My View Category Changed in Marriott Bonvoy for Interval exchange at Aruba Surf Club

[mjkaplan]

Not sure if this was something unique to the Aruba Surf Club. My reason for the post is to see if others had had this happen and if is unique to the Aruba resort(s).



We have exchanged our Marriott week through interval for Marriott resorts in Hawaii for 15 or so years now. We have not always gotten the best view assigned to us, but if our room code on our exchange was Ocean View or Ocean Front we would see that on the Marriott Bonvoy site reservation too. And when checking in we would get a room in that category. We got the exchange to Marriott's Aruba Surf Club in June of 2023 for June of 2024 with a room code for an Oceanside View category. In June of 2023 I looked at the Marriott Bonvoy site and it also showed us in an Oceanside room. When we arrived at the resort last week, we were told we were in an Oceanview room (a step down from Oceanside). I was surprised and told the clerk we were supposed to be in Oceanside. I showed him the email I had sent myself from the Marriott site that showed we had an Oceanside view. But when I looked at my Bonvoy app on my phone, sure enough, it said Oceanview. I realized that at some point our view category was changed by someone. The resort denied that they changed it, and of course they "had no Oceanside rooms available." I also got the standard "Interval exchanges do not guarantee a view category." However, in over 15 years of exchanges, mostly to Hawaii (almost all the different Marriott resorts there) I have never had the experience where the view category changed within the Bonvoy app. The resort informed me that I could try contacting Interval but there was nothing more they could do. I proceeded to call Interval and spoke to customer service; they confirmed that the room code on the exchange was still the same that corresponded to the Oceanside. I was then transferred to the exchange department, that agent told me it was not possible that Interval changed the reservation in the Bonvoy system, but of course said view was not guaranteed. They suggested talking to Marriott Vacation club customer service. I spoke to an agent at MVC who looked at the Bonvoy system and actually told me that they could see that a month ago, Interval made a change to the reservation. They transferred me back to Interval Exchange department. The agent there not only denied that Interval made a change, but when I told her that MVC said they saw that Interval made a change, she was upset and said “I don’t know why they would give you that information.” It seemed she was upset that MVC revealed that Interval did it. In the end, our room location and view was ok, but not what we expected and still had a nice trip. In summary, I am wanting to know if this is something Interval is now doing and I could end up in an Island View in Hawaii even though our Interval confirmation room code is Ocean View. Let me know if anyone else has had a similar experience. I am hoping it was unique to the Aruba resort.

 

[dioxide45]

Interval makes no guranty of the unit being assigned. You get the unit size and max/private occupancy. That is all that is promised. Some properties assign units differently than others. Surf Club has been known to assign II exchangers to lesser view designation than the view that was deposited by the owner and as indicated by the Unit Code/No in the II website and what shows if you look the reservation up on Marriott.com.

It is how it is. You can't change it. You can't really challenge it. The II confirmation specifically states that the certificate doesn't guarantee a view or location.

 

[Hindsite]

Yep, I've seen posts that this happens at Aruba. Hilton head also seem to use their own way of assigning units.

 

[echino]

The resort did it.

The resort has an ability to assign any room, and then you will see the updated category in the Bonvoy app. While most Marriotts don't touch Interval reservations and assign what's on the confirmations, some still do make changes. Aruba is known to do that more than others.

I had a Marriott resort in Hawaii assign me a better view category than on the Interval confirmation, but it was during Covid when the resort was empty. I asked the front desk, they did it, and it then showed the updated view in the Bonvoy app. So the resorts certainly have that ability.

 

[gln60]

We were at the Aruba Ocean Club last April and our code on the 2BR exchange was ZZAB…which is OF..When checking in I made reference to that code(My Bonvoy account said Ocean Front)and the associate looked at me with a puzzled look and proceeded to give us a Ocean View room…We have another II exchange into a 2BR at the Ocean Club this October and the II code is ZZAA..Ocean View.

 

[jwalk03]

The view category on marriott . com does change if they assign you to a different room than the original one. I exchanged into Ocean Watch at Myrtle Beach last year and had 2 separate villas for the same dates. One of the exchanges was for an oceanfront villa while the other was for an oceanview villa. When I added them both to my bonvoy account initially they showed that way. But when the resort sent the preference email I asked for both villas to be assigned to the same building as with those separate views the oceanview would have been in the woodsy section while the oceanfront would have been in the ocean section of the resort.

About a week before check-in the ocean-view unit updated to an oceanfront unit on marriott . com! And that is exactly what we were assigned at check-in two oceanfront villas in the Conch building that were fantastic! Best unit placements ever on an Interval exchange!


As for Surf Club Oceanside and Oceanview are really not that different. Oceanside is just closer. But when they assigned points at Surf Club they gave Oceanside and Oceanview the exact same points values. So really not a big deal and nothing you can do about it since they are 100% correct that no view is guaranteed on an exchange. Solely at the resort's discretion.

 

[Mr. Vker]

I concur that the MVC did it not II. They simply matched with a different unit for the same week. As others have said, you only are promised unit size and week. Not view-in fact, you could receive a different view than the unit assigned at check in. So this isn't really anything to be concerned about.

 

[PaulaC]

Not sure if this was something unique to the Aruba Surf Club. My reason for the post is to see if others had had this happen and if is unique to the Aruba resort(s).



We have exchanged our Marriott week through interval for Marriott resorts in Hawaii for 15 or so years now. We have not always gotten the best view assigned to us, but if our room code on our exchange was Ocean View or Ocean Front we would see that on the Marriott Bonvoy site reservation too. And when checking in we would get a room in that category. We got the exchange to Marriott's Aruba Surf Club in June of 2023 for June of 2024 with a room code for an Oceanside View category. In June of 2023 I looked at the Marriott Bonvoy site and it also showed us in an Oceanside room. When we arrived at the resort last week, we were told we were in an Oceanview room (a step down from Oceanside). I was surprised and told the clerk we were supposed to be in Oceanside. I showed him the email I had sent myself from the Marriott site that showed we had an Oceanside view. But when I looked at my Bonvoy app on my phone, sure enough, it said Oceanview. I realized that at some point our view category was changed by someone. The resort denied that they changed it, and of course they "had no Oceanside rooms available." I also got the standard "Interval exchanges do not guarantee a view category." However, in over 15 years of exchanges, mostly to Hawaii (almost all the different Marriott resorts there) I have never had the experience where the view category changed within the Bonvoy app. The resort informed me that I could try contacting Interval but there was nothing more they could do. I proceeded to call Interval and spoke to customer service; they confirmed that the room code on the exchange was still the same that corresponded to the Oceanside. I was then transferred to the exchange department, that agent told me it was not possible that Interval changed the reservation in the Bonvoy system, but of course said view was not guaranteed. They suggested talking to Marriott Vacation club customer service. I spoke to an agent at MVC who looked at the Bonvoy system and actually told me that they could see that a month ago, Interval made a change to the reservation. They transferred me back to Interval Exchange department. The agent there not only denied that Interval made a change, but when I told her that MVC said they saw that Interval made a change, she was upset and said “I don’t know why they would give you that information.” It seemed she was upset that MVC revealed that Interval did it. In the end, our room location and view was ok, but not what we expected and still had a nice trip. In summary, I am wanting to know if this is something Interval is now doing and I could end up in an Island View in Hawaii even though our Interval confirmation room code is Ocean View. Let me know if anyone else has had a similar experience. I am hoping it was unique to the Aruba resort.

Interval trades do not guarantee you a view, just room size. Also, I don't know why you think oceanview is a step down from oceanside, I prefer oceanview since you get a panoramic ocean view. When we have oceanside you can sometimes see the parking lot of the Ocean Club.

And no, it isn't unique to Aruba. We've owned Marriott properties for 25 years and over 20 years ago, we traded our Maui Ocean Club to Kauai Beach Club for an oceanfront room, but we were assigned a ground floor garden view. That was definitely a step down! Relax and enjoy Aruba!

 

[Mroze]

I received a code [ZZTQ: Ocean-Front] for a 2BR Marriott Maui Ocean Club for AUG-2024.
Hope it doesn't change.

 

[Seaport104]

No view is guaranteed with Interval exchange. The resorts change the view category, not Interval.

For Surf Club, I've had instances where it was changed and some not. For Aruba Ocean Club, my experience has been consistent in that I was fortunate that I was assigned the oceanfront category when I traded into an OF unit.

For Ocean Pointe, once they gave me oceanside even thought it as initially oceanfront but recently they kept me in Oceanfront.

It's all a luck of the draw!

 

[Dean]

At Aruba OC & SC I'v always gotten the view type of the exchange except one time I got a better view to match up with a second reservation and stay in the same unit. That includes OF and OS. However many have reported this experence for HI, Aruba, HH & MB. There's room for disappointment here but not for complaint IMO. Truthfully, for some of the OV rooms there. I like them better than OS. I concur, the resort makes the villa assignments and are entitled to do so.

 

[VacationForever]

II exchangers get whatever that the resort assigns, some resorts try to honor it while others don't.

 

[GTLINZ]

I usually get the exact room type assigned in interval (by unit code) - but not every time.

 

[BostonKingB]

Interval trades do not guarantee you a view, just room size. Also, I don't know why you think oceanview is a step down from oceanside, I prefer oceanview since you get a panoramic ocean view. When we have oceanside you can sometimes see the parking lot of the Ocean Club.

And no, it isn't unique to Aruba. We've owned Marriott properties for 25 years and over 20 years ago, we traded our Maui Ocean Club to Kauai Beach Club for an oceanfront room, but we were assigned a ground floor garden view. That was definitely a step down! Relax and enjoy Aruba!

they almost always downgrade us to Garden View, regardless of what the confirmation says. I think it is NOT interval that does it, I believe there is a rooms / inventory manager at every large MVC property who handles room assignments etc etc. Interval and RCI exchanges are last on the priority list.

 

[Superchief]

I recently was confirmed into a Gulf Side villa in an exchange to Crystal Shores. I was downgraded to pool side lower floor, which is 600 fewer Abound points than Gulf side. MVC is definitely abusing their villa assignments and making profit on it.

 

[davidvel]

I recently was confirmed into a Gulf Side villa in an exchange to Crystal Shores. I was downgraded to pool side lower floor, which is 600 fewer Abound points than Gulf side. MVC is definitely abusing their villa assignments and making profit on it.

Correct. II is complicit with the developers to strip/steal the rights of the person who deposited the good view category. But those are the terms we agree to when we exchange with II. Many people love to point that out and say too bad/so sad. I guess they feel bad for the developers.

 

[sponger76]

Correct. II is complicit with the developers to strip/steal the rights of the person who deposited the good view category. But those are the terms we agree to when we exchange with II. Many people love to point that out and say too bad/so sad. I guess they feel bad for the developers.

I'd say it not so much that people feel sorry for the developers but more so that they feel that there's nothing that can be done since, as you pointed out, those are the terms people agree to when exchanging.

 

[timtax]

I understand that there is no view guarantee. But, in theory, for every downgrade there must be a corresponding upgrade. My question is who gets the upgrade and why?

 

[VacationForever]

I understand that there is no view guarantee. But, in theory, for every downgrade there must be a corresponding upgrade. My question is who gets the upgrade and why?

It is possible to get a view upgrade when exchanging. I had 2 back to back weeks exchanged into MKO. One listed as island view and the other ocean view. I was assigned to a nice ocean view unit for 2 weeks.

 

[timtax]

It is possible to get a view upgrade when exchanging. I had 2 back to back weeks exchanged into MKO. One listed as island view and the other ocean view. I was assigned to a nice ocean view unit for 2 weeks.

Seems rather arbitrary. I guess that is what annoys people getting downgraded.

 

[dioxide45]

I recently was confirmed into a Gulf Side villa in an exchange to Crystal Shores. I was downgraded to pool side lower floor, which is 600 fewer Abound points than Gulf side. MVC is definitely abusing their villa assignments and making profit on it.

Interesting. This is one of only a few situations where I have heard of this happening at a Florida property. Did you notice the view change on Marriott.com prior to your arrival, or did they just give you the lower view category at checkin?

We don't necessarily know who got that Gulf Side. It is possible they upgraded an Ambassador Elite Bonvoy member paying cash. Also possible that they rented it out for cash or used it for inventory in Abound. Our one experience exchanging into Crystal Shores through II, they gave use the Gulf Front villa that was indicated in the Unit Number. Though that was also during Covid.

 

[PaulaC]

This reassignment of views happens frequently with MVC properties. Many years ago we had ocean front villas for 2 consecutive weeks at Kauai Beach Club and the second week they assigned us a garden view ground floor. That was a real disappointment!

I don't know why you consider the Surf Club's oceanview a step down from oceanside, since oceanside can be in the Compass building with a parking lot view of the Ocean Club. We prefer the Spyglass building with the panoramic ocean view. This year we spent several weeks at the Surf Club and were in all three buildings and we liked the oceanview best. Our first week was ocean front and the noise from Moomba at night kept us awake. The second week we were in Compass in an Oceanside with more of a pool view. Our final week was in Spyglass and it confirmed that we much prefer it, since we had a great view.

 

[SueDonJ]

Correct. II is complicit with the developers to strip/steal the rights of the person who deposited the good view category. But those are the terms we agree to when we exchange with II. Many people love to point that out and say too bad/so sad. I guess they feel bad for the developers.

Why is it that you think people can't be anything but developer sympathizers when they simply acknowledge that the developers have contracted rights? I agree with the people who say that it's useless to ruminate over views changing with II stays because that practice is longstanding and it's supported by the docs for both Marriott and II. It doesn't mean that we like it or that we want it to happen, it just means that we recognize that it's useless to try to fight these particular rules and it's a waste of time to even entertain the thought that they should be different.

I also don't understand how Marriott's and II's manipulations of II deposits "strip/steal the rights of the person who deposited the good view category." The owner who deposits gets the value of that deposit regardless of what Marriott/II eventually do with it.

 

[klpca]

Why is it that you think people can't be anything but developer sympathizers when they simply acknowledge that the developers have contracted rights? I agree with the people who say that it's useless to ruminate over views changing with II stays because that practice is longstanding and it's supported by the docs for both Marriott and II. It doesn't mean that we like it or that we want it to happen, it just means that we recognize that it's useless to try to fight these particular rules and it's a waste of time to even entertain the thought that they should be different.

I also don't understand how Marriott's and II's manipulations of II deposits "strip/steal the rights of the person who deposited the good view category." The owner who deposits gets the value of that deposit regardless of what Marriott/II eventually do with it.

I look at an exchange as stepping into the shoes of the owner of the deposited unit. It is more obvious when you deposit a unit from a small resort because the exchanger usually gets that same unit - there are probably no other units to offer to them when they arrive. I am not personally upset with Marriott but that doesn't mean that I agree that they should have the right to reassign someone's owned unit to someone that didn't exchange into that unit. Maybe there is verbiage somewhere that gives the owners rights to Marriott, I don't know, but unless they have that right it feels like they are overstepping.

And fwiw, the owner does not receive any increased value from depositing an oceavniew unit or less value when depositing an island view unit. II values resort location/unit size/season only. If Marriott pulls the deposited ocean view unit to rent out and gives the island view to exchangers, they alone receive the benefit of that view.

 

[SueDonJ]

I look at an exchange as stepping into the shoes of the owner of the deposited unit. It is more obvious when you deposit a unit from a small resort because the exchanger usually gets that same unit - there are probably no other units to offer to them when they arrive. I am not personally upset with Marriott but that doesn't mean that I agree that they should have the right to reassign someone's owned unit to someone that didn't exchange into that unit. Maybe there is verbiage somewhere that gives the owners rights to Marriott, I don't know, but unless they have that right it feels like they are overstepping.

That's what I meant, though, that it's *not* overstepping because the Marriott docs give them the right to manipulate inventory in a number of ways including among II deposits, and, the II docs make it perfectly clear that the view of a deposited unit is *not* guaranteed with any exchanges.

And fwiw, the owner does not receive any increased value from depositing an oceavniew unit or less value when depositing an island view unit. II values resort location/unit size/season only. If Marriott pulls the deposited ocean view unit to rent out and gives the island view to exchangers, they alone receive the benefit of that view.

OK, so if II's metric of assigning values to deposits doesn't include the view, that still doesn't answer the question of why @davidvel thinks that owners' rights are "stripped/stolen" when they deposit a unit with a certain view and it's manipulated by Marriott and II so that only its size/season is guaranteed to any certain exchanger.