What does AAZZ mean on a Marriott rental I see on Redweek?

[rickandcindy23]

Is that a view, or is that a generic word for, "not sure?" I am considering the rental of this particular week because it is our dates. I am concerned it's a rental of an exchange. If they owned it, wouldn't they know whether it's an island or ocean view?

 

[jdunn1]

Sounds like the view listed on an II exchange to me, Cindy. I'm surprised the renter would put that in the details. I'm assuming the week is priced much less than other weeks for the same date. That is generally a tip off, too.

You will probably have to reveal the resort for others to tell you what that view means. There are posts on this board with different view codes for some resorts, but it is resort specific. Sounds like the pattern II uses for Marriott weeks, though. Also, the view listed on an exchange through II is never a sure thing, especially in the Carolinas.

 

[rickandcindy23]

It's Marriott Ocean Club, and she says it's Napili Villas. I can only assume she has no idea about view and actually wrote on the description that it's island view. It's for 3/24, the date I need and have had an ongoing search for about ten months now. I am so disappointed II hasn't come through yet, so I am checking on rentals. I would be angry to find out it's an II exchange, so I am hoping it's not so.

 

[jdunn1]

II is the worst at getting any kind of prime week unless you own within the resort brand you want. That is why I broke down and bough two Marriott weeks. My WM points have never been able to pull prime Marriott or Hyatt weeks. NEVER!!! I thought the only exception was starwood owners, who are successfull more times than not in breaking through the Marriott preference, but maybe this is a misconception on my part.

I'm currious to hear from other tuggers on how to tell if the week you are renting is actually owned by the renter or is an exchange. To be honest, I can't tell a difference between the way my owned weeks look on marriott.com, when I registered it, verses the weeks I exchanged into.

Also, no matter if this renter owns the week or is trying to sell you her exchange, Marriott will not let you be the primary renter on the reservation. The person who is "renting" you the week will always be listed first and then your name would appear. I just rented my OceanWatch week (which I definately own) and my name is first on the reservation and then the renter's name. Even the guy I rented to, who has rented many times before, said that is just how Marriott does it.

 

[jdunn1]

...and forgot to mention the most important thing. As a marriott owner, you definately know whatever view you own. The only exception is the inland resort where there is no view. All the beach resorts are/were sold as specific views. Your renter should know hands down what view she has, if she owns it, because she paid for whatever view she has. The code you referenced is definately an II code. My owned week at marriott doesn't come with any kind of code on the reservation confirmation.

Sometimes, people who own ocean side views will try to sell to rent their weeks as ocean front. This is especially true of Ocean Watch, in Myrtle Beach on redweek. Not saying this is the case with your renter, but she could be trying to sell the week as a better view than it actually is and that is why she is being non descript about it. To me, Island View means the same thing as Garden View, or Mountain view -- meaning not an ocean view.

 

[dmharris]

Cindy, Dioxide has created a thread for Marriott unit codes here: http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163130

I did not see AAZZ on the Ocean Club section. BUT there is ZZAA if this is the Maui Ocean Club:
ZZAA....Maui Ocean Club.........Ocean View..............2BR unit that locks off in to 1BR and studio.

Hope this is helpful! Can I come and be your maid?

 

[yumdrey]

I don't think it is an II exchanged week.
Napilli villas weeks are very hard to get even for Marriott owners and March 24 is a prime week. But who knows...

 

[readyalready]

I think it is possible to have it be an exchange. I'm pretty sure I rented an exchange one year for that week and know there were exchangers in the Napili building. I didn't think there were ocean view units in that building though, I thought they were either ocean front or island view, but it has been a while since I've seen the building layout. (I just found the view layout and remembered correctly)

What makes me wonder is that she specifically says it is Napili, because when they exchange don't they have Napili and Lahaina tower lumped together under one code MM1? There is not that option on redweek, so you have to put an add in one vs the other, but that is a question you could ask for clarification.

 

[winger]

II is the worst at getting any kind of prime week unless you own within the resort brand you want. That is why I broke down and bough two Marriott weeks. My WM points have never been able to pull prime Marriott or Hyatt weeks. NEVER!!! ....

Hmmm. It has been reported in various places that WM pulls very well - at least before the DC came in play. Did you have no luck with fullfilling II requests using your WM prior to the DC ?

 

[jdunn1]

Hmmm. It has been reported in various places that WM pulls very well - at least before the DC came in play. Did you have no luck with fullfilling II requests using your WM prior to the DC ?

I’ve only owned my WM points for a year and a half, now. In that time, I have not received one match for any exchange in Interval. Bear in mind, I was asking for summer Carolina weeks or prime ski weeks, and those are hard for Marriott owners to get, let alone people trying to trade in.

I think there is something wrong with my II account to be honest. It appears I can see anything in II outside of preference periods with my WM points for instant exchanges, but nothing matches for ongoing searched. There have been many times when my Willowridge couldn’t see Crystal Shore weeks that were reported on the sightings board but my WM points could see them. I just haven’t been able to land a prime week via an ongoing search in II.

Most of my experience with WM points pulling NOTHING in II is from last summer when I waited nearly a year for any summer Marriott Carolina week and it never happened. I called several times and was told owners just hadn’t deposited and then finally I got someone in customer service who said not even one OceanWatch summer week made it past Marriott preference last year. I found that hard to believe but I know I was never offered anything and I don’t suspect the customer service rep was lying.

Maybe things have changed for this year, but I am still waiting for a summer Carolina week for 2012 using my WM points and so far, nothing.

It’s just night and day what WM points can do in RCI verses II. The sky is the limit in RCI, but in II, all those internal trade preference periods making getting a good trade nearly impossible via an ongoing search. When I bought my WM points I was told repeatedly that WM pulls everything but 2 bedroom Marriott Hawaii weeks. Turns out, WM doesn’t pull a lot of other prime season Marriott weeks, either.

No complaints from me because I appreciate the internal trade preference when it comes to my Willowridge week, but at the same time I know my WM points are useless in II for anything other an instant exchange.

WM is the best thing to own in II for shoulder season or even gold season at most resorts. For high supply areas like Orlando or Williamsburg or Vegas, WM is awesome for getting prime weeks, even. If you are happy with off season weeks, then WM is a very powerful and inexpensive way to trade, but for prime weeks, almost completely useless, becuase of trade preference periods.

 

[ml855]

I’ve only owned my WM points for a year and a half, now. In that time, I have not received one match for any exchange in Interval. Bear in mind, I was asking for summer Carolina weeks or prime ski weeks, and those are hard for Marriott owners to get, let alone people trying to trade in.

I think there is something wrong with my II account to be honest. It appears I can see anything in II outside of preference periods with my WM points for instant exchanges, but nothing matches for ongoing searched. There have been many times when my Willowridge couldn’t see Crystal Shore weeks that were reported on the sightings board but my WM points could see them. I just haven’t been able to land a prime week via an ongoing search in II.

Most of my experience with WM points pulling NOTHING in II is from last summer when I waited nearly a year for any summer Marriott Carolina week and it never happened. I called several times and was told owners just hadn’t deposited and then finally I got someone in customer service who said not even one OceanWatch summer week made it past Marriott preference last year. I found that hard to believe but I know I was never offered anything and I don’t suspect the customer service rep was lying.

Maybe things have changed for this year, but I am still waiting for a summer Carolina week for 2012 using my WM points and so far, nothing.

It’s just night and day what WM points can do in RCI verses II. The sky is the limit in RCI, but in II, all those internal trade preference periods making getting a good trade nearly impossible via an ongoing search. When I bought my WM points I was told repeatedly that WM pulls everything but 2 bedroom Marriott Hawaii weeks. Turns out, WM doesn’t pull a lot of other prime season Marriott weeks, either.

No complaints from me because I appreciate the internal trade preference when it comes to my Willowridge week, but at the same time I know my WM points are useless in II for anything other an instant exchange.

WM is the best thing to own in II for shoulder season or even gold season at most resorts. For high supply areas like Orlando or Williamsburg or Vegas, WM is awesome for getting prime weeks, even. If you are happy with off season weeks, then WM is a very powerful and inexpensive way to trade, but for prime weeks, almost completely useless, becuase of trade preference periods.

I had an exchange request through II for OceanWatch last summer and never got my match and I was using a Marriott Manor Club Platnium week. It's gotten alot harder getting into the prime beach resorts since the DC program came into play. We ended up renting from an owner.

 

[jdunn1]

Thanks for sharing. I couldn't get in with my WM or my Willowridge week, either. I was only using the 1 bedroom side of my Willowridge unit but it was a high power summer week (150 TDI), which was a mistake but I didn't know better since it was my first year of owning and didn't know how important like size requests were. This year, I heard from an owner who used a Platinium Orlando week (the harbor marriott) to get a mid July week at Grande Ocean. So, maybe things are getting a little better for Marriott owners of inland resorts. Maybe? But, definately not for WM.

I had an exchange request through II for OceanWatch last summer and never got my match and I was using a Marriott Manor Club Platnium week. It's gotten alot harder getting into the prime beach resorts since the DC program came into play. We ended up renting from an owner.

 

[BocaBoy]

What makes me wonder is that she specifically says it is Napili, because when they exchange don't they have Napili and Lahaina tower lumped together under one code MM1? There is not that option on redweek, so you have to put an add in one vs the other, but that is a question you could ask for clarification.

Even for floating week owners reserving their own week, Napili & Lahaina are lumped together. The only way that Napili is guaranteed is if the week is one of the fixed week/fixed unit weeks. Two floors of Napili are that way for 2BR units.

 

[dioxide45]

It sounds like they are referring to an II exchange. They would have no other reason to refer to the II unit ID.

 

[rickandcindy23]

RCI came through for a week on Maui last night. So now we just need four nights, and I will very likely get those now. I won't be renting this week.

Someone must have tipped off the woman that people were questioning the validity of her rental. She was very careful when answering my questions. Could be a TUG member, too.

She is charging $350 per night...

 

[momeason]

Summer oceanfront weeks in the Carolinas are extremely difficult if you do not own at the resort. Even the not so nice TS are totally booked and rent for high prices. It takes as many of my Wyndham points to stay a week in MB as it does to stay in Hawaii and MB is no Hawaii. It is just convenient for a lot of people. I have peeked in on several other TS and decided I would not want to stay in them. We don't like crowds so we visit off season. We have stayed at MOW twice off season to go dancing and shopping. We live w/in sight of a NC State park beach so I do not need to visit MB in season. We live 2/1/2 hours from Myrtle. If you have questions about other Carolinas beaches, I will share what I know. I am a NC native. Most of the other beaches are much quieter.

 

[Docklander]

This brings up an interesting point. You often find, on Marriott rental postings around the web, that the view is shown as "varies"....and this has never made sense to me. As an owner I always know what view my unit is because that's what I paid for when I bought it..... so seeing the word "varies" on a rental posting has always indicated to me that either:

1) The rentor doesn't care/is clueless (so I stay away) or

2) This is an II exchange being rented and, as far as I'm aware, that's not allowed (so I stay away again).

Am I missing anything?

Thanks in advance.

 

[dmharris]

This brings up an interesting point. You often find, on Marriott rental postings around the web, that the view is shown as "varies"....and this has never made sense to me. As an owner I always know what view my unit is because that's what I paid for when I bought it..... so seeing the word "varies" on a rental posting has always indicated to me that either:

1) The rentor doesn't care/is clueless (so I stay away) or

2) This is an II exchange being rented and, as far as I'm aware, that's not allowed (so I stay away again).

Am I missing anything?

Thanks in advance.

Could this be from someone who owns multiple weeks and depending upon what's left from their pool of units, that's what's being rented?

 

[yumdrey]

This brings up an interesting point. You often find, on Marriott rental postings around the web, that the view is shown as "varies"....and this has never made sense to me. As an owner I always know what view my unit is because that's what I paid for when I bought it..... so seeing the word "varies" on a rental posting has always indicated to me that either:

1) The rentor doesn't care/is clueless (so I stay away) or

2) This is an II exchange being rented and, as far as I'm aware, that's not allowed (so I stay away again).

Am I missing anything?

Thanks in advance.

I rented three Ocean Pointe week this year (not II exchanged weeks), and I advertised them on redweek.
I also put "varies" for the view even if it was oceanfront (3BR).
Sometimes, resort is full and they can change the room to oceanview. I know all 3BR at Ocean Pointe are oceanfront, but it can be lower floor (cannot see ocean well) and renter can complain about the view.
So I just put "varies" and let it renter's luck.
For Palm Springs resort, there's no real guaranteed view, some are golf course view and some are mountain view, so I put "varies" as well. My Marriott account say "excellent view" but it's not helpful at all.
So don't think view "varies" are all II exchanges or owners are clueless

 

[readyalready]

Does Marriott ever upgrade the view of a resort owner of a non view category? Seems like Starwood will not and put exchangers/star option reservations in better views than owners. Maybe it is a catch all for worst view or better.

I also tend to skip over 'varies' units and if you are renting one that has some ocean view rights I think it would behoove you to include it in the listing.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Starwood doesn't give better views to exchangers anymore. They used to, but our last exchange to Maui was island view, and it didn't matter we were owners of SBP who traded into the Westin. They were actually quite discourteous, no spirit of Aloha whatsoever, and it was early September (very slow time for Maui). I felt they went out of their way to give us island view.

My niece and sister just left Maui yesterday, and they had two weeks as exchangers. They were given ground floor units, no view at all, and that was at the Westin North. So now we know Starwood's new policy. We were all told we exchanged into Island View. Okay, okay, we get it.

 

[SueDonJ]

Does Marriott ever upgrade the view of a resort owner of a non view category? Seems like Starwood will not and put exchangers/star option reservations in better views than owners. Maybe it is a catch all for worst view or better. ...

Marriott owners using their own weeks at their home resorts are 99.9% of the time placed into the type of unit/view they purchased. (That .01% is for when a certain unit/view might be unexpectedly unavailable due to a maintenance issue or something like that.) Many of the resorts use a Priority Placement system which places owners into the "best available" within their purchased unit/view type, and then any exchangers/renters/cash guests are placed in what's left. If I'm reading you correctly, Marriott doesn't place guests according to a "catch all" system with owners automatically getting the best available of every unit on property.

So, for example, it does happen that an owner will be placed into a gardenview unit when an exchanger may be placed into an oceanfront. IMO that's how it should happen, if the owner purchased gardenview and the owner of the oceanfront unit exchanged out.

 

[bazzap]

This is an interesting and tricky one.
Clearly a Marriott Ocean Front owner will have paid much more than a Marriott Garden View owner, so would quite reasonably be upset to find that the Garden View Owner always gets an Ocean Front allocated without having incurred the extra cost.
However, it can seem unreasonable to Marriott Garden View owners that non Marriott owners of quite possibly also Garden View get priority over Marriott owners for better views.
As an owner of both Marriott Ocean Front and Garden View properties, I can understand both perspectives.
On balance, I think I would accept other Marriott Garden View owners having priority over non Marriott owners for better views when available, which would certainly not be guaranteed, perhaps not happen too often but at least recognise the value of Marriott ownership.

 

[SueDonJ]

... So, for example, it does happen that an owner will be placed into a gardenview unit when an exchanger may be placed into an oceanfront. IMO that's how it should happen, if the owner purchased gardenview and the owner of the oceanfront unit exchanged out.

(talking to myself again ...) BUT I don't see anything wrong with that gardenview owner being placed into the best available gardenview unit, while that oceanfront exchanger is placed in the worst available oceanfront unit.

This is an interesting and tricky one.
Clearly a Marriott Ocean Front owner will have paid much more than a Marriott Garden View owner, so would quite reasonably be upset to find that the Garden View Owner always gets an Ocean Front allocated without having incurred the extra cost.
However, it can seem unreasonable to Marriott Garden View owners that non Marriott owners of quite possibly also Garden View get priority over Marriott owners for better views.
As an owner of both Marriott Ocean Front and Garden View properties, I can understand both perspectives.
On balance, I think I would accept other Marriott Garden View owners having priority over non Marriott owners for better views when available, which would certainly not be guaranteed, perhaps not happen too often but at least recognise the value of Marriott ownership.

I don't understand the perspective of an owner who is using his/her owned week at the home resort, EVER expecting to be placed into what s/he didn't purchase. Doesn't matter how it was purchased or how much it cost, either - for me this has nothing to do with the direct v. resale or multi- v. single-week issues, or any other issue. It's simply, owners should be placed in what they own.

IMO the ONLY exception should be when a unit is unexpectedly taken out of service, and I also think that if an owner has to be moved due to something like this, s/he should be compensated in some way if s/he's forced to accept a "downgrade" from the purchased view. "Upgrades" - say thanks and enjoy it. "Downgrades" - the resort needs to offer something without the owner having to ask. I don't mean something unreasonable like five years worth of free vacations. A voucher for the MarketPlace, a free dinner at a local restaurant, some Marriott Rewards Points would satisfy me.

 

[readyalready]

And when a Marriott owner exchanges into a unit at their home resort, they also get the view category exchanged, and not downgraded for what they own?

I think the Westin Kanaapali front desk just has the unit disappointment response on recording. I'm not sure I agree that all owners should only get the category they own period. If I owned at WKORV (and I don't) and was paying the really high MF, I would want to have a shot at a better view in my home resort than someone trading or using StarOptions to get in who pays a fraction of the annual fees. View category does not exchange with units through Starwood, I understand that it does, depending on location, with Marriott.