07/17/2025
Haven't read The Vista's article on Wyndham yet? Here you go!
By LANDRY WALTHER
FOR THE VISTA
After 56 wonderful years of being one of Club Wyndham’s “Legacy” resorts, Fairfield Glade will officially be closing its doors on all timeshare operations by January 1, 2026.
Stunning, to say the least! This news is not only very surprising, but it poses far more questions than it does answers, such as:
What does this mean for the economy of Fairfield Glade and Crossville alike?
How will this affect the upcoming Glade election?
Will there be another buyer?
If so, how soon?
Will a prospective buyer be another timeshare company or will a developer sweep it up?
Many small businesses could very well be affected. And if they are, where does it stop?
Fairfield Resorts opened up Fairfield Glade way back in 1969 before selling it to Wyndham in 1978, making it the second longest-standing Wyndham Timeshare resort under the Club Wyndham umbrella — only next to Fairfield Bay in Arkansas (1966).
The resort has attracted myriads of tourists over the decades, thanks to our area’s extraordinary golf courses, lakes, scenery, hiking, and so forth. The resort has also significantly boosted the reputation and economy of both The Glade and Crossville.
Simply put, it has played a major part in turning Fairfield Glade into what it is today.
Despite its nearly 500 units, Fairfield Glade is also one of Club Wyndham’s smallest resorts. At the same time, the number of units Wyndham holds exceeds 903,000 — making it by far the largest vacation timeshare company in the world.
The 500 or less here in The Glade is a drop in the bucket, unfortunately. But it is OUR bucket.
But those are just numbers. What impacts more is knowing that so many people have lost,or will be losing their jobs — many of whom I know personally here. Imagine they’re receiving the shocking news! My heart truly goes out to them!
But Wyndham FFG employees will not be the only ones that may be without a job. Astonishingly, The Vista has learned that Club Wyndham is closing down 13 other locations of theirs. As of today, Sunday, July 13, a report of those possible locations include:
Bentley Brook - Hancock, MA
Patriot’s Place - Williamsburg, VA
Fairfield Bay, AR
Fairfield Mountain - Lake Lure, NC
Star Island - Orlando, FL
Orlando International - Orlando, FL
Edisto - Edisto Island, SC
Shawnee - East Stroudsburg, PA
Skyline - Atlantic City, NJ
Unknown Rhode Island Resort 1
Unknown Rhode Island Resort 2
Unknown California Resort 1
Unknown California Resort 2.
But back to us.
This has the potential to be devastating to the Fairfield Glade economy, especially during the “busy months.” However, in order to remedy this, the Fairfield Glade Board as well as the HOA needs to do everything in their power to make sure they have another buyer. Easier said than done, of course.
Everyone knows that bad real estate is something this community cannot afford to have, as values will plummet. It is, however, somewhat reassuring that Wyndham has announced that their leaders will be working with the HOA board to develop a strategy on this.
One source close to The Vista even indicated that there is already a potential buyer. Of course, nothing is anywhere close to being official.
But then the question still would remain: Would a potential buyer be another timeshare company such as Bluegreen, etc.? Or would a developer come in to pick up the pieces and put the time share condos up for sale as housing units?
Another source of The Vista and a former Fairfield Glade Wyndham manager, touches on that point. “If a developer was smart, and because we have a shortage of available low-cost homes, they could sell them as housing units,” they said “(Even) a B side,1 bedroom could be listed at $150,000.”
For the Glade residents that do not want to see the area built up and would rather it fulfill one of its original purposes of being strictly a housing community, some would be quite pleased with that outcome. For them, this very well may become a blessing in disguise.
Yet another source and former FFG Wyndham employee tends to think otherwise. They think some of these dealings seem a bit “shady.” They speculate, “I imagine another company will come in and manage the resort side at least.” Whether or not that company gets the sales operation side of things figured out is definitely a burning topic.
Some may protest that we should not speculate; that we should sit idly by and wait to see what happens. Speculation on something of this magnitude is perfectly natural though. It’s good for all of us to perhaps prepare for any possible outcome, is it not?
Regardless of where you stand on the matter or what you would like to be done, this news is now something all of us will have to deal with in the upcoming weeks — perhaps months — until the “final answer” is provided.
Until then, I have no doubt that our Board of Directors will be on top of things and will provide us with as many updates as they can and as soon as they can. And YOUR community newspaper, The Vista, will be right there following accordingly.
Editor's Note: Let us know your thoughts on this huge announcement perhaps in a Letter To The Editor for next week’s issue, July 22. Please send any commentary to [email protected] and tell us what you think!
