[2013] How happy are you with your Marriott ownership?

[bazzap]

I am sure Carlito meant to say that owning 2 weeks you can plan your vacations 13 months (not weeks) in advance. Good luck.

 

[csalter2]

I am sure Carlito meant to say that owning 2 weeks you can plan your vacations 13 months (not weeks) in advance. Good luck.

Okay smarty, I changed it to "own". However, isn't it true that if you own it, that you now have it?

 

[bazzap]

Perhaps I am confused now?
I wasn't trying to be "smarty", and just commenting on 'months rather than weeks' not 'own rather than have'

 

[momeason]

Hello,

Don't feel bad there are lots of others who are not using their timeshare weeks as effectively either. You have come to the right place so that should be a start in the right direction.

I want to first make sure that you don't have to wait until January first to make your reservations. You can do it a year in advance of any week you would like to go. In your case since you own two weeks, you can plan your vacations 13 weeks in advance as long as you use your weeks consecutively or concurrently. Now I read that it's is difficult for you to plan far in advance because due to your husband's job. That does put you at a disadvantage when you try to travel during peak periods which are usually when kids are out of school. The planning in advance is key to timeshare ownership.

You can make the reservations 13 months out and hope you can go. If you cannot go, you could rent it out on this site. If you choose a good summer week, you should be able to rent it and at least not waste your timeshare weeks.
I would make 2 reservations and hope you can go on at least one.

 

[csalter2]

My Error

Okay smarty, I changed it to "own". However, isn't it true that if you own it, that you now have it?

I am sorry you're so right! I meant that you can rent 13 MONTHS in advance instead of 13 WEEKS. That's a huge difference. I am sorry I did not catch that error.

Thankfully you did.

 

[Fasttr]

Running....to answer your two questions...."Is there a link on here that will explain what others are meaning by DC and IHMO.", I offer the following....

DC is Destinations Club, referring to the newer Marriott points system of vacation ownership. Will also see DC Points mentioned, which could mean Trust Points and/or Enrolled Weeks Points (also referred to as Legacy Points). Confused yet? Might want to check out the thread about trust points and legacy points being the same thing...or not.

IMHO is In My Humble Opinion.

Good Luck!!

 

[Beefnot]

...Is there a link on here that will explain what others are meaning by DC and IHMO...

The quote above clarifies the context to the previous post.

 

[snowgoose]

My two weeks at Kanapali Maui are great and was the thing to do when I purchased them in 2000. However, times have changed and now you can find equal or better facilities for rent for a lot less.

I did not go for their new points system because it does not fit my lifestyle like owning weeks does.

I would never purchase again. When I purchased they made it very clear (in fact I had to sign forms) that I was not purchasing as an investment - boy were they right - as an investment they are a huge loss.

I'm not complaining, I'm merely pointing out that times have changed. That the current available facilities for rent would preclude me from ever buying a timeshare. Timeshare's excessive annual dues are the main killer.

Here's a real example for this year:
My two weeks, Kanapali Marriott, 1 Bedroom/2 Bath Ocean View. Total costs were $282.00 per night (including dues) plus I have $46,000.00 purchase price invested.

My two weeks, Kanapali Condo rental, large 2 bedroom/2 Bath/Full Kitchen/Dining Room/Living Room/Patio gated community. Total comparative costs were $156.00 per night and I have nothing "invested".

Even if you ignore the investment, the condo rental is a better deal. The one disadvantage is it does not sit on the ocean, thus no "ocean View", it sits on the golf course.

 

[dioxide45]

My two weeks at Kanapali Maui are great and was the thing to do when I purchased them in 1982. However, times have changed and now you can find equal or better facilities for rent for a lot less.

Are you sure you bought at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club in 1982? Marriott hadn't even gotten in to the Vacation Ownership business until 1984 when they aquired American Resorts (now Monarch) in HHI.

 

[snowgoose]

dioxide,

Good eye - my error. Purchased in 2000

I mixed this purchase with another membership I purchased in 1982. I corrected the above post.

 

[taffy19]

My two weeks at Kanapali Maui are great and was the thing to do when I purchased them in 2000. However, times have changed and now you can find equal or better facilities for rent for a lot less.

I did not go for their new points system because it does not fit my lifestyle like owning weeks does.

I would never purchase again. When I purchased they made it very clear (in fact I had to sign forms) that I was not purchasing as an investment - boy were they right - as an investment they are a huge loss.

I'm not complaining, I'm merely pointing out that times have changed. That the current available facilities for rent would preclude me from ever buying a timeshare. Timeshare's excessive annual dues are the main killer.

Here's a real example for this year:
My two weeks, Kanapali Marriott, 1 Bedroom/2 Bath Ocean View. Total costs were $282.00 per night (including dues) plus I have $46,000.00 purchase price invested.

My two weeks, Kanapali Condo rental, large 2 bedroom/2 Bath/Full Kitchen/Dining Room/Living Room/Patio gated community. Total comparative costs were $156.00 per night and I have nothing "invested".

Even if you ignore the investment, the condo rental is a better deal. The one disadvantage is it does not sit on the ocean, thus no "ocean View", it sits on the golf course.

I have to agree with you but it may change again because people are starting to come back to visit the Hawaiian Islands big time so rents may go up from what they were the last few years. We already noticed this in Oahu so Maui will follow soon after too.

Since you own two weeks, you should be able to reserve your weeks 13 months out. You need to be on the ball and make your reservations early with an atomic clock. There are many posts about it if you Google for the atomic clock.

 

[m61376]

I love my timeshare travels and think it has added a wonderful dimension to our vacations. I was less than thrilled with many aspects of the DC program, particularly its rather paltry allocation of points to Caribbean weeks, despite some of those weeks commanding among the highest rental rates amongst the Marriott properties, but I have to accept what I cannot change and go with the flow. I did vote for the second choice though because of the limitations of the DC (imho, of course).

That said, I recently had the pleasure of seeing a first time reaction close up- our daughter, husband and our little grandbaby came with us to Harbour Lake and we had 2 2BR villas, which they assigned side by side (a big plus!). She has travelled all over the world, and I wasn't really sure how'd she react. She was very pleasantly surprised and impressed- couldn't believe how nice the accommodations were- how great the resort was, how nice the villas were, how much easier it made travel with a toddler, how great it was for the 3 year old, who is just starting to sleep through the night, to have his own room, the convenience of the kitchen, etc. She commented repeatedly and was clearly impressed at both the convenience and the cost savings. We didn't miss not staying at one of the Disney park resorts and actually found the short drive there to be easier than the bus system in many respects.

One last comment- for those still contemplating on whether or not to join, you can make good use of those 3780 (or thereabouts) holding points that are given as a bonus to enrollment. I managed to get 3 2BR villas for 6 nights each in Orlando; I landed up only needing two, so I rented one on the last minute board here on Tug, so my net cost was basically the Getaway price for the weeks I used. If you utilize the bonus points effectively, enrollment can be essentially free (of course, it helped to combine the offer with a special 40% off Marriott discount that they were running through the end of June).

 

[snowgoose]

Since you own two weeks, you should be able to reserve your weeks 13 months out. You need to be on the ball and make your reservations early with an atomic clock. There are many posts about it if you Google for the atomic clock.

I'm not sure why you mention this. I've never had a problem reserving. I always reserve 13 months out and always had my requests honored.

 

[taffy19]

I'm not sure why you mention this. I've never had a problem reserving. I always reserve 13 months out and always had my requests honored.

I reacted on your last sentence and must have read your post too quickly. Sorry that I misunderstood you.

My two weeks at Kanapali Maui are great and was the thing to do when I purchased them in 2000. However, times have changed and now you can find equal or better facilities for rent for a lot less.

I did not go for their new points system because it does not fit my lifestyle like owning weeks does.

I would never purchase again. When I purchased they made it very clear (in fact I had to sign forms) that I was not purchasing as an investment - boy were they right - as an investment they are a huge loss.

I'm not complaining, I'm merely pointing out that times have changed. That the current available facilities for rent would preclude me from ever buying a timeshare. Timeshare's excessive annual dues are the main killer.

Here's a real example for this year:
My two weeks, Kanapali Marriott, 1 Bedroom/2 Bath Ocean View. Total costs were $282.00 per night (including dues) plus I have $46,000.00 purchase price invested.

My two weeks, Kanapali Condo rental, large 2 bedroom/2 Bath/Full Kitchen/Dining Room/Living Room/Patio gated community. Total comparative costs were $156.00 per night and I have nothing "invested".

Even if you ignore the investment, the condo rental is a better deal. The one disadvantage is it does not sit on the ocean, thus no "ocean View", it sits on the golf course.

 

[snowgoose]

iconnections,

No harm, no foul - thanks for the clarification.

 

[lumpy]

We've been Marriott owners for 13 years. I found out about TUG before we decided to buy, studied the board (who remembers Fletch?), and then took a promotional trip from Marriott to see Barony but ended up buying a Harbour Point resale week at 15% of the cost of a Barony week. It has served us well, but we were only offered 650 DC points for the unit so it is not worth trading for DC points. That said, we are very happy with what Marriott has given us in return for our investment, we would never have taken these trips without being a timeshare owner to spur us to make use of the unit. Basically have used the TUG advice just within the Marriott family and been very happy with it, although I do have one gripe. It appears the value of our timeshare, even at resale prices, has taken a dive as seen in the Maui post above, and if you bought with developer prices, then your loss has been greater. Of the 13 years we have traded, we have only gone outside of Marriott twice, and both times where we sent our kids on honeymoons where there were no Marriott timeshares available.

 

[bobpark56]

Not as happy as we thought we would be

When we purchased our MGV 2BR gold week a few years ago, we did not realize (and were not told) that we would forever be classified as lower class members if we bought just one unit. So here we are today as plebes, watching the elites out there getting benefits that we do not receive.

This is a bit grating for one who believes that all citizens/members should be treated equally. It seems now that "equal" in Marriott terms means "equal only to those who have purchased no more units than you."

As just one example, it is not cost effective for us to switch to points. Moreover, we now find that those more elite than us get reservation privileges we do not enjoy. As compensation, though, our unit trades well with II...and that is what we do.

Would I recommend a Marriott vacation club membership to my friends? Not unless they intend to purchase 3 or more units...or to simply reserve the unit they own for personal use each year. Oh, I forgot! Marriott does not sell individual units anymore.

 

[bogwarrior]

Unhappy

I feel the whole points system is a scam and my ownership has been devalued ....I am in the process of selling my week

 

[live4life]

I voted very happy - though disappearance of the MFs would be appreciated.

 

[MOXJO7282]

I post to this section every year after I rent our last unit for the year. Just rented our last Grande Ocean OF Gold Unit for 2013. Again another outstanding year for our rentals.

To date in the 11-12 years we've been doing this we've never had to accept less than MFs and usually on 9 out of 10 make a healthy margin and I don't see that pattern ending any time soon as demand seems to be stronger than ever.

In 2013 we bought 2 Myrtle Beach OF plat at very good prices and sold our MOW OS July 4th also at a good price. Its great that there is a strong resale market for Marriotts where you can buy at good prices and if patience find someone to buy at a good price also.

So another year goes by and I'm still very pleased with our Marriott use/rent model and so grateful I didn't listen to all the Marriott nay-sayers who thought I was crazy buying Marriotts to rent.

10 years + and I can still say it was the best decision by far I ever made for sharing quality family time together, not to mention financially for my family.

 

[Fun in the sun]

I was at the pool and heard som disturbing news!!! We are already getting way overcharged for less service and I heard they are going to double our fees in 2014. So scary, we need to go talk to someone. I'm not voting on that. This summer was the worst trip ever and the place looked like motel 6 or worse. Never

 

[Fun in the sun]

System is broken, I never get Anything I want unless I pay thru the back door. Very bad way to do business. And it's only going to get harder with these points. What a bad idea!

 

[samshu9078]

I agree

I voted very happy. The DC program, IMHO, has been a great addition and has given my family and I a lot of flexibility.

I completely agree. I has given us great flexibility.

 

[n777lt]

I voted "very happy...but" -- we bought only what we'd be happy to use year in year out, we have a fair amount of flexibility (though that's about to end, with grandkids getting into school schedules in a couple of years), we've had some great exchanges (Marbella and Son Antem), AND we've done pretty well with our trust points as an adjunct to whatever we choose to enroll each year. BUT the lack of transparency about what weeks are in which pot (Trust, II, owned home weeks), the general weakness of the Collette Travel tour offerings, and the need to play the lottery first thing in the morning 12 or 13 months out for our desirable home resorts taint the experience.

So I'm a "generally happy" camper - not trying to leave, just hoping the program will improve.

 

[Mr. Vker]

Very Happy.

We are not in DC.