# Marriott Trading System



## kyfonky (Aug 26, 2012)

Hello everyone

I'm so interested in buying a Marriot resale, particulary at Newport or Timberlodge; still not sure about how much trading power those might have for getting into another locations (platinum ski seasson at TL or platinum seasson at Newport)

However, I just read a thread about the four main TS systems, and realized that many people complain about the Marriott Trading System thru II, and the 13-months priority for multiple owners.

They basically said that trading into Marriot is very "complicated", and very ofther you do not get the week that you want.

I know that Marriott does not really have an internal trading system, still gives 25 days priority to other Marriott's owners for trading thru II, before the inventory is released for everybody else. 

Can somebody share your experience for trading with Marriott? How often can you get what you want?

If I'm buying a EOY 2BR L/O at Platinum Newport or Timberlodge, is it probable, within reasonable basis, to get a trade to Villas Doral at Summer? Timberlodge at ski seasson (if buying Newport)? Newport at summer (if buying at TL)? Vegas in Summer? other ski locations? and perhaps Orlando in summer?

I really like buying at Marriot, because I love the resorts/locations, even thought I prefer the points system for its flexibility and considering that Marriot does not have resorts in Mexico, where I live; still, if trading into places I want is probable, I guess I will buy Marriott.

Thanks in advance.


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## BocaBoy (Aug 26, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Hello everyone
> 
> I'm so interested in buying a Marriot resale, particulary at Newport or Timberlodge; still not sure about how much trading power those might have for getting into another locations (platinum ski seasson at TL or platinum seasson at Newport)
> 
> ...


Platinum weeks at Newport Coast Villas and Timber Lodge both have strong trading power.  You would usually be able to get what you want in a trade, but of course there are no guarantees.  However, there are no lockoff units at Newport Coast Villas.


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## LAX Mom (Aug 26, 2012)

July & August at Newport are tough to get if you own Newport plat. The plat season goes all the way from late June (excluding July 4 week) to early Dec, but many owners want the July & Aug. weeks. This makes it very tough to book a week unless you own more than 1 and have the 13 month advantage in booking. 

Summer months at Newport Coast are also a very tough exchange with II. Many plat owners use summer weeks themselves or rent them out for lots of $$.


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## jdunn1 (Aug 27, 2012)

Newport is not a lock off resort, but Timber Lodge is.  With that said, I would say a Newport July or August week is an almost impossible exchange so if vacationing there in those months is a goal, best to buy there and book as soon as your 12 month window opens -- and start calling at 8:55 AM and don't stop hitting redial until you get through.  

I think there are two platinum seasons at Timber Lodge, summer and winter.  Getting a ski week is really tough but so long as you do not want a holiday week, I think you will get a trade for a ski week before you would get a summer Newport trade.  Getting a full 2 bedroom at one of the Marriott ski resorts is tough becuase those units all lock off and the trade power is so great that most owners always lock off their two bedrooms so for a prime ski week (holiday weeks are impossible) you will almost always have to settle for a one bedroom.  Sometimes you will see a full two bedroom hit II within a week or so of check-in and two bedrooms at the ski resorts can be had very easily for early December and maybe the last week of March and first week or two of April, but that's when the snow is iffy.

...and trading for Marriotts in II can be a lot of fun and it is pretty amazing what even a one bedroom platinum marriott can pull.  But, when you do not buy the best inventory Marriott has (i.e. a ski week or summer Carolina beach week, Hawaii), your trading power is limited.  You can get those prime weeks, but I would say your odds of landing a ski week or a summer beach week (with the exception of Florida) are not good.  You will get those trades sometimes, but not with any amount of regularity that you can plan vacations around them.


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## puckmanfl (Aug 27, 2012)

good morning....

Here's a trick I used before DC... Purchase a 3 bedroom somewhere cheaper... Probably can pick up a 3 bedroom GV for about 8-10K.  I own 2 of these.  Before DC i traded every year for ski weeks at mountainside, summer HHI and summer NCV.  Only caveat is i gave wide range of dates...Usually gave early feb-mid march for my ski weeks....

3 bedroom at GV out traded my 2 bedroom hawaii... I can prove this.. I deposited my 3 bedroom GV and 2 bedroom hawaii (both plat) weeks and requested ski week at mountainside with both..The 3 bedroom GV trade came in first!!!!


3 bedroom grand chateau would work better as these lock off into 2 and 1 bedroom (not 2 + studio)  Higher trade power than GV but more expensive MF's...

I have stopped II trades since DC came out...don't know about II trades now...lots of controversy here... My impression is that II trades have diminished but still good values to be had if flexible and good planning!!!


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## BocaBoy (Aug 27, 2012)

jdunn1 said:


> Getting a full 2 bedroom at one of the *Marriott ski resorts is tough becuase those units all lock off* and the trade power is so great that most owners always lock off their two bedrooms.



Not 100% true.  In Vail, Marriott's StreamSide-Evergreen is composed entirely of dedicated 2BR units.


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## jdunn1 (Aug 27, 2012)

That is true but the Vail resorts are not ski in ski out.  And no one here on Tug ever posts about the Vail resorts.  Almost like they do not exist.




BocaBoy said:


> Not 100% true.  In Vail, Marriott's StreamSide-Evergreen is composed entirely of dedicated 2BR units.


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## kyfonky (Aug 27, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your replies; very usefull!

I guess it might be better to buy a platinum Newport than a platinum ski Timberlodge, as it might be more difficult to get a summer week in Newport than a non-holiday-ski week at Timberlodge.

Still I wonder how much trading power a Barony week might have for getting those platinum weeks at Newport and/or Timberlodge....just thinking.....

Also the main point I wanted to brought to this thread was how easy is to trade marriott thru II, as in several posts many people complain about trading with Marriott, particularly since DC, and considering the every-day-increasing inventory in the DC trust.

Thanks again


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## BocaBoy (Aug 28, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> I guess it might be better to buy a platinum Newport than a platinum ski Timberlodge, as it might be more difficult to get a summer week in Newport than a non-holiday-ski week at Timberlodge.



Don't underestimate the value of owning a lockoff.


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## Beefnot (Aug 28, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Thanks everyone for your replies; very usefull!
> 
> I guess it might be better to buy a platinum Newport than a platinum ski Timberlodge, as it might be more difficult to get a summer week in Newport than a non-holiday-ski week at Timberlodge.
> 
> ...



Prime beach and ski weeks may be difficult to get through II, I dunno, but everything else is ripe for the taking. Also, if you plan or are able to take more than one week of vacation per year and have flexibility, then I would concur with the lock-off recommendation. Getting two 2br trades from a single 2br lockoff is nice.


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## kyfonky (Aug 28, 2012)

BocaBoy said:


> Don't underestimate the value of owning a lockoff.



I don't BocaBoy; a L/O is actually my preference but resale price and MF's for a 2BR L/O at TL is much higher than a 2BR at NCV, and considering that, based on some opinions in this thread, it might be easier to get a non-holiday-ski-week at TL than a summer NCV week....it looks that the decision might be to get NCV.....still this is something to think about, since I honestly like TL better than NCV, just for family reasons.

So...Generally speaking and based on some comments, it looks like trading into Marriot, thru II of course, is not as painfull as some other expressed in other threads/posts. Maybe it is painfull for prime/holiday weeks, but other than that, it is reasonable possible to get what you want, within a reasonable time in advance.

Does anyone agree with this statement based on your experiences?

I basically want to use my Marriot TS for ski seasson at non-holiday weeks (such as first week of December); NCV at summer (July or August) or early December; Villas Doral at summer (July or August) or early december; and Vegas at Summer. All this at least for the years my dauther is at school; after that, when she is going to college, I will normally use my TS during September to December....I'm very flexible at work....

Not sure if a platinum NCV week can give me reasonable possibilities to get the trades I want......

Please advise


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## m61376 (Aug 28, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> I don't BocaBoy; a L/O is actually my preference but resale price and MF's for a 2BR L/O at TL is much higher than a 2BR at NCV, and considering that, based on some opinions in this thread, it might be easier to get a non-holiday-ski-week at TL than a summer NCV week....it looks that the decision might be to get NCV.....still this is something to think about, since I honestly like TL better than NCV, just for family reasons.
> 
> So...Generally speaking and based on some comments, it looks like trading into Marriot, thru II of course, is not as painfull as some other expressed in other threads/posts. Maybe it is painfull for prime/holiday weeks, but other than that, it is reasonable possible to get what you want, within a reasonable time in advance.
> 
> ...


Unless you want to go to NCV a lot of the time over the summer, then I would lean towards getting a lock-off. If you are very flexible at work, you might be able to make great use of that lock-off capability. Can you plan less than 60 days out? If so, don't overlook those Flexchange trades.

I would only buy NCV if that's where I wanted to go a lot of the time.


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## kyfonky (Aug 28, 2012)

m61376 said:


> Unless you want to go to NCV a lot of the time over the summer, then I would lean towards getting a lock-off. If you are very flexible at work, you might be able to make great use of that lock-off capability. Can you plan less than 60 days out? If so, don't overlook those Flexchange trades.
> 
> I would only buy NCV if that's where I wanted to go a lot of the time.



Thanks m61376!  No, I do not plan to go many times to NCV, since I own a DVC that I pretend to use most of the time when going to SoCal; still I'd like to go to NCV 3 to 4 times in my life, as I've seen the picture and it looks great; plus going to Disney everytime is something that I do not consider particularly when children go to college. My concern is not being possible to get a NCV trade ever in a summer seasson, if not owning there.

Most of the time I pretend to go to ski resorts, at ski seassons, particularly to Timberlodge; secondly I pretend to go to Miami/Fort Laudardale and Las Vegas; and eventually to Orlando and Hawaii.

So I do not know what resale week might be the best for me.

Regards


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## jdunn1 (Aug 28, 2012)

My vote is for summer NCV for you.  This will surely get you all of the trades you want and in the years you want NCV, then so long as you call to book your home week right at the 12 month mark, you should be fine.  If you decide you need more trades you can always buy a lock off Orlando or Branson or Williamsburg or desert EOY Marriott for practically nothing.  I'd start with NCV and go from there.




kyfonky said:


> Thanks m61376!  No, I do not plan to go many times to NCV, since I own a DVC that I pretend to use most of the time when going to SoCal; still I'd like to go to NCV 3 to 4 times in my life, as I've seen the picture and it looks great; plus going to Disney everytime is something that I do not consider particularly when children go to college. My concern is not being possible to get a NCV trade ever in a summer seasson, if not owning there.
> 
> Most of the time I pretend to go to ski resorts, at ski seassons, particularly to Timberlodge; secondly I pretend to go to Miami/Fort Laudardale and Las Vegas; and eventually to Orlando and Hawaii.
> 
> ...


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## kjd (Aug 28, 2012)

To the OP:  There is nothing complicated at all about the Marriott trading system per se'.  It's what you read here at TUG that makes it so.  The reason is that a lot of posters here are interested in maximizing their usage.  I'm one of them.  Sometimes these strategy discussions become very twisted, lack consensus and are at best long shots.

It's very simple to call the Marriott adviser and let them handle things.  If you bought re-sale you might not have an adviser but the Marriott desk at I.I. can also handle things pretty well.  You will get what they are able to give you.  If that's all you need then there's no problem.

It becomes complicated when you read about alternative strategies that involve MRPs, DC points, ACs, flextime, lockoffs, etc. All of that is discussed here at one time or another.  The best way to learn is to read the posts that you are interested in and in time you will get the picture.

Mariott's trading system is simple.  You trade your week for another week.  When it goes beyond that it gets more complicated but, for many of us well worth the effort.


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## Davey54321 (Aug 28, 2012)

*We are at Newport Coast Villas now on an II trade....*

....used Memorial Day week 2012 Marriott Cypress Harbour sport week to get it... Great resort, (beautiful location and weather here now too) with some caveats, which I will share at later date, if anyone is interested....
Vicki
ps. We have been able to get pretty much any trades we wanted within MVCI using our Cypress Harbour Sport week as trader, including Oahu and Kauia and Marbella, but this is first major trade since DC program was fully in play... We did join DC and bought some points (hedging our bets, with that decision


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## Bill4728 (Aug 28, 2012)

Most all good weeks at nice Marriott resorts will have enough trading power to get the weeks you want. II assigns trading power when you deposit your week and if the week you deposit has enough power, if the week is available you can get it. 

The problem isn't trading power but supply and demand. Very few summer weeks at NCV get deposited. So there are more people ( who have a deposit with enough trading power) wanting summer NCV then weeks available.  So, having higher trading power may not be the key to getting one of those weeks. 

We own 2 gold weeks at NCV, but never have to use them to trade into NCV during platinum season.  Our other TSs have enough trading power to get us into NCV in the fall (when we prefer to visit NCV) and our gold weeks at NCV let us reserve any week in the spring.  

Hope this helps


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## kyfonky (Aug 29, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your comments! very usefull information. After reading your comments I guess I'm more comfortable about the trading system; as someone said, Marriot trading system is simple, but sometimes we complicate it trying to get the most benefits.

I guess I will check resales prices for both Timberlodge and NCV and compare; maybe Barony might be also a good option -for trading only-. A cheaper options are Grande Vista and Grand Chateu, but I'm not sure how much trading I can get with those weeks.

Thanks again


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## kyfonky (Oct 17, 2012)

*How much trading power....*

Hello everyone!

I'd like to have your opinions and experiences about how good trades I could get with the following resorts/seassons:

- Timberlodge 2BR Gold seasson (i.e. last week of November)
- Timberlodge 1BR Platinum seasson (January to February)
- MountainSide 2BR Silver seasson (i.e. last week of November)
- Newport Coast 2BR Platinum seasson (i.e. summer, mid-november or early december)
- Villas Doral 2BR Silver seasson (i.e. summer June to August)
- Grand Chateau 2BR Platinum seasson (what is the most-demanded dates in the US? (I live in Mexico)
- Grande Vista 2BR Platinum seasson (i.e. summer)

Those are my options to buy resale, based on cost and annual MF's (except for TL Platinum which even 1BR is expensive). 

Finally, does a Silver week normally gets poor trades? (i.e. silver only gets silver or Gold at the most); Similar to Gold weeks (i.e. only silver or gold, and sometime Platinum)

Thanks for your help!


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## gmarine (Oct 17, 2012)

As I said in similar thread, my advice would be to not buy anything. While I own a bunch of timeshares, right now I think the best move is to buy nothing. You can pretty much rent anywhere, anytime for at or not much above maintenance fees. 

Dont let the rental asking prices fool you. Actual rental prices are generally much less than the asking prices. 

Maintenance fees are outpacing inflation mostly everywhere so it makes more sense to rent rather than take on the committment of fees every year.


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## kyfonky (Oct 17, 2012)

gmarine said:


> As I said in similar thread, my advice would be to not buy anything. While I own a bunch of timeshares, right now I think the best move is to buy nothing. You can pretty much rent anywhere, anytime for at or not much above maintenance fees.
> 
> Dont let the rental asking prices fool you. Actual rental prices are generally much less than the asking prices.
> 
> Maintenance fees are outpacing inflation mostly everywhere so it makes more sense to rent rather than take on the committment of fees every year.



Thanks for the advise....so if you are not interested in keeping your bunch of TS, I could buy you one, if the price is fair....


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## gmarine (Oct 17, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Thanks for the advise....so if you are not interested in keeping your bunch of TS, I could buy you one, if the price is fair....



A few of mine I use every year. A few I would sell in a second, unfortunately these are ones I havent been able to even give away. 

One thing I wouldnt do is buy one now.


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## kyfonky (Oct 18, 2012)

Anyway, I'd like to bring my question back again, as I really like to get some comments on it.

Thanks



kyfonky said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> I'd like to have your opinions and experiences about how good trades I could get with the following resorts/seassons:
> 
> ...


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## BJRSanDiego (Oct 18, 2012)

*My own experiences*



kyfonky said:


> Anyway, I'd like to bring my question back again, as I really like to get some comments on it.
> 
> Thanks



I bought a 2BR L/O Gold week at Marriott Desert Springs II two years ago.  We like to go there several times a year and originally intended to split the unit and use each of the two weeks separately.  As an added benefit, Palm Desert is less than 2 hours away by car.  I paid $300 for the Gold week deed.  I may have been smarter buying a $3K Platinum week (especially in terms of an exit strategy), except that I enjoy Oct, Nov and December in the desert.

After we bought and reserved a week, we were surprised with it's tradeability within Marriott, especially given that it was only a gold/white week.  Here is our history in the past 2 years

traded efficiency for 1 BR Timberlodge (early June)
traded 1 BR for 2 BR Newport Coast (October)
traded efficiency for 1 BR Shadow Ridge (mid April)
traded 1 BR for 2 BR Newport Coast (Sept)

I think that the Marriott Preference has a lot to do with that.  Also, I frequently check availability and joined TUG so that I had access to the Sightings forum. It seems like whenever Marriott does a bulk deposit that it is pretty easy to snag a unit at Timberlodge or Newport Coast.   

Because we are trading our unit rather than using it (our initial plan), we are "back-filling" into Palm Desert with Getaways in the neighborhood of $400 for a week, which is less than the associated MF.

So - - while my home resort is not on your target list, I'm using it to go to some of the places that ARE on your target list.


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## SMB1 (Oct 18, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Thanks everyone for your replies; very usefull!
> 
> I guess it might be better to buy a platinum Newport than a platinum ski Timberlodge, as it might be more difficult to get a summer week in Newport than a non-holiday-ski week at Timberlodge.
> 
> ...



Yes it might be a difficult trade into NCV in the summer, but for owners it is also difficult to reserve July & August.  So if you uy there you may not get the trade power you are looking for.


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## kyfonky (Oct 19, 2012)

BJRSanDiego said:


> I bought a 2BR L/O Gold week at Marriott Desert Springs II two years ago. .....
> 
> So - - while my home resort is not on your target list, I'm using it to go to some of the places that ARE on your target list.



Thanks for sharing your experiences BJRSanDiego; I have never considered Desert Springs, for the only reason that I live in Mexico and to be honest, I do not really understand the "vacation behavor" of the US people: not sure when is the most demanded weeks, places, etc.  I've been thinking more from a "Mexican pespective": places and time where/when we normally go in the US, such as Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, etc., summer, christmas, and certain holidays.

Thus, due to my lack of understanding, I guess I prefer to buy in a location where I might go most of my time, such as NCV, Chateau, Tahoe or Miami. As I have DVC, I will not foresee to use Marriot for going into Orlando.

Having said that, I wondering whether is better for me to buy Villas Doral, NCV or Chateau; resale for TimberLodge in ski seasson is very expensive; Orlando I guess is over supplied (many hotels) and thus I guess trading power for Grande Vista might be not as good as NCV for instance.

.....still thinking.....


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## kyfonky (Oct 19, 2012)

SMB1 said:


> Yes it might be a difficult trade into NCV in the summer, but for owners it is also difficult to reserve July & August.  So if you uy there you may not get the trade power you are looking for.



That's what I've heard SMB1; but I'm asumming that demand for other platinum seasson weeks at NCV should be good traders too, even thought they might not be as good as summer weeks; those are platinum weeks for a reason, right? but not sure!

So, how good trader is Grand Chateau? since all the resort is platinum week, and is the only resort at Las Vegas, I guess it should be good trader, right? Plus it has L/O's, which NCV and Villas Doral do not. 

After a deep analysis, I guess my options might be: NCV Platinum; Villas Doral platinum or Grand Chateau platinum, due to a fair combination of initial costs and MF's. The problema with NCV and Villas Doral is that they are not Lock offs.

Does anyone know why Miami is silver at Summer? Beachplace is platinum at summer, and they are very close each other. Is summer in Miami a low demanding?


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## brigechols (Oct 19, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> That's what I've heard SMB1; but I'm asumming that demand for other platinum seasson weeks at NCV should be good traders too, even thought they might not be as good as summer weeks; those are platinum weeks for a reason, right? but not sure!?


I don't believe anyone knows the reason why Marriott selected such a long platinum season for NCV but not all platinum weeks have the same trade value through Interval International. Check out the Interval International Travel Demand Index.



kyfonky said:


> So, how good trader is Grand Chateau? since all the resort is platinum week, and is the only resort at Las Vegas, I guess it should be good trader, right? Plus it has L/O's, which NCV and Villas Doral do not.


 I don't own Grande Chateau. While it is the only Marriott timeshare in Las Vegas, there are plenty of other timeshares in Las Vegas.


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## kyfonky (Oct 19, 2012)

brigechols said:


> I don't believe anyone knows the reason why Marriott selected such a long platinum season for NCV but not all platinum weeks have the same trade value through Interval International. Check out the Interval International Travel Demand Index.
> 
> I don't own Grande Chateau. While it is the only Marriott timeshare in Las Vegas, there are plenty of other timeshares in Las Vegas.



I agree! from "platinum" weeks 35 to 50, demand is mostly less than average market, which is about 70% of occupancy in SoCal. Thus certain "platinum" weeks are, in practice, "gold" weeks.

In regards Grand Chateau, even thought there is "over supply" of lodging in Las Vegas, belive it or not the average rate of occupancy is about 90%, which is very high. And considering that according to the TDI of II Grand Chateau is most of the time significantly higher than market average, my conclusion is that Grand Chateau should be a very good trader, even thought there are pleny of TS's.


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## kyfonky (Oct 21, 2012)

*any thougths someone?*


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## Beefnot (Oct 21, 2012)

Better Grand Chateau than Newport Coast, as you have a lockoff, and have flexibility to get two vacations if you choose. Besides, Newport Coast is two expensive and inefficient for frequent trading.


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## kyfonky (Oct 22, 2012)

Beefnot said:


> Better Grand Chateau than Newport Coast, as you have a lockoff, and have flexibility to get two vacations if you choose. Besides, Newport Coast is two expensive and inefficient for frequent trading.



Thanks for your feedback Beenot; I like Grand Chateau for being LO; what I do not understand is why you say NCV is too expensive? en inefficient for frequent trading?  with expensive you mean MFs? and inefficient you mean that NCV is not LO?

Thanks


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## Quadmaniac (Oct 22, 2012)

Expensive for MF as well as purchase price compared to a L/O. Desert Springs is about $1050, lock off is $80, total about $1130 for two trades or about $565 per trade plus exchange fees vs Newport MF $900 plus exchange fees.

You can purchase at a different location for a much lower cost as well.


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## kyfonky (Oct 22, 2012)

Quadmaniac said:


> Expensive for MF as well as purchase price compared to a L/O. Desert Springs is about $1050, lock off is $80, total about $1130 for two trades or about $565 per trade plus exchange fees vs Newport MF $900 plus exchange fees.
> 
> You can purchase at a different location for a much lower cost as well.



Thanks for the clarification; so what would be the resort with the lowest MFs for a 2BR L/O?

In your opinion, what whould be the best option in terms of MFs / Trading Power?

thanks


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## Quadmaniac (Oct 22, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Thanks for the clarification; so what would be the resort with the lowest MFs for a 2BR L/O?
> 
> In your opinion, what whould be the best option in terms of MFs / Trading Power?
> 
> thanks



Many people like Shadow Ridge, the MF is about $1030 plus CA state tax is billed directly from the state, so $90 I think. I prefer Willow Ridge as the MF is $880 all in and recently I found that it pull things that my Shadow Ridge did not.


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## kyfonky (Oct 22, 2012)

Quadmaniac said:


> Many people like Shadow Ridge, the MF is about $1030 plus CA state tax is billed directly from the state, so $90 I think. I prefer Willow Ridge as the MF is $880 all in and recently I found that it pull things that my Shadow Ridge did not.



Thanks for the advise; I'm not sure how much people like to go Branson, so how much trading power Willow Ridge has.

What about: 
Grande Vista? I guess Orlando will always be Orlando.
Desert Springs?
Timber Lodge? Do people want to go Tahoe for summer? or just for ski? howe much trading power might have?
and Barony? I've seen that many people go to Hilton Island.


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## Quadmaniac (Oct 23, 2012)

Trading power does not always go according to conventional logic. All I know is that my WR pulled up more options than my SR and SR is more expensive than WR. More expensive does not always equate to more trading power.


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## PassionForTravel (Oct 23, 2012)

kyfony, Yes people go to Tahoe for summer. Probably almost as many as go for ski season. I know the WM in South Lake Tahoe books up 13 months in advance for Tahoe.  But for summer, people want closer to the lake rather than up in the hills where most of the ski resorts are located.

BTW - You said you are from Mexico, I'm not sure how familiar you are with Southern California but you don't want to book NCV for May or June. You have an above average chance of not seeing the sun. Summer at the coast really starts around July 4th and goes through the end of September into early October.


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## ciscogizmo1 (Oct 23, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Thanks for the advise; I'm not sure how much people like to go Branson, so how much trading power Willow Ridge has.
> 
> What about:
> Grande Vista? I guess Orlando will always be Orlando.
> ...



We own at Timber Lodge - Summer week and Shadow Ridge - Platinum season.   I haven't traded either of these resorts since we converted over to DC points.   But in the past I've always been able to trade my Timber Lodge/Shadow Ridge weeks for many places.  We've been to NCV twice (once in June and once during Thanksgiving week); Ko'Olina (twice both times durnig Thanksgiving Week); San Francisco Suites in SF; Manor Club; Worldmark at Depoe Bay; Grande Vista in Orlando and Cliff's Resort in Kauai.   These have been great trades for us but everyone has a different definition of what is great.  Please note I got some units with a 1 bedroom for a 2 bedroom and a studio for a one bedroom.  

Finally, people visit Tahoe in the summer.  Some popular times to go would be 4th of July week; Celebrity Golf tournament in July; Hot August night week.  Plus, there is outdoor plays in the summer.  Along with all the hiking and water sports you can imagine.  The most popular time to go is between July and August.  June is a good month but can still be chilly.  Most of us that live in the valley and it is over 100 every day love Tahoe as the weather is much cooler in the upper 80s.

Good luck!


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## kyfonky (Oct 23, 2012)

PassionForTravel said:


> kyfony, Yes people go to Tahoe for summer. Probably almost as many as go for ski season. I know the WM in South Lake Tahoe books up 13 months in advance for Tahoe.  But for summer, people want closer to the lake rather than up in the hills where most of the ski resorts are located.
> 
> BTW - You said you are from Mexico, I'm not sure how familiar you are with Southern California but you don't want to book NCV for May or June. You have an above average chance of not seeing the sun. Summer at the coast really starts around July 4th and goes through the end of September into early October.



Thanks for your comments PassionForTravel! 

Regarding Tahoe, what does "WM" mean? sorry for asking.  I used to live in LA so I'm familiar with SoCal; as far as I remember most days were great in terms of wheather; anyway I'm not planning in going to SoCal in May - June; mostly I'd like to go July to the end of December.

Still my main concern is to choose the best option for me, when deciding to buy my Marriot-resale. I'm basically planning to use my Marriot to go Miami, Ski resorts and Vegas, and sometimes for SoCal and may be Orlando (as I own DVC for that purpose).

My best scenario is to buy a LO, EOY, with the lowest MFs and resale cost; my main concer is to buy something that in practice will not allow me to go to the places I mentioned. I intent to travel mostly in summer (june/July), except for ski resorts, that I intent to use in early december or easter. I guess when kids go to college I will travel from October to December, instead of summer.

Based on what I've seen, Grand Chateau sounds like the best option: LO, all-platinum-seasson with low MF and resale price; still I'm not sure how much good trading I could have with that, particularly for the places I mentioned. Timberlodge summer-seasson would be another good choice I guess; besides those, might be DSV or Barony, as I've seen they have low MFs.  I know nothing about Willow Ridge, so I'm not comfortable buying there.

Any thoughts?


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## PassionForTravel (Oct 23, 2012)

Sorry I forgot I was in the Marriott Forum. WM is WorldMark it's a whole other system just ignore that. I was using it for reference to let you know that Tahoe is popular in summer.


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## kyfonky (Oct 25, 2012)

PassionForTravel said:


> Sorry I forgot I was in the Marriott Forum. WM is WorldMark it's a whole other system just ignore that. I was using it for reference to let you know that Tahoe is popular in summer.



No problem. I ignore that.  Any thoughts on my thoughts?


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## swaits (Oct 25, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> No problem. I ignore that.  Any thoughts on my thoughts?



One warning about Timber Lodge. Taxes are not included in Maintenance Fees. I don't know if this is the same for other states, like Nevada (Grand Chateau). We have three weeks at TL and the tax bills we just received are as follows:


*$86.06* - 2BR Gold
*$179.18* - 1BR Platinum Ski
*$141.78* - 1BR Platinum Summer

Due to California's property tax laws, your tax level will depend heavily on the year you purchased. See this article on Prop 13 for a better explanation. If you purchase today I'd bet your tax levels will be higher - I'm just guessing, but tax rates don't seem to ever go down, you know? 

Also you'll need to factor in your Interval International exchange fees if you're planning on trading through them. They can really add up in my experience. They seem to charge you for every little thing you do.

That said, we've historically been able to trade our 2BR Gold week for some quite nice stays, including the Kauai Waiohai. I think Platinum weeks at Grand Chateau will probably work equally as well as traders.

In recent years though, we mostly Elect these weeks into points because we really like the added flexibility. You won't have that ability unless Marriott one day decides to let more resale owners into the DC point system.

Hope this is helpful!


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## youcanfly (Oct 26, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Thanks for the advise; I'm not sure how much people like to go Branson, so how much trading power Willow Ridge has.
> 
> What about:
> *Grande Vista? I guess Orlando will always be Orlando.*
> ...



I recently purchased my 2nd TS and chose Grande Vista. We were looking for a 2 bedroom L/O in an area that we knew would be popular for others and a place we like to go also. Just a few weeks ago I booked at my home resort and then made my deposit into II. Using the L/O feature I had to book a week earlier than the week I wanted but, once I made my deposit I was very surprised to see some of the exchanges I could get. Some where in the last minute catagory such as Thanksgiving week but, I am not currently able to travel on short notice. Just using the studio side I saw great uptrades for 1 and 2 bedrooms if you have more flexability for travel dates. When booking at my home resort I used the travel demand index on the II website and looked for the highest in my season. Since my purchase/close was long after the dates I wanted to book I believe that is why the week I wanted was no longer available.


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## kyfonky (Oct 26, 2012)

swaits said:


> One warning about Timber Lodge. Taxes are not included in Maintenance Fees.
> 
> *$86.06* - 2BR Gold
> *$179.18* - 1BR Platinum Ski
> ...



Great Advise Swaits!!! Thanks.  I did not know that. Can you share your total MF bill for 2011 or 2012 for your TL 1BR Platinum summer? I'm interested in 2BR L/O EOY Platinum Summer, but I guess I can have an idea based on your bill.

$179 sounds very high for a 1BR. I guess California taxes is someting to really consider when taking my decision. Nevada in the other side, I guess they have low taxes....just guessing...



swaits said:


> .....Also you'll need to factor in your Interval International exchange fees if you're planning on trading through them. They can really add up in my experience. They seem to charge you for every little thing you do.



I will; as far as I've researched, there is the annual membership fee of $89 (?), the split for L/O of $80 and the transfer fee of $154. Am I missing something?



swaits said:


> .....we've historically been able to trade our 2BR Gold week for some quite nice stays, including the Kauai Waiohai. I think Platinum weeks at Grand Chateau will probably work equally as well as traders


   Great to hear that!  2BR Gold at TL is something I'm also considering; the cons is that in case of I want to sell, gold weeks might value less than platinum weeks. But not sure! Can you share what great trades have you get with your 2BR Gold? I'm interested in trading into Vegas, Ski resorts at ski seasson (non-holidays) and eventually Orlando and NCV.

Thanks! I really appreciate your comments.


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## kyfonky (Oct 26, 2012)

youcanfly said:


> I recently purchased my 2nd TS and chose Grande Vista. We were looking for a 2 bedroom L/O in an area that we knew would be popular for others and a place we like to go also. Just a few weeks ago I booked at my home resort and then made my deposit into II. Using the L/O feature I had to book a week earlier than the week I wanted but, once I made my deposit I was very surprised to see some of the exchanges I could get. Some where in the last minute catagory such as Thanksgiving week but, I am not currently able to travel on short notice. Just using the studio side I saw great uptrades for 1 and 2 bedrooms if you have more flexability for travel dates. When booking at my home resort I used the travel demand index on the II website and looked for the highest in my season. Since my purchase/close was long after the dates I wanted to book I believe that is why the week I wanted was no longer available.



Very interesting! I'm also considering Grande Vista, because as you said, Orlando is a place very popular for others. However my guessing was that Grande Vista could not get good trades, as there are many supply in Orlando area, but it is great to hear that you were able to see good trades with your 2BR (platinum?); can you share some examples of those trades you could see? Grande Vista resales are very fair resale-prices.


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## swaits (Oct 26, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Great Advise Swaits!!! Thanks.  I did not know that. Can you share your total MF bill for 2011 or 2012 for your TL 1BR Platinum summer? I'm interested in 2BR L/O EOY Platinum Summer, but I guess I can have an idea based on your bill.



Just got them today. The 2BR Gold is $1059.35. The 1BR Plat Ski and Summer are $825.33 each.



kyfonky said:


> I will; as far as I've researched, there is the annual membership fee of $89 (?), the split for L/O of $80 and the transfer fee of $154. Am I missing something?



It's been so long since I used II, I can't say for sure. There are other TUGgers who can help you though.



kyfonky said:


> Great to hear that!  2BR Gold at TL is something I'm also considering; the cons is that in case of I want to sell, gold weeks might value less than platinum weeks. But not sure! Can you share what great trades have you get with your 2BR Gold? I'm interested in trading into Vegas, Ski resorts at ski seasson (non-holidays) and eventually Orlando and NCV.



Again, this has been awhile because we've been doing the points thing since it debuted. But, we were able to easily get to Grand Chateau, sometimes with a room size upgrade. Once we got to Kauai Waiohai. Our case may be unique though. We don't have kids and are *very* happy to travel in the shoulder or off seasons.


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## dioxide45 (Oct 26, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> I will; as far as I've researched, there is the annual membership fee of $89 (?), the split for L/O of $80 and the transfer fee of $154. Am I missing something?



The exchange fee is $124 Marriott to Marriott, $10 more over the phone. If you trade outside of the Marriott system it is $154 or $174 over the phone.


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## youcanfly (Oct 27, 2012)

kyfonky said:


> Very interesting! I'm also considering Grande Vista, because as you said, Orlando is a place very popular for others. However my guessing was that Grande Vista could not get good trades, as there are many supply in Orlando area, but it is great to hear that you were able to see good trades with your 2BR (platinum?); can you share some examples of those trades you could see? Grande Vista resales are very fair resale-prices.



I have a gold and used my L/O to book may 19. One more week is available in my season and it includes memorial weekend but, by the time we closed (we just purchased this summer) this week was only available as 2 bed only. I really wanted to try the L/O feature so I took what was available. This morning, using my 1 bedroom, I snagged a 2 bedroom at Emerald Grande at Harbourwalk for laborday weekend in 2014. Sounds crazy but, I felt like this was something to not pass on. We have wanted to stay at Harbourwalk when we traveled through Destin,FL. I have never traded outside of Marriott but, I've seen this place many times and I am confident we will be happy. Of course there were other options including Marriot Ocean Pointe, Beachplace, and Villas at Doral with 1 and 2 bedrooms for lots of summer weeks in 2013. One that caught my eye was Ocean Pointe and Doral for July 4 week. However we already have our plans for 2013. Last week when I searched I saw a 2 bedroom for Thanksgiving in Hawaii. That would be awesome but, not something I am able to do at the last moment. As far as price I posted a thread about my experience with this purchase. It was an experience but, seems to have had a great outcome.http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180106 Hope this link works.


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