Many MilesTalkers know that Vacsasa vacation rentals are the redemption of choice for those who collect Wyndham Rewards points.
While it requires a phone call to book (or multiple depending on the skill of the agent that picks up). you’ve been able to book vacation properties at a cost of 15,000 points per bedroom, with a max cost of $350 BEFORE taxes and fees for an approximate all-in cost of $500 per room. Multiple bedrooms added 15,000 points and $350 + tax/fees per bedroom to the allowable cost.
A Frequent Miler Facebook Group member Sam K reports that it has changed overnight with no notice. Now, the $350 a night has to include all taxes and fees! That means in many cases the pre-tax/fees figure needs to be south of $200, a very difficult task to find.
I don’t think this has been “fully confirmed” (meaning by an executive) but the comments in the FM thread sure make it seem a done deal.
Thoughts?
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I think I can confirm this and it is actually a little worse. I went to book and I had approximately 10 listings at <$500 per night one bedroom (including taxes & fees) come back as "not accepting points". I then tried dropping down to below $350 for another 10 and only one was accepted. I think Vacasa has possibly significantly reduced the payout to the owners and gave them an option as to whether to accept points or not. I had a previous property booked that was cancelled (owner quit Vacasa) for the same time period and it was valued at slightly over $400 per night with taxes and fees. I had no problem booking this or my previous Vacasa stay that was under $500 per night.
Still a decent redemption but the inventory appears very limited now.
It gets worse. As mentioned above, I downgraded to a less expensive Vacasa listing for late April/early May. That listing had a ton of availability that now is almost all gone (it somehow got really popular overnight). This tells me the inventory that is “accepting points” is minimal and what is left is not enough to meet demand. I think the Vacasa party is over.