MGV Owner Presentation - 2/23

Just here at MGV for Presidents week and had the owner presentation. All this could be bunk, but a very chatty sales person told me the following:
1. Marriott has sold 22 million points in the new destination club at roughly $10 a point.
2. 80% of existing owners that have a presentation convert their weeks.
3. 40% of existing owners that have a presentation buy points.
4. They expect a rush of conversions to points as we approach the deadline.

Does this sound right to you?

I did not convert nor buy any points. We are happy just using our week.

that could all be true.

I would have guessed lower percentages, but most owners are not tuggers and enjoy their weeks, so why not get more?

22M points sold is impressive given the program has only been available for about 8 months. If you assume that a week, on average, is worth 3,500 points, and they can sell 51 weeks per unit that works out to about 123 units sold. If memory serves, I think Surf Watch has about 175 units in total. So they have sold the equivilant of 70% of Surf Watch in 8 months. I recognize that this reperesents sales across the whole system, versus a dedicated Surf Watch sales staff selling only Surf Watch.

Put another way, gross sales are $220,000,000. Figure 60% ($132,000,000) goes to reduce the inventory. Who knows how much of that inventory is in finished "product" versus undeveloped land, etc, but I would think in the past 8 months they have sold a bunch of existing bricks and mortar.

And this happened during the worst recession since the great depression.

Aside from possible fee savings, only a ts salesperson could get owners into a new trading system that only trades down. Aside from anomalies of point allocation, the skim makes every trade a loss.

The numbers look fairly consistent with what has been posted in the past. Remember however, not everyone goes to a presentation, only a small percentage of current owners have been to a presentation. Also how many of those enrollees will end up converting to points. Given the skim I would put it at or below 50%. Conversion to points is what matters in the end for the rest of the owners outside of DC.

GeneP said:

Just here at MGV for Presidents week and had the owner presentation. All this could be bunk, but a very chatty sales person told me the following:
1. Marriott has sold 22 million points in the new destination club at roughly $10 a point.
2. 80% of existing owners that have a presentation convert their weeks.
3. 40% of existing owners that have a presentation buy points.
4. They expect a rush of conversions to points as we approach the deadline.

Does this sound right to you?

I did not convert nor buy any points. We are happy just using our week.

Click to expand...

GeneP,

Ask that rep to put these figures in writing. I bet he won't.

dan_hoog said:

Aside from possible fee savings, only a ts salesperson could get owners into a new trading system that only trades down. Aside from anomalies of point allocation, the skim makes every trade a loss.

Click to expand...

As someone who routinely suffered "skim" when exchanging through II, I didn't need to be "gotten" by a Marriott rep. I just took a look at the DC Points Charts and compared what I could get from my 3BR non-lock-off Weeks in the DC to the past II exchanges I'd made. Recognizing that "skim" exists in both exchange systems - the DC and II - goes a long way toward dispelling the persistent falsehood that the DC is never as good an option as II. In some cases it really is better.

Granted, uptrades happen more often than downtrades in II, because there are far more studio, 1BR and low-season/demand intervals than the prime intervals. But those of us who routinely suffer "skim" in II don't like it very much when the inference is made that we've enrolled in the DC only because we've been victims of a sales rep's "gotcha."

Just sayin'

If all of that were true:

1. They would need additional sales people to handle the volume, but in many cases the presentations are now only offered a few days a week and lots of sales people were "laid off."

2. The numbers of weeks enrolled also include the weeks Marriott already had and deposited into the trust. Many of those "weeks" were in the slow seasons at each resort.

3. If everyone were jumping at the chance then they would not have extended the first deadline and the prices would have certainly increased.

I'm at BeachPlace and haven't had a sales call...nor is there mention of the regular Monday morning 'orientation' meeting where they always try to get you to come and see the light. If the program was a runaway success they'd be trying harder to get you to a meeting.

Brian

pwrshift said:

I'm at BeachPlace and haven't had a sales call...nor is there mention of the regular Monday morning 'orientation' meeting where they always try to get you to come and see the light. If the program was a runaway success they'd be trying harder to get you to a meeting.

Brian

Click to expand...

Or maybe they have enough and don't want any more?

dan_hoog said:

Aside from possible fee savings, only a ts salesperson could get owners into a new trading system that only trades down. Aside from anomalies of point allocation, the skim makes every trade a loss.

Click to expand...

Have you been thru the charts ? There are plenty of trades that work out just fine, especially Sun - Thurs. There is no reason to equate the two programs in my mind, I view them as apples and oranges therefore have no problem valuing points as points, and weeks as weeks, and deciding what can be used to my benefit with each.

I did not buy more points, but happily enrolled as it affords some good options.

Vacation Club Destinations Statistics

Gene-We attended an MGV sales presentation in early September 2010. Not that dust has settled now, at that time the degree of uncertainty bordered on misinformation. We walked away w/legacy weeks intact w/o enrolling or buying DC points. [ Ignore: Now that we have confirmed that the new corporate II account cannot be upgraded to II Gold, our decision - in retrospect - seems all the more wiser.]

Thanks for sharing the stats heard at MGV. Reading your post reminded me of a recent (February 13, 2010) Valentine's getaway at Marriott's Custom House. There was a slide presentation with Owner Services Statistics in the sales gallery in full view of anyone passing by. Here are snapshots of the slides worth sharing. Regrets for the quality, the intent was to capture content, quickly. (The slides were on a loop)

Not sure how these stats correlate with the MGV, or why they were being displayed (since they are several months and outdated). Do you recall if the MGV presentation included any information about inventory pools that you feel comfortable sharing?

GeneP said:

Just here at MGV for Presidents week and had the owner presentation. All this could be bunk, but a very chatty sales person told me the following:
1. Marriott has sold 22 million points in the new destination club at roughly $10 a point.
2. 80% of existing owners that have a presentation convert their weeks.
3. 40% of existing owners that have a presentation buy points.
4. They expect a rush of conversions to points as we approach the deadline.

Does this sound right to you?

I did not convert nor buy any points. We are happy just using our week.

Click to expand...

I was in Myrtle Beach two weeks ago staying at Ocean Watch and was not contacted by anyone in the sales office about a presentation.

I did go to an owner's meeting, but other than having a free beer and some cheese and crackers, I got no information.

Maybe they decided that they didn't need to sell any more points.

TJCNewYork said:

Gene-We attended an MGV sales presentation in early September 2010. Not that dust has settled now, at that time the degree of uncertainty bordered on misinformation. We walked away w/legacy weeks intact w/o enrolling or buying DC points. Now that we have confirmed that the new corporate II account cannot be upgraded to II Gold, our decision - in retrospect - seems all the more wiser.

Click to expand...

I have been enmeshed in a lot of personal stuff for the past month or so, and have been away from the boards, so I may have missed a discussion on this subject, BUT, are you sure corporate II accounts cannot be upgraded to Gold? The reason I am asking is, we DID upgrade ours a couple of months ago, via an II rep, and that status is reflected on our account online. Do I need to get back in touch with them and get a refund? I haven't tried to use any Gold benefits yet, so have no idea if they would work.

Tiel - To my knowledge, the discussion was minimal and in this thread. Given uncertainty, I called II myself. The Marriott Desk at II person specifically said and I quote, "You cannot upgrade the corporate II account to Gold, because the account is paid by corporate". And, "A Gold account requires the owner to retain a basic II membership plus an upgrade fee".

It's good to know that II is able to upgrade your corporate II account to Gold. If you have a chance, can you check if you can access ShortStay Exchange using that account and circle back?

tiel said:

I have been enmeshed in a lot of personal stuff for the past month or so, and have been away from the boards, so I may have missed a discussion on this subject, BUT, are you sure corporate II accounts cannot be upgraded to Gold? The reason I am asking is, we DID upgrade ours a couple of months ago, via an II rep, and that status is reflected on our account online. Do I need to get back in touch with them and get a refund? I haven't tried to use any Gold benefits yet, so have no idea if they would work.

Click to expand...

TJCNewYork said:

Tiel - To my knowledge, the discussion was minimal and in this thread. Given uncertainty, I called II myself. The Marriott Desk at II person specifically said and I quote, "You cannot upgrade the corporate II account to Gold, because the account is paid by corporate". And, "A Gold account requires the owner to retain a basic II membership plus an upgrade fee".

It's good to know that II is able to upgrade your corporate II account to Gold. If you have a chance, can you check if you can access ShortStay Exchange using that account and circle back?

Click to expand...

The problem is that anyone can likely access short stay. Non gold members can access it, but can't book without paying the gold membership fee. Perhaps another DC member can also check to see if they can access short stays.

Another way to check would be to price a getaway through to the payment page, if the price is discounted $25 then gold membership is on the account.

It could be a situation of who you talk to at II, different reps say different things.

dioxide45 said:

It could be a situation of who you talk to at II, different reps say different things.

Click to expand...

Dioxide. Yep, I called back. Instead of the Marriott Desk, I spoke with an II rep. II double-checked and confirms that the corporate II account for Destinations can be upgraded to II Gold at the member's expense.

Since I have multiple weeks already on deposit w/II and my membership expires in two years, enrolling now would not be to best advantage.

Tiel - Thanks for posting your success in upgrading, no need to worry about getting a refund, the upgrade is legit.

Looking on my DC II account, I am ablke to choose the UPGRADE button and slect between 1 and 5 years of GOLD upgrade. Don't know what would happen if I chose that, but I assume I would enter a credit card at that time an pay the upgrade fee.

Thanks for the info, wvacations. This is very reassuring and one less hurdle to consider about enrolling.

wvacations said:

Looking on my DC II account, I am ablke to choose the UPGRADE button and slect between 1 and 5 years of GOLD upgrade. Don't know what would happen if I chose that, but I assume I would enter a credit card at that time an pay the upgrade fee.

Click to expand...

Thanks to all for looking into this. Now I can worry about other things more!

dioxide45 said:

... Another way to check would be to price a getaway through to the payment page, if the price is discounted $25 then gold membership is on the account. ...

Click to expand...

Maybe not a good indicator because in my new/corporate account every Getaway shows a $25 discount; seems II's system doesn't differentiate between a brand new account and these accounts. This is the message:

"Welcome to Interval!
For a limited time only – take a $25 discount on Getaways! It’s our thanks for joining Interval International. Your special new member status lasts the entire first year of your membership – just book your Getaway within this time to get the $25 discount. Travel can take place as soon as 24 hours after booking or up to a full year later."

wvacations said:

Looking on my DC II account, I am ablke to choose the UPGRADE button and slect between 1 and 5 years of GOLD upgrade. Don't know what would happen if I chose that, but I assume I would enter a credit card at that time an pay the upgrade fee.

Click to expand...

Hmmmm. Just checked again and the gobbledygook error message is gone and I can see the same thing you do, but like you I didn't continue to see what would happen ...

Not to change the OP's subject but is an II gold upgrade worth it? I have one but it doesn't seem to be much value unless you purchase a lot of getaways and get the $25 discount. Maybe I'm not seeing the real advantage to it.

The one thing that has struck me and may be the result of what the OP has heard is that in making 2011-12 reservations it seems that II supply of availablle Marriott trades is tighter compared to past years. The opposite seems to be true of the DC. Fears were expressed about this early on by Tuggers. Are II supply concerns about available Marriott trades becoming a reality? While we sometimes stay at non-Marriott TS we are mostly interested in staying in Marriotts. I have noticed that II has a few new units in some areas but they are not Marriotts. Could the sinister Marriott conversion plan actually be working? (for Marriott)

kjd said:

Not to change the OP's subject but is an II gold upgrade worth it? I have one but it doesn't seem to be much value unless you purchase a lot of getaways and get the $25 discount. Maybe I'm not seeing the real advantage to it.

Click to expand...

KJD - There are 2 advantages of II Gold worthy of mention: Complimentary Hertz membership and ShortStay Exchange.

As recently posted here, II's ShortStay Exchange program adds extra value. You can exchange a one week (7 nights) for 2 Shortstays of 2 to 6 nights each. That's up to 12 nights (6+6). The Shortstays can be booked concurrently (at the same resort), consecutively (back-to-back) or entirely separate timeframes (within the expiration date of the deposit).



For more TUGer discussion about ShortStay Exchange, go here.

Thanks for the info--I was unaware of that advantage. As a comparison, how does it compare with the widely touted DC short stay and anyday checkin? I have used the bonus DC points to extend a couple of weeks I traded for. The DC response was immediate and not a problem.

As a legacy owner I would prefer to use II and partly do so through the new setup. I also have Marriott units outside of the DC. I initially considered the $695 to access the points system as "throwing money down a rathole" but I now detect an inventory problem with II. However, that may be only my perception due to the faster response of the DC.

I have not had the same success with trying to use my bonus points to add a couple of days onto my existing Surf Club reservation. When I called a couple of days ago, I was told there is NO availability of any OF units. This is in September which is supposedly considered low season since it takes less points to reserve than other weeks in the gold season. If the availability OF units is so rare, then you would think they would offer more points to deposit those weeks. My request was put on the waiting list........but if it doesn't come through before we have to make airline reservations, then I will have to cancel the request. I'm not happy with my first attempt to use DC points.