Marriott Vacation Club

[dlr25]

Before we bought DVC, we checked out the competition - Marriott. DVC made more sense for us at the time and it has been wonderful. Like most DVC owners, I would do it all over again - but with more points! Honestly, we are able to make our points work for us. I am considering a Marriott timeshare in addition to DVC.

Does anyone have any suggestions about the best Marriott home resorts for trading? Also, advantages and disadvantages for a resale? I feel funny asking these questions on the DVC board but you guys seem to be experts on a number of topics. Besides, I would tell anyone to do what we did - start at the top, with DVC. We've been so pleased, it has made us want to consider another timeshare.

 

[rocketriter]

Search out posts by the fellow named Dean. He has lots of experience and has made many recommendations.

 

[Chuck S]

And if I'm not mistaken Dean owns both DVC and Marriott, as do several members on these boards. (I'm not one of them, though)

Marriott has a good reputaton within the timeshare industry, and if I were looking for a second timeshare, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of their locations.

 

[Dean]

I do own Marriott and DVC. Both are great in their own way. As to what's best in terms of Marriott, one size does not fit all. To make any intelligent recommendations, I'd need the following info as a minimum.

• Family size and make up
• Usuall traveling party
• Where you live
• where you usually like to vacation.
• How flexible are you. Can you go in Sept, November, or are you limited to out of school issues.
• Price range.
• How far out you can plan.
• How particular you are about your stays or are you pretty easy to please.

What I'd recommend for one will not be the same as another. Remember that Marriott is still not a cheap timeshare system though it can be cheaper than DVC. You can also get into the same problem as exchanging DVC. That is that what you're giving up is better than what you get.

 

[Cap]

While not the originator of this thread, I'd be interested in how you think Marriott would compare for a recently retired couple with no real limitations on travel season and no kids who would be traveling. When we stay at one of the DVC resorts (e.g. HH, BWV, VB) we usually use a 1 Bedroom unit for five - six days.

At present, our travel is pretty much North America. We have not used DVC points for Europe or other locations outside N.A.

 

[dlr25]

Thanks for the responses so far. We have two kids ages 7 & 10 so we are pretty tied to school vacations for the next 10+ years. We live in New York and we enjoy everything from a beach vacation to skiing. DVC offers some great trades but I have never been successful in getting one. It's like frequent flyer miles - you're thinking Vail in March but only able to get Phoenix in August. That's why I'm considering a Marriott timeshare. As we all know, DVC is the best value when staying at a DVC property so we'll continue to use if for our WDW vacations. We don't always get our first choice and I have been on waitlists for on-site properties but it has always worked out.

The Marriott locations that most appeal to me right now are Park City, UT, Willimsburg, VA, Palm Desert, CA but I don't know how easy it is to trade within Marriott. I am not interested in going to Williamsburg every year, for example. I imagine we would go once or twice in the next ten years.

The money question is easy. I know a lot has been written on these boards about the cost of DVC and whether or not it is "worth it". For me, it was a math problem and after playing with the numbers it really did seem like a good deal. We truly have no regrets and have already had some wonderful vacations with many more to look forward to. I imagine I'd get out my calculator for Marriott too. I imagine if it didn't make any sense at all I'd have heard about it here!

We would probably plan a year in advance. I'd like to be a bit more spontaneous but between school schedules and airfares, we probably need to plan a year in advance anyway.

Dean, I'm not sure I understand your last question about how particular we are about our stays. I'd like to say we're pretty easy to please. We've had the occasional blip at DVC (a dirty room upon arrival for example) but the problems were corrected and we went on with our vacation. On the other hand, if I am spending whatever amount for the promise of quality resorts, I do expect quality.

I hope this helps and thank you for helping me learn more.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I also own a Marriott in addition to my DVC points, and DVC came first for me, too. After researching timeshares on the TUG board, I decided that a resale made sense, and Marriott is about the closest to DVC in terms of luxury and value. I only travel when school is out, since I'm a teacher. Oddly enough, Utah, Arizona, and California seem to be fairly easy to get into in the summer months, when I can travel. I bought a spring-fall week in Florida, which will work well when I retire in the next few years, and it seems that lots of people want to go to Florida in the fall, so my trading out has worked out well.

I would really think twice before I bought directly from Marriott, due to the loss in value some resorts experience. New, Marriott costs about $18,000 or more, yet many are selling on resale for less than $10,000. Before you buy new(as opposed to resale), check out the amount of money being paid for resales at the resort you are interested in.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by dlr25
Thanks for the responses so far. We have two kids ages 7 & 10 so we are pretty tied to school vacations for the next 10+ years. We live in New York and we enjoy everything from a beach vacation to skiing. DVC offers some great trades but I have never been successful in getting one. It's like frequent flyer miles - you're thinking Vail in March but only able to get Phoenix in August. That's why I'm considering a Marriott timeshare. As we all know, DVC is the best value when staying at a DVC property so we'll continue to use if for our WDW vacations. We don't always get our first choice and I have been on waitlists for on-site properties but it has always worked out.

The Marriott locations that most appeal to me right now are Park City, UT, Willimsburg, VA, Palm Desert, CA but I don't know how easy it is to trade within Marriott. I am not interested in going to Williamsburg every year, for example. I imagine we would go once or twice in the next ten years.

The money question is easy. I know a lot has been written on these boards about the cost of DVC and whether or not it is "worth it". For me, it was a math problem and after playing with the numbers it really did seem like a good deal. We truly have no regrets and have already had some wonderful vacations with many more to look forward to. I imagine I'd get out my calculator for Marriott too. I imagine if it didn't make any sense at all I'd have heard about it here!

We would probably plan a year in advance. I'd like to be a bit more spontaneous but between school schedules and airfares, we probably need to plan a year in advance anyway.

Dean, I'm not sure I understand your last question about how particular we are about our stays. I'd like to say we're pretty easy to please. We've had the occasional blip at DVC (a dirty room upon arrival for example) but the problems were corrected and we went on with our vacation. On the other hand, if I am spending whatever amount for the promise of quality resorts, I do expect quality.

I hope this helps and thank you for helping me learn more.

Spontaneous doesn't work well for timeshare trading. Most should plan at least a full year in advance, sometimes a more. While there's no reason you must own where you travel, owning a place you will use part of the time will really make your life simpler. Remember that owners at a resort are always going to get first choice.

When I say particular, I'm talking about the quality you are willing to accept. A portion of the Marriott locations will be below DVC standards by a fair amount. And some of the best trading values are at these resorts like Harbour Pointe and Monarch in HH. Williamsburg may be the best trade value for your situation, especially if you could get a platinum lockout unit there for a good price, say under $6-7K. Where a HH ocean front unit may be $20-30K, same for Myrtle Beach.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Cap
While not the originator of this thread, I'd be interested in how you think Marriott would compare for a recently retired couple with no real limitations on travel season and no kids who would be traveling. When we stay at one of the DVC resorts (e.g. HH, BWV, VB) we usually use a 1 Bedroom unit for five - six days.

At present, our travel is pretty much North America. We have not used DVC points for Europe or other locations outside N.A.

Being very flexible one can frequently trave during good times but off season for a song. It's not uncommon to get top places for less than the maint fees during truee offseason. I think just owning anything and getting into the RCI and/or II systems is the way to go. Marriott may fit in but it depends on speicfics such as where and when you want to go, your budget and your ability to plan short notice and be VERY FLEXIBLE.

 

[Diznut84]

I would encourage you to spend some time at TUG:
www.tug2.net

Here are some opening thoughts for you:
If you want some all-purpose great traders that are inexpensive and cheap, the TUG favorites vary whether you want access to II or RCI inventory. For II, you need to own a high quality resort during red time. For RCI, resort quality is much less important than the demand for the area. For RCI, I would recommend buying a peak summer (Weeks 26-32) beach week or a winter ski week. Summer Cape Cod weeks are the current favorite among TUGgers.

For example, my timeshare portfolio currently includes DVC, summer floating Aquamarine Villas in Southern California (summer beach week that trades great in RCI), Week 26 Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido, CA (summer high demand, high quality that trades great in both RCI and II), Foxrun resort in North Carolina (very inexpensive but fairly high quality for trading within II), and some Royal Resorts weeks (more for personal use but I occasionally trade them). I also have some South Africa weeks, but those are strictly for trading in RCI during low demand periods. All of the traders listed above cost me less than $3500 each. The South Africa weeks cost $400.

I am a college professor and I travel a lot with my family. The best strategy is to ask the tough questions that Dean has posed to you and figure out a strategy for your travel. Dean and I tend to agree that there are very few like-for-like trade opportunities within DVC because DVC is VERY high quality and very expensive. You are better off using it and renting it when you are not.

One very fundamental question, though, is whether you need to own anything. Timeshare rentals are very inexpensive, and you need to analyze if it is worth it to own anything that you will not personally use each year. If you visit TUG, you will see a lot of discussion about the merits of owning v. renting. There are many great opportunities for rentals. Many of these are last-second opportunities. See http://www.skyauction.com/ as just one example.

Please note, though, that you cannot get every resort via exchange. DVC is notoriously difficult to get, as is some of the more prized Marriotts (Grande Ocean on Hilton Head, some of the Hawaii locations). But if you are fairly flexible, you can get great exchanges at great resorts with a variety of methods.

Finally, consider joining TUG as you can get great timeshare reviews and other helpful information.

Hope this helps!

 

[dlr25]

I have even more to think about now! Thank you for all of your help. I love a good research project and this one should keep me busy for quite a while.