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Re: Ripoff - Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Program - New Point System (by Den):

jimb387 wrote:

YOUR RIGHT, I'M FINE BECAUSE I KNOW HOW TO WORK THE SYSTEM AND I HAVE NO REASON TO SELL AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER, I PROBABLY REPRESENT ABOUT 10% OF THE OWNERS WHO UNDERSTAND HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR ASSETS AND DON'T HAVE TO SELL BECAUSE OF HEALTH, CAN'T AFFORD THE INCREASES IN MAINTENANCE FEES ,DIVORCES, ECONOMIC STRESS, OR LACK OF HEIRS FOR THE TIMESHARES. THE 90% ARE THE OWNERS THAT I'M TRYING TO EDUCATE ON WHAT TO DO AND NOT DO. THESE OWNERS ARE BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY MARRIOTT BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GET A FAIR PRICE FOR THE CONDOS THEY PURCHASED. NOW YOU CAN SAY THE WHOLE MARKET OF HOUSING HAS DEPRECIATED, BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT BY WHAT MARRIOTT IS SELLING THE SAME CONDOS IN POINT VALUE. IF FOR EXAMPLE THEY WERE SELLING ARUBA SURF CLUB UNITS FOR $25,000, I COULD UNDERSTAND THEM OFFERING A $14,000 BUYBACK, BUT THEY ARE RESELLING THEM FOR $46,000 SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE DEPRECIATING THEORY ONLY WORKS ONE WAY--MARRIOTT;S. THAT'S WHY I'M SUGGESTING THE OWNERS WHO HAVE TO SELL INSIST ON GETTING THEIR PURCHASE PRICE BACK FROM MARRIOTT OR BETTER YET, SELL TO AN OUTSIDE BUYER. IF MARRIOTT CAN'T GET THESE LOWCOST BUYBACKS, THEY WILL EVENTUALLY RAISE THEIR PRICES BECAUSE THEY NEED THOSE HIGH PROFILE LOCATIONS TO SATISFY THEIR SALES PITCH OF THE NEW POINT SYSTEM--BUY AND GO ANYWHERE IN OUR SYSTEM. IF THEY DON'T HAVE PROPERTY IN THE TOP WANTED RESORTS OR IF THEY ARE SO LIMITED IN THOSE AREAS, THEY WILL BE HEARING FROM ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT HAVE PAID THESE HIGH PRICES.

I STILL ASK OWNERS IN ARUBA AND HAWAII AS WELL AS SOME OF THE OTHER HIGHEST REQUESTED RESORTS, DON;T SELL TO MARRIOTT UNLESS THEY WILL GIVE YOU A FAIR PRICE, SELL TO AN OUTSIDER. AND FOR BUYER, BUY FROM AN OWNER AND SAVE A BUNDLE FOR THE SAME CONDO AND SAME LOCATION.

I HAVE SPOKEN TO SEVERAL FRIENDS RECENTLY WHO HAVE SET IN ON TIMESHARE SALES PRESENTATIONS FROM TWO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, AND THEY TELL ME MARRIOTT IS GETTING VERY BAD EXPOSURE AND ITS HELPING TO STIR PROSPECTS FROM MARRIOTT AND MAYBE TIMESHARES IN GENERAL. THAT'S WHY I BELIEVE THE SYSTEM I RECOMMENDED FOR TIMESHARE COMPANIES TO USE REGARDING BUYBACKS IS A GOOD SOLUTION FOR AN OTHERWISE POORLY THOUGHT OF INDUSTRY.

Dennis' comment - Has anyone out there experienced a time, pre or post Destinations, when timeshares were re-acquired by the developer at a price in excess of 50% of the cost to the owner? I do remember incidents where they were re-acquired at 60% of cost in the form of a credit against another timeshare purchase. Second, is this lack of buyback peculiar to Marriott or is it industry wide?

I suspect that, as timeshare owners, we have all lost at least half+ of our cost following purchase from Marriott or any other developer. Further, the loss appears to be much more than 50%. Many of us have chosen to buy in the secondary market for this very reason. Again, this is the industry - not just Marriott.

Buying a timeshare is probably much like buying a new computer or a new dress (for my wife) and then trying to resell it. Expect an immediate substantial loss in value exceeding 50% - if you can sell it at all. One might as well just enjoy the new dress (and pay the maintenance fees).

Timeshares are a luxury item with little, if any, residual value coupled with a substantial ongoing cost. I cannot justify my purchase of these by any cost justification measure. Most of us buy them to use them and are able to have many expensive vacations (considering the loss in value of our timeshares) at nice locations.