CLOSED: Thread Dedicated to the Upcoming/Anticipated Integration of Vistana & Marriott Ownerships (Marriott Link + Vistana Discussion)

[daviator]

Over in the Marriott forum, multiple people are reporting that the announcement of the new changes/overlay system/whatever will be announced on 3/14 and will become effective in late June. As always, I'll believe it when I read it in a communication from MVW, but that's sounding more plausible.

 

[klpenny]

Hi all! We need some help. We currently own 1 bedroom at Harborside Atlantis every other year (44,000 Star Options), and a 2 Bedroom yearly at Vistana Villages Orlando (81,000 options). We went to an owners update in Boston last weekend, and they really made it seem we should upgrade to what we thought was Marriott Vacation Club, but was Sheraton Flex at 60,000 Star Options. We traded in our Vistana Villages 2 Bedroom for about $10,000 towards it and still had to pay an upgrade fee of $14,000. We also got a bunch of Marriott Bonvoy Points. Here is my question. I have been reading the feeds on this site. We did get in writing from the salesperson, that we would be in the Marriott Vacation Club ownership program by the end of July. He said a big announcement is coming out this month, and as of 3/15 they will no longer be doing upgrades. It appears from what he said that the Flex point accounts (Sheraton, Westin) will be merging with the Flex point accounts at Marriott, but not the deeded properties. He did say if we had a flex program, our Harborside Atlantis property would be allowed to participate in it, only because we have a flex program. We are thinking of cancelling. Is it worth it to get the flexibility of the new combined Flex program? He said we would have access to the 90 or so Marriott Vacation Clubs under our 60,000 points, though I imagine they would buy a lot less than than the 81,000 points we had, and that through the Interval exchange, which Marriott has bough Interval and now there will be a separate Interval program for this new Marriott Flex program which the Sheraton and Vistana Flex owners will be a part of. Through this new program you would have more priority access to Interval and now use points to swap. He says the value of the 60,000 points would buy about twice as much in this new Interval program. He showed us screen prints. The bottom line is we are very torn. We don't want to shell out this money for what appears to be less options, but we do want to be in this new system rolling out I believe this month or next, according to him as it offers a lot more flexibility. We didn't get our contract until Wednesday last week, but are coming up to the 10 day cancellation period Thoughts? Help!

 

[vacationtime1]

I am very curious about what the salesperson put in writing. Was it the salesperson or a manager? What exactly did they guarantee?

I have not seen any written promises about what happens to Flex in the Marriott/Vistana integration; this is a first.

 

[klpenny]

H

I am very curious about what the salesperson put in writing. Was it the salesperson or a manager? What exactly did they guarantee?

I have not seen any written promises about what happens to Flex in the Marriott/Vistana integration; this is a first.

He was a manager. He did not put it into contract. When we got home we thought we bought into Marriott, but when we got our documents a few days later, it said Sheraton Flex. He signed some things stating we would have that access. Not sure it is binding in court, but it is in writing both in an email from him and on a signed document from him saying we would be in the Marriott Vacation club by July 2022. However, I feel we should have received 81,000 Home options from what I have read from everyone, and not 60,000. I sent him an email saying we were thinking of cancelling unless we got the 81,000.

 

[dioxide45]

Hi all! We need some help. We currently own 1 bedroom at Harborside Atlantis every other year (44,000 Star Options), and a 2 Bedroom yearly at Vistana Villages Orlando (81,000 options). We went to an owners update in Boston last weekend, and they really made it seem we should upgrade to what we thought was Marriott Vacation Club, but was Sheraton Flex at 60,000 Star Options. We traded in our Vistana Villages 2 Bedroom for about $10,000 towards it and still had to pay an upgrade fee of $14,000. We also got a bunch of Marriott Bonvoy Points. Here is my question. I have been reading the feeds on this site. We did get in writing from the salesperson, that we would be in the Marriott Vacation Club ownership program by the end of July. He said a big announcement is coming out this month, and as of 3/15 they will no longer be doing upgrades. It appears from what he said that the Flex point accounts (Sheraton, Westin) will be merging with the Flex point accounts at Marriott, but not the deeded properties. He did say if we had a flex program, our Harborside Atlantis property would be allowed to participate in it, only because we have a flex program. We are thinking of cancelling. Is it worth it to get the flexibility of the new combined Flex program? He said we would have access to the 90 or so Marriott Vacation Clubs under our 60,000 points, though I imagine they would buy a lot less than than the 81,000 points we had, and that through the Interval exchange, which Marriott has bough Interval and now there will be a separate Interval program for this new Marriott Flex program which the Sheraton and Vistana Flex owners will be a part of. Through this new program you would have more priority access to Interval and now use points to swap. He says the value of the 60,000 points would buy about twice as much in this new Interval program. He showed us screen prints. The bottom line is we are very torn. We don't want to shell out this money for what appears to be less options, but we do want to be in this new system rolling out I believe this month or next, according to him as it offers a lot more flexibility. We didn't get our contract until Wednesday last week, but are coming up to the 10 day cancellation period Thoughts? Help!

How many new StarOptions/HomeOptions did you get? It sounds like you went from 125,000 (81,000+44,000) down to only 104,000 (60,000+44,000). All for the privilege of handing over $14,000?

 

[klpenny]

Y

How many new StarOptions/HomeOptions did you get? It sounds like you went from 81,000+44,000 down to only 60,000+44,000. All for the privilege of handing over $14,000?

You are correct. We kept Harborside and the 44,000 and lost the 81,000 down to 60,000 with more flexibility. I do believe the flex programs are merging starting by the end of this month. I see the value in it, but think to spend $14,000 to go down to 60,000 is not worth it to me. We gain increased flexibility in new program as I do think the flexes are merging and perhaps not the deeded properties yet. We would be giving that up for now, but I feel from what everyone else wrote we should have at least gotten more home options.

 

[dioxide45]

You are correct. We kept Harborside and the 44,000 and lost the 81,000 down to 60,000 with more flexibility. I do believe the flex programs are merging starting by the end of this month. I see the value in it, but think to spend $14,000 to go down to 60,000 is not worth it to me. We gain increased flexibility in new program as I do think the flexes are merging and perhaps not the deeded properties yet. We would be giving that up for now, but I feel from what everyone else wrote we should have at least gotten more home options.

That sounds like a bad deal all around. You get less time for something not guaranteed. Their written stuff is probably only worth the paper it is written on. It is quite possible that Marriott will allow owners to enroll for a fee down the road. We don't know. What they said could all be very true, half true or all lies. We don't know if upgrades will or won't be available in the future, if equity will be allowed. The sales reps have about the same amount of details that we do. They are just making stuff up as they go to make a sale.

You are now the second person to come along and say though got fewer points out of the deal while paying money to get in. Since you already had StarOptions with your HRA and SVV weeks, you already had 125,000 points that could be used at 8 months to book any Vistana property. You didn't buy any real flexibility. The new 60,000 Sheraton Flex can be used at the 12 month mark to book any of the Sheraton inventory in the Flex, but not Westin inventory until 8 months. You don't gain a lot going from SVV StarOptions to Sheraton Flex unless you want to go to Sheraton Kauai in peak season or perhaps certain ski weeks in Colorado. Pretty much all other Sheraton inventory is available at 8 months with regular StarOptions.

The salesperson should really be ashamed of themselves for selling you the deal that they did. RESCIND TODAY! Never buy based on future promises. Buy on what you are guaranteed today.

 

[klpenny]

That sounds like a bad deal all around. You get less time for something not guaranteed. Their written stuff is probably only worth the paper it is written on. It is quite possible that Marriott will allow owners to enroll for a fee down the road. We don't know. What they said could all be very true, half true or all lies. We don't know if upgrades will or won't be available in the future, if equity will be allowed. The sales reps have about the same amount of details that we do. They are just making stuff up as they go to make a sale.

You are now the second person to come along and say though got fewer points out of the deal while paying money to get in. Since you already had StarOptions with your HRA and SVV weeks, you already had 125,000 points that could be used at 8 months to book any Vistana property. You didn't buy any real flexibility. The new 60,000 Sheraton Flex can be used at the 12 month mark to book any of the Sheraton inventory in the Flex, but not Westin inventory until 8 months. You don't gain a lot going from SVV StarOptions to Sheraton Flex unless you want to go to Sheraton Kauai in peak season or perhaps certain ski weeks in Colorado. Pretty much all other Sheraton inventory is available at 8 months with regular StarOptions.

The salesperson should really be ashamed of themselves for selling you the deal that they did. RESCIND TODAY! Never buy based on future promises. Buy on what you are guaranteed today.

Thanks for the feedback. I do think we will have access to the Marriott timeshare with this and otherwise Sheraton Flex is not a good option. But less points? Doesn't seem fair to me. We are thinking of definitely cancelling. Do we just send a certified letter to the address it says to in the contract?

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks for the feedback. I do think we will have access to the Marriott timeshare with this and otherwise Sheraton Flex is not a good option. But less points? Doesn't seem fair to me. We are thinking of definitely cancelling. Do we just send a certified letter to the address it says to in the contract?

Yes, the contract will spell out all the details on where to send your rescission letter. Follow the instructions carefully.

 

[Red elephant]

Thanks for the feedback. I do think we will have access to the Marriott timeshare with this and otherwise Sheraton Flex is not a good option. But less points? Doesn't seem fair to me. We are thinking of definitely cancelling. Do we just send a certified letter to the address it says to in the contract?

I was told that the required amount of flex options required to book a week at a particular resort is less when using flex points in interval than when using staroptions in VSN. Maybe that’s why you got 60,000 instead of 81,000 Sheraton flex points.

 

[dioxide45]

I was told that the required amount of flex options required to book a week at a particular resort is less when using flex points in interval than when using staroptions in VSN. Maybe that’s why you got 60,000 instead of 81,000 Sheraton flex points.

That is true for certain resorts and certain times of the year. Of course, trading in interval comes with exchange fees. So you pay $164 to exchange for the benefit of using fewer points. The plan here though sounds like it would be to not go through Interval International, but using them for Marriott reservations in the future. The $14,000 is to get the ability to use the points to book Marriott.

Trust me, in the future there will be a method to convert your Vistana StarOptions/Weeks to a new system for some amount of money. The offer will be there again in the future. It may not be exactly the same, but they will come up with a method/scheme to get your money.

 

[klpenny]

I was told that the required amount of flex options required to book a week at a particular resort is less when using flex points in interval than when using staroptions in VSN. Maybe that’s why you got 60,000 instead of 81,000 Sheraton flex points.

It appears to be. But it forces us into Interval, and not through our regular points. It does buy about double the value in Interval. I saw the screen prints in the system and it appears to be true. However, my fear with the merger is that the 60,000 won't buy us
much at the Marriott Vacation Club properties.

 

[dioxide45]

It appears to be. But it forces us into Interval, and not through our regular points. It does buy about double the value in Interval. I saw the screen prints in the system and it appears to be true. However, my fear with the merger is that the 60,000 won't buy us
much at the Marriott Vacation Club properties.

If prior reports of a 28:1 ratio on Sheraton Flex are true, 60K would get you about 2,150 points in the Marriott system. About enough for an off season week in a 2BR in Orlando.

 

[klpenny]

If prior reports of a 28:1 ratio on Sheraton Flex are true, 60K would get you about 2,150 points in the Marriott system. About enough for an off season week in a 2BR in Orlando.

Would it get us a 1 bedroom non efficiency any time?

 

[Ken555]

It just boggles the mind that any informed person would knowingly buy from these weasels at this time, unless the buyer is fully informed of the risks and expecting an upside from it (which I can’t imagine will be meaningful, though who knows).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[dioxide45]

Would it get us a 1 bedroom non efficiency any time?

Not necessarily. You can see Marriott points charts here. Realise that using HomeOptions as DC points is not guaranteed and you are only taking their word for it. They are good at sales because they are good at convincing people of things that may or may not be true.

 

[klpenny]

Not necessarily. You can see Marriott points charts here. Realise that using HomeOptions as DC points is not guaranteed and you are only taking their word for it. They are good at sales because they are good at convincing people of things that may or may not be true.

Thanks for the help. Appreciate it.

 

[rickandcindy23]

@klpenny RESCIND, do it now while you can. They are crooks to offer you a lesser product. I cannot believe how creepy this all is.

What you need to do, if you want more Mandatory Options is buy Westin Kierland platinum season for that $14,000 and you will still have everything you already have + many more mandatory options.

This is scandalous. Seriously horrible. I think timeshare salespeople are scum.

 

[byeloe]

I am not sure what kind of/ if any access to Marriott you will get with this.
As it stands now only through Interval. Which you already had. Definitely rescind and wait to see what the new program looks like.
There will always be opportunity to buy

Thanks for the feedback. I do think we will have access to the Marriott timeshare with this and otherwise Sheraton Flex is not a good option. But less points? Doesn't seem fair to me. We are thinking of definitely cancelling. Do we just send a certified letter to the address it says to in the contract?

 

[SGould]

I talked to a corporate sales person awhile back. I currently owns 81k of annual flex and annual 2 bed IV at WKORN. I told her the only thing I would be interested in is ocean front Maui. She told me that they will be adding ocean front to flex and offered to sell 95.7k flex options. I didn’t feel like parting with $36k so declined.

She also said Flex plays better with Marriott. I asked her if my WKORN would be able to trade into Marriott she said yes. Not sure why flex was easier and she couldn’t tell me so another reason not to hand over any $$.

 

[DanCali]

She also said Flex plays better with Marriott. I asked her if my WKORN would be able to trade into Marriott she said yes. Not sure why flex was easier and she couldn’t tell me so another reason not to hand over any $$.

Is your WKORVN resale or developer purchase?

 

[tstiv1996]

This may sound obvious or silly especially given we know nothing in stone, but reading all this makes me feel like my resent mandatory resale purchase at SVV will hold a lot less value. I guess I don’t have a problem competing with all the Marriott folks, I feel like things will spread out. But I’m just afraid my StarOptions, once converted will be worth less when considering trading and using at WKORV or something else. Am I understanding the general theme of this thread accurately? Or am I just over thinking?

 

[SGould]

Is your WKORVN resale or developer purchase?

It was a developer purchase.

 

[dioxide45]

This may sound obvious or silly especially given we know nothing in stone, but reading all this makes me feel like my resent mandatory resale purchase at SVV will hold a lot less value. I guess I don’t have a problem competing with all the Marriott folks, I feel like things will spread out. But I’m just afraid my StarOptions, once converted will be worth less when considering trading and using at WKORV or something else. Am I understanding the general theme of this thread accurately? Or am I just over thinking?

Your resale week and StarOptions may not even be able to be used to book Marriott weeks. We don't know how it will work. Us resale folks may still have to just continue to use StarOptions in VSN. The issue may be how Marriott values weeks and StarOptions. If they allocate points on the week level, people with Hawaii weeks may be more likely to use Marriott points than their StarOptions, but people with high season Kierland weeks may not convert and just continue using StarOptions. All based on speculation of course.

 

[TravelTime]

This may sound obvious or silly especially given we know nothing in stone, but reading all this makes me feel like my resent mandatory resale purchase at SVV will hold a lot less value. I guess I don’t have a problem competing with all the Marriott folks, I feel like things will spread out. But I’m just afraid my StarOptions, once converted will be worth less when considering trading and using at WKORV or something else. Am I understanding the general theme of this thread accurately? Or am I just over thinking?

I think you may be right. You can look at the charts for similar Orlando properties to get an idea of how many DPs you might receive, assuming Vistana owners are allowed to convert to DPs.