Unconfirmed Marriott Internal trade system

[m61376]

This is a great site with a lot of helpful info. We were at Aruba's Surf Club two weeks ago and the sales rep told us that only those buyers who purchased directly from Marriott will be able to use the Internal trade system when it becomes available. Those who purchased resale would not be allowed to use it. Has anyone else heard that? If this info was previously provided, I'm sorry for asking, as I must have missed it.

There was a thread about this rumor about a month or so ago. It appears that this is just a fabrication of some overzealous salespeople and there has been no substantiation of it.

You might want to look at these two threads: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31053 and
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49612

 

[Dave M]

The existence of the project, as reported by numerous salespeople at varying resorts has been well documented in other threads. However, the OP, for some reason, doesn't want to count sales references to the project. So if you follow the OP's thinking, I guess I'm the only source.

It is my understanding from questions I posed to a salesperson at a Marriott resort I recently visited that most of the sales force has been told directly or indirectly about the developing internal exchange program. Those are the people that have contact with the public. I encourage all of you to ask questions when on site. You probably won't get any details - I can't - but you'll likely get more confirmation that the program development is in process. One or two salespeople can be wrong. They often are. But can they all be wrong? I don't think so.

All I can tell you is that my most respected source has again confirmed since this thread started that the project is still underway. That’s the first confirmation I have had of that in quite a while.

Incidentally, that source also commented that no one should assume that ACs or some other bonus week feature will automatically be unavailable with an internal trading system. The source also confirmed (before MarylandFamily posted) something I have said here repeatedly - that any speculation or rumors that resale weeks will have lesser rights than weeks purchased from Marriott is just that – speculation and rumors. (Don’t read too much into either statement. The statements are not a confirmation either way!)

One more thought. I have from time to time "announced" on this forum a number of new "coming soon" projects. An example has been posts about forthcoming Marriott timeshare resorts. Those disclosures have often varied significantly from what various TUGgers have heard from salespeople. If you go back a few years and look at some of the old threads on that topic, you will see that those disclosures, especially the "certain" ones, not so much the "maybe" ones, have been amazingly accurate.

I can't and won't "prove" what I know. I would never disclose my sources - under any circumstances.

Thus, if you have your doubts, I guess you'll just have to continue with those doubts. I don't see any way, however, that you will "put this whole issue 6 feet under."

 

[LAX Mom]

Just wanted to add my support and appreciation to Dave M for his knowledge and insights which he freely shares on this board. He always has supplied credible information regarding timeshares and especially the Marriott system. There is no reason to doubt his information on this topic.

Obviously the Marriott internal system is not yet finalized and may be totally different than what Marriott is planning at this time. They could even decide to scrap it and leave the exchange $$ with II.

I think we will see an Marriott internal trading system, but not before 2009. A salesman at Ko'Olina told me that the new system would never allow a bronze, silver or gold to exchange into Ko'Olina. However, Marriott still has to sell bronze, silver & gold weeks at new resorts so they'll have some options for those owners.

We'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy some great exchanges!!

 

[thinze3]

..... A salesman at Ko'Olina told me that the new system would never allow a bronze, silver or gold to exchange into Ko'Olina. However, Marriott still has to sell bronze, silver & gold weeks at new resorts so they'll have some options for those owners.....

Typical salesman added hype. He of course was at a resort that offers nothing less than platinum weeks.

I can't imagine a day that my Legends Edge platinum would actually trade better than an Aruba gold week. Hey, that would be OK by me, but probably not gonna happen.

 

[PerryM]

Why worry, be happy....

Who cares about Marriott’s new internal exchange system – I don’t.​

I’d bet that on the day of the announcement ALL existing Marriott owners will be grandfathered in – so I’m not worrying about the system in the first place.

II will still be an option and my Gold Summit Watch will increase in Trading Power since hardly any Marriott’s will leave the internal system.

My Gold Summit Watch’s resale price may or may not be affected by the new system - I can only guess and my guess is no effect at all.

The only ones hurt by all these rumors will be the salesreps themselves – they must now use imaginary benefits to sell existing inventory – a very poor sales technique that probably does no good and ruins their reputation.

I see no reason for anyone to worry over these unfounded rumors. However if you want to worry about this then you should buy twice as many Marriotts on the resale market now rather than from the salesreps who use this rumor to scare you into buying from them – teach them a lesson.

My gut feeling is that Marriott is developing a Point Based internal exchange system that will incorporate all their hotel units and new condo-hotel projects like the new Ritz Carlton in Maui.

 

[ptravel]

Everyone has been downgrading the bronze weeks lately.
However, as Perry noted, wouldn't a Marriott bronze week deposited with II carry more trading power than it currently carries in the event the Marriott Internal Exchange program is implemented in light of the potential lack of future Marriott inventory with II?

Sure the trades may not be into Marriotts but there are still many other nice II properties in great locations.

 

[dougp26364]

Lately I have been giving this subject a great deal of thought, although I do not profess to know what Marriott is thinking or what plans it might have in store for the future.

Lately it seems as if the larger exchange companies have been reaching out into the rental market in order to increase profitablity for themselves and/or their stock holders. Profit is what motivates any company to set a course in the business world.

If (and that's a big if) Interval were to be gearing up to become a major player in the rental of timeshare weeks, that would be in direct compitition as I see it with Marriott renting out it's own weeks. Those very weeks that Marriott owners exchange for Marriott Rewards points or those weeks that owner rent through Marriott paying Marriott a handsom fee for the privledge.

Currently RCI appaers to be attempting to rent weeks for discount rates. If Marriott suddenly found itself in compitition with I.I. renting Marriott's own weeks that owners had deposited for exchange with I.I. and I.I. was undercutting Marriott's asking price for those rentals significantly, then that might have a negative impact on Marriott's rental program. Not only would it likely impact Marriott's ability to rent out timeshare units for a profit but it will likely have a negative impact on the rental of Marriott's own hotel rooms in area's it would find itself in compitition with Interval.

By providing an internal exchange program it might be able to cut I.I. off at the pass and deny them a great deal of the inventory they would take from owners depositing into I.I. for exchange. In other words, an internal exchange program might become necessary to protect market share and to protect the significant investment in developement and future sales of timehare projects by Marriott.

Marriott and any other developer can ill afford to allow any exchange company to undercut their price by offering cheap rentals of the very units. Especially if an exchange company were to offer the very same units that Marriott rents on it's own website for hundreds of dollars less than the official Marriott price. Maintaining control of Marriott inventory, even owners inventory that Marriott has sold through the years, could be vital to the future profitablity of Marriott as an entity.

Eventually I believe Marriott will need to provide some sort of internal exchange or come to some sort of agreement that I.I. may not rent out Marriott units for less than Marriott prices those units themselves. One way or another Marriott will maintain it's profitablity either through aggreements with Interval or by forging their own internal exchange program in direct compition with Interval.

 

[winger]

......or come to some sort of agreement that I.I. may not rent out Marriott units for less than Marriott prices those units themselves. One way or another Marriott will maintain it's profitablity either through aggreements with Interval or by forging their own internal exchange program in direct compition with Interval.

I am wondering if this agreement already exists. If I were running a multi-billion(?) dollar giant and we setup an agreement with an exchange company such as II, I sure would have thought out how ways the arrangement may hurt me and take steps to curb them when/if a contract is drawn up. If that little foresight in interest of self-preservation did not happen, I either do not deserve to be head of the company and/or the person who spearheaded the deal would have his head served to me on a platter.

 

[m61376]

Where do the Marriott weeks that II rents as Getaways come from? I assumed (and perhaps incorrectly) that they were not weeks deposited for exchange but extra weeks released to II by Marriott for that purpose, just as Marriott advertises promotions to view different properties. Do you think that the II Getaway rentals are a competition to Marriott's own rentals or really a form of advertisement- getting people to see the resort to possibly entice them to purchase?

 

[dougp26364]

Where do the Marriott weeks that II rents as Getaways come from? I assumed (and perhaps incorrectly) that they were not weeks deposited for exchange but extra weeks released to II by Marriott for that purpose, just as Marriott advertises promotions to view different properties. Do you think that the II Getaway rentals are a competition to Marriott's own rentals or really a form of advertisement- getting people to see the resort to possibly entice them to purchase?

I can see those weeks being released as developer weeks to get warm bodies into the resort and expose them to Marriott advertising and incentives to take the sales tour. But, that is inventory that Marriott controls. I believe that I.I. Getaways are available only to I.I. members and those members already own timeshares. Not released to the general public through outlets that rent timeshares to anyone with a couple of bucks in their pocket and no vested interest in timeshare ownership.

Someone that already owns a timeshare is generally a better prospect than someone off the street that has no idea how timeshare's work.

Inventory control is the main focus and keeping cheap rentals to the general public that undermine the profitablilty of the developer will come to a screaching hault if the exchange companies put to much of a dent in the developers profit.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

I would like to see Marriott develop a points based system like DVC.

Then we could stay where and when we like in a variety of sized rooms. The current week based system is too restrictive as compared to the flexability of DVC points.

 

[dougp26364]

I would like to see Marriott develop a points based system like DVC.

Then we could stay where and when we like in a variety of sized rooms. The current week based system is too restrictive as compared to the flexability of DVC points.

And I guess I'm just the opposite. Right now I can exploit the resorts that have 2 bedrooms only by exchanging the 1 bedroom LO of the 3 bedroom unit we own at MGC. It appears to be relatively easy to exchange that unit into resorts that have only 2 bedroom units to offer and get an upgrade without paying for it. It's a nice benefit of the current system.

However, I can easily see where Marriott would want to close that loop hole and force a more like for like value when exchanging or, evening the playing field a little more.

I suppose we are in the minority when we enjoy taking a full 7 night vacaction rather than breaking it up into several shorter stays in multiple locations. Oh well, evolve of become obsolete. If/when change comes I'll just have to learn to modify and adapt to any new system and learn how best to use it to meet my own needs.

 

[short]

I agree.

I would like to see Marriott develop a points based system like DVC.

Then we could stay where and when we like in a variety of sized rooms. The current week based system is too restrictive as compared to the flexability of DVC points.

I agree. If Marriott offered as flexable a system as HGVC I would seriously consider buying from Marriott. As it is I have to keep my cost down per week so I can blow off 2-4 days of a week so I can get the part week I want.

The current system wastes a lot of inventory because owners decide how they want to deposit, not how people want to use. I might want to stay in Maui in a 2 bedroom but if everyone locks off I will never get the size I want. If I want to stay in a studio or 1 bedroom for 3 day weekend or 3 midweek days for a conference in Palm Desert I have to take a full week. I might take a 2 bedroom if I can get it dispite the fact I only need a smaller unit.

Somewhere I read that 20 percent(?) of exchange deposits are never used. That means II is getting that 20 percent to rent as getaways or ACs. MVCI could be holding those excess units and renting and offering bonus time to owners.

Trying to get control of the inventory is a more likely reason for Marriott going to a internal system.

Short

 

[winger]

..Somewhere I read that 20 percent(?) of exchange deposits are never used. That means II is getting that 20 percent to rent as getaways or ACs. ...
Short

It blows my mind how someone could forget a deposited week, come on it's paid for and it's VACATION!!!

However, one of our friends (couple) were newbies and they bought an EOY Maui week...well life happened and they missed their first trip - when they told me this, I was like should have given THAT week to me

 

[Dave M]

I'm not sure how many forgot about the week. I'm guessing there were a fair number who couldn't find a decent exchange within the time limit or couldn't match up vacation schedules with what was available or just didn't get around to requesting an exchange until it was too late to find something that matched vacation needs.

There are also a fair number who don't deposit and don't use their assigned week - about 9.5%, according to ARDA:

Among all owners, 35.8 percent personally used their timeshare purchase over the past 12 months, 47.4 percent exchanged or space banked it, 4.4 percent rented the unit out, and nearly 3 percent gave it away; only 9.5 percent of timeshares went unused over the past 12 months.

 

[dougp26364]

My future SIL has owned a timeshare for several years. He's never set foot in it and never exchanged it. When I asked him why he bought it in the first place, we was with a friend who talked him into buying it so they could "party" there EOY. Of course the friend backed out of his part of the bargin and my future SIL has never followed up on how to use his purchase. I keep trying to get him to set down with me so I can help him understand what he owns and see what we can do so that he can get some value out of the unit for the money he's paid and keeps paying. So far he's not had enough interest to do even that much.

I stand in amazement at those who buy at developer prices then never take the time to learn how to use their ownership and just keep on paying the bills year after year. It's no wonder the PCC's do such a brisk business and why so many units go up for sale on E-bay at such cheap prices.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

My future SIL has owned a timeshare for several years. He's never set foot in it and never exchanged it. When I asked him why he bought it in the first place, we was with a friend who talked him into buying it so they could "party" there EOY.

Considering he is your "future SIL" perhaps you need to have a father-daughter talk on being more responsible with money. Not using, not renting, not trading, not selling a TS is a 100% waste of money.

 

[winger]

My future SIL has owned a timeshare for several years. He's never set foot in it and never exchanged it. ... I keep trying to get him to set down with me so I can help him understand what he owns and see what we can do so that he can get some value out of the unit for the money he's paid and keeps paying. So far he's not had enough interest to do even that much.
...

doug. have you ever taken the SIL on a few TS trips? I cannot understand how someone stays at a nice resort and not want to go back again and again! crap, I am sure your daughter is very accustomed to TS'ing and would be very disappointed if her family would not continue the 'family tradition' just bc the hubby is 'not into it'.

 

[dougp26364]

doug. have you ever taken the SIL on a few TS trips? I cannot understand how someone stays at a nice resort and not want to go back again and again! crap, I am sure your daughter is very accustomed to TS'ing and would be very disappointed if her family would not continue the 'family tradition' just bc the hubby is 'not into it'.

So far no. I've offered but our daughter is more concerned about the wedding than spending money on vacation. Interestingly they've decided to go on a cruise next week with a couple that invited them along for their honeymoon. I think they both are at an age where they still drink heavily and DD doesn't want us to know just how much and how wild they really get.

He's also at a point where taking vacation isn't really a priority prefering to stay at work and head out to the lake for camping and boating on the weekends. Eventually, they'll have kids and eventually those kids will be old enough for Disneyworld. It's about that time when I bet he figures out he's had something good for a number of years and wasted it all this time.

 

[dougp26364]

Considering he is your "future SIL" perhaps you need to have a father-daughter talk on being more responsible with money. Not using, not renting, not trading, not selling a TS is a 100% waste of money.

Responsible with money? Heaven forbid! They're still living the life of a single people dating and without children. Resonsibility will hit them between the eyes when she has that first child. Until them I can talk the talk but they're not going to walk the walk.

For the future Son-in-law it was a wild weekend at Daytona beach with a friend and money he just tossed away. Still, he's been responsible enough to keep the MF's up to date, even if he hasn't set foot in a unit since the sales presentation.

I can't say that I was always resonsible in the BC era (Before Children). As long as he's not trashing his credit I can live with a little wasted money a few years back.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

What if you offered to "rent" his timeshare for him and give your daughter the cash to help pay for the wedding...or rent...or future home down payment..or homeymoon..or even beer!

Depending on the location, you might be able to get 2-3x annual dues on redweek.com or eBay and become the "hero FIL"

 

[dioxide45]

Timeshares sometimes become just like gym meberships (though at a higher cost). How many people out there buy a membership to the gym and visit once or twice and then never go back? (I did) They may be stuck in a two year contract and when the contract is up, they never cancel (I didn't until another full year after the contract expired). They are wasting $25 - $40 a month. This can quickly add up to the cost of MF's for one year at a TS.

One is always thinking that they will use it one day and don't want to let it go. The money spent isn't a lot of motivation to actually use the gym or timeshare.

 

[winger]

..Still, he's been responsible enough to keep the MF's up to date, even if he hasn't set foot in a unit since the sales presentation.
...

How about gift that TS away to some favorite charity or something less drastic like donate a week each year to a favorite local group that does good work, like a children's hospital, or group who helps those families with loved ones serving overseas, etc.

 

[dougp26364]

What if you offered to "rent" his timeshare for him and give your daughter the cash to help pay for the wedding...or rent...or future home down payment..or homeymoon..or even beer!

Depending on the location, you might be able to get 2-3x annual dues on redweek.com or eBay and become the "hero FIL"

How about gift that TS away to some favorite charity or something less drastic like donate a week each year to a favorite local group that does good work, like a children's hospital, or group who helps those families with loved ones serving overseas, etc.

Good ideas but I still have to get him to sit down with me so I can look over what he actually has. All I know is that it is supposedly a floating studio week in Daytona Beach and race week is excluded. From what I've gathered on these forums it's not worth a whole lot on the rental or resale market.

I'd really just like to teach him how to use it. He should be able to at least get a decent exchange into Branson, which is only a 5 hour drive away from here. He's bought a new boat and table rock lake would be a nice place to go boating.

It's just getting our daughter and him to sit down to look things over. Right now I guess they're just to busy with their lives and own little soap opera's that occur when your younger than to worry about a studio timeshare in Daytona Beach.

 

[dougp26364]

Timeshares sometimes become just like gym meberships (though at a higher cost). How many people out there buy a membership to the gym and visit once or twice and then never go back? (I did) They may be stuck in a two year contract and when the contract is up, they never cancel (I didn't until another full year after the contract expired). They are wasting $25 - $40 a month. This can quickly add up to the cost of MF's for one year at a TS.

One is always thinking that they will use it one day and don't want to let it go. The money spent isn't a lot of motivation to actually use the gym or timeshare.

That reminds me, I probably should go to the gym today.