Marriott Forum/FAQ/Sticky Discussions [Ongoing]

[jlehrma1]

More Destination points questions

Sue and others: thank you for the great work in putting together these helpful FAQS. I hope you can help answer a few more.

1). Is it true that one must be a Premier member to be able to use DC points to reserve at a ritz Carlton club? I see vail but not San Fran when I log in.

2). If one buys points on the resale market to get over the 6500 point threshold to become a Premier member, will Marriott recognize the points and grant you Premier status? (I own 5500 legacy points that are convertible from a floating MOC week)..

3). My sales rep in Kauai yesterday claimed that the transfer fee on converting/transferring DC points is no longer just $2000 or so but $500 for each 100 points being transferred. Has anyone else heard this?

4). What's the latest on the price level when Marriott will exercise its right of first refusal?

Thanks, Jerry

 

[dioxide45]

Sue and others: thank you for the great work in putting together these helpful FAQS. I hope you can help answer a few more.

1). Is it true that one must be a Premier member to be able to use DC points to reserve at a ritz Carlton club? I see vail but not San Fran when I log in.

Yes, you must be Premier to be able to reserve the Luxury properties except those that are actually in the trust, which is Vail.

2). If one buys points on the resale market to get over the 6500 point threshold to become a Premier member, will Marriott recognize the points and grant you Premier status? (I own 5500 legacy points that are convertible from a floating MOC week)..

3). My sales rep in Kauai yesterday claimed that the transfer fee on converting/transferring DC points is no longer just $2000 or so but $500 for each 100 points being transferred. Has anyone else heard this?

Doubtful, the fee is written in to the exchange procedures. There hasn't been a new version published since April 2012.

4). What's the latest on the price level when Marriott will exercise its right of first refusal?

Thanks, Jerry

 

[Fasttr]

Sue and others: thank you for the great work in putting together these helpful FAQS. I hope you can help answer a few more.

1). Is it true that one must be a Premier member to be able to use DC points to reserve at a ritz Carlton club? I see vail but not San Fran when I log in.

2). If one buys points on the resale market to get over the 6500 point threshold to become a Premier member, will Marriott recognize the points and grant you Premier status? (I own 5500 legacy points that are convertible from a floating MOC week)..

3). My sales rep in Kauai yesterday claimed that the transfer fee on converting/transferring DC points is no longer just $2000 or so but $500 for each 100 points being transferred. Has anyone else heard this?

4). What's the latest on the price level when Marriott will exercise its right of first refusal?

Thanks, Jerry

1. You can book Vail without being P or P+, but the others (San Fran, etc) are only available to P and P+ via the Explorer collection.

2. I have been told by 2 separate MVC Managers, in writing, that resale points would count for P and P+ status provided that the $200/Beneficial Interest ($2000 minimum) is paid to MVC. That said, I would get it in writing for your particular deal and situation.

3. I don't believe that is true. The $2000 is actually a minimum though. Its $200/Beneficial Interest with a $2000 minimum. 1 BI = 250 points. So if you purchase more than 2500 points, it would be more than $2000.

4. That's anybody's guess, but several have heard around $5 you should be fine, bot not a lot of evidence as to where the floor is.

 

[SueDonJ]

There's a new Sticky post related to "Event Weeks" at Marriott resorts, following a discussion in another thread. A couple questions:

- Daytona was mentioned - which Marriott resort(s) are impacted?

- Are the Ocean Pointe and Oceana Palms resorts impacted by the Palm Beach International Boat Show, as much as BeachPlace Towers is impacted by the Ft. Lauderdale show?

- Any additions, suggestions, comments?

 

[dioxide45]

My only concern is with the volume of stickies that we now have. The top of the forum is getting cluttered with more and more stickies. Are there any that we can unsticky?

If so, my votes would be for.

• How happy are you with your Marriott ownership?
• "My-vacationclub.com" System Enhancement/Improvement Ideas
• TUG Ratings of Marriott Vacation Club Resorts
• Multiple Selection Poll: What type of Marriott Vacation Club product(s) do you own?

Though lets not start another sticky Poll to vote on which ones to remove

 

[dioxide45]

Grande Château
December, NASCAR Champion's Week
lasvegassun.com

I think the Vegas Nascar week actually centers around the race that is in March. Champions week is just attended by the big wigs and drivers. No real fans. The race attracts 250,000 people over the weekend in March.

 

[SueDonJ]

My only concern is with the volume of stickies that we now have. The top of the forum is getting cluttered with more and more stickies. Are there any that we can unsticky?

If so, my votes would be for.

• How happy are you with your Marriott ownership?
• "My-vacationclub.com" System Enhancement/Improvement Ideas
• TUG Ratings of Marriott Vacation Club Resorts
• Multiple Selection Poll: What type of Marriott Vacation Club product(s) do you own?

Though lets not start another sticky Poll to vote on which ones to remove

I'm okay with un-sticking any of those except the "TUG Ratings …" one - TUGBrian has his own reasons for wanting those threads to remain stuck in each of the forums. Let's give it a few days to see if anyone can come up with reasons to keep/lose any of the stuck threads.

 

[SueDonJ]

I think the Vegas Nascar week actually centers around the race that is in March. Champions week is just attended by the big wigs and drivers. No real fans. The race attracts 250,000 people over the weekend in March.

I like watching NASCAR Sprint Cup but the only time I ever think about race attendance is when we're driving through NC to Hilton Head in May - it's always exciting to see the truck convoys. Thanks for the correction.

 

[dioxide45]

I'm okay with un-sticking any of those except the "TUG Ratings …" one - TUGBrian has his own reasons for wanting those threads to remain stuck in each of the forums. Let's give it a few days to see if anyone can come up with reasons to keep/lose any of the stuck threads.

Fair enough, I suppose. Though I went and looked in the other forums under the Timeshare Resort Systems group. Only the DRI forum has another "TUG Ratings" sticky. Not sure if the other forums had one. If they did, someone unstickied them. Not one in HGVC, DVC or Starwood

 

[SueDonJ]

Fair enough I supposed. Though I went and looked in the other forums under the Timeshare Resort Systems group. Only the DRI forum has another "TUG Ratings" sticky. Not sure if the other forums had one. If they did, someone unstickied them. Not one in HGVC, DVC or Starwood

Hmmmm. I thought all the forums had one. Wonder if Brian got sidetracked that day? Anyway, the Marriott one will stay.

 

[Fasttr]

Hmmmm. I thought all the forums had one. Wonder if Brian got sidetracked that day? Anyway, the Marriott one will stay.

I have actually used the TUG Ratings of Marriott's Sticky. I would agree to keeping that one, but the others that dioxide45 recommendied sending to Sticky Heaven are fluff and I would also vote to lose them.

 

[BocaBoy]

Any additions, suggestions, comments?

One extremely minor one. There is no "e" and the end of Grand in Grand Chateau. How's that for a petty comment?

 

[SueDonJ]

One extremely minor one. There is no "e" and the end of Grand in Grand Chateau. How's that for a petty comment?

It's exactly the kind of thing for which I like to be corrected, thanks. My own spelling errors make me bonkers.

 

[WFP]

There's a new Sticky post related to "Event Weeks" at Marriott resorts, following a discussion in another thread. A couple questions:

- Daytona was mentioned - which Marriott resort(s) are impacted?

- Are the Ocean Pointe and Oceana Palms resorts impacted by the Palm Beach International Boat Show, as much as BeachPlace Towers is impacted by the Ft. Lauderdale show?

- Any additions, suggestions, comments?

I was the one that mentioned Daytona Bike Week. There are no MVC properties there but Orlando Area sees a slight impact from "Us Bikers".

/WFP

 

[dioxide45]

My other issue is with the format of the Weeks FAQ sticky. It is just not very intuitive. I find myself having to search through that thing every time I am looking for a specific item like the calendars link, resort maps or II unit codes links. I find myself every time scrolling up and down several times before I pick out what it is that I am looking for.

I don't know of a way to fix it or make it better.

 

[Fasttr]

Let's give it a few days to see if anyone can come up with reasons to keep/lose any of the stuck threads.

Sue....just bumping this as a reminder to unstick some of the less stickyworthy Sticky's.

 

[dioxide45]

Sue....just bumping this as a reminder to unstick some of the less stickyworthy Sticky's.

Doing the same. I think Sue is real busy these days, so this isn't a priority. But would like to see fewer stickies.

 

[SueDonJ]

A TUGger has advised that in the DC Points FAQ, the link to Marriott Resales Operations is not working for her. It's working for me on a Mac running Safari but I do have to click through a Security Warning (which is typical for me with many MVCI-related websites.)

If anyone else is having the same link-not-working issue, please post here and maybe we can figure this out. Thanks.

 

[SueDonJ]

Doing the same. I think Sue is real busy these days, so this isn't a priority. But would like to see fewer stickies.

Just a note to say that I really appreciate TUGgers' patience while Don and I are enjoying a special kind of adventure in real life. It's nothing bad but it's different - he's relocated overseas for a two-year stint. Here at home things are finally settling down and I expect to be back to my usual TUG obsession very soon. Your notes/requests aren't being ignored, they've just been placed on a back burner for a little while. So, thank you.

 

[Fasttr]

A TUGger has advised that in the DC Points FAQ, the link to Marriott Resales Operations is not working for her. It's working for me on a Mac running Safari but I do have to click through a Security Warning (which is typical for me with many MVCI-related websites.)

If anyone else is having the same link-not-working issue, please post here and maybe we can figure this out. Thanks.

I am using a PC with IE 11 and also get the security certificate warning, but can click through to the website just fine.

 

[SueDonJ]

Wasn't sure where to put this ...

Occasionally I come across a post that I know will be helpful/worth noting in future discussions. I have a habit of editing those thread titles to aid in later searches but I always wonder if anybody has a problem with me doing that. I probably should have asked this long ago but better late than never ... does it bother folks?

If there are objections I can certainly try to find some other system that works for all of us.

 

[SueDonJ]

The DC Points FAQ has been edited to reflect many of the changes related to the 10/14 "Luxury" property definitions/rules and the 4/30/15 changes to the Status Tiers. Anyone feel like checking it out and offering corrections/comments/etc?

Note I'm trying to get some official information related to the new Banking benefits/rules so haven't changed anything related to that yet. It can be ignored for now.

Also, I took out the non-MOD codes for cash discounts of rentals. It appears they weren't working yesterday so we'll wait on those until we know if they're being changed in some way.

Have at it - thanks!

 

[SueDonJ]

Over on the Starwood forum there's an interesting thread related to that timeshare business being renamed and acquired by Interval Leisure Group. As the TUG forum moderator Denise proposed to TUG Admin that the forum name be changed to the company's new legal name, which to me made sense but some owners strongly objected. (I'm not questioning the reasons for their objections because obviously, as owners their perspective is much different than mine.) It got me thinking, though, why the TUG Marriott forum wasn't renamed when our timeshare business was spun off and renamed. Since then Marriott Vacations Worldwide has added many different usage options, and also has more fully integrated the Grand Residence and Ritz-Carlton segments with the Destination Club.

I would like to propose a name change for the Marriott TUG forum to "Marriott Vacations Worldwide" with a tag line underneath reading, "Discussion related to Vacation Club Weeks, Destination Club Points, Grand Residence and Ritz-Carlton Clubs, and the Marriott Rewards program."

Admittedly there's a little bit of OCD driving my thought process since the discussion in the Starwood forum. If you have ideas or objections I'd love to hear them before proposing anything. Thanks!

 

[SeaDoc]

Very diplomatic, I must say...

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[dioxide45]

Over on the Starwood forum there's an interesting thread related to that timeshare business being renamed and acquired by Interval Leisure Group. As the TUG forum moderator Denise proposed to TUG Admin that the forum name be changed to the company's new legal name, which to me made sense but some owners strongly objected. (I'm not questioning the reasons for their objections because obviously, as owners their perspective is much different than mine.) It got me thinking, though, why the TUG Marriott forum wasn't renamed when our timeshare business was spun off and renamed. Since then Marriott Vacations Worldwide has added many different usage options, and also has more fully integrated the Grand Residence and Ritz-Carlton segments with the Destination Club.

I would like to propose a name change for the Marriott TUG forum to "Marriott Vacations Worldwide" with a tag line underneath reading, "Discussion related to Vacation Club Weeks, Destination Club Points, Grand Residence and Ritz-Carlton Clubs, and the Marriott Rewards program."

Admittedly there's a little bit of OCD driving my thought process since the discussion in the Starwood forum. If you have ideas or objections I'd love to hear them before proposing anything. Thanks!

I think you probably know my thoughts on this already . I was rather vocal in the what's in a name thread over in the Vistana Signature Experiences (formerly Starwood) forum. While I don't disagree that the name needed to be changed. I just don't understand why it had to coincide with the official closing of the deal between Starwood and Interval Leisure Group for the acquisition of Vistana. It also doesn't make sense to me why the forum name HAD to carry the same name as that of the overall company. I do commend you for asking this question in the forum instead of how it was handled in the former Starwood forum.

If when Marriott spun off their timeshare division and decided to rename it American Resorts International because that was the name of the company they bought to get in to the timeshare business, would you have suggested the forum be named the same? Marriott Vacations Worldwide is still primarily marketing their vacation club product which is Marriott Vacation Club. That is after-all in the URL of the new website. The other two products (Ritz Carlton and Grand Residence) are basically dead. I wouldn't expect a single new property in either of the luxury segments to be built in the next 50 years.

Probably 90-95% of the discussion in the Marriott Resort System forum on TUG center around the vacation club weeks and points product. Would there be more discussion about the other segments with a simple name change to the forum? I doubt it. Their overall market share is small and their ownership base perhaps not as astute to discussing how to squeeze a much from their ownership as they can.

As for names. I actually like the Vistana name, it was probably the one company that is responsible for much of what we see in the industry today. They made timeshare a popular product that was affordable to many Americans. They are responsible for putting timeshare where it is today. I however am not a fan of why they used "Experiences" in the name of the new company. It seems downright silly. It seems that Vistana is going to market their two clubs as Sheraton Vacation Club and Westin Vacation Club. The overall collections of resorts, that includes the three that are not branded as Sheraton or Westin, will be called the Vistana Signature Network. Any combination of name that use Sheraton or Westin would work fine for the forum name.

I really see no reason for a name change for this form. People aren't very often going to be searching for "Marriott Vacations Worldwide" since the company does not actively market that as a brand and I bet there are still some owners today that if you told them that name, they wouldnt' know what you are talking about. It seems that people are finding the forum just fine as it is the most active hotel brand forum on TUG and by far not the biggest timeshare company out there. I don't see any issue with perhaps updating the forum description to better spell out the products and programs discussed in the "Marriott Resort System" forum, but don't try to fix something that isn't broken by changing the overall name.