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

[rylan]

Caribbean/Aruba/St Thomas are far from happy as our expensive weeks were treated poorly in the DC.

Exactly my case... multiple week owner at St. Thomas MFC and we basically got hosed on the DC program. Its no wonder that the vast majority of weeks owners here don't exchange for points, but either use our week or trade into II.
We've also seen a change in the resort and clientele that visits for vacations and its apparent who is week owner vs someone who got in on points, but thats a different story.

 

[aubailey]

Marriott Exchange

Been to Aruba Surf Club 7 years in a row and traded our Harbour Point timeshare in Hilton Head. Taken the sales presentation each time with no intention of switching to points. I have had zero issues in exchanging for Aruba. Orginally paid $2500 and maintenance is $1100. Overall I think I made a good deal.

 

[atkinsge]

Marriott Time Share Poll

Very Happy. Use 'em, enjoy 'em.

 

[Wahoo Josh]

Becoming Discouraged Over Time

I bought a platinum week at Williamsburg Manor Club in 1993, and successfully traded pretty much anywhere I wanted to go until the last few years. When at Kauai in 2010, we did the DC presentation, but I refused to purchase when I learned my week would only provide about 2300 DC points per year.

The last few years I have made requests in the fall for the following summer for locations such as Newport Coast, Spain, and Virgin Islands. None of those were fulfilled after a few months, and I was able to trade into alternative locations - Las Vegas, an II Royal Resort in Cancun, and Aruba - the last three years. This year I ended up accepting a week in Phoenix that I could have rented or bought a Getaway for $850 - quite a bit less than my Maintenance Fee.

I'm trying a new strategy for the summer of 2016 - have already made a request for Ko Olina, Maui, or Virgin Islands more than 14 months in advance. I'm expecting that Ko Olina will hit, but will be very discouraged if I have to make another second tier choice.

 

[aberlin]

We were pitched the DC system several years ago, but l learned that the points we would get for our deeded unit did not add up to the points needed to use the unit at Marriott Mountainside during the platinum period. When our salesperson left the desk for a few minutes, I looked at his materials on his desk and learned this, but not from him. Strange, but we averted a disaster, to our thinking.

 

[puckmanfl]

good afternoon...

aberlin...

very confused...

Do you own platinum at MOU and are upset because the "skim" doesn't let you book back in at platinum season with DC points... or do you own Bronze or silver???

just curious...

 

[AlmostRetired]

We were pitched the DC system several years ago, but l learned that the points we would get for our deeded unit did not add up to the points needed to use the unit at Marriott Mountainside during the platinum period. When our salesperson left the desk for a few minutes, I looked at his materials on his desk and learned this, but not from him. Strange, but we averted a disaster, to our thinking.

I can only guess based on the limited info.


If own a fix or floating week at any resort, you do not need to exchange to DC points to go to that resort. You still do this the old fashion way.

You are correct, the points you get for your week is not enough to get into the resort you own for that same size unit in the same season. This is reason you do not use DC points if this is what you wanted to do. It is not efficient and would make little sense to discuss it. If you wanted to go to your home resort and stay less than a week (say Monday-Friday), this might be a good use of DC points.

Again... only guessing.

 

[mythologer]

I responded "very happy." We bought our first week at Grande Vista in March, 1998. We added to our portfolio over the users, and last July we bought enough points to get us to Premier Plus (13,000), and it turned out to be a good move, because we grand-fathered in as Chairman's Club. Things have changed over the years. Some of the little tricks I used no longer work, but the program offers lots of flexibility. I always pay dues with Rewards Visa (5 for 1), and whenever we have bought inventory I have put it on the Rewards Visa too (but paid it quickly to avoid high interest). I'm about to retire and I think we're pretty well set. The kids were 1 and 3 when we first bought, and we have had awesome family vacations. Now they are grown, so we are looking forward to doing a lot of vacationing. Next year we have a 13-day Italy guided tour and a 7-day Mediterranean cruise, all paid for with points, including airfare, and we still vacation a few weeks per year.

 

[krj9999]

Good so far

Only owned a few years, and it's an even year week only. Not in DC, and purchased resale for a very good price. So voted very happy.

Made 2 exchanges for my locked-off week in II; both in Flexchange, Waiohai last October and just back from Barony late May this year.

So far I easily see enough "good stuff" in II within the preference period to say I can get good value, and Marriott has many more locations to trade into than Starwood (which I'm less optimistic about my ownership at present). And E-plus retrade option in II makes things even better should plans need to change, and we don't usually need to travel in peak seasons (both easier to trade and less crowded since kids usually in school).

That's not to say things won't change for the worse over time, as it seems like the industry is constantly changing.

We also stayed at Maui Ocean Club about a decade ago (one of those 5 night promos), Ko Olina in a "hotel room" for a few nights a few years ago, and will be at Imperial Palms on an II exchange later this year.

 

[rylan]

Definitely becoming less and less satisfied with the system. Apparently Marriott is withholding weeks from being available for II exchanges in much greater numbers, and/or they've found a way to dump more into the trust system for the points people.

Can't even get a confirmation for trading a plat week back into the same resort for a week with the same demand this year. Previously this would be a very early, guaranteed trade. Front of mine is trying the same thing but with their Plat Plus week, so is in fact trading down into a plat week in the same resort so should be at the top of the priority list and can't even get confirmed. Spoke with someone at II and said marriott hasn't even them any inventory for the plat season. I find it hard to believe that there isn't a single owner that wants to deposit their week.

 

[DKT]

We've also seen a change in the resort and clientele that visits for vacations and its apparent who is week owner vs someone who got in on points, but thats a different story.

We are also a multi week owners at St. Thomas, and totally disagree. Exactly what type of clientele are point owners? Are they better or worse than week owners that purchased at resorts for a third of the price, or resale or interval weeks or the really nice group of people that we met this year who rented on eBay from an owner. I totally understand the difference of opinion on the points program, but the clientele has always been a mixture of people and to be honest the ones that drive me crazy are the entitled owners.

Wow, ok that was a rant.

Just to be clear we are week owners, enrolled and now point owners. We love the variety that we get from all of those options. We also have always enjoyed the wonderful people we have met at St. Thomas.

 

[MRVCDCM]

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[jimf41]

Exactly my case... multiple week owner at St. Thomas MFC and we basically got hosed on the DC program. Its no wonder that the vast majority of weeks owners here don't exchange for points, but either use our week or trade into II.
We've also seen a change in the resort and clientele that visits for vacations and its apparent who is week owner vs someone who got in on points, but thats a different story.

Not sure I understand the last sentence. You are a weeks owner. Are you asking folks on the beach if they are staying on points and then giving them a dirty look or something? Or are they asking you if you own and then giving you a dirty look? I'm an owner too and I use my owned weeks every year and supplement them with DC points or an II trade or rent from MVC.

The staff did treat me differently the week I rented as I got daily full housekeeping. Other than that I hadn't noticed any difference in the clientele or the staff. You are correct that we didn't make out too well in the DC point allocation. That's a two edged sword though. It doesn't require Hawaii points to get into MFC in high season.

The reason that myself and others don't trade our weeks into II or convert to points has more to do with the fact that we like St Thomas than it does with getting hosed as you put it. I meet the same folks year after year and everyone seems to like the place.

Can't say that I've ever looked down on someone vacationing there who wasn't an owner. I was a little jealous of a guy I met at the beach who had traded in on Presidents week with a lockout from one of the desert resorts. Then he told me he got the trade a week before and had to fork over about 3k in airfare for he and his wife.

 

[Beefnot]

Not sure I understand the last sentence. You are a weeks owner. Are you asking folks on the beach if they are staying on points and then giving them a dirty look or something? Or are they asking you if you own and then giving you a dirty look? I'm an owner too and I use my owned weeks every year and supplement them with DC points or an II trade or rent from MVC.

I took the last sentence to suggest that the points owners don't tend to either behave or treat the property in the same way that weeks owners do.

 

[jimf41]

I took the last sentence to suggest that the points owners don't tend to either behave or treat the property in the same way that weeks owners do.

I didn't notice anything that differentiated between an enrolled points user and a trust owner. The way I interpreted it was that someone was misbehaving and after some sort of inquisition it was determined that those folks were not actual weeks owners at MFC. I have observed guest behavior at resorts that I considered not in the best interests of the resort or the other guests and sometimes I've intervened but most times not. I never tried to determine on what status the guest was staying in order to label that group of guests.

Honestly I don't see how this would work. If you see someone throw a paper cup on the ground do you ask them to put it in the trash or do you ask to see their reservation status so you can determine what type of guest is not putting their paper cups in the trash?

 

[jimf41]

Getting back to the title of this thread I'm very happy with my Marriott ownership. Being retired I can travel as long or as much as I like and in fact I would like to add more time to my portfolio. The thing that's stopping me is not the initial cost but the MFs. It would be nice if MVC could work out some sort of discount on MFs for multiple weeks owners.

Some fees like maintenance of the buildings and grounds would not be able to be discounted but maybe something in the admin area could be reduced. If I spread my weeks around and go to different resorts then no discount, but for those of us that spend multiple weeks at one resort MVC incurs the same admin time on me that they do on a single week guest. One time in the Sudoku game of room assignment, one reservation, one welcome gift, one pitch to buy more weeks, one bill at the end and only one email asking to tell them how wonderful my stay was.

It'll never happen but I can dream, can't I?

 

[jeepie]

Maybe you should move to Colorado or Washington...whatever you're smoking is legal there!:rofl:

 

[Beefnot]

Getting back to the title of this thread I'm very happy with my Marriott ownership. Being retired I can travel as long or as much as I like and in fact I would like to add more time to my portfolio. The thing that's stopping me is not the initial cost but the MFs. It would be nice if MVC could work out some sort of discount on MFs for multiple weeks owners.

The chief problem you would face is mathematics and backlash due to disparate financial treatment. A discount to the maintenance fees for multiple week owners must be offset by increasing single week owners' MFs.

 

[jimf41]

A discount to the maintenance fees for multiple week owners must be offset by increasing single week owners' MFs.

Not if it just reduces MVCs admin costs. They could just pass on the savings to the multiple week owners.

OK, so I'll move to Washington. Colorado has too many mountains.

 

[jerrbear01]

Marriott Resort System

We are very pleased with the Marriott Resorts Timeshares we own and the points we own in the recently added Destinations program. One thing I quickly learned about Marriott was that you need to be full-in and learn how to navigate the rules.

At Chairman's Club level we have a few advantages, but mostly rely on advanced planning to get us where we want to go without hassle. Last minute planning isn't easy yet and until more people trust the destinations program the opportunities are limited, plus I feel Marriott has been slow to invest in Destinations capacity at existing high demand Marriott Resorts which would help to alleviate the tight inventory issue.

 

[jpd88]

Relatively happy with Marriott Maui

I'm an deeded weeks owner since 2000 and have not been convinced by the Destination Points presentations. We use our Kaanapali Marriott about 2 of every 3 years and bank Marriott Rewards Points 1/3 of the time. To our detriment and Marriott's benefit, over the years the maintenance fee has more than doubled while Rewards Points have remained the same.

I have only one week. If I would like to stay at Marriott Ocean Club an extra 3 days, what is the most cost efficient way to do this?

 

[mamasnow]

neutral on Marriott

Last time I voted Very Happy, this time posted neutral because the addition of DC and straight points systems have made it harder each year to get into our Home deeded weeks at Canyon Villas. We are gold Marriott rewards members so we always have lots of those points for hotel stays and can use those points also towards booking any MVC location or by using our owner's discount; DC deposit with our week never made sense because we don't have any interest in trading. Because our children don't seem the least bit interested in using our time, we may decide to sell sometime next year. We've had marvelous vacations at MCV with many great memories, but never go to update appointments because we have no interest in buying again into an overly expensive system that has very little to do with why we bought MCV in the first place. Glad others are enjoying MCV. You can thank us and others like us for paying the MF's over the years (since 2002, pre-construction!) and helping to keep it in such excellent shape. It remains one of the best properties with upkeep and family friendly amenities.

 

[mamasnow]

Good questions by jpd88 and jerrbear01. Marriott should either increase the Rewards Points or stop over selling in light of the tight inventory. Advance planning has always been important but I have to say that until the last 2 or 3 years, we never had a problem finding a week in or around our deeded time. Otherwise, the MF seems fair to me if we could just get our time every year, which would return me to Very Happy.

 

[Fayeoctober]

At this point, I don't think I am very happy. Yes we have gotten some really good trades through Interval including a house in Scotland, the Highlands Inn in Carmel, Ca. and most recently Maui for our daughter. However, going through some old bills, I found information on our maintenance fees going back to 2004. They were only $554 and are about twice that now.

We own at the Marriott Manor Club in Williamsburg and there have been times we could rent there for less than what we are paying in fees. Yes the units are in great shape and some we have stayed in could be lived in as an apartment. But the maintenance fees have gotten totally out of hand, and I might even consider selling were it now for the fact that the resale value is so low.

It makes me think that the whole timeshare model is just out of date. In the beginning while there is an activie sales market, the developer subsidizes the fees and people start out thinking they are reasonable. Then when the property is largely sold, the developer pulls out, and owners are left to fend for themselves with maintenance fees increasing significantly each year.

Wondering what others think about this?

 

[Finntastic]

Very happy with my ownership right now. 1500 points. Just came back from Canadian March break spent in SurfWatch, HHI. Had spectacular weather, shared a three bedroom with my brother and family. Had great vacation and loved the Island. No problem at all booking at 10 month window for a 5 day stay. Would have had no problem booking at 12 mon for whole week. My brother has already asked to use our points for next year as we are doing our encore cruise. Sat through presentation, got our $125.00 gift certificate, said no to everything- although I think encore for owners was a good deal- happy at present. Most difficult thing I found was having to wait almost 1 year to use our TS because we are so far from any of the resorts.