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Re: Marriott Going to Point Syst (by Mark S.):

I don't think selling deeded weeks again will solve the dual inventory problem since points allow for less than full week stays and would have to be separate from those owners who would like to stay or exchange for an entire week.

I think Marriott believed in part that more deeded/legacy owners would switch into DP based on flexibility and the idea that any 'new' properties would only be available in the DP program trust. Well they rolled this out in the worst real estate development environment in the last 70 years--there are no new properties on the horizon.

As j227 suggests they might have done better with offering the DP to deeded/legacy owners for a fee based option, raising some capital and offering prospective buyers the DP option for free as part of an enticement package to sell unsold weeks. Everyone would still have a deeded week and you could use or purchase the DP option if it met your needs. Instead they got greedy and thought their marketing spin and reputation would be enough to make DP a success.

The people who bought DP (not deeded owners who switched) under the guise that they were buying into a vast inventory of properties and weeks are the real unfortunate ones. What they bought was unsold inventory, the vast majority of available weeks in the DP program currently, at a cost that is much higher than the inventory could be sold as a deeded week. Instead of moving unsold weeks the old fashion way, by price cutting and adding other value, Marriott choose to gin-up this deceptive system. Unfortunately, they designed and sold the DP program as a Trust arrangement to some people and I don't see how they could eat crow at this point and unwind the mess they made.