[2015] Want a Marriott Trader, Please Help!!

[Jodi0415]

So I understand that a lockoff unit will get me the most value. Which locations are good traders? Orlando? Newport Beach? (I live in SoCal, so I hope that's good!)

Thanks you! Your help would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm looking for something to trade to Marriott locations in Auba, France, Spain, Boston etc.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

So I understand that a lockoff unit will get me the most value. Which locations are good traders? Orlando? Newport Beach? (I live in SoCal, so I hope that's good!)

Thanks you! Your help would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm looking for something to trade to Marriott locations in Auba, France, Spain, Boston etc.

Newport Beach would be great, HOWEVER, it does NOT lock off. Therefore a Marriott Lock Off unit in Orlando would be good, as well as a Lock Off at the Marriott Grande Chateau in Las Vegas.

Those resorts are also reasonably priced.





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[Jodi0415]

Thank you so much!!

 

[GregT]

So I understand that a lockoff unit will get me the most value. Which locations are good traders? Orlando? Newport Beach? (I live in SoCal, so I hope that's good!)

Thanks you! Your help would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm looking for something to trade to Marriott locations in Auba, France, Spain, Boston etc.

If I was buying a dedicated trading property today, I would buy a Grand Chateau. Marriott has been active in exercising ROFR for most properties, and Grand Chateau appears to be the one passing ROFR at the lowest prices. It is a good trading property and can be purchased as a 1BR, 2BR (Lock-off) or 3BR (Lock-off).

It is difficult to predict how rewarding the trading experience will be in the future. TUGgers have had good results in the last several years, but I am unsure how long the good times will continue. I do have a dedicated trader, but I do not rely on it for core vacations, preferring to use point systems (HGVC or Starwood, occasionally Marriott) for the reservations.

Good luck with your assessments!

Best,

Greg

 

[Jodi0415]

Thanks for the great advice! I was just wondering about Vegas!!

What about Palm Desert or Arizona?

 

[presley]

When I bought a Marriott trader, I bought an EOY Desert Springs Villas II. It was pretty cheap and since I could lock it off, I could get 2 trades out of it. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't like Marriotts and we ended up reselling it because even though we could still trade it for something else, the cost of MFs and trading wasn't worth it to us.

 

[dioxide45]

I think a property in Palm Desert or Las Vegas is the best option with you being in California. If things change and trades dry up, at least the property is within driving distance to still be able to use the property

I would only buy a Marriott trader if you are okay to travel in shoulder season. While peak season trades still happen, they certainly aren't easy. If you can travel in off or shoulder season, then a Marriott trader still works great.

 

[cp73]

I think a property in Palm Desert or xxxx is the best option with you being in California.

I agree with the Palm Desert..Get one in the prime season (Red) and you will be happy. You may also find you like going out there...I wouldn't buy anything not within driving distance. I am not that hot on Vegas thats why I xxxx above. I would rather stay at a hotel in vegas because they are always adding new ones. And a week in Vegas is too much for me.

 

[Xpat]

Thanks for the great advice! I was just wondering about Vegas!!

What about Palm Desert or Arizona?

Palm Desert maintenance fees are more expensive that Grand Chateau, especially when you consider the property taxes which are billed separately. But if you intend to use occasionally your Palm Desert week, it may be a good choice to own there.

Arizona is comparable with Grand Chateau in maintenance fees, but your purchase price will probably be much higher (for a platinum ownership), and I think MVCI is quite aggressive buying back with ROFR.

I'm quite happy with my 2BR Grand Chateau which I lock-off and use exclusively for trading, but I only exchange for shoulder season weeks.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

In the Marriott family I own 1-1/2 weeks at Desert Springs Villas 2. One is a white season and the other is a red season. I also own a DSV1 (white). I think that they trade fairly well.

What is unique about the DSV1 is that it is NOT subject to the right of first refusal. If you do a google search you'll find that there are about 8 Marriott locations that do not have the ROFR restriction. I had been making offers on DSV2 and Shadow Ridge units that didn't pass the ROFR. I got tired of that so I purchased a DSV1 from a fellow Tugger in the Tug2 classified section.

One of my purposes of getting the DSV1 white was that it would give me two units in the same season and allow me to reserve at the 13 month point. Doing so, I can reserve thanksgiving week which has a high TDI (about 125 IIRC) and it seem to trade pretty well. So that helps out my trade-ability. I suppose that a person could do this with a pair of EOY units in the same year/season. A friend of mine bought an EOY Grand Chateau and an EOY Shadow Ridge. That isn't a dumb idea either.

Following the advise of other tuggers, we bought where we like to travel to. We enjoy going to Palm Desert and it is an easy drive. So if I can't get a trade that I like, I can always use the unit. Two months ago I booked Thanksgiving week with my split-up units - - an efficiency and a 1 BR. I exchanged with the efficiency into a 1 BR the week before (same location) and also booked a 2 BR in Sedona Pinon Point using the 1 BR. I would consider both to be favorable trades.

 

[pwrshift]

Maintenance fees at $1400+ a week, means many owners will rent just to cover those costs, so you might want to consider renting instead. If buying, Canyon Villas has and good platinum weeks are in demand, and you might like BeachPlace in Lauderdale for the early Spring season.

Brian.

 

[twinmommy19]

I love Marriott. However, my personal experience with II has been that I don't need to own a Marriott property to trade into the Marriott TSs I want to stay at other than the Utah ski resorts - and I'm not so sure owning a "Marriott trader" would ever get me a prime winter week at Mountainside anyway (hence why I just bought one!) I think that owning a "Marriott trader" probably offers superb value trading into large units in Hawaii and South Carolina (in the summer) utilizing the lock off features that you could not get with a non-Marriott trade. I'm not interested in traveling to these locations regularly though (Hawaii is way too long of a flight for us and traveling long drive distances to the East coast US beaches just doesn't appeal to us). Mentioning this for the OP because I'm not so sure he/she necessarily needs a Marriott trader (in comparison to buying a non-franchise lock off with much lower maintenance fees) - it really depends on the time of year he/she is looking to travel. Historically - I've been able to trade into Aruba fairly easily with my non-Marriott and AC deposits in II (FWIW to the OP). I've not tried trading into the other locations mentioned.

 

[Lydlady]

I agree with the Palm Desert..Get one in the prime season (Red) and you will be happy. You may also find you like going out there...I wouldn't buy anything not within driving distance. I am not that hot on Vegas thats why I xxxx above. I would rather stay at a hotel in vegas because they are always adding new ones. And a week in Vegas is too much for me.

I totally agree. We bought in Palm Desert and have gotten some great trades. Although we have never stayed there, it is within driving distance for us. We also like to go to Vegas once in a while, but only for two to three nights at a time.

 

[taterhed]

Lots of good advice above:

I own Grande Vista 3br for a trader--great one too.

Just a point: depending on how you envision trading and what you specifically will accept for a reservation, consider carefully what you choose.

If you must have 1br or larger units (all the time) then give careful thought to buying a lock-off that has full units--not studio lock-offs.
If you are comfortable accepting studios (for the studio lock-off) and then maybe upgrading on eplus--then a lock-off with a studio is fine.

The two-bedroom/studio is great for turning one week into two (with possible upgrade) but if you're committed to booking 1br or 2br units on OGS, then consider the 1br + 1br lock-off or 2br + 1br lock-off (Grande Chateau only I think?).

The studios are a bit tough to trade unless you're willing to wait till flex and/or manually eplus up to 1br or larger.

Just a thought.

 

[DPHi]

Lots of good advice above:

I own Grande Vista 3br for a trader--great one too.

Just a point: depending on how you envision trading and what you specifically will accept for a reservation, consider carefully what you choose.

If you must have 1br or larger units (all the time) then give careful thought to buying a lock-off that has full units--not studio lock-offs.
If you are comfortable accepting studios (for the studio lock-off) and then maybe upgrading on eplus--then a lock-off with a studio is fine.

The two-bedroom/studio is great for turning one week into two (with possible upgrade) but if you're committed to booking 1br or 2br units on OGS, then consider the 1br + 1br lock-off or 2br + 1br lock-off (Grande Chateau only I think?).

The studios are a bit tough to trade unless you're willing to wait till flex and/or manually eplus up to 1br or larger.

Just a thought.

I know this is an old post, but I am considering the purchase of a Grande Vista 3Bd Platinum as a trade vehicle and was interested to hear about your experiences with using yours. I know there are many II Getaways that are available for GV throughout the year as well as a gluttony of hotels, timeshares, property rentals, and more available in the Greater Orlando area. Does GV overcome these challenges and come through with solid trades? Also what are some examples of trades you have received? Lastly, at least for now, how difficult is it to use the Florida Club option and can you book a 3bedroom at a different FC location? Thanks

 

[taterhed]

MGR is a great trader....IMNSHO

I think it makes a really nice asset. As for the FC, I've been able to get a good trade at least once (the only time I tried)

I found this little excerpt about FC rules, but can't vouch for it's truth. MBP (Ocean Point) is the only 3br AFAIK, and I'm not sure if you can do a 3br-3br FC trade. I will slay this: when I log onto the booking website (too early to do FC booking now...) it does allow me to select "Full Villa" and "Ocean Point" (only OP with full villa selected) I am led to believe that you can do a 3br to 3br booking. Other Tuggers have reported it's possible. It's also possible to lock-off, book a 2br and a studio and then request that they be combined (via room control or Marriott) but good luck with that.

As to the actual success of being able to book a 3br MBP unit with FC at 6 months out..... Who knows? Start a thread under Marriott and see who might respond. I think @GrayFal has pretty extensive experience with MGR exchanges to MBP.

Hope this helps. Just remember: can't book till 6mos, like for like (size and season.