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Consumer Protection Violation

Richie44

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Got a call from an organization claiming that non-timeshare owners can pay to go to Marriott timeshares and that they pay less than owners pay in maintenance fees. Evidently they are hosting meetings around the country to put together a "group". Is this valid or a scam?
 

RX8

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If putting high pressure on you to pay thousands of dollars to join a worthless "program" is a scam, then yes...it is a scam.
 

dgalati

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That describes a lot of timeshares.
Why owners rent for less then cost. Please feel free to add any other reasons.
1) Bought more points then they can use
2) Can no longer travel
3) Can no longer afford the maintenance fees
4) Wyndham Owners pass along VIP discounts creating up to a 60% discount to the non VIP owners costs. Add in the room upgrades and it is much more then 60%.
 

LannyPC

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Why owners rent for less then cost. Please feel free to add any other reasons.

It's also because it can be an overly competitive rental market. It's based on the age-old marketing law of supply and demand. If the supply exceeds the demand, like it is for most rentals available, then the rental prices are going to plummet.

Let's say I have a week that I want to rent out. My MFs are $1000. There are other owners in the same boat in the same area. Let's say, for round numbers and argument's sake, there are 100 owners (myself included) who want to rent out their week but there are only 90 people who want to rent. What do I have to do to be one of the 90 owners who get at least some money for their week and not among the 10 who get nothing? The answer: Price it below what the others are charging.

Unfortunately for me and the other owners, there are 99 other owners who are thinking the same thing. Hence, a "reverse" auction ensues. Owners are going to undercut other owners in their prices, even if it means charging less than the MFs. Even if I have to price mine at $800 when everyone else is listing for $900 or more, I'd rather get $800 than be stubborn and get nothing.

Remember, the renter(s) do not care one iota what the owners pay in MFs. They just want to pay the lowest price.
 

presley

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Got a call from an organization claiming that non-timeshare owners can pay to go to Marriott timeshares and that they pay less than owners pay in maintenance fees. Evidently they are hosting meetings around the country to put together a "group". Is this valid or a scam?
Probably not an actual scam, but a vacation club. The vacation club will only have inventory if someone puts their timeshare into it. So, yes, they could have Marriott for less than what owners are paying for MFs if the owners put theirs into a vacation club to exchange for something else that will likely be a huge downgrade. I don't know of any Marriott owners who would do that if they knew how to use and exchange their timeshare.
 

TUGBrian

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