MVC New Policy - Can’t Do Rentals? No long can change the Primary Guest name for Ownership Week Reservation?

[jtmic5]

Hi, my family has a few Marriott Vacation Timeshare deeded weeks. Since we can’t goto our home resort every year, we have been renting the unused weeks out on Redweek for the past 7 years.

Up until just recently, we were able to log onto Marriott.com to change the primary guest name for our guests. However, the system no longer allows us to do that from the website so we called Marriott Vacation Club Ownership Service and asked them to manually change it for us. To our surprise, the manager told us due to the new policy change, they no longer allow owners to change the primary guest name and asked us to goto myvacationclub.com to fill out a new guest change request form. He said, the guest name can only be added to the ‘additional guest’ section and the primary guest has to remain under owner’s name who made the original booking (cannot remove the original name + linked account number). Additionally, we had to agree to all the terms including a clause saying, we (as owners) can’t use our week for ‘commercial’ purpose (like renting to a 3rd party for profit) and if Marriott were to find out, they have the right to cancel the reservation!! Is this true??

1. Owners can no longer change the primary guest name and can only add the guest name to the reservation.

Redweek requires us owners to change the primary guest name to the guest name….but with this new policy, how do we do that? I want to know if anyone experienced this for Marriott ownership week reservation (not points reservations / interval exchange bookings) and how did you solve this issue?

2. Owners cannot rent out their units for commercial purpose. If Marriott finds out we are renting ownership week out to a non-family (for example on Redweek), they can cancel this booking?

When we purchased our deeded Marriott timeshare, the sales person assured us many times that we as the owners have the right to rent out the unused weeks to 3rd part to recoup some of high annual maintenance fee + tax. How can Marriott Vacation Club suddenly say, we can’t do that? Owners renting out their own units on Redweek is also considered ‘commerical use’? We feel like we got scammed by Marriott Vacation Club…

If you can share with us your own experience, any insights, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[Mlvnsmly]

Hi, my family has a few Marriott Vacation Timeshare deeded weeks. Since we can’t goto our home resort every year, we have been renting the unused weeks out on Redweek for the past 7 years.

Up until just recently, we were able to log onto Marriott.com to change the primary guest name for our guests. However, the system no longer allows us to do that from the website so we called Marriott Vacation Club Ownership Service and asked them to manually change it for us. To our surprise, the manager told us due to the new policy change, they no longer allow owners to change the primary guest name and asked us to goto myvacationclub.com to fill out a new guest change request form. He said, the guest name can only be added to the ‘additional guest’ section and the primary guest has to remain under owner’s name who made the original booking (cannot remove the original name + linked account number). Additionally, we had to agree to all the terms including a clause saying, we (as owners) can’t use our week for ‘commercial’ purpose (like renting to a 3rd party for profit) and if Marriott were to find out, they have the right to cancel the reservation!! Is this true??

1. Owners can no longer change the primary guest name and can only add the guest name to the reservation.

Redweek requires us owners to change the primary guest name to the guest name….but with this new policy, how do we do that? I want to know if anyone experienced this for Marriott ownership week reservation (not points reservations / interval exchange bookings) and how did you solve this issue?

2. Owners cannot rent out their units for commercial purpose. If Marriott finds out we are renting ownership week out to a non-family (for example on Redweek), they can cancel this booking?

When we purchased our deeded Marriott timeshare, the sales person assured us many times that we as the owners have the right to rent out the unused weeks to 3rd part to recoup some of high annual maintenance fee + tax. How can Marriott Vacation Club suddenly say, we can’t do that? Owners renting out their own units on Redweek is also considered ‘commerical use’? We feel like we got scammed by Marriott Vacation Club…

If you can share with us your own experience, any insights, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Take a look at this thread that was started last year. there's a pretty extensive discussion:

Arriving Guest Information [merged]

Perhaps it's been there for awhile, and perhaps reported here and I missed it, but I was looking at my ressys yesterday, and I am pretty sure it was not there then.... But now when I go to my week ressy listings on MVC website, at the top right of the listings, there is a link which says...

tugbbs.com

 

[DanCali]

Redweek requires us owners to change the primary guest name to the guest name….but with this new policy, how do we do that? I want to know if anyone experienced this for Marriott ownership week reservation (not points reservations / interval exchange bookings) and how did you solve this issue?

Changing the name on marriott.com was always a "hack" and represented a security risk because at some point anyone who had your name, a reservation number and a checkin date could hijack the reservation. It also allowed brokers/"entrepreneurs" to opportunistically rent cheaply from some owners on Redweek and then sublease the reservation at a much higher price without the owner's knowledge (and in violation of Redweek's contract). Last time I saw that they shut down the ability for someone whose Bonvoy number is not on a reservation to modify it. I see that they now also don't allow the actual owner to modify the name.

Technically, this kind of make sense. Your interaction regarding changing the guest name should be with the timeshare entity (MVC) and not the hotel entity (Marriott). Whether MVC has the right or most efficient process is a separate issue - personally I think the process is lousy. Vistana also has a system for owners to change the name online and that's instantaneous (albeit now owners still have to wait 2-3 days for the Marriott confirmation to change after making the change on Vistana). That's just one out of several things MVC could have adopted from Vistana and didn't.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Hi, my family has a few Marriott Vacation Timeshare deeded weeks. Since we can’t goto our home resort every year, we have been renting the unused weeks out on Redweek for the past 7 years.

Up until just recently, we were able to log onto Marriott.com to change the primary guest name for our guests. However, the system no longer allows us to do that from the website so we called Marriott Vacation Club Ownership Service and asked them to manually change it for us. To our surprise, the manager told us due to the new policy change, they no longer allow owners to change the primary guest name and asked us to goto myvacationclub.com to fill out a new guest change request form. He said, the guest name can only be added to the ‘additional guest’ section and the primary guest has to remain under owner’s name who made the original booking (cannot remove the original name + linked account number). Additionally, we had to agree to all the terms including a clause saying, we (as owners) can’t use our week for ‘commercial’ purpose (like renting to a 3rd party for profit) and if Marriott were to find out, they have the right to cancel the reservation!! Is this true??

1. Owners can no longer change the primary guest name and can only add the guest name to the reservation.

Redweek requires us owners to change the primary guest name to the guest name….but with this new policy, how do we do that? I want to know if anyone experienced this for Marriott ownership week reservation (not points reservations / interval exchange bookings) and how did you solve this issue?

2. Owners cannot rent out their units for commercial purpose. If Marriott finds out we are renting ownership week out to a non-family (for example on Redweek), they can cancel this booking?

When we purchased our deeded Marriott timeshare, the sales person assured us many times that we as the owners have the right to rent out the unused weeks to 3rd part to recoup some of high annual maintenance fee + tax. How can Marriott Vacation Club suddenly say, we can’t do that? Owners renting out their own units on Redweek is also considered ‘commerical use’? We feel like we got scammed by Marriott Vacation Club…

If you can share with us your own experience, any insights, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

The email that Redweek sent to you has a link to click on to and goes directly to the Marriott site where you make the actual changes.

I received one Saturday morning June 29th, 2024 and did it in less than 5 minutes. Yes, two days ago. Done!

Yes, you can still rent your Marriott weeks without an issue.








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[pedro47]

The email that Redweek sent to you has a link to click on to and goes directly to the Marriott site where you make the actual changes.

I received one Saturday morning June 29th, 2024 and did it in less than 5 minutes. Yes, two days ago. Done!

Yes, you can still rent your Marriott weeks without an issue.








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[pedro47]

Thanks for sharing this information.

 

[DanCali]

The email that Redweek sent to you has a link to click on to and goes directly to the Marriott site where you make the actual changes.

I received one Saturday morning June 29th, 2024 and did it in less than 5 minutes. Yes, two days ago. Done!

Yes, you can still rent your Marriott weeks without an issue.

.

Are you sure you can still do that because when I go to some of my future reservations try and and (pretend) to change the name, my name is grayed out in the box and cannot be modified as it used to be in the past?

 

[rickandcindy23]

You cannot change a name within 5 days of check-in. That requires a phone call to Marriott/ Sheraton/ Westin.

If you just book a week today for a guest, you can add it at booking. It's no big deal.

 

[dioxide45]

Are you sure you can still do that because when I go to some of my future reservations try and and (pretend) to change the name, my name is grayed out in the box and cannot be modified as it used to be in the past?

Perhaps @TheTimeTraveler was referring to the new form with Marriott Vacation Club.com? Not Marriott.com?

 

[dioxide45]

You cannot change a name within 5 days of check-in. That requires a phone call to Marriott/ Sheraton/ Westin.

If you just book a week today for a guest, you can add it at booking. It's no big deal.

I believe this only applies to reservations made through Vistana.com. The ability to change the guest name is no longer available inside of 5 days from checkin. The form on MarriottVacationClub.com is open all the time and you input the confirmation number on the form. The form is supposed to be completed 30 days in advance.

 

[DanCali]

Perhaps @TheTimeTraveler was referring to the new form with Marriott Vacation Club.com? Not Marriott.com?

IDK - he seems to be referring to the Redweek instructions which point owners to using the "hack" on the Marriott website.

I've refused to do that with them and told them they will have to wait for the turnaround with the guest form. They warned me that I'm at risk of losing the rental but they extended the deadlines (automatically) when needed.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I have previously used the form on the MarriottVacationClub website and it is more cumbersome than it really needs to be. Takes a bit of time.

Also, I'm not sure why the Redweek link is referred to as "the hack" but I do know it worked for me and was very easy. If there is a downside then I haven't seen it yet. It is the first time I actually used their link.










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[LeslieDet]

Hi, my family has a few Marriott Vacation Timeshare deeded weeks. Since we can’t goto our home resort every year, we have been renting the unused weeks out on Redweek for the past 7 years.

Up until just recently, we were able to log onto Marriott.com to change the primary guest name for our guests. However, the system no longer allows us to do that from the website so we called Marriott Vacation Club Ownership Service and asked them to manually change it for us. To our surprise, the manager told us due to the new policy change, they no longer allow owners to change the primary guest name and asked us to goto myvacationclub.com to fill out a new guest change request form. He said, the guest name can only be added to the ‘additional guest’ section and the primary guest has to remain under owner’s name who made the original booking (cannot remove the original name + linked account number). Additionally, we had to agree to all the terms including a clause saying, we (as owners) can’t use our week for ‘commercial’ purpose (like renting to a 3rd party for profit) and if Marriott were to find out, they have the right to cancel the reservation!! Is this true??

1. Owners can no longer change the primary guest name and can only add the guest name to the reservation.

Redweek requires us owners to change the primary guest name to the guest name….but with this new policy, how do we do that? I want to know if anyone experienced this for Marriott ownership week reservation (not points reservations / interval exchange bookings) and how did you solve this issue?

2. Owners cannot rent out their units for commercial purpose. If Marriott finds out we are renting ownership week out to a non-family (for example on Redweek), they can cancel this booking?

When we purchased our deeded Marriott timeshare, the sales person assured us many times that we as the owners have the right to rent out the unused weeks to 3rd part to recoup some of high annual maintenance fee + tax. How can Marriott Vacation Club suddenly say, we can’t do that? Owners renting out their own units on Redweek is also considered ‘commerical use’? We feel like we got scammed by Marriott Vacation Club…

If you can share with us your own experience, any insights, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

The Guest Form requirement was announced by MVC over a year ago. Go to your reservation on your owner website and you will see the link to complete the form. Nothing has changed with regard to "no commercial purposes". That is in your original purchase paperwork. There has been no official definition of "commercial purposes", but the intent is to prohibit those owners who have made a business out of owning timeshares and then managing a rental portfolio, not to prohibit owners from occasionally renting out their use and occupancy.

As to the Guest Form, you as the owner are requested to confirm whether or not you will be at the reservation. One of the purposes of the form was to prevent those owners who rent out their ownership from still attempting to claim the BonVoy ENC for the nights stayed. There are other reasons relating to enhancements in laws prohibiting trafficking. The "back door" access through the hotel website using your BonVoy account was closed because owners were not complying with the rules regarding completing the Guest Form.

Redweek is aware of the change and the need to use the Guest Form, or at least it should be. The form is simple to complete and submit directly from the owner website. On the form is a box to check as to whether or not you, as the owner, will be staying at the reservation. When you rent it out, and check the box that says you are not going to be staying, then your BonVoy number is removed from the reservation. It isn't going to be canceled because you are renting it to a non-family member. Not sure why you are asking about II reservations, because those can't be rented at all. But at no time has Marriott Vacation Club said that owners cannot rent out their ownership. Owners just cannot engage in commercial activities.

 

[DanCali]

I have previously used the form on the MarriottVacationClub website and it is more cumbersome than it really needs to be. Takes a bit of time.

Also, I'm not sure why the Redweek link is referred to as "the hack" but I do know it worked for me and was very easy. If there is a downside then I haven't seen it yet. It is the first time I actually used their link.

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It's a "hack" in the sense that both MVC and Vistana specifically say you should not use that method to change a guest's name. Redweek "recommends" that method only because it's quick and it allows them to lock in the rental quickly and it makes them look good rather than have a tenant wait 3-5 days.

If you can change a name using that method then when you rent a timeshare, whether directly or via "verified and protected", you have no idea who actually ends up staying in the unit because there are lots of flippers on Redweek, especially if you price on the lower end. The flippers can and do use that method to change the tenant's name without your knowledge. If you lease a condo, wouldn't you want the actual tenant to sign the contract? If your tenant is subleasing your condo wouldn't you like to approve it and perhaps have the new tenant also agree to your terms? To me, a timeshare is a condo... Also, as a matter of principle, I don't really like random people messing with reservations I made, and definitely not without my knowledge.

 

[jtmic5]

Take a look at this thread that was started last year. there's a pretty extensive discussion:

Arriving Guest Information [merged]

Perhaps it's been there for awhile, and perhaps reported here and I missed it, but I was looking at my ressys yesterday, and I am pretty sure it was not there then.... But now when I go to my week ressy listings on MVC website, at the top right of the listings, there is a link which says...

tugbbs.com

The Guest Form requirement was announced by MVC over a year ago. Go to your reservation on your owner website and you will see the link to complete the form. Nothing has changed with regard to "no commercial purposes". That is in your original purchase paperwork. There has been no official definition of "commercial purposes", but the intent is to prohibit those owners who have made a business out of owning timeshares and then managing a rental portfolio, not to prohibit owners from occasionally renting out their use and occupancy.

As to the Guest Form, you as the owner are requested to confirm whether or not you will be at the reservation. One of the purposes of the form was to prevent those owners who rent out their ownership from still attempting to claim the BonVoy ENC for the nights stayed. There are other reasons relating to enhancements in laws prohibiting trafficking. The "back door" access through the hotel website using your BonVoy account was closed because owners were not complying with the rules regarding completing the Guest Form.

Redweek is aware of the change and the need to use the Guest Form, or at least it should be. The form is simple to complete and submit directly from the owner website. On the form is a box to check as to whether or not you, as the owner, will be staying at the reservation. When you rent it out, and check the box that says you are not going to be staying, then your BonVoy number is removed from the reservation. It isn't going to be canceled because you are renting it to a non-family member. Not sure why you are asking about II reservations, because those can't be rented at all. But at no time has Marriott Vacation Club said that owners cannot rent out their ownership. Owners just cannot engage in commercial activities.

Thank you all for your very helpful replies! I panicked when I saw the 'commercial use / cancellation by Marriott' clause on the new guest form. I guess if Marriott Vacation Club doesn't have the definition of what 'commercial use' is, no one really knows for sure either... it's literally up to MVC to decide arbitrarily. *sigh

 

[davidvel]

Thank you all for your very helpful replies! I panicked when I saw the 'commercial use / cancellation by Marriott' clause on the new guest form. I guess if Marriott Vacation Club doesn't have the definition of what 'commercial use' is, no one really knows for sure either... it's literally up to MVC to decide arbitrarily. *sigh

Here is typical language:

View attachment 69695

(TS Declaration for Shadow Ridge, typical of other MVC resorts, but all have their own governing documents. )