shoeie
TUG Member
We are not frequent fliers on the MVC sales presentations. I think this is our fourth one ever (in 11-12 years of resale ownership). We aren't generally interested as our vacation time is more precious than whatever they're usually offering. I guess with COVID, from my reading here, some of the incentives have gotten a bit more generous than usual. For us, they offered 400 Destination Points good for two years from issuance so we decided to sit through the nonsense.
On a plus side, on 7/30 we met a couple by the pool that had just (that morning) purchased 2000 MVC trust points for $27K!!! Spent about 30 minutes talking to them, dispelling all of the nonsense they'd been told at the sales presentation that morning, and encouraged them to join TUG and rescind their purchase immediately! Hopefully we convinced them.
So, the sales presentation. Wow ... just Wow. I This was the most significant amount of disinformation and outright falsehoods I have ever experienced in a Marriott sales presentation. We always know there's a lot of truth stretching, etc., but this one was just full of outright lies. The salesman was smooth as silk, and every time he realized I knew he was full of it, he shifted tactics - bringing out sales training/tactics that Marriott was using 5-8 years ago even (even threw out the old "401(v)" which I hadn't heard in years).
Overall was offered 1000 points at $13.66 per point at 1000 point minimum, and also offered a resale/trust point bundle package for what functionally worked out to be $8.20 per point. Claimed that "list price" is currently about $15.10 and expected to rise to $17 "before the year is out." Claimed that sales were "booming" all throughout COVID (which completely contradicts their SEC guidance documents). Offered the usual encore package at the end which we declined.
Highlights of the numerous falsehoods:
It was at least quite entertaining!
On a plus side, on 7/30 we met a couple by the pool that had just (that morning) purchased 2000 MVC trust points for $27K!!! Spent about 30 minutes talking to them, dispelling all of the nonsense they'd been told at the sales presentation that morning, and encouraged them to join TUG and rescind their purchase immediately! Hopefully we convinced them.
So, the sales presentation. Wow ... just Wow. I This was the most significant amount of disinformation and outright falsehoods I have ever experienced in a Marriott sales presentation. We always know there's a lot of truth stretching, etc., but this one was just full of outright lies. The salesman was smooth as silk, and every time he realized I knew he was full of it, he shifted tactics - bringing out sales training/tactics that Marriott was using 5-8 years ago even (even threw out the old "401(v)" which I hadn't heard in years).
Overall was offered 1000 points at $13.66 per point at 1000 point minimum, and also offered a resale/trust point bundle package for what functionally worked out to be $8.20 per point. Claimed that "list price" is currently about $15.10 and expected to rise to $17 "before the year is out." Claimed that sales were "booming" all throughout COVID (which completely contradicts their SEC guidance documents). Offered the usual encore package at the end which we declined.
Highlights of the numerous falsehoods:
- First Time buyers must now buy in at a minimum of 4,000 points (this is obvious BS which was demonstrated by the couple described above that purchased 2000 points the day before). BUT, because I'm an owner I can purchase trust points at only 1000 points.
- Swore up and down that MVC owners could book Vistana, Hyatt and Welk properties (since MVC owns them all!!!) with no difference from the way we book MVC properties. When I decided that I couldn't let such nonsense go on unchallenged, he insisted that since Marriott owns II, an MVC trust points owner is "guaranteed" to get whatever they want through an II trade (but only if you own trust points) when booking Vistana, Hyatt or Welk which is essentially "the same thing" as booking them through the MVC site. I mean, I didn't even know where to go with such an outright falsehood, so I just chuckled and allowed the process to move on so we could leave.
- The usual-that my weeks points will now "magically" become trust points if I just purchased 1000 trust points to complement my weeks/convertible points.
- There is no resale market and trust points cannot be purchased resale. Really, was told this by both the salesman and the closer/manager. Again ... just WOW.
- When challenged on the point above, both reverted to the same line, that there is "essentially" no resale because Marriott exercises their ROFR on EVERY sales contract.
- Weeks owners cannot access II. Literally, just cannot access II, its being taken away. You must buy trust points so that you will be able to continue to access II trades (and then, of course as described above then all your II trades will be "guaranteed").
- All Marriott points and reservations can be rented for so much money that its actually a money making venture, and we, apparently, were forgoing an opportunity to make thousands in the rental market (this apparently really persuaded the couple described above, who were quite crestfallen to be informed that points could be rented for only a few pennies above the cost of maintenance fees).
It was at least quite entertaining!
