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Re: Marriott Going to Point Syst (by Bob M.):

This is going to be a long post. Some of it is opinion and some of it is fact. I'll try to differentiate. I have gathered selected comments from the prior posts (without naming the source - too cumbersome, because there are too many quotes) - sorry.

The best question, which is my question, has no current answer. But I am hoping to hear from someone soon...

"I just want to know where we can sign up for the class action law suit?"

"Right now Marriott has a retail department that sells Marriott Property but I do not know the guidelines to list with them." I do, and will comment shortly.

"I took a survey from Marriott about 1 1/2 years ago about this and I gave them this same feedback....obviously my thoughts didn't resonate with them" - I did too, and they didn't listen to me either. But, on the other hand, I listened to them! At the time I owned 4 Marriott weeks. I have sold 3 (all through Marriott). They have a non-exclusive right to sell (meaning you can list it with them and try to sell it on your own, see what comes first). There is a catch. If they sell it, you have to sell at their list price (good, if they can sell it, bad if their price is so absurdly high that it will never sell - FYI you get 60% of the proceeds, Marriott keeps 40%). It will be at least 50 years before my last week (White, Marriott Desert Springs Villas 1, bought Feb 1991 for $12,600, being "offered" by Marriott resale at $22,200). Can you imagine anyone buying MDS at that price for 2375 points? I think I am 63rd on the waiting list to sell. It will not sell in my lifetime. But, I am getting out of Marriott timeshares within the next few weeks, one way or another. (Question for the lawyer back in question 1 - does selling all my weeks make me ineligible for the class action lawsuit?)

"The concept is great" - what are you smoking?

"Since the purchasers of deeded weeks own them regardless of from whom they were purchased and Marriott no longer does, it isn't clear to me how they can legally can apply this restriction" - seems like more grounds for the aforementioned class action lawsuit?

"The larger questions is: since everyone wishes to sell their unit at some point, what role is Marriott going to play on sales transactions -- either points or units?" - Fact (per Marriott resale office, 8403 South Park Circle, Suite 600, Orlando, Florida 32819, Toll Free 1-866-682-4547), I can convert to points or leave it weeks - in either case, their selling price for White MDS remains $22,200. So, at that price, for that property, Marriott will play NO role in sales transactions - these types of units will have to be sold in the 3rd party market.

"What's to say the points won't be worth less in a few years- just like the Marriott rewards points system-250,000points doesn't get you what it did 8 years ago" - no kidding, only "8 years" should be corrected to 'prior to Jan 15, 2009.' That is the date when inflation killed Marriott Rewards Points. Will they do the same with Vaction Points? Who knows?

"The days of bargain trading are gone." Amen. That was successful for me for 19 years, which is why I increased my portfolio to 4 weeks. I used some for Reward Points and some for trading and have traded into every Marriott property and used points for the Wailea Marriott (and previously Renaissance) as well as London, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, New York, etc.) Those days are gone and, as noted previously, soon I will simply be a 'previous MVCI owner.'

"Some deeded week owners deliberately purchased at inexpensive locations that they had no intention of visiting. Their sole focus is on trading. " Amen, see above. This was spectacularly successful for 19 years. I enjoyed the ride. The party is over.

"the net effect will be to create even more competition for the desirable weeks in the desirable locations that people really want to visit." - I am not sure about 'more competition' - to me, Marriott just monopolized the competition - they have cherry picked the hottest weeks in each location and placed a point price tag on them such that few will have the points available to get them, freeing them up for astronomical rental rates. I pity the new "buyers" in the new sales programs being shown all these incredible weeks they could buy into, only if they have enough points, and then their disappointment when (I suspect) reality hits.

"It's only when you want to exchange internally through Marriott that you would use points." - say it ain't so!! I still have a 2BR, 1BR and efficiency in deposit at II with (faint) hopes of landing a Marriott week somewhere. And rest assured, it won't be with points. If the quoted statement is true, Marriott lied to me in one of my many calls to 800-845-4226 where they said you can still trade from Marriott into Marriott with II like always.

"there will be no chance to do II Marriott to Marriott trades as in the past." - see above, I hope this isn't true and 800-845-4226 lied to me if it is.

"betrayed by Marriott" - Amen "Marriott is scamming its current loyal owners." - Amen "We have been very happy with our Marriott timeshare experience." - me too, but now,.. "probably a great source of revenue for Marriott " - in their dreams, but I don't think the general public is going to be foolish enough to pay the prices they will charge. "I see no reason for a current owner to be hacked at Marriott" - huh? "Frankly I don't think you will see much change if you wish to use your unit the way you always have." - dream on. If it were only so. See below. "Do you really believe that Marriott will claim the crappy weeks and leave the prime weeks alone?" - my point exactly. If you examine the details of the tables they have created for every resort, you will see that they have picked out the most desirable weeks and priced them at a point level that (nearly) no one has. I can't prove this, but looking at those tables, it is my estimation that less than 10,000 of 400,000 owners still have access to 100% of the weeks that the previously had access to (if they convert to points). Those 10000 would be the ones where the resort sold week 52 as a separate option, often for nearly 6 figures or more. But, in the past, few resorts had a separately priced week 52. In my case (White MDS), I have access to 6 of the 20 weeks that I previously had access to. They threw in 7 of 8 'Blue' weeks, but I wouldn't have enough points to even get one of the newly priced Blue weeks!!!!!! Anyway, for those converting to points, they either buy more points or stay away from desirable weeks. It is that simple (or they can go every other year, when they bought a deed to go every year!).

“Marriott could theoretically take all the good weeks" - duh! They already did!! There is no 'theory' - look at the tables.

"I were to book 13 months in advance as a deeded owner of two timeshares, that should level the playing field. Am I correct? I hope we have the advantage over point owners at our resorts What is to stop them from selling points over and over until the availability is frustratingly low? " reminds me of Dusty Springfield, wishing and hoping.

"Have you asked Marriott how they plan to handle this or just assume worst case?" - both. I've asked, and everything points to the worst case.

"Apparently Marriott has forgotten that a reputation takes years to build and minutes to lose." - this seems like a good place to end my rant.