Owner update at Westin Ka'anapali and what they offered to bring SBP into the system

[daviator]

Thanks. Have it scheduled for 930m tomorrow. We have a whale watch tour at 12:15pm. This "update" paid for our whale watch tour so am happy. My wife is pretty much over it. I am really curious to see how they will spin a sale to me.

Like I mentioned it was a very low key sales at Grand Vista a couple months ago. At their main sales office there was really nothing they could sell me. Sales person gave up and brought in manager. His tactic was for me to purchase more points so I could stay in homes for longer. I just said why do I need more than a 1br or at most 2br for the 3 of us? He just said thanks for your time and turned us over to the encore person.

See you at MKO in a few months.

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Good luck with your whale watch (Capt. Steve's, I assume.). Ours got cancelled by weather, and the rescheduled one also got cancelled by weather, so we didn’t get to go (couple weeks ago.) The irony was that the weather around Lahaina turned out to be fine both times, but there was terrible weather everyplace else on the island. Obviously they have to make the cancellation decision early in the morning based on the forecast, so no way to know that our little sliver of the island would be okay.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you, I’m not usually there at the right time of year for the whales so I was disappointed we didn’t get to go.

 

[frank808]

Hi Frank. I saw your other post with the picture of that nice bag. So, this info is tardy, but the Westin hotel used to have a "booth" in a decent sized building right off of the beach walk in front of the hotel. Glad it worked out for you at the resort. Enjoy the meeting.

Best regards.

Mike

Yes there is a big activities booth right at the beginning of Westin Hotel property right next to Leilanis. Unfortunately it said activities by DRI. Will take a pic this afternoon when my wife and I walk back that way.

On another note the Westin Hotel has a very nice pools on property. Have never walked onto the property till yesterday. Will probably schedule a night or two before we check into a timeshare next time. Reminds me a of the Grand Wailea pools. Good place to use those free night certificates.

Good luck with your whale watch (Capt. Steve's, I assume.). Ours got cancelled by weather, and the rescheduled one also got cancelled by weather, so we didn’t get to go (couple weeks ago.) The irony was that the weather around Lahaina turned out to be fine both times, but there was terrible weather everyplace else on the island. Obviously they have to make the cancellation decision early in the morning based on the forecast, so no way to know that our little sliver of the island would be okay.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you, I’m not usually there at the right time of year for the whales so I was disappointed we didn’t get to go.

Yes we are with Capt Steve. It has been very calm yesterday and today in the channel. No white cap at all and very little wind. Here is a pic at sunset. Though no whales at all breaching or frolicking that I could see from WKORV.

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[Henry M.]

The bag on the left is the one they are supposed to give owners when they come stay at the resort (don't know if all Vistana owners, or WKORV owners). The one on the right is the one they give non-owners. I actually prefer the one on the right to go to the store and bring groceries back to the room. It opens up wider at the top.

They change the design of the bags relatively often - every year or so. They've had many different designs. A few have been pretty good to take things to the beach and the like.

 

[Ken555]

Bring back the hats! I have enough bags...


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[Denise L]

I miss the more unique owner gifts.

Wine stand:

Nice little bowls:

My favorite bag:

My second favorite bag:

I also miss the days of the shuttle being Peter in a Sienna minivan, driving us to the Westin or Sheraton.

 

[controller1]

Bring back the hats! I have enough bags...


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I miss the more unique owner gifts.

Wine stand:

View attachment 33729

Nice little bowls:

View attachment 33730

My favorite bag:

View attachment 33731

My second favorite bag:

View attachment 33732

I also miss the days of the shuttle being Peter in a Sienna minivan, driving us to the Westin or Sheraton.

I've owned at WKORVN pre-construction and have only received the bags, never the wine bottle holder, bowls or any hats. Those are very nice and yes we have enough bags!

 

[daviator]

I've owned at WKORVN pre-construction and have only received the bags, never the wine bottle holder, bowls or any hats. Those are very nice and yes we have enough bags!

Same here. Owned since pre-construction and only ever received bags of various types. I have quite a collection at this point.

 

[frank808]

Our update lasted about 65 minutes. Very nice and almost no pressure. Sales lady was professional and she went over things I knew about Westin from Tug. She stressed what a great buy it was in turning 148k star options to about 240k bonvoy points. Told her I have never converted DC points to bonvoy points and do not intend to start doing so.

Sales manager offered a 2br IV at WKORV for the "discounted" price of $46k. Tht was 30% from the original price of $66k. Said the discount was only till end of month and because of covid. Told me what a great deal it was and they have never discounted it till now. Had to bite my tongue that I can currently by a 2br OV at WKORVN resale for half their sale price. She asked me why did I sign up for this if I did not want to buy. Told her I have never been to a Westin presentation. Marriott now owned Westin TS and wanted to see what was different between them. Lastly the $200 offered by the concierge sealed the deal. After that she brought in the encore lady.

Did find out something new at this presentation. Westin does not have the ability to see my ownership in Marriott. Probably Marriott cannot see Westin ownerships.

All in all a great low pressure presentation that paid for our awesome whale cruise today.

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[daviator]

She asked me why did I sign up for this if I did not want to buy.

That's funny, since the concierges (who are undoubtedly incentivized to sign people up for presentations) always position them as "owner updates" and bribe you to attend. The idea that most people sign up because they intend to buy is pretty laughable!

That said, the owner update I had there a couple of weeks ago (maybe the same lady?) was lower pressure than I've endured in the past, and they didn't drag it out.

If you say no enough times, do they stop incentivizing you to attend an update? I've been paid to attend two updates in the past five months and I'm thinking they'll pay me again next month at WDW... if I decide to give them my time.

 

[frank808]

So not all Westin presentations at WKORV are this low pressure? Saleswoman name was Kelly and she treated us professionally.

I just attended a presentation at Marriott Grand Vista in Orlando about 7 weeks ago. Got me to attend for $350 in gift cards. I guess they have an easier time getting bodies to attend here so bribes are lower. I see how people are caught up in it. To own a piece of beachfront paradise it will only run you $700 something dollars a month. Sales seems to gloss over the fact that you have to pay annual maintenance fees .

WKORV & WKORVN would buy resale if I had a specific time I needed to stay annually plus they are mandatory resorts. The pragmatic side of me would buy resale at WKV for 25% of retail here and get the same 148,100 star options. Plus save on annual MF by paying about half of what WKORV charges annually.

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[daviator]

So not all Westin presentations at WKORV are this low pressure? Saleswoman name was Kelly and she treated us professionally.

I just attended a presentation at Marriott Grand Vista in Orlando about 7 weeks ago. Got me to attend for $350 in gift cards. I guess they have an easier time getting bodies to attend here so bribes are lower. I see how people are caught up in it. To own a piece of beachfront paradise it will only run you $700 something dollars a month. Sales seems to gloss over the fact that you have to pay annual maintenance fees .

WKORV & WKORVN would buy resale if I had a specific time I needed to stay annually plus they are mandatory resorts. The pragmatic side of me would buy resale at WKV for 25% of retail here and get the same 148,100 star options. Plus save on annual MF by paying about half of what WKORV charges annually.

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Pretty sure that Kelly is also who did my presentation earlier in March. I liked her.

Yes, sometimes they are higher pressure. You never know. In my experience, the sales reps at Westin Desert Willow (where I also own) are higher pressure than those in WKORV, but I've had high pressure sales both places. I even had a guy once who showed me photos of his family and implied that his son might have to leave college if I didn't help him out by buying!

They've evolved a lot since 20 years ago when they used to make me laugh with their simple-minded approach with "yes questions." "Do you like to take vacations?" I amused myself a couple of times by finding ways to answer no to all of their yes questions. "No, not really. I prefer working. It's a bit torturous being here." But sometimes they got to me anyway, that's how I became a long-term owner...

 

[buzglyd]

I’m at WKORVN right now. Weather is perfect. I was offered the bribe to attend and I told her my wife refused to do updates and I would be happy to do it myself. She said no gifts if I was alone. We are only here four nights and heading over to Hawaii after this stay so it’s not likely I’ll attend an “update.”

 

[frank808]

Want to meet up bugzlyd? I am here till Sunday then back to MKO. Will be sending you a PM.

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[lilpooh108]

After that she brought in the encore lady.


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Frank do you remember what the Encore package offer was (price, unit size)? I'm late to this thread but we will be there in 2 weeks and I'm thinking of attending if the Encore package was good enough (like for a 2bdrm unit). Thanks

 

[frank808]

Sorry I do not remember. I am pretty sure it was for a studio sized unit though.

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[daviator]

Sorry I do not remember. I am pretty sure it was for a studio sized unit though.

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When I was there last month they started to offer me an Encore package for a 1BR unit, but they pulled it back when I mentioned that I already had an unused Encore package for WDW. Apparently you're only allowed to have one at a time. So I didn't get a chance to look at it closely and I don't remember the price or the terms.

The Encore package I have for WDW was $995 + $99 for 5 days/4 nights in a Premium One Bedroom at WDW or WMH, plus 100,000 Bonvoy points or $500. They also had packages for the smaller 1 BR side which were a little cheaper. I got the feeling they could probably offer you an Encore package for whatever size unit you want, but the price would obviously be higher for larger units.

 

[lilpooh108]

When I was there last month they started to offer me an Encore package for a 1BR unit, but they pulled it back when I mentioned that I already had an unused Encore package for WDW. Apparently you're only allowed to have one at a time. So I didn't get a chance to look at it closely and I don't remember the price or the terms.

The Encore package I have for WDW was $995 + $99 for 5 days/4 nights in a Premium One Bedroom at WDW or WMH, plus 100,000 Bonvoy points or $500. They also had packages for the smaller 1 BR side which were a little cheaper. I got the feeling they could probably offer you an Encore package for whatever size unit you want, but the price would obviously be higher for larger units.

Thanks for the info!

Sorry I do not remember. I am pretty sure it was for a studio sized unit though.

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Thanks!

 

[M Wyo]

In a recent owner update we were “offered” something similar. it was quite complicated and the associate did not make persuasive case why we should give up our WDW week for flex options and enrolled in an “enhanced and more flexible II” resort access, especially for Marriott properties. We were told to expect a new platform that will replace the existing II platform by the first quarter 2022. We bought and rescinded.....and after carefully reading into the new materials, it sure was short on detail. So, it certainly appears that the Marriott people have come up with a new scheme that is being rolled out but is impossible to assess for value in the 2 hours you are being captive in an owner update. One thing we are learning....it can be lucrative to have a mix of deeded weeks and flex points to use in II but it takes a HUGE amount of time searching to find ”something” good to use for our flex points or week.

 

[rickandcindy23]

So Rick's take away was so different from mine. He thought it was insulting, when the lady said Maui was the most desirable vacation location, and he told her, "Yes, that is why we own 3 weeks at Hono Koa, oceanfront." She said, something like, "Let's not compare it to Westin." He also thought the lady was insulting me, when I said I would prefer mandatory options, and she said forget mandatory. Everything we are selling is mandatory. He said that was insulting because the flex-options do not transfer in resale, and that is the point of mandatory options.

I told him that her lying is not about insulting me, it was about making a sale. Sales' lies.

If the lady knew how much we pay in MF's and property taxes for our oceanfront views at Hono Koa, she would have had a heyday. She didn't ask. We could split a lockoff and use both sides and save money over Hono Koa, and that is my thinking with buying oceanfront at Westin via resale. Now that Rick's stepmom is gone, we don't really have someone to use that second bedroom regularly. We wouldn't give up Hono Koa, but we loved staying six weeks, and that would be the goal.

 

[Mushed]

@rickandcindy23, we just finished and might have had the same folks. We own only one unit, a 2bd EOY OV (South), purchased resale. Lots of talk about “authorizing” our resale, but a swap for hotel points doesn’t make sense with the MF we’re paying for Maui. They were very nice, but did seem a little annoyed that we came in.

The offer was ~$16.5k for 81k Flex EOY, MF at $1k per year. Additional 81k villa points or 120k Bonvoy points at purchase. I was a little offended when she kept saying they finance, but my parents once bought a timeshare (RCI) because the salesman said something like, well, you probably can’t afford it.

For reference, we paid $6500 for the timeshare, and I’m quite pleased with our ROI! We’d stayed at several of the properties on the package offers before I found that one, and this is our first owner stay.


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[dlpearson]

We own only one unit, a 2bd EOY OV (South), purchased resale.

You did well. I prefer Ocean View at South over Ocean View at North if given a choice. The ocean views at North are on the far north side of the complex (no pool view--mostly views of the empty lot between North and Nanea, with a very distant water view, due to the angle of the building), and are set pretty far back. Many of the ocean views at south have a pleasant view across the pool to the ocean.

 

[controller1]

I was a little offended when she kept saying they finance, but my parents once bought a timeshare (RCI) because the salesman said something like, well, you probably can’t afford it.

No need to feel offended. If you were on the other side of the desk you would be pushing the financing also. Last I checked Vistana charged 14.9% on mortgage financing!

 

[Pedro]

@rickandcindy23, we just finished and might have had the same folks. We own only one unit, a 2bd EOY OV (South), purchased resale. Lots of talk about “authorizing” our resale, but a swap for hotel points doesn’t make sense with the MF we’re paying for Maui. They were very nice, but did seem a little annoyed that we came in.

The offer was ~$16.5k for 81k Flex EOY, MF at $1k per year. Additional 81k villa points or 120k Bonvoy points at purchase. I was a little offended when she kept saying they finance, but my parents once bought a timeshare (RCI) because the salesman said something like, well, you probably can’t afford it.

For reference, we paid $6500 for the timeshare, and I’m quite pleased with our ROI! We’d stayed at several of the properties on the package offers before I found that one, and this is our first owner stay.


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I’m glad you survived the presentation. While I was talking to you this morning, my wife signed us up for the Owners update on Monday.

 

[frank808]

What are they offering at WKORV now? In March we got $200 visa gift cards.

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[rickandcindy23]

Rick said he went for the $200, and he was absolutely being 100% honest. A few meals on them sounded fine to him.

I wanted to know what they had to say. If they just offered us $100, he would tell me to cancel (since I was the one who booked it).