[Comparison] 2 vs 3 bedroom lock off for purchase

[Nattymano]

Looking to purchase [Comments deleted so as to remove appearance of an ad.] for use as well as trades. Current DP owner. What are the pros and cons of a two bedroom versus a three bedroom lock off for trading through II? We do have 3 kids so do fit in the 2 bedroom for use and straight across size trades.

I thought I read somewhere that purchasing a two bedroom might be better as the studio may not result in much from a trading standpoint.

Moderator Note: A report was generated asking for this post to be moved to the Marriott forum. Also, TUG Rules prohibit ads in the public forums so I've removed the details re resort name and season. The exchange value comparison of Studio v 1BR v 2BR v 3BR is pretty consistent throughout all Marriott resorts so TUGgers should be able to answer your question despite the editing. Good luck! <-- SueDonJ

 

[Nattymano]

Looking to purchase [Comments deleted so as to remove appearance of an ad.] for use as well as trades. Current DP owner. What are the pros and cons of a two bedroom versus a three bedroom lock off for trading through II? We do have 3 kids so do fit in the 2 bedroom for use and straight across size trades.

I thought I read somewhere that purchasing a two bedroom might be better as the studio may not result in much from a trading standpoint.

Moderator Note: A report was generated asking for this post to be moved to the Marriott forum. Also, TUG Rules prohibit ads in the public forums so I've removed the details re resort name and season. The exchange value comparison of Studio v 1BR v 2BR v 3BR is pretty consistent throughout all Marriott resorts so TUGgers should be able to answer your question despite the editing. Good luck! <-- SueDonJ

Thank you for clarifying, I am a bit of a newbie to this forum and thought I had seen things like this listed in other threads so didn’t realize I was breaking the rules. Appreciate the help

 

[SueDonJ]

Thank you for clarifying, I am a bit of a newbie to this forum and thought I had seen things like this listed in other threads so didn’t realize I was breaking the rules. Appreciate the help

No worries. The metric I use in moderating the Marriott forum is, if I can read a post and know exactly what it is somebody is looking to buy/sell/rent, so that others can respond with what they're buying/selling/renting, then I edit it to remove the ad-like comments.

I don't own lockoff units and don't use II for exchanging so can't answer your specific questions but I'm sure that others will.

Belatedly, welcome to TUG! Please feel free to keep asking questions and we'll happily answer what we can.

 

[echino]

From trading power standpoint, a 3br is better than a 2br. As an example, at Marriott Grand Chateau, 3br can be locked off into 2br + 1br, while a 2br can be locked off into 1br + studio. When doing trading power tests in Interval, a studio pulls much less than 1br, especially at high demand times and/or high demand locations like Hawaii. On the other hand, a 3br maintenance fee is higher than a 2br, and purchase price is also higher. So if you want to lock off and exchange into high demand weeks, then it's up to you to decide if a higher maintenance fee and purchase price is worth it for you to be able to get better exchanges.

 

[dougp26364]

As mentioned, it depends on what resort. While it may be relatively consistent through the Marriott system, it’s not. Some resorts lock out into a 2 bedroom master and a 1 bedroom lock-off, which is the EXACT reason we purchased a 3 bedroom at Grand Chateau in Vegas over a 2 bedroom, which locks off into a 1 bedroom and a studio. One and two bedroom units trade significantly better/easier than a studio.
We also own a 3 bedroom at Ocean Pointe, which locks off into a bedroom bedroom master and a studio unit. We have exchanged the studio unit Successfully many times over the last 20 years, but it’s a little more of a challenge than exchanging the full 1 bedroom lock-off at Grand Chateau. Plus, if you want to go up in size, there’s an extra charge to trade a studio.
The down side to a 3 bedroom is the MF’s. Both of ours are hanging out in the $2,000 range and they’re not getting any cheaper.

 

[pchung6]

The main reason for 3 bedroom unit is to avoid the studio side in the exchange, which has much less trade power than 1 bedroom. I think only Grand Chateau and Shadow Ridge 3 br can split into 2 br + 1 br. I might be wrong here, but I heard there are few 2 br Shadow Ridge units can lock off into 1 br + 1 br and it's very rare to find.

 

[rthib]

When I search, I will look at Master side and Studio side with Shadow ridge and other than fee, I see same units. Marriott to Marriott trade, I don't see a difference.

 

[dougp26364]

The main reason for 3 bedroom unit is to avoid the studio side in the exchange, which has much less trade power than 1 bedroom. I think only Grand Chateau and Shadow Ridge 3 br can split into 2 br + 1 br. I might be wrong here, but I heard there are few 2 br Shadow Ridge units can lock off into 1 br + 1 br and it's very rare to find.

I believe it’s the enclave units at Shadow Ridge that have a distinction of regular and deluxe, with the deluxe units having a “big” 1 bedroom unit and a smaller 1 bedroom lock-off unit. This would be similar to the Westin’s that have a big 1 bedroom side and a smaller 1 bedroom lock-off, which make up their 2 bedroom units.

I thought maybe Frenchman’s Cove had a set up similar to Grand Chateau with the 3 bedroom (2 bed/1bed), but I’m unfamiliar with that resort. This is just from memory of what I think I’ve read on TUG.

 

[Dean]

Looking to purchase [Comments deleted so as to remove appearance of an ad.] for use as well as trades. Current DP owner. What are the pros and cons of a two bedroom versus a three bedroom lock off for trading through II? We do have 3 kids so do fit in the 2 bedroom for use and straight across size trades.

I thought I read somewhere that purchasing a two bedroom might be better as the studio may not result in much from a trading standpoint.

Moderator Note: A report was generated asking for this post to be moved to the Marriott forum. Also, TUG Rules prohibit ads in the public forums so I've removed the details re resort name and season. The exchange value comparison of Studio v 1BR v 2BR v 3BR is pretty consistent throughout all Marriott resorts so TUGgers should be able to answer your question despite the editing. Good luck! <-- SueDonJ

I tend to prefer the 2 BR to the 3 BR trading options. Here are a few of my thoughts as to why. It's more difficult to find a 3 BR and they tend to be more expensive. Only 2 of what I'd consider the traditional trading MVC resorts have 3 BR (GV & LV) so that limits you to 2 of the 8 or 9 resorts one would normally look at. For the things one would normally expect to get trading anyway the full 2 BR or 3 BR for trade (I'd never trade a full 3 BR) won't make much difference over the smaller component and where it might, one would always deposit the entire 2 BR but not 3 BR anyway. IF I were set on a 3 Br and needed that much volume I tend to favor buying TWO 2BR options rather than a 3 BR. The exception would be if you'd actually use the 3 BR a fair amount of the time. The one advantage that LV has is the 3BR trades as a 2BR & 1BR. The advantage GV has is most of the resales will be in the FL club. One could be open to multiples options and take the best one that comes along either way.

 

[AlmostRetired]

The more flexibility you have on when to travel makes owning a 2br to trade a viable option. If you do not need to consistently get a 2 bedroom with both he 1 bedroom and studio, getting a 2 bedroom is a viable option.

I owned a 2br EOY odd Grand Chateau as an trading experiment, purchasing it in 2016. I locked off into a studio and 1 bedroom. I am tied to a school schedule (my wife works in a school) so this tends to be high travel time. We also tend to enjoy the beach, bike riding and a good choice of restaurants. Palm Desert or AZ during the summer is not in the cards. Through 2021 my 6 trades were a summer Grande Ocean, a summer 2 br at Surf in Aruba, a 1 bedroom at Desert Springs during Christmas, 2 times at OceanWatch during Easter and Frenchman’s cove at the end of April. All of the trades but 1 were to a 2 bedroom. Most of the time the trades were instant trades because it is tough getting a 2 br during highly traveled times by putting in a request using either the 1 br or the studio. I

I considered the experiment a success but I learned that based on when I could travel, I was better off using a 2 br and putting in a request to get a 2 br. Also we own summer Monarch and Grand Ocean. We either use or rent those weeks. When we rent, I uses it to partially funds vacations with just my wife outside of timeshares. A GC 2 Bedroom can trade to either allowing me to rent my unit, while still doing family trips to HHI.

To achieve what I need to, I just sold my every other year. if it passes ROFR, I will own an annual 3 bedroom. I considered keeping the EOY and adding an annual 2 br or an EYO 3 bedroom. In each scenario, the MF differences were a rounding error as were the trading/upgrade fees. I am fairly confident when I purchase the 3 bedroom, I will get most of the purchase price back when I sell it so they cost isn’t a major factor if you take your time purchasing a unit. So if you do not need to consistently upgrade to 2 bedrooms with the studio and 1bedroom and you can freely travel, the 2 bedroom might work as well.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

The main reason for 3 bedroom unit is to avoid the studio side in the exchange, which has much less trade power than 1 bedroom. I think only Grand Chateau and Shadow Ridge 3 br can split into 2 br + 1 br. I might be wrong here, but I heard there are few 2 br Shadow Ridge units can lock off into 1 br + 1 br and it's very rare to find.

I believe that Shadow Ridge does not have any 3 BR units (when I look on ii, I only see e, 1 and 2 BR units in their directory).

Yes, there are a few (perhaps 15?) two BR units at Shadow ridge Enclaves that spit into two 1-BR units. Both sides have a W/D. One side has a full kitchen and the other side has a partial kitchen. They are referred to as "Deluxe" units. I happen to own one that I bought on ebay. I don't think that the seller realized that it was a deluxe unit. If you search tug, you'll find a listing of the unit numbers that are Deluxe units. The 1 BR Master Deluxe unit appears to be able to pull a little more inventory than my 1 BR Desert Springs (same check in dates).