MVC Villa Assignment Policies

[Superchief]

I have noticed several postings in this forum regarding how MVC resort villa assignment requests are prioritized. I have had discussions with those responsible for assigning room locations at Ocean Pointe and Newport Coast Villas, and both provided the same answer. This is their input regarding priorities: (Listed in order of priority)

Owner staying at home resort:
Multiple week owner at resort
Single week owner at resort, multiple MVC owner
Single week owner at resort, no other MVC resorts
Non-owner at resort, Multiple MVC owner elsewhere
Non-owner at resort, single MVC owner elsewhere
Exchanger, non MVC owner
Renter/ Point user

If you are a preferred Marriot Rewards member (platinum/gold/silver), your status will give you priority over others within your 'category', but not move you up a category. I was told there is no distinction between direct vs. resale owners, since all would be classified as MVC owners. Since the room assignments do not begin until 30 days in advance, it does not help to make your request prior to that time.

I have noticed that preassigned units are sometimes changed at check-in due to 'pressure' put on the often young, inexperienced front desk personnel. At Ocean Pointe, I saw an aggresive non-MVC exchanger 'force' the receptionist to changing his room, and noticed he was assigned a location normally given to multiple week MVC owners. Therefore, the time you check-in could impact your location.

Have other owners have experiences that are consistent with these policies?
Has your experience varied by resort?

 

[donblu]

We're a relatively new multi-week owner so we're interested in hearing info from others on your experiences with room assignments.

In addition, does anyone know how room assignments are handled when a multi-week owner is using a rented II Getaway week at a Marriott propoerty. Would it be as a "renter" or as a "non owner at resort, multiple MVC owner elsewhere"?

 

[m61376]

We're a relatively new multi-week owner so we're interested in hearing info from others on your experiences with room assignments.

In addition, does anyone know how room assignments are handled when a multi-week owner is using a rented II Getaway week at a Marriott propoerty. Would it be as a "renter" or as a "non owner at resort, multiple MVC owner elsewhere"?

There have been several posts by others indicating that it made a big difference if room assignment personnel were informed that you were a multiple week Marriott owner.

 

[dioxide45]

When ever you exchange in or use a getaway be sure to indicate that you are a Marriott owner or multi week Marriott owner when you make your room request. If you are exchanging in to your home resort, be sure to let them know this too. Some resorts check this automatically (Cypress Harbour for one), other don't bother to see if you own anywhere else or even own at the resort you are exchangeing in to.

 

[Dean]

I have noticed several postings in this forum regarding how MVC resort villa assignment requests are prioritized. I have had discussions with those responsible for assigning room locations at Ocean Pointe and Newport Coast Villas, and both provided the same answer. This is their input regarding priorities: (Listed in order of priority)

Owner staying at home resort:
Multiple week owner at resort
Single week owner at resort, multiple MVC owner
Single week owner at resort, no other MVC resorts
Non-owner at resort, Multiple MVC owner elsewhere
Non-owner at resort, single MVC owner elsewhere
Exchanger, non MVC owner
Renter/ Point user

If you are a preferred Marriot Rewards member (platinum/gold/silver), your status will give you priority over others within your 'category', but not move you up a category. I was told there is no distinction between direct vs. resale owners, since all would be classified as MVC owners. Since the room assignments do not begin until 30 days in advance, it does not help to make your request prior to that time.

I have noticed that preassigned units are sometimes changed at check-in due to 'pressure' put on the often young, inexperienced front desk personnel. At Ocean Pointe, I saw an aggresive non-MVC exchanger 'force' the receptionist to changing his room, and noticed he was assigned a location normally given to multiple week MVC owners. Therefore, the time you check-in could impact your location.

Have other owners have experiences that are consistent with these policies?
Has your experience varied by resort?

While a little more detailed than they usually state, that info is consistent overall with my experience and information. A couple of points though, they rarely look beyond their job at hand and as a rule, only use the weeks you're staying, not the weeks you own as a guide. Thus, I think a more practical list is this:

• Owner staying multiple weeks or in multiple units
• Owner staying for one week in 1 unit.
• non Owner/Marriott exchanger staying multiple weeks or in multiple units
• non Owner/Marriott exchanger staying for one week in 1 unit.
• Cash guest
• non Owner/non Marriott exchanger staying multiple weeks or in multiple units
• non Owner/non Marriott exchanger staying for one week in 1 unit.

Generally they won't give you a category that's not what you own or have traded for but at times they will if they have extras. You're right about the squeaky wheel, not just at Marriott.

 

[Superchief]

MVC representatives have told me that there is no benefit in making a location request prior to the 30-60 days in advance of the reservation. Have others found this to be the case?

Ocean Pointe provides the option to make your villa assignment request online in the owners section of MVC. You are able to indicate the order of your priorities. I find this to be very helpful and wish that other MVC resorts offered it.

 

[Bee]

Superchief,

You have renter/point user at the bottom of the list. I don't know anything about where the point user falls, as I purchased resale. However a renter is entilted to the view catagory the owner he rents from owns.

Bee

 

[Dean]

MVC representatives have told me that there is no benefit in making a location request prior to the 30-60 days in advance of the reservation. Have others found this to be the case?

Ocean Pointe provides the option to make your villa assignment request online in the owners section of MVC. You are able to indicate the order of your priorities. I find this to be very helpful and wish that other MVC resorts offered it.

Actually as long as it gets in the comments, it doesn't matter until about 2 to 2.5 weeks out. It largely depends on when then room assigners for that location start planning. It's also helpful to contact the resort about 2-3 weeks out and make sure they have the info in the comments section. There appears to be no specific benefit to when you reserved or when you placed the request from what I've seen.

Superchief,

You have renter/point user at the bottom of the list. I don't know anything about where the point user falls, as I purchased resale. However a renter is entilted to the view catagory the owner he rents from owns.

Bee

Not only that, a private renter will get owner assignment preferences. In this case it's likely referring to cash renter through Marriott directly.

 

[dioxide45]

Superchief,

You have renter/point user at the bottom of the list. I don't know anything about where the point user falls, as I purchased resale. However a renter is entilted to the view catagory the owner he rents from owns.

Bee

If you are renting from Marriott I would think you also get the view you paid for. If you reserve an ocean front, you will get that. If you reserve garden view, that is what you will get. It is possible though you could get an upgrade based on elite status.

 

[ldanna]

MVC representatives have told me that there is no benefit in making a location request prior to the 30-60 days in advance of the reservation. Have others found this to be the case?

Ocean Pointe provides the option to make your villa assignment request online in the owners section of MVC. You are able to indicate the order of your priorities. I find this to be very helpful and wish that other MVC resorts offered it.

Is that possible to send an email with your request to the resort or I always have to call?

 

[davewasbaloo]

every property we have stayed at, we have been contacted in advance via e-mail and asked where we would like to stay in the resort (even with getaways). We have been fortunate to get every request we have asked for:

Ile de France - Overlooking the pool on the kids' club side
Playa - main pool building with a sea view
Son Antem - near the clubhouse and pools
Newport Coast - near the pool, ground floor, ocean view.

Awesome.

 

[thinze3]

... If you are a preferred Marriot Rewards member (platinum/gold/silver), your status will give you priority over others within your 'category', but not move you up a category...

This has been very recently disputed here on Tug. The T&C of Marriott Rewards clearly state no upgrades at MVCI, but Elite status preference is not technically an upgrade.

When ever you exchange in or use a getaway be sure to indicate that you are a Marriott owner or multi week Marriott owner when you make your room request. If you are exchanging in to your home resort, be sure to let them know this too...

I just called to make sure Ko Olina had my building requests correct and to add the fact that I am a multiweek owner. The lady said that there was no mention of that on my reservation. I also told her that I was now Gold Elite, but she stated that the reservation already indicated so.

 

[Superchief]

The only time I have been unhappy with my requested room location was when I checked in later in the evening. I believe that the front desk people sometimes switch the assigned villas if an earlier arriving guest makes a fuss. Have others had this experience?

Idanna,
Ocean Pointe has a room location form in the resort owners section of the MVC website. I am not aware of other MVC resorts who have this option. I will send an email if I know the email address of the resort manager or the person responsible for villa assignments. Otherwise, I always call about 30 days prior to my stay.

 

[dougp26364]

There are some variations from resort to resort as to Villa assignments but, not a great deal of varriance.

For instance, I've found that at some of the resorts, the view the owner deposits is the view given to I.I. for exchange and the view you exchange into. Owners of ocean side units are not automatically upgraded to ocean front units (or downgraded to city/island view units) just because another owner deposited that particular view with Interval.

As an example, if I'm an owner of an ocean view unit at Ocean Pointe, I may find someone who has exchanged from outside the Marriott system staying in an Ocean Front unit rather than room control upgrading me to that view. This has been a point of contention for the ocean view owners at this resort but, that's the way it is. I've also spoken with renters who were in ocean front units rather than owners of ocean view units.

Since we know that the sleeping configuration for the master suite 2 bedroom section of the 3 bedroom LO is at Ocean Pointe and, we know that all 3 bedroom units are ocean front, when exchanging into this resort I've found I can watch for those particular unit sleeping capacity and can snag one on exchange, even when not using one of my Marriott units to do so.

So in addition to the above stated "rules", you can toss in that some resorts will keep an exchanger in the view they've exchange for through Interval. To check you view assignment, all you have to do is plug your reservation # (not the interval confirmation # but the resort reservation #) into the Marriott web site (Marriott hotels not my vacation-club.com) and it will tell you what view you have. I know that we have an island view unit at Waiohai for next March by doing this. I knew that we had an ocean view unit at Barony a couple of years ago vs being in a garden unit. Of course some resorts have only one view so this method isn't any help.

 

[ldanna]

Since we know that the sleeping configuration for the master suite 2 bedroom section of the 3 bedroom LO is at Ocean Pointe and, we know that all 3 bedroom units are ocean front, when exchanging into this resort I've found I can watch for those particular unit sleeping capacity and can snag one on exchange, even when not using one of my Marriott units to do so.

Does it mean you look for 2 twin beds on the second room instead of a king?

 

[dioxide45]

Does it mean you look for 2 twin beds on the second room instead of a king?

I would think that the 2BR portion of a 3BR lock off would have two queens in the second bedroom, not sure how this changes the sleeping capacity though. Most units I have seen on II have a 6/2/8 arrangement. Not sure what type of 2BR this is though.

 

[NJMOM2]

We exchanged into Ocean Pointe last November and ended up with an ocean front unit. It was the 2 bedroom part of the 3 bedroom unit and the second bedroom only has 2 twin beds.

 

[Superchief]

I copied this information directly from the MVC Ocean Pointe resort website. I wish other MVC offered clearly stated policies regarding this issue. It appears from other postings that many multiple week owners are not assigned the preferred locations within their 'view' category.

Ocean Pointe Villa Assignments
Requests are handled (and granted when available) in the following order:
• Ocean Pointe multiple-week Owners occupying their ownership weeks ("in season")
• Ocean Pointe single-week Owners occupying their ownership week ("in season")
• Ocean Pointe multiple-week Owners exchanging through Interval International
• Ocean Pointe single-week Owners exchanging through Interval International
• Multiple-week Marriott Owners at another Marriott Vacation Club International resort exchanging into Ocean Pointe through Interval International
• Single-week Marriott Owners at another Marriott Vacation Club International resort exchanging into Ocean Pointe through Interval International
• Guests visiting Ocean Pointe on a Sales Preview Package
• Ocean Pointe Owners that are renting a guest room or villa
• Marriott Reward Members that are visiting Ocean Pointe on Marriott Reward point redemption
• Guests that are renting a guest room or villa
• Owners of resorts outside Marriott Vacation Club International exchanging into Ocean Pointe through Interval International
Please note: Reservations made through Interval International are completely managed and controlled by Interval International and subject to the villa and guest room deposits made by our Owners. While we may have larger units available on a rental basis, the unit size that II confirms to you may not be altered or upgraded here at the resort.

As someone mentioned earlier, if you are renting directly from an owner, you receive the preferred status of that owner. This policy is only good within the reserved view (Oceanfront or Oceanview)

Now, if we can only make sure that the check-in people don't change the preassigned villas

 

[thinze3]

So if you're an Ocean Pointe owner renting a room you will be second fiddle to some outsider getting a room for half of nothing on a preview package. That stinks!

Last time I was at Waiohai I rented a second room for inlaws and was worried about this. They (Waiohai) told me that the view of my rented room would be upgraded to match my ownership room in order to allow us to be side-by-side. We both had great views.

 

[dioxide45]

Ocean Pointe actually has a weekly session as a part of their MAZE activities where you are invited to take part in a presentation/discussion regarding room assignment. Never attended it though.

So if you're an Ocean Pointe owner renting a room you will be second fiddle to some outsider getting a room for half of nothing on a preview package. That stinks!

I can understand this from Marriott's point of view. They are letting someone use the room who may potentially be paying big bucks for a week of their own. If they are given a cruddy view they are unhappy with, I would think that would significantly lower their desire to buy a week.

 

[Superchief]

I think it is interesting that Marriott Rewards points redeemers are at the bottom of the list. If this is the policy at other MVC resorts it definitely is better to exchange than redeem for points. I am curious whether this will change now that point levels have increased.

I have been satisfied with my villa locations at Ocean Pointe except for my one visit in which I was exchanging through II.

 

[dioxide45]

I think it is interesting that Marriott Rewards points redeemers are at the bottom of the list. If this is the policy at other MVC resorts it definitely is better to exchange than redeem for points. I am curious whether this will change now that point levels have increased.

.

I would think if you are using points to reserve in and you are also an owner, you could indicate such in your request and would be placed in a higher category.

I also don't think you can use your points from trading a unit in to stay at another MVCI resort, so you would actually be using points from other sources.

 

[thinze3]

... I can understand this from Marriott's point of view. They are letting someone use the room who may potentially be paying big bucks for a week of their own. If they are given a cruddy view they are unhappy with, I would think that would significantly lower their desire to buy a week.

I did a preview in 2001 at Maui Ocean Club and was given dumpster view. My coworker did a preview at KoOlina last summer and got parking lot view.

Of course, I now own Marriotts and he is wanting to back on another Marriott preview soon (Kauai or Maui).

 

[JimIg23]

I have always gotten what I have requested so far. It will be interesting because I am checking into OP soon. I called a few weeks before (I had to leave a message) They called backwithin a day confirming they had my room request and that they knew I was a Marriott owner.

I asked for an upper floor Sailfish. We will see.

 

[dioxide45]

I have always gotten what I have requested so far. It will be interesting because I am checking into OP soon. I called a few weeks before (I had to leave a message) They called backwithin a day confirming they had my room request and that they knew I was a Marriott owner.

I asked for an upper floor Sailfish. We will see.

The great thing about Ocean Pointe is that they have an online form at the my-vacationclub.com website under the owners tab. You don't have to be a MPB owner to use it, just a Marriott owner to access it. Though I would think the website it redirects you to doesn't require any authentication.