Buying Grande Vista and Call to Marriott Agent

Hi,
newbe here trying to get into Marriott system. I am in the process of buying Grande Vista platinum 2 Br with lockoff option. As part of verifying the estoppel, I called Marriott. Started chatting with the rep and she asked me the purpose of buying this. I told her that am a Worldmark owner but I want better trade with Marriott via II and thus the purchase. Here is what is she told me

1) Marriott stopped depositing inventory into II like before, instead owners trade via Destination Club. Only limited leftover inventory is deposited to II.
2) When a DC club owner deposits points to II, Marriott will chose which resort / what week goes to II
3) The other place where II get Marriott inventory is from Marriott owners who are not part of MDC , but there is no 29 day window advantage here
4) Bottomline is even if I buy MGV, I will not get any benefit for exchange via II and the inventory is very limited with no 29 day advantage

Could anybody please confirm this is true ? Or the marriott agent was trying to stop me from buying MGV and get me to buy MDC instead.

appreciate any help ..

rahulgopi said:

Hi,
newbe here trying to get into Marriott system. I am in the process of buying Grande Vista platinum 2 Br with lockoff option. As part of verifying the estoppel, I called Marriott. Started chatting with the rep and she asked me the purpose of buying this. I told her that am a Worldmark owner but I want better trade with Marriott via II and thus the purchase. Here is what is she told me

1) Marriott stopped depositing inventory into II like before, instead owners trade via Destination Club. Only limited leftover inventory is deposited to II.
2) When a DC club owner deposits points to II, Marriott will chose which resort / what week goes to II
3) The other place where II get Marriott inventory is from Marriott owners who are not part of MDC , but there is no 29 day window advantage here
4) Bottomline is even if I buy MGV, I will not get any benefit for exchange via II and the inventory is very limited with no 29 day advantage

Could anybody please confirm this is true ? Or the marriott agent was trying to stop me from buying MGV and get me to buy MDC instead.

appreciate any help ..

Click to expand...

Actually, plenty of owners still deposit their Marriott weeks with II. What II does with them is the magical question as Marriott does in fact grab some so they can satisfy MDC members (and replace them with another week).

However, do keep in mind that there are lots of deposits from other resorts systems into II (other than Marriott), so there are always things to select from.

I'm sure others will add their comments to this....

Welcome to TUG


.

Other resorts I can easily trade with a Worldmark 3BR. The problem with Marriott is the 29 window in II where other Marriott owners get a chance to grab what they want. So my Worldmark account doesn't see many Marriott ( there are a few if you are flexible to travel in the flex window ).
My purpose of buying MGV was to trade exclusively into Marriott via II. But seems like that option is gradually closing with limited inventory with the introduction of MDC. Please note that an MDC points owner cannot trade for other Marriots via II. There is no guarantee that the 29 day window in II for Marriott owners will be available in future .

Am bit confused whether I should buy MGV, if trading is my primary purpose.

Hello, Welcome to TUG

If you become a TUG member you will have access to the sightings board. Here you can look at past deposits other member have seen. It seems like the Marriott preference is alive and well. There have been bulk deposits alredy this year for Ko Olina and other hawaii properties. Most owner deposits seem to get picked up by an on going search right away. If you read through some of the past years threads, many Marriott owners have secured good trades. I would suspect as the number of deposits shrinks, the owner preference period will be even more important. I've thought about buying at GV just for that.

Why GV?

Not that there is anything wrong with it, but why GV vs somewhere else?

rthib said:

Not that there is anything wrong with it, but why GV vs somewhere else?

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I was looking for one with lowest MF and Willowridge fit the bill. With GV and the Florida Club, chances are I may use them without an exchange via II.
Besides, since the resort is huge, I got some feedback regarding getting a reservation for a prime summer week 12 month out is not too hard.

Another resort I consider was NCV but MF there is higher compared to MGV and booking a prime summer week 12 mount out is really hard.

rahulgopi said:

I was looking for one with lowest MF and Willowridge fit the bill. With GV and the Florida Club, chances are I may use them without an exchange via II.
Besides, since the resort is huge, I got some feedback regarding getting a reservation for a prime summer week 12 month out is not too hard.

Another resort I consider was NCV but MF there is higher compared to MGV and booking a prime summer week 12 mount out is really hard.

Click to expand...

Well, I can't tell you what you should do, but an excellent rule of thumb is to buy where you'd like to go.

If you're from the west coast (which I think you are) and found you had to go somewhere every year, is Florida where you'd like to fly to? I think defaulting to your home resort makes a lot of sense....

I'd consider Desert Springs in your situation. Just a suggestion....

Best of luck!




.

Also of note in case you are considering NCV or any California Marriotts, the MF does not include property taxes. Those are billed directly to you by the county.

Thank you all for the advice, really appreciate your time and help. Coming back to II inventory and preference period, do you think this will change in the near future for Marriott or are there signs ( reduced number of sightings etc ) indicating the same.

rahulgopi said:

Hi,
newbe here trying to get into Marriott system. I am in the process of buying Grande Vista platinum 2 Br with lockoff option. As part of verifying the estoppel, I called Marriott. Started chatting with the rep and she asked me the purpose of buying this. I told her that am a Worldmark owner but I want better trade with Marriott via II and thus the purchase. Here is what is she told me

1) Marriott stopped depositing inventory into II like before, instead owners trade via Destination Club. Only limited leftover inventory is deposited to II.
2) When a DC club owner deposits points to II, Marriott will chose which resort / what week goes to II
3) The other place where II get Marriott inventory is from Marriott owners who are not part of MDC , but there is no 29 day window advantage here
4) Bottomline is even if I buy MGV, I will not get any benefit for exchange via II and the inventory is very limited with no 29 day advantage

Could anybody please confirm this is true ? Or the marriott agent was trying to stop me from buying MGV and get me to buy MDC instead.

appreciate any help ..

Click to expand...

I wouldn't believe any of this stuff the Marriott rep told you. This is a perfect script for them to scare people into buying DC points and discourage resale purchases. As long as you have a Marriott resort, you will get the resort preference in II.

There are bulk deposits of many Marriotts resorts in II right now.

Now on the question if you should purchase GV, that would be up to you. I would suggest caution on buying any property as a primary trader. Buy with usage as a primary reason and trading as a occasional option. I know it sounds like a worn out cliche but believe me, when you start to find you can't get to that resort that is 2500 miles away as often as you like, it will start to set in when those MFs start to hit every year no matter if you used it or not.

I do agree with the advice to buy where you want to go -- and be prepared for ever increasing MFs. Marriott has beautiful timeshares, but I do believe that the availability for Exchangers has suffered since DClub has been introduced.

The concern here is not just that Marriott is no longer depositing its own (excess) weeks into II, but also that they appear to be able to cherry pick weeks that are deposited into II. This is unconfirmed and unproven, however we've seen certain situations (Aruba/Hilton Head Island) where inventory existed in DClub (for those electing points) where trades are not matching with II.

This exact issue is occurring right now -- I've a trade request into Aruba Ocean Club for Jan/Feb 2013. It's not matched yet (and that's okay, it will, it's very early), but inventory exists for Jan/Feb in DClub if I were to use points to get that week.

Where did those January/February 2013 weeks come from? Aruba Ocean Club owners have until September 2012 to redeem their 2013 week for points? They have until December 2012 to redeem for MRPs?

It's a puzzling situation -- while I can not deconstruct the mechanism, I can see the result.

So.....please be careful in buying with Exchanging as your primary objective. It is very difficult to predict how successful that will be on a recurring basis considering even very limited recent data.

You should also consider renting directly for a while -- it's not much more of a premium over your $1,000 MF (plus $109 Exchange Fee) -- and you have view control and potential owners that can't use their unit. There are other risks associated here (payment, reservation certainty, no cancelation protection) however this is a viable alternative.

Personally, I've bought where I want to travel for Marriott, and I use HGVC and Starwood for their internal systems which are more stable (at the moment) than exchanging. I continue to use Worldmark mostly for II/RCI trading because its a great trader -- but I don't rely on it for my core travel plans.

Good luck and let us know what you do!

Best,

Greg

wow !! thanks a lot for the great advice !!.. Even thou MGV platinum with lockoff was around 1.5K including closing, I think I will pass based on the advice I got here. I was on the fence regarding the purchase since Worldmark is fairly good except for trading into Marriott or Starwood etc.

rthib said:

Not that there is anything wrong with it, but why GV vs somewhere else?

Click to expand...

I have spend many an day trying to figure out what the most affordable trade option would be for me, and I think I've finally nailed it down to a Grande Vista 3-Bed EOY. You can get a gold season for less than 1.5k, not sure what a plat would cost.

So why a 3-bedroom at GV specifically? The 3-bedroom Lockoff will split into a 2-bed and a 1-bed for $600 yearly mf. I only wanted one deposit a year to trade and this would maximize my trade power. I thought about a 2 bed willowridge EOY, but the trade power would be lower based on size.

slum808 said:

So why a 3-bedroom at GV specifically? The 3-bedroom Lockoff will split into a 2-bed and a 1-bed for $600 yearly mf. I only wanted one deposit a year to trade and this would maximize my trade power. I thought about a 2 bed willowridge EOY, but the trade power would be lower based on size.

Click to expand...

Pretty sure a 3-bed splits into a 2-BR and a Studio - not a 2-BR and a 1-BR.

K2Quick said:

Pretty sure a 3-bed splits into a 2-BR and a Studio - not a 2-BR and a 1-BR.

Click to expand...

Correct...

slum808 said:

I have spend many an day trying to figure out what the most affordable trade option would be for me, and I think I've finally nailed it down to a Grande Vista 3-Bed EOY. You can get a gold season for less than 1.5k, not sure what a plat would cost.

So why a 3-bedroom at GV specifically? The 3-bedroom Lockoff will split into a 2-bed and a 1-bed for $600 yearly mf. I only wanted one deposit a year to trade and this would maximize my trade power. I thought about a 2 bed willowridge EOY, but the trade power would be lower based on size.

Click to expand...

I see you already have Worldmark. Are you looking for trades outside the flex window into Marriott with the new Marriott purchase ?

rahulgopi said:

wow !! thanks a lot for the great advice !!.. Even thou MGV platinum with lockoff was around 1.5K including closing, I think I will pass based on the advice I got here. I was on the fence regarding the purchase since Worldmark is fairly good except for trading into Marriott or Starwood etc.

Click to expand...

Not so fast. You haven't heard my opinion yet. .

I think in general you have gotten good advice here on buy where you want to go due to the uncertainty with Marriott exchanges in II. However, there are always exceptions to the rule.

Do you or will you have or will have children in school or be otherwise tied to a schedule that requires you to travel during more peak seasons? If so, then the advice here is spot on, buy where you would be happy to go if you don't get your exchange. Somewhere within driving distance would be ideal.

However, if you are able to travel in the off or shoulder season and/or on short notice then buying a lock off resort for trading purposes can be a good idea. Off/shoulder season weeks still appear to be plentiful in II and Marriott is even bulk depositing off season weeks at fantastic resorts. I really wouldn't expect to see that change in the near future. I think II will be a great source of off/shoulder season inventory for years to come.

I would not buy a Marriott unit in hopes of getting prime season exchanges, even with the II preference, but if you are flexible and not tied to traveling prime time, consider a lock off unit. However, it doesn't have to be Grande Vista. While the MFs are a little higher, the Palm Desert resorts may be ideal for your situation.

dioxide45 said:

Not so fast. You haven't heard my opinion yet. .

I think in general you have gotten good advice here on buy where you want to go due to the uncertainty with Marriott exchanges in II. However, there are always exceptions to the rule.

Do you or will you have or will have children in school or be otherwise tied to a schedule that requires you to travel during more peak seasons? If so, then the advice here is spot on, buy where you would be happy to go if you don't get your exchange. Somewhere within driving distance would be ideal.

However, if you are able to travel in the off or shoulder season and/or on short notice then buying a lock off resort for trading purposes can be a good idea. Off/shoulder season weeks still appear to be plentiful in II and Marriott is even bulk depositing off season weeks at fantastic resorts. I really wouldn't expect to see that change in the near future. I think II will be a great source of off/shoulder season inventory for years to come.

I would not buy a Marriott unit in hopes of getting prime season exchanges, even with the II preference, but if you are flexible and not tied to traveling prime time, consider a lock off unit. However, it doesn't have to be Grande Vista. While the MFs are a little higher, the Palm Desert resorts may be ideal for your situation.

Click to expand...

Am flexible to travel and I want to use the flex window to up-trade (studio to 2 Br). Since my Worldmark cannot fetch decent Marriott trades , I was tempted to look into getting a Marriott.
My other option is 2 BR platinum lockoff at Willowridge EOY with $406 MF which will give me 2 flex trades ( 1 week every year) into other Marriott's. Please note the sole purpose of this Marriott week is to trade into other Marriots, everything else a Worldmark 3 BR is more than enough.

dioxide45 said:

Not so fast. You haven't heard my opinion yet. .

I think in general you have gotten good advice here on buy where you want to go due to the uncertainty with Marriott exchanges in II. However, there are always exceptions to the rule.

Do you or will you have or will have children in school or be otherwise tied to a schedule that requires you to travel during more peak seasons? If so, then the advice here is spot on, buy where you would be happy to go if you don't get your exchange. Somewhere within driving distance would be ideal.

However, if you are able to travel in the off or shoulder season and/or on short notice then buying a lock off resort for trading purposes can be a good idea. Off/shoulder season weeks still appear to be plentiful in II and Marriott is even bulk depositing off season weeks at fantastic resorts. I really wouldn't expect to see that change in the near future. I think II will be a great source of off/shoulder season inventory for years to come.

I would not buy a Marriott unit in hopes of getting prime season exchanges, even with the II preference, but if you are flexible and not tied to traveling prime time, consider a lock off unit. However, it doesn't have to be Grande Vista. While the MFs are a little higher, the Palm Desert resorts may be ideal for your situation.

Click to expand...

Rahulgopi, this is excellent additional advice from Dioxide -- there do appear to be very fine trades available on short notice and also in off/shoulder season. The Marriott preference would be helpful here (look for a thread in the Sightings section when there was an Aruba bulk bank, and we played with the Marriott preference and trading power of different deposits).

Separately (to All), with respect to Steve's question, are there any 3BR Marriotts that split into a 2BR/1BR? I believe Grand Chateau does, are there any others?

Good luck and let us know what you do!

Greg

GregT said:

Rahulgopi, this is excellent additional advice from Dioxide -- there do appear to be very fine trades available on short notice and also in off/shoulder season. The Marriott preference would be useful here.

Separately (to All), with respect to Steve's question, are there any 3BR Marriotts that split into a 2BR/1BR? I believe Grand Chateau does, are there any others?

Good luck and let us know what you do!

Greg

Click to expand...

Do any Shadow Ridge Enclaves lock off like this? I do know there are a few resorts where the 2BRs lock off in to two 1BR units (sort of).

dioxide45 said:

Do any Shadow Ridge Enclaves lock off like this? I do know there are a few resorts where the 2BRs lock off in to two 1BR units (sort of).

Click to expand...

When I did a tour at Shadow Ridge Enclaves, I was told that the 2BR's split into two 1BR units, but when I've searched on II, I see 1BR and Studio deposits, so I don't believe what I was told on the sales tour is correct. I know that is surprising, that a sales tour would include incorrect information.

I know some Starwoods lock off into two 1BR units which make them interesting traders, but I think Marriott is limited. Maybe Lakeshore Reserve locks off into two 1BRs?

Best,

Greg

GregT said:

When I did a tour at Shadow Ridge Enclaves, I was told that the 2BR's split into two 1BR units, but when I've searched on II, I see 1BR and Studio deposits, so I don't believe what I was told on the sales tour is correct. I know that is surprising, that a sales tour would include incorrect information.

I know some Starwoods lock off into two 1BR units which make them interesting traders, but I think Marriott is limited. Maybe Lakeshore Reserve locks off into two 1BRs?

Best,

Greg

Click to expand...

Perhaps Shadow Ridge Enclaves is like Lakeshore Reserve and has two types of 2BR lock off units, the standard 1BR/Studio and the 1BR/1BR? Do you never see Limited Kitchen Enclaves on II? Lakeshore and Grand Chateau have the 1BR/1BR 2BR lockoff type units.

dioxide45 said:

Do any Shadow Ridge Enclaves lock off like this? I do know there are a few resorts where the 2BRs lock off in to two 1BR units (sort of).

Click to expand...

What about Lakeshore Reserve?



.

TheTimeTraveler said:

What about Lakeshore Reserve?



.

Click to expand...

I think we posted at the same time. Lakeshore does have this. Looking on Marriottvacationclub.com I don't see a 1BR/1BR configuration, just the 1BR and 2Br units. I also don't see any mention of a difference between Shadow Ridge and the Enclaves.

GregT said:

Rahulgopi, this is excellent additional advice from Dioxide -- there do appear to be very fine trades available on short notice and also in off/shoulder season. The Marriott preference would be helpful here (look for a thread in the Sightings section when there was an Aruba bulk bank, and we played with the Marriott preference and trading power of different deposits).

Separately (to All), with respect to Steve's question, are there any 3BR Marriotts that split into a 2BR/1BR? I believe Grand Chateau does, are there any others?

Good luck and let us know what you do!

Greg

Click to expand...

When we purchased our 3 bedroom unit at MGC, the salesman told us there was one other Marriott which locked out into a full 2 bedroom and full 1 bedroom unit. His comment was that those two were unique in the Marriott system. Unfortunately, I can't recall which other resort he mentioned. Seems as if it was somewhere other than in the U.S.