So things are really all over the place with promotions not being executed properly and hotels/sites not holding on their of their bargain with sticking to the terms placed in their own T&C.
A few days ago I posted that the 16,000 point Wyndham promotion was back and I was super excited. The first time this promotion ran (the one ending 10/6), it specifically said in the T&C that you must have received the email to earn the promotional points. This was clearly written, and I am actually not sure if folks who did not receive the email have had any luck getting the bonus points. This go-around, there was NOTHING written in the T&C that this was a targeted promotion and that you must have received and sort of notification to be eligible for the promo.
The T&C state:
“* To qualify for the “16,000 bonus Points” promotion (the “Promotion”) and earn 16,000 Wyndham Rewards® points, the member must (i) be an active member (ii) book a stay at any of the 20 participating properties at a qualifying rate between 9/12/12 and 12/31/12 and complete their hotel stays by 1/3/13 (the “Promotion Period”). Members will receive 16,000 Wyndham Rewards points for up to three stays within the Promotion Period at any of the 20 properties regardless of the number of rooms booked. 16,000 bonus points is redeemable for one free night stay at a Tier 4 hotel. Member stays with check-out dates after 1/3/13 will not be counted towards the Promotion. Members should allow six to eight weeks after completion of stay for the enrollment points and stay bonus points to be credited to their account.”
So as you can see there is no mention that you must have been targeted. In my mind that means that this is open to everyone and anyone who choices to participate and stays at one of the 20 participating hotels during the designated time frame.
Now, I’ve been keeping a close eye on this FlyerTalk thread which circulated the promotion first. People have been commenting with their experiences and what they’ve been told from Wyndham representatives. Things were all across the board with some representatives stating this was open to everyone, while others reinforcing the targeted piece. As of this afternoon, they actually updated the site to say: “Only members who received the direct mail invitation are eligible for this offer.”
If you have an upcoming reservation that can be cancelled, I’d probably just cancel it unless you are willing to fight for the points, which might be more time consuming than it is worth. On the phone, Wyndham explained to me that the promotion went out via direct mail so the only way to get that link was if you are targeted. That really isn’t true as a simple Google search brings up the promotional page which is is hosted by Wyndham, not a third-party side. The supervisor was anything but helpful, but essentially said too bad and put me in touch with the Hawthorn customer service (since that was the brand I made the reservation with). My first stay is for tonight, but it is past the cancellation period. The Hawthorn representative was able to get the stay cancelled for me. While I personally would prefer the 16,000 points, I personally do not want to put in the massive time and effort that I believe it will take to ultimately get the points. I do believe that if you made the reservation prior to the terms changing you might be able to fight for those points, but that is up to you if it is really worth it.
Another failed promotion Wyndham. Definitely not a great way to earn customers at your hotel. You can see other peoples experiences at these other bloggers posts: View from the Wing, Loyalty Traveler, The Points Guy
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Was your reservation refundable or non-refundable? Will they let you cancel even if you have a non-refundable reservation?
@Simon – Mine was past the cancellation policy.
It was obvious to me from my conversation with Brendan who is a supervisor that they were sticking with their guns on targeted only. He was rude and ugly about that fact that flyertalk and the bloggers had posted it and said he could care less if you could find it on a search engine. Nobody had any business going to this website unless you were given it by Wyndham through a mailer and if you did he said “tough luck”. He sure wasn’t happy about my posts on Flyertalk or those of others. Yesterday I talked to a very nice supervisor and she was the one who told me I would get the points. Not only that but she told me anyone who booked through the website would qualify. Then to have her co-worker call me a liar and tell me she never said that was amazing!! What do I have to gain by lying? I already have their committment they will honor it for me?
I sense a lot of entitlement here. If I’m not mistaken, Wyndham Rewards is a free hotel loyalty program. They are allowed to change their T&C whenever and however they choose.
@Alissa – I agree and I don’t fault them for changing their t&c, but what I do fault them is not honoring the original t&c for the folks that booked under those terms.
I think I got the mailer but of course threw it away at one point so I give up n this one. I jut cancelled 3 upcoming legit business reservations and will even less likely to book anything with Wyndham in the future. Great promo plan. My time and grief is worth more.
If it’s anything like the last 16k promo, you need to opt in to receive promotional emails from Wyndham to receive the promo as a separate email. If not, you will receive the promo as part of the monthly account newsletter. Once you had a link from one of these sources you could register. This is how I was able to get it on it: no to separate promo emails so no separate email, yes to monthly newsletters.
If you do not receive either separate promo emails or monthly newsletters, you will not receive the link that they are claiming is targeted.
IMO the T&C are still poorly worded. WR should spell out when a promo requires a link in the promo’s T&C.
Wyndham used to be a great program before it was Wyndham, can’t remember the old name now, but since the change over I have always had to really check my account and make sure points I earned got posted.
I have the agree with dealswelike on this one in terms of the time and agony you will spend fighting with CSR if you are in any kind of “grey” area. I spent quite a bit of time just trying to get my 100% legally earned points to post.
Thread here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wyndham-rewards/1259204-fall-2011-stay-2-offers-na-eu-variants.html
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