Owners Update at WSJ

[Eric B]

Just did our owners update at WSJ. Rumor from sales is that MVW will be changing the benefit levels to start Executive at 10K, Presidential at 15K, and Chairman's Club at 20K. They also indicated that there would be additional benefits added to Chairman's Club to differentiate from Presidential - Ambassador Elite Bonvoy status and one other thing I don't really remember but wasn't too impressed by. Salesman indicated that there would be a roll out of additional hotel bookings using Club Points, some at good rates and some not so good. He provided some examples that currently exist, though I didn't independently verify.

Sales offer was for trade in of a resale we have towards a week 52 VGV. Price wasn't horrible, about twice the resale prices I've seen. Offer would have included requal of some VGV weeks we already have in Abound because they were pre-2022, 1 1/2 years of bonus SOs, and some Bonvoy certificates. They indicated that they will not provide the linkage discount for a recent Marriott hotel stay here at WSJ. Emphasis was on the rental value of week 52. I noticed that a number of the sales personnel had the website for OM Villas up during their presentations with others so that's clearly a major sales point now at WSJ - hadn't seen those up last time we were here though someone had mentioned one of the competitors to OM then.

 

[cubigbird]

I think we would have heard of changes by now. Sounds like sales lips were moving.

 

[Hindsite]

When they run out of ways to invent to get you to buy they press the FOMO button.
Rest assured that if/when they decide to change we'll all hear about it and the shark feast from sales will ramp up, just like they did the last time. You'll be more than able to cut a deal then, if it matters to you, or better still buy resale club points in the interim t get you to where you want to be.

There is not a snowflake's chance that they'll offer no cost Bonvoy Ambassador status to timeshare owners, that would get the current Ambassador population all riled up and they're the ones spending big bucks with Marriott.

They've been promising more hotel access for at least 5 years, and what is there now is an expensive use of ownership, so if it comes it will be more of that.

 

[Eric B]

I've got plenty of points already - just passing along the latest sales puffery.

 

[daviator]

I don't believe a word of that, especially the part about Chairman's Club getting Ambassador Elite Bonvoy status. That will never happen.

And from what I have heard from others, Ambassador status is hardly worth crossing the street for these days.

Ask Sales to put their promises in writing and see what they say. It's all lies.

 

[Henry M.]

Is OM Villas (https://www.omvillas.com/) a good company to use to rent out your villa? To find villas for rent? This is the first time I hear of them.

 

[Eric B]

I just remembered the other tidbit for new Chairman's Club benefits - access to book Ritz-Carlton Yachts with club points. Not holding my breath.

 

[daviator]

Is OM Villas (https://www.omvillas.com/) a good company to use to rent out your villa? To find villas for rent? This is the first time I hear of them.

I've never heard of them either, but the property information on their website is woefully outdated.

 

[Eric B]

When they run out of ways to invent to get you to buy they press the FOMO button.
Rest assured that if/when they decide to change we'll all hear about it and the shark feast from sales will ramp up, just like they did the last time. You'll be more than able to cut a deal then, if it matters to you, or better still buy resale club points in the interim t get you to where you want to be.

There is not a snowflake's chance that they'll offer no cost Bonvoy Ambassador status to timeshare owners, that would get the current Ambassador population all riled up and they're the ones spending big bucks with Marriott.

They've been promising more hotel access for at least 5 years, and what is there now is an expensive use of ownership, so if it comes it will be more of that.

A clarification - we own over 20,000 annual electable points and they recognized that. There was no belief on either side that changes to Chairman's Club benefits or the electable points needed to get them would have any effect on whether or not we would buy anything. At that point, we had already mentioned that we just got a free RCC STT fractional that would add another 16,000 or so electable points (depending on the rotation in a particular year).

As for the Ambassador status issues, I don't really have an opinion. There's a similar spend to MVW as the Marriott spend requirement for that status if they're adding it for folks with Chairman's Club benefits having over 20K points, given the capital layout required for most. The exception would be for grandfathered Chairman's Club owners, though they could deal with that somehow, I'm sure. I have no doubt that there's payment from MVW to Marriott for the Bonvoy benefit levels in some form anyway. I wouldn't rule out that as a potential development, but would similarly not be holding my breath waiting for it to happen. It certainly wasn't something that would motivate me to buy more. I was just there for the 350 sand dollars and was happy to spend an hour talking to them for that.

 

[ndang3]

If they raise the ownership level threshold, does everyone get grandfathered in? Meaning if I'm Presidential now, do I stay Presidential even if they raise the threshold to 15K?

 

[GrayFal]

If they raise the ownership level threshold, does everyone get grandfathered in? Meaning if I'm Presidential now, do I stay Presidential even if they raise the threshold to 15K?

In the past with Marriott, current owners have been grandfathered

 

[Eric B]

Did another presentation at Marriott Frenchman's Cove this morning for $300. Not much to add as it only lasted 5 minutes. Salesman had a nice whiteboard listing info about MVW and showed us a list of resale weeks he could sell us for about half the developer price when they first sold but recognized we weren't going to buy anything quickly. His boss told him to just let us go as there were bigger fish waiting in line. He briefly mentioned that many of the have significantly lower MFs for higher point totals, resulting in a better MF/point than the $0.81 for DC points. If we were in the market, he's one of the ones we'd consider dealing with.

 

[dioxide45]

Did another presentation at Marriott Frenchman's Cove this morning for $300. Not much to add as it only lasted 5 minutes. Salesman had a nice whiteboard listing info about MVW and showed us a list of resale weeks he could sell us for about half the developer price when they first sold but recognized we weren't going to buy anything quickly. His boss told him to just let us go as there were bigger fish waiting in line. He briefly mentioned that many of the have significantly lower MFs for higher point totals, resulting in a better MF/point than the $0.81 for DC points. If we were in the market, he's one of the ones we'd consider dealing with.


View attachment 103743

Two presentations less than a week apart. Impressive...

 

[Eric B]

Two presentations less than a week apart. Impressive...

Staying at Limetree Beach Resort for NYE, so we might make it 3 in 2 weeks. Wyndham doesn’t give much for incentives, though, and we’re partway to the do not gift list with them.