DC points going up!!!

Guys, I just got this email from a Marriott Sales Rep today 03/03/2011. Looks as if the DC points are going up to $10.22/point as of 03/11/2011!!! Don't know about the Maintenance....is it gonna be still at $0.40/point or it will also go up...

Mr. xxxxxx,

Our corporate office just rolled out an incentive of a lower price for the next week. Next Friday; however, we will be selling at $10.22/point instead of $9.80.
Let me know if you are interested in learning more!
Sincerely,
Xxxxxxx

sd2734 said:

Looks as if the DC points are going up to $10.22/point as of 03/11/2011!!! Don't know about the Maintenance....is it gonna be still at $0.40/point or it will also go up...

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Thanks for posting that information. Otherwise, I would not be aware. I'm in good company, too. According to the State and Legal Disclosures, MVC is not yet licensed in New York State which restricts their ability to solicit NY state residents for DC. NY state residents are also excluded from participating in Preview Special sales packages like Newport Coast Villas among others.

Personally, I'm amazed the program is selling well enough that they feel they can increase the pricing. That puts a 5,000 point timeshare week at $51,000.

Of course, when you're selling point packages of 1,500 points I guess they can make it seem like it isn't so bad.

TJCNewYork said:

Thanks for posting that information. Otherwise, I would not be aware. I'm in good company, too. According to the State and Legal Disclosures, MVC is not yet licensed in New York State which restricts their ability to solicit NY state residents for DC. NY state residents are also excluded from participating in Preview Special sales packages like Newport Coast Villas among others.

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As a NYS resident you can buy a preview package somewhere else--ie the Marriott kiosek at the Charlotte airport. We have done that a number of times and you may use it then. They just cannot mail you a solicitation to your home or call you to solicit you.

ilene13 said:

As a NYS resident you can buy a preview package somewhere else--ie the Marriott kiosek at the Charlotte airport. We have done that a number of times and you may use it then. They just cannot mail you a solicitation to your home or call you to solicit you.

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Buying a preview package from a kiosk somewhere else sounds like a great workaround, but these Preview Special(s) cannot be booked online, you have to call 800-459-8615 and mention code: CO59*1-2CW0UL for NCV. The rep asks what state you reside in, not what state your calling from.

Quoting the Details of Participation for NCV, for example, the language explicity excludes residents of New York:

"Marriott's Newport Coast® Villas4 Days & 3 Nights Starting from $349

Details of Participation

Sponsor: Marriott Vacation Club

This offer is only available to residents of the District of Columbia and the fifty United States of America, excluding New York.

Eligibility:
This offer is only available to residents of the District of Columbia and the fifty United States of America, excluding New York. Program is for couples or individuals with an annual income of $100,000 or more. One offer per family/household, no groups. Employees of Marriott International, Inc. its affiliated and subsidiary companies, and their immediate families, and current owners of Marriott Vacation Club International properties are ineligible for this offer. Guests are limited to purchasing 3 packages within a lifetime. Guests may not purchase this package if having attended another Marriott Vacation Club tour within the last year. Guests may only return to Marriott’s Newport Coast with a preview package if 2 or more years have passed since the last California preview date. Guests may not have more than one active package at a time.

Presentation:
Attendance at a timeshare sales presentation lasting approximately 90 minutes is required.
If married or living together, couples must attend the sales presentation together to receive this offer; individuals may purchase separately. Failure to attend sales presentation may result in the charge of up to the full retail value of the accommodations. Your preview tour will take place at Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas located on 23000 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, California, 92657.

Offer:
This advance purchase offer is subject to availability and expires on June 30, 2011. Travel must be completed within 12 months from the package purchase date. The purchase price is not refundable. Package purchase must be made with a major credit card. Not valid in conjunction with any other promotion. Package offer is non-transferable. One offer per family or household. Offer subject to change without notice. Airfare, transportation, parking, additional expenses and applicable taxes, if any, are not included with this offer. Retail value of the offer is up to $1,800. Retail value of the accommodations is up to $600 per night.

Room Reservation:
Accommodations will be provided in a two-bedroom villa at Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas and are for a maximum of two adults and two children. Alternate accommodations of comparable value may be used, if necessary. To experience optimum availability, we suggest making reservations at least 30 days in advance. Offer subject to availability. A credit card and confirmation letter are required at check-in on your arrival date. Cancellation of your reservation within 30 days of arrival will be subject to a $99 fee. No-shows will forfeit package and package price. We strongly suggest confirming your arrival date with Marriott before making travel arrangements. Arrivals during holiday periods are subject to a one-time $99 fee.

Marriott Ownership Resorts Inc. is the developer, an equal opportunity credit lender and a subsidiary of Marriott International Inc. NEWPORT COAST® is a registered trademark of The Irvine Company and is used herein with permission. Newport Coast® Villas is not affiliated or associated with The Irvine Company.

NC-10-033"

sd2734 said:

Guys, I just got this email from a Marriott Sales Rep today 03/03/2011. Looks as if the DC points are going up to $10.22/point as of 03/11/2011!!! Don't know about the Maintenance....is it gonna be still at $0.40/point or it will also go up...

Mr. xxxxxx,

Our corporate office just rolled out an incentive of a lower price for the next week. Next Friday; however, we will be selling at $10.22/point instead of $9.80.
Let me know if you are interested in learning more!
Sincerely,
Xxxxxxx

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What is their current "regular" price? What is their discounted price?

dioxide45 said:

What is their current "regular" price? What is their discounted price?

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dioxide45,
If I correctly understand your question, the Existing Price is $9.80/point and as of 03/11/2011 the New Price will be $10.22/point! I guess Marriott are increasing to a New Price per DC Point!
Basically, the Sales Rep wanted to entice me hurry up and lock at the existing "great" price of $9.80/point before the price goes up. The “great deal” was to purchase 3000 points for $29,400 based on $0.40/point MF and a one-time bonus of 2,500 points and also some Marriott’s Rewards Points.
Any guesses what my response was……..

Hurry: Prices going up

Has anyone ever attended a MVC sales presentation when prices weren't going up the following week? I recall all of my old program presentations, and prices were going up weekly whether there was demand or not.

Superchief said:

Has anyone ever attended a MVC sales presentation when prices weren't going up the following week? I recall all of my old program presentations, and prices were going up weekly whether there was demand or not.

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Back in the early 90's, they never really stressed that prices are going up that much. They had a good product at a reasonable price and great incentives.

saturn28 said:

Back in the early 90's, they never really stressed that prices are going up that much. They had a good product at a reasonable price and great incentives.

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every presentation I have had in the past 20+ years, the prices were going up next week.

9.80/point or 10.22/point: what is the difference? Both are ridiculous high prices.

Save your money and rent on redweek.com

sd2734 said:

dioxide45,
If I correctly understand your question, the Existing Price is $9.80/point and as of 03/11/2011 the New Price will be $10.22/point! I guess Marriott are increasing to a New Price per DC Point!
Basically, the Sales Rep wanted to entice me hurry up and lock at the existing "great" price of $9.80/point before the price goes up. The “great deal” was to purchase 3000 points for $29,400 based on $0.40/point MF and a one-time bonus of 2,500 points and also some Marriott’s Rewards Points.
Any guesses what my response was……..

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When we went to our last presentation we were told that prices were $9.80 per point, BUT because we were owners they were discounted for us at blah blah blah. Do they still discount them from the current $9.80 per point? If so, is the discounted rate going up?

The current prices, and now the projected increase make me wonder why the resale market has dropped so significantly. I know many will point to the economy but it's obvious there are buyers who survived and are still spending.

It use to be the resales were about 1/2 the price of developer. At least that was the way at Ocean Pointe before the downturn. As mentioned above a 5000 point week (Ocean Pointe Platinum Ocean Front) with the increase would be $51,000. However, looking at the list of sales on redweek.com, high season Ocean Pointe oceanfront is significantly lower that 1/2 of the current $49,000 for 5,000 DC points.

I'm currently staying at Ocean Pointe. The resort is running beautifully and is still in high demand. So there's nothing wrong with the resort. Resale values have dropped while the resort has just gotten better and better. Why such a flood of low priced resales? Are owners undermining each other so much that they are actually harming their own resale value?

Quilter said:

Resale values have dropped while the resort has just gotten better and better. Why such a flood of low priced resales? Are owners undermining each other so much that they are actually harming their own resale value?

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Saying that sellers are undermining each other is just a loaded way of saying that there are more sellers than buyers. If there were higher demand for resales, then the sellers would jockey to raise prices. The fact is that, faced with sobering maintenance fees, lots of folks want to sell. There are buyers, but not nearly as many. Since no timeshare of a certain size, season, and view is "better" than another one, price is the only way to get that buyer. If you were interested in buying, you would certainly not pay an extra few grand to help support prices, right?
Bottom line: no matter how vigorously Marriott/Spinco touts the rousing success of the points program, the persistent slump in existing resales indicates that it's smoke and mirrors. If resale prices were truly "too low", you could be sure that Marriott would be exercising its right of first refusal, to snap up the best stuff for repackaging into vacation points. They're not doing that, as far as I know (my two recent purchases of platinum weeks at Ko Olina and Timber Lodge went through with a ROFR waiver). Steadily raising prices is an ancient sales tactic that is designed to rush buyers into action. If somebody simply refused, and offered to buy at earlier pricing (say $9.20), I'd be amazed if Marriott were to decline the offer. After all, it would still be great for Marriott, and a lousy deal for the buyer.

dioxide45 said:

When we went to our last presentation we were told that prices were $9.80 per point, BUT because we were owners they were discounted for us at blah blah blah. Do they still discount them from the current $9.80 per point? If so, is the discounted rate going up?

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I talk for 30 minutes with the sales person here at MOU. The current price is $10.22 per point, but he will still apply the old price of $9.80 if you decide to drop the sign-in gifts (some poitns and other minor things). Of course, I got the speech that things will go up and I need to decide soon if I want to buy.

More informations:

1) he mentionned that Marriott owned approx. 30% of the TOTAL unit/week inventory (all resorts) when the crisis started. All these units are now in the Trust and this is where they are selling the points from (we all knew this but it is confirming again that Marriot has inventory.... for years and that ROFRs are not going to be for tomorrow...)

2) he also told me that Europe and Asia will be joining the program (around end of 2011, early 2012). It is a question of time to get regulatory approval in the different countries and also alignment across the different plans. Maybe It is good time to buy Spain/Marbella or other properties to have them DC points later... although resale prices in Europe are still too high in my opinion.

3) Finally, I asked him about Ritz Carlston Clubs as it was part of the resorts shown on the TV screen. He said that Premier Plus members (only) could be granted access in the future. They are apparently working on it.

All this has to be taken with reserve (like everything a salesman tells you), but it shows to me that a lot of ideas and possibilities are out there. MVCI is obliged to show new opportuntites (Europe, etc), especially now that they are not buidling new resorts (due to inventory issue).

It just seems very high for what you get in my opinion. For me to buy a week at Ko Olina, in a 2 bedroom would cost be about $50k. Or I can buy on Ebay for sub $12k. I understand it's not apples to apples but I just don't understand how people justify spending so much to pre-pay into a hotel system.

larryallen said:

It just seems very high for what you get in my opinion. For me to buy a week at Ko Olina, in a 2 bedroom would cost be about $50k. Or I can buy on Ebay for sub $12k. I understand it's not apples to apples but I just don't understand how people justify spending so much to pre-pay into a hotel system.

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I asked the salesman how they defined the number of points and the price per points. He made a speech about inventory in the trust and original selling price. We made the math on my TS:

GV 3BR = 3725 points = approx. 37'000
MOU 2BR = 5350 points = approx. 53'000

I am too new to TS to know the exact original prices but it looks quite consistent with my research.

For me buying points at these prices still look too crazy to me, especially when you do not own a specific deed/resort that you are 100% sure to book.

I think that's why the banking and borrowing features are so important in a points-based system. The weeks-based model requires a large upfront cost whether you're talking about buying Weeks at the newest resorts - Crystal Shores, Maui, Ko 'Olina, etc - before the advent of the DC, or enough Points since its introduction to get an annual week stay. But with banking and borrowing, somebody can purchase a smaller amount of DC Points for a lesser upfront cost and still get an every-other or every-third-year stay at a high-quality resort. It's similar to the EOY option in the weeks-based model but now it can be "sold" across all resorts in the system.

SueDonJ said:

I think that's why the banking and borrowing features are so important in a points-based system. The weeks-based model requires a large upfront cost whether you're talking about buying Weeks at the newest resorts - Crystal Shores, Maui, Ko 'Olina, etc - before the advent of the DC, or enough Points since its introduction to get an annual week stay. But with banking and borrowing, somebody can purchase a smaller amount of DC Points for a lesser upfront cost and still get an every-other or every-third-year stay at a high-quality resort. It's similar to the EOY option in the weeks-based model but now it can be "sold" across all resorts in the system.

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All banking and borrowing does is shift the usage. It doesn't really provide more value. You still get the same amount of "time" by banking and borrowing, you just go less often. You still pay the same MF as you would if you owned double the points but on an EOY basis.