Thinking about Marriott Purchase

[Joe33426]

Over the last couple of years we stayed at a few Marriott resorts and really enjoyed level of service and amenities as compared to our other timeshares. It's not that our other timeshares are bad, it's the little things that are nice. For example, we've found the check in experience to be totally different than say Wyndham. There seem to be more resort activities and nicer staff at the Marriott resorts than our other resorts.

So, I've been debating about buying and I've been reading the stickies, but still have a couple of questions I'm hoping the Marriott experts here could help guide me in the right direction.

What I'm trying to accomplish is a couple of weeks on Hilton Head in the summer on the beach. I see that I can buy DC points on the resale market, but that that in addition to the cost of the points, I also have to pay the Marriott junk fees. I could get over all of that, but where I'm having the stumbling block is that the DC points look expensive in MFs.

For example, if I have this correct I would need 4,500 DC points for a summer week oceanside view at Grande Ocean and in MFs that would be about $2,500. I see rentals for about $3,000 in the summer, some a little less, for the same thing. But when I look at a platinum floating week at MGO and the maintenance fees are $1,500 this makes more sense to me. SO, if purchased one or two platinum floating weeks and those weeks happen to pass ROFR, are there other costs I would have to pay Marriott to "enroll" the weeks or something? I can never enroll these weeks in the DC program because I missed the deadline right?

I guess the drawback is if I buy at Grande Ocean I have to go there or rent same and don't have access to other resorts, except through II right? Is MGO a good trader in the event that I'm unable to use or rent the interval?

 

[dioxide45]

Unfortunately you can't enroll resale weeks bought after June 2010. So any external resale you buy wouldn't be able to be enrolled in the DC program. There are exceptions, but none of them are cheap. I won't get in to those since DC points probably aren't your ideal vehicle to get what you want. I don't know how much DC availability there is for summer in HHI, but I would expect it to be tight. Your best bet is to buy a week at the resort you want to stay at in Platinum season. That is the only way to really guaranty a summer HHI week.

Your trading options would only be through II, but you won't get the value out of II that your week is worth unless you are wanting to go to Hawaii and other prime resorts in prime time. HHI doesn't have any lock off properties. Of course you are going to have the same issues trying to trade in to those. People who buy those resorts in prime time buy them to use. Those that don't use likely rent them out. There is of course the possibility that you can trade in to them, but you would be better to rent out your summer HHI week and use the cash from that to rent a week from someone else for where you want to go.

A purchase of a prime HHI platinum week won't be cheap, but if you have the cash, buying where and when you want to go is your best option. When you can't use it, rent it out and then go where you want from the rental monies received.

 

[disneymom1]

You have certainly done your homework! Platinum weeks require A LOT OF POINTS!! Lots of points with a maintenance fee of 55 cents per point make the points program very expensive to travel during platinum season. Points are probably a better deal if you travel outside platinum season and/or travel Sun through Thurs, which require relatively far less points per night than Fri and Sat nights. If you plan to go to go to Hilton Head mostly every summer, your best bet is to buy a Platinum resale week. Trading a platinum week at any of the big HHI resorts I would think would be a top trader in II. Many of the HHI owners use their weeks or rent them, so very few make it to II for trading. August is an easier trade in HHI and less expensive rental, as most of the schools in the south start school in August whereas most of the schools in the north start after Labor Day. (I see you are from NY and Florida). Grande Ocean is an awesome resort! If you are traveling with extended family, Surfwatch is the only Marriott on HHI that has 3 bedroom/3 bathroom units. Surfwatch is also beachfront, but the units are set back a bit further from the beach.

 

[ljmiii]

If your goal truly is to get two or more consecutive summer weeks on HHI at a MVCI resort - and plan to do this every year for some time - then buying a pair of external resale weeks is indeed a great way to go. Administrative fees (Marriott, RE agent, title, escrow) should be in the $500-$1000 range though if you buy more than one week from one seller that could go down. And if you have a high demand week at a good resort you should have no problem renting or trading it if you decide not to go one year.

Another, option would be to rent. Easy for one week but harder to string weeks together...and I have no idea how difficult it is to avoid having to move rooms every Saturday. Cheaper in the short term but perhaps more expensive in the long term.

Yet another alternative would be to buy a 'direct resale' bundle package from MVCI that includes both the weeks and a large number of DPs. The weeks would be much more expensive and that's a lot of DPs to buy - oceanfront would be either an additional 10,000 or 10,500 DPs. That's a LOT of money to spend for the additional flexibility of getting your HHI weeks enrolled - particularly if you intend to use them in HHI most years.

 

[Joe33426]

A purchase of a prime HHI platinum week won't be cheap, but if you have the cash, buying where and when you want to go is your best option. When you can't use it, rent it out and then go where you want from the rental monies received.

Thanks for the advice. This is what I'm thinking. I'm pretty much over the exchange game and all the fees associated.

You have certainly done your homework! Platinum weeks require A LOT OF POINTS!! Lots of points with a maintenance fee of 55 cents per point make the points program very expensive to travel during platinum season. Points are probably a better deal if you travel outside platinum season and/or travel Sun through Thurs, which require relatively far less points per night than Fri and Sat nights.

Thanks for confirming that I was thinking about DC points. I really wasn't sure if I was missing something. After your post, I looked at the point charts again and I see what you mean about off season travel and Sun-Thurs stays. Definitely better point values.

If your goal truly is to get two or more consecutive summer weeks on HHI at a MVCI resort - and plan to do this every year for some time - then buying a pair of external resale weeks is indeed a great way to go. Administrative fees (Marriott, RE agent, title, escrow) should be in the $500-$1000 range though if you buy more than one week from one seller that could go down. And if you have a high demand week at a good resort you should have no problem renting or trading it if you decide not to go one year.

Thanks for the info regarding the administrative fees. I just wasn't sure if there was an education fee other other junk fees that added up to more than the $500 - $1,000. That I can handle.

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks for the advice. This is what I'm thinking. I'm pretty much over the exchange game and all the fees associated.



Thanks for confirming that I was thinking about DC points. I really wasn't sure if I was missing something. After your post, I looked at the point charts again and I see what you mean about off season travel and Sun-Thurs stays. Definitely better point values.



Thanks for the info regarding the administrative fees. I just wasn't sure if there was an education fee other other junk fees that added up to more than the $500 - $1,000. That I can handle.

Resale points come with a $95 ROFR fee, $25 transfer fee for every 250 points. Then there is the $2 per point initiation fee ($3000 minimum), then a $300 owner education fee.

 

[taterhed]

So....to 'dumb it down' from D45's excellent post.....

You might need (for example) 5,000 points to make MGO work for you. So.....

5000x$7 = $35,000.00 resale (plus education, ROFR and transfer fees) with an annual MF of .55 x 5000 = $2,750.00 annual MF OUCH!

This assumes current resale point cost needed to pass ROFR of $5 per point (which is close according to reports) plus the effective $2 per point junk fee, or $7 per point total.

Of course, I think a good MGO week runs $15-30 K resale, No?

 

[Joe33426]

So....to 'dumb it down' from D45's excellent post.....

You might need (for example) 5,000 points to make MGO work for you. So.....

5000x$7 = $35,000.00 resale (plus education, ROFR and transfer fees) with an annual MF of .55 x 5000 = $2,750.00 annual MF OUCH!

This assumes current resale point cost needed to pass ROFR of $5 per point (which is close according to reports) plus the effective $2 per point junk fee, or $7 per point total.

Of course, I think a good MGO week runs $15-30 K resale, No?

Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking.... DC points seem so expensive to me, not only for the initial purchase, education fees, junk fees, and then ongoing MFs for peak season reservations. I wasn't sure if I'm missing something. I think one or more legacy week(s) is probably my best bet.

 

[icydog]

Taken from the Marriott Resale site
The point value are the number of Marriott Reward Points (not Destination Club points) you will get if you choose to deposit your points into MR

2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Ocean Front Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $23,000
Or
2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Ocean Side Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $17,000
Or
2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Garden View Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $16,700

 

[Joe33426]

Taken from the Marriott Resale site
The point value are the number of Marriott Reward Points (not Destination Club points) you will get if you choose to deposit your points into MR

2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Ocean Front Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $23,000
Or
2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Ocean Side Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $17,000
Or
2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Garden View Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $16,700

I'm hoping that independent resale prices might be slightly lower than resales directly from Marriott, right?

Are there any differences in use rights if I buy from Marriott Resales versus a third party through a broker?

 

[JIMinNC]

Taken from the Marriott Resale site
The point value are the number of Marriott Reward Points (not Destination Club points) you will get if you choose to deposit your points into MR

2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Ocean Front Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $23,000
Or
2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Ocean Side Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $17,000
Or
2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Garden View Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $16,700

These are actually Marriott prices for Barony Beach Club. The OP was interested in Grande Ocean. Those prices from Marriott Resales are:

2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Ocean Front Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $31,900
Or
2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom Villa Ocean Side Platinum Every Year 125,000 points Every Usage Year $26,300

 

[icydog]

I'm hoping that independent resale prices might be slightly lower than resales directly from Marriott, right?

Are there any differences in use rights if I buy from Marriott Resales versus a third party through a broker?

The only difference is you can get Marriott Reward Points for your week. The ratio of reward points to maintenance fees is usually a good one for Hilton Head properties.

As far as I know you can enroll your week into the D.C. Program for as little as 1000 points but I could be wrong on this.

And Since your buying from Marriott you can also buy the Destination points that equate to your week for entry into the Elite program. For instance if it takes 5,000 DCP then you'd need to buy 5000 points at $14 per point. But that's a lot of money.

 

[JIMinNC]

I'm hoping that independent resale prices might be slightly lower than resales directly from Marriott, right?

Are there any differences in use rights if I buy from Marriott Resales versus a third party through a broker?

Based on prices I've seen from brokers, Platinum Grande Ocean can be bought for between $13,000 and $23,000 on the third-party resale market - with the lower end of that range being Ocean Side and the higher end Ocean Front. There are two differences in usage rights with units bought from Marriott Resales:

1.) Weeks bought from Marriott Resales can be exchanged for Marriott Rewards Points
2.) Weeks bought from Marriott Resales are eligible for DC Points enrollment, if you buy a matching amount of DC Points from Marriott.

I believe those are the only differences. Exchanging for Rewards Points is generally not considered to be a good $$$ value as a use of your week. While I am a big fan of our DC Points for their flexibility, given that you said you will almost always want to do one or two week stays at a home resort in Hilton Head, the flexibility of points will probably not be of much value to you. Points shine in making reservations for trips not tied to a seven-day timeshare week - 1 night, 3 nights, 5 nights, 10 nights, 12 nights, etc. It's also nice not to have to go through the whole II trading game whenever you want to go somewhere else. But the high cost of points is probably not worth it for someone who will usually be using a home resort for week-long stays. So buying from a third-party broker and saving the money should meet your needs.

 

[JIMinNC]

As far as I know you can enroll your week into the D.C. Program for as little as 1000 points but I could be wrong on this.

And Since your buying from Marriott you can also buy the Destination points that equate to your week for entry into the Elite program. For instance if it takes 5,000 DCP then you'd need to buy 5000 points at $14 per point. But that's a lot of money.

No. You cannot get enrollment for only 1000 points. To enroll a week purchased from Marriott Resales requires that you buy a bundle of points equal to what that week is worth. So for Grande Ocean Platinum, that would be 4200 points for Ocean Side and 5075 for Ocean Front. Generally, they discount those large purchases to somewhere around $11/point, but you are correct, that is still a lot of money - $46,000 - $56,000 for the points, plus $26,000 - $32,000 for the week. Thats $72,000 - $88,000.

 

[Joe33426]

No. You cannot get enrollment for only 1000 points. To enroll a week purchased from Marriott Resales requires that you buy a bundle of points equal to what that week is worth. So for Grande Ocean Platinum, that would be 4200 points for Ocean Side and 5075 for Ocean Front. Generally, they discount those large purchases to somewhere around $11/point, but you are correct, that is still a lot of money - $46,000 - $56,000 for the points, plus $26,000 - $32,000 for the week. Thats $72,000 - $88,000.

$72,000 - $88,000 is definitely out of my price range... I'm hoping for a resale week in the lower end of the $13,000 - $23,000 range. Oceanview would be okay, don't need to be oceanfront.

 

[JIMinNC]

$72,000 - $88,000 is definitely out of my price range... I'm hoping for a resale week in the lower end of the $13,000 - $23,000 range. Oceanview would be okay, don't need to be oceanfront.

Just remember, Grande Ocean does not have an Ocean View category. There it's either Ocean Front or Ocean Side. All of the Ocean Front units have an ocean view, but many of the Ocean Side units have views of the courtyard, not the ocean. At Grande Ocean the categories are more about the proximity to the ocean than the specific view. The Ocean Front units are the closest to the ocean while Ocean Side are a bit farther away. Some Ocean Side units may have a view of the ocean, but not all.