Losing Vacation Club Points when the resort closes

[Debuko]

Marriott Vacation Club has a policy that is little known by owners, and that the company wishes to keep from being broadcast. If the property becomes uninhabitable or is affected by a mandatory evacuation, the owners lose the points without recourse. This appears to be case for those there at the time, and it may apply to reservations that fall within the pre-arrival time frame where the reservation is in the non-cancellation window.

Hurricane season is particularly problematic. Vacation insurance that they sell is very expensive. A better solution, in my opinion, is to avoid hurricane prone areas on the east coast and Caribbean area from mid-August until October.

 

[kds4]

Marriott Vacation Club has a policy that is little known by owners, and that the company wishes to keep from being broadcast. If the property becomes uninhabitable or is affected by a mandatory evacuation, the owners lose the points without recourse. This appears to be case for those there at the time, and it may apply to reservations that fall within the pre-arrival time frame where the reservation is in the non-cancellation window.

Hurricane season is particularly problematic. Vacation insurance that they sell is very expensive. A better solution, in my opinion, is to avoid hurricane prone areas on the east coast and Caribbean area from mid-August until October.

Yes, this is a company policy. It gained attention last year as a result of Hurricane Matthew (not just for guests that were at affected resorts and had to evacuate at the time of the storm, but also for others who had reservations to arrive after the resorts re-opened - only to find that their reservations had been cancelled as well because the unit that was to be theirs had been given away to an owner that was displaced from another local MVCI property when the storm hit so that person could have a rescheduled visit).

There is a full discussion thread about how this played out on Hilton Head Island last year somewhere on TUG. You can find it with a search.

 

[davidvel]

Marriott Vacation Club has a policy that is little known by owners, and that the company wishes to keep from being broadcast. If the property becomes uninhabitable or is affected by a mandatory evacuation, the owners lose the points without recourse. This appears to be case for those there at the time, and it may apply to reservations that fall within the pre-arrival time frame where the reservation is in the non-cancellation window.

Hurricane season is particularly problematic. Vacation insurance that they sell is very expensive. A better solution, in my opinion, is to avoid hurricane prone areas on the east coast and Caribbean area from mid-August until October.

Yep, that's the nature of a timeshare system. All inventory is allocated, and if points were "refunded" it would take someone else's inventory. Marriott has some of its own inventory (or unreserved inventory) that can be used as a buffer if it chooses to, but in the end it's a zero-sum game. Disaster=lost time.

That's a big chunk of time, with a tiny chance of losing your week. But, insurance is the only real recourse. My home, auto, health and life insurance is expensive too, but I buy it. It's all about your risk tolerance level.

 

[csalter2]

Do airlines refund you when the planes cannot take off due to hurricanes and such?

 

[TravelTime]

Marriott Vacation Club has a policy that is little known by owners, and that the company wishes to keep from being broadcast. If the property becomes uninhabitable or is affected by a mandatory evacuation, the owners lose the points without recourse. This appears to be case for those there at the time, and it may apply to reservations that fall within the pre-arrival time frame where the reservation is in the non-cancellation window.

Hurricane season is particularly problematic. Vacation insurance that they sell is very expensive. A better solution, in my opinion, is to avoid hurricane prone areas on the east coast and Caribbean area from mid-August until October.

Yes I agree. This is why I do not plan a trip to the Caribbean during hurricane season.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Marriott Vacation Club has a policy that is little known by owners, and that the company wishes to keep from being broadcast. If the property becomes uninhabitable or is affected by a mandatory evacuation, the owners lose the points without recourse. This appears to be case for those there at the time, and it may apply to reservations that fall within the pre-arrival time frame where the reservation is in the non-cancellation window.

Hurricane season is particularly problematic. Vacation insurance that they sell is very expensive. A better solution, in my opinion, is to avoid hurricane prone areas on the east coast and Caribbean area from mid-August until October.

So are you saying if one was scheduled to check in at MOW ( which I understand to be closed today) on Sunday one couldn’t right now cancel get their points returned to a holding account as started int their cancellation policy.

What about if one were already staying at a resort on HHI (which I understand to be open) on say day 2 of a 7 day stay one could cancel 24 HRs in advance for Friday forward?

I will need to reread the cancellation policy.

 

[Fairwinds]

That’s the gamble I often take because I like Sept - Nov on the southeast coast. I’m not sure what’s happening with an OBX Home I rented with this Sat check in. Evacuation was ordered so no info available from rental agency but seems like they should be ok. Point being that timeshare is more like a rental than a hotel reservation that hasn’t been paid and you can cancel. Did not buy insurance. At least we are not in the direct path. Best wishes to those that are!

 

[dioxide45]

Do airlines refund you when the planes cannot take off due to hurricanes and such?

Actually, they will. If your flight is cancelled because of weather, they will still get you from point A to point B at some time on some flight in the future. You may wait a long time, but they will get you there. If they cancel your flight, you can often cancel and they will refund your money paid instead of trying to find a flight to fit you on.

 

[tschwa2]

Do airlines refund you when the planes cannot take off due to hurricanes and such?

They do but timeshares are based on deeded rights to use the property during the specified period. Even the vacation points are based on a land trust and members purchase beneficial interests which give you right to use. If your house is temporarily uninhabitable or in an area affected by mandatory evacuation. You don't get the time back you lose or any compensation without insurance.

Timeshare companies that use a points system are generally more accommodating , although nothing guaranteed, than fixed weeks or even float weeks. Some timeshare companies will not only refund the points but also in some cases allow the cancelled points to be used during at least part of the next year.

 

[dioxide45]

I think the main difference here is how Marriott opted to use its owned inventory vs how other developers chose to. Vistana gave up a good chunk of its owned inventory to give to owners whos reservations were cancelled. For one resort, Westin St John, their home resort will be unusable for over a year and a half. Those owners were still able to use the points allocated to their weeks. That inventory had to come from somewhere, and it ended up being inventory that Vistana had to own.

Marriott opted to keep revenue earning heads in the beds, Encore Package guests, and cancel II exchanges (often Marriott owners too). Sadly the Vistana policy probably won't last much longer now that VAC owns them now.

 

[vacationtime1]

Do airlines refund you when the planes cannot take off due to hurricanes and such?

The better analogy would be: if you own an airplane, do you have any recourse if your plane cannot take off due to hurricanes and such?

 

[kds4]

I think the main difference here is how Marriott opted to use its owned inventory vs how other developers chose to. Vistana gave up a good chunk of its owned inventory to give to owners whos reservations were cancelled. For one resort, Westin St John, their home resort will be unusable for over a year and a half. Those owners were still able to use the points allocated to their weeks. That inventory had to come from somewhere, and it ended up being inventory that Vistana had to own.

Marriott opted to keep revenue earning heads in the beds, Encore Package guests, and cancel II exchanges (often Marriott owners too). Sadly the Vistana policy probably won't last much longer now that VAC owns them now.

I didn't realize that Vistana Signature Experiences (the Sheraton and Westin Vacation Clubs - timeshare company) was included in the recent merger, unless that was a separate purchase? Maybe I missed that.

 

[dioxide45]

I didn't realize that Vistana Signature Experiences (the Sheraton and Westin Vacation Clubs - timeshare company) was included in the recent merger, unless that was a separate purchase? Maybe I missed that.

ILG owned Vistana Signature Experiences after it was spun off from Starwood (before Marriott International bought Starwood). When VAC bought ILG, Vistana was included in the transaction,.

 

[bizaro86]

It seems to me that the skim from people converting weeks to points would be a reasonable source of points to cover hurricanes and similar situations.

Vistana treated it's owners way better than Marriott. That's one big reason I'm not thrilled with that merger, as I'm sure the Marriott policy will take.

 

[bogey21]

I see no problem with this. As many of you know I am a Fixed Week/Fixed Unit guy. Twice I lost Weeks in Resorts where I owned (in Biloxe and Galveston) due to hurricane damage. The way I looked at it was that if I had owned a whole house that was uninhabitable due to hurricane damage, I would also have lost usage...

George

 

[bizaro86]

There were reports of II weeks getting cancelled after the resorts opened and Marriott putting their booked guests in instead.

Which is more like your property manager putting their renters in your undamaged home and denying you access.

 

[kds4]

ILG owned Vistana Signature Experiences after it was spun off from Starwood (before Marriott International bought Starwood). When VAC bought ILG, Vistana was included in the transaction,.

I see. Always had an interest in getting to their property in Nassau that has Atlantis privileges (Harborside). Maybe there will someday be a way to use DC points. I've only seen an II exchange there on one occasion that I can recall.

 

[Passepartout]

Travel insurance. Expensive? Yes. But inability to use is what you are insuring against. Even insurance may not be able to reinstate points, but your loss is real and would have a monetary value.

 

[Dean]

There were reports of II weeks getting cancelled after the resorts opened and Marriott putting their booked guests in instead.

Which is more like your property manager putting their renters in your undamaged home and denying you access.

I don't see it that way. While I would have done it differently, I think their choices were reasonable. The main issue I had was that I would have done it resort by resort (HH) rather than looked at the resorts as a whole. But in principle I have no problem prioritizing II exchangers at the bottom after renters, it's the same priority as unit assignments.

 

[bazzap]

I don't see it that way. While I would have done it differently, I think their choices were reasonable. The main issue I had was that I would have done it resort by resort (HH) rather than looked at the resorts as a whole. But in principle I have no problem prioritizing II exchangers at the bottom after renters, it's the same priority as unit assignments.

II exchangers who are also owners at other MVC resorts are not bottom of the priority for unit allocation at all MVC resorts.

 

[ljmiii]

Marriott Vacation Club has a policy that is little known by owners, and that the company wishes to keep from being broadcast.... Vacation insurance that they sell is very expensive.

I am sorry to hear that your vacation was lost to the impending hurricane. And it is true that MVCI (like DVC and other timeshare companies) downplay the fact that ownership means ownership and that we are potentially liable for all of the downsides of ownership - loss of use, lawsuits, and even the complete destruction of our property.

But MVCI has been very upfront about the importance of buying insurance. And the price is very reasonable - $169.00 covered all of my weeks and all of my points for 2018. And they have fixed the 'hole' for disruptions due to long term hurricane damage.

 

[bazzap]

I am sorry to hear that your vacation was lost to the impending hurricane. And it is true that MVCI (like DVC and other timeshare companies) downplay the fact that ownership means ownership and that we are potentially liable for all of the downsides of ownership - loss of use, lawsuits, and even the complete destruction of our property.

But MVCI has been very upfront about the importance of buying insurance. And the price is very reasonable - $169.00 covered all of my weeks and all of my points for 2018. And they have fixed the 'hole' for disruptions due to long term hurricane damage.

All well and good if you are a US resident.
Unfortunately for all those of us owners who are resident elsewhere in the World, we are ineligible for this insurance and MVC has been unable to suggest any comparable alternative option (I have tried)
So we are unable to get suitable insurance cover either though MVC or on our own.
This really is an issue MVC needs to address.

 

[ljmiii]

All well and good if you are a US resident. Unfortunately for all those of us owners who are resident elsewhere in the World, we are ineligible for this insurance and MVC has been unable to suggest any comparable alternative option (I have tried)...

Fair enough (or more to the point completely unfair). And I've also read of the feeble Marriott Credit Card offerings for Canadian and UK owners.

Maybe that's why the 'I' has largely disappeared from MVCI...;-)

 

[bazzap]

Fair enough (or more to the point completely unfair). And I've also read of the feeble Marriott Credit Card offerings for Canadian and UK owners.

Maybe that's why the 'I' has largely disappeared from MVCI...;-)

Aha interesting, I hadn’t really picked up on the MVCI to MVC change in this context.

 

[Dean]

II exchangers who are also owners at other MVC resorts are not bottom of the priority for unit allocation at all MVC resorts.

But from a system standpoint they are, but above non Marriott exchangers.