EOY in Branson—value? And what about Getaways?

[Sullco2]

A relative needs to offload his Marriott in Branson. I’m considering taking it. I used to own Custom House via a ridiculously low priced resale but used it only in Boston. It appears that the two Horizons projects (of which this is one)have been upgraded over the years and are rated similarly to the other Club properties. I would play the various trading strategies but am more interested in getting back into II for the Getaways. Years ago I found Getaways to be a fine deal but I need to know whether that is still generally the case. I have almost total time flexibility so if I own only an EOY I assume I can still be a “full time” II member and use as many Getaways as I want. Right? What could go wrong?

 

[Pamplemousse]

Yes you pay a yearly membership fee to II and can use the account full time.
$99 for basic, plus $69 for gold or $139 for platinum- upper levels give discounts on getaways and other fees.
Is the unit you are considering a lock off? What season is it?
I own another premiere Marriott resort and it trades well for my needs-especially to other Marriotts using the II priority.
As far as getaways deals are in the eyes of the beholder.
II gives out accommodations certificates too which can be good deals if you can use them.

 

[Sullco2]

Yes you pay a yearly membership fee to II and can use the account full time.
Is the unit you are considering a lock off? What season is it?
As far as getaways deals are in the eyes of the beholder.
II gives out accommodations certificates too which can be good deals if you can use them.

I’m awaiting the details of the relative’s ownership and will include them here. But the price is $1.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Well that is a deal as long as the maintenance fees are reasonable for you.

 

[brianfox]

I take it this is Marriott Willow Ridge in Branson. We used to own there. Bought it for about $800 around 2011. Sold it for $0 around 2013. Had to throw in Maintenance fee for the year to get someone to take it off my hands. There are still lots of ads for free Willow Ridges. If your relative was getting just $1, you have to wonder why they need to unload it....

While it is possible to trade your week for a very nice resort in your favorite location, don't count on it. If you are just considering it as a leverage to get into II, that will be a very expensive membership when said and done. It will not be easy to get someone to take it off your hands.

One thing to consider: once you are in II (by having the Willow Ridge in your name), you can turn around and try to give the property away, and keep the II membership. II doesn't take your property off their list proactively. That Willow Ridge we got rid of 6 years ago is still shown on our II account. Maybe they would do an audit some day to purge properties that are no longer owned. But that would require money, and they would lose members and therefore membership dollars. Yeah, they're not gonna do that...

You'd probably be better off by asking your relative to book getaways for you, and give him/her $25 for their time.

And having EOY vs Annual makes no difference to II. They treat both the same.

 

[Sullco2]

I take it this is Marriott Willow Ridge in Branson. We used to own there. Bought it for about $800 around 2011. Sold it for $0 around 2013. Had to throw in Maintenance fee for the year to get someone to take it off my hands. There are still lots of ads for free Willow Ridges. If your relative was getting just $1, you have to wonder why they need to unload it....

While it is possible to trade your week for a very nice resort in your favorite location, don't count on it. If you are just considering it as a leverage to get into II, that will be a very expensive membership when said and done. It will not be easy to get someone to take it off your hands.

One thing to consider: once you are in II (by having the Willow Ridge in your name), you can turn around and try to give the property away, and keep the II membership. II doesn't take your property off their list proactively. That Willow Ridge we got rid of 6 years ago is still shown on our II account. Maybe they would do an audit some day to purge properties that are no longer owned. But that would require money, and they would lose members and therefore membership dollars. Yeah, they're not gonna do that...

You'd probably be better off by asking your relative to book getaways for you, and give him/her $25 for their time.

And having EOY vs Annual makes no difference to II. They treat both the same.

thanks for the word of caution. My thinking was that the relatively low annual cost of half a MF would be justified by multiple bargain Getaways. Aside from the risk of a tornado in Branson resulting in a monster special assessment what else am I risking?

The relative is trying to simplify life due to a serious health issue so I don’t plan to ask him to get me Getaways. But that’s a novel idea.

 

[bogey21]

Just one man's opinion but IMHO success has destroyed Branson. And I am one who took his family there for many years...

George

 

[turkel]

Ok I don’t own a Branson week but I do own 2.5 Marriott lock off units that I always always trade and I am very happy to own them.

if it’s a platinum week I would take it. If it’s not platinum I would have to think about it a little longer.

Just having Marriott preference is a big deal in my book. But it all really depends on what level of effort you are willing to put in and how you want to travel.
Brianfox only owned 2 years and now owns 5 expensive Hawaii weeks. Clearly he knows what he wanted and was willing to pay for it. I prefer the cheaper low hanging fruit. We plan to spend a month in the Marriott Hawaii resorts next year and I have no doubt I can but it will require effort and I wont know 12 months in advance. And it won’t be in January or Feb.

What works for me may not work for others.

 

[Sullco2]

Just one man's opinion but IMHO success has destroyed Branson. And I am one who took his family there for many years...

George

I now know that it’s a Gold lock off and the owner deposited this year’s usage (it’s an EOY/even) for an II exchange last year so it appears the only 2020 usage I would have would be via Getaways as an II member. Do I have that right?

So my biggest question remains: Since my time flexibility is infinite are there enough decent Getaways offered these days to make the roughly $750 annual financial commitment a wash? Then every two years I would have two trades to play with because of the lock-off.

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[brianfox]

Complete back of the napkin math here, but you would be looking at the following over 5 years:

Purchase of Willow Ridge (closing costs/XFR fees): $500
5 years of II: $500 (assumes you do not purchase multiple years and get a savings)
5 years of MF (at about $500 per year for EOY): $2500

Total outlay: $3500 (about $700 per year)
This is to get into II primarily so you can book Getaways
So you need to get $700 in value every year on average to break even.
And then when you want to unload it, you will pay about $500 (listing, closing costs), and possibly throwing in $500 MF.

Offset possibilities:
Rent out Willow Ridge every other year (research the rent range).
Split the Willow Ridge week ($Fee) and try to exchange it** (2x$Fee) into two other resorts. Your offset = What it would cost to rent into these - Split fee and Exchange fees.
Getaways. Your offset = What it would cost to rent into it - Getaway fee.

Other options:
Just rent where you want to stay. You'd be surprised how inexpensive it can be. Last minute rentals can be great deals.
Avoids: Escrow, II dues, exchange fees, Getaway fees, Maintenance Fees, Special Assessments, having to unload it later.


One of the most basic pieces of advice on TUG: Buy at a resort where you would stay at least 50% of the time; don't buy where you would not stay.


** Willow Ridge has no trading power in II. You are very unlikely to deposit it and get a Maui in exchange. The strategy of most WR owners is to split their unit and do *daily* searches on II for dates that are 59 days or less from your date of travel. During this time, all possible exchanges are visible (they are visible to everyone in that travel window, regardless of what they own). So you are competing with everyone, but you can see all properties. This is when people snag the 2BR Mauis with a Studio WR. They appear at 5AM and are snatched up by 5:02AM. This was my experience. I fully acknowledge that others do far better. If you are comfortable with this, it may work very well for you.

 

[brianfox]

Brianfox only owned 2 years and now owns 5 expensive Hawaii weeks. Clearly he knows what he wanted and was willing to pay for it. I prefer the cheaper low hanging fruit. We plan to spend a month in the Marriott Hawaii resorts next year and I have no doubt I can but it will require effort and I wont know 12 months in advance. And it won’t be in January or Feb.

What works for me may not work for others.

When we purchased WR, the going resale of Hawaii was in the low $20K. Way too much for us.
We ended up getting the 3 Waiohai for $5K each, so waiting paid off. Still not chump change.

But yes, we had a long term strategy and it worked out.
Doing the long consecutive stays is really where ownership where you want to stay has the advantage - reserving 4 weeks in a row is a no brainer.
Trying to exchange into 4 consecutive weeks (with no overlap or gaps) is a very difficult task. I really hope that works out and I'd love to hear how it goes. We tried it and had to take weeks with gaps. Resulted in expensive island hopping and hotel stays on gap days.
Trying to rent into 4 consecutive weeks is not difficult, but you might be forced into very high rent.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Just one man's opinion but IMHO success has destroyed Branson. And I am one who took his family there for many years...

George

i get it, but, we love going there several times a year despite what you are saying. We have a blast every time. So, ymmv.

We've never followed the Tug advice of owning where you want to stay as we want to stay everywhere, always a different place, rarely the same place twice. It can definitely work for traders, that I can promise you. The world is big, going to the same place over and over, not for us, too limiting.

 

[brianfox]

I now know that it’s a Gold lock off and the owner deposited this year’s usage (it’s an EOY/even) for an II exchange last year so it appears the only 2020 usage I would have would be via Getaways as an II member. Do I have that right?

So my biggest question remains: Since my time flexibility is infinite are there enough decent Getaways offered these days to make the roughly $750 annual financial commitment a wash? Then every two years I would have two trades to play with because of the lock-off.

Thanks for the suggestions

Gold means the season in which the owner can reserve weeks. As with any resort, some seasons are very popular and some are very unpopular.
Platinum has access to the best weeks
Gold has access to so-so weeks
Silver has access to weeks no one wants

So for WR, a Gold or Silver unit has zero trading power. Platinum has some, but still not likely to trade into great resorts outside of the 59 day window.

Regardless of what you own, you have the same Getaway access as anyone else.


How much is a Getaway worth? Honestly, if you don't know, do not take the WR.
Here's what I recommend:
Visit your relative and ask him to log onto II for you so you can do some searches. Look at locations you'd like to stay at and see what Getaways are going for.
You will see that most of the best locations are not listed for Getaways. The ones that are have pretty high Getaway prices. Time of year directly affects Getaway price. There are some great deals to be had.
So note the getaway price, resort, unit size, and date. Then go search to see what it would cost to rent into the same thing. The delta is what the Getaway is worth.

 

[Sullco2]

Thanks to all who have chimed in. We’re finding out what Marriott In-House Resales can do. Then we’ll decide.

 

[Steve Fatula]

There are some Branson owners here on Tug, just can't recall who they are. They have reported great trades with the resort. I am sure it's platinum though. Have not seen any chime in here though.

We used 4 (I think) getaways last year. We use 2 every year at Kings Creek in Williamsburg VA in the fall. Great time of year and $300 or so for a 3br house is pretty cheap I'd say. We use them in Branson a lot too. We use them for summer at ski resorts. Even in Hilton Head, fall. And Orlando in the fall.

We go to Branson a lot during late winter (silver). But we can do that as we are close and drive there. If the forecast says warm for a week, we go.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Just curious- is there ROFR at willow ridge?