Marriott/Vistana overlay

[controller1]

Agree - they want to launch when there will be excitement over the new program and people will be eager to buy.

Given that they've just laid off a good portion of their salesforce, I don't see them launching in this environment.

Additionally, I'm not sure how much work has gone into this in the past six months during the pandemic.

 

[jabberwocky]

Additionally, I'm not sure how much work has gone into this in the past six months during the pandemic.

Good point. I imagine this is low on the list of priorities right now. They have bigger fish to fry.

 

[dioxide45]

I suspect just about anything they are planning is either scrapped for a different plan or put on pause until things turn back around. Unless there is a simple crossover booking window at say 6 or 4 months, we probably won't see anything for at least a year.

 

[Eric B]

I suspect just about anything they are planning is either scrapped for a different plan or put on pause until things turn back around. Unless there is a simple crossover booking window at say 6 or 4 months, we probably won't see anything for at least a year.

Even a simple crossover booking window could be problematic with all the restricted SOs next year....

 

[jabberwocky]

Even a simple crossover booking window could be problematic with all the restricted SOs next year....

Good point.

 

[dioxide45]

Even a simple crossover booking window could be problematic with all the restricted SOs next year....

There are also a lot of restricted DC points out there on the Marriott side. Though they could limit the ability of Holding Account and Restricted SOs from being able to cross book between the systems.

 

[DannyTS]

while I agree with everything that was said, launching now the overlay program would have some advantages:

-It would bring a drop of optimism and a sense of normality both for the remaining sales force and for the potential owners. To my surprise, I read that some people are still buying and I am pretty sure the sales force people would not mind a boost.
- It gives additional booking options and that is a good thing since many people cannot fly or have other restrictions but they could use the points somewhere else if the location they would go to is in the sister network

 

[DannyTS]

I also thing the "best" time may not come for a while so why wait? The problem with the restricted points will still be here for many months and the saved points will create availability problems for the next 2-3 years. I do not think Marriott will want to wait that long, especially if the new program is not very expensive to launch.

 

[dansimms]

A nice way to ease into a new wrinkle to the program would be to limit the usage to non-restricted destination points. That might even boost sales of add on points.

 

[cubigbird]

I also thing the "best" time may not come for a while so why wait? The problem with the restricted points will still be here for many months and the saved points will create availability problems for the next 2-3 years. I do not think Marriott will want to wait that long, especially if the new program is not very expensive to launch.

It all comes down to $$ and profit. They will launch when it’s best for the company and for shareholders. On that note, if sales and profits are down, now would be a great time to announce an overlay that can generate big $$ out of existing owners. It could be easy money during a tough economy.

 

[jabberwocky]

There are also a lot of restricted DC points out there on the Marriott side. Though they could limit the ability of Holding Account and Restricted SOs from being able to cross book between the systems.

I think if they introduced this now you may have a lot of Vistana angry owners with RSO who are now having to compete with MVC owners who have priority over them in the booking window.