# Help for Marriott Vacation Club



## monikas (Apr 8, 2011)

I have a couple of friends with timeshares and have always enjoyed staying with them and am finally contemplating buying a resale.  Family of 6- kids range in age from 8 months to 5 years.  Live in Los Angeles.  A friend is going to be staying at the Marriott Newport Coast Villas this summer and I've been looking for a rental so that we can meet her there.  Now I'm wondering if this would be a good time to buy rather than spend $1,200-$1,400 to rent someone else's week.  

The more I read the more confused I get...

Gold vs. Platinum, Deed vs. Points, why are there so many different prices for what appears to be the same thing for the resales? 

Do you think Marriott would be a good buy for us?  How easy is it to trade- looks like we could possibly trade for Marriott Desert Springs for another vacation that would be in driving distance.  If we wanted to splurge and go to Hawaii one year would it be difficult to do that?

What are the fees I need to know about.  It looks like maintenance is around $900 at the Newport Coast Villas.  Do you pay extra if you want to trade?  

I appreciate your help!

Monika


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## chalee94 (Apr 9, 2011)

The more I read the more confused I get...Gold vs. Platinum, Deed vs. Points, why are there so many different prices for what appears to be the same thing for the resales? 

it's a different world - it takes time to get a handle on it - most will suggest taking 6 months or so to research timeshares before you actually begin the process of buying.

it's too late to buy and stay for this summer so i would rent this time at least and see if you love timesharing enough to jump in with both feet.

Do you think Marriott would be a good buy for us?

the big question to consider before buying a timeshare is how much are you saving by buying as opposed to renting.

marriotts have historically been relatively expensive but with excellent quality.  marriott owners have an advantage when trading in II for another marriott week.

OTOH, marriott recently introduced a points program that seemed to change the availability of some weeks for trade.  marriott is also spinning off its timeshare division which may or may not have an impact in the next few years on the timeshare side.

How easy is it to trade- looks like we could possibly trade for Marriott Desert Springs for another vacation that would be in driving distance.  If we wanted to splurge and go to Hawaii one year would it be difficult to do that?

depends on how flexible you are.  if you are trying to trade for summers and holidays when school is out, then it can be more difficult as many other owners are trying to get those periods also (summer in palm desert would be an exception- too hot). sometimes it can also be more valuable to rent out those weeks, so many of them never even get deposited as potential trades.

i don't own a marriott but have traded into newport coast in early december, for example.  i would not expect to be able to trade for newport coast in july.

What are the fees I need to know about.  It looks like maintenance is around $900 at the Newport Coast Villas.  Do you pay extra if you want to trade? 

maintenance is over $1000, actually:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133029&page=3 

in order to trade, you would need to pay to be a member of interval international (II) - annual membership starts at $89 per year, but sometimes there are discounts.  you would also have to pay a fee for each trade, starting around $109 for a marriott-to-marriott trade and more for non-marriotts and international trades.


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## tahoeJoe (Apr 12, 2011)

*Don't buy*

As a Marriott owner, I would not recommend buying a Marriott week. 

-TJ


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## csalter2 (Apr 12, 2011)

*Not as bad as some would say...*

I am a Marriott owner and have been very, very happy with my purchase. Most of us on TUG who know how to use our timeshares effectively love them too for the same reason that you are considering them. They are larger than hotel rooms, have kitchens, nice activities around them and on the property, etc., etc, etc. There is a great upside to them. 

Most of us have not liked the increase in maintenance fees and looking at the resale prices plummet over the last few year due to the economic downturn. Thus, many are very unhappy. Right now you may be able to rate your timeshare week for cheaper than maintenance fees.  However, the prices won't always be so low. In fact during prime seasons for some properties you can still get top dollar to rent. It all depends. 

I would suggest that if you buy a timeshare that you buy a place where you don't mind taking your family to over and over again. Things will change over time or you may not want to have the timeshare in year older years. My timeshare is in Hawaii. I love it and can go there over and over again. However, the maintenance fees are expensive for Hawaii so there is a tradeoff. You can get great prices on E-Bay, Craig's List, Redweek and here on TUG. 

Get a cheap price, know how large a unit you want and where you want it and during what season. From LA, you have Newport Coast in the OC and you have three Palm Desert properties all within driving distance. They are all very nice resorts and you can get a bargain for them. They all trade well too. 

I would not say to outright not buy a timeshare. Just make sure that you truly enjoy them and be ready to hang onto them for life.


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## monikas (Apr 12, 2011)

*Thank you!*

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post.  I appreciate the feedback.  It does seem to me that it might be a good time to buy since resale values appear to be pretty low.  With 4 kids, we will definitely need two bedrooms when we vacation which would mean two rooms at most hotels.  

One other concern I have after reading more- it appears that you really need to have 2 weeks in order to get the weeks you want at a Marriott?  School vacations are going to be important as my kids get older.  Is there any recommended strategy to do this- maybe buy 1 platinum week and 1 gold week?  Would it be more cost effective to buy the platinum week at Newport Coast Villas and a gold week at one of the Palm Desert properties?  Do people still have problems getting the weeks they want with the 13-month booking?  What happens if you don't get the week you want and the year runs out?  Like if you have a gold week with weeks 1-24 and you get to week 24 and call and are told there is no availability?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  

Also since the points system is now in place, can anyone explain what I'm really losing by buying resale rather than directly from Marriott?  

I have two friends who are staying at NCV for the 4-night special and attending the presentation.  I'm curious to hear what they tell me the pitch is.  

Thank you so much for the advice!


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## MALC9990 (Apr 12, 2011)

monikas said:


> Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post.  I appreciate the feedback.  It does seem to me that it might be a good time to buy since resale values appear to be pretty low.  With 4 kids, we will definitely need two bedrooms when we vacation which would mean two rooms at most hotels.
> 
> One other concern I have after reading more- it appears that you really need to have 2 weeks in order to get the weeks you want at a Marriott?  School vacations are going to be important as my kids get older.  Is there any recommended strategy to do this- maybe buy 1 platinum week and 1 gold week?  Would it be more cost effective to buy the platinum week at Newport Coast Villas and a gold week at one of the Palm Desert properties?  Do people still have problems getting the weeks they want with the 13-month booking?  What happens if you don't get the week you want and the year runs out?  Like if you have a gold week with weeks 1-24 and you get to week 24 and call and are told there is no availability?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> ...



The best advice I got before buying was _"to buy where you want to vacation." _So do not buy somewhere just to exchange it for other places. Treat exchanging as an extra rather than the base product.

So if you want 2 weeks then buy two weeks at the same location - maybe you will need to buy in two transactions but the same resort might be a good idea.

Plan now for the future school holidays. This is especially important for exchanging. To get the best out of exchanging you need to be very flexible on where and when you go and also able to either plan 12 months ahead or take a last minute option when restrictions on exchanging can be removed to get inventory shifted.

If NCV is where you are interested in, then look at their floating weeks calendar and decide how that fits with school holidays in your home town and then plan to buy accordingly.

What are you losing by buying resale rather than buying points from Marriott. Well you will be saving $$$ ,000's for certain.

This is not a decision you should take lightly and rem,ember that you are committing to the ongoing MFs each year and that is a commitment that you should think about very seriously.


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## brigechols (Apr 12, 2011)

Duplicate post


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## brigechols (Apr 12, 2011)

You should also look at purchasing Worldmark credits. The system has quite a few resorts in California and a couple in Hawaii.


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## pwrshift (May 4, 2011)

If you can rent for the maint fee owners pay (or less) why buy?  Marriott is so messed up right now, nobody knows what the future holds.

Brian


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## dms1709 (May 5, 2011)

What Marriotts can you rent for less that the maintenance fee?  The places I keep looking to rent are appr. double the maintenance fees.   I guess it depends on where you would want to go and when, but I think with 4 children you would be traveling when the children are off school, prime time.  We have one Marriott (purchased thru Marriott, before I found tug) and my family has enjoyed it.  We did not do what we should have and have had to exchange each year.    Having the space has been priceless.  I would purchase where you would want to go and exchange as you need to branch out.  Having a timeshare does make you plan a vacation.

Donna


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## mwwich (May 13, 2011)

dms1709 said:


> What Marriotts can you rent for less that the maintenance fee?  The places I keep looking to rent are appr. double the maintenance fees.   I guess it depends on where you would want to go and when, but I think with 4 children you would be traveling when the children are off school, prime time.  We have one Marriott (purchased thru Marriott, before I found tug) and my family has enjoyed it.  We did not do what we should have and have had to exchange each year.    Having the space has been priceless.  I would purchase where you would want to go and exchange as you need to branch out.  Having a timeshare does make you plan a vacation.
> 
> Donna



I think this is good advice for the OP's situation.  With school vacations you will be paying top dollar for rentals, much more than MF's.  Buy the season you need to travel in.  We made two mistakes 1) buying retail w/our Marriott's and 2) buying gold season vs. platinum.  We've made it work w/great vacations by being flexible but w/kids in school you will not be able to be flexible for quite a few years.

After timesharing for 4-5 years we did a 4 day trip to Chicago a few years ago over New Year's using Marriott Reward points and crammed ourselves and two college age daughters in one bedroom....never again.

I would buy again (and have w/Hyatt) but would buy resale and would buy the prime season for that particular resort.  There is an instance or two where a gold or silver season at a particular resort is high demand like Ocean Pointe but that's rare IMO.  Also having the two weeks is helpful to reserve 13 months vs. 12 months.  And we have a home resort we don't mind going back to often (Canyon Villa's) that has lots of competition w/air travel.

It's not a perfect process....what's right for one isn't right for someone else.  One thing we do know is we have thouroughly enjoyed each vacation and can't wait to go on the next one.  Our daughters are using an exchanged week starting Sunday at Marriott Ocean Watch in Myrtle Beach and it's great to see them so pumped for the trip.


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## pixelshuman (Jun 8, 2011)

monikas said:


> One other concern I have after reading more- it appears that you really need to have 2 weeks in order to get the weeks you want at a Marriott?  School vacations are going to be important as my kids get older.  Is there any recommended strategy to do this- maybe buy 1 platinum week and 1 gold week?  Would it be more cost effective to buy the platinum week at Newport Coast Villas and a gold week at one of the Palm Desert properties?  Do people still have problems getting the weeks they want with the 13-month booking?  What happens if you don't get the week you want and the year runs out?  Like if you have a gold week with weeks 1-24 and you get to week 24 and call and are told there is no availability?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Also since the points system is now in place, can anyone explain what I'm really losing by buying resale rather than directly from Marriott?


Hi, also a Newbie to Tug, but we have owned at Marriott Mountainside for several years now (very happily), and bought DVC which gives me a basis for comparison on their points system.
We originally bought one every-other-year-floating platinum week at Marriott because we ski every year and planned on using the lockoff/1 bedroom. Soon there were grandkids so we acquired another platinum week, this time an every-year. The only time one can use the 13-month advantage when buying 2 weeks is if you use them concurrently/consecutively. So our plan had been every other year to use one week in January, the other in March. We have to book both of those at 12 months because they are not consecutive. We could book two weeks @ 13 months in January, then cancel one, then rebook one at 12 months for March but to us its easier to just use the 12 month for both. They were kinda sneaky in not mentioning the consecutive rule at the sales pitch but, when it comes right down to it, staying up til 3a at the 12 month mark we have never (in 6 - 7 years?) not gotten the week we wanted. Would that week be gone if we waited one day? Probably, because ski weeks are popular. But if you can plan in advance, the 12 months is usually enough. And since we love staying where we bought we still feel we made a great purchase.
The resale rule as pertains to points is that there's a huge fee to convert to points (not sure if annual or one-time) if you bought resale, and only $600 if you bought developer with no more fees other than the annual points membership fee. We took a pass as we like using our II membership for getaways, and the points our week converted to would not have served us as well as the week we already owned so it would have been $600 for nothing. 
If you want to go listen to the sales presentation, leave your wallet/checkbook at home, but its pretty neat to listen to. Personally I think the Marriott point system is inferior to Disney for its lack of home resort priority, so we're not going to buy any points or convert our weeks anytime soon, but just going was very educational last month and they gave us both $100 Visa + 25K Marriott Reward points since they contacted us before one of our dirt-cheap getaway stays.


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## pedro47 (Jun 8, 2011)

May I suggest that you step back and wait. Cool Off for sometime.   I would read TUG Advice column found in the upper right in red letters at least three times before I purchase any timeshare.

Weeks are out and points are in.  Again, read TUG's about the new Marriott points system; read about Diamond International point system, RCI/Wyndham, point system, Worldmark point system and all the other various timeshare point system in the timeshare industry.

Just take you time before you purchase a timeshare.  Please

Marriott has the best timeshare resorts in turn of quality of buildings, furnitures,locations and amenities.


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