Marriott latest sales tactic

[Polokid57]

Attended a sales presentation at Marriott yesterday. I own two weeks plus lots of trust points. They told me they are phasing out the weeks program. They said they can contractually devalue my weeks at any time ( that is-reduce the points I receive if I trade my weeks for points). They also said maintenance fees could increase significantly on my Florida weeks due to hurricanes. (Currently they go up around 4% per year)

So they offered to buy back my weeks at 2 1/2 times what I originally paid for them in 2008. So I paid 30k. They would buy back at 75k. But I would have to then use the 75k to buy trust points. Which actually would be a good deal. The kicker is-to do this deal-I have to also buy at least 2000 MORE trust points at $18 per point. So I’d have to layout $36000 to let them buy me out of my weeks.

When I told them I’m perfectly happy with my weeks-they ramped up the pressure. They told me maintenance fees will soon go up 12% per year. And in five years that would cost me $40k more. So if I do this deal I’d save $4000
( $40k minus $ 36k)

I wouldn’t budge. Then they told me they might reduce the point value of my week by 50%. I said I think owners would get pretty upset,no? They said no-most owners got rid of thier weeks. So I asked them how many weeks owners are there compared to points owners. They didn’t know.

After trr we nor three more tries they finally gave up on me.

Yo Marriott owners-I left the presentation and spent the rest of the day crunching numbers. There is no way this deal works out to the owner’s benefit. Beware of Marriott scare tactics

 

[jwalk03]

If the salesman's lips were moving...

 

[vacationtime1]

Lies, lies, and more lies.

 

[dioxide45]

I wouldn't say this is their latest tactic. We've heard it all in some form or another over the years.

 

[StevenTing]

The ironic thing is that MVC is the biggest owner of weeks.

 

[goodbadugly]

Attended a sales presentation at Marriott yesterday. I own two weeks plus lots of trust points. They told me they are phasing out the weeks program. They said they can contractually devalue my weeks at any time ( that is-reduce the points I receive if I trade my weeks for points). They also said maintenance fees could increase significantly on my Florida weeks due to hurricanes. (Currently they go up around 4% per year)

So they offered to buy back my weeks at 2 1/2 times what I originally paid for them in 2008. So I paid 30k. They would buy back at 75k. But I would have to then use the 75k to buy trust points. Which actually would be a good deal. The kicker is-to do this deal-I have to also buy at least 2000 MORE trust points at $18 per point. So I’d have to layout $36000 to let them buy me out of my weeks.

When I told them I’m perfectly happy with my weeks-they ramped up the pressure. They told me maintenance fees will soon go up 12% per year. And in five years that would cost me $40k more. So if I do this deal I’d save $4000
( $40k minus $ 36k)

I wouldn’t budge. Then they told me they might reduce the point value of my week by 50%. I said I think owners would get pretty upset,no? They said no-most owners got rid of thier weeks. So I asked them how many weeks owners are there compared to points owners. They didn’t know.

After trr we nor three more tries they finally gave up on me.

Yo Marriott owners-I left the presentation and spent the rest of the day crunching numbers. There is no way this deal works out to the owner’s benefit. Beware of Marriott scare tactics

Almost borders on threatening tactics!

 

[Hindsite]

That's right up there with "MVC Only sell points now" to which the only answer is, "Yes, other than all the weeks they sell". e.g Anywhere outside of the US and hybrid bundles.

In theory they can change and have changed, according to reports from many years ago, the club point election values. The question is, what business benefit would that bring them? The Trust is heavily weighted with low value inventory and nothing outside of the US, so why would they demotivate owners from electing for higher value and non-US resorts? The answer is, they won't as that's terrible business. Salespeople don't run the business so they don't care about making up lies that are blatantly stupid business practice.

Best avoided, well done!

 

[bazzap]

MVC are not phasing out the Weeks programme, although as they convey more Weeks to the Abound Points programme through deedback, buyback, revocation, delinquency… the number of Weeks will inevitably reduce. So perhaps a half truth.
They absolutely cannot contactually devalue your Weeks though. So an outright lie.

 

[ljmiii]

They absolutely cannot contactually devalue your Weeks though. So an outright lie.

Actually, contractually they can change the Abound Point election value of any week at their sole discretion. That said, such changes have been thus far quite infrequent.

They actually did change the value of one of mine and when I posted about it way back when (2017?) there was a discussion that included other examples.

 

[bazzap]

Actually, contractually they can change the Abound Point election value of any week at their sole discretion. That said, such changes have been thus far quite infrequent.

They actually did change the value of one of mine and when I posted about it way back when (2017?) there was a discussion that included other examples.

I would be interested to see the contractual clause which would allow MVC to change this.
We have been enrolled in the Points programme since it began in 2010 and none of our Weeks at 7x MVC resorts have ever changed the elected Points value throughout this time.

 

[billymach4]

Attended a sales presentation at Marriott yesterday. I own two weeks plus lots of trust points. They told me they are phasing out the weeks program. They said they can contractually devalue my weeks at any time ( that is-reduce the points I receive if I trade my weeks for points). They also said maintenance fees could increase significantly on my Florida weeks due to hurricanes. (Currently they go up around 4% per year)

So they offered to buy back my weeks at 2 1/2 times what I originally paid for them in 2008. So I paid 30k. They would buy back at 75k. But I would have to then use the 75k to buy trust points. Which actually would be a good deal. The kicker is-to do this deal-I have to also buy at least 2000 MORE trust points at $18 per point. So I’d have to layout $36000 to let them buy me out of my weeks.

When I told them I’m perfectly happy with my weeks-they ramped up the pressure. They told me maintenance fees will soon go up 12% per year. And in five years that would cost me $40k more. So if I do this deal I’d save $4000
( $40k minus $ 36k)

I wouldn’t budge. Then they told me they might reduce the point value of my week by 50%. I said I think owners would get pretty upset,no? They said no-most owners got rid of thier weeks. So I asked them how many weeks owners are there compared to points owners. They didn’t know.

After trr we nor three more tries they finally gave up on me.

Yo Marriott owners-I left the presentation and spent the rest of the day crunching numbers. There is no way this deal works out to the owner’s benefit. Beware of Marriott scare tactics

Where was the presentation? Resort?

 

[pedro47]

I wish timeshare sales staff had to put their words in writing during a presentation for the customer to read alone.

 

[Fasttr]

I would be interested to see the contractual clause which would allow MVC to change this.
We have been enrolled in the Points programme since it began in 2010 and none of our Weeks at 7x MVC resorts have ever changed the elected Points value throughout this time.

See bolded wording in section 5. h. of the enrollment agreement linked below.

https://www.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/common/cms/mvc/pdfs/helpfulTools/enrolledOwner/legalDocs/eu.enroll.agmt.english.pdf

 

[Hindsite]

I would be interested to see the contractual clause which would allow MVC to change this.
We have been enrolled in the Points programme since it began in 2010 and none of our Weeks at 7x MVC resorts have ever changed the elected Points value throughout this time.

Sadly its in section 5 para h of the enrollment agreement. As with so much, I doubt they will go out of their way to implement it unless they find a problem but it is there. Just like the clauses in the exchange agreement that say Exchange points can be treated differently from Trust points, but that just doesn't happen in real life. Sales don't mind mixing possible with reality, so say a load of rubbish, including the MVC could forcibly take your week off you, which they can, but would they for no reason? No they wouldn't!

So according to this, you shouldn't buy a week for the elected points value, but people do, just as people buy for exchanging in II which is also a discretionary benefit.

 

[Hindsite]

I wish timeshare sales staff had to put their words in writing during a presentation for the customer to read alone.

I'm not sure it would matter. If people read all the documents and understood the difference between contracted rights and discretionary benefits, would they still buy? Many tuggers do and go ahead and buy anyway. To me its like reading the user information in medications, its full of possible side effects, but most people don't worry about that as for most people it won't be an issue, but if you know its a possibility, it could be mitigated.

 

[Red elephant]

I would be interested to see the contractual clause which would allow MVC to change this.
We have been enrolled in the Points programme since it began in 2010 and none of our Weeks at 7x MVC resorts have ever changed the elected Points value throughout this time.

That is why you buy where you want to go and think of enrolled points as a benefit only.

 

[Red elephant]

Sadly its in section 5 para h of the enrollment agreement. As with so much, I doubt they will go out of their way to implement it unless they find a problem but it is there. Just like the clauses in the exchange agreement that say Exchange points can be treated differently from Trust points, but that just doesn't happen in real life. Sales don't mind mixing possible with reality, so say a load of rubbish, including the MVC could forcibly take your week off you, which they can, but would they for no reason? No they wouldn't!

So according to this, you shouldn't buy a week for the elected points value, but people do, just as people buy for exchanging in II which is also a discretionary benefit.

View attachment 99653

I buy a week at a place I want to go to that happens to have good elected points value and by a trading week at a resort I would not mind going to just in case they ever take back those benefits you mentioned. However I don’t think they will but it does not stop the sales team from using it to make half truth statements.

 

[Retired2025 aka AlmostRetired]

The Monarch they own 40% of the weeks most is low season. Grande Ocean they own 25% most are non platinum. If we look at how many of the remaining week owners purchased after 2010 or do not exchange for points, It has been 14 years and MVCI has not made inroads to their shortage of valuable week availability. They are not changing anything about weeks for the worse.

 

[vail]

The Monarch they own 40% of the weeks most is low season. Grande Ocean they own 25% most are non platinum. If we look at how many of the remaining week owners purchased after 2010 or do not exchange for points, It has been 14 years and MVCI has not made inroads to their shortage of valuable week availability. They are not changing anything about weeks for the worse.

If Marriott owns 40% of the weeks at Monarch and they are mostly low season, the remaining owners should thank them for subsidizing their maintenance fees.
If Marriott did not take back those low season weeks, odds are a lot of them would have defaulted, with the resort having to take them back and increase the maintenance fees for the remaining owners.

 

[Red elephant]

The Monarch they own 40% of the weeks most is low season. Grande Ocean they own 25% most are non platinum. If we look at how many of the remaining week owners purchased after 2010 or do not exchange for points, It has been 14 years and MVCI has not made inroads to their shortage of valuable week availability. They are not changing anything about weeks for the worse.

I wonder how many Monarch owners sold to Marriott or thru resale to get MGO or some other HHI resort.

 

[CericRushmore]

Is there another industry that trashes their own product?

 

[Wanderlustgrl]

Funny m. We are always told to never give up our weeks and we are kept offered bundles. At least we got someone who doesn’t make us feel bad about what we have but maybe it’s cause they see we use it and love it

 

[dioxide45]

If Marriott owns 40% of the weeks at Monarch and they are mostly low season, the remaining owners should thank them for subsidizing their maintenance fees.
If Marriott did not take back those low season weeks, odds are a lot of them would have defaulted, with the resort having to take them back and increase the maintenance fees for the remaining owners.

They should thank point owners, not MVC. Point owners are the ones paying MFs on points.

 

[dioxide45]

Funny m. We are always told to never give up our weeks and we are kept offered bundles. At least we got someone who doesn’t make us feel bad about what we have but maybe it’s cause they see we use it and love it

It all depends on the angle they try that day.

 

[TUGBrian]

longest "phase out" ever! =D