SVV Mandatory Resales - now considered unauthorized - Westin Flex as well?

[The Colorado Kid]

Obviously I haven't been paying close enough attention to Abound changes.

Can someone verify my understanding from what I was told by Vistana chat today, buying a Sheraton Vistana Villages mandatory ownership resale is considered unauthorized and StarOptions would not transfer, and only use would be at that specific SVV property?

I logged in again and asked a second chat agent:
(3/27/2023, 2:46:27 PM): Hi I am buying a Sheraton Vistana Villages Bella phase from a current owner.
Will I have use at other Sheraton properties?
Silvina (3/27/2023, 2:47:33 PM): When you purchase externally you will be able to use the property that you are purchasing only.

 

[vacationtime1]

Did they specify which SVV section? Two are mandatory (Bella and Key West); the others never were.

Westin Flex has always been voluntary.

 

[daviator]

Mandatory resales are still going to give you access to VSN. But they may not (probably won't) give you access to Abound unless they are requalified by making an additional developer purchase.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Did they specify which SVV section? Two are mandatory (Bella and Key West); the others never were.

Westin Flex has always been voluntary.

I asked that specifically and here was her answer:
Debbie (3/27/2023, 1:44:40 PM): If Un-Authorized Reslae at a Mandatory property and purchased before September 2023, you would be enrolled into the VSN and Abound by Marriott Vacation. After September 2023, you would not have access to Abount by Mariott Vacations.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Mandatory resales are still going to give you access to VSN. But they may not (probably won't) give you access to Abound unless they are requalified by making an additional developer purchase.

@daviator Maybe I didn't ask her the right questions? This is what she said...do you still feel mandatory would get me VSN?
Debbie (3/27/2023, 1:44:40 PM): If Un-Authorized Reslae at a Mandatory property and purchased before September 2023, you would be enrolled into the VSN and Abound by Marriott Vacation. After September 2023, you would not have access to Abount by Mariott Vacations.

 

[daviator]

I asked that specifically and here was her answer:
Debbie (3/27/2023, 1:44:40 PM): If Un-Authorized Reslae at a Mandatory property and purchased before September 2023, you would be enrolled into the VSN and Abound by Marriott Vacation. After September 2023, you would not have access to Abount by Mariott Vacations.

September 2023? Not 2022? If that's accurate, then it's open season on mandatory resales through this August. But I am pretty sure the qualifying date was August 9, 2022 or something like that.

 

[WatsonC2]

I asked that specifically and here was her answer:
Debbie (3/27/2023, 1:44:40 PM): If Un-Authorized Reslae at a Mandatory property and purchased before September 2023, you would be enrolled into the VSN and Abound by Marriott Vacation. After September 2023, you would not have access to Abount by Mariott Vacations.

Looks correct. Note she did not say you would not have access to VSN, just abound. As previously said only Bella and Key West are mandatory at SVV...

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Looks correct. Note she did not say you would not have access to VSN, just abound. As previously said only Bella and Key West are mandatory at SVV...

@WatsonC2 I hope you are correct...in other parts of the chat I asked her more simply if I could use the SVV mandatory to book other Sheratons and Westins and she said no...only home resort.

 

[daviator]

@daviator Maybe I didn't ask her the right questions? This is what she said...do you still feel mandatory would get me VSN?
Debbie (3/27/2023, 1:44:40 PM): If Un-Authorized Reslae at a Mandatory property and purchased before September 2023, you would be enrolled into the VSN and Abound by Marriott Vacation. After September 2023, you would not have access to Abount by Mariott Vacations.

You should still have VSN, it's in the deed, that's why those properties are mandatory. If MVC could take that away, they'd have done it years ago. But Abound is essentially voluntary for all properties, so no new resales will have access to Abound unless they are later requalified.

But as others have noted, SVV is only mandatory for certain phases. If you buy in one of the voluntary phases, you probably wouldn't have VSN or Abound.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Did they specify which SVV section? Two are mandatory (Bella and Key West); the others never were.

Westin Flex has always been voluntary.

@vacationtime1 I though Westin Kierland was mandatory?

 

[dioxide45]

I asked that specifically and here was her answer:
Debbie (3/27/2023, 1:44:40 PM): If Un-Authorized Reslae at a Mandatory property and purchased before September 2023, you would be enrolled into the VSN and Abound by Marriott Vacation. After September 2023, you would not have access to Abount by Mariott Vacations.

THis looks to be a correct statement based on my understanding. The weeks would have VSN membership, but not Abound. Even with VSN membership, they still consider them unqualified.

 

[dioxide45]

@vacationtime1 I though Westin Kierland was mandatory?

Yes, Westin Kierland Villas is VSN Mandatory. Westin Flex is not.

 

[daviator]

@vacationtime1 I though Westin Kierland was mandatory?

Westin Flex is voluntary, so if you buy resale, you can only access the properties that are considered home resorts for Westin Flex, and only the inventory that's in the Westin Flex trust. At some properties, like WKV, the only inventory in the Westin Flex trust is the leftovers, mostly mud weeks in the spring and Fall. It's not the same as owning a deeded week at WKV.

 

[grrrah]

@WatsonC2 I hope you are correct...in other parts of the chat I asked her more simply if I could use the SVV mandatory to book other Sheratons and Westins and she said no...only home resort.

She can say no based on the way you asked the question.. And her response will be "No you can't book them (silently meaning through Abound)". You and her both know you meant through VSN, but those are the extreme truth stretching that they use and can defend themselves down the line if needed.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

She can say no based on the way you asked the question.. And her response will be "No you can't book them (silently meaning through Abound)". You and her both know you meant through VSN, but those are the extreme truth stretching that they use and can defend themselves down the line if needed.

I asked a second chat agent:

(3/27/2023, 2:46:27 PM): Hi I am buying a Sheraton Vistana Villages Bella phase from a current owner.
Will I have use at other Sheraton properties?
Silvina (3/27/2023, 2:47:33 PM): When you purchase externally you will be able to use the property that you are purchasing only.

 

[dioxide45]

YOu are getting very generic responses from front line reps who don't fully understand the nuances of VSN mandatory. What you need to ask, If you think you must, is "if I purchase a VSN mandatory VOI from a current owner, will I be able to reserve other Sheraton and Westin resorts at eight months using StarOptions". They may get that one right, but I suspect they won't.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

YOu are getting very generic responses from front line reps who don't fully understand the nuances of VSN mandatory. What you need to ask, If you think you must, is "if I purchase a VSN mandatory VOI from a current owner, will I be able to reserve other Sheraton and Westin resorts at eight months using StarOptions". They may get that one right, but I suspect they won't.

@dioxide45 Thanks much...I'd like to add resale SVV Bella/KeyWest phases to my Flex...specifically to use at Westins...but I don't want to risk being restricted to use just at those resorts if I am misunderstanding a recent change. Many owners who are selling also have no idea what is currently allowed.

 

[goldenfleece]

Listen everyone: It sounds like you need to get a PhD in Sheraton timeshare rules to figure out these systems. Insane.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Listen everyone: It sounds like you need to get a PhD in Sheraton timeshare rules to figure out these systems. Insane.

@goldenfleece Well-said!

 

[DavidnRobin]

Problem is that often people are unaware of what they actually own vs. what they think they own.
e.g. buying Westin Flex while at WKORV, and think that you own WKORV when you own available WFlex inventory at multiple WVC resorts.

It’s quite simple:
Did you buy Vistana Mandatory resale prior to Aug9’22?
Good for you.
Was it Platinum?
Excellent!

Others?
You are/were screwed by MVC



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dioxide45]

@dioxide45 Thanks much...I'd like to add resale SVV Bella/KeyWest phases to my Flex...specifically to use at Westins...but I don't want to risk being restricted to use just at those resorts if I am misunderstanding a recent change. Many owners who are selling also have no idea what is currently allowed.

The only thing that may make it hard to combine with your Flex is that Vistana isn't necessarily combining accounts. So it might make things messy.

 

[dioxide45]

What we have found is that sometimes a mandatory VOI will get transferred and show VSN=No. That may or may not update within a few days. That said, we have found that Vistana fixes the issue when challenged.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

The only thing that may make it hard to combine with your Flex is that Vistana isn't necessarily combining accounts. So it might make things messy.

Thanks I have figured out how to work with that...do you feel that there has NOT been a change then to the mandatory property rules? Just gathering opinions...not sure how to actually verify before a purchase.

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks I have figured out how to work with that...do you feel that there has NOT been a change then to the mandatory property rules? Just gathering opinions...not sure how to actually verify before a purchase.

I don't beleive there has been any change to mandatory VSN membership rules. VSN mandatory rules are actually even written into the Abound rules and FAQ. Mandatory still matters and you will get StarOptions at 8 months.

 

[jabberwocky]

The term “Un-authorized” has been used to describe any resale, this was true even pre-MVC.

I looked back at one of my reports that I snuck a picture of in the summer of 2022, our resales are all tagged as “un-authorized”, even though one was a mandatory (not requalified) and the other was a voluntary unit that we did requalify with a Flex purchase. All of our units were in VSN pre-08/09 of last year - so Abound eligible.

The agents likely don’t know what is going on with VSN - there is no incentive to be trained in selling it anymore. The word unauthorized sounds scary enough that I’m sure they have gotten a lot of people to drop big dollars to make it “authorized.”