Thread Dedicated to the Upcoming/Anticipated Integration of Vistana and Marriott Ownerships

[JIMinNC]

I'm aware but that was the wording I was given which makes me wonder if there might be changes in the future or it might just be the way it was phrased.

If your source is in Sales, it seems that Sales has been consistently including Hyatt in some idealistic future version of whatever MVW comes up with, but that is directly contradicted by what the Executive team is telling the investor community. My only theory on why Sales keeps mentioning Hyatt is that since Hyatt has some very appealing locations where MVC and Vistana are not, Sales is engaging in some wishful thinking, since they know that holding out the possibility that Hyatt may one day be included might garner them a few more sales.

But thinking about it logically, I can't imagine how MVW could ever manage to integrate Hyatt (other than through II) with the competing loyalty programs and different brand ownership. I guess if Marriott International ever acquired Hyatt Hotels, that could all change, but given the number of brands MI already controls, I would think any acquisition of Hyatt would raise serious antitrust issues.

 

[Dean]

Jim, I have followed your posts on the stockholders side and very much appreciate the information and effort involved. My info is from sales but this person is not into hyperbole or being misleading, unfortunately that's not the usual with sales. It's far more likely I read more into his wording than anything else. But his wording did give at least a glimmer of hope that it could happen at some point. While there are challenges in incorporating Hyatt, some that make it very unlikely, I'm sure they would if they could. Things could change in the future with that situation. My prediction is they're either eventually integrate Hyatt or sell it off, time will tell.

 

[Dean]

A couple of other tidbits realizing this is all very new and will be an evolving situation from a knowledge and understanding standpoint. After reviewing the information I was given, which is extremely limited, I'm not sure that points owners on the non MVC side will have access initially. It does appear that different levels on the MVC side will have different access but no specifics at this point.

 

[TSKing]

If you read through the rumors above, the current "hot" rumor from two sources is March 14 announcement with availability starting in June. But those are just rumors from sales reps. The only authoritative factual info we can bank on is what Executive Management has said in their quarterly earnings calls. The specific quote from the CEO is in post #54 above. Very general and vague, but something is coming.

As far as points values, that will have to wait for them to publish the points schedules, but I would think they would want to come up with points values that are reasonably consistent across brands - i.e. - the Westin's on Maui would be in the same ballpark as the purpose built Maui Ocean Club Lahaina/Napili Villas just down the beach. But that's just more speculation.

If the March 14 rumor is true, we may not have to wait much longer to find out. If it's not true, we'll find out later this spring, most likely.

I had a zoom call with a sales rep (MVC) in February because I own also Vistana. What he told me was Vistana options are converting to my MVC points. I am not sure if he meant (I thought he did but now not sure) that my points from Vistana would automatically convert and all the properties would be in my one MVC account! Can't wait for the announcement. I own Westin and Sheraton in Vistana. What the sales rep told me was that the Westin was worth more points, there would be a higher exchange ratio. So because of this he was offering to sell me more points to trade in my Sheratons! More cash, no not me, not now!!! He also said if you own Vistana already, you have will have access to Marriott with those points. Otherwise if you are a Vistana owner only, things will be the same. You must buy into MVC if you want access to those properties, other than outside exchange (II).

 

[VacationForever]

I had a zoom call with a sales rep (MVC) in February because I own also Vistana. What he told me was Vistana options are converting to my MVC points. I am not sure if he meant (I thought he did but now not sure) that my points from Vistana would automatically convert and all the properties would be in my one MVC account! Can't wait for the announcement. I own Westin and Sheraton in Vistana. What the sales rep told me was that the Westin was worth more points, there would be a higher exchange ratio. So because of this he was offering to sell me more points to trade in my Sheratons! More cash, no not me, not now!!! He also said if you own Vistana already, you have will have access to Marriott with those points. Otherwise if you are a Vistana owner only, things will be the same. You must buy into MVC if you want access to those properties, other than outside exchange (II).

Salespeople know squat.

 

[dougp26364]

I had a zoom call with a sales rep (MVC) in February because I own also Vistana. What he told me was Vistana options are converting to my MVC points. I am not sure if he meant (I thought he did but now not sure) that my points from Vistana would automatically convert and all the properties would be in my one MVC account! Can't wait for the announcement. I own Westin and Sheraton in Vistana. What the sales rep told me was that the Westin was worth more points, there would be a higher exchange ratio. So because of this he was offering to sell me more points to trade in my Sheratons! More cash, no not me, not now!!! He also said if you own Vistana already, you have will have access to Marriott with those points. Otherwise if you are a Vistana owner only, things will be the same. You must buy into MVC if you want access to those properties, other than outside exchange (II).

The key here is “he was offering to sell you more points”. As soon as I read that I realized he was in,y telling you what he thought you needed to hear in order to get you to buy now.

I’ll be glad when they finally make an official announcement. Then we can shift from speculation to dissecting the program and finding the loopholes. I’m sure we’ll all find something to complain about first before we find the advantages and ways we can use the program to our advantage. We’ll also shift to the new lies the salesmen begin to tell once the official program is official

 

[CPNY]

The key here is “he was offering to sell you more points”. As soon as I read that I realized he was in,y telling you what he thought you needed to hear in order to get you to buy now.

I’ll be glad when they finally make an official announcement. Then we can shift from speculation to dissecting the program and finding the loopholes. I’m sure we’ll all find something to complain about first before we find the advantages and ways we can use the program to our advantage. We’ll also shift to the new lies the salesmen begin to tell once the official program is official

The new program hasn’t been rolled out yet and I already hate it haha

 

[dougp26364]

The new program hasn’t been rolled out yet and I already hate it haha

When the DC came out I was extremely displeased with the “skim”. Mostly because I had envisioned converting my Ocean Pointe unit to DC points, booking a smaller unit and having points left over to go somewhere else. That didn’t happen. Instead we weren’t even given enough points to book our deeded week with our deeded view of we converted to points. Adding insult to injury, o couldn’t even move down from a 3 bedroom OF to a 2 bedroom OF and have enough points for the week we were accustomed to booking.
All these years later we’ve added a deed, added trust points, climbed to presidents and then chairman’s level and found ways to make the program work well for us. We’ve even converted our 2022 Ocean Pointe week to DC points for the first time as we plan to try Marco Island in December instead of Palm Beach. We’ll see how that goes

 

[vacation dreaming]

So where is this big announcement? I thought today was the day? Vistana owners can barely access the reservation website these days. Something needs to change.

 

[KS2beach]

I had a zoom call with a sales rep (MVC) in February because I own also Vistana. What he told me was Vistana options are converting to my MVC points. I am not sure if he meant (I thought he did but now not sure) that my points from Vistana would automatically convert and all the properties would be in my one MVC account! Can't wait for the announcement. I own Westin and Sheraton in Vistana. What the sales rep told me was that the Westin was worth more points, there would be a higher exchange ratio. So because of this he was offering to sell me more points to trade in my Sheratons! More cash, no not me, not now!!! He also said if you own Vistana already, you have will have access to Marriott with those points. Otherwise if you are a Vistana owner only, things will be the same. You must buy into MVC if you want access to those properties, other than outside exchange (II).

We are in the same boat- we own Westin- Sheraton- and MVC- so anxious to see how this shakes out. My biggest worry is not being able to get into my WRF home ownership after all these others added in to book out at 12 months and 13 months.

 

[dougp26364]

So where is this big announcement? I thought today was the day? Vistana owners can barely access the reservation website these days. Something needs to change.

they didn’t say March 21 of this year did they?

 

[dougp26364]

We’ll maybe it is happening. I just tried to log in and check our account and can’t get the page to load. Maybe there is hope after all

 

[dioxide45]

We’ll maybe it is happening. I just tried to log in and check our account and can’t get the page to load. Maybe there is hope after all

Hell, that is the norm these days on the Vistana.com website.

 

[Fasttr]

Apparently the changes were not worth mentioning. ;-)

 

[bbland]

Hi all, new here and new to Timeshares. We stay every year at Steamboat Sheraton and are considering buying a week. But it's very confusing. If this isn't the right thread I apologize in advance. The unit we want is currently deeded for a specific unit and specific week, which is exactly what we want. If we buy now, will we retain that? Also, if we buy now, will it be converted to points in the future where we would have the option of going somewhere else? Every time I call into Vistana, they just try to sell me their points directly and I can't get any answers.

Thanks in advance,
Beth

 

[dioxide45]

Hi all, new here and new to Timeshares. We stay every year at Steamboat Sheraton and are considering buying a week. But it's very confusing. If this isn't the right thread I apologize in advance. The unit we want is currently deeded for a specific unit and specific week, which is exactly what we want. If we buy now, will we retain that? Also, if we buy now, will it be converted to points in the future where we would have the option of going somewhere else? Every time I call into Vistana, they just try to sell me their points directly and I can't get any answers.

Thanks in advance,
Beth

This question is probably best asked in the Vistana forum as its own thread. I don't think Sheraton Steamboat was sold as fixed week/fixed unit. So the deeded week and unit number are probably meaningless. Ask in the Vistana forum to confirm.

Vistana / Sheraton / Westin Timeshares

Discussions about the Vistana / Westin / Sheraton branded Timeshare network

tugbbs.com

 

[KS2beach]

We’ll maybe it is happening. I just tried to log in and check our account and can’t get the page to load. Maybe there is hope after all

just heard now saying March 24th for information

 

[KS2beach]

Newbie on here... read this thread and didn't see much discussion of what I'm most interested in as a MVC owner...

Westin has quite a few interesting properties / locations that MVC does not have - namely Mexico (both and East and West coasts) and Bahamas, plus additional Hawaii properties. My question is: when will Mariott owners be able to use DC points to book those properties, and what will be the points cost compared to MVC properties?

I live in California - the Caribbean is really tough to get to, so Mexico is really appealing, and even the Bahamas is an easier connecting flight from the US than Aruba etc. So I'm excited for these additional options.

Any thoughts on both timing of the actual ability to use DC points for Westin and how Marriott and Westin will decide on relative value vs some of the upper end MVC properties?

Sounds like announcement pushed back to March 24th, others are saying unknown if actually is the case- will believe it when they send out--but this is what we heard;

* Vistana program stays as is for all current owners.

* Marriott owners will not have access to Vistana properties until 8 Months unless someone elects to to move their ownership into DC program

* Annually you can elect to move SO’s into the DC program

* 5 Star elite will be grandfathered into Chairman’s Level, but I’m unsure if you had to have conversions that equaled 15,000+ DC Vacation Club Points

* Vistana Owners will not have a enrollment fee into the merged program, but will have the Club Fee to access (like our annual Vistana Fee)

 

[rthib]

Sounds like announcement pushed back to March 24th, others are saying unknown if actually is the case- will believe it when they send out--but this is what we heard;

* Vistana program stays as is for all current owners.

* Marriott owners will not have access to Vistana properties until 8 Months unless someone elects to to move their ownership into DC program

* Annually you can elect to move SO’s into the DC program

* 5 Star elite will be grandfathered into Chairman’s Level, but I’m unsure if you had to have conversions that equaled 15,000+ DC Vacation Club Points

* Vistana Owners will not have a enrollment fee into the merged program, but will have the Club Fee to access (like our annual Vistana Fee)

That sounds possible, wondering what the "you need to buy DC points in order to get" catch will be to drive up sales.

 

[Fasttr]

just heard now saying March 24th for information

Seems the marketing department is as bad as the IT department.

 

[Dean]

That sounds possible, wondering what the "you need to buy DC points in order to get" catch will be to drive up sales.

To level up? Enroll resale? Credit additive across both programs for status? New level requirements? No matter the outcome, sales will have to take the specifics and use it to encourage people to buy. It's sounded like this is going to be a phased program with possible crossover access now and a future fully combined program, time will tell.

 

[craigc]

"* Marriott owners will not have access to Vistana properties until 8 Months unless someone elects to to move their ownership into DC program"

If this is the case, I doubt we (MVC) will be able to get many nights at the top end properties....Westin St John and Riverfront in Beaver Creek for example.

 

[SandyPGravel]

"* Marriott owners will not have access to Vistana properties until 8 Months unless someone elects to to move their ownership into DC program"

If this is the case, I doubt we (MVC) will be able to get many nights at the top end properties....Westin St John and Riverfront in Beaver Creek for example.

8 months is the same time frame Vistana owners have, so it will be an even field at the 8 month mark. I was worried (because I know very little about the Marriott system) about the 13 month access I have seen mentioned. Is that the home resort ownership time frame?

 

[craigc]

8 months is the same time frame Vistana owners have, so it will be an even field at the 8 month mark. I was worried (because I know very little about the Marriott system) about the 13 month access I have seen mentioned. Is that the home resort ownership time frame?

Thank you Gina, I was not aware of that. I assumed that they were at 12/13 like the MVC. If you are points based in MVC, you can book at 13, if a deeded week, I believe it is 12 mos out.

 

[vacationtime1]

"* Marriott owners will not have access to Vistana properties until 8 Months unless someone elects to to move their ownership into DC program"

If this is the case, I doubt we (MVC) will be able to get many nights at the top end properties....Westin St John and Riverfront in Beaver Creek for example.

Just as "we" (Vistana owners) are unlikely to get Park City ski weeks. Seems fair.