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It's Maintenance Fee Month. Good old January. How is everyone coping? Are timeshare maintenance fees still worth the value vs hotel or other forms of

I am not disparaging them.
You called people who bough from the developer "starry-eyed dreamers burning their money.", that's not complimentary.

There is never a single correct way to do an financial analysis and forecast "correctly" they are always based on a set of assumptions and risks and what is considered acceptable to one may not be to another.
 
As it turns out, every single developer disagrees with you.

I guess they could all be wrong.
Not really, but there is not much they can do. With marketing ~ 50% of the sell price and ~ 25% selling 9 months platinum vs. 4 months actual platinum and the best they can hope for is a resale value of ~ 25% of retail, usually less. The only alternative is a captive/very limited rental market like DVC. That will hold a much higher % due to the cost to rent DVC direct from Disney. It is a much easier pitch to say buy from us with no risk and you can always get 75% back by selling vs. we can't discuss resale because you only get 10% back and the customer might think a 90% discount is worth the risk.

Since Marriott can't control the devaluation they instituted a $3 per point charge to make full use of the points which provides their full net profit on any resales they don't want to acquire while shrinking the gap between developer and resale. Perfect solution for them.
 
As it turns out, every single developer disagrees with you.

I guess they could all be wrong.
If timeshare sold themselves, like homes, then it might work. Another inherent problem with timeshares is that about 50% of the developer purchase price is in marketing and commissions. They throw a huge amount of money around to try and sell one timeshare to unsuspecting people on vacation who attend a high pressure pitch. Any price would naturally drop by that 50% right away since any resale buyer isn't going to pay all that money to market their timeshare for resale.
 
You called people who bough from the developer "starry-eyed dreamers burning their money.", that's not complimentary.

There is never a single correct way to do an financial analysis and forecast "correctly" they are always based on a set of assumptions and risks and what is considered acceptable to one may not be to another.
You are again confusing the method used vs the assumptions that go into the method. The assumptions are a distant second, though of course it is possible to get them totally wrong.
 
The logic above is backwards [emphasis mine]. If resale VOIs held reasonable value then no one would say, "Rescind, Buy resale" and people would buy developer if there was reasonable expectation of return on the capital. I don't see many (if any) posts on the DVC forum stating, "Rescind. Buy resale."

Owners would also not be so negative e.g. we would not be having a conversation like this thread. Owners have lost value and are upset. If devaluation of resale is purposeful (e.g. they strip resale of benefits so the value to the next resale buyer is nil) then it is Marriott's short-sightedness and they get their just rewards.
You have some good points. But I did not say I totally agreed with the idea that they should de-value. I said there will be 1 or more employees who react that way. Large companies often do things that are not overflowing with logic. I am talking about reactions, not logic.
 
If I were a developer or sales manager I would push to implement anything possible to keep the resale market strong and almost in parity with new unit sales. A housing developer doesn't want the prices of homes in a development to crash 50% to 90% in the first few years of ownership. If homes in a developing neighborhood were reselling for that much less the developer would not be able to sell newly constructed homes. Home buyers would easily see what other similar homes are selling for. Clear transparency. A buyer in a timeshare sales hotbox doesn't have full transparency of what the unit is reselling for. I agree with CalGal and her logic. Caveat Emptor is good only to a point. In fact, if a developer or business team could come up with a creative way to get resale units to actually appreciate in price there would be a flood of people buying from the developer and a ton of happy TS owners and resellers.
IMO that is why companies originally implemented ROFR in order to give the impression that prices will remain high and the person's investment would stay strong.
While many TUG members, myself included, have saved tons of money helping people unload their timeshare I for one never ever find great joy in watching people over pay for anything and get financially hurt or destroyed. From my brief time on TUG I have read about numerous people who are financially strapped and hurt because of their TS purchase and commitment. If the resale market was stronger they could easily unload at a good price and be mostly whole.
a 2nd person who tries to equate TS sales with sales of full-time residential homes. There are so many things wrong with that comparison, it would take all day to go thru them. They are completely different markets. I suggest you start with the differences in business models of home-builders vs TS developers.
What kind of "mark-up" do you think home-builders get on COGS? What kind of "mark-up" do you think TS developers get on COGS?
The TS resale market is similar to the market for full-time residential homes. The "salesperson in a room" TS market is totally different. And even the TS resale market has interesting differences vs the market for full-time residential homes, as I am sure any of the TS brokers would be glad to list for you.
 
@WaikikiFirst Agree that there is no logic in many corps as they chase short term Wall St. expectations and the stomach for risk is low by employees who simply want to protect their jobs before the next round of layoffs.

Whether intentional or by an outcome they never intended, it is becoming apparent that the trusts are a path to self-absorbing the real-estate for eventual conversion to wholly-owned real estate over the very long term. If they truly wanted to remain in the TS business they would do everything possible to create value for resales.
 
" becoming apparent that the trusts are a path to self-absorbing the real-estate for eventual conversion to wholly-owned real estate over the very long term"
Oh boy. I own a few deeded weeks. That is above my pay-grade and outside my need-to-know. I'll assume you're right since you (almost?) always are.
I guess the main point is that in a trust, the developer has transferred little real power (ownership?) to the buyers?
 
@WaikikiFirst This is my latest thinking based on this discussion and I am speculating. I would love for someone to prove me wrong because I enjoy my timeshares.

As you stated, in a trust the buyer has even less control than a deed. There could be legal provisions buried in the terms that would facilitate a conversion. Alternatively, once they gain a major share of certain properties, they can convert buildings or wholly owned condos out of the trust and then sell them. Whalers Village on Kaanapali is a mixed TS and wholly owned condo resort so the mixed business model exists. TUG has reports of timeshares that have been closed down.

How many years has MVC been in the game? 25 years? Isn't there a 40 year sunset clause on some timeshares as well?

If this is their direction, I would expect that the first buildings/condos to be converted would be the less desirable resorts they would want to spin off from their portfolio. These are resorts where owners walk en-masse due to flipped MF to Rentability ratios. This would actually benefit existing TS trust owners by getting the deadweight (assessments/high MF/low rent) buildings out of the trust so they can sell them off. They are real-estate developers after all. The timeshare business is the current means to their end of selling real-estate.

With that said I think the timeshare business will last a long time but it will look different in 30 years. All of the developers will need to trim their portfolios as buildings age and there are too many duplicate and low value properties in the portfolios given acquisitions. They may also harvest some premier properties from the top and swap in mid-tier deeds for profitability.
 
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@WaikikiFirst This is my latest thinking based on this discussion. I would love for someone to prove me wrong because I enjoy my timeshares.

As you stated, in a trust the buyer has even less control than a deed. There could be legal provisions buried in the terms that would facilitate a conversion. Alternatively, once they gain a major share of certain properties, they can convert buildings or wholly owned condos out of the trust and then sell them. Whalers Village on Kaanapali is a mixed TS and wholly owned condo resort so the business model exists.

If this is their direction, I would expect that the first buildings/condos to be converted would be the less desirable resorts they would want to spin off from their portfolio.

While converting a timeshare to whole ownership may be theoretically possible, as I see it, it would be incredibly difficult (almost practically impossible) to ever effectively do what you are suggesting, even for one unit, let alone a major part of a resort. Here's why I think that...

As an example, we own an EOY deed at Marriott's Maui Ocean Club. We are deeded a 1/104th interest in unit 2039 by owning odd years in week 12. Since we own floating time, we have no special right to book week 12 in odd years in unit 2039 - we can book any week in that category ( 2BR OV). But...we legally own that very small piece of real estate. If the developer (Marriott) wanted to sell unit 2039 as a whole ownership condo, they would have to acquire our deed plus the deeds to every other owned interval in THAT specific unit - 2039. Missing out on even one EOY week (1/104th) would prevent that unit from ever being sold to a single buyer. As I see it, the odds of successfully executing the strategy you are hypothesizing would be extraordinarily low, even over a very long time (approaching infinity).
 
This is not at all what you asked, but I'm also increasingly of the opinion that the real value in timesharing is not "spent the least amount of money on vacation lodging." Instead, it is some balance of "I stayed in a nicer place than I would have rented, for not that much more money than I would have spent otherwise." plus "I have these use-it-or-lose-it assets, so I guess I better figure out how to go on vacation."
Yes! Well said, these are EXACTLY the reasons I initially bough a timeshare week, and subsequently several others. It allows me to stay in much higher quality properties than I'd be willing to pay for on a nightly basis, and it forces me to take more vacations. I never expected to save lots of money, I expected I'd spend roughly what I would have spent anyway, but I'd stay in much nicer places with full kitchens and amenities that made those stays much more comfortable than a hotel would be. And over the past twenty years, that's proven to be true.

Now the MFs have gotten so high that I could often stay in pretty nice places for what I am paying, but the ability to use my ownerships in various ways, including locking off units and doubling my time there, etc. still make these a decent value for me.
 
While converting a timeshare to whole ownership may be theoretically possible, as I see it, it would be incredibly difficult (almost practically impossible) to ever effectively do what you are suggesting, even for one unit, let alone a major part of a resort. Here's why I think that...

As an example, we own an EOY deed at Marriott's Maui Ocean Club. We are deeded a 1/104th interest in unit 2039 by owning odd years in week 12. Since we own floating time, we have no special right to book week 12 in odd years in unit 2039 - we can book any week in that category ( 2BR OV). But...we legally own that very small piece of real estate. If the developer (Marriott) wanted to sell unit 2039 as a whole ownership condo, they would have to acquire our deed plus the deeds to every other owned interval in THAT specific unit - 2039. Missing out on even one EOY week (1/104th) would prevent that unit from ever being sold to a single buyer. As I see it, the odds of successfully executing the strategy you are hypothesizing would be extraordinarily low, even over a very long time (approaching infinity).
Yes deeds are tougher. This might be a reason they moved to trusts because trusts are easier to swap around and manipulate since the trust owns those deeds vs. an individual you need to convince. If someone just deeded back unit 123 week 5 and you need 123 you swap 123 for one you don't need in the trust.

Get enough deeds and you end up with wholly owned units (or fractionals). There are some timeshares where entire buildings are in the trust. For example, Embarc is all points trusts. I believe Worldmark is as well. Diamond has a high percentage in the trust. DVC is all points.
 
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While converting a timeshare to whole ownership may be theoretically possible, as I see it, it would be incredibly difficult (almost practically impossible) to ever effectively do what you are suggesting, even for one unit, let alone a major part of a resort. Here's why I think that...

As an example, we own an EOY deed at Marriott's Maui Ocean Club. We are deeded a 1/104th interest in unit 2039 by owning odd years in week 12. Since we own floating time, we have no special right to book week 12 in odd years in unit 2039 - we can book any week in that category ( 2BR OV). But...we legally own that very small piece of real estate. If the developer (Marriott) wanted to sell unit 2039 as a whole ownership condo, they would have to acquire our deed plus the deeds to every other owned interval in THAT specific unit - 2039. Missing out on even one EOY week (1/104th) would prevent that unit from ever being sold to a single buyer. As I see it, the odds of successfully executing the strategy you are hypothesizing would be extraordinarily low, even over a very long time (approaching infinity).
You aren't really a tenant in common though which would require your signature on a deed. I don't think they can convert individual units, but they could collapse the entire timeshare scheme with a majority vote then sell the entire resort as whole ownership. Each owner getting proceeds from the sale. Though I think MVW would eat up a lot of the proceeds with legal fees and other fees so there wasn't much left to pay out.

One big problem with converting trust ownership to whole ownerships is that they would need to find another resort to drop in to replace the one being sold as whole ownership. They sold points where that now whole ownership resort was the underlying asset. They can't just get rid of it as they would now have more trust owners than trust inventory.
 
You aren't really a tenant in common though which would require your signature on a deed. I don't think they can convert individual units, but they could collapse the entire timeshare scheme with a majority vote then sell the entire resort as whole ownership. Each owner getting proceeds from the sale. Though I think MVW would eat up a lot of the proceeds with legal fees and other fees so there wasn't much left to pay out.

One big problem with converting trust ownership to whole ownerships is that they would need to find another resort to drop in to replace the one being sold as whole ownership. They sold points where that now whole ownership resort was the underlying asset. They can't just get rid of it as they would now have more trust owners than trust inventory.
They can swap deeds in an out of trusts as much they like as long as there is another deed to replace the one they swap out. They also have unsold deeds that can be swapped and insert deeds from resorts they intend to keep as timeshares. I don't believe the lawyers would include any provision in trusts that says exactly what resorts / seasons etc. need to be in the trust - just that there are deeds and the deed composition of the trust can change from time-to-time.

It is probably similar to Club rules. They can change anything that they want as long as there are enough deeds to cover the trust points sold.
 
They can swap deeds in an out of trusts as much they like as long as there is another deed to replace the one they swap out. They also have unsold deeds that can be swapped and insert deeds from resorts they intend to keep as timeshares to replace.
True, but for a whole resort converting to whole ownership? Swapping wouldn't be easy.
 
Maybe Horizons, which failed. The last I saw the average Marriott owner had a net worth of $1.5M, so definitely not middle class.

I seem to recall the income requirement to attend a MVC presentation at $75K. Some here say $100K. There is no net worth requirement either.

I think maybe I found what you're referring to below. It actually talks about median (I thought maybe it was confused with average). But it doesn't seem like that $1.5M refers to MVC specifically. Seems to include Ritz and St. Regis in there and could include all those with second homes for all we know - it's vague at best...

About Marriott Vacations​


Marriott Vacations Worldwide offers vacation ownership, exchange, rental and resort and property management. It was formed in 2011 when Marriott International spun off its timeshare operations.

Today, the company has expanded from three to seven iconic brands that own more than 120 resorts, including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and Grand Residences. Currently, it has around 700,000 owners and 1.6 million international members across 90 countries and territories.

More importantly, the vacation ownership market serves households with a median net worth of $1.5 million, better FICO scores, higher annual income and has over 40 million potential buyers. In other words, Marriott Vacations focuses on the high-end vacation ownership market, targets affluent customers and owns properties that live up to that standard.
 
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True, but for a whole resort converting to whole ownership? Swapping wouldn't be easy.
For resorts that have been deeded it wouldn't be easy. That might be why HGVC is continuing to sell deeds while Diamond and Bluegreen will continue as trust programs. Alternatively you could go with a mixed TS plus wholly-owned condo Whalers village concept.

Much easier for the TS programs that are 100% trust points like Embarc, Worldmark and possibly Diamond (with some deed buyouts at owners age out) and Bluegreen. There are also some timeshare buildings within programs that are 100% points - those would be easiest. Some newer buildings are only being sold as trust points. Look at Nanea.
 
For resorts that have been deeded it wouldn't be easy. That might be why HGVC is continuing to sell deeds while Diamond and Bluegreen will continue as trust programs. Alternatively you could go with a mixed TS plus wholly-owned condo Whalers village concept.

Much easier for the TS programs that are 100% trust points like Embarc, Worldmark and possibly Diamond (with some deed buyouts at owners age out) and Bluegreen. There are also some timeshare buildings within programs that are 100% points - those would be easiest. Some newer buildings are only being sold as trust points. Look at Nanea.
I thought Nanea was homeoptions which is deeded in some way and not trust points. The Pulse locations are purely trust points I believe .
 
You aren't really a tenant in common though which would require your signature on a deed. I don't think they can convert individual units, but they could collapse the entire timeshare scheme with a majority vote then sell the entire resort as whole ownership. Each owner getting proceeds from the sale. Though I think MVW would eat up a lot of the proceeds with legal fees and other fees so there wasn't much left to pay out.
Yes, if the goal was to convert a property to whole ownership, the proper way to do it is as you suggest - have a vote of the HOA to convert with all owners sharing any leftover proceeds. Trying to slowly accumulate intervals would be virtually unworkable, I would think.

One big problem with converting trust ownership to whole ownerships is that they would need to find another resort to drop in to replace the one being sold as whole ownership. They sold points where that now whole ownership resort was the underlying asset. They can't just get rid of it as they would now have more trust owners than trust inventory.
Obviously the newer properties like Waikoloa Ocean Club that are totally owned by the trust would not have the same difficulty in accumulating intervals if they wanted to sell it off, but as you say, those points would have to be replaced in the trust.
 
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I seem to recall the income requirement to attend a MVC presentation at $75K. Some here say $100K. There is no net worth requirement either.

I think maybe I found what you're referring to below. It actually talks about median (I thought maybe it was confused with average). But it doesn't seem like that $1.5M refers to MVC specifically. Seems to include Ritz and St. Regis in there and could include all those with second homes for all we know - it's vague at best...

About Marriott Vacations​


Marriott Vacations Worldwide offers vacation ownership, exchange, rental and resort and property management. It was formed in 2011 when Marriott International spun off its timeshare operations.

Today, the company has expanded from three to seven iconic brands that own more than 120 resorts, including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and Grand Residences. Currently, it has around 700,000 owners and 1.6 million international members across 90 countries and territories.

More importantly, the vacation ownership market serves households with a median net worth of $1.5 million, better FICO scores, higher annual income and has over 40 million potential buyers. In other words, Marriott Vacations focuses on the high-end vacation ownership market, targets affluent customers and owns properties that live up to that standard.

The $1.5 Million net worth refers to Marriott Vacations Club owners specifically, per the 2019 Investor Day.

Marriott 2019 Investor Day_FINAL V3 (dragged) copy.jpg


It may be hard to read the fine print, but here is an enlargement:

Crop Marriott 2019 Investor Day_FINAL V3 (dragged) copy.jpg
 
When you sign up, there is usually a minimum income requirement of $100,000/yr.
I believe so, but I also believe that they have a maximum age for attending a sales presentation of 60 (or was it 65?)
Anyway, they don’t enforce the age requirement so probably not the income one either?
 
I seem to recall the income requirement to attend a MVC presentation at $75K. Some here say $100K. There is no net worth requirement either.

I think maybe I found what you're referring to below. It actually talks about median (I thought maybe it was confused with average). But it doesn't seem like that $1.5M refers to MVC specifically. Seems to include Ritz and St. Regis in there and could include all those with second homes for all we know - it's vague at best...

About Marriott Vacations​


Marriott Vacations Worldwide offers vacation ownership, exchange, rental and resort and property management. It was formed in 2011 when Marriott International spun off its timeshare operations.

Today, the company has expanded from three to seven iconic brands that own more than 120 resorts, including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and Grand Residences. Currently, it has around 700,000 owners and 1.6 million international members across 90 countries and territories.

More importantly, the vacation ownership market serves households with a median net worth of $1.5 million, better FICO scores, higher annual income and has over 40 million potential buyers. In other words, Marriott Vacations focuses on the high-end vacation ownership market, targets affluent customers and owns properties that live up to that standard.
Current requirement is $100,000 income

ELIGIBILITY​

Annual income of $100,000 or more is required. Guest must meet eligibility requirements and be a resident of the District of Columbia or one of the 50 states within the United States. Residents of Delaware, Hawai'i, Maine and Missouri are not eligible for this offer. Guest may not have attended a sales presentation at any Marriott Vacation Club® property in the last 12 months. Employees of Sponsor and its affiliated companies, and their immediate families, are not eligible for this offer.

Last earning call had the net worth number (self reported):

"If the consumer -- because you are talking about generally a larger dollar purchase, whether you finance it or not, right, $25,000, $30,000. So how the consumer is feeling about their lot and where things are going, it's going to weigh on people over the longer term. So that's where the macro comes into play, consumer confidence. But yes, given our owners typically have, as you said, $1.5 million self-reported net worth [they] are probably invested in the stock market. Any given week, depending on what the market is doing and things like that, that could impact somebody's at the table decision. Stock market is down or stock market’s up, right? “I feel good about where I'm at.""

My only point being that the target customer is not the average middle class family. It is more like telling people in my neighborhood who spent $150-$200k on a Range Rover to slum it for 5 years in a Lexus GX for $75k and buy 6,000 points for $75k. If that person is also a Marriott person who has Bonvoy status and gets a few hundred thousand in Bonvoy points and status for their spouse with it that helps sweeten the deal.
 
I seem to recall the income requirement to attend a MVC presentation at $75K. Some here say $100K.

As I recall during the merger process with ILG, comments were made by management in the quarterly earnings calls that Vistana had a lower income requirement than MVC, so that is why they saw lower close rates from Vistana owners in the early days of the merger. They went on to say that they were raising the income threshold for Vistana incentivized presentations to increase prospect quality. My assumption has always been that the lower income requirement for Vistana sales offices was maybe because of the Sheraton products, as I would have expected Westin to be at least equal to MVC.
 
I believe so, but I also believe that they have a maximum age for attending a sales presentation of 60 (or was it 65?)
Anyway, they don’t enforce the age requirement so probably not the income one either?
Correct. No enforcement and any acknowledgments to the terms (initial here, sign there) is all on the honor system. They don't verify income income to attend a presentation. I am sure they do when you buy, but at that point they don't care.
 
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