Original Message:
Re: Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Exchange Program (by Charles S.):
Carlin27 may very well be a plant from Marriott, but it is not right to say he/she is ignorant. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Carlin27 may see the beauty in King Kong just as Fay Wray did.
A multiple point owner will benefit from the DC program by saving on fees. A one week owner can too if they lock off and exchange frequently. When Marriott rolled out the new program, although they did not do it very well, they did provide the points needed for each property at the beginning. I am not sure why you were not able to access it prior to your purchase, but it was on the Marriott website from the beginning.
You always had to compete for reservations with those owners who had multiple weeks and were able to make reservations 13 months out. That is not new. I would not worry too much about those who are points owners because it will take over $100,000 for new DC points owners to make at 13 month reservation. In addition, the inventory for points owners and the inventory for weeks owners are in different batches. I have a very desirable location in Hawaii and have never had a problem booking a reservation. I still don't have a problem booking a reservation as long as I use my 12 month booking window I should continue to be fine. We just can't wait too long.
Marriott has alway rented rooms at the timeshares properties through the Marriott hotel reservation system. That has aways been the case so people could always get a room at the properties so what is so different now.
I must share with you a benefit for me with the new DC program is that I don't need two bedrooms anymore. I don't have to trade it if I don't want to. I can just use the one bedroom and save points until the following year if I wish.
There are some very legitimate reasons to sign on with the DC program. It is not all bad.