Please Explain this Latest Marriott Pitch

[CalBoomer]

We are about to use a week at Summit Watch which we bought on the resale market. We also own a Custom House, also bought on the resale market. I thought people like us would have no access to the Legacy Destination Points program. Which was fine, since we mostly intend to use not trade. Imagine my surprise at receiving an email from Marriott to listen to how their new programs would benefit a multiple-weeks owner. Here is an excerpt from that pitch:

"The reason they have asked me to contact you is to make sure you have been receiving all of your important information announcing the new Marriott Destinations Points Program. This new program is Marriott Vacations Worldwide biggest enhancement in 27 years. Based off of the feedback we have been receiving, the majority of our multiple week owners are aware there have been some enhancements, but do not know exactly what they are. There are many new flexible options available to you now that were not available to you in the past. You can check in any day of the week, it doesn’t have to be Friday, Saturday or Sunday anymore. For example, you can travel Wednesday to Wednesday if you would like. You can also stay any number of nights, you do not have to book for 7 nights at a time anymore. You can now exchange, trade, and deposit week directly through us instead of going through Interval International, which means fewer fees. Especially as a multiple week owner, like you are, there are a lot of advantages extended to you because you own more than one week. Also many of our owners are not aware that we do not sell weeks anymore…we sell deeded points now. So if someone wanted to become an owner with Marriott, they would buy deeded points and will only know and use this new system that we are educating our weeks owners like you about. You have the best of both worlds because you can use the old system or the new system. We have a few experts here on site that are meeting with owners and educating them about this new system."

Can any of you experienced TUGGERs explain this to me in English? Has Marriott suddenly decided there may be some way to make money off people that had written off with their hard-line approach or what? I am particularly interested in the ability to have weeks starting at any time or to easily add a day or two. But at what price in the fine print?

 

[FractionalTraveler]

If you are not interested in the DC program, then I would ignore this and not waste prime vaction time any further.

On the other hand, if you are truely interested in the enhanced benefits from the DC program, I would schedule an appointment and ask questions.

You recieved a marketing e-mail and thats all. It may have been targeted or it may have been just part of a larger distribution campaign.

I wouldn't read too much into it.

 

[siesta]

If you are not interested in the DC program, then I would ignore this and not waste prime vaction time any further.

On the other hand, if you are truely interested in the enhanced benefits from the DC program, I would schedule an appointment and ask questions.

You recieved a marketing e-mail and thats all. It may have been targeted or it may have been just part of a larger distribution campaign.

I wouldn't read too much into it.

worth mentioning you may not be eligible if you purchased resale after the deadline, it just may have been mail sent to all owners who havent enrolled regardless of eligibility

 

[LAX Mom]

They want you to buy points so you can use both systems. It is just a pitch to buy DC points, nothing new with your current resale weeks.

 

[hot2trot]

Marriott is offering all owners the ability to join in the new points program by either paying a fee to "enroll", or when you purchase points, they will enroll your weeks. As someone who purchased externally, this is a HUGE opportunity for you. You can enroll your weeks for $1995 (that is for 2 weeks or more - I think that is the price), and now you have an additional option - you can book using the point system if you want PLUS !!! - THIS IS HUGE NOW - you will be made "whole" and will now have the option to turn your week in for Marriott Rewards points if you want. - Thereby giving you a total of 4 options to use your week instead of the 2 you now have (occupy or exchange). I would highly recommend taking advantage of this as this is going to end very soon.

Go take a tour!!

 

[hot2trot]

Oh, I forgot - you had to have purchased your weeks prior to June of 2010 (I think that was the date)

 

[Docklander]

Marriott is offering all owners the ability to join in the new points program by either paying a fee to "enroll", or when you purchase points, they will enroll your weeks. As someone who purchased externally, this is a HUGE opportunity for you. You can enroll your weeks for $1995 (that is for 2 weeks or more - I think that is the price), and now you have an additional option - you can book using the point system if you want PLUS !!! - THIS IS HUGE NOW - you will be made "whole" and will now have the option to turn your week in for Marriott Rewards points if you want. - Thereby giving you a total of 4 options to use your week instead of the 2 you now have (occupy or exchange). I would highly recommend taking advantage of this as this is going to end very soon.

Go take a tour!!

I'm going to balance this out by being a little bit more reserved about the enhancements the DC program offers. It's definitely not for everyone and I'm not sure I agree that "this is huge". Personally I've never thought that the conversion of your TS week to MR points was a sound financial decision (but each to their own) so the ability to do this may not be important or right for people considering the move to DC.

Yes, by all means take a tour. It's always good to hear what Marriott have to say, but no one should make this decision before reading all the great info on TUG and really understanding how this new program will affect them. Don't expect a Marriott Rep to point out any downsides to your particular situation, that's not their job.

To give you an example of what may help you in your decision (purely from a fees standpoint) try looking back over the last few years of your TS ownership and see what fees you paid that you wouldn't have to pay under the DC system (but don't forget to factor in the $195 annual fee). That should give you a good idea of how many years of TS ownership you'll need before you recoup the initial enrollment fee via fee savings.

I do agree that anyone who thinks they're going to down the road of DC points should do all their thinking/consulting/reading/researching as soon as possible because the enrollment fees are only going to go up from here.

 

[Ron98GT]

We are about to use a week at Summit Watch which we bought on the resale market. We also own a Custom House, also bought on the resale market. I thought people like us would have no access to the Legacy Destination Points program. Which was fine, since we mostly intend to use not trade. Imagine my surprise at receiving an email from Marriott to listen to how their new programs would benefit a multiple-weeks owner. Here is an excerpt from that pitch:

"The reason they have asked me to contact you is to make sure you have been receiving all of your important information announcing the new Marriott Destinations Points Program. This new program is Marriott Vacations Worldwide biggest enhancement in 27 years. Based off of the feedback we have been receiving, the majority of our multiple week owners are aware there have been some enhancements, but do not know exactly what they are. There are many new flexible options available to you now that were not available to you in the past. You can check in any day of the week, it doesn’t have to be Friday, Saturday or Sunday anymore. For example, you can travel Wednesday to Wednesday if you would like. You can also stay any number of nights, you do not have to book for 7 nights at a time anymore. You can now exchange, trade, and deposit week directly through us instead of going through Interval International, which means fewer fees. Especially as a multiple week owner, like you are, there are a lot of advantages extended to you because you own more than one week. Also many of our owners are not aware that we do not sell weeks anymore…we sell deeded points now. So if someone wanted to become an owner with Marriott, they would buy deeded points and will only know and use this new system that we are educating our weeks owners like you about. You have the best of both worlds because you can use the old system or the new system. We have a few experts here on site that are meeting with owners and educating them about this new system."

Can any of you experienced TUGGERs explain this to me in English? Has Marriott suddenly decided there may be some way to make money off people that had written off with their hard-line approach or what? I am particularly interested in the ability to have weeks starting at any time or to easily add a day or two. But at what price in the fine print?

Apparently, this email was only sent to Marriott multi-week owners. It isn't asking him to convert to points. It stated that he keeps his weeks and can use them as weeks or magically use points? I think that is what the OP and I are mistified about

 

[ilene13]

Apparently, this email was only sent to Marriott multi-week owners. It isn't asking him to convert to points. It stated that he keeps his weeks and can use them as weeks or magically use points? I think that is what the OP and I are mistified about

I am a multi week owner and I did not get the email.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

We are about to use a week at Summit Watch which we bought on the resale market. We also own a Custom House, also bought on the resale market. I thought people like us would have no access to the Legacy Destination Points program. Which was fine, since we mostly intend to use not trade. Imagine my surprise at receiving an email from Marriott to listen to how their new programs would benefit a multiple-weeks owner. Here is an excerpt from that pitch:

"The reason they have asked me to contact you is to make sure you have been receiving all of your important information announcing the new Marriott Destinations Points Program. This new program is Marriott Vacations Worldwide biggest enhancement in 27 years. Based off of the feedback we have been receiving, the majority of our multiple week owners are aware there have been some enhancements, but do not know exactly what they are. There are many new flexible options available to you now that were not available to you in the past. You can check in any day of the week, it doesn’t have to be Friday, Saturday or Sunday anymore. For example, you can travel Wednesday to Wednesday if you would like. You can also stay any number of nights, you do not have to book for 7 nights at a time anymore. You can now exchange, trade, and deposit week directly through us instead of going through Interval International, which means fewer fees. Especially as a multiple week owner, like you are, there are a lot of advantages extended to you because you own more than one week. Also many of our owners are not aware that we do not sell weeks anymore…we sell deeded points now. So if someone wanted to become an owner with Marriott, they would buy deeded points and will only know and use this new system that we are educating our weeks owners like you about. You have the best of both worlds because you can use the old system or the new system. We have a few experts here on site that are meeting with owners and educating them about this new system."

Can any of you experienced TUGGERs explain this to me in English? Has Marriott suddenly decided there may be some way to make money off people that had written off with their hard-line approach or what? I am particularly interested in the ability to have weeks starting at any time or to easily add a day or two. But at what price in the fine print?

Might be worth a call to your VOA for clarification, but I believe you likely received this email in error.



.

 

[KathyPet]

The OP does not say when they bought their two resale weeks. If it was before the original cut off date then they would be eligible to join the DC program.

Other TUGGERS have also reported getting sales pitches that said that they would be allowed to enroll their resale weeks that were bought after the original deadline date IF they purchased a additional certain # of DC points.

So the E Mail might be very legitimate. EIther it was sent to the OP because his weeks were purchased before the cut off date and they are trying to encourage more owners to enroll so they have more inventory to use OR they want him to buy DC points and they will allow him to enroll his previously not allowed resale weeks.

 

[NJMOM2]

We are about to use a week at Summit Watch which we bought on the resale market. We also own a Custom House, also bought on the resale market. I thought people like us would have no access to the Legacy Destination Points program. Which was fine, since we mostly intend to use not trade. Imagine my surprise at receiving an email from Marriott to listen to how their new programs would benefit a multiple-weeks owner. Here is an excerpt from that pitch:

"The reason they have asked me to contact you is to make sure you have been receiving all of your important information announcing the new Marriott Destinations Points Program. This new program is Marriott Vacations Worldwide biggest enhancement in 27 years. Based off of the feedback we have been receiving, the majority of our multiple week owners are aware there have been some enhancements, but do not know exactly what they are. There are many new flexible options available to you now that were not available to you in the past. You can check in any day of the week, it doesn’t have to be Friday, Saturday or Sunday anymore. For example, you can travel Wednesday to Wednesday if you would like. You can also stay any number of nights, you do not have to book for 7 nights at a time anymore. You can now exchange, trade, and deposit week directly through us instead of going through Interval International, which means fewer fees. Especially as a multiple week owner, like you are, there are a lot of advantages extended to you because you own more than one week. Also many of our owners are not aware that we do not sell weeks anymore…we sell deeded points now. So if someone wanted to become an owner with Marriott, they would buy deeded points and will only know and use this new system that we are educating our weeks owners like you about. You have the best of both worlds because you can use the old system or the new system. We have a few experts here on site that are meeting with owners and educating them about this new system."

Can any of you experienced TUGGERs explain this to me in English? Has Marriott suddenly decided there may be some way to make money off people that had written off with their hard-line approach or what? I am particularly interested in the ability to have weeks starting at any time or to easily add a day or two. But at what price in the fine print?

The OP is a multi week owner. They own Summit Watch and Custom House both resales.

If your weeks are were purchased before June 20, 2010 you can enroll in the new DC points program. You will always have the use of your weeks as weeks as you have in the past but if you join the DC program you will be able to trade your week for DC points and check in for any number of days on any day of the week. An added options for resale buyers is the ability to also trade for Marriott Rewards points (even thou that is not the best use of your week in most cases). I found this useful when I had an extra week from my resale purchase that I didn't know what to do with. I was now able to exchange it for Marriott Reward Points and I have enough points for a vacation package that will sit there until I have time use the extra week and not expire in 2 to 3 years. You also gain the fee savings if you lock off and trade your weeks. The annual fee for DC club member is $169-$199 depending on the number of DC points given for your 2 weeks. You will only have to pay exchange fees for non Marriott exchanges.

The new program works for some and not for others. Read about it here on TUGS and ask questions - Go to the sales update and don't buy any DC points until you have time to think about it and work the program should you decide to join.

 

[Ron98GT]

The OP is a multi week owner. They own Summit Watch and Custom House both resales.

If your weeks are were purchased before June 20, 2010 you can enroll in the new DC points program. You will always have the use of your weeks as weeks as you have in the past but if you join the DC program you will be able to trade your week for DC points and check in for any number of days on any day of the week. An added options for resale buyers is the ability to also trade for Marriott Rewards points (even thou that is not the best use of your week in most cases). I found this useful when I had an extra week from my resale purchase that I didn't know what to do with. I was now able to exchange it for Marriott Reward Points and I have enough points for a vacation package that will sit there until I have time use the extra week and not expire in 2 to 3 years. You also gain the fee savings if you lock off and trade your weeks. The annual fee for DC club member is $169-$199 depending on the number of DC points given for your 2 weeks. You will only have to pay exchange fees for non Marriott exchanges.

The new program works for some and not for others. Read about it here on TUGS and ask questions - Go to the sales update and don't buy any DC points until you have time to think about it and work the program should you decide to join.

Interesting, I didn't know that. Could be useful to the OP if they want flexabilty, at a price