Marriott & DVC?

[tripletvan]

Does anyone out there have the Marriott Timeshare as wellas DVC? Are there any advantages? I know they both use interval.

 

[cds62]

I currently own both Disney and Marriott along with Hilton. The main difference between DVC and Marriott is that Marriott is not a point based program and you only get one week for your purchase, unless the unit is a lockoff. The nice thing about Marriott is that they have a large amount of resorts that you have a priority with exchanges into since you are going from Marriott to Marriott. Disney on the other will pretty much get you any exchange you want if you go with Interval because of the limited exchanges that owners make.
One thing that Marriott has over Disney is the amount of resorts outside of Orlando that are within the club. Overall I don't think that one has an advantage overall over the other. Disney was my first timeshare purchase and Marriott my last. The reason we purchased Marriott was because we wanted a specific location to travel to so it made sense to purchase at this particular place, Oceanwatch in Myrtle Beach. The bottom line is it depends on what you are looking to get out of your purchase. I don't know it this helped or not, but if you have any questions post them and I will try to reply.

 

[russct]

CDS62,

What do you think of your Hilton timeshare. I just bought into SSR, but a lady I work with wants to sell me her Flamingo Hilton timeshare for $5k. It would be 3500 points and Gold Season. I think having Hilton would be nice to have trading capability in RCI. Thanks

 

[Dean]

I own 3 Platinum HH Marriott weeks AND 3 DVC contracts. They complement each other nicely but to a certain degree, have the same problem, that being that most exchanges are a downtrade and of questionable value. I usually use them or rent them. I have other resorts I mostly exchange.

 

[cds62]

Hilton is a nice timeshare, but I don't think you would be happy with only 3500 points since that will not give you much time, especially if you want to go in peak time. I like the Hilton program because of the flexibility since points are points regardless of where you own at the only thing that changes is the reservation window.
I think you need to ask yourself where you want to vacation the most and make a decision based off of that. If there is a place you want to visit three out of five years than you should try to buy a timeshare there and use the other years as exchanges. Regardless of whether you buy DVC, HGVC or Marriott no exchange is ever guaranteed but the quality of the resort you give up and the location are very important when it comes to getting the exchange you want.
The thing that I like about Hilton is the points program and that you can easily use it for single night stays or week stays. You can also convert your points to Hilton Honors points which can be redeemed for trips, airfare, etc.
I just sent back the papers for a SSR purchase to add to the DVC points I already have so I obviously like Disney also but all the timeshares I own serve a specific purpose for me and that is what you need to figure out.
Any more questions, please feel free to ask.

 

[Scotch]

Originally posted by russct
. . . but a lady I work with wants to sell me her Flamingo Hilton timeshare for $5k. It would be 3500 points and Gold Season. I think having Hilton would be nice to have trading capability in RCI. Thanks

3500 points would be a 2BR silver season. 3400 points would be a 1BR gold season. If the former, you'll be paying more maintenance fees for just 100 more points since HGVC Flamingo m/fs are determined by size of the bedrooms you own on your deed -- all 2BRs, regardless of season, pays $X, and all 1BRs, regardless of season, pays $Y.

 

[tripletvan]

I probably will have to so more research. I have heard TUG is pretty good. Any other suggestions? Then there is always the home resort to consider too.

 

[CVW]

TUG, TUG, TUG. I learned almost everything I know from TUG, and it only costs ten dollars a year. To get that ratio of knowledge to dollars, medical school would have only cost me a couple of hundred bucks.

Secondly, read everything ever posted by Dean. He posts here and at TUG. He is the Zen Master of Timeshare Knowledge. Heed his words and prosper. Reject them at your peril.

 

[RumpleMom]

Taking into consideration the advice of buying where you want to stay the most often when choosing a home resort, how do you decide where to buy a Marriott timeshare when you will probably use it to trade frequently? We have DVC for our Disney fix, but are thinking about Marriott for trading purposes to be able to explore the USA.

Orlando has so many timeshares, but I'm told it is Red year round. How important is that? Is it necessary to have a Platnimum week or is Gold good enough?

Marriott or another DVC add-on. Now that's the question.

 

[CVW]

"Where do want to be" is easily the most important question.

My other timeshare is Big Cedar Wilderness Club outside of Branson. It's the most beautiful resort I've ever been to (DVC included.) But Branson is overbuilt, Big Cedar isn't well-known (yet...it is part of our "Concierge Collection") and it's part of the Bluegreen system, whose other resorts are a step down from Disney.

But it's the right choice for me, because we live just three hours from Branson. We know we'll go there every year.

I personally hate the idea of buying a timeshare for trading. I work too hard to subject my vacation time to a crapshoot where I hope for the best, but may not get it. I now have two resorts that I know I will love.

But will I want to go other places? Of course. I've looked at every major timeshare company. If flexibility and variable locations are important to you, there's no question how you should spend your money:

RENT!

 

[gjw007]

Another option, if you already have a timeshare, and you belong to an exchange organization is to use the bonus vacations. Depending when and where you go, you might be able to go nice resorts at a reasonable cost. A problem is that you can't guarantee that a resort in the area that you are looking for is available as a bonus vacation, especially if it is off the beaten path but resorts in Orlando are very common. To give you an example, I just did a search with the following results for a 1-week stay

9/04 Orange Lake Studio $230.99
8/15 ESCAPES! TO STONEBRIDGE VILLAGE Various $395.99
8/21 FERIENCLUB SCHLOESSLHOF Studio $296.99
12/03 HILTON GRAND VACATIONS CLUB AT SEAWORLD 2-bedroom $346.49
12/10 BIG CEDAR WILDERNESS CLUB Studio $177.09
12/04 CLOWANCE ESTATE AND COUNTRY CLUB 1-bedroom $285.99

Orange Lake is in Orlando area
Escapte! to Stonebridge is Branson, MO
FERIENCLUB SCHLOESSLHOF is in Austria
HILTON GRAND VACATIONS CLUB AT SEAWORLD INTERNATIONAL CENTER is in Orlando area
Big Cedar Wilderness Club is located at RIDGEDALE MO
CLOWANCE ESTATE AND COUNTRY CLUB is in CORNWALL , ENGLAND

It may be possible to vacations at different locations without trading and at a reasonable rate if you are flexible. The point here that you may be able to go where you want without trading. As Dean mentioned though, many time when you trade, you end up downgrading from your home resort. The resorts I have listed are all Gold Crown in the RCI system but most of the resorrts are of lower ratings. The cost of some of these bonus vacations is not much more thant he exchange fee would have been ($139 domestic or $179 international). Bonus vacations are a possibility if you can utilize them. While a bonus vacation might not be available in an area, the ability to trade into that area during that timeframe may be available. You have to weigh the options.