At MGC

[Docklander]

Did yet another tour here today and although nothing particularly new came up a few things were "confirmed" by the sales person once again. Make of these what you will:

1) Marriott's internal exchange programme is definitely going ahead and "will almost certainly be in place within 2 years". Interestingly enough the sales person said that the main reason for introducing this new system was because the biggest gripe owners had was with exchanging through II. I pointed out that I was surprised the biggest grip wasn't with escalating MFs.....

2) Marriott are building/planning to build in Dubai, Tuscany and have acquired land in Puerto Rico somewhere near a Westin apparently. They are also considering the Dominican Republic.

3) Marriott are bringing in a system whereby resale purchases will not have as good a reservation window as those who purchase through Marriott. When he suggested that this may be retrospective as well as for all future sales I asked just how much money they'd set aside for lawsuits. He conceeded that perhaps it was unlikely after all

4) The last two towers here at the MGC will be constructed together knocking 4 years of the estimated completion date. Now 2012 is the new target date.

5) The new pool here will sit above the parking areas between towers 2 and 3 and will include a bar and 2 12 person hot tub/jacuzzis

6) Owners in towers 3 and 4 will not be able to float into towers 1 and 2 but they will have the "new Marriott decor" which includes granite countertops, stainless steel appliances etc...

7) Parking here will remain 100% valet parking.

8) The area currently occupied by Harley Davidson Cafe and Hawaiian Marketplace has definitely been sold and plans are to construct an Elvis themed resort casino. We are being assured that there have been height restrictions put in place so not all units at the MGC will have obscured strip views.

9) The sales people here don't believe that the car park infront of the MGC will be redeveloped as "Polo Towers needs it for parking - they don't have anywhere else to park". Not sure I believe this but let's hope they're right.

I think that's about it. If anyone wants any more specific info then let me know and I'll ask someone.

 

[dougp26364]

Did yet another tour here today and although nothing particularly new came up a few things were "confirmed" by the sales person once again. Make of these what you will:

1) Marriott's internal exchange programme is definitely going ahead and "will almost certainly be in place within 2 years". Interestingly enough the sales person said that the main reason for introducing this new system was because the biggest gripe owners had was with exchanging through II. I pointed out that I was surprised the biggest grip wasn't with escalating MFs.....

2) Marriott are building/planning to build in Dubai, Tuscany and have acquired land in Puerto Rico somewhere near a Westin apparently. They are also considering the Dominican Republic.

3) Marriott are bringing in a system whereby resale purchases will not have as good a reservation window as those who purchase through Marriott. When he suggested that this may be retrospective as well as for all future sales I asked just how much money they'd set aside for lawsuits. He conceeded that perhaps it was unlikely after all

4) The last two towers here at the MGC will be constructed together knocking 4 years of the estimated completion date. Now 2012 is the new target date.

5) The new pool here will sit above the parking areas between towers 2 and 3 and will include a bar and 2 12 person hot tub/jacuzzis

6) Owners in towers 3 and 4 will not be able to float into towers 1 and 2 but they will have the "new Marriott decor" which includes granite countertops, stainless steel appliances etc...

7) Parking here will remain 100% valet parking.

8) The area currently occupied by Harley Davidson Cafe and Hawaiian Marketplace has definitely been sold and plans are to construct an Elvis themed resort casino. We are being assured that there have been height restrictions put in place so not all units at the MGC will have obscured strip views.

9) The sales people here don't believe that the car park infront of the MGC will be redeveloped as "Polo Towers needs it for parking - they don't have anywhere else to park". Not sure I believe this but let's hope they're right.

I think that's about it. If anyone wants any more specific info then let me know and I'll ask someone.

As always, I believe there is some fact mixed in with fiction. Especially about PT's needing that area for parking cars. I could easily see DRI, which owns PT's, selling out the height restrictions they own and, in exchange, requiring parking rights in any new construction that is built. In fact, there was a newpaper article sometime back about the new Elvis themed casino (which I personally believe will never be built anyway) being in negotiations with DRI about buying out the height restrictions. How far those restrictions and easements extend I do not know (Just in front of PT's or on all land they own/control).

I'm now very glad we purchased out weeks in towers 1 and 2. I'll trade the view for any new decor they might come out with. Besides, in 10 years when they go through their refurbishment cycle, decor in towers 1 and 2 could change.

I've heard the new construction schedule enough that I tend to believe it and, I'm very glad it's been excalated to 2012. The one problem with buying in the very early stages is that construction seems to go on forever. The second pool and hot tubs will be a very welcome addition to this resort.

Rumors of the "new" exchange system have been floated for so long that I'm losing faith that it will ever be done. If it is, great. If not I'm happy with what I have. The one thing I know is they either need to do it or quit talking about it.

 

[Zac495]

3) Marriott are bringing in a system whereby resale purchases will not have as good a reservation window as those who purchase through Marriott. When he suggested that this may be retrospective as well as for all future sales I asked just how much money they'd set aside for lawsuits. He conceeded that perhaps it was unlikely after all

.

:hysterical:

 

[kjd]

Thank you Docklander for the comprehensive update. It matches pretty well with what I heard in May. I was told by a member of the sales department that owners in Towers 1 and 2 would have first priority for reserving units there. Then I heard at the May owner's meeting that owners in Towers 3 and 4 would have an equal chance for Towers 1 and 2 reservations. I'm glad you clerified that but it seems their story changes so much, I don't know what to believe.

Business must be pretty good at MGC. They wouldn't be moving up the construction timeline unless they project they will need the inventory sooner. No one spends hundreds of millions to preside over empty units. Not even Marriottt. You can't save money on construction costs if the units are unsold. There are a lot of real estate projects in bankruuptcy who used that approach.

MGC is the largest Marriott TS and is located in an alledgedly overbuilt and saturated area. It shows the strength of the MVCI and the value of the Marriott brand.

 

[dougp26364]

I think that better or more reliable information comes from the owners updates where MGC management tells owners what's going on and answers owners questions. Last March they told us that Marriott was considering seperating towers 1 & 2 from towers 3 & 4 for reservations purposes and giving towers 3 & 4 a different, more updated decor to match that of other new Marriott resorts being announced. At that time, the decision had not been finalized. They had made the decision to build towers 3 & 4 at the same time due to concerns about the escalating cost of construction in Vegas and yes, sales have been brisk at this Marriott. The 3 bedroom LO units seem to be an especially hot item.

 

[Eric F]

I do not believe that item #1 will become reality.

Item #2: I do know of the press release on the new MVC in Dubai. The other locations are speculation. I'll guess that Cancun will happen before the others.

Item #3: I seriously doubt that MVC would try to discriminate against existing resale owners for reservation availability. If it will change for new resale owners is very speculative.

Eric

 

[Docklander]

Business must be pretty good at MGC. They wouldn't be moving up the construction timeline unless they project they will need the inventory sooner. No one spends hundreds of millions to preside over empty units. Not even Marriottt. You can't save money on construction costs if the units are unsold. There are a lot of real estate projects in bankruuptcy who used that approach.

One of the reasons given for building the second two towers at the same time is Marriott's experience with the first two. Construction costs rose 20-25% between the building of tower 1 and tower 2 so they're trying to insulate themselves from a similar thing happening with 3 & 4.

 

[dioxide45]

One of the reasons given for building the second two towers at the same time is Marriott's experience with the first two. Construction costs rose 20-25% between the building of tower 1 and tower 2 so they're trying to insulate themselves from a similar thing happening with 3 & 4.

The oposite would have likely happened now. Construction costs may have decreased if they waited to build the 4th tower.