Original Message:
Re: Marriott VC Owners Please Help - Resale? Trades? Do you Recommend? (by David M.):
kekouri wrote:Some answers follow questions: ( This is my opinion...others may differ)davidm726 wrote:I am hoping to purchase a week at the Marriott Vacation Club in St Thomas (Frenchman's Cove). I am working with a salesperson from the Marriott, but also am very interested in the resale market. Some questions:- I've heard that if you buy on the resale market, you don't get to convert your property to points every other year. Is this true?
YES, it is true. Did he advise you that some Marriott allow every year tradeback for points? And some MVCI do not allow points trade backs at all?
Are there any other drawbacks? NO So far, no other drawbacks from buying resale over developer.
Can I trade just as easily with a resale as with one bought from Marriott?
Yes, everything else is the same as of today. FYI= T/S management companies are notorious for changing rules in the middle of the game. Marriott is not ( yet) one of these type companies.
- I'm also curious about trading. I would want to go in October, which happens to be Silver. October is an ultra SLOW month for teading in the T/S world. It is still hurricane season, most kids are in school, so the parents are unable to travel. I would assume you would get into those units quite easily, EVEN WITHOUT A MARRIOTT PURCHASE - in October. Ask me about Easter Week, or Christmas. ( I've seen top Four Seasons weeks listed as trades for my studio Marriott in October ( Four Season is the highest rated T/S in several T/S forums. ( The one just N of San Diego)
If I buy silver, will I still be able to trade easily within the Marriott system?
Yes. You may have a hard time getting an Easter week in St Thomas, Aruba. Problem here is the II filters. Your 5 star status will prevent other lesser units from showing up on the trade availability charts the VC or you can access.
I've heard from the sales guy that because it is a 2 bedroom island property with ocean views, it should be easy to trade. Is this true?
Maybe. II, RCI, independent exchange companies all like the bigger units better....they trade stronger. BUT....October isn't very strong.
And IMO, a lock out at those maintance fee & taxes for Marriott go a lot longer in value. There are not lock outs, are they?
- From reading the posts, it sounds like most people trade for the year on 1 day - the first day they are allowed. Is this necessary?
You can reserve excatly one year from when you want to travel via MVCI. They give you 13 months leeway if you OWN 2 or more MVCI units. What the problem here is the float time. When you buy MOST MAR MVCI weeks, they float in a period. That period has some very excellent travel dates. If YOU want those travel dates, you must call within one minute of exactly one year out. And many owners do not get that float week they want if they call 10 minutes late.
Why? Because if they aren't going to use them, they can rent them for a ton of money....but only the top weeks.
When is this date? What if I go on a few months before I would like to travel - will I be out of luck for other high demand island properties?
Probably, unless you get lucky. Remember, the main property demand is not the wonderful or spartan resort. IT IS THE TIME.
Right now, there are tons of plain Jane beach front or near beach front units in SE & SW Florida that are motel conversions ....some apartment hotels pre WW2 that are inpossible to get into during Jan, Feb, March and April. It opens in May, then shuts tight again end of June throughfirst 2 or 3 weeks in Aug....why? The kids are out of school.
- The current pre-construction pricing for a silver week is $20,500. If I buy on the resale market, I have heard about 35% off is what I can expect. Is this right?
Check on Redweek or even E bay. Right now a MAR Monarch (HHI) beachfront 2 bed 2 bath non lockout is selling for less than $2000.
Some Plat Manor Club Marriotts 2 bed 2 bath (Williamsburg) have been sold without ROFR kicking in at $7200. I think they were in the $20,000 range via MAR Developer pricing.
Most people are asking about $17K. Can I expect to get closer to $14K? Have you checked Redweek? Myresortnetwork.com ? I think it will get lower after sellout. Many on the www.tugbbs.com were uncomfortable at that location.
For $17K I would probably just buy from Marriott, since I get the points, which I would likely use as an avid Marriott member.
Thank you so much for your time. I really hope to hear from all Marriott owners on this and the program in general.
Last spring & winter, Marriott had a sale on the reward points ( remember...they are travel reward points, like AA miles & High Honor Hilton) for ONE PENNY A POINT. Unless you are an expert on how to use the points to full advantage, they are probably not worth it. Several on tug have learned how to squeeze these points ( which are not inflation proof, buy the way) to their max. Most can't.
Figure it this way. You MUST still pay the maint fees and taxes on the week you are giving to MAR. You will also have other fees...plenty.
I don't know how many points they want to give for your week, but many say value them at two cents each. Most returned 2 bed 2 bath weeks earn 125,000 points upon turn in. If you want another 2 bed 2 bath unit in the MAR system, it will cost 150,000 points....NO MATTER what season you try to get.
Interval will have extra vacations listed in the slow times. I have seen tons in October for a week in a MAR 2 bed 2 bath for less than $500.
I never thought to note St Thomas. Please do yourself a favor. Learn much more of what you need to know at the www.tugbbs.com site ( free) and check the Marriott Forums.....and the other forums as well.
Please just say no until you learn exactly how these things work. Guess what? The deal will still be there 10 weeks from now. Don't give away your $$ so easily
Thank you so much for all the great information. You have given me A LOT to think about. One additional question, if I may - you referenced a lockout. From what I've gathered, if you have a two bedroom lockout, you can use it for a week, or you can split it, and use it as a 1 bedroom for a week, and trade the other half for a week somewhere else. Is that right? Does that also mean that if you buy a biennial you could either have a 2 br every other year or a 1 br each year at that property?
Also, based on my experiences, the Marriott properties are all gorgeous and I trust the name. I am not as familiar with other TS companies. Are there others that generally have the same level of quality?
Finally, if I don't own a TS, are there places to search for extra inventory deals like you referenced? The rents I've seen for the St. Thomas Marriott on this and other sites are all closer to $2K for October, not $500.