- Joined
- Jun 6, 2005
- Messages
- 4,893
- Reaction score
- 4,447
- Points
- 599
- Resorts Owned
-
Marriott:
Maui Ocean Club
Waiohai Beach Club
Barony Beach Club
Abound ClubPoints
HGVC:
HGVC at Sea World
A year ago this week we became Marriott owners. So since there have been several threads recently started by new owners or prospective owners asking questions about the system, I thought I would post my impressions as a new Marriott owner after that first year.
After a lot of research and reading on TUG, last June, we bought 1750 DC Points and a Marriott Barony Beach Club Silver week worth 1625 Points in a hybrid/combo package from Marriott. Our cost came in at about $6.98 per point since the cost of an Encore package was credited to our purchase. We were new to Marriott, but not new to timeshare having owned at Diamond's Kaanapali Beach Club for 16 years. We sold that 2BR last fall after buying Marriott.
Successful Points Bookings: 3 for 3
We have yet to actually travel using our ownership, primarily because in 2014 and 2015 we've been using up several banked weeks from our Kaanapali ownership that we had sitting in RCI and II. But we have made three Marriott reservations and have "shopped" the online system extensively to get a sense of availability. The bottom line is I have been very pleased with the availability we've seen within the DC and we are 3 for 3 in getting the exact reservation we want.
Our first reservation was made last December at the opening of the 10-month reservation window for Hilton Head Harbour Point for Columbus Day Weekend 2015. We specifically targeted Harbour Point because point requirements there were modest and we could book four nights - Friday through Monday nights - with 650 of the 750 incentive points we got with our purchase. We later had to cancel that reservation due to a change in plans.
Last Tuesday we used the same 650 points to book the same Harbour Point resort for Wednesday night through Saturday night next April 2016 for the week of the RBC Heritage PGA Golf tournament. That turned out to be an excellent value for the points as, just out of curiosity, I looked to see what Harbour Point would rent for this same four nights on Marriott.com and it was $1,535 - over $380/night.
Then last Friday, when the 12-month window opened up for the week we wanted in June 2016, I used our banked 2015 trust and elected points, our 2016 trust and elected points, the 100 leftover incentive points, plus 650 points we rented using VPE to book a week next June in a 2BR Oceanfront at Maui Ocean Club. We're pairing that week with an RCI exchange we booked a couple months ago into the HGVC Waikoloa Kohala Suites on the Big Island using one of our leftover Kaanapali weeks.
The Maui booking is not nearly as good of a value as the Harbour Point booking, but given that we've never been particularly comfortable with owner direct rentals from somewhere like Redweek.com, even the 7450 points it required compares favorably with rentals on Marriott.com. (A 1BR OF costs over $4,600 in the summer and I've never even seen 2BR OF units on Marriott.com.)
A Better Use for Our Barony Week
We elected our Barony week for DC Points for 2015 and 2016 because we wanted a critical mass of points to play with these first couple of years, and because we were planning our first trip back to Hawaii since 2011. But going forward, I think we will use that week in a different manner based on what we've learned here on TUG.
That Silver week only generates 1625 points, so given the $1190 maintenance fee, it is not a terribly efficient point generator. It worked well these first two years to give us the critical mass of points we were looking for at the outset, but going forward, the cost of those points is just too high to use that as a long term strategy. Based on TUGgers reporting they regularly use Silver Barony weeks to up-trade to Gold season in HHI, I think that we will try that for 2017. We'll finally be free of the public school calendar that fall when our youngest heads to college, so we are definitely going to try to reserve a high-value 2017 Silver week in late March and see what we can do in II to trade back into Barony, Grande Ocean, or Surf Watch during Gold season in fall 2017 or spring 2018. If that works, that will likely become our primary strategy for the Silver Barony week. We may also choose to use the week at Barony from time to time either in March or over one of the November or December holiday periods.
Point Rentals for Points Reservations
The Barony week will, of course, still be electable for points, so that will always be an option, but with point rentals going for $0.50 or less per point, I see very few reasons to ever elect at a MF cost of over $0.70/pt. So if we don't elect our Barony week for DC Points any more, we'll need more points for other bookings, I'm sure.
Based on my first VPE transaction last week, we'll do a lot more point rentals in the future. Since once the transfer is made, those points are mine and the ensuing reservation is 100% in my name, I'm more comfortable with that model than renting weeks direct from owners.
We'll continue to have our 1750 trust points every year and will add to that through rentals, I suspect.
Other Purchases?
If point rentals work well, I can see few, if any, reasons to own more DC points. While owned points can be banked and borrowed and rented points cannot, I am hopeful we can plan our needs well enough to make that a non-issue. The only other exception might be if we decide there is enough value in becoming Executive for the ability to reserve 1+ days at 13 months. We would need 3625 more points at current levels, so we would need to find another attractive combo purchase that would give us a week we could use and minimize the additional retail points we have to buy. Hopefully the 10 and 12 month booking windows will work well for us and we won't feel the need to do this.
The only other purchase I could realistically see us making might be a Gold week at Grande Ocean -- if we decide we want to go to HHI more than once a year. The Barony week we already own will only get us there once. Since a GO Oceanfront Gold takes 4000 DC points, it makes more sense to own that season and pay the $1200-$1300 MF rather than points that cost almost $2000 in MF. We would then look for a good resale OF or OS unit.
Conclusions
Based on one year's worth of experience, I am very pleased with the Marriott Destination Club Points system. Trading through RCI was always a frustrating exercise for me, with limited online instant availability and long waits for ongoing searches. I hated the uncertainty. What I love about the DC is the ability to go online, see what is available and book a quality vacation without the frustrating search process.
I also am enthusiastic about the shorter stay bookings. The four-night Harbour Point bookings would have been impossible under the old weeks system, and I love that flexibility of the DC.
I realize a lot of legacy weeks owners are happy with that system and don't like the higher cost of the DC. But based on one short year, I can say as a new owner, DC ownership has delivered on the things that we were looking for. But also having the flexibility to play a bit in the weeks system with our Barony week only adds to the value for us.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought some may benefit from a compilation of one Marriott newbie's observations after a year in the system.
Jim
After a lot of research and reading on TUG, last June, we bought 1750 DC Points and a Marriott Barony Beach Club Silver week worth 1625 Points in a hybrid/combo package from Marriott. Our cost came in at about $6.98 per point since the cost of an Encore package was credited to our purchase. We were new to Marriott, but not new to timeshare having owned at Diamond's Kaanapali Beach Club for 16 years. We sold that 2BR last fall after buying Marriott.
Successful Points Bookings: 3 for 3
We have yet to actually travel using our ownership, primarily because in 2014 and 2015 we've been using up several banked weeks from our Kaanapali ownership that we had sitting in RCI and II. But we have made three Marriott reservations and have "shopped" the online system extensively to get a sense of availability. The bottom line is I have been very pleased with the availability we've seen within the DC and we are 3 for 3 in getting the exact reservation we want.
Our first reservation was made last December at the opening of the 10-month reservation window for Hilton Head Harbour Point for Columbus Day Weekend 2015. We specifically targeted Harbour Point because point requirements there were modest and we could book four nights - Friday through Monday nights - with 650 of the 750 incentive points we got with our purchase. We later had to cancel that reservation due to a change in plans.
Last Tuesday we used the same 650 points to book the same Harbour Point resort for Wednesday night through Saturday night next April 2016 for the week of the RBC Heritage PGA Golf tournament. That turned out to be an excellent value for the points as, just out of curiosity, I looked to see what Harbour Point would rent for this same four nights on Marriott.com and it was $1,535 - over $380/night.
Then last Friday, when the 12-month window opened up for the week we wanted in June 2016, I used our banked 2015 trust and elected points, our 2016 trust and elected points, the 100 leftover incentive points, plus 650 points we rented using VPE to book a week next June in a 2BR Oceanfront at Maui Ocean Club. We're pairing that week with an RCI exchange we booked a couple months ago into the HGVC Waikoloa Kohala Suites on the Big Island using one of our leftover Kaanapali weeks.
The Maui booking is not nearly as good of a value as the Harbour Point booking, but given that we've never been particularly comfortable with owner direct rentals from somewhere like Redweek.com, even the 7450 points it required compares favorably with rentals on Marriott.com. (A 1BR OF costs over $4,600 in the summer and I've never even seen 2BR OF units on Marriott.com.)
A Better Use for Our Barony Week
We elected our Barony week for DC Points for 2015 and 2016 because we wanted a critical mass of points to play with these first couple of years, and because we were planning our first trip back to Hawaii since 2011. But going forward, I think we will use that week in a different manner based on what we've learned here on TUG.
That Silver week only generates 1625 points, so given the $1190 maintenance fee, it is not a terribly efficient point generator. It worked well these first two years to give us the critical mass of points we were looking for at the outset, but going forward, the cost of those points is just too high to use that as a long term strategy. Based on TUGgers reporting they regularly use Silver Barony weeks to up-trade to Gold season in HHI, I think that we will try that for 2017. We'll finally be free of the public school calendar that fall when our youngest heads to college, so we are definitely going to try to reserve a high-value 2017 Silver week in late March and see what we can do in II to trade back into Barony, Grande Ocean, or Surf Watch during Gold season in fall 2017 or spring 2018. If that works, that will likely become our primary strategy for the Silver Barony week. We may also choose to use the week at Barony from time to time either in March or over one of the November or December holiday periods.
Point Rentals for Points Reservations
The Barony week will, of course, still be electable for points, so that will always be an option, but with point rentals going for $0.50 or less per point, I see very few reasons to ever elect at a MF cost of over $0.70/pt. So if we don't elect our Barony week for DC Points any more, we'll need more points for other bookings, I'm sure.
Based on my first VPE transaction last week, we'll do a lot more point rentals in the future. Since once the transfer is made, those points are mine and the ensuing reservation is 100% in my name, I'm more comfortable with that model than renting weeks direct from owners.
We'll continue to have our 1750 trust points every year and will add to that through rentals, I suspect.
Other Purchases?
If point rentals work well, I can see few, if any, reasons to own more DC points. While owned points can be banked and borrowed and rented points cannot, I am hopeful we can plan our needs well enough to make that a non-issue. The only other exception might be if we decide there is enough value in becoming Executive for the ability to reserve 1+ days at 13 months. We would need 3625 more points at current levels, so we would need to find another attractive combo purchase that would give us a week we could use and minimize the additional retail points we have to buy. Hopefully the 10 and 12 month booking windows will work well for us and we won't feel the need to do this.
The only other purchase I could realistically see us making might be a Gold week at Grande Ocean -- if we decide we want to go to HHI more than once a year. The Barony week we already own will only get us there once. Since a GO Oceanfront Gold takes 4000 DC points, it makes more sense to own that season and pay the $1200-$1300 MF rather than points that cost almost $2000 in MF. We would then look for a good resale OF or OS unit.
Conclusions
Based on one year's worth of experience, I am very pleased with the Marriott Destination Club Points system. Trading through RCI was always a frustrating exercise for me, with limited online instant availability and long waits for ongoing searches. I hated the uncertainty. What I love about the DC is the ability to go online, see what is available and book a quality vacation without the frustrating search process.
I also am enthusiastic about the shorter stay bookings. The four-night Harbour Point bookings would have been impossible under the old weeks system, and I love that flexibility of the DC.
I realize a lot of legacy weeks owners are happy with that system and don't like the higher cost of the DC. But based on one short year, I can say as a new owner, DC ownership has delivered on the things that we were looking for. But also having the flexibility to play a bit in the weeks system with our Barony week only adds to the value for us.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought some may benefit from a compilation of one Marriott newbie's observations after a year in the system.
Jim
