Marriott Trust Inventory Management

[windje2000]

good evening...

windje..
as the presumptive #1 supporter of this sytem in these here parts..evn I am becoming concerned regarding the future. It was my initial understanding that when a Trust owner snagged Legacy inventory, an equal points equivalent of Trust inventory is placed in exchange company. This does not appear to be the case!!!

Puck - I think we all were thinking exactly that. I certainly was.

EDITED TO ADD - The end result is when a points owner snags a legacy week in the exchange co, Marriott (the Trust) gives the exchange co an IOU, which it subsequently pays off with whatever the Trust points owners don't want.

It's actually pretty sad that a company with the level of goodwill it enjoyed from satisfied customers has sunk to these depths.

I read your earlier post where you postulate that small point owners contribute less to breakage than larger point owners.

It takes one 'one day' reservation to break a week and once broken they are no longer available to weeks exchangers.

Hope you are still enjoying Hawaii!

 

[dioxide45]

Greg,

Does this mean now if you are going rent points you need to be extermely careful of what kind of points you are renting?

If someone has 4500 legacy pts and they need 5000 pts to book a vacation and then rents 500 pts from someone who only has trust points then they are potentially stuck because then they cannot be combined or may not be combined until the inventory management people move inventory over from one bucket to the other.

Rich

If you are renting points, it is important to ask for legacy or trust inventory based on what you already have. Best not to mix the two.

good evening...

windje..
as the presumptive #1 supporter of this sytem in these here parts..evn I am becoming concerned regarding the future. It was my initial understanding that when a Trust owner snagged Legacy inventory, an equal points equivalent of Trust inventory is placed in exchange company. This does not appear to be the case!!!

In my initial analogy of marbles and cookies, I essentially indicated that points were points. This is how it should work. When a trust owner books exchange inventory, those points should go in to the exchange company. Then if someone comes along with legacy points and there are enough trust points in the exchange company, that legacy owner should be able to directly book trust inventory with their legacy week going in to the exchange company.

It doesn't seem that trust owners are depositing points in to the exchange company. Marriott is cherry picking what physical inventory they will place there when a trust owner pulls off an exchange.

If trust owners deposited points, then points would be points. At least closer than they are now.

 

[puckmanfl]

good evening...

Windje...

I wasn't referring to breakage... Just talking about my own preferences. I tend to go for the high valued weeks... KL was 7000, Surfwatch 3 bedroom 6 days about 3775. It was my hypothesis that it would be easier to snag expensive weeks (4000 pts or more) from Trust inventory if all of the Trust owners only had 2000 pts each... In my example, I am better off with 50,000 trust owners with 2000 pts than 25,000 with 4000 pts...

I am home from Hawaii.. if you pm me your email I will send you the pix....

Greg gave them 2 thumbs up. Werner used them in his yesterland website...

 

[hotcoffee]

good evening...

windje..
as the presumptive #1 supporter of this sytem in these here parts..evn I am becoming concerned regarding the future. It was my initial understanding that when a Trust owner snagged Legacy inventory, an equal points equivalent of Trust inventory is placed in exchange company. This does not appear to be the case!!!

There was nothing new in Greg's very good synopsis. I think those of us who have been analyzing the system had already arrived at those same conclusions. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Since most Trust owners own relatively few points. Most of the Trust inventory is excess. There is no evidence that this will change anytime soon. Legacy weeks owners have a huge advantage in points owned over Trust owners. Enrolled legacy owners are the ones who can most readily exchange into the Hawaiian Trust inventory.

2. While it might be an over simplication to say that "when a Trust owner snagged Legacy inventory, an equal points equivalent of Trust inventory is placed in exchange company", it is still essentially a true statement. The more Trust owners exchange, the more Trust inventory becomes excess. The more Trust inventory that becomes excess, the more that will become available to legacy weeks owners.

3. In spite of what they say, it seems doubtful to me that the DC program is currently in its final form. The economy is showing no signs of any significant improvement. Survival for the spinoff company is selling points plus making the program work for everyone. I would be very surprised if the program will be successful the way it is currently structured. I do not believe there is enough incentive for buying points. And, if legacy owners do not see enough benefit in electing points, they will just take advantage of the lower cost and use their weeks as before. I think Marriott would like to see us use the program. If we cannot get our exchanges, we will not use the program.

I was told early on that Marriott has an internal organization that manages their inventories. That organization can move inventory around as needed to fill requests. The best way for us to see more Trust inventory in the exchange pool is to keep pestering them about it. Squeaky wheels still get the grease.

 

[GregT]

Greg,

Does this mean now if you are going rent points you need to be extermely careful of what kind of points you are renting?

Rich

If you are renting points, it is important to ask for legacy or trust inventory based on what you already have. Best not to mix the two.

Rich,

Dioxide has given the correct response here -- if you are renting points, it is now more important than ever to confirm the type of point you are renting (Trust/Legacy). The website referenced below (gtibbitts.tripod.com) has a Sample Points Transfer Agreement which has now been clarified to specify Legacy versus Trust Points (it's been updated last few days, previous version was not clear).

This confusion on points buckets will not stop me from renting points in or out, it will merely ensure that I am careful with what I am renting. Frankly, we may now find more dissatisfied points rentors who don't understand what they own or how to use the system.

Separately, I'm at Ko Olina now -- checked in today (great property, am in Hale Naia tower on 5th floor -- nice view (w/trees)!. Looking forward to another week!

Best to all,

Greg

 

[jazzeah]

We were just at Lakeshore for out "points presentation" and like everyone is saying they want you to buy more points. We already own 4 t/s weeks - all platinum . MGV, MOW, MGO and MLS and they told us that in order to "get the best deal and trade" we need to upgrade to the "next level" of points system. Well my hubby, always wanting to be at the "best level" purchased an additional 4K of points. We now have over 200K in Marriott inventory and I still do NOT know how to effectively use it. Our rep is too busy getting people to convert to points to help us so I am fumbling through the system rather then just booking the weeks i always use.

And at 0.40 a point we are looking at a bucket load of money to Marriott in "maintenance fees" looks like 4000 - 5000 per year. I am sure they will add another tier to get more money out of people.

My main comment is be csreful what the sales rep tells you and again as you see again - if you own where you go, that may be the best situation. We own at all 4 places and that is really the only place we ever go so I do not know why my hubby felt he had to be the top tier of points because it just costs more.

 

[dougp26364]

There was nothing new in Greg's very good synopsis. I think those of us who have been analyzing the system had already arrived at those same conclusions. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Since most Trust owners own relatively few points. Most of the Trust inventory is excess. There is no evidence that this will change anytime soon. Legacy weeks owners have a huge advantage in points owned over Trust owners. Enrolled legacy owners are the ones who can most readily exchange into the Hawaiian Trust inventory.

2. While it might be an over simplication to say that "when a Trust owner snagged Legacy inventory, an equal points equivalent of Trust inventory is placed in exchange company", it is still essentially a true statement. The more Trust owners exchange, the more Trust inventory becomes excess. The more Trust inventory that becomes excess, the more that will become available to legacy weeks owners.

3. In spite of what they say, it seems doubtful to me that the DC program is currently in its final form. The economy is showing no signs of any significant improvement. Survival for the spinoff company is selling points plus making the program work for everyone. I would be very surprised if the program will be successful the way it is currently structured. I do not believe there is enough incentive for buying points. And, if legacy owners do not see enough benefit in electing points, they will just take advantage of the lower cost and use their weeks as before. I think Marriott would like to see us use the program. If we cannot get our exchanges, we will not use the program.

I was told early on that Marriott has an internal organization that manages their inventories. That organization can move inventory around as needed to fill requests. The best way for us to see more Trust inventory in the exchange pool is to keep pestering them about it. Squeaky wheels still get the grease.

I think there is just one small correction to be made. Marriott seems to be making it abundantly clear that legacy week owners don't own points. They may give their week up for second class points (as compared to trust owners) but they still own weeks, not points.

It seems to becoming clearer that those who already own weeks will be second class when it comes to dealing in points based reservations. Weeks owners hold the edge over trust owners in weeks based exchanges.

The problem is, if you want to have the best of both worlds, you must own in both worlds. Marriott has fractured their ownership base. If you're not satisfied staying in the 53 legacy week resorts you'll either need to own trust points for those resorts or, play the waiting game until trust owners have picked over the inventory. My issue is Marriott hides that information so legacy week owners don't know what to expect.

Marriott was trying to sell this system saying their owners told them they didn't like I.I.'s system. Unfortunately, Marriott has done little to improve on I.I.'s system. It is not transparent and Marriott will do whatever Marriott wants to do, then say trust us. Sorry, I don't trust Marriott. If I want a points based reservations system I'll buy more HGVC or DRI points. Heck, I probably look at ANY points based reservations system rather than dive into Marriott's points House of Horrors.

The entire advantage of a points based reservations system is KNOWING what's available and WHEN it will come available. With HGVC, that's 9 months before the check out date. With DRI it's 10 months before the check in date. With Marriott, if you're a legacy week owner wanting a trust based week, who knows when it might become available. I'm not even convinced Marriott knows when they might release inventory. This system is NO BETTER than I.I.'s system with it's hidden exchange values.

 

[puckmanfl]

good morning

Doug...
best post yet on these issues... I think you nailed it!!!!

 

[DanCali]

It seems to becoming clearer that those who already own weeks will be second class when it comes to dealing in points based reservations...

My issue is Marriott hides that information so legacy week owners don't know what to expect...

This system is NO BETTER than I.I.'s system with it's hidden exchange values...

And congrats to Marriott for hiding the reality so well that it took most Tuggers a year to figure this out.

Where's that inventory buckets manual explaining the reservations and exchange procedures???

 

[windje2000]

And congrats to Marriott for hiding the reality so well that it took most Tuggers a year to figure this out.

Where's that inventory buckets manual explaining the reservations and exchange procedures???

Shorter Greg T - The end result is when a points owner snags a legacy week in the exchange co, Marriott (the Trust) gives the exchange co an IOU, which it subsequently pays off with whatever the Trust points owners don't want.


Are they doing the same thing with the corporate II account? They're getting something in return for the bundled fees . . . . and priority access to exchange inventory is essential for selling points.

 

[wvacations]

We were just at Lakeshore for out "points presentation" and like everyone is saying they want you to buy more points. We already own 4 t/s weeks - all platinum . MGV, MOW, MGO and MLS and they told us that in order to "get the best deal and trade" we need to upgrade to the "next level" of points system. Well my hubby, always wanting to be at the "best level" purchased an additional 40K of points. We now have over 200K in Marriott inventory and I still do NOT know how to effectively use it. Our rep is too busy getting people to convert to points to help us so I am fumbling through the system rather then just booking the weeks i always use.

And at 0.40 a point we are looking at a bucket load of money to Marriott in "maintenance fees" looks like 4000 - 5000 per year. I am sure they will add another tier to get more money out of people.

My main comment is be csreful what the sales rep tells you and again as you see again - if you own where you go, that may be the best situation. We own at all 4 places and that is really the only place we ever go so I do not know why my hubby felt he had to be the top tier of points because it just costs more.

WOW! 40,000 additional points? What level did that you you. As I understand the top level is 13,500 points. Also you may want to prepare for a larger MF bill in January than $4,000-$5.000. 40,000 trust points at $.40 per points is $16,000 in MF plus the MF form the other 4 resorts that you own weeks. Not sure of the MF on the other 4 resorts, but looks like you need toset aside about $20,000 for the bills.

That is quite a purchase and trust in company that do not understand!!

Good luck!

 

[windje2000]

WOW! 40,000 additional points? What level did that you you. As I understand the top level is 13,500 points. Also you may want to prepare for a larger MF bill in January than $4,000-$5.000. 40,000 trust points at $.40 per points is $16,000 in MF plus the MF form the other 4 resorts that you own weeks. Not sure of the MF on the other 4 resorts, but looks like you need toset aside about $20,000 for the bills.

That is quite a purchase and trust in company that do not understand!!

Good luck!

I added a $ sign in front of the 40K when I read that post.

40,000 points is $400,000. WOW! would be exactly right.

 

[m61376]

We were just at Lakeshore for out "points presentation" and like everyone is saying they want you to buy more points. We already own 4 t/s weeks - all platinum . MGV, MOW, MGO and MLS and they told us that in order to "get the best deal and trade" we need to upgrade to the "next level" of points system. Well my hubby, always wanting to be at the "best level" purchased an additional 40K of points. We now have over 200K in Marriott inventory and I still do NOT know how to effectively use it. Our rep is too busy getting people to convert to points to help us so I am fumbling through the system rather then just booking the weeks i always use.

And at 0.40 a point we are looking at a bucket load of money to Marriott in "maintenance fees" looks like 4000 - 5000 per year. I am sure they will add another tier to get more money out of people.

My main comment is be csreful what the sales rep tells you and again as you see again - if you own where you go, that may be the best situation. We own at all 4 places and that is really the only place we ever go so I do not know why my hubby felt he had to be the top tier of points because it just costs more.

If you truly bought 40K points, I would see if you are in the recission period and rescind while you can and rethink this purchase.

 

[MALC9990]

I think there is just one small correction to be made. Marriott seems to be making it abundantly clear that legacy week owners don't own points. They may give their week up for second class points (as compared to trust owners) but they still own weeks, not points.

It seems to becoming clearer that those who already own weeks will be second class when it comes to dealing in points based reservations. Weeks owners hold the edge over trust owners in weeks based exchanges.

The problem is, if you want to have the best of both worlds, you must own in both worlds. Marriott has fractured their ownership base. If you're not satisfied staying in the 53 legacy week resorts you'll either need to own trust points for those resorts or, play the waiting game until trust owners have picked over the inventory. My issue is Marriott hides that information so legacy week owners don't know what to expect.

Marriott was trying to sell this system saying their owners told them they didn't like I.I.'s system. Unfortunately, Marriott has done little to improve on I.I.'s system. It is not transparent and Marriott will do whatever Marriott wants to do, then say trust us. Sorry, I don't trust Marriott. If I want a points based reservations system I'll buy more HGVC or DRI points. Heck, I probably look at ANY points based reservations system rather than dive into Marriott's points House of Horrors.

The entire advantage of a points based reservations system is KNOWING what's available and WHEN it will come available. With HGVC, that's 9 months before the check out date. With DRI it's 10 months before the check in date. With Marriott, if you're a legacy week owner wanting a trust based week, who knows when it might become available. I'm not even convinced Marriott knows when they might release inventory. This system is NO BETTER than I.I.'s system with it's hidden exchange values.

My experience of the MVCIAP points system as a both a weeks owner at Phuket Beach Club and a MVCIAP points owner is that this is very true. To exploit the systemk to the best advantage you need to be in both systems.

The big advantages that the MVCIAP points systems offer over the DC are:

1. I can exchange my Phuket Beach Club Weeks for MVCIAP points and there is only ONE Points Bucket. Points in MVCIAP are Points. To do this I need to have an MVCIAP points account with a minimum number of points.

2. There is an online booking system for making MVCIAP resort reservations - so I can see what is available online at any point upto 13 months out.

The downside is the small number of resorts included in the system.

What we really need is a sinlgle Global MVCI Weeks/Points system covering all resorts everywhere with a single points bucket that WE CAN ALL ACCESS.

 

[jazzeah]

typo - 4k points

sorry that was typo - it was 4K pts, too many $ for all of it

 

[hotcoffee]

I think there is just one small correction to be made. Marriott seems to be making it abundantly clear that legacy week owners don't own points. They may give their week up for second class points (as compared to trust owners) but they still own weeks, not points. . . .

Enrolled weeks owners who elect points get significantly more points on average than Trust owners are buying. I don't see that changing any time soon. Who is going to use all of that Hawaiian inventory in the Trust? Is it going to be someone with 2000 points or someone with 4000 or 5000 points?

Why would Marriott keep valuable weeks in the Trust inventory that cannot be used by Trust owners? As I have said in other threads, they can rent it, move it to the points inventory, or bulk it into II. What are they likely to do with it?

The problem that I see with the program is that those who weeks owners wanting to reserve their week with points gain no advantage at all by exchanging at 13 months, and get very little advantage exchanging at 12 months. So, there is no point in being Premier or Premier-plus since the best exchanges will probably not be available until 10 months or less.

Legacy points are not inferior to Trust points. Legacy owners own at their resorts, and Trust owners own Trust inventory. Trust owners can only reserve weeks that they have enough points for. Legacy owners have more points to use and can snag better weeks at better resorts as they reach the exchange inventory. The caveat is that it appears that most weeks will probably not reach the exchange inventory until less than 12 months out.

I'd be more concerned if it appeared that Marriott is selling points like hotcakes, and everyone were buying 5000 and 6000 points apiece. It that were true, there would be a pretty good reason for believing that the best weeks will never reach the exchange inventory.

I think the current system threatens legacy weeks owners more who don't enroll but exchange via II a lot. They are the ones who are going to be deprived of the excess Trust inventory that probably would have otherwise been bulked into II. It is now likely to not hit the II enventory until late - after it becomes clear to Marriott that DC members are not going to reserve it.

 

[dioxide45]

sorry that was typo - it was 4K pts, too many $ for all of it

I think you may have also had an extra zero on your total? Did you mean you have a total of 20K in points instead of 200K?

The problem that I see with the program is that those who weeks owners wanting to reserve their week with points gain no advantage at all by exchanging at 13 months, and get very little advantage exchanging at 12 months. So, there is no point in being Premier or Premier-plus since the best exchanges will probably not be available until 10 months or less.

The only advantage for Premier Plus owners is booking less than 7 nights at the 13 month mark.

Legacy points are not inferior to Trust points. Legacy owners own at their resorts, and Trust owners own Trust inventory.

Trust owners however can reserve at more home resorts where there is lots of trust inventory. Once I deposit a week for points, I can only see exchange inventory. A trust owner can request first for exchange inventory, a legacy owner can not.

My experience of the MVCIAP points system as a both a weeks owner at Phuket Beach Club and a MVCIAP points owner is that this is very true. To exploit the systemk to the best advantage you need to be in both systems.

The big advantages that the MVCIAP points systems offer over the DC are:

1. I can exchange my Phuket Beach Club Weeks for MVCIAP points and there is only ONE Points Bucket. Points in MVCIAP are Points. To do this I need to have an MVCIAP points account with a minimum number of points.

2. There is an online booking system for making MVCIAP resort reservations - so I can see what is available online at any point upto 13 months out.

The downside is the small number of resorts included in the system.

What we really need is a sinlgle Global MVCI Weeks/Points system covering all resorts everywhere with a single points bucket that WE CAN ALL ACCESS.

Did MVCIAP weeks owners actually sign their deeds over to Marriott when they signed up for MVCIAP? I honestly think this is where DC has to go. They are selling enrollments now. I can see it now, ten years down the road they will be selling us the new "option". For only another $595-$1995 you can pay us to convert your deeds to trust deeds. What a deal!

 

[dougp26364]

Enrolled weeks owners who elect points get significantly more points on average than Trust owners are buying. I don't see that changing any time soon. Who is going to use all of that Hawaiian inventory in the Trust? Is it going to be someone with 2000 points or someone with 4000 or 5000 points?

Why would Marriott keep valuable weeks in the Trust inventory that cannot be used by Trust owners? As I have said in other threads, they can rent it, move it to the points inventory, or bulk it into II. What are they likely to do with it?

The problem that I see with the program is that those who weeks owners wanting to reserve their week with points gain no advantage at all by exchanging at 13 months, and get very little advantage exchanging at 12 months. So, there is no point in being Premier or Premier-plus since the best exchanges will probably not be available until 10 months or less.

Legacy points are not inferior to Trust points. Legacy owners own at their resorts, and Trust owners own Trust inventory. Trust owners can only reserve weeks that they have enough points for. Legacy owners have more points to use and can snag better weeks at better resorts as they reach the exchange inventory. The caveat is that it appears that most weeks will probably not reach the exchange inventory until less than 12 months out.

I'd be more concerned if it appeared that Marriott is selling points like hotcakes, and everyone were buying 5000 and 6000 points apiece. It that were true, there would be a pretty good reason for believing that the best weeks will never reach the exchange inventory.

I think the current system threatens legacy weeks owners more who don't enroll but exchange via II a lot. They are the ones who are going to be deprived of the excess Trust inventory that probably would have otherwise been bulked into II. It is now likely to not hit the II enventory until late - after it becomes clear to Marriott that DC members are not going to reserve it.

What I was pointing out was that legacy weeks owners don't actually own points. They own weeks. Marriott, for a price, allows legacy weeks to be converted to what amounts to second hand points. They're converted weeks points. Legacy owners don't own any points.

Legacy points stand behind trust points, even if they are given considerably more of them, when it comes to reserving trust inventory. What good is having 50,000 points from converted legacy weeks when you have to wait for all those 2,000 point trust owners to make up their mind before you can reserve trust inventory?

Trust owners own points. Legacy week owners own weeks that can be converted to second hand points with less value in the trust system than trust points. Legacy week owners, no matter how many points they have, will always stand behind trust owners when booking trust inventory, no matter how few trust points a trust owner has.

Right now Legacy week owners do have the advantage in reserving legacy week inventory. Fortunately, that's the majority of the inventory. Marriott does appear to be doing it's best to aquire inventory for trust owners, so this will change.

Marriott is also keeping everything beneath the table. Trust Marriott they say but, we're not going to show you. This is no better than I.I.'s deposit/request and hope system. The exception is you know if you have enough points. You just don't know if you have the right type of points to get the inventory available or, if/when Marriott will move/exchange inventory from one bucket to the other so you can reserve your week.

Marriott had a chance to have the best points based timeshare system in the world. Instead, they have the worst. It's all about control and Marriott has kept all the control.

 

[dougp26364]

And congrats to Marriott for hiding the reality so well that it took most Tuggers a year to figure this out.

Where's that inventory buckets manual explaining the reservations and exchange procedures???

I think I was right in there with calling this program a turd from the begining. In fact, I believe Perry and I flip flopped positions once the program hit the streets. I had thought it would be a great program, much like others already on the market. Perry thought it would be a windfall to Marriott with Marriott keeping all the control. As far as I'm concerned, Perry's initial thoughts before the program was released was correct.

Marriott is holding all the cards and not allowing owners any real information about how the exchange process works. So how is this any better than I.I.'s exchange process? Wait, I know, it's brining money into Marriott!

All other points based systems I'm aware of set a home resort advantage that is specified. You KNOW when you can reserve if you own a certain type of week or ownership. You KNOW when inventory is released to the general ownership for reservations. What you don't know is how many owners will book their home resort week and how much inventory will be open those wanting to exchange. After a couple of years owners get a good feel for what supply is there for internal exchanges.

An example would be HGVC and Hawaii. I know that, if I want to book HHV on Oahu, I'd better be ready to book right at the 9 month mark if I want a 7 night stay. There are to many Orlando and Vegas owners competing for the same weeks and they go fast. If I want to book just about any other HGVC location it's not so important as there is almost always inventory.

With DRI, I know that Maui always has good availablity up until about 3 or 4 months before check in dates. I know that waiting until less than 59 days (reservations are often half price) is a risk and may result in only having studio units available if it's high season.

With Marriott, I'm still guessing. Marriott holds all the cards. Owners don't know what's available, if it's available, what sort of points (legacy or trust) can book a vacation, when Marriott will release inventory et......

This system is not about owners. It's about Marriott finding a way to sell partial weeks at resorts that weren't selling the expensive full week ownership. Marriott keeps all control. Owners are still guessing at what they can get for and exchange and when it will come through.

 

[dougp26364]

My experience of the MVCIAP points system as a both a weeks owner at Phuket Beach Club and a MVCIAP points owner is that this is very true. To exploit the systemk to the best advantage you need to be in both systems.

The big advantages that the MVCIAP points systems offer over the DC are:

1. I can exchange my Phuket Beach Club Weeks for MVCIAP points and there is only ONE Points Bucket. Points in MVCIAP are Points. To do this I need to have an MVCIAP points account with a minimum number of points.

2. There is an online booking system for making MVCIAP resort reservations - so I can see what is available online at any point upto 13 months out.

The downside is the small number of resorts included in the system.

What we really need is a sinlgle Global MVCI Weeks/Points system covering all resorts everywhere with a single points bucket that WE CAN ALL ACCESS.

BINGO!

If Marriott had done this, it might have been the best system in the timeshare world. It could have been a giant killer! Unfortunately greed seems to have stood in the way. Marriott was to focused on trying to move expensive inventory by selling partial weeks in the form of small points packages that won't get those owners anywhere except for a few nights here and there.

 

[dougp26364]

...............They are selling enrollments now. I can see it now, ten years down the road they will be selling us the new "option". For only another $595-$1995 you can pay us to convert your deeds to trust deeds. What a deal!

I feel the same way about this. DRI (use to be Sunterra) started out with weeks, then went to points and now sells only trust style ownerships. Over the years things have gone from owning weeks to joining the points based internal exchange system to converting deeded weeks to trust based ownership. DRI continues to ask me if I would like to give up my weeks for an ownership in one of their trusts.

The difference is DRI has a few different trusts. Ownership is in one of those trust and you have home resort adavantage for that group of trusts. I can see Marriott doing something similar down the road to milk more cash out of their current owner base.

 

[hotcoffee]

No one will get any arguments from me over whether or not Marriott's system is a flawed system. I can see its flaws. However, I have gotten pretty much what I wanted both years so far. That did not always happen with II. So, right now, the system seems to be working for me.

Overall, I'm not very optimistic about the future of DC. In fact, I am not very optimistic about the future of timesharing in general. I think the best days for timesharing are behind us now. I think it is going to be a struggle for the spinoff company to survive. That is not only because DC is a flawed program (which it is), but also because I don't think there is going to be many people willing to shell out $50,000 to buy points in this economy. So, what would be the incentive to buy points at all? Their Explorer program seemed good at first until I noticed how many points it takes to do the best vacations. In the Trust, the best inventory requires too many points to reserve. I assume that they are trying to sell shorter vacations. So, I guess they think they can get people to fly all the way to Hawaii for three nights at Ko Olina. Well, I do not see that happening from anywhere except maybe the west coast. If the DC program really were to fail, the spinoff company would go down in flames; and Marriott timesharing would be history.

I agree that there should be just one points pot. I don't know if they can do that legally or not, though. The Trust is real estate. But if they can, one points pot would give everyone, Trust owners as well as weeks owners, access to everyone else's inventory to the benefit of all.

 

[dioxide45]

I agree that there should be just one points pot. I don't know if they can do that legally or not, though. The Trust is real estate. But if they can, one points pot would give everyone, Trust owners as well as weeks owners, access to everyone else's inventory to the benefit of all.

I think they can treat it as one pot. At least at a predetermined time before checkin. Other systems don't seem to have an issue doing that. They just need to provide the proper disclosures and write in to the trust documents that at x date before checkin, all inventory gets placed in to the exchange company.

 

[taffy19]

No one will get any arguments from me over whether or not Marriott's system is a flawed system. I can see its flaws. However, I have gotten pretty much what I wanted both years so far. That did not always happen with II. So, right now, the system seems to be working for me.

Overall, I'm not very optimistic about the future of DC. In fact, I am not very optimistic about the future of timesharing in general. I think the best days for timesharing are behind us now. I think it is going to be a struggle for the spinoff company to survive. That is not only because DC is a flawed program (which it is), but also because I don't think there is going to be many people willing to shell out $50,000 to buy points in this economy. So, what would be the incentive to buy points at all? Their Explorer program seemed good at first until I noticed how many points it takes to do the best vacations. In the Trust, the best inventory requires too many points to reserve. I assume that they are trying to sell shorter vacations. So, I guess they think they can get people to fly all the way to Hawaii for three nights at Ko Olina. Well, I do not see that happening from anywhere except maybe the west coast. If the DC program really were to fail, the spinoff company would go down in flames; and Marriott timesharing would be history.

I agree that there should be just one points pot. I don't know if they can do that legally or not, though. The Trust is real estate. But if they can, one points pot would give everyone, Trust owners as well as weeks owners, access to everyone else's inventory to the benefit of all.

We were told by two different Sales Managers at two different resorts very recently that BIG changes are coming at the end of the year but they wouldn't say what these changes are.

We enrolled with the idea of taking one of the explorer packages (Safari) but then noticed too that they take anywhere from 16,000 to 20,000 points so how many years of saving up would this mean for a lot of people who do not even get 3,000 or 4,000 points? It would take forever. It would even take three years for us so that took care of that. No way are we giving up our fixed/week unit on Maui for three years on a row.

Marriott will have to do something to make the program more user friendly for everyone or it will not succeed in this economy. Traveling is a luxury and will get even more so if the economy doesn't change for the better which I doubt will happen.

Maybe the best thing is to bail out now before everyone wants to sell their Marriott timeshare.

 

[DanCali]

As I have said in other threads, they can rent it, move it to the points inventory, or bulk it into II. What are they likely to do with it?

Isn't it obvious they would rent it for a profit?

Isn't that what they are doing with the "Gift of Time"?

Marriott is in the business of making money, not pleasing owners who pay MFs and DC dues regardless of the draconian rules Marriott makes up and doesn't share with the owners..