Why to not buy a lock-off

[Bill4728]

Most Tuggers will say buy at a resort that has lock-off so you can get 2 deposits for the price of one TS purchase. BUT there is a good reason to own at resorts which don't have lock-offs. That would be "owner" preferences in room assignment.

Marriott assigns the best rooms based on a simple method:

Multiple week owners staying during their season
Single week owners staying during their season
Owners trading in (season doesn't matter)
Marriott Owners at other marriott resorts trading in
Non Marriott owners trading in

So we bought at NCV so when we trade in we get the best room assignments of those people who are trading into the resort. Yes I'd like to be able to lock-off but since we stay at NCV 2 times a year (or more) getting the better room assignments are important to us.

Edited to add: This doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with lock-off units, just sometimes there are good reasons to buy a unit even if it isn't a lock-off.

 

[brigechols]

I do not understand . At NCV, as an owner you have preference over non-owners. What does that have to do with purchasing at a resort with no lock-off units versus a resort that offers lock-off units?

 

[SueDonJ]

I agree about owner preferences for room assignments, and will add that it's not always possible to exchange into the certain unit configuration that you might want at certain resorts/areas during high-demand periods.

It was more important to us to be able to vacation on Hilton Head but none of the Marriotts there have lock-offs. We chose to trade off the additional exchange options available with a lock-off for the guarantee of a certain view type in a certain season where we want to travel most often. It's too bad, lock-offs are a nice feature for sure, but they're not a priority for us.

 

[SueDonJ]

I do not understand . At NCV, as an owner you have preference over non-owners. What does that have to do with purchasing at a resort with no lock-off units versus a resort that offers lock-off units?

I took it to mean that when exchanging the lock-offs, you lose the owner preference for assignments at the resorts to which you exchange? Of course if you own a lock-off and split it for two weeks/units at your home resort, you'll have the owner preference for those weeks/units.

[Edit] But reading again, it appears Bill is saying that he wants those owner preferences both when he's staying on his own week and when he exchanges into his home resort using another resort week. It was worth it to him to buy at NCV to get the assignment preference, despite there being no lock-offs, because he travels there often as an owner and an exchanger. (I think that's what he's saying.)

 

[mamadot]

Owning does not always give you the great view at NCV you want. My worst view was this past July. It was my owner week. I was so disappointed. I have gotten much better views trading in using my lock off weeks thru II. Not during summer but great beach month away.

 

[Superchief]

The only negative I have experienced with resorts with lock-offs is there is more likely to be a parking problem, since there are more cars per '2 bedrooms'. This can be a problem at Mountainside and Ocean Pointe.

 

[kjd]

Sorry, but I can't get too excited over any view that I can imagine. That is, unless I was going to sit in my unit and stare out of the window for seven days. That's not much of a vacation.

I would prefer to have the extra week which the lockoff allows you to receive. I presently have one unit without a lockoff (MGO) and I have been to NCV and others. I have not always been assigned a unit that was acceptable. (Some buildings have no elevator) If that happens, I usually complain to management and they change my room. Marriott is pretty good about that.

The problem with trading into a resort with lockoffs is that there is usually a shortage of two bedrooms to exchange into. Therefore, if you have only a two bedroom unit to exchange (like MGO or NCV) you will be getting less by trading into a one bedroom or worse, a studio. You"ll have to be very flexible with dates or lucky to get another two bedroom.

 

[SueDonJ]

Even if an owner is given the worst possible view in the unit configuration that s/he owns, s/he is still guaranteed the desired unit configuration in the home resort (subject to compliance with the reservation policies, of course.)

In other words, I might be placed during gold season in a SurfWatch oceanvista first-floor 3BR unit that gives me the worst possible view of the ten available for that unit configuration, but at least I'm in the unit type/season when I want to be. Exchanging/renting doesn't offer that guarantee at all, especially when you factor in the extremely limited inventory to begin with.

That's a definite plus in favor of purchasing where/how you want to travel, and it was the deciding factor for us to purchase there despite no lock-off availability. But like I said, lock-offs can be attractive for other reasons. A buyer just needs to prioritize what's more important to him/her.

 

[davemy]

I will never buy a non lock off unit, I have traded into Grande ocean, harbour pointe, Surf watch, and ocean watch many times with a 1 bedroom unit, all during school vacations and not during flex change. It takes early planning but it happens all the time.

 

[Bill4728]

it appears Bill is saying that he wants those owner preferences both when he's staying on his own week and when he exchanges into his home resort using another resort week. It was worth it to him to buy at NCV to get the assignment preference, despite there being no lock-offs, because he travels there often as an owner and an exchanger. (I think that's what he's saying.)

Yes, that is what I'm saying. I have enough TSs that I'm able to trade into NCV at least twice a year. ( not using the NCV week) So going from a non Marriott owner to NCV owner has greatly enhanced my room preference.

 

[NWL]

If at some point in the future you decide to deposit your NCV unit for a trade, what size unit would you be willing to accept? Would it depend on the destination, season or the number of people going? Just curious if you have thought about trading your NCV unit. I'm guessing you probably have no plans to trade that one.

Cheers!

 

[SMB1]

We have both lock-off weeks and a non lock-off week. Both have advantages. The biggest advantage of our non-lock off week is that there are not 2x as many units for exchange out there so inventory is low and demand is naturally higher. It seems to make the trade value of the week stronger than if I were trading the full 2 bedroom unit in a resort that has tons of inventory out there.

 

[NWL]

We have both lock-off weeks and a non lock-off week. Both have advantages. The biggest advantage of our non-lock off week is that there are not 2x as many units for exchange out there so inventory is low and demand is naturally higher. It seems to make the trade value of the week stronger than if I were trading the full 2 bedroom unit in a resort that has tons of inventory out there.

I understand your unit is in demand, but are you able to, in your opinion, get an equal or greater value trade when you deposit? I'm curious if folks with non-lockoff 2 bedrooms get equal value when they trade, how much effort is involved, and do they feel they get a fair deal.

Cheers!

 

[LAX Mom]

Bill,

This is a good illustration of why timeshares are not a "one size fits all" product. I can understand why the ownership priority makes sense for you at NCV and enables you to get the rooms/view you want when you visit.

However I own Marriott lock-off units and would never purchase anything but a lock-off. I make my plans less than 60 days in advance so Flexchange works great for me. I would rather get 2 exchanges out of one MF, so I'm sold on the lock-off.

We all have different expectations when it comes to our vacation preferences. I'm glad there are so many options out there!

 

[SMB1]

I understand your unit is in demand, but are you able to, in your opinion, get an equal or greater value trade when you deposit? I'm curious if folks with non-lockoff 2 bedrooms get equal value when they trade, how much effort is involved, and do they feel they get a fair deal.

Cheers!

If you mean do I get a 2 bedrom, I wouldn't settle for anything less. If you mean by equal value, am I getting a unit which has maintenance fees at least equal to mine, or could I get a getaway for less than the maintenance fees, I have no idea. I know I have X amount of TS weeks each year. My wife decides where we would like to go each year; and I find nice places to trade into (when we are not using our home week). If it gets us where we want to go, I don't even consider an equal value analysis.

 

[Superchief]

I prefer lockoffs primarily for the flexibiltiy they provide, not necessarily for trading. Now that our daughters are in college, the lockoffs allow us to use back-to-back weeks for ourselves, or we can reserve the lock-off bedroom week for a time they can travel. I still believe the primary reason to buy a timeshare is if you frequently plan to use your home resort. Trading and points are added benefits, but do not justify the investment. We purchased our lockoffs with the objective of eventually being able to spend two weeks for the price of one at great resorts.

 

[NWL]

If you mean do I get a 2 bedrom, I wouldn't settle for anything less. If you mean by equal value, am I getting a unit which has maintenance fees at least equal to mine, or could I get a getaway for less than the maintenance fees, I have no idea. I know I have X amount of TS weeks each year. My wife decides where we would like to go each year; and I find nice places to trade into (when we are not using our home week). If it gets us where we want to go, I don't even consider an equal value analysis.

Your post, as well as an earlier post, stated there is a shortage of 2 bedrooms to trade into because of the lockoff configuration. I was curious if you had difficulty getting a 2 bedroom trade, and if you routinely had to settle for a smaller unit.

Value is relative. If you are getting trades that make you happy, then you are getting a good value. Thanks for responding.

Cheers!

 

[jerseyfinn]

As mentioned by others, there are lots of ways to do Marriott timeshare. In my view MVC is both a "one size fits all" and for some, a glass slipper that doesn't quite fit. It really comes down to ownership goals/expectations. We do not fret too much over room assignments at any of our resorts, but as owners, we do expect a decent shot at what we request ( in our case, no low floor as we want some sort of view, Otherwise we care not if we face east or west etc. ).

Lockoffs are simply an ownership option and what you will receive from one depends upon your ownership goals. As noted, lockoffs can offer additional flexibility for both back-to-back weeks as well as being a valuble tool when fishing for larger inventory 60 days out and less. But lockoffs do not necessarily equate with " timeshare nirvana". At a resort where owner occupancy rates are high and lots of owners avail themselves of the lockoff option to get two weeks stay out of one week of ownership, managing villa logistics ( housekeeping, check-in & availibility, villa requests and maintanance ) can be a nightmare both for management & for non-lockoff guests.

I speak from personal experience at Ocean Pointe where 4/5ths of platinum season owners utilize the lockoff option to stretch their stays to 8 to 12 winter weeks. On the one hand, it is a fantastic deal for snowbirds coming south to escape the cold. But for those owners who simply want to come down for a week to enjoy their ownership, it is a headache magnified. So you take a season which is already 90% owner occupied & you intensify competition for villas with a flock of folks who are there all season and a minority who pay the same MFs and usually can not get checked in until 4PM & will likely not get what they request. Mind you, I am speaking only to the reality of what happens at Ocean Pointe & I do not criticize those who utilize their lockoff option. But when a resort is at high season, full capacity and 4/5ths of owners lockoff, significant ownership disparaties necessarily exist ( and Ocean Pointe utilizes the same priorities for room assignments as Bill mentions for NCV ). During the gold or silver seasons, the ownership occupancy/usage profile is less intense, so lockoff usage does not strangle room assignments & owners can expect a better shot at requests etc.

So I hear Bill loud and clear when he speaks about the advantages of multiple week ownership with no lockoffs. That's why we purchase oceanfront at Oceana Palms as we will never have to worry about the view, we are near the top of the queue for requests, & the logistical problems/issues of a lockoff resort are not present. Likewise we have always found our ownership experiences at Marbella and Playa Andaluza to be trouble free in terms of check-in and villa requests -- they are both non-lockoff resorts. Once again, our ownership goals/expectations determine what we desire in a resort and one can indeed vouch for the merits of lockoffs. We ourselves are dumping our Ocean Pointe weeks because we found the lockoff situation during platinum season bothersome & we like the certitude of ownership at a 2 BR resort ( and no, we do not find the people who do lockoff bothersome ).

It's really a matter of defining your goals/expectations & asking good questions about the resort at which you're pondering ownership. In that regard, MVC offers all of us some good choices.

Barry

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Barry, interesting point.

Tell me, you can not trade Ocean Pointe into Oceana Palms because of a trading restriction imposed by either Marriott or Interval International.

Does this same trading restriction exist going from Oceana Palms into Ocean Pointe?

Does anyone know?

 

[Dean]

Most Tuggers will say buy at a resort that has lock-off so you can get 2 deposits for the price of one TS purchase. BUT there is a good reason to own at resorts which don't have lock-offs. That would be "owner" preferences in room assignment.

Marriott assigns the best rooms based on a simple method:

Multiple week owners staying during their season
Single week owners staying during their season
Owners trading in (season doesn't matter)
Marriott Owners at other marriott resorts trading in
Non Marriott owners trading in

So we bought at NCV so when we trade in we get the best room assignments of those people who are trading into the resort. Yes I'd like to be able to lock-off but since we stay at NCV 2 times a year (or more) getting the better room assignments are important to us.

Edited to add: This doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with lock-off units, just sometimes there are good reasons to buy a unit even if it isn't a lock-off.

Many Marriott resorts don't give preferences to owners trading back in to their resorts, at least officially. Assuming your resort of preference has lockoff's, there's no reason not to have a lockoff that I can think of since none of the resorts that have both (l/o and dedicated) limit you to one or the other based on what you own. I would say there are times when that extra bit of trade power of the 2 BR combined with saving the $99 or $75 (now $75 for everyone) l/o fee. Having the 2 BR also allows you do do an ongoing search for the larger unit at a resort that does have lockoff's. I own a resort with l/o and have 2 units. For 2010 I actually locked one week off and didn't the other week.

On a related issue, there aren't very many situations where what's best to own is also what's best to trade unless you simply want to go to one of the resorts best for trade. For example, owning Maui or Crystal shores to trade a fair amount of the time would be a very poor choice. Some will likely say their situation is different and they own one that works out best for them and that's OK but I'm speaking in general overall terms. For most, I think a week to trade combined with a week to use where you can get the 13 month window preference for reservations is one of the better approaches to Marriott ownership if trading is part of one's plan. As noted though, the variations for both usage and trading are almost infinite.

 

[brigechols]

For most, I think a week to trade combined with a week to use where you can get the 13 month window preference for reservations is one of the better approaches to Marriott ownership if trading is part of one's plan. As noted though, the variations for both usage and trading are almost infinite.

I locked off my 3BR at Grande Vista. May I use the 13 month window to book 2010 wk 51 and 52?

 

[Dave M]

No. You must be booking two separately owned weeks to use the 13-month reservation system. Thus, if you owned two weeks at GV, you could lock them both off and reserve (for example) two, three or all four locked off portions of your two units 13 months in advance of the first of the weeks you want to reserve consecutively or concurrently. However, at least the first two of the consecutive or concurrent weeks must be from separately owned weeks - not the same lockoff unit.

 

[Dean]

I locked off my 3BR at Grande Vista. May I use the 13 month window to book 2010 wk 51 and 52?

I will disagree slightly with Dave. As asked, the question is no, you cannot simply lockoff and count that as 2 for the purposes of the 13 month reservation options. You must be reserving using 2 different owned weeks at the same or different resorts. The weeks reserved must match up perfectly, for example, you couldn't reserve a Fri start date one week and a Sat the next under this option. However, my understanding and my experience is it does not have to be the first 2 weeks of the reservation chain to qualify. I've done it several times where it was the 2 lockoff portions from ONE resort THEN 1 or more other resorts for later weeks. If you have a hard to reserve week, it can be worth buying something to play with just for the reservation benefit, that's likely not true at GV as I doubt it's difficult enough to reserve to justify such an investment even for those weeks.

 

[davewasbaloo]

For selfish reasons, I really dislike lock offs and wish they did not exist. When I go on Interval to Exchange or buy a getaway, there is often listings for the resorts we want. But when we get there, they are glorified hotel rooms from all the danged lock offs. It is really annoying.

 

[tashamen]

For selfish reasons, I really dislike lock offs and wish they did not exist.

I agree. I don't like staying in them - even in the 1 bedroom or larger side, especially if there is a shared entrance.