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

[jwalk03]

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.

Weeks are 13 months if booking consecutive or concurrent weeks. 12 months to book a single week.

 

[SandyPGravel]

Weeks are 13 months if booking consecutive or concurrent weeks. 12 months to book a single week.

Ok, that makes sense. Is this timeframe at any resort or at a "home" resort.

 

[jwalk03]

Ok, that makes sense. Is this timeframe at any resort or at a "home" resort.

Weeks owners can only book at a home resort. Anything outside of a home resort reservation would be through Interval. (There is a limited exception for Florida Club weeks, where you can book consecutive or concurrent weeks at other FC resorts at 7 months out, or single FC weeks at 6 months out.)

 

[Sicnarf]

MVC Destination Club (DC) has no home resort concept and booking preference is based on elite level and length of stay. Also, a DC member can only book units deposited in the DC Exchange or units owned by the DC Trust if the member also owns units in the Trust. Hence, an MVC DC Trust member will not be able to book a Vistana unit unless a Vistana owner deposits a Vistana unit to the DC Exchange or the Vistana unit is added to the DC Trust.

 

[californiagirl]

I’m currently at Ko Olina. I went to the sales center today to see the refurbished model room and to get a copy of the resort map with the view categories per building. The salesman said he was pressed for time since he was working on a project. He said the points charts for Westin and Sheraton would be available to them on Thursday. He apologized for not being able to spend more time with me. We were together less than 5 minutes. That was a first for me…having a salesperson anxious to get away!

 

[Mowogo]

MVC Destination Club (DC) has no home resort concept and booking preference is based on elite level and length of stay. Also, a DC member can only book units deposited in the DC Exchange or units owned by the DC Trust if the member also owns units in the Trust. Hence, an MVC DC Trust member will not be able to book a Vistana unit unless a Vistana owner deposits a Vistana unit to the DC Exchange or the Vistana unit is added to the DC Trust.

I could see Flex owners doing DC Exchange as standard, especially if that is what they are encouraged to do in the next "owners update."

 

[daviator]

I could see Flex owners doing DC Exchange as standard, especially if that is what they are encouraged to do in the next "owners update."

I can see that too. But Flex doesn’t have a lot of great inventory, it’s a big dump of weeks they couldn’t sell plus some dribs and drabs of desirable weeks. Phoenix in August, anyone?

Don't get me wrong, it’s not all bad, but if Marriott owners think they’re going to easily be able to book the Westin properties in Maui, St. John, etc., I suspect they will be disappointed.

 

[dioxide45]

I could see Flex owners doing DC Exchange as standard, especially if that is what they are encouraged to do in the next "owners update."

It may depend on where/when they want to go and how Marriott values the Vistana weeks at. Say someone owns Sheraton Flex and it gets a 32:1 ratio. They have 81,000 options which works out to 2,550 points in the Marriott system. The 81,000 Options would get them a week in a 1BR Premium in Maui any time of the year. However, if we look at the Marriott point chart, it would only get them a Studio in low season.

Similar in Orlando. 81,000 StarOptions would get them a 2BR in prime season at either Vistana Villages or Vistana Resort but at Grande Vista the 2,550 points would only work for a 2BR for about 8 weeks of the year.

 

[Mowogo]

It may depend on where/when they want to go and how Marriott values the Vistana weeks at. Say someone owns Sheraton Flex and it gets a 32:1 ratio. They have 81,000 options which works out to 2,550 points in the Marriott system. The 81,000 Options would get them a week in a 1BR Premium in Maui any time of the year. However, if we look at the Marriott point chart, it would only get them a Studio in low season.

Similar in Orlando. 81,000 StarOptions would get them a 2BR in prime season at either Vistana Villages or Vistana Resort but at Grande Vista the 2,550 points would only work for a 2BR for about 8 weeks of the year.

The conversion rate is brutal, but we have to understand that the standard TUG user is not the standard timeshare owner, and there are lots of owners that believe what they are told at updates. If they are told they can get better Use of their ownership converting to DC then they will. And yes you can get Maui for much cheaper waiting for VSN, but there are people that would get value out of being able to lock in that week further in advance.

 

[APilgrim]

Anyone else get this email:
As you may already know, Marriott is in the final stages of assimilating your Starwood owner portfolio into the MVC program. As this process moves forward, there will be decisions and choices that all Starwood owners will be making in the coming months. However, our corporate team is running a special campaign for specific Starwood owners because of where and/or how they are deeded.

Given the limited time along with the overwhelming number of Starwood owners we are trying to accommodate, we are conducting these campaigns on a virtual basis only. This meeting is NOT mandatory. However, there are changes that you may want take advantage of which will put you in a much better position once your portfolio (shown at the bottom of this email) is consolidated into the MVC program. The changes and options being referred to in this email will NOT be available after Final Consolidation. Please let us know what dates and times work best for you prior to March 31st and we'll try to accommodate you as best we can.

I responded and asked for more detail. From his reply it seems to be an attempt at an "Owner's Update". Also didn't include a date for "Final Consolidation" and wouldn't tell me what the changes I might want to take advantage of unless I agreed to his virtual meeting.

 

[dsmrp]

Anyone else get this email:
As you may already know, Marriott is in the final stages of assimilating your Starwood owner portfolio into the MVC program. As this process moves forward, there will be decisions and choices that all Starwood owners will be making in the coming months. However, our corporate team is running a special campaign for specific Starwood owners because of where and/or how they are deeded.

Given the limited time along with the overwhelming number of Starwood owners we are trying to accommodate, we are conducting these campaigns on a virtual basis only. This meeting is NOT mandatory. However, there are changes that you may want take advantage of which will put you in a much better position once your portfolio (shown at the bottom of this email) is consolidated into the MVC program. The changes and options being referred to in this email will NOT be available after Final Consolidation. Please let us know what dates and times work best for you prior to March 31st and we'll try to accommodate you as best we can.

I responded and asked for more detail. From his reply it seems to be an attempt at an "Owner's Update". Also didn't include a date for "Final Consolidation" and wouldn't tell me what the changes I might want to take advantage of unless I agreed to his virtual meeting.

Nope nothing in email for me. Perhaps Marriott-Vistana is targeting mandatory owners.

 

[VacationForever]

Just salesperson's creative marketing. See the use of Starwood owner? It is now Vistana. This is not a corporate email or position.

 

[vacation dreaming]

I am a mandatory owner and did not receive this. I agree - using Starwood not Vistana is a giveaway that it is not corporate.

 

[dioxide45]

Anyone else get this email:
As you may already know, Marriott is in the final stages of assimilating your Starwood owner portfolio into the MVC program. As this process moves forward, there will be decisions and choices that all Starwood owners will be making in the coming months. However, our corporate team is running a special campaign for specific Starwood owners because of where and/or how they are deeded.

Given the limited time along with the overwhelming number of Starwood owners we are trying to accommodate, we are conducting these campaigns on a virtual basis only. This meeting is NOT mandatory. However, there are changes that you may want take advantage of which will put you in a much better position once your portfolio (shown at the bottom of this email) is consolidated into the MVC program. The changes and options being referred to in this email will NOT be available after Final Consolidation. Please let us know what dates and times work best for you prior to March 31st and we'll try to accommodate you as best we can.

I responded and asked for more detail. From his reply it seems to be an attempt at an "Owner's Update". Also didn't include a date for "Final Consolidation" and wouldn't tell me what the changes I might want to take advantage of unless I agreed to his virtual meeting.

This is just a standard marketing email to get you into an "Owner Update". Others have received similar communication as this in the recent past. Nothing specific regarding the integration. Vistana has been selling a "consolidated" product for almost a year now, even though they knew nothing about how it would work.

 

[daviator]

Nope nothing in email for me. Perhaps Marriott-Vistana is targeting mandatory owners.

"The changes and options... will NOT be available after Final Consolidation..." is a classic attempt at FOMO, fear of missing out... Act now! Limited time offer!

There's not going to be a "final consolidation" and I would not recommend buying on rumors from a sales guy who just wants your money OR wants to reclaim your deeded weeks and sell you something of inferior value.

I haven't received one of these, but there have been other posts from people who have gotten similar messages.

 

[CPNY]

"The changes and options... will NOT be available after Final Consolidation..." is a classic attempt at FOMO, fear of missing out... Act now! Limited time offer!

There's not going to be a "final consolidation" and I would not recommend buying on rumors from a sales guy who just wants your money OR wants to reclaim your deeded weeks and sell you something of inferior value.

I haven't received one of these, but there have been other posts from people who have gotten similar messages.

It’s disgusting how they sold owners expensive timeshares 15-20 years ago, then get these same people to give it back and pay more for something inferior, leaving the owners scratching their heads wondering what went wrong lol.

 

[dioxide45]

Well, only a few more hours till we see a big announcement!!!

 

[daviator]

Well, only a few more hours till we see a big announcement!!!

The nice thing is that you can just recycle this post from last week, and then maybe use it again next week, and the week after.

I'm not holding my breath but it would be nice to get this thing out in the open so we can start talking about reality instead of just rumor.

 

[JIMinNC]

It would appear that something is indeed being rolled out today through the sales offices. I have now seen photos in two posts on a couple of the Marriott Facebook groups of new signage - one from Myrtle Beach and one on Maui. One said "COMING SOON FOR OWNERS: Ready for More? More destinations. More brands. More choices." and the other said "COMING SOON FOR OWNERS: Ready for More? More choices. More benefits. More simplicity." The graphics style/design was identical on both, even though the message was slightly different, so it would seem to be a corporate rollout.

 

[Dean]

It would appear that something is indeed being rolled out today through the sales offices. I have now seen photos in two posts on a couple of the Marriott Facebook groups of new signage - one from Myrtle Beach and one on Maui. One said "COMING SOON FOR OWNERS: Ready for More? More destinations. More brands. More choices." and the other said "COMING SOON FOR OWNERS: Ready for More? More choices. More benefits. More simplicity." The graphics style/design was identical on both, even though the message was slightly different, so it would seem to be a corporate rollout.

I have confirmation from my contact also but no specifics or points charts yet.

 

[dioxide45]

The only confirmed thing (from a sale rep) is conversion rate of Westin Flex and Westin Kierland Villas 2BR Plat+. These would be 28.84:1 and 36.57:1 respectively.

For the previous conversion rates, in today's text she only confirmed today Westin Flex @ 28.84 and Kierland Platinum @ 36.57

 

[alexadeparis]

live anecdotal reporting of a presentation today on one of the Marriott Facebook groups is as follows:
"The take away was that Starwood Owners will have to buy into Marriott’s Trust Points to be able to use the System and there are now 70 Resorts. According to the [salesperson], Marriott has worked extremely hard to be fair to all existing Owners (Marriott and Starwood)."

 

[rickandcindy23]

live anecdotal reporting of a presentation today on one of the Marriott Facebook groups is as follows:
"The take away was that Starwood Owners will have to buy into Marriott’s Trust Points to be able to use the System and there are now 70 Resorts. According to the [salesperson], Marriott has worked extremely hard to be fair to all existing Owners (Marriott and Starwood)."

Not a good transition at all. I am having reservation # issues that are ongoing with my guests at SBP not being able to confirm their weeks.

 

[dougp26364]

live anecdotal reporting of a presentation today on one of the Marriott Facebook groups is as follows:
"The take away was that Starwood Owners will have to buy into Marriott’s Trust Points to be able to use the System and there are now 70 Resorts. According to the [salesperson], Marriott has worked extremely hard to be fair to all existing Owners (Marriott and Starwood)."

they later qualified that to say they would NOT have to buy in, they’d be automatically included. It sounds like they’ll have to convert their weeks or star options to play in the DC pool.

it’s exciting that maybe something is actually happening, but o think I’ll wait until someone has something in writing instead of, “We attended a presentation” information

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Should be a busy week on TUG with this rollout plus HGV Max in early April. Let the games begin!