Lack of DC points inventory vs other methods

[rpk113]

Poking around some inventory and noticed something weird. Last week of August in Hilton Head..

- 4 weeks available in II for exchange
- 5 resorts available via Marriott.com for purchase (at least 5 nights) via owners discount (2vc)
- 0 resorts available via DC website.

Anyone have a clue?

 

[Fasttr]

I just did a quick flexible search using 1 night as the interval and there are nights in that last week of August available at pretty much all HHI resorts, albeit they are spotty nights. Looked like perhaps 3-4 nights together at any one resort was the largest span available using DC points.

One interesting thing I did notice is that although I only have 305 remaining 2017 points and no 2018 points available to be borrowed, the system did show me availability for nights which cost more than 305 points. When I attempted to click on that individual night, the system then told me I did not have enough points to reserve that night....but at least it was showing me the night was available. That is indeed an improvement vs how the system worked in the past.

 

[rpk113]

I just did a quick flexible search using 1 night as the interval and there are nights in that last week of August available at pretty much all HHI resorts, albeit they are spotty nights. Looked like perhaps 3-4 nights together at any one resort was the largest span available using DC points.

One interesting thing I did notice is that although I only have 305 remaining 2017 points and no 2018 points available to be borrowed, the system did show me availability for nights which cost more than 305 points. When I attempted to click on that individual night, the system then told me I did not have enough points to reserve that night....but at least it was showing me the night was available. That is indeed an improvement vs how the system worked in the past.

I saw those random one day checkins as well.. but don't you think that Marriott paid inventory should almost mimic DC points inventory?

 

[JIMinNC]

I saw those random one day checkins as well.. but don't you think that Marriott paid inventory should almost mimic DC points inventory?

No. They are two totally separate groups of inventory. The MVC inventory gets onto marriott.com in a variety of ways (folks who exchange their ownership for Rewards Points is one way). But the inventory listed for cash rental on marriott.com is only for cash sale. It cannot be accessed with DC Points.

Inventory gets made available to the DC Points system by either 1) intervals owned by the DC Trust, 2) whenever an enrolled owner elects their week for DC Points, 3) through a few other mechanisms, like where Marriott can swap weeks with II and move them into the DC Points exchange system.

Some resorts seem to have better availability through the Points system than through II or the traditional weeks system, while others are just the reverse - availability is not as good in points. It likely has to do with how many intervals are owned by the DC Trust and the percentage of enrolled weeks owners who happen to elect their weeks for points at that resort. The lists being maintained in this thread: http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/recorded-trust-documents.124949/ will give you an idea of the relative Trust ownership at the different resorts. There is no way to know what the rate of point election is for any given resort.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Poking around some inventory and noticed something weird. Last week of August in Hilton Head..

- 4 weeks available in II for exchange
- 5 resorts available via Marriott.com for purchase (at least 5 nights) via owners discount (2vc)
- 0 resorts available via DC website.

Anyone have a clue?

At Hilton Head, with resorts sold out under the weeks system, almost all inventory begins as unbooked owner weeks, until an owner does something.

When owners reserve their weeks for occupancy, the inventory is, of course, not available to anyone else.

When owners deposit their weeks into II, that inventory becomes available to other II members at the top of the II food chain, as weeks.

When owners opt for Marriott Rewards points, corresponding inventory becomes available through Marriott.com, as nights.

When owners opt for DC points, corresponding inventory becomes available through the Marriott Vacation Club exchange program (Destinations Club or DC), as nights.

In other words, there are multiple, separate buckets of inventory.

There are also other ways that inventory becomes available through DC, including inventory owned by the MVC Trust and inventory that the MVC exchange program has pulled from II in exchange for comparable deposits into II.

 

[SueDonJ]

... There are also other ways that inventory becomes available through DC, including inventory owned by the MVC Trust and inventory that the MVC exchange program has pulled from II in exchange for comparable deposits into II.

This is where it may pay to put in a Waiting List request for DC availability, if applicable, because we don't know when Marriott reps are able to pull inventory from II. I've been on calls where they told me they were checking II in real time and on calls where they suggested the Waiting List request was necessary. I still haven't been able to figure out the exact process.

 

[rpk113]

Gotta tell ya, this was a good education in points bucket allocations.. Does any of that inventory consolidate at the under 59 day mark?

 

[Werner Weiss]

Gotta tell ya, this was a good education in points bucket allocations.. Does any of that inventory consolidate at the under 59 day mark?

The inventory buckets don't "consolidate" in the true sense, but the entities that control the inventory try hard to find people to use that inventory before it loses all value.

Keep in mind that we're dealing with multiple companies that have the inventory.

• Marriott.com and the Marriott Rewards program are owned by Marriott International.
• Marriott Vacation Club is owned by a separate company, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, spun off from Marriott International several years ago.
• Interval International is owned by Interval Leisure Group.

II members whose weeks might not have had sufficient trading power further in advance might be able to successfully get a "Flexchange" at 59 days or less before check-in. II members might also also be able to use an Accommodation Certificate, even if a destination is not on the grid (some but not all Accommodation Certificates allow this).

II and Marriott Vacation Club can monetize distressed inventory through II Getaways and Marriott.com.

Marriott Vacation Club point program owners at higher levels can get "Last-Minute Reservations Point Discounts."

Marriott Vacation Club's exchange program can arrange to move inventory around to satisfy requests, as defined in the legal document.

However, none of this means that there will suddenly be more DC points inventory for a given property at 59 days. The two common sources of inventory at 59 days or less would be (1) inventory that was not booked because supply exceeded demand, and (2) cancellations.

 

[icydog]

It's a

The inventory buckets don't "consolidate" in the true sense, but the entities that control the inventory try hard to find people to use that inventory before it loses all value.

Keep in mind that we're dealing with multiple companies that have the inventory.

• Marriott.com and the Marriott Rewards program are owned by Marriott International.
• Marriott Vacation Club is owned by a separate company, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, spun off from Marriott International several years ago.
• Interval International is owned by Interval Leisure Group.

II members whose weeks might not have had sufficient trading power further in advance might be able to successfully get a "Flexchange" at 59 days or less before check-in. II members might also also be able to use an Accommodation Certificate, even if a destination is not on the grid (some but not all Accommodation Certificates allow this).

II and Marriott Vacation Club can monetize distressed inventory through II Getaways and Marriott.com.

Marriott Vacation Club point program owners at higher levels can get "Last-Minute Reservations Point Discounts."

Marriott Vacation Club's exchange program can arrange to move inventory around to satisfy requests, as defined in the legal document.

However, none of this means that there will suddenly be more DC points inventory for a given property at 59 days. The two common sources of inventory at 59 days or less would be (1) inventory that was not booked because supply exceeded demand, and (2) cancellations.

Well this is a good synopsis, however since Marriott has no mechanism to run waitlists like Disney Vacation Club does, it really doesn't help the OP. It becomes his job to check inventory everyday just to get a place to stay using his D.C.points. It just doesn't work for me.

 

[JIMinNC]

Well this is a good synopsis, however since Marriott has no mechanism to run waitlists like Disney Vacation Club does, it really doesn't help the OP. It becomes his job to check inventory everyday just to get a place to stay using his D.C.points. It just doesn't work for me.

I was under the impression that you can waitlist for unavailable DC Points reservations. I've never done it, but I think I've read on TUG that the call center can waitlist you for points reservations.

 

[cp73]

The inventory buckets don't "consolidate" in the true sense, but the entities that control the inventory try hard to find people to use that inventory before it loses all value.Keep in mind that we're dealing with multiple companies that have the inventory.

It sure looks to me that there is the opportunity for lots of wasted inventory under the current system. All small bits and pieces, too bad there is no consolidator. I have to think that when people use DC points rather than full weeks it allows for a lot of waste, or used days.

 

[SueDonJ]

I was under the impression that you can waitlist for unavailable DC Points reservations. I've never done it, but I think I've read on TUG that the call center can waitlist you for points reservations.

Yes, there is a DVC-like Waitlist in place for DC Points requests that doesn't require manual searches by members. Stays of 7+ days can be waitlisted 12 months in advance of check-in, -7 days 10 months. From the TUG Points FAQ:

... Waitlist Requests - If a desired interval is not available Members may place Waitlist Request(s) providing that the Member has the required DC Points in his/her account for the interval(s) and providing that the applicable Reservation Window(s) are in effect.

In my experience the Waitlist has come through even for what I thought was a VERY long shot, but admittedly I've only tried using it three times and each time I had a back-up plan in place. To me waitlisting is as nerve-wracking as waiting for II exchanges to come through - and I don't like doing either.

 

[bazzap]

I agree.
I too have experienced Waitlisting with requests coming through, but also found the process as nerve wracking as with Interval exchange requests.
It would be helpful to have an understanding of the level of wastage and MVC's process and effectiveness in dealing with this, although I doubt we will really ever learn too much about this.
I have been moving more towards electing my enrolled Weeks for Points usage, but if ever Points booking Waitlists increase significantly (in numbers and/or duration) this would discourage me and steer me back to greater Interval usage, especially with my lock off weeks as these do still work for me by planning long enough in advance.

 

[icydog]

Yes, there is a DVC-like Waitlist in place for DC Points requests that doesn't require manual searches by members. Stays of 7+ days can be waitlisted 12 months in advance of check-in, -7 days 10 months. From the TUG Points FAQ:


In my experience the Waitlist has come through even for what I thought was a VERY long shot, but admittedly I've only tried using it three times and each time I had a back-up plan in place. To me waitlisting is as nerve-wracking as waiting for II exchanges to come through - and I don't like doing either.

Ok I've learned something today. Thanks a lot!

 

[SueDonJ]

Ok I've learned something today. Thanks a lot!

Also worth mentioning is that they limit how many Waitlist requests they'll accept for any specific inventory. On the surface that doesn't sound like a good thing but it actually helps to prevent completely unrealistic expectations. So while it may be aggravating to be told that the Waitlist is already full (for example, for a Hilton Head July 4th stay at SurfWatch,) you know immediately when you make the request that you should probably change your plans AND it keeps your Points from being tied up with the Waitlist. I don't think we know how many WL requests they'll accept before closing it?