# MVC  "TOP. Travelers Opinion Panel" email



## Ann in CA (Aug 19, 2014)

Received an email today from Marriott Vacation Club inviting me, as a Marriott owner, to become a part of this "Travelers Opinion Poll."  Sounds like there is a monthly survey, but in reading the terms one has to agree to, I am a little suspicious as to the motive. I don't mind answering questions designed to improve the MVC experience, but I definitely do not want more emails from people trying to sell me stuff based on what I tell Marriott. 

I did not thoroughly read the terms, but saw enough to Stop before signing up. Any ideas on what this is really trying to accomplish?


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## pennypie (Aug 20, 2014)

*MVC TOP email also received*

I also received this email and was suspicious and would appreciate any comments from others that know if this is truly a way to influence Marriott to provide good products. 

It was also odd that I received the TOP email not only to my address that is registered with Marriott, but I also received second email today at my corporate email, and I am not aware that Marriott has that address registered.  

I too stopped my registration process, because it felt to me that I would end up getting hundreds of marketing emails from third parties.


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## andrea t (Aug 20, 2014)

received one too.  I'll probably sign up.


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## rickxylon (Aug 21, 2014)

Received it and signed up. Figured I could always drop out later. Just curious to see what's up.


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## Big Matt (Aug 21, 2014)

It is a way for Marriott to leverage their customer list.  I took the first survey and it had a lot more to do with how I reserve travel, etc. in a general sense.  Nothing to do with Marriott specifically.  I don't know if they are getting paid by the survey company or the other way around.


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## sparty (Aug 21, 2014)

Big Matt said:


> It is a way for Marriott to leverage their customer list.  I took the first survey and it had a lot more to do with how I reserve travel, etc. in a general sense.  Nothing to do with Marriott specifically.  I don't know if they are getting paid by the survey company or the other way around.



Was it about tech devices? Use Tablets, phones? What brands? What experiences - Make reservations on them, check-in with them, write reviews with them, etc.?


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## suzannesimon (Aug 21, 2014)

Yes - it was all about how we book travel  using technology.  I signed up for it also.  I had to laugh when they said they would have a (quarterly?) drawing for those participating for a 5-day trip to the Marriott timeshare of our choice.  I was wondering if we would have to sit thru a sales presentation.


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## dioxide45 (Aug 21, 2014)

suzannesimon said:


> Yes - it was all about how we book travel  using technology.  I signed up for it also.  I had to laugh when they said they would have a (quarterly?) drawing for those participating for a 5-day trip to the Marriott timeshare of our choice.  I was wondering if we would have to sit thru a sales presentation.



The e-mail we got indicated the sweepstakes drawing would be held semi-annually.


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## kds4 (Aug 22, 2014)

dioxide45 said:


> The e-mail we got indicated the sweepstakes drawing would be held semi-annually.



So quarterly for everyone else, but semi-annually for you? Sounds like your 17 presentations are coming back around. :hysterical:


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## BJRSanDiego (Sep 2, 2014)

*What is "Marriott Vacation Club Top Opinion Panel"?*

Today I got something in my email and was wondering what the "catch" is to their offer.  I'm wondering if they are just trying to get more info in order to sell me points....

"Register today, and discover how rewarding it can be to share your insights and opinions as a Marriott Vacation Club® TOP Advisor! 

 (If you have already registered – thank you, and please disregard this email).

Please consider becoming part of our exciting new Travelers Opinion Panel (TOP).

 We are inviting you to use your experience with us to help shape vacations, products and services that we may offer to Owners like you in the future. 

 Your Ownership experience with us would be a valuable resource for the panel. 

 You'll be one of our TOP Advisors, part of a community of vacationers who – through the sharing of opinions, experiences and insights – will help us identify new ways that we can make vacations amazing. 

Participation is easy and rewarding:
1.To become a TOP Advisor, simply register online. 


2.About once a month, you’ll receive a survey. 


3.Each time you complete a survey, you’ll be entered into a sweepstakes* where the grand prize is a 5–night vacation to your choice of Marriott Vacation Club® resorts and the first prize is a 2–night getaway to your choice of Marriott Vacation Club resorts. The sweepstakes will be conducted semi-annually."

Has anyone else got this and knows what the "catch" is to it?


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## ilene13 (Sep 2, 2014)

I received the email about 2 weeks ago. I signed up, but I have not heard anything else since.


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## StevenTing (Sep 2, 2014)

I signed up as well.  Nothing yet.


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## Fasttr (Sep 2, 2014)

BJRSanDiego said:


> Has anyone else got this and knows what the "catch" is to it?



THIS thread was active a couple of weeks ago on the topic.


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## GregT (Sep 2, 2014)

I signed up too....they just got alot of info on me and my travel preferences.  I will be curious what future surveys look like.


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## SueDonJ (Sep 2, 2014)

I signed up in response to the email, too, and did the questionnaire.  Haven't found a catch yet, and as long as they don't ask for names like the Friends/Family thing, don't require signing up as a social media guinea pig, or anything else I don't want to do, I'll keep answering their questions.

_[Note threads merged.]_


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## StevenTing (Dec 8, 2014)

Anyone fill out the latest survey?  Interesting Topic (Vacation Homes).

Specifically they are asking about interested in Vacation Home rentals using MCD Points.  Weeks would be in the 8000-11000 point range.  I told them I would not be interested but still filled out the remaining questions about locations.

I forgot to capture the questions but maybe someone else will.  Adding Vacation Home rentals could be a nice enhancement, if they aren't too expensive and if they are at locations that would be desirable.


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## Fasttr (Dec 8, 2014)

> Imagine Your Dream Vacation Home . . .
> . . . In Every Dream You Could Imagine.
> Marriott Vacation Club now offers a premier selection of carefully selected luxury vacation homes in the most desired destinations.
> 
> ...



Potential areas....
Hilton Head
St. John
Cancun
Kiawah or Isle of Palms
Sanibel/Naples
Napa/Sonoma
Cabo San Lucas
London
Tuscany area, Italy
Burgundy area, France
Paris
Cannes
Rome
Barcelona


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## suzannesimon (Dec 8, 2014)

I filled out the questionnaire  If their points quotes were accurate (big IF), I could convert the 5 bedrooms we have at MFC for 5 bedrooms in a vacation home.  I think these must be all the "new" locations the salespeople must be referring to


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## SueDonJ (Dec 8, 2014)

I always like the idea of new options for DC Points usage and vacation homes with more than three (max I own) bedrooms would be good additions.  We have, in fact, rented private homes nearby to our timeshares in order to house more family members for several vacations.

But if this pans out at the DC Points cost they indicated, I probably wouldn't use the option for similar vacations because it's possible (at least at Hilton Head) to rent the types of homes they're considering for far less than the cash equivalent of those DC Points.  It might seem odd to hear this from me because I've said that I'm open to using DC Points for Explorer Club options that generally equate to essentially paying more for the convenience of them putting together a trip with several components, when similar trips can be put together for less cost by booking the components independently.  But in the case of rental homes a DC Points option wouldn't add another layer of convenience - the choice would be booking one single component through either MVC or the home rental management company - and the only factor that would differ is cost.

It's the one question the survey didn't ask but I wish it had.  All my answers except the one about the projected DC Points cost were answered positively yet they didn't ask _why_ if I liked the option so much, I'd be extremely hesitant to use it based on the Points price they mentioned.


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## GregT (Dec 8, 2014)

I took the survey and think that this is the next logical expansion of Marriott.   I think this would be a very positive development and would be conducive to selling more points, as existing (and potential) owners see a new and different opportunity for the usage of points.

This is the type of thing I was speculating about here, and I hope it happens.

Best,

Greg


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## Bucky (Dec 9, 2014)

I've taken all the surveys so far. No real spam that I've seen.

What I find funny is the way they have targeted the points towards what appears to be specific individuals?

StevenTing was targeted at 8000-11000 points
Faster was targeted at 12000-15000 points

And I was told 4000-7000. I am not a points member!


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## ilene13 (Dec 9, 2014)

I took the survey also.  The 2 nd question asks you how many points you have.  We have 14,000 and my survey was like FASTTR's.


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## GregT (Dec 9, 2014)

Bucky said:


> I've taken all the surveys so far. No real spam that I've seen.
> 
> What I find funny is the way they have targeted the points towards what appears to be specific individuals?
> 
> ...



I was also 8000-11000 points. 

They must be probing for reaction to different levels. 

Best,

Greg


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## Pens_Fan (Dec 9, 2014)

I cannot see purchasing points for the purpose of renting a house.

That is what VRBO is for, and I don't have to pay maintenance fees.


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## GregT (Dec 9, 2014)

Pens_Fan said:


> I cannot see purchasing points for the purpose of renting a house.
> 
> That is what VRBO is for, and I don't have to pay maintenance fees.



Understood on VRBO, but I'm renting a 6BR house in Breckinridge over New Years and have paid a 50% deposit. 

It's been hard to get the attention of the rentor.  I would much rather be working with Marriott on this. 

Best,

Greg


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## StevenTing (Dec 9, 2014)

ilene13 said:


> I took the survey also.  The 2 nd question asks you how many points you have.  We have 14,000 and my survey was like FASTTR's.



Now that you mention this, they did ask if I knew how many points I had if I exchanged all of my weeks. My answer was 9225.


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## SueDonJ (Dec 9, 2014)

ilene13 said:


> I took the survey also.  The 2 nd question asks you how many points you have.  We have 14,000 and my survey was like FASTTR's.



We have 14,100 and I _think_ ours was like Steven's.  I tried to go back into it but it just gives you a "you've taken this survey" message, but I specifically remember 8,000 being mentioned.


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## suzannesimon (Dec 9, 2014)

I've been taking the surveys for months now but, alas, I'm not a sweepstakes winner.  I have a little over 10,000 points.  I think they are trying to entice Bucky into joining the Destination Club and the rest of us to add to it to have access to the 8 bedroom homes.  

For me, it would have to be a better deal than VRBO.  I'm sure it wouldn't be because there are a lot of safeguards going through Marriott than VRBO.  For me, it wouldn't be worth a lot of extra money (points), but for others it might be attractive.  People still rent timeshare weeks, however, on marriott.com for 2-3 times the cost of renting from a private owner.

I'd also have to compare the rental value for my weeks (subsequently converted to points) compared to the points cost of their vacation homes.  I think if you look at it that way, the numbers won't work that well for most owners.  Still, it will be an attractive option for some owners who want a different vacation experience every few years.


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## GreenTea (Dec 9, 2014)

I only have 1500 points and my houses ranged from 8000-11000 points.

It is a good idea, but they would have to be priced in a similar range to what I could find from an agency or VRBO.


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## Fasttr (Apr 1, 2015)

Just took the latest TOP (Travelers Opinion Panel) poll.  

This one was focused on the possibility of MVC’s in city locations.

The cities they asked about were….
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Boston, MA
Charleston, SC
Chicago, IL
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
Miami Beach, FK
Nashville, TN
New Orleans, LA
New York City, NY
Portland, OR
San Diego, CA
Savannah, GA
Seattle, WA
Washington, DC

They asked to rate the following as important….
Distance to main attractions
Accommodation type preferred:   Hotel room, Hotel Suite with Partition, 1BR, 2BR  
Kitchen type, if any (full fridge, stove, micro….1/2 fridge, no fridge, etc, etc)
WiFi importance
Owners only lounge importance
Housekeeping services
Concierge Services
Food available on site

Asked what you think it should be called….
MVC – City Collection
MVC - Getaway Collection
MVC
MVC – City Experiences
MVC – City Place

Then they asked a myriad of hypothetical combinations of all of the above, listing 3 different scinarios each time, with a different combination of points required for each, and they asked you to select the scenario you liked best from among the 3 shown to you.  They asked that in different combo's of 3 sixteen different times.

They certainly seem to be focused on this City thing.


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## Southerngirl528 (Apr 1, 2015)

Interesting. I had received one or two of these survey emails from Marriott before but just did one for the first time today. They said it would take around 20 minutes but it took me about 5 minutes or so.

As for points, I don't own points and am not sure what my 2 weeks EOYO at Napili tower oceanfront would be worth…..


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## Aviator621 (Apr 2, 2015)

Fasttr--Interesting--same poll for me, but slightly differently city list--don't think Dallas/Ft Worth or Austin was mentioned on mine, but San Francisco was included.


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