Marriott built a brand new internal trading / booking system, aka the "Trust". They needed to fund the "Trust" and hence they allowed existing owners (pre June 20 2010) to enroll so that they could help fill up the "Trust" with inventory. It was for a small fee initially and later on free for some if they went to an owners' update. Marriott needed the inventory and hence they allowed pre-June 2010 owners to enroll.I know that. But, how do you explain the Marriott free week enrollments and Starwood allowing owners from resorts they bought to become VSN owners?
I am not understanding what you meant by Starwood allowing owners from resorts they bought to become VSN owners. If Marriott were to buy ILG, they will likely need to do something about the fragmented Vistana system - voluntary, mandatory, Sheraton Flex, Aventuras, St John CV and SB... They are smarter than me and I do not have a clue how to transform it into a consolidated/coherent Vistana system. But there is no way they will just allow Marriott owners to internally book Hyatt and Vistana inventory, and vice versa. There is no money in it for them.