Is it possible to enjoy the Marriott system without paying any money to the developer?
Are most of the happy Marriott owners people who purchased from developer?
Perhaps there's a bit of Stockholm syndrome going on?
Let me know if you are a resale buyer and happy with Marriott.
Per your
question #2, I'd have to say a hearty YES for me personally, and I'll explain.
I purchased 5 weeks from the developer (Marriott) around 1998 and 1999. Because of that I was able to "enroll" those 5 weeks
for only $795 ($695 or $795, can't remember?) into the Destinations Club program in 2010, so now I have plenty of Destination Points
each year if so desired (17,800/year available).
And, we were able to use the "other" points program, the Rewards Points, by playing the accumulation game, enabling us
to travel to Europe more than once for free (airfare and accommodations--County Hall x 3 and Grosvenor Sq in London, & Palazzo Naiadi in Rome),
and to stay for free in great hotels all over this country (we never skimped) and in others....
England 4 times, Scotland once, and Italy twice.
And we continue to use that Rewards Points program benefit to this day,
having multiple free stays each year. We have never traded in any weeks for Rewards Points (not a good value),
we just accumulate thru other means. We reached Chairman level early on (now grandfathered),
are also now Lifetime Titanium Elite, so we benefit even more from those.
So I'm more than happy for our developer purchases.
I also purchased 5 resale Marriott weeks, the price being far less, but the benefits of additional points not there.
Doesn't matter, though, as each method has its benefits...one from Points availability, etc and the other from initial purchase price reduction.
We do use the resales for occupying, which is exactly what we want......and that frees up the other weeks for going either way.
But I can most adamantly say that I'm grateful for both methods of purchase because I have an unusual freedom
and flexibility that many don't, just because I was in the right place at the right time. Pure dumb luck, as they say.
Enrolling instead of ever buying DC Points directly to enter the points game was golden.
I have been more than happy to own all my weeks, and would not have done it differently.
For those TUG members who did it like me, I know they are satisfied too, and we are certainly not naive enough
to imagine that we ever succumbed to Stockholm Syndrome.
I can add and subtract, so I always knew what the numbers were, and we were never abused.
I would have recognized it, but it didn't happen. We knew what we had, and that is was perfect for us.
Plus, we've used all of our weeks wisely, even rented a few out to offset maintenance fees.
Many of our rental weeks will cover two maintenance fees. It's a beautiful thing.
We entered the Marriott system early thru Developer purchases, but there again, our families benefitted immensely from that
in that our children were able to grow up in the system and stay at awesome resorts.
We had great vacation weeks each year which were written in stone----that's a must for a happy family, and something that they rallied around.
We played in many ocean waters and on many gorgeous beaches, and swam in every conceivable pool configuration,
both in the US, Caribbean, & Hawaii multiple times,
skied at the 2 top Marriott resorts in Utah 6 years running (Summit Watch & MountainSide), saw dozens of castles, and rode many trains across Europe,
including the Eurostar to Paris,
and I count ourselves very lucky. Not a year goes by that our children don't bring up the subject as to how lucky they were....
and we continue to do those things, btw. We even give them weeks or points to use for their own families, and they love it.
Developer weeks: Not to have the DC Points availability now would be a bummer, as our travel habits have changed
and we can do anything we want. Too many options.
Resale weeks: We continue to have awesome vacations, and trade occasionally to visit other beloved destinations
like Boston's Custom House almost every year, Newport Coast, Manor Club, and others).