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This Just In: Price Increase To Enroll in Destination Club

DanO

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Excerpt from the Latest Newsletter

Enroll before the price increase.
If you are a weeks Owner and you haven’t yet enrolled in the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations™ Exchange Program, or if you’ve enrolled some but not all of your weeks, take note: You have less than 4 months to take advantage of the special introductory rate!

On June 14, the price of enrollment for all eligible* weeks purchased through Marriott Vacation Club International, will increase from $595 to $2,395.

Enrolling doesn’t have to change your Ownership at all, but it does give you the option of electing Vacation Club Points each year. With Vacation Club Points, you can enjoy enhanced flexibility when staying at Marriott Vacation Club resorts — choose your preferred check-in day, length of stay, villa size and more. You can also use Vacation Club Points toward cruises and guided tours in popular destinations such as Italy, Ireland, Australia and Costa Rica.

Still on the fence? Check out what the Spring family has to say about the benefits of enrolling and how they’ve taken advantage of a whole new world of vacation options.

Make sure to enroll before the price increase to get the best value! To enroll, visit
My-VacationClub.com, call your Sales Executive or contact Owner Services at 800-845-4226.

*Weeks that were purchased and recorded after June 20, 2010 are not eligible for this offer. Offer is valid to U.S. residents only. Offer valid for U.S. and Caribbean weeks only.
 

KathyPet

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Just got my Insider newsletter with this information. All I can say is Holy Cow!
 

CashEddie

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The evolution has begun! Marriott is trying to force the hand of the legacy owners that haven't enrolled. Next move will be a "mandatory" conversion of your weeks to the DC.
 

Swice

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Should I wait till the presentation?

I'll be at Myrtle Beach the days before the deadline. I've been waiting as long as I can. I still have several years left on my Interval membership and from what I've been told, the bonus certificates issued that supposedly compensate me for my unused portion of the Interval membership have a lot of restrictions.

Should I sign up at a Myrtle Beach presentation or do it on line that last week?
 

pipet

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I'd think they would be encouraging more legacy weeks to join to increase the availability for the trust. For $2395, that's a not a fence sitting proposition (as it is for the %595) - that's just a NO.
 

Steve A

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We have four weeks so I was considering it, but was not in a rush. I was going to wait until we retire for good. Is the $595 a one-time payment? Do I have to pay something every year? What do I do with my current II membership, which runs to 2015? I do not need any ACs, we can hardly use the time we have now.

OK I found the answers. I have to pay $695.00 because of multiple weeks. I don't know the point value, but I'll probably have to pay $199.00 per year, which will more than cover our costs of booking the four weeks. I would like to get a refund from II. Is that possible? Are they still giving the 800 points?
 
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dougp26364

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The evolution has begun! Marriott is trying to force the hand of the legacy owners that haven't enrolled. Next move will be a "mandatory" conversion of your weeks to the DC.

I doubt you'll ever see a mandatroy conversion. Somehow I think there would be a ton of legal hurdles to overcome.
 

dougp26364

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I'd think they would be encouraging more legacy weeks to join to increase the availability for the trust. For $2395, that's a not a fence sitting proposition (as it is for the %595) - that's just a NO.

FWIW, Diamond Resorts joiner fee use to be $2,995. I don't believe that's even offered anymore. The last I had heard you had to buy additional trust points to get any "old" weeks in. I can see Marriott eventually moving in that direction.
 

SueDonJ

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Excerpt from the Latest Newsletter

Enroll before the price increase.
If you are a weeks Owner and you haven’t yet enrolled in the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations™ Exchange Program, or if you’ve enrolled some but not all of your weeks, take note: You have less than 4 months to take advantage of the special introductory rate!

On June 14, the price of enrollment for all eligible* weeks purchased through Marriott Vacation Club International, will increase from $595 to $2,395.

Enrolling doesn’t have to change your Ownership at all, but it does give you the option of electing Vacation Club Points each year. With Vacation Club Points, you can enjoy enhanced flexibility when staying at Marriott Vacation Club resorts — choose your preferred check-in day, length of stay, villa size and more. You can also use Vacation Club Points toward cruises and guided tours in popular destinations such as Italy, Ireland, Australia and Costa Rica.

Still on the fence? Check out what the Spring family has to say about the benefits of enrolling and how they’ve taken advantage of a whole new world of vacation options.

Make sure to enroll before the price increase to get the best value! To enroll, visit
My-VacationClub.com, call your Sales Executive or contact Owner Services at 800-845-4226.

*Weeks that were purchased and recorded after June 20, 2010 are not eligible for this offer. Offer is valid to U.S. residents only. Offer valid for U.S. and Caribbean weeks only.

Wow. I figured we'd see an eventual fee increase but not so much more than the introductory price. It's interesting that they only mention the $595 to $2,395 increase, "for all eligible* weeks purchased through Marriott Vacation Club International." Wonder if there's a difference in the increase - and how much it will be - for the Weeks purchased externally prior to 6/20/10. Those enrollment fees are now $1,495 (single) or $1,995 (multi.)
 

BocaBoy

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I'd think they would be encouraging more legacy weeks to join to increase the availability for the trust. For $2395, that's a not a fence sitting proposition (as it is for the %595) - that's just a NO.
I think this move is partially designed to do just that. Since $2395 is a clear NO for many who bought their week(s) directly from Marriott, this "encourages" them to enroll now for $595 or $695.
 

SueDonJ

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I doubt you'll ever see a mandatroy conversion. Somehow I think there would be a ton of legal hurdles to overcome.

FWIW, Diamond Resorts joiner fee use to be $2,995. I don't believe that's even offered anymore. The last I had heard you had to buy additional trust points to get any "old" weeks in. I can see Marriott eventually moving in that direction.

I agree with both things you say here.
 

IngridN

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Excerpt from the Latest Newsletter

Enroll before the price increase.
If you are a weeks Owner and you haven’t yet enrolled in the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations™ Exchange Program, or if you’ve enrolled some but not all of your weeks, take note: You have less than 4 months to take advantage of the special introductory rate!

On June 14, the price of enrollment for all eligible* weeks purchased through Marriott Vacation Club International, will increase from $595 to $2,395.

Enrolling doesn’t have to change your Ownership at all, but it does give you the option of electing Vacation Club Points each year. With Vacation Club Points, you can enjoy enhanced flexibility when staying at Marriott Vacation Club resorts — choose your preferred check-in day, length of stay, villa size and more. You can also use Vacation Club Points toward cruises and guided tours in popular destinations such as Italy, Ireland, Australia and Costa Rica.

Still on the fence? Check out what the Spring family has to say about the benefits of enrolling and how they’ve taken advantage of a whole new world of vacation options.

Make sure to enroll before the price increase to get the best value! To enroll, visit
My-VacationClub.com, call your Sales Executive or contact Owner Services at 800-845-4226.

*Weeks that were purchased and recorded after June 20, 2010 are not eligible for this offer. Offer is valid to U.S. residents only. Offer valid for U.S. and Caribbean weeks only.

I've read this a couple of times and something is missing....this writeup implies that this signup fee includes resale weeks purchased prior to 6/20/10. Wasn't the old cost to enroll these weeks something north of $1,500? I seem to recall closer to $2K if you had multiple weeks including resale legacy weeks to enroll. The comparison of $595 to $2,395 appears to be grossly misleading.

Ingrid
 

SueDonJ

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We have four weeks so I was considering it, but was not in a rush. I was going to wait until we retire for good. Is the $595 a one-time payment? Do I have to pay something every year? What do I do with my current II membership, which runs to 2015? I do not need any ACs, we can hardly use the time we have now.

OK I found the answers. I have to pay $695.00 because of multiple weeks. I don't know the point value, but I'll probably have to pay $199.00 per year, which will more than cover our costs of booking the four weeks. I would like to get a refund from II. Is that possible? Are they still giving the 800 points?

(working backwards :) )

Yes, you still get the 800 bonus Points. They will expire one year from the date of issue. Their use is more restricted in that you won't be able to bank them into the next Use Year or transfer them to another DC Member's account. (But, you could make a reservation with them and then rent that reservation to anyone, DC Member or not.)

Some people were successful getting a refund from II (instead of the AC's that are the most restricted of any we know about.) I think it just depends on whether you're lucky with getting an II rep who's willing to process the refund. You'd probably have to wait to ask until after your new/corporate II account is set up.

To find out how many DC Points would be allotted to your Weeks, sign in to your my-vacationclub.com account and click through the "Enroll Now" prompts until you get to the page that lists your Weeks and their Point values. (You'll be able to exit out of the process at that point without enrolling.) Or, TUGger GregT is maintaining a spreadsheet with various DC-related values. Click on the PointsValues PDF file at that link, and your Weeks allotments might be on it.
 

CashEddie

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I doubt you'll ever see a mandatroy conversion. Somehow I think there would be a ton of legal hurdles to overcome.

Yea, that was hyperbole on my part but I do have a question for you, Doug. Have you lived through any of your other points systems transition from a weeks based system to a points based system? I'm just trying get a feel of how the other systems handled the transition to points if they didn't start out that way. I just seems that Marriott has created this big cluster of a mess with the DC points overlay program. If it continues the way it is now, the legacy owners will always have more options with trading as weeks vs. the new owners only being able to trade as points. I just dont see how Marriott will reconcile that major inbalance in the system over the long term.

Will they continue selling resale weeks with the DC point buy-in option to enroll those weeks? Seems like that would be a good strategy on their part to combat the current resale market and make them more money.
 

SueDonJ

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I'll be at Myrtle Beach the days before the deadline. I've been waiting as long as I can. I still have several years left on my Interval membership and from what I've been told, the bonus certificates issued that supposedly compensate me for my unused portion of the Interval membership have a lot of restrictions.

Should I sign up at a Myrtle Beach presentation or do it on line that last week?

Considering that you're planning on enrolling anyway, I'd say you may as well wait just in case the onsite Sales Offices start doing mini-presentations with a focus on the enrollment deadline. That way you could end up with a few Rewards Points for your enrollment, without having to sit through a DC Trust Points hard sell presentation. If they don't do any mini-presentations, you can decide then whether you want to schedule a visit with a sales rep anyway, or enroll online just before the deadline. That's the only thing I'd make sure, that you're taking care of it at least a few days before the actual deadline just in case there are IT issues.
 

dougp26364

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Yea, that was hyperbole on my part but I do have a question for you, Doug. Have you lived through any of your other points systems transition from a weeks based system to a points based system? I'm just trying get a feel of how the other systems handled the transition to points if they didn't start out that way. I just seems that Marriott has created this big cluster of a mess with the DC points overlay program. If it continues the way it is now, the legacy owners will always have more options with trading as weeks vs. the new owners only being able to trade as points. I just dont see how Marriott will reconcile that major inbalance in the system over the long term.

Will they continue selling resale weeks with the DC point buy-in option to enroll those weeks? Seems like that would be a good strategy on their part to combat the current resale market and make them more money.

When we purchased our original Polo Towers unit, it was a fixed week/fixed unit. Eventually DRI, Polo Towers developer, purchased Sunterra and that's how we came into the points game with DRI.

So in a way, yes but then again, no. We weren't a part of Sunterra when they went from weeks to a points overlay program to a trust based ownership. We have transitioned from weeks to a points based program.

I think Marriott created more issues for legacy week owners by not charging ala carte fee's and giving fewer points than required for the week given up. The great thing about points is the flexablity. The bad thing, for us anyway, is the reduction in exchange power going using points.

For instance, DRI charges an annual fee and, all internal exchanges/reservations are free but, extra's like trading points for a cruise, trading for FF miles, using points to pay MF's incure an extra fee. That fee is dependant upon status (member, silver elite, gold elite or platinum elite). DRI also charges a premium in points for short stays (an extra 10% in points) or for stays starting on non-traditional check in days.

For us DRI's points system works out better than Marriott's. Perhaps it's because with Marriott, we always want that full week and, being shorted on points given vs points required hurts our ability to get the same value.

What I think we're seeing now is owners accustomed to getting a certain value for their weeks and that value isn't there with points if they choose to vacation in full week increments. TUGGER's have learned how to "trade-up" and that's not as obvious with DC points.

Right now, my price for 2013 is vacationing in one bedroom condo's where I might have been able to get a two bedroom. From what I've seen, I probably would have had a tougher time getting a two bedroom Canyon Villa's Feb week but, a two bedroom Summit Watch or Mountainside for a June or July week would have been an easy exchange, even using the one bedroom portion of our MGC unit. My assumption is that I could have put in an ongoing request with the two bedroom portion of our MGC week to get the two bedroom Canyon Villa's week, then completed an online exchange using the one bedroom lock-off portion of our MGC week.

As it is with points, I had enough for a one bedroom Canyon Villa's reservation, a three night reservation for a one bedroom unit at Mountain Valley Lodge (could have had a full week at Streamside in Vail but, needed to make changes to accomadate a change vacation plan) and enough points remaining that I can reserve a one bedroom Summit Watch week (assuming it's available when I go to reserve). So I gained 3 nights at MVL but gave up the opportunity to have two bedroom units vs the one bedroom units we have or plan to reserve.

Yes I think I'll always see more options in weeks than I'll see using points so long as I want to take full weeks vacations starting on traditional check in dates. With DRI, I feel like I have more flexablity in that I have enough points to reserve my full unit at my home resort during the original season we purchased in plus, I see better value in using points for internal exchanges vs using the weeks system through I.I. (DRI really doesn't offer the option of week to week internal exchanges).

With DRI's system it took about two hours to figure out the value. With Marriott, I'm still working on what's good and what's not so great. Marriott's system is taking a lot longer to figure out exactly where the best value is. So far I see better value in exchanging weeks and, if most legacy weeks owners feel this way, it could hamstring Marriott's points program.
 

Steve A

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Susan:

Thank you.

I'm concerned that we would not have the time to use the 800 points. I was thinking of signing up during the first week of April when we use our Las Vegas week in order to get some Marriott reward points, which we collect. Planning to go to Europe in the summer of 2013.

Can I sign up over the phone so we can wait until the last possible date?

I resent the loss of several hundred dollars in my II membership.
 

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The evolution has begun! Marriott is trying to force the hand of the legacy owners that haven't enrolled. Next move will be a "mandatory" conversion of your weeks to the DC.

No, more likely an abundance of special, limited-time promotions of enrolling at original prices!
 

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dioxide45

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I've read this a couple of times and something is missing....this writeup implies that this signup fee includes resale weeks purchased prior to 6/20/10. Wasn't the old cost to enroll these weeks something north of $1,500? I seem to recall closer to $2K if you had multiple weeks including resale legacy weeks to enroll. The comparison of $595 to $2,395 appears to be grossly misleading.

Ingrid

That isn't how I read it.

On June 14, the price of enrollment for all eligible* weeks purchased through Marriott Vacation Club International, will increase from $595 to $2,395.

There is no mention about the price for weeks not purchased through MVCI.

They created a whole bunch of questions with this announcement.

  1. Is the price the same for single and multiple week owners? Or is the $2400 price a per week price.
  2. Is the price for external purchases different, higher, lower?
  3. Can external weeks be enrolled at all after 6/15/2012?
One other thing, our e-mail indicated "Enroll before the price increase.
Make sure you enroll your weeks before the price increases in April!". Though after clicking the link, you see the June date instead.

I would be willing to bet that even after June 14th, if you purchase new DC trust points, they will still waive the enrollment fee.
 
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dougp26364

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That isn't how I read it.



There is no mention about the price for weeks not purchased through MVCI.

They created a whole bunch of questions with this announcement.

  1. Is the price the same for single and multiple week owners? Or is the $2400 price a per week price.
  2. Is the price for external purchases different, higher, lower?
  3. Can external weeks be enrolled at all after 6/15/2012?
One other thing, our e-mail indicated "Enroll before the price increase.
Make sure you enroll your weeks before the price increases in April!". Though after clicking the link, you see the June date instead.

I would be willing to bet that even after June 14th, if you purchase new DC trust points, they will still waive the enrollment fee.

I think they were more interested in creating a sense of urgency than answering questions.

By now they probably feel they've driven all the owners interested at the orignal price point into the showroom. Now it's time to go after those who have been sitting on the fence. After that......I guess the sales floor is back on it's own to create traffic in the showroom, the honeymoon with legacy weeks owners will be over.......except for those special one time only offers that are likely to get reported. Again, they'll just be trying to create a sense of urgency.
 

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For refund in II, call II customer relations

(working backwards :) )...

Some people were successful getting a refund from II (instead of the AC's that are the most restricted of any we know about.) I think it just depends on whether you're lucky with getting an II rep who's willing to process the refund......
don't play the lottery by calling the II 800 # which you would normally call to make an exchange request...

Try this #:
(800) 252-5121
 
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rthib

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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I was think the same thing. The deadline will be dead on arrival.

My guess is the increase is real. No reason to keep the low price.
Anyone who was going to enroll has enrolled.
This may get the final few (those who had many years paid in II) who were waiting.

The way to enroll will be pay this fee or buy points.

This way, when you buy points instead of getting a $600 discount or $1500 discount you are now getting a $2500 discount.

I think it is a smart marketing move as it will make the points seem even more valuable and more exclusive.
To weeks owners now it is expensive and to new folks buying points, they save the huge expense that weeks owners have to pay to join.

Should make very little difference to those week owners who don't like program.

Also with the price creeping up, might be start of them allowing newer resales to enter. I could see a $2500+ number for resales.
 

BocaBoy

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I resent the loss of several hundred dollars in my II membership.

I don't see it that way. I joined DC in July of 2010 with more than six years remaining on my II membership. I received an AC when I joined which I used for a 2BR at MMC. This year I will get another AC for a 2BR unit. Once I use that I will still have 4 years left on my II membership and I can wait another two years for my third and final AC or I can choose to get a refund for my four years which will still be remaining at that point. I don't see a loss. I see a pretty good value and I get to choose which way to receive it.
 
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