How happy are you with your Marriott ownership?

[ArtsieAng]

I was extremely happy with my ownership prior to the roll out of the Destination Club. Now.....Not so happy!

 

[JimC]

Might be time to redo this poll to see what the general sense is now.

 

[judys19058]

Since the new Destination Program, I am not happy at all.

 

[aruba72]

Why does everyone have a problem with this new porgram. What do you think is going to happen? We still have all of our Marriott options but now we have more flexiblity if we chose it again if we chose it. Otherwise we can use our membership as we always have? Someone please explain your thoughts.

 

[DanCali]

Why does everyone have a problem with this new porgram. What do you think is going to happen? We still have all of our Marriott options but now we have more flexiblity if we chose it again if we chose it. Otherwise we can use our membership as we always have? Someone please explain your thoughts.

In a nutshell...

If I don't enroll my mail concerns are (i) competition for prime weeks at my home resort at 13 and 12 months out (Marriott is mum on the inventory allocation issue) and (ii) availability in II will be impacted over time

If I do enroll my concerns are that (i) I cannot get like for like exchanges due to skimming and if I enroll but don't use points (ii) Marriott says I can do everything I did before - I don't buy it... I just don't see them doing weeks for weeks exchanges after concocting this program for years.

Yes, you get more flexibility if you do use points, but you pay a heavy price for it (skimming, lockoffs, voting rights). This price is totally disproportionate to Starwood and Hilton for example.

 

[m61376]

I was extremely happy with my ownership prior to the roll out of the Destination Club. Now.....Not so happy!

well said!

 

[myhrse11]

I don't think the new point system is going to reduced my benefits. I see it as an added bonus. We're already trying to decide how to take the best advantage of it. Of course, this remains to be seen if there are problems generated by the new program but I think I'm going to like the new flexibility. I've never been too happy trading through II.

 

[irish]

what "JUDYS19058" said.

 

[Herb33]

In a nutshell...

If I don't enroll my mail concerns are (i) competition for prime weeks at my home resort at 13 and 12 months out (Marriott is mum on the inventory allocation issue) ...

I'm concerned about this issue as well.

When I spoke to a VOA about it a week ago, I didn't fully understand his explanation of how the inventory allocation would play out for WEEKS owners calling in at the 13-month point.

So I put the bottom-line question to him like this:

When 50% of the inventory at Resort A is opened up to 13-month reservation requests, is there any way under the new POINTS program that someone who does not own multiple WEEKS at THAT resort in THAT season would be allowed to compete for THAT 50% of the inventory 13 months in advance?​

His answer was an unequivocal: NO.

 

[Y-ASK]

So I put the bottom-line question to him like this:

When 50% of the inventory at Resort A is opened up to 13-month reservation requests, is there any way under the new POINTS program that someone who does not own multiple WEEKS at THAT resort in THAT season would be allowed to compete for THAT 50% of the inventory 13 months in advance?​

His answer was an unequivocal: NO.

Well as long as you included the last two words "in advance" I can understand why the Rep answered with an unequivocal "NO". But if you meant at the same time and if I own at other resorts (not yours) and I elect points instead of weeks and those points total more than 6500 and someone with your season at your home resort also elected points for thier week, I sure as hell will be competeing with you at the 13 month call-in date for 50% of those weeks available. I would be basically exchanging with the current owner of your home resort within your season. The good news is that you will only be competeing with the number of weeks that owners have decided to elect points for and the number of weeks that are currently in the trust. Plus the current owners that can reserve at the 13 month date. At least that is how I understand how it works...

Y-ASK

 

[Herb33]

I think we're trying to say the same thing, but let me try again ...

The 13-month reservation feature for legacy owners has not changed, and 50% of available inventory will still be accessible by owners eligible to use this feature. By available inventory I mean legacy owner weeks that have not been exchanged for MR Points, exchanged for DC points, or deposited with II. The only impact of DC on the 13-month reservation feature is the additional reduction of available inventory resulting from enrolled weeks being exchanged for DC points.

So, for example, if a resort has a total of 50 2BR/OF units, it's possible that considerably less than 25 of those units will be accessible by legacy owners calling in at the 13-month point. The chunk of available inventory that IS accessible by these owners will grow smaller over time as more owners opt to exchange their enrolled weeks for DC points. The flip side of this fact is that fewer owners will be competing for this chunk of inventory at the 13-month point. But no matter its size, owners calling in at the 13-month point to request a DC points reservation will NOT have access to this chunk of inventory.

 

[cgeidl]

Marriott's is great for us.

We have been to 14 Marriott's resorts in the past six years. Three Hilton Head ,Two Park City,Six Newport Coast, and One Hawaii. They are consistently in great shape in good locations with many amenities. Although not an owner as the maintenance fees are too great for us ,we find our $450 maintenance fee Hawaiian timeshares trade in very easily and we often get two bedroom units although summer months are impossible in S Cal and Hawaii is always tough.
Newport Coast is our six time favorite and we have no problem getting winter weeks in Jan /Feb there. Provided you bought on the secondary market and have the maintenance money I think I would be extremely happy.

 

[pedro47]

I am still very happy with Marriott's resorts.

 

[MOXJO7282]

I just rented my last TS for 2010 and had the best year ever, so until something changes, I continue to be a very satisfied Marriott owner. The big test for me will be in January when I go to reserve my Maui Marriott Pres weeks for 2012 using the 13 month rule. If things go as usual, then I will continue to be a satisfied customer.

 

[scpoidog]

New Owner

I'm a new resale owner and just took my first trip using points. The system worked for me, so I'm very satisfied.

 

[harri]

Rules Changed at Ocean Pointe...........

I am not happy the way the Marriott Management Team is treating the owners at the Aruba Ocean Club. I am sure you all have seen other posts but the roof, the overall construction and now the huge increase in maintenance fee plus two special assessments means we got burned by dear JW "Bill" Marriott and the once wonderful Marriott Management. Time to sell but who will buy????????

My vote changed so much from 3 months ago when I would have said so very, very happy. Not so anymore.

Not pleased with Marriott at Ocean Pointe in West Palm Beach. First there was a re-sale program and a rental program and now there is neither. Not only do they no longer have these two programs but the maintenance fees keep going up while the value of the property goes down! They keep changing the rules. The really, really big deal is you are in this for life because you cannot walk away from this. We have built a second home in Flordia and now we have no use for the timeshare and the burden of maintenance fees is ours until we can sell or die............( and no one is buying).

 

[dioxide45]

Not pleased with Marriott at Ocean Pointe in West Palm Beach. First there was a re-sale program and a rental program and now there is neither. Not only do they no longer have these two programs but the maintenance fees keep going up while the value of the property goes down! They keep changing the rules. The really, really big deal is you are in this for life because you cannot walk away from this. We have built a second home in Flordia and now we have no use for the timeshare and the burden of maintenance fees is ours until we can sell or die............( and no one is buying).

Your OP week will sell if you want to sell it. Someone will buy it. Of course not for even close to what you paid. But to say no one is buying is not correct. They just aren't buying for the same prices they were three years ago.

 

[GrandChafteau]

What do you do when you find the salesman lied?

Or is that the only way they can sell timeshares?

 

[Herb33]

Or is that the only way they can sell timeshares?

Submitted to Bill Marriott's blog:

About a month ago I mailed you a letter describing what happened at our DC sales presentation on June 25th at Oceana Palms. In that letter I explained how the sales executive lead us to believe we had to purchase a minimum of 1,000 DC points in order to become eligible to enroll our Ocean Pointe weeks in the new program.

I have since discussed this matter by telephone with MVCI's Director of Customer Advocacy. He explained that, short of explicitly LYING, it is an acceptable sales tactic to encourage customers to arrive at a "misunderstanding" (his word) that could result in a signed purchase contract.

Just thought you'd like to hear about the kind of advocacy your customers are getting from MVCI's corporate officers.

 

[Herb33]

In the preceding post I quoted my submission to Bill Marriott's blog. Here is MVCI's email response:

I must say, I was quite surprised when Mr. Marriott shared your BLOG comment with me and asked that I reach out to you one more time. Moreover, I was disappointed that I apparently left you with such an inaccurate understanding of our sales practices. Having grown with the company for 23 years to my current position, I believe deeply in our corporate values and apologize that I gave you such an impression of our sales team. With that in mind, I feel compelled to clarify the message I had intended you to receive during our phone conversation.

I recall sharing with you that our Sales Executives convey a large amount of information during their 90 minute sales presentation and we recognize this may present an opportunity for misunderstanding. As you may recall, I specifically stated we use a very detailed Ownership Agreement along with a Quality Assurance Checklist to minimize any potential opportunity for misunderstanding during the sales presentation. To be sure, we also provide our written Terms and Conditions, Disclosure Guide, Exchange Procedures and a copy of our Public Offering Statement so that an Owner may use their 10 Day Rescission Period to fully review and understand every aspect of their purchase.

In closing, you will be pleased to know that I have also shared your suggestions to modify the information our web site and Quality Assurance Checklist. These suggestions are being reviewed by the appropriate teams and will be given the consideration you had hoped for.

Warm regards,

John A Goodman

Director of Customer Advocacy

Marriott Vacation Club International Executive Office

My response to this email:

The "misunderstanding" carefully nurtured by our Sales Exec was that we had to purchase DC points in order to become eligible to enroll our weeks. Under the circumstances, having never heard of this new program until 20 minutes into the presentation, this "misunderstanding" made sense to us. It never occured to us to question such a requirement until long after the 10 Day Rescission Period had passed. Why would it? After all, enrollment is all about exchanging Marriott timeshare interests for points. And to exchange timeshare interests (weeks) for Marriott Rewards points, one must first have purchased these interests from Marriott. And besides, where in the documentation would I find an explicit contradiction of this "misunderstanding"? These are rhetorical questions. You don't have to answer them.

Here's another question you don't have to answer, but maybe you'll give it some thought. As legacy owners expecting to be offered the opportunity to buy a WEEK at Oceana Palms, why weren't we introduced to the new program and offered the opportunity to enroll our weeks BEFORE sitting down for our Encore sales presentation?

It's disappointing to see the Director of Customer Advocacy falling back on a "fine print" defense of corporate sales practices. Doubly disappointing when the corporation is Marriott.

But please take comfort in knowing I will not pursue this matter any further. No more blog posts, emails, phone calls, or letters.

I'm done with this.

And now I'm done with this here at TUG, as well. Try to hold down the applause.

 

[SnowDogDad]

Very happy with the Marriott Grand Residence in Tahoe

I bought a fractional at the Marriott Grand Residence in South Lake Tahoe. I'm thrilled with property, location and amenities. :whoopie: Marriott manages the property quite well, too. By and large the staff is friendly and professional.

The HOA fees are fairly high, though. :annoyed: Further, their rental program (if you allow them to rent your unit when you don't occupy) is HEAVILY in their favor. If you are not planning to occupy most of your weeks, remove your unit from their program and put it in a different rental program!

 

[pwrshift]

When Marriott raised Manor Club's annual maintenance fees by 11.9% in 2007 and followed that with a 18.5% increase the next year, I was glad to have the opportunity to vote. I wasn't the only one apparently although the fees went through, but the members of the HOA changed...and annual increases fell back to 'normal'.

When Marriott gets around to raising the MF at all trust resorts to level out with what the 'points only' members pay, plan members won't be able to vote against it or Marriott. Only those owners who stay on the outside at sold out resorts can express their displeasure to Marriott about how the resort is run...and unfortunately, at a trust resort, Marriott will always hold the majority vote. JMHO

Why does everyone have a problem with this new porgram. What do you think is going to happen? We still have all of our Marriott options but now we have more flexiblity if we chose it again if we chose it. Otherwise we can use our membership as we always have? Someone please explain your thoughts.

 

[OldPantry]

Happy (Minus)

I bought a Ko Olina EOY even, with usage beginning in 2006. Since then, I've used the lockoff option three times, for a total of six weeks. The lockoffs have traded extremely well (2BR at David Walley's, 1BR at Willowbrook Lake Harmony PA and 2BR at Westgate Park City). We've used the 1BR's at Ko Olina. Our experience has been exceptionally good.
HOWEVER, I can say that the timeshare has made no sense whatsoever from a financial point of view. Our EOY cost $17,000 in 2004, and has lost at least 50% of its value. I know this because I just bought another EOY for $8500. As a forced reality check, I've computed the real cost of these six weeks:
$17,000 at an opportunity cost of 5% x 6 = $5100
50% lost of investment = $8500
Maintenance fees, approximate total over six years = $4200
Fees: approximately $600
Grand total: $18400, or $438/night (for 4 1BR stays and and 2 2BR stays). Most of these stays were not in high season, either. Obviously, we would have been way ahead to simply pay the going rate wherever we wanted to go.
I feel better going forward, now that our resale is lowering the average nightly cost. But it still isn't exactly cheap. I'm pretty sure I'd do way better to shop the TUG/timeshare rentals. Still, we do love Ko Olina, and as long as we get a good shot at the inventory as it become available, we'll stay on board.

P.S. Why the opportunity cost? If you hadn't given the money to Marriott, it could have been earning that 5% from a bond or a utility. Opportunity cost is a real cost.

 

[usvi_islandboy]

Love my Marriott, wish I could find an airline that I feel as good about!

AMEN to that!!

 

[MOXJO7282]

I just rented my last TS for 2010 and had the best year ever, so until something changes, I continue to be a very satisfied Marriott owner. The big test for me will be in January when I go to reserve my Maui Marriott Pres weeks for 2012 using the 13 month rule. If things go as usual, then I will continue to be a satisfied customer.

Looking back on my comments from several months ago, I've now rented all but 2 (which are late season GO gold weeks) of my 12 Marriott 2BDRM units for 2011 and again had a great year, so the Marriott continues to have a very satidfied customer in me.

From my vantage point the Marriot name carries alot of recognition and reputation as a great product so I'm so happy over the years I resisted buying anything else. I know there are other great brands, but I doubt if any have th name recognition and respect that Marriott has, even the obviously better chains.

The big test for me will continuing to get the weeks that work for my program. Honestly it seemed to have gotten easier, perhaps because of some people's migration to points, but who knows what the future holds. I guess we'll see but until something changes the Marriott TS program continues to exceed my expectations from when I first envisioned owning one and its been a tremendous benefit to my family in a number of ways.