Marriott System

imanm3 wrote:

Out of all the companies I viewed, i think I like Marriott's system the best. But I have some questions:

If I purchase resale is the only benefit I am losing the deposit your weeks for rewards points?

I read through this post and I am interested in buying in a high demand season in either Aruba, Hawaii or Florida. Does that seem wise?

What is the best way to get to the unit you want if you do not want to visit your home unit? How far advance do you need to book?

Which is higher in demand Florida or Hawaii?

Come on tim :)

where are these complaints....all I read in this post were good things.

imanm3 wrote:

Which is higher in demand Florida or Hawaii? Come on tim :)

Hawaii and Aruba. Florida is oversupplied with timeshares unless you're interested in Key West.

imanm3 wrote:

where are these complaints....all I read in this post were good things.

Hi Judi,

Can you point me in the direction of that forum so I can get a heads up on what the complaints are about?

thanks

imanm3 wrote:

Hi Judi,

Can you point me in the direction of that forum so I can get a heads up on what the complaints are about?

thanks

My understanding is that it doesn't have to do with if you bought resale. It either has to do with trying to trade into high demand resorts you want via II, or, that some seasons or periods that are so sought after that even if you try to book 13 months out, you still may not be able to make a resevation. The is talked about to the nth degree on TUGBBS.

garyk11 wrote:

imanm3 wrote:

Hi Judi,

Can you point me in the direction of that forum so I can get a heads up on what the complaints are about?

thanks

My understanding is that it doesn't have to do with if you bought resale. It either has to do with trying to trade into high demand resorts you want via II, or, that some seasons or periods that are so sought after that even if you try to book 13 months out, you still may not be able to make a resevation. The is talked about to the nth degree on TUGBBS.

All, I own a Westin Ka'anapali Ocean resort villas in Hawaii already but am going to go over and see the Marriott presentation in a couple of weeks. Which is better? A points system or week system. I bought on the resale market and know I can't trade it for hotel days and that fine with me. I really was thinking of buying a Marriott in Hawaii directly from Marriott because I would like to take shorter vacations. Any thoughts on which is better?

timesharejudi wrote:

imanm3 wrote:

Out of all the companies I viewed, i think I like Marriott's system the best. But I have some questions:

If I purchase resale is the only benefit I am losing the deposit your weeks for rewards points?

I read through this post and I am interested in buying in a high demand season in either Aruba, Hawaii or Florida. Does that seem wise?

What is the best way to get to the unit you want if you do not want to visit your home unit? How far advance do you need to book?

Which is higher in demand Florida or Hawaii?

Come on tim :)

We have lots of complaints from people who buy Marriott and can not trade into good resorts during prime time.

I will try to answer your questions from your earlier post.

First of all, I own 4 Marriott timeshare villas, 2 at Hilton Head and 2 at Marriott Ocean Pointe near West Palm Beach, Florida. I purchased them all through Redweek. I have confirmed with Marriott, the most recent was at a Marriott presentation in June 2007 while I was at Marriott Grande Ocean in Hilton Head, that the only disadvantage with resale purchases of Marriott properties is that you cannot deposit your week with Marriott and get Marriott Reward points. If you don't think you will want to deposit a week for Reward points, then that is not an issue. There is no other difference. I am a Marriott owner and have all the same benefits as everyone else, except for the reward points.

I think that most people will tell you to purchase a villa at a waterfront timeshare for a better trade value; i.e., West Palm Beach, Aruba, Ft. Lauderdale, the new Marco Island Marriott,. The next piece of advice would be to purchase at a location where you will go most of the time.

My wife and I have gone to Florida for the first 2 weeks of November for many years, so we purchased a weeks in a silver season at West Palm Beach and reserve the first 2 weeks of November. If we know in advance that we want to exchange, then we can try to reserve a week with higher demand and request the exchange through II. We own two weeks in gold season at Marriott Grande Ocean in Hilton Head. We did not even consider purchasing the summer Platinum season because we don't plan to go to Hilton Head in the summer. However, the gold season is awesome and, if we ever want to trade, we should have no trouble exchanging our villas through II.

You asked, "What is the best way to get the unit you want if you do not want to visit your home unit?"

If I understand your question, I assume you want to visit another high demand timeshare resort and want to know when to book. Is that correct?

If that is correct, I would reserve a high demand week at my home resort as soon as I can make the reservation. High demand weeks go quickly. Then I would put in a request at II for the resort I want and give the best options, per II rules, for the time I want to travel. The earlier you request, the better chance you have of getting what you want. Also, you have a better chance of getting what you want if you have some flexibility with your requested dates and/or location.

I also mentioned in a previous post that your II Marriott rep can tell you what the chances are of getting what you want by looking at their past exchange history.

I cannot tell you about demand. Perhaps the II person can tell you that. My experience is that Florida demand is high in winter months, especially February, March and April. The same must be true for Aruba. We have been watching Hilton Head Marriott resorts through the II web site and the top Marriott resorts are not available for trade betwen early March until Novemter 23. Of course, if I requested a specific week with II, then I will be on the waiting list and I would get something that you might not see pop up on the web site.

If I left something out and can help, please let me know.

Tim

Tim,

thanks for the reply. You answered all my questions and I think I have a better understanding now. :)

How do I get the free promotion to Aruba so I can visit and buy on the resale.

imanm3 wrote:

Tim,

thanks for the reply. You answered all my questions and I think I have a better understanding now. :)

How do I get the free promotion to Aruba so I can visit and buy on the resale.

I cannot answer your question about a free promotion, but I have one additional comment.

When you purchase some timeshare weeks, the ownership is permanent. I'm not sure, but I think some timeshares in Aruba, perhaps Marriott, have a limit on ownership up to a certain number of years. Check this out with Marriott if you are serious about purchasing a timeshare in Aruba or anywhere else, for that matter.

Tim

tim755 wrote:

imanm3 wrote:

Tim,

thanks for the reply. You answered all my questions and I think I have a better understanding now. :)

How do I get the free promotion to Aruba so I can visit and buy on the resale.

I cannot answer your question about a free promotion, but I have one additional comment.

When you purchase some timeshare weeks, the ownership is permanent. I'm not sure, but I think some timeshares in Aruba, perhaps Marriott, have a limit on ownership up to a certain number of years. Check this out with Marriott if you are serious about purchasing a timeshare in Aruba or anywhere else, for that matter.

Tim

I was told a few years ago by Marriott sales that the term of ownership was for 60 years, since the property was "leased" from Aruba. At that time, Marriott would renegotiate the lease or it would end. Marriott's emphasis was on renegotiation, but no one knows what will happen by that time.

I was told the very same thing about the Marriot in Aruba, they are leased properties whereas in Hawaii they own it. What will happen if the lease expires? Has this ever happened? What happens to the timeshare you passed on?

imanm3 wrote:

..............How do I get the free promotion to Aruba so I can visit and buy on the resale.

Here is a link to see what promotions Marriott is offering for your state. http://www.marriottvillas.com/getawaynow/media/

I think a Marriott in Hawaii is your number one bet for trading. Some resorts like Waiohai are beautiful and landlocked and nearly sold out. I don't know if that will have any impact on future value appreciation, but it may.

Maui Beach Club has always been the number one requested resort. It is fantastic and a super trader, but a bit expensive. Consider the lockout feature as well. Waiohai does not offer this. That is something that could come in handy.

Any Hawaii unit will get you a trade to any other Marriott unit fairly easily, as you will be at the top of the trading list. The Hawaii units will also get you free bonus weeks. These bonus weeks will also have stronger trading power than others. Understand that with all trading you must be a little bit flexible (a couple of weeks or a couple of resorts).

If you want to go for Marriott Rewards points only, Marriotts Legends Edge (LE) platinum is very inexpensive and offers 100K points every year. You would have to buy directly from Marriott, however. $11,600 EOY or $19,400 annual.

LE probably will not get you to Hawaii on a specific date but will get you around to most other Marriotts. - GOOD LUCK! :)

Proclamation: I own a Marriott Waiohai and a Legends Edge along with another independent resort.

The MVCI club at II is an honest method of trading as is Red Week.

First, Your property, Aruba Surf Club is a high value Marriott property and you will only be happy in another premium property.

Marriott generally trade well, but understand demand is influenced by the time of year. If you have some flexibility in time selection, the Aubra property will trade extremely well!

We have traded our 2BR W.Palm Beach into both Maui and Kauai as well as Newport Beach through Marriott II Ron

tim755 wrote:

roberts693 wrote:

tim755 wrote:

roberts693 wrote:

we own 2bd / 2 bt at aruba surf club, using it in a couple of weeks. we want to trade out for soemthing else next yr.

so, is it easier to use II, or try to find another MVCI owner and trade wit them directly. If the answer is an owner directly.....ow do I find owners???????

New at this so be nice to the newbie!

If you look at your resort page on Redweek.com, you can see options to rent, purchase or exchange a week at that timeshare. So, one of your options is to place your future week up for rent or offer it for exchange and ask for something in a location you would like to visit.

If you are an Interval International member, you can put in a request for an exchange to the timeshare you would like to go to and the dates you would like to visit. Do not deposit your week, but request your desired location first. II will notify you when the exchange is complete and charge you for the exchange fee.

If you purchased your villa from Marriott, you may have been enrolled in a 1 year membership at II. With that membership, you should have received a Resort Directory and instructions from Marriott, as well at in the II Resort Directory, for the way to use the service.

By the way, I am a Marriott owner and do not work for any of the companies I have mentioned in my reply to you.

Tim

Tim, many thanks! Just got off the phone with II and went over the options. I understand the best option is to request and then deposit if you get an acceptable trade. Although the II folks are encouraging me to deposit first.

Is there a forum of just Marriott folks that trade among themselves? or for that matter any such fforum of owners?

First of all, it is good that you received good information from Interval International. By requesting first, you still have the option to rent or exchange or use your week if the timeshare you would like to go to is not available.

In addition, if you know where you would like to go, then the Redweek representative can tell you the number of times that destination had trades available in a previous period of time. This will give you an idea of how likely you can get the exchange you are looking for.

If you are looking to exchange your Marriott week with other Marriott owners, try using Redweek. I was trying to get into Marriott Newport a few months ago and went to the Newport section on Redweek and found people looking to trade a future Newport week for a destination they wanted.

You could check the Redweek exchange section for the place you would like to go and see if an owner at that destination is looking for an exchange. In addition, you can go to the Redweek section for your own timeshare resort and list a request for an exchange.

Check Redweek for charges for using this service.

If you request first with II and try this Redweek search, you can take whatever comes up first. If a Redweek exchange is successful, then immediately contact II to cancel your request.

One last thing. If you have not reserved your week for 2008 and if you have a flexible week, then reserve a week for a time that has the greatest demand. You can get an idea of the level of demand by looking in the front section of the II catalog at the demand index for the location of your timeshare. The demand for Aruba may be like Florida with the hottest demand from the end of December to about April.

Tim

imanm3, I'm currently in Aruba at the Surf Club and they have a promotion for a 6 day trip. They want the current guest to get with a sales person and they will make the call to prospective friends and family so that it will bennefit both parties. If you are interested in learning more email me directly at anewcastle4u@aol.com.

By the way... this place is amazing. We own week 51 & 52 in Maui and are totally impressed with Aruba. If it wasn't an extra 5 hours away from the west coast, I'd be an owner here as well.

williaml168 wrote:

Any thoughts about buying (from Marriott) in Orlando (Horizons) during high or red season and exchanging through Marriott to high demand areas such as Aruba, Hawaii, or Vegas? My kids will too old in a few years so my wife and I won't be going to the Horizon, which is for families with young children, for long. Does Orlando exchange well with Aruba and Hawaii? Thanks

We have a 3 bedroom special season in Marriott Imperial Palms in Orlando. It has traded VERY well. It is also Very good for points ! Just depends on what you want and when you want it.

does anyone have an opinion of Ko Olina, Hawaii. Do you think it is overpriced for trading. or do you think I can purchase elsewhere and still get into marriott hawaii?

r do you think I can purchase elsewhere and still get into marriott hawaii? ------------ Yes, other 5 Star properties will tade into the several Hawaii Marriotts, but timing is critical; the trades come easy in early December, but require Marriott for Christmas to New Year. ------- If you trade in "lower demand weeks, " you will have success

Ko Olina is niceand a great place to own but you can get a 2 bedroom in Las Vegas at thr Grand Chateau for $27,400 with equal or better trading power because it is on the strip accross from the new 7.4 billion MGM. If you are going to Hawaii 80% of the time you shoud buy there but for trading Vegas is better. Go to http://mgclv.com. I can help you if you are interested as I own and work at the Grand Chateau since it opened. My 3 bedroom has gone up $13,100 in 3 years and if I had bought the New Years week it has gone up $33,000 and we still have 8 years of sellng left. If you are buying for points every year there are better properties in Florida tha are half the price of Hawaii.