Considering buying Marriott resale

[DaveNV]

I'm looking into buying Marriott, specifically a resale week at a resort in Southern California. I'm curious what this purchase would give me, within the Marriott system. Am I locked into only the home resort? Are there use restrictions? Would it be eligible for a direct exchange to another Marriott location? How are those weighed - e.g. would an owned week in California allow me to exchange into Hawaii? I know Marriott trades within Interval, so that's an option. But I'm curious how a Marriott ownership at one resort relates to other Marriott locations. If there is a link to tis sort of information, please pass it along. Thanks.

Dave

 

[tschwa2]

You would have to use II to exchange to other Marriott locations. Without an additional retail purchase in the $25,000-$40,000 range you would not be able to enroll into the internal exchange system. You would have priority over non marriott owners within II but you are still fighting for limited deposits during prime time with II. If you can travel during non prime times and are flexible even if you are looking for prime locations you will likely be happy if you can put in requests 10-18 months in advance. Hard to get 2-3 br Marriotts in prime locations during prime times will still be very difficult through II even using a Marriott exchanger.

 

[mjm1]

Dave, they have resorts that can be purchased resale in Newport Coast and Palm Desert. The resort in San Diego is purely points based. The resorts would be:

Newport Coast Villas- only two bedroom units (non-lock off)

Desert Springs Villas 1- the original resort in the area. Huge units. Lock off 2 BR. Second bedroom has two king beds. No sofa bed. Have free access to JW Marriott facilities M-F.

Desert Springs Villas II- shares facilities with Villas 1. 2 BR lock off units that are a bit smaller than Villas 1, but still good size. Second bedroom has one bed and a sleeper sofa.

Shadow Ridge Villages- 2 Br lock offs

Shadow Ridge Enclaves- shares facilities with the Villages. 2 BR lock offs. Has a different feel than the Villages. Unit locks off into two 1BR units rather than a 1BR and a studio.

Unless you buy points when they offer a special package you can’t enroll a resale unit into the Destination Club (points program), which operates as an overlay to your ownership. That usually requires a purchase of 3,000 points to enroll one week. More for more than one week.Otherwise, the only way to trade to other Marriott’s is through an II exchange.

Personally, we like Desert Springs Villas 1 and Newport Coast the best, so we bought there. But each of the resorts are nice.

Mike

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks very much. This helps me tremendously. I'd want to be able to exchange within the Marriott system, if I chose not to stay at the home resort. But not to the tune of $25K-$40K. As it happens, my current WorldMark ownership already shows me Marriotts in II. WM maintenance fees are lower than Marriott, and I can request first, so maybe I should just sit on what I currently own, and see how things go.

Appreciate the great info. Tuggers rock.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

Does anyone know if other "hotel" systems work the same way as Marriott? Wondering about HGVC, and how that works. I'll head over to that forum and start reading.

Dave

 

[tschwa2]

You may want to look into getting 1500 resale points and then renting additional points as you need them. It will still be in the thousands but much less than that $25000-40000 retail purchase.

 

[DaveNV]

You may want to look into getting 1500 resale points and then renting additional points as you need them. It will still be in the thousands but much less than that $25000-40000 retail purchase.

I have a friend who works for the Marriotts on Kauai. I should ask her what she can score for me on the inside.

Dave

 

[buzglyd]

Does anyone know if other "hotel" systems work the same way as Marriott? Wondering about HGVC, and how that works. I'll head over to that forum and start reading.

Dave

HGV treats resale buyers really well and you can buy into the points system at a fairly low cost. At some point I might buy a Marriott resale and play in that system but I‘m gonna buy where I want to go and use II for exchange. I’m not going down the enrollment road.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Dave, I own 3-1/2 weeks in Palm Desert (DSV1, DSV2 and SRE). For me it is only a 2 hour drive. Even when we stay at our home resort, it is typically an exchange. I split the units and then do an exchange in order to stay in a larger (e.g., 2 BR) unit.

They seem to trade well. Two of them are white/gold units, so I reserve Thanksgiving at the 13 month point (TDI = 125).

My most interesting unit is Shadow Ridge Enclaves. I bought a "Deluxe" 2 BR unit. It splits into two 1 BR units rather than a 1 BR and an efficiency. When I have done some test searches, it seems like the SR unit trades slightly better then the other units.

We have used our Palm Desert units to exchange into Newport Coast x 10 (sometimes only using an efficiency to get the exchange), M Canyon Villas (Phoenix x 8), M. Maui Ocean Club, Westin Princeville, M Waiohai (Kauai), Marriott St. Thomas, M. Timberlodge, Hyatt Pinon Point (Sedona x 6), Hyatt Carmel (x4), M. Newport Coast (x8), Westin Desert Willow (Palm Desert).

Although the white/gold units exchange fairly well, I think that if I was going to do it over again, that I would only buy red/platinum seasons because I think that they may trade stronger. Also, I think that Marriott Grand Chateau (Vegas) may trade just as well but has a slightly lower MF. I would not advise you to buy into M. Newport Coast. It is a tremendous resort that we love, but they are all 2 BR units so, you cannot do a lock-off.

 

[frank808]

I don't think all Shadow Ridge enclaves 2br units exchange as two 1br units. Just the deluxe 2br. Those deluxe 2br are not easy to find and buy.

Sent from my SM-T290 using Tapatalk

 

[mjm1]

Dave, another thing to keep in mind if you buy a Marriott resale is that II provides a 24 day priority window where only Marriott owners can see Marriott deposits. Then it opens up to everyone.

If you are focused on internal trades to Hawaii, I would consider either Vistana (a mandatory resort like Kierland Villas) or HGVC. Both treat resale owners well and have resorts on multiple islands. One potential advantage of Vistana is that MVC says they will be announcing an integrated points product to include Marriott and Vistana resorts. No details are available, but depending how it works it could provide some access to Marriott resorts too. Even if that never develops or you don’t like the new product, you can easily trade into Hawaii at 8 months before checkin. Or buy a resale at Westin Ka’anapali, which are mandatory resorts too. MFs are higher but then you can reserve at 12 months.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[CaliforniaDreamin']

I own two NCVs, one a Gold week and one a Week 52, both deeded weeks that I purchased on eBay a long time ago. I usually use the Week 52, but often trade the Gold week which seems to have fairly good trading value. Yes, no lock-offs at NCV, but that didn't deter me.

 

[DaveNV]

Dave, another thing to keep in mind if you buy a Marriott resale is that II provides a 24 day priority window where only Marriott owners can see Marriott deposits. Then it opens up to everyone.

If you are focused on internal trades to Hawaii, I would consider either Vistana (a mandatory resort like Kierland Villas) or HGVC. Both treat resale owners well and have resorts on multiple islands. One potential advantage of Vistana is that MVC says they will be announcing an integrated points product to include Marriott and Vistana resorts. No details are available, but depending how it works it could provide some access to Marriott resorts too. Even if that never develops or you don’t like the new product, you can easily trade into Hawaii at 8 months before checkin. Or buy a resale at Westin Ka’anapali, which are mandatory resorts too. MFs are higher but then you can reserve at 12 months.

Best regards.

Mike

Thanks, Mike. Great info. My ultimate timeshare goal is to have a quality ownership I can use to book short stays domestically (continentally?), and week-long stays back east or in Hawaii. i'd want to visit places like NYC or Washington DC, where my WorldMark ownership won't take me. When I lived in Washington state, WorldMark worked great - I could come to Las Vegas or St. George, and spend time enjoying the area. Now that I live here, neither of those locations makes sense anymore. I was in Las Vegas today running errands, had lunch, went to Costco, whatever - and I was back home again before 5:00PM.

I'd like to own something that I can book ahead and plan for a nice vacation in that area. I admit, I've been spoiled. When we stayed at DSVII last Spring, I got a good taste of what Marriott bring to their owners. We exchanged into HGVC on the Boulevard several years ago, and I thought it was equally nice. WorldMark, while nice, isn't *as* nice as either Marriott or HGVC.

Does II require deposit-first for Marriott owners to see those exclusive Marriott deposits?

Dave

 

[mjm1]

Does II require deposit-first for Marriott owners to see those exclusive Marriott deposits?

Dave

I don’t believe so, but I’ve never tried it as we usually use deposit first. I believe it is strictly based on the week that is available in the system.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Thanks, Mike. Great info. My ultimate timeshare goal is to have a quality ownership I can use to book short stays domestically (continentally?), and week-long stays back east or in Hawaii. i'd want to visit places like NYC or Washington DC, where my WorldMark ownership won't take me. When I lived in Washington state, WorldMark worked great - I could come to Las Vegas or St. George, and spend time enjoying the area. Now that I live here, neither of those locations makes sense anymore. I was in Las Vegas today running errands, had lunch, went to Costco, whatever - and I was back home again before 5:00PM.

I'd like to own something that I can book ahead and plan for a nice vacation in that area. I admit, I've been spoiled. When we stayed at DSVII last Spring, I got a good taste of what Marriott bring to their owners. We exchanged into HGVC on the Boulevard several years ago, and I thought it was equally nice. WorldMark, while nice, isn't *as* nice as either Marriott or HGVC.

Does II require deposit-first for Marriott owners to see those exclusive Marriott deposits?

Dave

My perception is that exchanges into NY or DC are difficult. I think that the Marriott properties are essentially only points. Perhaps others will opine and share their successes.

In ii, I can do searches with both deposited units and with non-deposited units. For the latter, all I need is a reservation number (even a made up one works). And yes, if I'm searching with a Marriott unit I have Marriott priority.

 

[klpca]

I'll be the outlier. I found that for us (don't want to step on anyone's toes here) I could trade into the Marriott's that we liked relatively easily with something less expensive. Also we are more location driven than brand driven. I didn't find the Marriott 1 br/studio to be cost effective traders (at one point I owned 4 DSV/Shadow Ridge units) for other non-Marriott trades. I sold them a few years ago and haven't looked back. Obviously 2020/21 was a weird year so I left out my 2020 trades, but I looked back about 4 years and my Marriott trades made - usually with Sheraton Desert Oasis - were into Mountainside, Desert Springs Villas - twice, Ko Olina, plus Westin trades into all of the Hawaii resorts. One of my Marriott DSVII trades was even made with a Quarter House unit. To be fair though, we prefer the Palm Desert Embarc property over all others, found Newport Coast Villas to be way to big for us, and prefer north Lake Tahoe to South, and love the remodeled Hanalei Bay Resort better than any other Hawaii property, so it made sense to let go of the Marriott's and find something that worked out better for us.

Since you want to go to NYC and Hawaii, I agree that you should take a look at HGVC. FWIW, I was just on the phone with SFX and there were NYC week available for exchange so you may want to explore that option as well.

 

[DaveNV]

I'll be the outlier. I found that for us (don't want to step on anyone's toes here) I could trade into the Marriott's that we liked relatively easily with something less expensive. Also we are more location driven than brand driven. I didn't find the Marriott 1 br/studio to be cost effective traders (at one point I owned 4 DSV/Shadow Ridge units) for other non-Marriott trades. I sold them a few years ago and haven't looked back. Obviously 2020/21 was a weird year so I left out my 2020 trades, but I looked back about 4 years and my Marriott trades made - usually with Sheraton Desert Oasis - were into Mountainside, Desert Springs Villas - twice, Ko Olina, plus Westin trades into all of the Hawaii resorts. One of my Marriott DSVII trades was even made with a Quarter House unit. To be fair though, we prefer the Palm Desert Embarc property over all others, found Newport Coast Villas to be way to big for us, and prefer north Lake Tahoe to South, and love the remodeled Hanalei Bay Resort better than any other Hawaii property, so it made sense to let go of the Marriott's and find something that worked out better for us.

Since you want to go to NYC and Hawaii, I agree that you should take a look at HGVC. FWIW, I was just on the phone with SFX and there were NYC week available for exchange so you may want to explore that option as well.

Thanks Katherine. Sounds like you have things dialed in. That's great info.

Maybe SFX would be a better way to get what I need from my WorldMark. (Interesting that they told you they had NYC available - I've had a waitlist request with them for months for NYC, and no response. Hmm...) So with Marriott, if I own a deeded week at a resort, it's just a week, like a week at any other resort, right? No way to break it down into something else? Well, a 2br lockout should be able to be split into two smaller units. But the ownership needs to be dealt with as a week's worth of time, right? I think I may need to step back and take a broader look at things. I'd like to be able to book short stays, and I don't know if working with a full week's ownership, as nice as Marriott is, will give me what I want.

Dave

 

[frank808]

Hgvc can book a minimum of 3 days with points and 2 days in open season.

Mvc weeks traded with II will be 7 day stays, though you can stay less than 7 days. Only if you are in the MVC destination points program will you be able to do less than 7 day stays. Though cost will be at least $7500 to buy 1500 points resale.

Sent from my SM-T290 using Tapatalk

 

[PcflEZFlng]

So with Marriott, if I own a deeded week at a resort, it's just a week, like a week at any other resort, right? No way to break it down into something else? Well, a 2br lockout should be able to be split into two smaller units. But the ownership needs to be dealt with as a week's worth of time, right? I think I may need to step back and take a broader look at things. I'd like to be able to book short stays, and I don't know if working with a full week's ownership, as nice as Marriott is, will give me what I want.
Dave

Vistana gives you that flexibility, because you can use any number of points (called StarOptions in that system) to book short days within the system (at 8 months at a resort other than the one you own). We used our Vistana ownership numerous times for short stays, once even just overnight.

 

[klpca]

Thanks Katherine. Sounds like you have things dialed in. That's great info.

Maybe SFX would be a better way to get what I need from my WorldMark. (Interesting that they told you they had NYC available - I've had a waitlist request with them for months for NYC, and no response. Hmm...) So with Marriott, if I own a deeded week at a resort, it's just a week, like a week at any other resort, right? No way to break it down into something else? Well, a 2br lockout should be able to be split into two smaller units. But the ownership needs to be dealt with as a week's worth of time, right? I think I may need to step back and take a broader look at things. I'd like to be able to book short stays, and I don't know if working with a full week's ownership, as nice as Marriott is, will give me what I want.

Dave

Call SFX. I'm not sure that their ongoing searches work.

 

[DaveNV]

Call SFX. I'm not sure that their ongoing searches work.

I set it up via several emails with the person who I was handed to, after Nathan Reynolds moved on to a new position. She assured me I'd get the same excellent customer service I had received for several years from Nathan. I can't say I'm impressed so far.

Dave

 

[Dean]

I'm looking into buying Marriott, specifically a resale week at a resort in Southern California. I'm curious what this purchase would give me, within the Marriott system. Am I locked into only the home resort? Are there use restrictions? Would it be eligible for a direct exchange to another Marriott location? How are those weighed - e.g. would an owned week in California allow me to exchange into Hawaii? I know Marriott trades within Interval, so that's an option. But I'm curious how a Marriott ownership at one resort relates to other Marriott locations. If there is a link to tis sort of information, please pass it along. Thanks.

Dave

You've gotten lots of good information. IMO there are resorts to use and those to trade. If you're mostly looking to trade, I would not buy NCV because of the higher up front cost and that it does not have lockout's. If you're mostly looking to trade, there are better options to get top value.

 

[dayooper]

@DaveNV HGVC has a fair amount of NY properties, but they have a limited booking window in their club reservation window (between 60-75 days). If you are looking for NYC, you could look at a West 57th resale. The cost should be well under $10,000 total (under $8,000 if you wait for a deal) and would give you short stays of 1 night, owners lounge access and, if you opt for it, unlimited reservations.
I don’t know how it compares to MVC/Vistana properties, but the NYC resorts are bHC (luxury division of HGVC) and are really nice in great spots. The District in DC is a little easier to book into, but still has the 60 day window. The MF’s are generally higher at these resorts.
Just an option for what you were saying you wanted to do.

 

[TravelTime]

Thanks Katherine. Sounds like you have things dialed in. That's great info.

Maybe SFX would be a better way to get what I need from my WorldMark. (Interesting that they told you they had NYC available - I've had a waitlist request with them for months for NYC, and no response. Hmm...) So with Marriott, if I own a deeded week at a resort, it's just a week, like a week at any other resort, right? No way to break it down into something else? Well, a 2br lockout should be able to be split into two smaller units. But the ownership needs to be dealt with as a week's worth of time, right? I think I may need to step back and take a broader look at things. I'd like to be able to book short stays, and I don't know if working with a full week's ownership, as nice as Marriott is, will give me what I want.

Dave

Have you considered buying destination points resale? I have DPs and I love it. You could go all the places you want with DPs and it would be easy. It is easy to book Hawaii, NY, Wash DC as well as Ritz Carltons. The MFs are generally higher on DPs but you get flexibility to stay where you want and you can book short stays or long stays for as many days as you want.

 

[DaveNV]

Have you considered by destination points resale? I have DPs and I love it. You could go all the places you want with DPs and it would be easy. It is easy to book Hawaii, NY, Wash DC as well as Ritz Carltons. The MFs are generally higher on DPs but you get flexibility to stay where you want and you can book short stays or long stays for as many days as you want.

I admit, I don't know about Destination Points. I need to research that. Thanks!

Dave