Abound! The combined Marriott/Vistana integrated exchange program now has a name.

[dsmrp]

Oh, I do like the name for whatever that's worth.

The name is alright and makes sense to me, as in 'the resort exchange landscape abounds with new options'. I think the execs liked that.

 

[BigDawgTUG]

I like the touted benefit of "Reduces call volume," which assumes that one day they might have a fully functioning website!

 

[dioxide45]

I have registered for the Marriott Vacations Worldwide Investor Day presentation which starts at 12:30pm EDT. I will report back later today. It lasts until after 4pm.

Here are three slides on ABOUND from the presentation deck:

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View attachment 58127

Oh boy! Starting to talk about digital. Not a good track record there...

 

[kds4]

Who comes up with these names? Clearly the Bonvoy people weren’t canned after that dumb name.

Will we start claiming we got Abounded?

There will likely be an abundance of abounding.

 

[rthib]

I am going to be optimistic and assume that they have been spending all there time on the new website and that is the reason they haven’t fixed anything on old one

 

[NiteMaire]

@NiteMaire coined a term Abounced.

I had also considered two taglines/mottos for BonVoy
BonVoy: stopping short of Bon Voyage
BonVoy: agelessly short of Bon Voyage

However, I'm a huge Marriott (hotel and TS) fan, and I don't really mean it. I'm Lifetime Titanium (earned the hard way with hotel stays and spending). Have they changed benefits for the worse? Yes, but they are not alone; all programs are both good and bad.

When I see words like 'seamless, holistic, and robust' in a corporate presentation I start to get worried....

[Searches buzzword bingo card] BINGO!!!!

 

[JIMinNC]

Investor Day is on a 15 minute break. Here is what they said about ABOUND in the first segment:

• Common currency will be called ClubPoints
• No incremental cost for owners to join ABOUND. It will be an annual election. Those who want to continue to use their legacy ownership can elect to do so on an annual basis if they so choose. ABOUND was described as an overlay over existing owner rights, but it will be delivered through a common reservation platform that will cross all brands.
• ABOUND launch to owners will be "later this summer"
• Major multi-year project called "Vacation Next Initiative" that will transform the digital experience for CSRs and Online for owners and prospects. ABOUND is Phase 1.
• Implementing a truly consolidated owner reservation platform for all Marriott brands (MVC/Westin/Sheraton etc) for both CSRs in the call center and owners through online digital platforms
• Working with the tech company SalesForce to implement new technologies that will consolidate profile information and transactional functionality across all ownerships within the Marriott-branded portfolio both for CSRs and direct online.
• Eventually, everything will be fully-bookable online - no need to call in, even for things like Explorer collection, etc. I assume this may also mean online cancellations may come.
• This is a three-year technology journey and they are roughly one year into that journey. Enhancements will come in phases with ABOUND launch later this summer being the first phase.
• Simultaneously retiring legacy systems and adding new technology.

That's it for now.

 

[DanCali]

Investor Day is on a 15 minute break. Here is what they said about ABOUND in the first segment:

• Common currency will be called ClubPoints
• No incremental cost for owners to join ABOUND. It will be an annual election. Those who want to continue to use their legacy ownership can elect to do so on an annual basis if they so choose. ABOUND was described as an overlay over existing owner rights, but it will be delivered through a common reservation platform that will cross all brands.
• ABOUND launch to owners will be "later this summer"
• Major multi-year project called "Vacation Next Initiative" that will transform the digital experience for CSRs and Online for owners and prospects. ABOUND is Phase 1.
• Implementing a truly consolidated owner reservation platform for all Marriott brands (MVC/Westin/Sheraton etc) for both CSRs in the call center and owners through online digital platforms
• Working with the tech company SalesForce to implement new technologies that will consolidate profile information and transactional functionality across all ownerships within the Marriott-branded portfolio both for CSRs and direct online.
• Eventually, everything will be fully-bookable online - no need to call in, even for things like Explorer collection, etc. I assume this may also mean online cancellations may come.
• This is a three-year technology journey and they are roughly one year into that journey. Enhancements will come in phases with ABOUND launch later this summer being the first phase.
• Simultaneously retiring legacy systems and adding new technology.

That's it for now.

And the stock has been on a one way roll downhill all day, like many other stocks, but loss of 11.5% is quite a bit of underperformance even on a down market day.

Seems like the market might expect some challenges ahead...

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Investor Day is on a 15 minute break. Here is what they said about ABOUND in the first segment:

• No incremental cost for owners to join ABOUND. It will be an annual election. Those who want to continue to use their legacy ownership can elect to do so on an annual basis if they so choose. ABOUND was described as an overlay over existing owner rights, but it will be delivered through a common reservation platform that will cross all brands.

Thank you for sharing. I wonder if "owners" include resale owners. Or are we considered a non-recognized lower class?

 

[dioxide45]

Thank you for sharing. I wonder if "owners" include resale owners. Or are we considered a non-recognized lower class?

That is still a big unanswered question and probably something we won't get answered on the Investor Day webcast. I expect who is eligible won't be answered until go live "later this summer".

 

[jont]

Now do we have to start calling them A-Points vs DC points?

Are you going to be a bounder ? Like Elaine’s friend from England. Maybe you can get Banya’s suit

 

[JIMinNC]

There were a few more ABOUND tidbits in the second segment:

• Once ABOUND launches, all owners across all Marriott brands will be on the same owner recognition levels.
• Once ABOUND launches, all sales centers across all Marriott brands will sell only ABOUND - i.e. the same product sold everywhere, but presumably with MVC logo/graphics at those sales centers, Westin logo/graphics at those centers, etc. All new sales will be ABOUND sales.
• In response to a question about what percentage of owners they expect will adopt ABOUND, CEO Steve Weisz said 40% of legacy MVC Weeks owners still stay within the legacy weeks system and do not use points, so he didn't offer a forecast of conversion rate to ABOUND.
• The question posed above by @CalGalTraveler "How will resale owners be impacted?" is a detail that was not addressed in this very high-level presentation.

There were also a few comments about legacy week repurchases (ROFR), potential for new locations, close rate, points pricing, etc. that TUGgers may find interesting. After the final segment on Financials is over, I'll post those other general comments in a separate thread so this can stay focused on ABOUND.

 

[TravelTime]

So this was the “big” announcement we were all waiting for.

 

[rickandcindy23]

So this was the “big” announcement we were all waiting for.

So big! Hilarious, but I like the name better than Vistana.

I am anxious to see how they will combine everything we own into one big log-in. It should be entertaining.

 

[dioxide45]

There were a few more ABOUND tidbits in the second segment:

• Once ABOUND launches, all owners across all Marriott brands will be on the same owner recognition levels.
• Once ABOUND launches, all sales centers across all Marriott brands will sell only ABOUND - i.e. the same product sold everywhere, but presumably with MVC logo/graphics at those sales centers, Westin logo/graphics at those centers, etc. All new sales will be ABOUND sales.
• In response to a question about what percentage of owners they expect will adopt ABOUND, CEO Steve Weisz said 40% of legacy MVC Weeks owners still stay within the legacy weeks system and do not use points, so he didn't offer a forecast of conversion rate to ABOUND.
• The question posed above by @CalGalTraveler "How will resale owners be impacted?" is a detail that was not addressed in this very high-level presentation.

There were also a few comments about legacy week repurchases (ROFR), potential for new locations, close rate, points pricing, etc. that TUGgers may find interesting. After the final segment on Financials is over, I'll post those other general comments in a separate thread so this can stay focused on ABOUND.

I also found interesting that they are sitting on $600 million of unsold inventory. One issue I see with that inventory is that much of it probably sits outside the US in Bali and Costa Rica. That inventory is probably harder to sell than US domestic inventory.

 

[VacationForever]

I hate the name but whatever. There is only 1 feature which I want in the new system, which is the ability to cancel a reservation. Currently, Vistana system can do it but not MVC system.

 

[rickxylon]

I would hope we would be able to book online at 13months+

 

[dioxide45]

I would hope we would be able to book online at 13months+

Point owners can already do that. I doubt they will add that for the legacy weeks program. If they haven't done it in 12 years, I don't see them doing it now.

 

[Fasttr]

….
[*]Common currency will be called ClubPoints
…..

So if DC Points were Destination Club Points….
Perhaps the combined program points should be referred to as…
AC Points for Abound Club Points.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Thank you for sharing. I wonder if "owners" include resale owners. Or are we considered a non-recognized lower class?

Good question. I would say we will be on the bottom rung somewhere. The Class System in Marriott Abound.

 

[JIMinNC]

Final Financial segment had nothing new on ABOUND, but there were a few other things I'll include in a separate thread shortly.

 

[TravelTime]

There were a few more ABOUND tidbits in the second segment:

• Once ABOUND launches, all owners across all Marriott brands will be on the same owner recognition levels.
• Once ABOUND launches, all sales centers across all Marriott brands will sell only ABOUND - i.e. the same product sold everywhere, but presumably with MVC logo/graphics at those sales centers, Westin logo/graphics at those centers, etc. All new sales will be ABOUND sales.
• In response to a question about what percentage of owners they expect will adopt ABOUND, CEO Steve Weisz said 40% of legacy MVC Weeks owners still stay within the legacy weeks system and do not use points, so he didn't offer a forecast of conversion rate to ABOUND.
• The question posed above by @CalGalTraveler "How will resale owners be impacted?" is a detail that was not addressed in this very high-level presentation.

There were also a few comments about legacy week repurchases (ROFR), potential for new locations, close rate, points pricing, etc. that TUGgers may find interesting. After the final segment on Financials is over, I'll post those other general comments in a separate thread so this can stay focused on ABOUND.

What do they mean by getting rid of recognition levels? Did they explain that? It makes no sense to get rid of recognition levels. The motivation to buy more points will go away because they often sell more points based on promoting the extra benefits you get at higher levels. Plus what about exsiting people who already get these benefits based on recognition level? Now they would be downgraded. If anything, I thought they should enhance the higher benefits levels to increase motivation to buy more points. I am glad I decided not to enroll my Vistana week before the launch since the changes are going in the opposite direction of what I expected.

 

[rickxylon]

This popped up on the login page


We’re Excited to Announce
Abound by Marriott Vacations™

Through a new affiliation with the Vistana Signature Network®, Abound (previously known as the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Exchange Program) is designed to give you more brands, more destinations, and more choices to make your
vacation life even better.

We’re working hard to launch later this summer, so watch for more details
in the coming weeks.

 

[scootr5]

Thank you for sharing. I wonder if "owners" include resale owners. Or are we considered a non-recognized lower class?

My thoughts exactly

 

[Fasttr]

Now may be a good time to take screen shots of your existing reservations and points balances before MVC makes more “enhancements” to the website.