Marriott to Marriott Exchange

[Minnie29]

I am a Gold week owner at Marbella Beach Resort and would like to consider exchanging my 2013 week for either Crystal Shores, Marco Island or Beachplace Towers, Fort Lauderdale.
Do I have to join I I to make the exchange and if so how much does membership for I I cost and could someone explain the process.
I understand that I need to book a week at my home resort but how does the system work from there.
Many thanks

 

[siesta]

You want to sign up for II ($79 or 89 annually) and deposit your week. Then search to see if your desired vacation exchange is available, if it is not you can put in an ongoing request so when one gets deposited you can make a match. There is an exchange fee, it is discounted for marriott to marriott exchanges. Beach place will be easier exchange than crystal shores.

There are detailed instructions and screenshots in the marriott faq found here:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92689

 

[Minnie29]

Can I phone Marriott to do the exchange or do I have to phone I I or do it online?
Is a Marriott to Marriott exchange any easy option, baring in mind I will be depositing a week at Marbella Beach Resort?
Thanks

 

[siesta]

You would call II to do the exchange, if you do it online its saves you $20. However you have to call to put in an ongoing request. Also, marriott deposits often are under a preference period for some time that only other marriotts can exchange into them, therefore you stand a better chance of receiving your exchange than a non-marriott deposit.

 

[MALC9990]

Can I phone Marriott to do the exchange or do I have to phone I I or do it online?
Is a Marriott to Marriott exchange any easy option, baring in mind I will be depositing a week at Marbella Beach Resort?
Thanks

Minnie

You don't need to deal with II in the USA - II have an office ion the UK and also a call centre along side MVCI in Cork in Ireland.

To join II you can call the following number in the UK 020 8336 9292

The following link provides a great introduction to using II.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74057

It is US oriented but provides all the basic info you will need. The fee info is a bit our of date and in US$ but gives a good guide to costs. At present I am paying £71 for International exchanges (Marriott to Marriott). I do all my exchanges on-line at II's WEB site. Once you have joined and have a membership number you can set up an on-line access account to view your units (what you own) and what exchanges are availabkle on-line and also set up requests.

I Never let Marriott do any of my deposits since then they choose the week to deposit wheras I prefer to choose what I deposit.

Since we are both in the UK - you can pm me for my email address and I would be happy to offer what advice I can.

I should add that IO believe the introduction of the points based Destination Club in the USA by MVCI has been detrimental to the exchange availability of |US MVCI resorts. Like me, you probably want to plan well ahead for exchanges and booking airfares. It now seems to me that availability of US MVCI resorts is much delayed and does not appear until quite close to the check-in dates and this does not help European exchangers. I would therefore recommend you consider carefully the differences and benefits of Request First versus Deposit First exchange request.

Read the info at the link above before you make a decision.

 

[Minnie29]

If I want to do a Marriott to Marriott internal exchange do I still book my week at my home resort with Marriott first and then contact I I?
I have a Gold week so how would I determine which week in the Gold season is best for trading with Crystal Shores or BEachplace Towers in Florida?
After readings lots of threads on this site I am still a little confused which way I should go to do the Marriott internal exchange.
Any comments would be much appreciated.

 

[jdunn1]

You will need to log onto www.intervalworld.com, find your resort and then click on the "travel demand index". It's a pop-up screen that ranks the 52 weeks in a year by popularity. Figure out what weeks are in Gold at your resort and then try to book the most popular week according to Interval's travel demand index. Generally, you should book a holiday week and give that week to Interval. Do not let Marriott pick the week for you, as they will pick the least desirable week within your season and give that week to Interval.

Just to note, getting a Beach Place week should be fairly easy. However, getting a Marco Island week, even in Gold season will be much more difficult. You will likely get matched very soon to a Beach Place week, so if you really want Crystal Shores, you might want to only ask for that resort, at least for a couple months.

If I want to do a Marriott to Marriott internal exchange do I still book my week at my home resort with Marriott first and then contact I I?
I have a Gold week so how would I determine which week in the Gold season is best for trading with Crystal Shores or BEachplace Towers in Florida?
After readings lots of threads on this site I am still a little confused which way I should go to do the Marriott internal exchange.
Any comments would be much appreciated.

 

[jlp879]

There is a great resource at www.ownertrades.com/

It's for Marriott owners to exchange units with other Marriott owners. Completely free if you only do one trade a year! Avoid II and all the exchange fees, I'll sure you'll find another Marriott owner who wants to do the same.

 

[Minnie29]

Janice thanks for the advice regarding the owner trades. I have had a look at the website and it looks good. I take it it is for European Marriott resorts as well as the American ones?
If i were to decide to join and try to exchange a week, would I have to book at week at my home resort with Marriott first before looking for an exchange? How does that work?
Have you had any successful exchanges using this website?

Many thanks

 

[Clark]

No, you do not have to book a week first.

The site simply lets you find and contact owners of other resorts (all Marriott resorts, including overseas) who have indicated in interest in exchanging to your resort sometime. Then you and that someone work out reserving what each other wants and arranging for each other to be guests with key privileges.

In fact the site works best when planning a year ahead, before you or your exchange partner have booked your weeks. That way you are much more likely to meet each other's needs.

 

[jdunn1]

I love the concept of ownertrades.com, but in reality, it doesn't work so well, at least not for me. I've been a member for about four months and not one person has ever contacted me about a trade, and I own 4th of July week at OceanWatch. I have done all the contacting and Clark is right, you have to plan about a year in advance because most owners have set plans for their week 9 or so months out. I posted a trade request here on TUG and got a few inquiries but it was always for something I didn't want, like a Sheratone Broadway owner asking if I would do a trade or someone who owns a resort "near" OceanWatch wanting to do a trade. I've also found that ownertrades has a lot of people looking to trade-up. I have no prople with wanting to trade-up, but that is what II is for, you are just wasting your time on ownertrades.

I've come to the conclusion that II is best for trades. But I'm quickly learning that Redweek is a great way to go, too. You rent your week and then rent the week you want from someone else.

Crystal Shores is a really tough trade in II. Best I can tell, Marriott doesn't really do bulk deposits and I think a lot of owners know their week is worth more on Redweek than in II, so that is where most of the unused weeks go, Redweek.

Just to note, whenever I have heard of somoneon trading into Crystal Shores, it has always been in flex time.

 

[Clark]

I absolutely agree that ownertrades.com is not likely to work for you if you are trying to trade up. The whole idea of the site is to get a fair exchange with someone.

Why would anyone voluntarily trade down? I certainly would not. That only happens with Interval because people get stuck by having given up their week (deposited it) and then they wind up not being able to get something equivalent.

 

[cwtkm3]

OwnerTrades

OwnerTrades is a fantastic resource. I've had tons of offers to swap Spain for Hawaii and Aruba, unfortunately haven't been able to do so just yet. However, in 2009 I got 2 Aug weeks at Newport Coast Villas for my 2 Spanish weeks. Had it not been for OT I doubt I would have got this as II harldy ever have summer NCV weeks.