It depends on your point level add top the best exit strategy.

I've heard good things about help for timeshare owners bared out of Florida, add they offer a money back guarantee. They were taken to federal court by Wyndham and lost, which is promising.

First thing I would encourage owners to do is go through contacts worth fine tooth comb. Often times (not always) their are missing elements which makes the contact void. Fyi


Angela R.
Feb 09, 2016

Go to tugs forums site and post your timeshare in bargain section. There you can at least communicate without fees.


Angela R.
Feb 09, 2016

The first time someone asks for one penny run the other way. NEVER pay anyone money upfront especially one that promises a money back guarantee. Try to get your money back from someone that uses a phony website and a mail drop box for an address. Their money back guarantee is as good as their scam.


Don P.
Feb 10, 2016

lancec13

almat10 wrote:
Well if Wyndham does not accept your unit back ... try advertising that you want to give your points package away. Even if you offer to pay the transfer costs (about $200) and the next year's maintenance fee for the new owner, you will still pay a lot less than using some "cancellation" company or law firm.

If you offer to pay transfer costs, be aware that Wyndham's "resort transfer fee" is $295 -- or so I was told by a timeshare closing firm. Deed registration and closing would be on top of that.


Stu M.
Feb 11, 2016

After fighting with Wyndham for more than 10 years about how to end our timeshare, we are so happy Wyndham has created Ovation! I called Ovation today and the process sounds pretty painless. It will be a no $$ exchange to give back our timeshare. They will mail out paperwork in 7-10 days. Then we mail back the paperwork. Takes another 4 weeks to process. We will owe maintenance fees until the inventory (timeshare) return is completed. We qualify for this timeshare return because 1. Our resort qualifies, 2. our mortgage is paid off, 3. we have been an owner for more than 1 year and 4. our maintenance fees are up to date. Ovation sounds like the best option for us. We have owned the timeshare for more than 10 years and have broke even on the cost of the timeshare and MFs. If we had just gone on vacation we would have paid the same amount without the timeshare. Now we don't want to continue the MFs which are over $2,000 per year and we don't want to mess around trying to sell it for pennies and transfer fees, etc. We just want to move on and vacation wherever we want, whenever we want. Ovation is actually the perfect way to end our timeshare dilemma. Cheapest way to end the MF bleeding and we are doing our Happy Dance!!!


Alma T.
Feb 19, 2016

We recently paid our Wyndham account in full last-month after making payments for 8-years. I would assume this is why Wyndham is e-mailing us about the Ovation Program. It also states that they will allow "free" use of Wydham resorts for three-years with no additional fees and no maintenance fees either. What is upsetting is that a $70K investment will be forfeited in exchange of no further maintenance-fees and obligations. I'll have to think about this one. We hardly use Wydham but once a year so its been a waste of money. The maintenance-fees are about $1500/yearly. I guess Wyndham is fed-up with the third-party folks benefiting off of their customers and want to earn revenue.


Dana B.
Feb 20, 2016

I would like to sell our timeshares and get out of the business. We own 3 weeks, anytime at Waikiki Beachwalk. Maintenance fees are always rising, time to exit.


Tim J.
Mar 08, 2016

In Oct. 2015, Wyndham took back 731,000 points deeded at National Harbor and gave me three years usage in the Limited Edition program with no maintenance fees. Over the past 15 years I've stayed at 23 of the nearly 100 resorts on the Limited Edition list, some several times.

I plan to use my three years usage staying at resorts I enjoy and may even try out some I haven't yet stayed at.

Granted, my points purchased since 2000 cost tens of thousands of dollars, so I've lost money. Every other year, I transferred most of my points to Wyndham Rewards and used them for flights. However, maintenance fees increase every year and I don't want to pass them on to my heirs. Wyndham Rewards and renting out nights through Wyndham are not options in Limited Edition, however guest certificates are available.

The transaction moved more slowly than anticipated, however once completed, maintenance fees were not charged for the remaining three months of 2015. (No points available for those months either and I lost some that were banked at RCI.)

FYI: I also own week 52 EOY at Beach Woods (formerly Barrier Island Station Kitty Hawk), week 8 at Mountainside Villas at Massanutten, and EOY at Occidental Vacation Club.

Bobbie Prees, 540-972-4225


Roberta J.
Mar 10, 2016

Ovation promptly sent us the paperwork to redeed the timeshare points back to Wyndham. In approximately 4 weeks they will have recorded the deed at no cost whatsoever to us and we will be MF FREE! Can't wait to spend our MF money anyway we want, to take vacations exactly where we want to go, when we have our vacation time, and not to pass on this financial nightmare to our children. And we will never, ever have to endure another high pressured "90 minute" sales presentation. Thank God!


Alma T.
Mar 10, 2016

I received an email on Feb 19 introducing me to Ovation - the exit program for Wyndham Timeshare owners. After 3 emails (spanning Feb 24 to Mar 8) requesting information on the Ovation program, I got tired of waiting and called. On Mar 10 I spoke to Minerva who explained, in a nutshell, you give up your timeshare for nothing in return.

My maintenance fees are not too much less than the cost of a non-timeshare accomodation, so I am considering cancelling my ownership. My question is, how is Ovation different from just stopping payments on maintenance fees?


Jimmy C.
Mar 10, 2016

This is the proper legal way to transfer the ownership out of your name.

You can't just simply "cancel my ownership" which could likely have legal/financial implications.

We were successful in using the Ovation program to deed back our Fairfield Glade timeshare.

Took some time but no issues. No money changed hands, we just gave it up to be free of significant maintenance fee increases.


Brian B.
Mar 10, 2016

In 2011 we bought an additional 105K points and signed a contract that Wyndham would pay us 20% of what we had paid over the past 30 years for our deeds.

Do I need to get a lawyer on this or are they going to honor that contract?


Ron S.
Mar 10, 2016

If the contract says they will purchase it back , I think they will. The problem is the wording of the Pathways by Club Wyndham program documents that you signed. You should review yours to see if your wording is similar or if you have something more definative and a lot less wishy washy than the one I saw. There was also a space for contract number and membership number. Are all your contracts listed on that document or just the new one?

This is from a contract someone posted: 4. In the event the Owner desires to sell an eligible contract to WVR [Wyndham Vacation Resorts] under this Program, owner may contact WVR at the number below to determine if the purchased contract is currently eligible for this Program. 8. Owner understands that WVR has no obligation to purchase owners eligible contract(s) in the future. 9. WVR reserves the right to Modify or Terminate the Program at any time in the future, with or without notice.

I think you may have a small chance to get back 20% of what you paid for the 105,000 contract. I think you have almost no chance of getting back 20% of your purchases over the past 30 years.

I don't think Pathways still exists. You can certainly see if they will honor the buy back but they left all kinds of outs in that document about Pathway Program that became part of your contract. You may want to contact an attorney to review the document and get the attorney's opinion before deciding what to do next.


Tracey S.

Last edited by tracey75 on Mar 10, 2016 08:50 PM

Mar 20, 2016

Yes, I contacted them today and told about the Ovation program. I wi. C


William L.

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