Wyndham simplifies rewards program with a wizard's help. Will others follow suit?

Wyndham has rolled out a redesigned rewards program in which you receive a free night for the same number of points across all brands. Wyndham Rewards is free; anyone can join and start accruing points. The program applies to Wyndham Hotels and Resorts as well as brands such as Howard Johnson, Super 8, Days Inn and Travelodge. Under the new rules, members can redeem 15,000 points for a free night at more than 7,500 hotels worldwide. No blackout dates apply. At some hotels, members may use 3,000 points plus cash to pay for their room.
'Game of Thrones' fans can now tour Dorne (a.k.a. Spain)

How you accrue points has changed too. Members earn 10 points for every dollar spent or at least 1,000 points per stay, whichever is larger. So whether you bed down at a Super 8 or a Wyndham Grand, you receive the same number of points. Not everyone may like the changes. Under Wyndham's old rewards program, members could score free rooms at lower-tier properties starting at 5,500 points. It's worth noting that Wyndham is spending $100 million to promote the new program and hired the slightly scary Kristofer Hivju from "Game of Thrones" as the Wyndham Rewards Wyzard to get the word out, a company statement says. You can expect to see (or hear) Hivju featured in TV, radio and online ads and on the company's website.

Info: Wyndham Rewards

Timeshare Resale Market Keep Industry Afloat Last month our Timeshare Industry Update noted that despite a down turning economy, the timeshare industry remains strong and has experienced only growth in the last decade. A new study by the American Resort Development Association (and prepared by Ernst and Young LLP) showed that, indeed, sales of new timeshares increased by 6 percent in 2007, totaling $10.6 billion domestically. Although this is not as wide a gain as has been seen in previous years, it still leaves us with a mystery: how can timeshares keep selling?

"The continued growth of the timeshare industry in today's economy is a direct indication of strong consumer satisfaction and demand," says Howard Nusbaum, ARDA president and CEO. "Vacation ownership, with its flexibility and spacious accommodations, continues to be a preferred travel choice for American families."

But the companies who buy the timeshares from dissatisfied and resell them for a fraction of their original price tell a different story. Despite the the fact that hard numbers on timeshare resales are impossible to calculate, it is estimated that this sub-market represents a steadily growing chunk of the larger timeshare behemoth alive in America today. These companies do a great deal of business over the internet as well, which is equally difficult to track with accuracy. In 2005, only 7.2 percent of buyers purchased a previously-owned timeshare, according to the ARDA. This may seem miniscule, but this proportion totals in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and resales are estimated to have increased exponentially since then.

As the owner of one resale company put it, "[We had roughly] a 22 percent increase over last year at this time. In 2007, we presented $274 million dollars in offers to timeshare owners for the purchase or rental of their timeshares, which tells you that people not only enjoy timeshares, but they especially enjoy buying them at the resale price."