Marriott Trust Inventory Management

[windje2000]

It seems that a lot of their inventory is in undeveloped land. Inventory that they really won't place in the trust. I wonder how much inventory they have in built or to be built units.

The mix of inventory is undisclosed as far as I have read.

The most recent breakdown I have seen was in the Susquehanna MVCI presentation (see investor page at Marriott events and presentations) where it was disclosed that as of year end 2008, inventory was $2B and broke down as follows:

Completed - 37%

Work in process - 26%

Land and infrastructure for future phases - 37%

 

[dougp26364]

Reading some of the experiences posted above, it seems to me that Marriott has, whether purposefully or not, included yet another "skim" into this convoluted system. Owners are virtually guaranteed to be left with excess points, with legacy enrollees who have purchased trust points virtually guaranteed that they will have excess points left in two pots. It would take an accounting degree and a spreadsheet just to fully utilize ownership- something which 99% of owners will never do.

What a system!...

This is not unlike many points based systems. Some will allow you to spend those excess points on services. Some will let you use them to off set or pay for fee's. Some even let you convert them to something like FF miles or Hotel points. Most allow some sort of saving points to the next year or borrowing points from the next year.

If you plan things out, an owner should very rarely lose very many points if they lose any at all.

 

[mlpmd56]

Wow

Hello all,
I am a lowly EOY Odd owner of Kauai Beach resort that I bought on ebay for a pittance. Husband & I LOVED our stay there last January, so luckily I fall in the buy where you want to go category. When the points system was first rolled out, I thought, Hurray! I can buy in even though I bought resale. However Marriott made it fairly clear from the get go that I was going to be a second class citizen forever, and now this thread pretty much confirms it. So allegedly today is the last day (or maybe extended again...who knows?) and I am convinced I made the correct decision to just keep my week, not pay Marriott extra, and if I ever want to go elsewhere I will just do a "request first" with II or try to rent my week and pay rent somewhere else. Since our unit is Ocean Front (it is gorgeous and I love it!) I think I should be able to make more than the maintenance fees, and I'll probably just always go myself anyway. I have been at the Maui Schooner every year for the last 10, and I never tire of Hawaii!
Marriott has a good reputation for nice clean properties, too bad they are screwing their owners! Marcy

 

[KarenP]

I guess I'm glad I didn't convert!

I locked off and deposited my Gold MGV with II and now have an absolutely WONDERFUL exchange for a 2 bedroom on Captiva Island with my 1 bedroom for October 2012! I still have the efficiency part to exchange as well, and I'm seeing some really good trades for it as well! Seems the trick is still to plan WAY ahead and be VERY flexible to get the most out of your deposits.

 

[m61376]

This is not unlike many points based systems. Some will allow you to spend those excess points on services. Some will let you use them to off set or pay for fee's. Some even let you convert them to something like FF miles or Hotel points. Most allow some sort of saving points to the next year or borrowing points from the next year.

If you plan things out, an owner should very rarely lose very many points if they lose any at all.

The problem with Marriott is that other than banking and borrowing, there are no other options for using the leftovers, and there are strict deadlines for the banking. I think the set-up is tilted towards getting people to borrow from net year in a repetitive cycle so as not to waste points. And, with two types of points, those who bought an added 1500-2000 points will likely see shortfalls in both pots.

Of course, those with more experience with points may be more facile in maneuvering through the process, but I'm guessing the average owner won't be.

 

[dougp26364]

The problem with Marriott is that other than banking and borrowing, there are no other options for using the leftovers, and there are strict deadlines for the banking. I think the set-up is tilted towards getting people to borrow from net year in a repetitive cycle so as not to waste points. And, with two types of points, those who bought an added 1500-2000 points will likely see shortfalls in both pots.

Of course, those with more experience with points may be more facile in maneuvering through the process, but I'm guessing the average owner won't be.

As it stands now, I agree. But it's not an inherent problem with the majority of timeshares. On the other hand, I believe most timeshares have a drop dead date for saving points. DRI has several dates which may vary depending upon owner status. One does need to either keep a calender or, simply save the points early in the year and borrow them back as needed, assuming there's no charge or some sort of penalty for doing so.

Marriott has a LONG way to go to catch up with the industry standard for points based reservations system IMHO. This system, at least for us, is greared towards giving Marriott maximum flexiblity while miminizing owners flexability when compared to the two other points systems we actually own and, I suspect when compared to nearly every other points based reservations system out there. It has really soured my opinion on Marriott even being remotely owner friendly.

 

[kedler]

Customer Advocacy came through with reservation!

Well after many stops and starts and screw ups along the way (see my earlier post), a very nice Customer Advocacy representative was able to get me a mixed trust/exchange (but more exchange) 3 bedroom, ocean view at Ko Olina for 8 days - July 2-10, 2011.

 

[RBERR1]

I used my plus points to adding on two nights to an existing Cypress Harbour reservation which I found pretty easy for 600 pts and worth being able to now cancel a 75K Marriott Rewards reservation. :whoopie:

While I had the VOA on the phone, I asked the enrolled points vs. the trust points inventory question. The answer I got was separate pools with no IOUs between them and the two shall never cross.

What drives me crazy is the inconsistency in the responses. When I used the chat in the online tool on the MVCI site I got that the answer which was similar to Greg's.

Personally I just want to know the exact rules so I can play by them.

I am also working on a little experiment to see if I can forecast where there is exchange inventory and when. I will let you all know the result in a new thread when I am finished if it the experiment is successful.

 

[gblotter]

Hence the absolute need for a "request first" feature.

It makes no sense to me why anyone would convert a week to points and "hope for the best", especially those owners who can otherwise rent their weeks for $1000+ over MFs. If I don't get my exchange, Marriott won't get my week. I have the same philosophy with II...

Amen.

With the Destinations Club introduction, Marriott claimed that they were providing an improved trading mechanism in response to negative customer feedback about using Interval International. At least Interval International gives me a "request first" feature. In that respect, Marriott has clearly made things worse - not better - with the DC exchange program. Requiring owners to simply trust Marriott to do the right thing with their exchange request is ludicrous (pay no attention to that man behind the curtain). At the end of the day, Marriott will manage the various inventory pools in a way that maximizes profit for Marriott - period. We have already seen this with the "Gift of Time" weeks. As another tugger commented: "The Exchange Company has granted itself all sorts of legal rights to make changes, including changes that could be quite detrimental to some owners." Not even Marriott knows when/if they will release inventory to satisfy DC exchange requests - yet we are expected to blindly convert our weeks to points and simply trust them. Seems to me that most of these trust issues could be addressed with a "request first" feature. Then Marriott's promise would actually hold true that "you can always use your week the same way you did before".

 

[puckmanfl]

good morning...

gblotter...

You can call your trusty VOA and check availability of a DC ressie BEFORE converting to points. If you like the deal, you may then convert. Otherwise, you can keep your week. However, you cannot waitlist without converting to points!!!

This is a major weakness.... It would be nice to say, you can have my week if you snag my resssie... Kind of like the request first feature of II....