But we see this all so differently! I don't expect any company, including Marriott, to put their emphasis on protecting my individual ownership beyond what they're required if by doing so they will be foregoing an opportunity to enhance their business. If they're giving me what they're contractually obligated to give me, then they're upholding their end of our business relationship. If they offer me a product, the responsibility for making that product's terms&conditions available to me lies with them. If I choose to accept the product, the responsibility for understanding the implications of those t&c's lies with me..
There is a BIG difference between protecting your ownership and specifically trying to devalue what you own to make profits for Marriott at previous purchaser's expense. We have been told that Marriott was coming out with a program that will penalize if not kill resales, well they weren't bluffing, here it is. What they are doing affects you and what you own. You own a resale, whether you purchased direct or resale. The dollar value of your week(s) is what you can get if you sell it, and you will be selling a resale. So Marriott is taking money out o your pocket to line theirs, and that is fine by you. As I asked earlier, what other company do you do business with who employs a similar strategy?
I don't figure that I have to "forgive" anything Marriott does as long as I'm getting USAGE value from my Marriott timeshare, because that's what the contracts DO stipulate, that the value in a Marriott timeshare purchase is in its usage. I knew up front what my costs were and how the purchase should have worked for me as a Weeks owner, and the way I see it, I got the usage that I expected based on the terms of the existing contract, which I knew could be subject to some change..
If Marriott was up front in the sales process and said we sell our weeks for $25,000. but once you buy it we will do everything in our power to make sure that you can't sell what you buy from us for more than $8000 because we don't like competing with resales then everyone would know and be informed buyers. If they said we will implement plans and rules that give weeks purchased from us rights that won't transfer to resale owners, then you purchased with full disclosure. if they emphasized that you will get usage per our contract because we are required by law to do so, but anything else we assured you that you would get in this presentation is null and void because we tell you lies to get you to buy, but the only thing that actually counts is what is on the contract, then you knew and bought anyway. If they said we will do anything in our power to make sure resales have almost no access to exchange inventory and we will do our best to kill resales so that their values are as close to zero as possible, then the majority of buyers would really understand what they are being sold and what the item they are purchasing will be worth after they sign the contract.
You now know that Marriott has this as their goal and yet you don't begrudge their sales tactics at all even though killing resale values kills the value of what you own. How many other buyers would buy if they knew this before signing on the dotted line?
In addition you have no problem doing business with a company who's sales reps assured that you could easily exchange for anywhere at anytime. It doesn't matter what you were told and led to believe because all that matters is the contract, not how the company will bend or break rules and laws to make a sale? The salesmen can lie daily with Marriott's blessings and that is OK as long as marriott honors the contract? You can buy into a weeks exchange program basing your purchase on using the weeks exchange progam, but Marriott can make that worthless by inventing a new points program, and that is acceptable as long as they honor what they are required to do per the contract? We really do see this differently.
Marriott isn't my friend or my doting grandfather who should protect me. They're a service provider. It's that simple to me.
I would prefer to do business with a company that I at least feel like I could I trust rather than one I know from past experience I can't trust. As you said with Marriott you have to read every line of the fine print because you are absolutelly sure that they are trying to get over on you as they have before and will again. That is the same kind of trust you get when you buy from Wastegate, but Marriott acts like they are a reputable timeshare company. Their latest program proves that too was a lie.
Please don't call Marriott a service provider, they are as bad as Wastegate. They use lies to sell and then do what they need to in order to not get sued. They have stagnant sales so they invent a new program that you must join or you weeks will not do what you purchased them to do and what you did with them for years. They charge people you sell your week to $2000 to keep a week in points, the same week you already paid $1995 to put into points. They give you 4500 annual points when you deposit yur week, but they charge others 5000 points to stay in the week you deposited making more profit on those who convert.
After thinking about it, I guess in a way Marriott does provide a service. The service Marriott provides is separating their loyal owners from their cash while devaluing their purchase, and doing it all with a smile.
Since points can reserve on Tuesday of the week do they need to go to the trouble of booking another resort?
