dlpearson
TUG Member
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2005
- Messages
- 964
- Reaction score
- 191
- Resorts Owned
- WKORN, SVV (Bella), MOC, MBP, 7MileBeach Club
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the succinct thread on the Florida Club (and all your other helpful Marriott stickies!). I have some additional info that others might find helpful on the Florida Club.
For years I have taken the opportunity to complain about the mandatory $29 (now $30 as of this year) "club dues" I've had to pay every year for the past 8 years (while never once using the club benefits). My line of thinking was "it's a rip-off, why doesn't Marriott charge me only if I use the club, etc." I actually had a Marriott employee call me back after apparently reading one of my complaints on a recent customer sat survey (I guess they actually read them!). The woman said she's seen this complaint more than once, and before calling me back she says she did a thorough investigation as to the whys and hows of the Florida Club.
I don't remember the exact terminology used in our conversation, but in a nutshell the explanation was this:
1. Marriott had to have special reservation software created (which was outsourced) to handle cross reservations between the various Florida Club resorts. Apparently it's a fairly complex challenge to tie the individual reservation availabilities, etc. together since it has to take into consideration multiple activities (i.e., home resort owners reserving their weeks through the corporate reservation system, and also II exchange activity).
2. They pay a royalty/usage fee for the use of this additional reservation software. (I think she said something about legal--maybe state?--reasons for having to charge all club owners this fee whether they physically used it or not....)
3. Of the $30 club fee, only $3 or $4 actually goes towards the Club-specific reservation software usage. The remainder of the fee is actually allocated to headquarters for the Marriott-wide central reservation system that all owners use, and that all MVCI owners pay. She explained that Florida Club resort owners have this fee broken out into a separate maintenance fee line item (for whatever reason, I don't recall), whereas other MVCI owners have this allocation built into another line item in their maintenance fee (and is not called out separately per se).
It made decent sense at the time, and somewhat softened my negative views of the Club. I still don't like it overall, and perhaps her explanation should be taken with a grain of salt, but that's the gist of what I was told. She did indicate that the complexity of a cross-reservation system is one of the main challenges to having a Marriott-wide internal exchange program (although other developers have obviously figured it out!). Apparently the Florida Club concept is their attempt to try on a small scale the idea of an internal exchange program. FWIW.
-David
Thanks for the succinct thread on the Florida Club (and all your other helpful Marriott stickies!). I have some additional info that others might find helpful on the Florida Club.
For years I have taken the opportunity to complain about the mandatory $29 (now $30 as of this year) "club dues" I've had to pay every year for the past 8 years (while never once using the club benefits). My line of thinking was "it's a rip-off, why doesn't Marriott charge me only if I use the club, etc." I actually had a Marriott employee call me back after apparently reading one of my complaints on a recent customer sat survey (I guess they actually read them!). The woman said she's seen this complaint more than once, and before calling me back she says she did a thorough investigation as to the whys and hows of the Florida Club.
I don't remember the exact terminology used in our conversation, but in a nutshell the explanation was this:
1. Marriott had to have special reservation software created (which was outsourced) to handle cross reservations between the various Florida Club resorts. Apparently it's a fairly complex challenge to tie the individual reservation availabilities, etc. together since it has to take into consideration multiple activities (i.e., home resort owners reserving their weeks through the corporate reservation system, and also II exchange activity).
2. They pay a royalty/usage fee for the use of this additional reservation software. (I think she said something about legal--maybe state?--reasons for having to charge all club owners this fee whether they physically used it or not....)
3. Of the $30 club fee, only $3 or $4 actually goes towards the Club-specific reservation software usage. The remainder of the fee is actually allocated to headquarters for the Marriott-wide central reservation system that all owners use, and that all MVCI owners pay. She explained that Florida Club resort owners have this fee broken out into a separate maintenance fee line item (for whatever reason, I don't recall), whereas other MVCI owners have this allocation built into another line item in their maintenance fee (and is not called out separately per se).
It made decent sense at the time, and somewhat softened my negative views of the Club. I still don't like it overall, and perhaps her explanation should be taken with a grain of salt, but that's the gist of what I was told. She did indicate that the complexity of a cross-reservation system is one of the main challenges to having a Marriott-wide internal exchange program (although other developers have obviously figured it out!). Apparently the Florida Club concept is their attempt to try on a small scale the idea of an internal exchange program. FWIW.
-David