At Marriott Grande Vista now

[paluamalia]

Exchanged into this resort for 2 weeks, first in a one bedroom, then a studio. they gave us a lovely room on the fifth floor overlooking the golf course. We are hoping to play today or one day this week.

The weather is wonderful, in the seventies and the sun coming in and out. This resort seems huge, we are going for a walk later to check it out. So far i would recommend this resort to anyone.....nice friendly staff as well.

 

[NboroGirl]

I am so jealous... we own 2 weeks there and go every year in the spring. Which building are you in? Is it a refurbished one? We always request bldg. 91 or 92, but the last 2 years they have been looking pretty shoddy inside. We like the view of the golf course, as well as the close proximity to a small pool. I think next March we may request a different building.

 

[paluamalia]

Building 90

We are in Building 90...it's in good condition..2 new HDTVs, new looking appliances....some of the furniture is a little tired, but the bed is very comfy and the hot tub works well. Picked up some needed supplies at the marketplace and we may get a sandwich there tomorrow.

Do they do a mid-week tidy? I could not tell from the handouts. We have a tee time tomorrow at the 9 hole course and we signed up for a pitching clinic on Friday. The place does not seem too crowded, but I know it will get busier!! The Desk told us they are at 99% occupancy next week.

 

[NboroGirl]

Grande Vista doesn't automatically do a tidy or cleaning service. You have to sign up (and pay) for it if you want it. A tidy typically costs around $35 for a 2BR; I forget what a full cleaning costs. We rarely do either any more; we just request clean towels around midweek and hand over the dirty ones.

 

[paluamalia]

No Incentive- at least not for us

We checked into our studio at MGV for our second week and got the call to invite us to a 90 minute presentation. The caller was a bit confused because we are a female couple, she kept asking if my partner's husband was here.
We explained that there was no husband, we are partners (married in Massachusetts) and she did continue to extend the invitation, but said there would be no incentive offered.

I know they are offering $100 incentives because I read a review from Dec. 17 on Trip Advisor....so what gives? Should I make a call a little higher up the ladder for an explanation? We exchanged in here with II.

We've been timesharing for 10 years and have never been extended an invitation for a presentation without an incentive.....any thoughts on this?

 

[ironweed]

Incentives are what it all about !

Who would go to a sales pitch without one ??

There's something strange going on

 

[SueDonJ]

We checked into our studio at MGV for our second week and got the call to invite us to a 90 minute presentation. The caller was a bit confused because we are a female couple, she kept asking if my partner's husband was here.
We explained that there was no husband, we are partners (married in Massachusetts) and she did continue to extend the invitation, but said there would be no incentive offered.

I know they are offering $100 incentives because I read a review from Dec. 17 on Trip Advisor....so what gives? Should I make a call a little higher up the ladder for an explanation? We exchanged in here with II.

We've been timesharing for 10 years and have never been extended an invitation for a presentation without an incentive.....any thoughts on this?

Well, I have thoughts but no doubt if I tried to voice them they'd probably violate TUG restrictions against "contentious social issues" in eighteen different ways.

So I'll just say, yes, I would go higher up the ladder to ask why certain married couples are denied presentation incentives which are offered routinely to others. It's a fair question.

 

[paluamalia]

No Incentive- at least not for us

In the spirit of kindness I think the appointment maker was unclear about who was going to the presentation. We did a tour at the Maui Ocean Club in 2010 and no issues, but we were approached in person and our relationship was clear to the person making the appointment.

I still will follow up with sales management, just so I feel better about Marriott, because we really like this resort. The golf course is great and the staff is very friendly and helpful. We don't need another timeshare, but we will probably exchange in here again.

 

[dioxide45]

I thought that the only requirement was that your spouse or common law partner also attend the presentation. Even if they did not wish to recognize the marriage, they should recognize the partnership. Even still I think a single person can attend a presentation and get the incentive.

I think the problem here is a mis/uniformed employee. Be sure to bring this to the sales managers attention as I don't believe this is how Marriott wants to treat their owners and customers.

 

[csalter2]

I usually go alone to the presentations.

I have gone to the presentation without my wife on several occasions. The reason is because I bought the timeshare on my own and it's in my name. At first they squawk a bit, but then when they see it's only me on the deed, then they approve me going. My wife does not like going to the presentations. I do. I am able to do this with both Marriott and Diamond.

 

[paluamalia]

Mystery Solved

We stopped in at the sales desk on our walk today.....when my partner talked to the appointment maker she understated our income so we did not qualify!! So it isn't gender at all....its the $$$$$$$$.

So we saved at least 2 hours and $20,000 if we purchased..so Marriott is still A OK with us.

We check out on Monday and off to the PGA resort (Starwood) for a week before checking into our winter rental at the PGA Castle Pines.

Merry Christmas!!

 

[kjd]

I don't understand what Mariott's problem is here. If someone pays cash for a unit why should they care? If more than one person is willing to sign a sales contract and a mortgage, Marriott has more security. Either way Marriott is a winner.

It obviously has something to do with sales strategy and Marriott's opinion of how purchase decisions are made. Based on what I've learned from these presentations I think it's strictly a volume approach to get a sale. That's why it's hard to imagine Marriott not wanting to talk with qualified, prospective buyers. For example, I know they have certain income restrictions they follow. I too have been asked if my spouse will attend a presentation. I imagine they have other guidelines as well. That's their business. They have a right not to offer anything to anyone.

They have seen the last of me at any of these presentations. My conclusion is why give up valuable vacation time to hear the same pitch again and again loaded with half truths, misinformation and speculation. Occasionally I will attend an owner update but they can also be tedious. At least you can walk out of those. As the OP states, Marriott was willing to give a presentation but will not willing to offer any incentives. That's just another reason not to attend a presentation. You didn't miss a thing.

 

[dioxide45]

I don't understand what Mariott's problem is here. If someone pays cash for a unit why should they care? If more than one person is willing to sign a sales contract and a mortgage, Marriott has more security. Either way Marriott is a winner.

It obviously has something to do with sales strategy and Marriott's opinion of how purchase decisions are made. Based on what I've learned from these presentations I think it's strictly a volume approach to get a sale. That's why it's hard to imagine Marriott not wanting to talk with qualified, prospective buyers. For example, I know they have certain income restrictions they follow. I too have been asked if my spouse will attend a presentation. I imagine they have other guidelines as well. That's their business. They have a right not to offer anything to anyone.

Marriott will of course allow anyone with enough cash to buy from them. However, they also have a target market they are trying to sell to. Those are the people they are willing to incent to come to a presentation. They don't want to offer a presentation incentive to someone who is not in their target market as there is a low chance that they will purchase.

Of course the whole thing is a mess, they really don't vet people very well and I am sure lots of people go to these for the free tickets or cash that don't have the income or other qualifications. This causes their marketing costs to be extremely high, which I believe they disclosed were running at over 50%. If they can better target their ideal customer, they can bring their marketing overhead down and either make more net profit or bring prices down to be more competitive.

 

[cindi]

I am pretty sure the reason they require both spouses is that you then can't use the excuse that you can't commit to a purchase like that without discussing it with your spouse.

They are trying to remove as many potential excuses as they can because they all want you to buy right then, not go home and think about it and research it on TUG.