# Question about income requirement for Marriott Vacation Club tour



## S1C EM (Aug 12, 2008)

I recently was talked into doing the MVC tour at the BeachTowers in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.  We were making reservations for a different reason, but after the girl on the phone told me about the package, I figured why not?  

Well, tonight I received the confirmation courtesy call.  The gentleman on the phone confirmed all the details about our reservation and then asked to verify that we met the $100,000 household income requirement.  This caught me off guard because when we booked the tour package, this requirement was never mentioned to me.  I thought about it, and figuring they really have no way to verify this information anyway, I just said yes.  We do not, however, meet that requirement at the moment as my wife is currently going back to school and not pulling much 'bread' while doing so.  Thus, my question is: Do they have a way to verify our income and will they do that?  Will it cause problems with us being able to take advantage of the package?  

Again, I figure they don't.  Heck, when you buy a car, you state your income, but it's never verified.  I don't think it's really possible for them to do it without seeing tax records or a pay stub or something.  

Can someone in-the-know please tell me how this works and what I should be aware of (and prepared for)?  

Thanks so much!


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## Liz Wolf-Spada (Aug 12, 2008)

I've never been asked to verify income on any tours.
Liz


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## S1C EM (Aug 12, 2008)

Liz Wolf-Spada said:


> I've never been asked to verify income on any tours.
> Liz



So perhaps this was nothing more than a weed-out question and they were just hoping that an honest answer might save them their time and money?


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## LUVourMarriotts (Aug 12, 2008)

It is a requirement that Marriott doesn't enforce in any way.  In fact, when we were speaking with a sales rep once, we were told, "Marriott doesn't care if you have any income really, they just check your credit to make sure you pay your bills".  I would guess that this is true.

I have also not ever been asked to verify income.  I have also had friends who were not married and did not own their house go on a package tour.  Those are also requirements.  Marriott would waste a lot of time and money if they actually investigated these requirements.


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## laxmom (Aug 12, 2008)

In the print ads, there is an income requirement listed but I don't remember it being that high.  We were never asked to provide and proof of income on any of the tours we attended.


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## Beverley (Aug 13, 2008)

The "requirement" used to be 80K and own your own home.  

They can not check your income without your permission.  They will not check prior to your tour.  If you buy, perhaps they will look but they are much more concerned about your credit rating when making a purchase that would involve financing.  I can not imagine a sales rep turning down a sale for a marketing income requirement.  

All that being said, they will not check your income for a tour ... do not worry ... take the tour and the points/ gift.  

Beverley


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## JimIg23 (Aug 13, 2008)

I would never give any company permission to view (or give them access to) my financial records for a discounted 4 day vacation.  Only if I need to secure financing would I release it, and only to the financial company.


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## Liz Wolf-Spada (Aug 13, 2008)

All they are trying to do is maximize sales by informally prequalifying people who could afford to buy if they chose to do so.
Liz


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## lprstn (Aug 13, 2008)

They never check, even when you do purchase.  Heck we purchased our first TS (that we rescinded) when my DH was a new realtor and I was in college full time working on my Master's degree.  So we had no $$, heck they lowered our deposit to $286


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## S1C EM (Aug 13, 2008)

Thank you all so much!  

This information has been very helpful!  Just for the record, the guy on the phone only asked me if we met the requirement or not, but did not indicate that they would ever attempt to verify.  I had no intention of giving anyone any income verification at all, but wanted to make sure that they weren't going to ask for it on the tour and then tell us that because we 'mislead' them that we would have to pay the retail rate for our stay.  Frankly, we could still afford to buy one of the timeshares if we wanted, though we don't really have the intention.  We've considered it in the past, but we'll probably try to visit several before we ever make that decision.  

Does anyone have any advice that they can offer for when we take the tour?  I've seen varying stories from 'they lock you in the room and won't let you go until you sign' to 'it's really no pressure at all...you buy one or you don't and then you leave'.  The girl on the phone stated it was not a hard sell method that they utilized.  I just hate to think that we'll be giving them any more than 90 minutes of our time.  They scheduled it for 8:30am on our third day. :annoyed: 

Oh well...it's a small price for a great deal.


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## IslandJoe (Aug 13, 2008)

I guess this is the reverse of " If a timeshare salesman's lips are moving - he's lying".  Also true of people who tour.


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## S1C EM (Aug 13, 2008)

IslandJoe said:


> I guess this is the reverse of " If a timeshare salesman's lips are moving - he's lying".  Also true of people who tour.



Why so?  I never said I would never buy one, but we aren't right now.  The income requirement was never brought up when we booked the tour and is effectively irrelevant anyway.  You're implying that we should now change all of our plans to avoid lying to the sales rep (that is if we prefer not to be 'liars')?

It wasn't exactly my plan to mislead anyone.  They can thank their booking agent for that.


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## aka Julie (Aug 13, 2008)

*My advice*



S1C EM said:


> Does anyone have any advice that they can offer for when we take the tour?  I've seen varying stories from 'they lock you in the room and won't let you go until you sign' to 'it's really no pressure at all...you buy one or you don't and then you leave'.  The girl on the phone stated it was not a hard sell method that they utilized.  I just hate to think that we'll be giving them any more than 90 minutes of our time.  They scheduled it for 8:30am on our third day. :annoyed:



We own 3 weeks (2 direct from Marriott a long time ago and 1 recent resale purchase) and have taken several presentations -- not a lot compared to others.

On the most part they are low key, however, some sales reps are a little bit more aggressive especially if they suspect that you might buy.

The last 2 we were on they really pushed the value of the Marriott Reward points we would get as incentives if we bought and points for trading in our week after we own.  This doesn't wash with me and I let them know that at the very outset.  They don't understand my reasoning (harder and harder to get FF seats and Marriott keeps devaluing their rewards program) and I don't understand theirs.

I also told them upfront that my husband had a tee time at **:** (2 hours from time presentation was supposed to begin) and that we absolutely had to be out of there after 90 minutes.  15 minutes before the 90 minutes would be up I again reminded the sales rep of our time constraints.  She was not close to ending, but rushed to finalize to get us out the door.  If you don't "manage" the time, they will take longer unles they absolutely feel there's no chance of a sale.

You need to go in with a strategy and you'll be fine.  If you think you might want to buy, don't do it on the spot.  Your head will be spinning from all the "facts and figures" they throw out at you but rarely put in writing other than a lot of scribbles on a piece of paper.  You need to take time to weigh your options, think about it with a clear head, and then you can always call the sales rep back and the offer will still be there.

Good luck!


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## S1C EM (Aug 13, 2008)

aka Julie said:


> We own 3 weeks (2 direct from Marriott a long time ago and 1 recent resale purchase) and have taken several presentations -- not a lot compared to others.
> 
> On the most part they are low key, however, some sales reps are a little bit more aggressive especially if they suspect that you might buy.
> 
> ...



Sounds like solid advice.  I think the way I'll handle it is to just let them know upfront that we have no intention of buying that day since before we do, we're going to look around at what's out there.  No discerning person would make a decision without first considering all the implications and other options, so surely they will have to understand that.  I think if I make that fact clear from the start, they will be less likely to try and push the tour any longer than planned.

Thanks for the advice!


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## Bill4728 (Aug 13, 2008)

RE the income question:

TS developers will ask about your income for one reason and you can get in trouble with them for that same reason. 

You can't say _" I'd buy a TS from you but I don't make enough money"_ They assume that if you make $80K -$100K a year, you can afford to buy a TS from them. So you shouldn't even think about saying _" I'd buy a TS from you but I don't make enough money"_ Give any other reason for not buying but not that one.


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## potchak (Aug 13, 2008)

laxmom said:


> In the print ads, there is an income requirement listed but I don't remember it being that high.  We were never asked to provide and proof of income on any of the tours we attended.





Beverley said:


> The "requirement" used to be 80K and own your own home.



Actually, depends on if you are on the West coast or East coast. We had signed up for a St Thomas tour while we were living on the east coast, and the minimum income was $75K. Before we were able to take the tour, we were moved to Arizona, so we switched to a Hawaiian property, where the min was $100K. So it all depends on what property you are going to. I think it is because the Hawaiian properties are that much more expensive.


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## JimIg23 (Aug 13, 2008)

Bill4728 said:


> They assume that if you make $80K -$100K a year, you can afford to buy a TS from them. .



I agree, but with the prices of housing, food, gas, and retirement saving, unless you bought your house for 150k or rent an apt for 1k a month, I dont know how anyone could afford a direct purchase on 80k.


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