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2023 MF's Discussion Thread

jmhpsu93

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I am not aware that they sold the adjacent land at Lakeshore Reserve. It is part of the larger Grande Lakes property. As far as I know, Marriott still owns it. It isn't like they could really sell it to some third party investor to build apartments.
I swear we (the greater we here on TUG, not just the two of us) had a conversation about that property being for sale like 3 years ago.
 

dioxide45

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I swear we (the greater we here on TUG, not just the two of us) had a conversation about that property being for sale like 3 years ago.
That would have been Harbour Lake. They had a deal to sell that land, it was under contract. The deal fell through though when the state of Florida said they would be using eminent domain to take what I think was 60 feet in order to support the I4 Ultimate Project through that section of I4.
 

winger

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...
I removed taxes as I the boards do not control that so...
Kept the Club fee in my trust points as I think the club fee/trust MF are fungible methods by which MVC gets it budget/profit..
.
One interesting point is that my points from weeks avg .43/pp - much less than the points from the trust - not including taxes.
Glad my points come from weeks - I could not afford that MF/pp if they were all from the trust.
Why not include taxes? Most resorts include that in the same MF statement, thus the increases reported here and on similar threads also includes property taxes. You not including property taxes, makes it comparing apples to oranges when looking at MF changes across all properties.
 

winger

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.. .

My ongoing searches for Maui for our 50th anniversary are not coming through with Shadow Ridge. I was sure I would have gotten a trade for March by now. Our kids were all going to join us on Maui for that special day. I don't see our daughter and oldest son making the trip with airfare so high now. We are going to do a trip to Wisconsin Dells instead, which will be so fun, too. That will be early June.
The airfare uncertainty is the MAIN reason my idea of movimv to Hawaii got shot down. Also, we cancelled our upcoming spring break Ko Olina trip because of the insane airfare prices.

And can you imagine the real cost of a Hawaiim vacation if you did not have your timeshares to help with accommodations?
 
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klkaylor

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Why not include taxes? Most resorts include that in the same MF statement, thus the increases reported here and on similar threads also includes property taxes. You not including property taxes, makes it comparing apples to oranges when looking at MF changes across all properties.
Fair comment - I guess the issue is what the data is being used for-
If using them to look at how the board of your unit is controlling cost then striping taxes makes sense - they can only control the things they control and property taxes is not one of them. This is especially true in CA where the tax value (assessment) is far above the resale value of the unit and taxes are also relatively high.
If we are just comparing for discussion sake then doing them all the same is important. I would caution that if you are comparing CA MF as billed from MVC those do not contain any property taxes as those are billed directly to the owner. I will go see if the 2022 MF for Grand Residence or Timberlodge for CA include taxes. Still good for comparison.

I went back a couple of years an all of the CA properties I found do not include property taxes in their numbers - some added a small note at the bottom that there were property taxes but they dont make their way to the main list. Maybe this post should serve as a question for all of us - should all MF posts include a line for taxes - the CA owners just have to add them in for a fair comparison.
 
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LUVourMarriotts

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I really wish MVC would give me a realistic option to get rid of my MFV (Fairway Villas) week. I have it enrolled, and I haven't visited the resort in several years, probably never will again. The MF increases significantly every year, this year was 9.7%. The MF to point conversion is at $0.84/point this year.
I did reach out to my sales guy and asked him about this. He said MVC won't touch it, because its already enrolled in points, so they could care less. If it weren't enrolled, he said they'd offer me the option to "convert" my ownership from week to points, but I'd have to basically pay for a majority of those points, minus a small buyback sum they give me.
I wish this resort would just be sold or something like that. (yearly frustration occurring now) :unsure:
 

Fasttr

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I really wish MVC would give me a realistic option to get rid of my MFV (Fairway Villas) week. I have it enrolled, and I haven't visited the resort in several years, probably never will again. The MF increases significantly every year, this year was 9.7%. The MF to point conversion is at $0.84/point this year.
I did reach out to my sales guy and asked him about this. He said MVC won't touch it, because its already enrolled in points, so they could care less. If it weren't enrolled, he said they'd offer me the option to "convert" my ownership from week to points, but I'd have to basically pay for a majority of those points, minus a small buyback sum they give me.
I wish this resort would just be sold or something like that. (yearly frustration occurring now) :unsure:
Perhaps they would do a direct deed back from you. You would get $0 for it, and likely have to pay for cost to re-title the deed, but at least you would be out from under it.

Give the MVC Exit folks a call. https://www.marriottvacationclub.com/exit/
 

aka Julie

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For the first time I am experiencing difficulties paying maintenance fees on-line.

I have tried for several days and most of the time I can’t even get to the screen that displays the amounts. I now know what a lot of you have put up with in past years. I’m certainly glad they did the recent major upgrade to the website.

So I had to call in since I pay with my Marriott Chase credit card. To add insult, the recorded message tells you that you can pay on their website.

After a wait of several minutes, I was connected. I conveyed my frustrations, and I was told that their website works best with Google Chrome. I told him that I use Safari and Firefox and have no intentions being forced to download/use Google Chrome. A company their size should make their website function properly across many platforms.

It’s a shame that owners have to put up with such a poor website. I’m so glad my exorbitant MF contribute in a small way to MVC’s operations. Guess it’s all about selling. Good luck after you’re an owner.
 

jmhpsu93

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So I had to call in since I pay with my Marriott Chase credit card. To add insult, the recorded message tells you that you can pay on their website.

I scream at the phone in profanity during the greeting. The fact that you have to wait for the syrupy voice stating that you can do something online that doesn't work so you had to call, to finish before you can start navigating the phone tree is infuriating.
 

aka Julie

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I scream at the phone in profanity during the greeting. The fact that you have to wait for the syrupy voice stating that you can do something online that doesn't work so you had to call, to finish before you can start navigating the phone tree is infuriating.

I do the same thing. It helps me to vent. Duh if I could do it online, I wouldn’t be calling in.
 

naka4

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Haven't seen any comments on the large maintenance fee increases. Shadow Ridge is up 19% and many others are at least 9 to 13%. They are absurd!
 

jwalk03

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Whole thread bout it- here.

 

LUVourMarriotts

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Perhaps they would do a direct deed back from you. You would get $0 for it, and likely have to pay for cost to re-title the deed, but at least you would be out from under it.

Give the MVC Exit folks a call. https://www.marriottvacationclub.com/exit/
Oh yes, they will definitely allow me to do this. I have called to ask in the past. But, as you say, I have to pay some sort of transfer fee, so it is actually me paying MVC to give back the deed. I don't feel like that makes sense. I do get the use of the points each year, just at a higher cost per point. From a resort perspective, I've been told many times, by the different GM's there, that this resort has a much higher default rate than any other property in the portfolio. One GM told me it was close to 10x more than the next property. This is just part of the reason MF's are higher at this location, taxes being another big hit. It always makes me mad when I get a yearly update email that says they are adding all sorts of new amenities, or updating/rebuilding different amenities.
 

naka4

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Thanks appreciate it. I did see that but thought it was all about club points and I am still just a week owner.

Guess we all fall under that category now!
 

Steve Fatula

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Some interesting number from the Desert Springs Association related to MF, what items went up the most from 2022:

Income Tax (1027% increase though not a big number)
Gas 50.9% increase
Electric 43.5% increase
Water and Sewer 40.5% increase

So, basically, utilities as far as percentage increses, some pretty astounding numbers to me, though it is California. The biggest expense increase (in dollars) line item: Housekeeping, $37.67 per timeshare interest, which is 14.2%.
 

BocaBoy

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Given the labor challenges in the service sector and inflation in general, that seems reasonable. I was bracing for something higher.
It is interesting hear this said. In the many years of no inflation, i kept hearing here how labor costa were going up so fast that the large increases were justified. Now se finally have inflation (so far for less than a year) and labor costs re still being blamed. Do you have any idea what the housekeepers are being paid. If the labor costs were primarily to blame over the years, the housekeepers would be receiving very llarge salaries now and they are not.
 

dougp26364

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Add Willow Ridge Lodge, where only three of possibly 12 buildings were ever finished, and Grand Chateau where only 3 of 4 planned towers has been built.
 

dioxide45

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It is interesting hear this said. In the many years of no inflation, i kept hearing here how labor costa were going up so fast that the large increases were justified. Now se finally have inflation (so far for less than a year) and labor costs re still being blamed. Do you have any idea what the housekeepers are being paid. If the labor costs were primarily to blame over the years, the housekeepers would be receiving very llarge salaries now and they are not.
First it was labor costs due to rising healthcare, now it is due to rising wages. At least that is what they claim…
 

pedro47

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First it was labor costs due to rising healthcare, now it is due to rising wages. At least that is what they claim…
Maybe the new federal minimum wages law is the cause ?
 

Foggy1

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Maybe the new federal minimum wages law is the cause ?
SR did mention minimum wage costs. Calif. is currently $15/Hr. and they anticipate going to $17/Hr. Much higher than the the Fed minimum. The labor factor varies from local to local.
 

BreakingAway

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SR did mention minimum wage costs. Calif. is currently $15/Hr. and they anticipate going to $17/Hr. Much higher than the the Fed minimum. The labor factor varies from local to local.
Extra cleaning and sanitizing due to Covid 19 has increased the amount of work housekeeping has to do. So I would expect housekeeping expenses to increase for that reason alone. I appreciate the extra cleaning and comfortable paying for it.
 

aka Julie

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Extra cleaning and sanitizing due to Covid 19 has increased the amount of work housekeeping has to do. So I would expect housekeeping expenses to increase for that reason alone. I appreciate the extra cleaning and comfortable paying for it.
I think the ”extra” cleaning is more talk than action. I still find light switch plates dirty, desk phone, etc., crumbs on rug. I feel housekeeping has deteriorated over the years.
 

petersmaze

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I see a potential big mess coming with the Club dues billing, particularly for some dual owners (or maybe just me :p). They billed trust owners for the dues before they have finished syncing up recognition levels based upon combined Vistana and Marriott Abound points/Vistana elite level mapping. In my case I should be Select on combined points and Executive on Vistana 3* mapping but my MVC account remains at Owner and they billed me the $230 Owner fee.
 

needvaca

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Maybe the new federal minimum wages law is the cause ?

the “rising labor costs” includes executives compensation. The MVC CEO’s compensation has doubled over the last 5 years to $13,000,000. And their other management as well.
This equates to $6,500/hour.
 
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