MVC - We have so many questions!

[beepboop541]

Hello all,
My SO and I solely stay at Marriott locations as we are Gold Elite members. We travel at least 2 weeks every year, and take multiple weekend trips with just us two. We're both in our mid twenties and recently went to the MVC presentation for the $299 Orlando villa deal. We didn't buy a timeshare as that is way too expensive for our taste and it didn't seem worth it. However, we did want some additional clarification on what the MVC is and if you can either buy the timeshare like others do for $1, or rent the points from others. Renting would be of interest to us if it's more practical than how we have already been booking. For background, we went into this knowing nothing about timeshares except how bad they are often explained to be.

Things the salesman told us:
- We could stay anywhere available that Marriott was located
- 2 weeks a year
- No exchange fees
- Maintenance fee would go up by cents (According to this forum, this is a lie)
- Disney Vacation Club is joining Marriott (??)
- You can resell your timeshare back to Marriott if paid off, for 50% what you paid (Again from what I see on this forum, this is not true)
- Our airfare + hotel bookings will go towards our bonvoy membership.

A few questions:
- What really is MVC?
- What are the benefits you experienced with MVC? (Things just seemed too good to be true from the sales rep, so I want to know all the ins and outs that real owners experience).
- Seeing what I wrote above, was anything a lie/beat-around-the-bush?
- How valuable is MVC property(ies)
- Is MVC worth it for only 2 people?
- Can you rent points?

• If so, when you rent points, does it contribute to your bonvoy status?
• How can we rent points?

Again to reiterate: We did not buy! I apologize for the long post. We really were overwhelmed at the presentation and tuned out most of what the rep said since we didn't have interest in buying. After reflecting, we did think we shouldn't completely write-off everything and understand what we sat through.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Glad that you didn’t buy. So much to learn and then consider.
Read the last 2 posts of the stickies (orange) to learn about the 2 parts to Marriott Vacation Club timeshares (weeks and points). If you really are considering a purchase you need to understand enrolled weeks/ unenrolled weed/ and destination club points and the differences buying from Marriott vs resale.

a few answers to get you started- my replies are in italics

Things the salesman told us:
- We could stay anywhere available that Marriott was located This is timeshares, not hotels. If you own points you book direct, weeks you exchange through interval international. And could is an important word- it really depends on what is available.
- 2 weeks a year If you buy a 2 BR lock off week you can convert to a studio and 1br and stay one week in each at your home resort or exchange into another resort another owner has deposited into interval international as available (Potentially upsizing to a bigger unit for a fee when exchanging if available).
- No exchange fees Only if your week is enrolled and to other Marriott brand properties by exchange through interval. Resale weeks which are much less expensive are not enrolled and you need to pay to exchange, lock off fee and also for your II membership. If you are enrolled you need to pay destination club membership fee.
- Maintenance fee would go up by cents (According to this forum, this is a lie)
- Disney Vacation Club is joining Marriott (??) Disney is now available to exchange through interval international, very little has been available thus far. Not available to book directly with destination club points.
- You can resell your timeshare back to Marriott if paid off, for 50% what you paid (Again from what I see on this forum, this is not true) Nope
- Our airfare + hotel bookings will go towards our bonvoy membership. If you mean you will charge them to an associated credit card then they will generate Bonvoy points. stays also generate points.

A few questions:
- What really is MVC?Marriott vacation club- a group of timeshares. You buy into it to use it, but you can rent weeks from other owners or book directly on Marriott.com
- What are the benefits you experienced with MVC? (Things just seemed too good to be true from the sales rep, so I want to know all the ins and outs that real owners experience). Nope, it’s not magic. We have owned for almost 15 years. We have enjoyed the consistent quality, room for the whole family, and it “forced” us to take a trip every year. It is all subject to availability- you can’t wake up tomorrow and say let’s go to Maui. When exchanging through interval someone else must have deposited the unit you want in order for it to be available- it’s not like booking a hotel. With points popular dates book up fast- often 12/13 months ahead.
- Seeing what I wrote above, was anything a lie/beat-around-the-bush? yes, it’s all ‘half truths’, not technically a lie- but not the whole story…(2 weeks a year- sure if you buy a lock off and exchange…no exchange fee-right if you have an enrolled week and exchange to another Marriott brand)
- How valuable is MVC property(ies) value is in the eye of the beholder- not much resale value. If buy a resale week inexpensively and are able to lock off and exchange on II for 2 weeks vacation paying just the yearly maintenance fees and II fees it can be economical.
- Is MVC worth it for only 2 people? will you always be only 2 people? The benefit of TS for us was more room for the kids and space to sometime bring grandparents along- to us that was priceless. We a.so like to cook for ourselves so still enjoy them now that the kids are grown- in fact they often still want to come with us. But we could have rented. And if you just travel as a couple and don’t care about a kitchen hotels might work fine- or Airbnb.
- Can you rent points? Only if you own an enrolled week( which means buying direct and costs more) or points (resale points cost less). Or, you could rent reservation booked by a points owner.

• If so, when you rent points, does it contribute to your bonvoy status?
• How can we rent points?

 

[VacationForever]

Specifically, read these 2 links:

Marriott Abound (formerly Destination Club) Points-System FAQ & Guide

** During 2022 Marriott Vacations Worldwide announced in Investor Meetings that Vistana timeshares would be integrated into the Marriott points system, and, that the Destination Club would be renamed Abound. After all details have been officially announced, this FAQ will be reviewed/edited to...

tugbbs.com

Marriott Vacation Club Timeshare Weeks FAQ & Guide

FAQs This Sticky post is intended to be a listing of factual aids for some of the questions that are frequently asked on this Marriott forum. It deals primarily with the Marriott Weeks system. It does not cover any aspects of the Destination Club points program which Marriott announced on June...

tugbbs.com

 

[CPNY]

Hello all,
My SO and I solely stay at Marriott locations as we are Gold Elite members. We travel at least 2 weeks every year, and take multiple weekend trips with just us two. We're both in our mid twenties and recently went to the MVC presentation for the $299 Orlando villa deal. We didn't buy a timeshare as that is way too expensive for our taste and it didn't seem worth it. However, we did want some additional clarification on what the MVC is and if you can either buy the timeshare like others do for $1, or rent the points from others. Renting would be of interest to us if it's more practical than how we have already been booking. For background, we went into this knowing nothing about timeshares except how bad they are often explained to be.

Things the salesman told us:
- We could stay anywhere available that Marriott was located
- 2 weeks a year
- No exchange fees
- Maintenance fee would go up by cents (According to this forum, this is a lie)
- Disney Vacation Club is joining Marriott (??)
- You can resell your timeshare back to Marriott if paid off, for 50% what you paid (Again from what I see on this forum, this is not true)
- Our airfare + hotel bookings will go towards our bonvoy membership.

A few questions:
- What really is MVC?
- What are the benefits you experienced with MVC? (Things just seemed too good to be true from the sales rep, so I want to know all the ins and outs that real owners experience).
- Seeing what I wrote above, was anything a lie/beat-around-the-bush?
- How valuable is MVC property(ies)
- Is MVC worth it for only 2 people?
- Can you rent points?

• If so, when you rent points, does it contribute to your bonvoy status?
• How can we rent points?

Again to reiterate: We did not buy! I apologize for the long post. We really were overwhelmed at the presentation and tuned out most of what the rep said since we didn't have interest in buying. After reflecting, we did think we shouldn't completely write-off everything and understand what we sat through.

You can stay anywhere, where there is a Marriott vacation club based on availability.
2 weeks if you buy enough points. Or buy getaways in interval and stay as many weeks as you like at any resort in interval that comes up as a getaway.
They were correct about maintenance fees going up by cents! PERCENTS!! 1-9%
Disney vacation club is NOT joining Marriott. They joined Interval international. All interval members can book DVC based upon availability and trade power of the week you’re exchanging.
Yes you can rent points
Timeshare can be very valuable for 2 people. It’s worth it for one person! I’ve paid less traveling solo than I would if I stayed at a hotel.

I’ve answered some of your questions to the best of my knowledge. Listen to the other posters telling you to read the other MVC threads, you’ll get all the info you need there.

if you buy, buy resale! Don’t disregard just renting. That will allow you to try different resorts and systems. You can rent for maint fees or sometimes below MF if it’s last minute. Look for rentals on theTUG marketplace, eBay, Facebook rental groups, redweek website, or the new go-Koala.com
Good luck and congrats on researching before buying!

 

[Steve Fatula]

- Is MVC worth it for only 2 people?

Owned for over 20 years and I have to say it's probably more worth it for 2 people. Many owners occupy, and for more than 2, often have to go for 2BR+ units. Being only 2, this allows us to always lock off. Yes, you can sometimes trade into larger units, but there are places that really only trade 1 bedrooms too. So, more options. 2 people can always fit into a studio or 1BR, 2BR, etc. 5 people likely can't use a studio or 1BR. On the points side, booking studios or 1BR make points go much further and you get many more nights per year for the same ownership. We are very happy we decided to buy 20+ years ago and have never regretted it one bit.

But timeshares are one of those things where the more you know, often the better experience you will have. So, a little education on how the system works will likely bring more ownership benefits and fun.

 

[Dean]

Hello all,
My SO and I solely stay at Marriott locations as we are Gold Elite members. We travel at least 2 weeks every year, and take multiple weekend trips with just us two. We're both in our mid twenties and recently went to the MVC presentation for the $299 Orlando villa deal. We didn't buy a timeshare as that is way too expensive for our taste and it didn't seem worth it. However, we did want some additional clarification on what the MVC is and if you can either buy the timeshare like others do for $1, or rent the points from others. Renting would be of interest to us if it's more practical than how we have already been booking. For background, we went into this knowing nothing about timeshares except how bad they are often explained to be.

Things the salesman told us:
- We could stay anywhere available that Marriott was located
- 2 weeks a year
- No exchange fees
- Maintenance fee would go up by cents (According to this forum, this is a lie)
- Disney Vacation Club is joining Marriott (??)
- You can resell your timeshare back to Marriott if paid off, for 50% what you paid (Again from what I see on this forum, this is not true)
- Our airfare + hotel bookings will go towards our bonvoy membership.

A few questions:
- What really is MVC?
- What are the benefits you experienced with MVC? (Things just seemed too good to be true from the sales rep, so I want to know all the ins and outs that real owners experience).
- Seeing what I wrote above, was anything a lie/beat-around-the-bush?
- How valuable is MVC property(ies)
- Is MVC worth it for only 2 people?
- Can you rent points?

• If so, when you rent points, does it contribute to your bonvoy status?
• How can we rent points?

Again to reiterate: We did not buy! I apologize for the long post. We really were overwhelmed at the presentation and tuned out most of what the rep said since we didn't have interest in buying. After reflecting, we did think we shouldn't completely write-off everything and understand what we sat through.

The system (really systems) can be great or horrible depending on your situation. Timeshares are more aimed at families with 2 BR only options for many locations/resorts but many have smaller units, just make sure where you're interested in has what you need. If one can buy for cash, plan a full year out, OK with the compromises of a timeshares (like no housekeeping) and the locations work for you, it may be worthwhile proceeding. Make sure you understand about the various Marriott options AND also other timeshares. IMO the best way to start is by deciding where you want to go over the next 10 years, esp repeatedly, then see who best fits that. For Marriott then there's the issue of buying weeks to mostly use, buying weeks to mostly exchange, buying points or buying weeks and enrolling them to get points. This may sound foreign to you right now but if it does, you're not ready to buy anyway until you do understand those options and how they will fit into your situation. Don't be in a hurry, rushing to get that next trip as a "savings" can often cost you thousands of dollars as well as causing you to not make the best decision long term.

 

[JIMinNC]

For background, we went into this knowing nothing about timeshares except how bad they are often explained to be.

Timeshares are often viewed as bad because people buy them during presentations like you went to, before they fully understand the pros and cons of ownership. As a result, their expectations are inflated by Sales hyperbole and reality often winds up falling short of those inflated expectations. But, if you understand what you are buying, learn how to best use what you buy, and are willing and able to plan your travel well in advance (up to 12 months in advance for high demand places/dates), then the Marriott Vacation Club program can be a great way to travel to great timeshare resorts and stay in condo units with a full kitchen and even 2 or 3 bedrooms, all for less average cost per night than many Marriott hotels. You are limited to the places where Marriott Vacation Club has locations. (See https://www.marriottvacationclub.com/vacation-resorts/ for the list of MVC locations.) Owning in MVC does not offer cost effective ways for staying at Marriott hotels, just the Marriott Vacation Club resort locations noted in that link. Also, in most cases, you should look at buying on the resale market - either resale deeded weeks or resale MVC Destination Points. The resale weeks are generally the most cost effective and work great for going to the same location for a week every year, but the MVC points offer greater flexibility and generally easier booking options for traveling to a variety of destinations. Once you become knowledgeable and educated about the MVC system, you may even find there are specific situations where it MIGHT make sense to buy something direct from MVC Sales rather than resale, but that is part of the Advanced Level Timesharing Class! For now, focus on buying resale if your research leads you to think timeshares might work for you.

We did our homework before buying our first timeshare when we were in our early 40s, and have now owned timeshares for over 23 years. They allowed us to expose our kids to great trips in full condos at high quality resorts with predictable quality. We were able to travel to places and instill in our kids a love for travel they still have today as young adults your age. Now that we are empty nesters in our 60s we are using timeshares somewhat differently and we generally need smaller units, but we still love the resorts and feel our timeshares offer us great value.

 

[Bill4728]

First If you want to purchase BUY RESALE

Next There basically is two MVC. The MVC trust and Resale weeks. The salesman told you about the trust/point system.

The best price you can do with the trust is about $7/pt ( $4 for the points and $3 in junk fees from MVC) and you must buy at least 1500 points ( or $11,500). If you buy this, you can rent points from other owners and go places which cost more than the 1500 points you'll own.

OR You can buy a week at one of the many Marriott resorts for anywhere between $1 or $25K.

When you own weeks, basically you go for a week during your season in the room size you own, with check-in on either Fri, Sat or Sun. If you don't want to go you need to trade. If you buy a lock-off, you can go one week in a 1 bd and either go a second week in a studio or trade the studio for a week somewhere else.

We own two weeks at Newport Coast -Gold in SoCal and go at least 2 weeks per year in a 2 bedroom even though most of the time it is just the 2 of us. Gold weeks at Newport ( which do not lock off) are about $4K.

Hope this helps

 

[VacationForever]

Alternatively, instead of buying points directly from MVC or in the resale market, you can ask MVC to sell you a bundle/hybrid package which consists of a week and somewhat matching point. A bundle / hybrid package should also come up to roughly $7 per point, similar price per point when buying resale points + education/junk fees charged by MVC. A hybrid package gives you the best of both worlds because the week can be deposited into II to make trades to other MVC and Vistana weeks without exchange/trading fees. If you deposit points into II to trade, you cannot trade to other MVC resorts, a block put into the system as MVC really wants you to use points to book within the MVC system. II can be more cost effective because a week is a week (a lockoff unit is worth 2 trades by splitting up and depositing into II) while points can get expensive very quickly when booking Hawaii or other high point requirement stay.

If you want to save money, you can just buy a resale MVC week and do all exchanging in II. This is the cheapest route.

Note: MF does go up cents PER POINT. However, say you own 3000 points and if MF for a point goes up by 1 cent, then you are paying an extra $30, not cents.

 

[beepboop541]

Thank you all SO much for this information! We are definitely going to spend a lot of time researching.

 

[CPNY]

Thank you all SO much for this information! We are definitely going to spend a lot of time researching.

I bought my first timeshare at 22, I made the mistake of paying retail. I got a ton of use out of it. Since then I bought multiple resales and use them even more. I also stay in airbnb and other hotels.

 

[beepboop541]

I bought my first timeshare at 22, I made the mistake of paying retail. I got a ton of use out of it. Since then I bought multiple resales and use them even more. I also stay in airbnb and other hotels.

Awesome! I am currently 23 and my SO is 24.

 

[rcv82]

There is a lot of good advice here. I think making a good purchase in your 20s may be an excellent move (as long as it isn’t a financial burden.)

As one more thing to research, you may also want to investigate the Vistana/Sheraton/Westin options as they are also part of Marriott Vacations Worldwide and are being integrated with MVC. Each system has its own advantages and quirks. If you buy a deeded weeks based ownership, it is usually good to buy where you want to go most.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[VacationForever]

There is a lot of good advice here. I think making a good purchase in your 20s may be an excellent move (as long as it isn’t a financial burden.)

As one more thing to research, you may also want to investigate the Vistana/Sheraton/Westin options as they are also part of Marriott Vacations Worldwide and are being integrated with MVC. Each system has its own advantages and quirks. If you buy a deeded weeks based ownership, it is usually good to buy where you want to go most.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One thing to remember is that any Vistana or Marriott resale will most likely not be able to participate in the consolidated MVC internal trading system without buying developer points to qualify them.

 

[Steve Fatula]

I would strongly recommend not financing any purchase you do make.

 

[beepboop541]

I would strongly recommend not financing any purchase you do make.

Absolutely. We definitely wouldn't finance.

 

[pchung6]

At current stage, there is too much risk taking for any resale purchase. You can still find something that is still around $1 here or ebay, but most likely these are not ideal season or location. If you are not in rush, just wait and see how the new program will rollout. Or you can gamble and purchase Vistana mandatory, hope they will let you enroll new program cheap (highly doubt). Or you can find a lockoff Marriott unit like Grande Vista or Grand Chateau or Shadowridge (I would only consider platinum season), then remain status quo. You get 2 weeks by locking it off and exchange via II but just need to pay II member fee ($99/yr) and exchange fee ($155 each?)

 

[JIMinNC]

Thank you all SO much for this information! We are definitely going to spend a lot of time researching.

One thing you want to research and figure out how you feel is trading in Interval International (II). If you buy a resale deeded Marriott Vacation Club week as some have suggested, you can save lots of money over buying points, even resale. If there is a location you want to go for a week every year, that is definitely the route to consider. If, on the other hand, you want to sample lots of different places, the only way to do that with a resale deeded week is to trade your week through an organization called Interval International (II). Many here on TUG get great vacations through trading, but the process is very different than just reserving a hotel room or an AirBnB. You must deposit your owned week into Interval International, make a request for where you want to go, and then wait for a match in what is called an ongoing search. Sometimes the matches happen fairly quickly, but other times you may wait months and still not get a match. You can sometimes do truly online bookings with Interval, but the inventory that gets listed online for real time booking tends to be off-season, lesser demand locations.

With Marriott Vacation Club Points, the booking process is much more similar to a hotel or AirBnB booking, you are just using Points instead of cash. My wife and I personally detest trading weeks in Interval because we hate waiting for a request match to come through. We strongly prefer booking Points real time and are OK with the higher cost of Points, but we are probably in a minority on TUG. You will need to figure out which camp you fall into before making the Week vs. Points decision.

 

[GetawaysRus]

From the OP: Maintenance fee would go up by cents (According to this forum, this is a lie)

If you purchase points, it may be true that the maintenance fee PER POINT may go up by a few cents. So if you owned 1,500 points, you can do the math to figure out the increase in annual maintenance fees if it rises by a few cents per year.

What if you purchase a resale week? What costs should you expect? For example, we own an annual 2BR lockoff at Marriott Desert Springs Villas 2 in Palm Desert, CA. We usually lock off our unit ($90 lock-off fee), and then trade the 1BR Master side and the Studio side separately through Interval International. So you have to figure in the cost of Interval International membership + trading costs + upgrade fees (there is an upgrade fee if, for example, we trade our 1BR unit for a 2BR unit). And what about the annual maintenance fees for our week ownership? I've been tracking them for a number of years:

I placed the fees here not to discourage you, but so that you eyes are wide open. Yes, the fees definitely rise over time. However, there is no question that hotel prices and other travel costs have risen substantially as well.

Overall, are we pleased or displeased with our timeshare ownership? We're in the satisfied camp, as I think most others here at TUG are. It does require time and effort and planning by at least one party in a relationship. But the travel rewards, and the increased travel options our timeshare ownership have offered us, have been great. To paraphrase Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the places we've been...."

If I were young again (alas!), and finances were limited, I'd look into an inexpensive resale week at a desirable resort (preferably Platinum/Red season - even if the upfront cost is a bit more, you'll get better trades from this). This should be a resort you would enjoy using even if you didn't trade it. A unit that locks off would provide greater trading flexibility and more potential weeks of vacation. (I see that I'm basically agreeing with JIMinNC, who posted as I was writing this.) If things go well, and you want to add to your options later, you could then consider the wisdom of a points purchase or additional resale weeks. But if you find that timesharing is not for you, or your travel style changes, you could later unload your initial purchase with only a small loss.

One last thing: you have Marriott Gold status. If you learn to play the Marriott Bonvoy game, owning a Marriott timeshare can make it easier to reach higher Bonvoy status levels. But that's a discussion for a very different thread.

 

[Steve Fatula]

By my calculator, I own there as well, average annual increase is ~6.5%, fwiw

 

[GetawaysRus]

I thought a little more about those maintenance fee numbers I posted above. At first glance, they look pretty hefty. But if you think about it...

Let's say I locked off my DSV2 unit and then simply stayed at my home resort. I'd have 2 weeks, one in a very large 1BR Master unit (certainly much larger than the vast majority of hotel rooms) and another in a Studio unit that is as large or larger than most hotel rooms. My cost would be the maintenance fee of $1521 plus the $90 lockoff fee. That's just over $1600 for 14 nights (or about $115 per night). I would not have to pay a resort fee or a parking fee, which so many hotels are now tacking on. My point: it would probably be impossible to find a comparable hotel for $115 per night. (Mea culpa. Yes, I'm simplifying. I didn't include the annual property tax, but that's pretty small.)

Here's another comparison. We had a recent stay at a Marriott hotel in the San Diego area because we had a bunch of "free" hotel night certificates from our Marriott credit cards that we needed to use. So our room cost was essentially zero (well, actually it was the $95 annual fee on each credit card for each night certificate). The resort fee + parking fee for that property came to $75 per night. That was of course on top of the room rate, plus tax. Hotels aren't cheap. (And actually, at this hotel, we were upgraded to an executive suite because of our Marriott Titanium status. The hotel was selling those executive suite rooms for $489 per night + resort fee + parking fee + tax. It was a spacious room, but the timeshare Master units we stay in are typically nicer.)

 

[Steve Fatula]

I thought a little more about those maintenance fee numbers I posted above. At first glance, they look pretty hefty. But if you think about it...

Let's say I locked off my DSV2 unit and then simply stayed at my home resort. I'd have 2 weeks, one in a very large 1BR Master unit (certainly much larger than the vast majority of hotel rooms) and another in a Studio unit that is as large or larger than most hotel rooms. My cost would be the maintenance fee of $1521 plus the $90 lockoff fee. That's just over $1600 for 14 nights (or about $115 per night). I would not have to pay a resort fee or a parking fee, which so many hotels are now tacking on. My point: it would probably be impossible to find a comparable hotel for $115 per night. (Mea culpa. Yes, I'm simplifying. I didn't include the annual property tax, but that's pretty small.)

Or, you trade that studio back into same resort for a 2BR, and the 1BR into a 2BR also. Slightly higher cost, but now you're talking 14 nights in a 2BR. Or, you trade into other more expensive places, etc.

As you say, hotel rooms today are very expensive. Still, you didn't add your purchase cost spread over x years either, but no doubt it's still favorable.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I think that the OP is doing the right thing sticking her (or his) toe into the water and trying to get the lay of the land before committing. The OP is getting a lot of good advice and hopefully methodically digesting it.

One of the benefits of buying (resale of course) and joining ii is access to getaways. During the shoulder seasons they are often at an excellent cost and less than the associated maintenance fees (MF).

I own 4-1/2 timeshares and I end up staying in high quality resorts at a cost of perhaps half of what the rate would be otherwise. Sometimes I stay in places that cost $ 600-1000 a night and I pay $100-200. I bought in 14 years ago when I retired. For people still in the workforce, I'd recommend only buying enough timeshares to equal your annual vacation allotment.

I believe in buying quality in terms of both brand and season. Most $1 timeshares are ones that are nearly impossible to give away. Some you have to pay people to take. Marriott seems to be the leader in timeshares. Yes, you may pay more in MF but you get really high quality. For lower quality and MF, consider Worldmark and Wyndham. Both good, but (in many cases) 2nd tier IMHO. Also, I believe in buying Platinum season because they exchange better and the MF is the same. Interval (an exchange company) exchanges in quality resorts while RCI has more resorts in their "stable" but many are lower quality. This is a thought shared by many.

Good luck on your research.

 

[jojuvan]

One thing you want to research and figure out how you feel is trading in Interval International (II). If you buy a resale deeded Marriott Vacation Club week as some have suggested, you can save lots of money over buying points, even resale. If there is a location you want to go for a week every year, that is definitely the route to consider. If, on the other hand, you want to sample lots of different places, the only way to do that with a resale deeded week is to trade your week through an organization called Interval International (II). Many here on TUG get great vacations through trading, but the process is very different than just reserving a hotel room or an AirBnB. You must deposit your owned week into Interval International, make a request for where you want to go, and then wait for a match in what is called an ongoing search. Sometimes the matches happen fairly quickly, but other times you may wait months and still not get a match. You can sometimes do truly online bookings with Interval, but the inventory that gets listed online for real time booking tends to be off-season, lesser demand locations.

With Marriott Vacation Club Points, the booking process is much more similar to a hotel or AirBnB booking, you are just using Points instead of cash. My wife and I personally detest trading weeks in Interval because we hate waiting for a request match to come through. We strongly prefer booking Points real time and are OK with the higher cost of Points, but we are probably in a minority on TUG. You will need to figure out which camp you fall into before making the Week vs. Points decision.

So if you have a Marriott week and trade into Interval, do you need to wait for that exact week to come available in Interval? Can you go other weeks if they are in the same "season"? If you have a week in a 1 bedroom, can you possibly get a week in a 2 bedroom through Interval?

 

[JIMinNC]

So if you have a Marriott week and trade into Interval, do you need to wait for that exact week to come available in Interval? Can you go other weeks if they are in the same "season"? If you have a week in a 1 bedroom, can you possibly get a week in a 2 bedroom through Interval?

As I mentioned in the post you quoted, we don't like trading in Interval, so we use our deeded Hawaii weeks and then use Destination Points when we want to travel elsewhere. We haven't traded in Interval much and haven't traded at all in 4 or 5 years. Others on TUG can offer more insight into the ins-and-outs of trading, but to answer your most basic questions - when you deposit a week into Interval you can request any other week within, I think, two years of the date of the week you deposit, any season. You can also request a larger or smaller unit. Whether you actually get that request depends on the quality of the week you deposit and its "Trading Power." A prime season week in Hawaii will have more trading power than a winter week in Hilton Head, SC, for example. Whether the request gets fulfilled also is dependent on what other owners deposit. If no one deposits what you are looking for, even the highest power weeks won't be able to get that week/location. Think of it like you deposit a week into the pool, and then you can withdraw any other week that someone else has deposited into that pool, as long as a higher power week doesn't get it instead of you.

The whole trading power thing is sort of a "black box" in that no one really knows whether their request will be fulfilled or not, and Interval doesn't really disclose their matching methodology/algorithms. You make your deposit, then make a request for a location to travel to, a date range, and a unit size and then wait to see if they can find a match. If your week has higher trading power (i.e. prime season/prime location) your odds are better.