Is This a Good Deal? Buying a Marriott Vacation Club Membership with Deed & Title – Need Feedback!

[goodbadugly]

Hey everyone,

I’m considering a Marriott Vacation Club membership that includes a deed and title, making it more like a real estate investment rather than a standard timeshare. The total cost is $200K, and I’ve already put $20K down.

I expressed a few concerns to my MVC sales rep - See response below:

[Start of response:

The copy of your contract is on the USB in your owner kit!

Your ownership with Marriott is with points, so you don’t have a set number of weeks. 1000-4000pts is a week in a 2 bedroom, depending on season and location. Ritz Carlton can be more or peak holiday. There is a points book included in that owner kit, or you can ask me for specific examples!

There are zero black-out dates or peak season restrictions, if you have the points you can book and go!

Your HOA dues include all fees for the ownership, from property tax, to refurbishing, to landscaping and maintenance costs and are shared amongst the owners at $0.81/per point.

Unused points can be rolled into the following year and held for an additional 2 years. So in total points have a 3 year shelf life.

You can sell and transfer your ownership. It is deed and title so anything you can do with your other deed and title real estate you can do with this ownership

You can rent out any of your points/nights that you want. Owners are very successful using Airbnb or VRBO platforms. However, you can use any platform that suits your needs

Marriott is the most flexible and diverse ownership out there. I know your family will love the platform once you start booking and using the resorts for vacation! The Sheraton Tokyo Japan is an approved Disney Tokyo property and would be perfect for your family when you are ready to go to Japan! Let me know and I will happily help you make your first reservations!

End of response]

I’d love to hear from anyone who owns (or has owned) a similar membership. Specifically:

• Is this a good deal for long-term value?
• How easy is it to sell or rent out if I don’t use it?
• Are there hidden fees or maintenance costs I should be aware of?
• Would I be better off just booking luxury vacations myself instead of locking into this?

I appreciate any insights, especially from experienced owners or those who have looked into similar deals. Thanks in advance!

-Will (Complete timeshare newb)

It is NOT NOT NOT a real estate investment!!!

 

[5finny]

I echo those who have suggested that you IMMEDIATELY rescind !!!

 

[Pamplemousse]

We live in Orlando, FL and and last year traveled to: Dubai (2X), New York, Los Cabos, MX, and Park City, Utah. All lodging was at Marriott properties and paid for out of pocket.

Lots of Abound properties in Orlando but it would be less expensive to exchange in via interval using an inexpensive reseale purchased week. Not sure the points cost are less than just paying cash either.
2 Resorts in Park city but you will have to be ready to book with points 13/12 months ahead to get a ski week.
A couple in Los Cabos.

Again as others have said you really should rescind and research.
You will get the most value out of your Abound points using them to book Abound properties- Is that where you want to go?

Have a look at the points charts fasttr posted if you are not sure about rescinding and run you numbers- does the mainance/ club dues/ some portion of purchase seem like a good deal vs paying to stay? Will you stay in enough timeshares to make it worthwhile

 

[davidvel]

It is NOT NOT NOT a real estate investment!!!

On what date did you sign the contract? How many days does the contract give you to rescind? As other noted,you overpaid by about $100,000. Does that seem like a good investment?

 

[DanCali]

That said, I’m open to the possibility that this isn’t the best financial move. I’d love to hear your insights:

• What specifically makes this a bad deal?
• Would we really be better off just continuing to book vacations separately?
• Are there any vacation ownership options that actually hold value?

If rescinding is the right move, I want to make sure I fully understand why. Thanks again for your input!

I'll try to address your questions directly and add some more insight.

• What specifically makes this a bad deal?

You are buying Abound points at a price in the range of $15-$20 per point. Those same points have a resale value of about $2 per point ($3 on a good day). So do the math... You lose 10% on a new car when you drive it off the lot. Here - you lose 85%+ after your rescission period is over...

Moreover, unlike the "legacy" deeded weeks (discussed below), resale points are exactly the same like direct points after you pay Marriott a $3/pt "junk fee". So even if you like the concept of what you bought, you can buy the same thing from another owner for $6/pt all-in or less and save ~70% of the $200K you were ready to spend. And my advice will cost you nothing...

• Would we really be better off just continuing to book vacations separately?

If you're spending $10-$15K per vacation on lodging, as you say, then owning a timeshare can possibly (maybe likely) make sense. Follow the 3 Rs - Rescind, Research, and (probably) Resale.

When you do your research, you will see that with Marriott you can buy points or "legacy" weeks. Weeks that are enrolled in Abound can be elected/used as points year after year, but resale legacy weeks cannot be elected for points unless you also buy direct from Marriott and they will enroll your resale week as part of the deal. You can just use those resale weeks at the same resort annually for weeklong stays, or trade via an external exchange company, which is less flexible and less convenient. You can also even buy legacy enrolled weeks from Marriott (they are typically from owners who gave the week to Marriott to sell) in conjunction with points, which may turn your horrible deal into a somewhat better deal (e.g., $9-$10/pt instead of what you paid, with lower average dues per point because maintenance fees on prime weeks are much more cost effective given the number of points they can be elected for annually). In sum, a lot of stuff to learn about a complex system that is a mish-mash and patchwork of a variety of resorts and ways to vacation.

• Are there any vacation ownership options that actually hold value?

The key to holding some value to your ownership is not buying from the developer. When you buy resale, you are buying "fair market value". If you sell it later, you'll sell at "fair market value". Since maintenance fees usually go up and outpace inflation, resale values tend to go down over time. But the $10K deeded week I bought resale around 2010 may be worth $7K today, so that's not a terrible loss for 15+ years of use... With the Marriott points, the aforementioned $3 "junk fee" on resale points still guarantees a 50%+ loss of what you pay upfront if you ever turn around to sell those points (that fee was $1/pt in 2010 and could be $10/pt next year if Marriott wishes it to be that) - that's why I don't own any points...

The Disney Vacation Club timeshares have been known to hold their value well and even appreciate (although those contracts expire after 40-50 years so they are guaranteed to end up worthless). But they also recently added resale restrictions that will no doubt devalue the newer resorts much faster than their legacy resorts (you can still buy direct at the Polynesian Villas at Disney World and those points can be used by a subsequent resale buyer at 14 resorts, which may retain their value better). The same point I made above applies - if you buy resale you'll save money and incur a smaller loss, albeit losing out on some perks they offer to direct buyers. The Disney system is rather limited geographically - you obviously have the theme parks in FL and CA, and they also have a couple of beach resorts in Hawaii, Vero Beach and Hilton Head, the latter two expiring in 2042. If you buy direct, you can also exchange into hotels at Disney resorts in Europe and Asia (at dubious prices), but you don't have the 90+ resorts and global reach Marriott does.

There's also Hyatt, Hilton and other timeshare systems - I'm less familiar with those but suspect many of the same concepts (e.g., buying resale is usually a better deal) apply.

 

[rickandcindy23]

DanCali said it all. Rescind, buy resale, pay Marriott to enroll those points in the program. What a great explanation!

You were probably offered hotel point certificates, likely a significant number, low cost per point, but the way Marriott devalues those points regularly, it's not a big savings over paying for hotel rooms. I have quite a few Marriott points, paying MFs with my Marriott credit card, and using them has not been a great value for me.

 

[WBP]

……….

The Disney Vacation Club timeshares have been known to hold their value well and even appreciate (although those contracts expire after 40-50 years so they are guaranteed to end up worthless). But they also recently added resale restrictions that will no doubt devalue the newer resorts much faster than their legacy resorts (you can still buy direct at the Polynesian Villas at Disney World and those points can be used by a subsequent resale buyer at 14 resorts, which may retain their value better). The same point I made above applies - if you buy resale you'll save money and incur a smaller loss, albeit losing out on some perks they offer to direct buyers. The Disney system is rather limited geographically - you obviously have the theme parks in FL and CA, and they also have a couple of beach resorts in Hawaii, Vero Beach and Hilton Head, the latter two expiring in 2042. If you buy direct, you can also exchange into hotels at Disney resorts in Europe and Asia (at dubious prices), but you don't have the 90+ resorts and global reach Marriott does.

……….

We are members of Disney Vacation Club, since the beginning of time. DVC knows what they are doing, and does it well. In my opinion their management infrastructure is superior to MVC’s. However, we justify our MVC membership by vacationing each year at DVC resorts, I don’t believe that we’ve ever used Disney points to go anywhere other than a Disney resort. My understanding is that DVC membership, and Disney points, are a very expensive currency to use as a means to travel to non-Disney resorts.

Based on what I’ve read, above, I’m not sure that owning a Marriott timeshare makes sense for you. I’m not sure that owning a Marriott timeshare makes sense for anyone in 2025, or into the future. My best advice, take a lot of time, and research the good, bad, and ugly of vacation ownership.

 

[DanCali]

We are members of Disney Vacation Club, since the beginning of time. DVC knows what they are doing, and does it well. In my opinion their management infrastructure is superior to MVC’s. However, we justify our MVC membership by vacationing each year at DVC resorts, I don’t believe that we’ve ever used Disney points to go anywhere other than a Disney resort. My understanding is that DVC membership, and Disney points, are a very expensive currency to use as a means to travel to non-Disney resorts.

Based on what I’ve read, above, I’m not sure that owning a Marriott timeshare makes sense for you. I’m not sure that owning a Marriott timeshare makes sense for anyone in 2025, or into the future. My best advice, take a lot of time, and research the good, bad, and ugly of vacation ownership.

We own with both as well and find benefits to both, including split stays. For example, this year we're doing a 7-night stay at Newport Coast combined with 2 nights at Grand Californian. Last summer we combined Marriott's Ko Olina with Aulani. And with Marriott we're have some wonderful stays in Spain, St. Thomas, Vail and Kauai (among others) which you can't do with Disney.

That said - I do agree that entering the Marriott system now is not as beneficial as it was to pre-2010 Marriott owners or pre-2022 Vistana owners. And while the points exchange system is relatively good, the points product itself is too cost ineffective to buy in large quantities.

 

[davidvel]

We live in Orlando, FL and and last year traveled to: Dubai (2X), New York, Los Cabos, MX, and Park City, Utah. All lodging was at Marriott properties and paid for out of pocket.

How long did you stay at Park City? $10K-$15K is a lot.

 

[davidvel]

Hopefully OP is at the post office. Hopefully they didn't realize it is too late to rescind.