Tips needed from Marriott owners

[barb45]

Hi: We just got back from Hawaii (see bad trade thread). We used our points and stayed at Sands of Kahana (bad idea) but we fell in love with the Island. We toured Marriott's Maui Ocean Beach Club and purchased a 1 bedroom unit with the option to cancel for 7 days. I'm not totally sure I want to keep this since I already have 250 DVC points.

Does anyone own Marriott and DVC? Can you tell me if it is a good deal, if you like it and any tips on maximizing its use would be great. The more ideas right now the better. I have until Friday to see if we keep this. Thanks all.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

We own Marriott and have traded into DVC a few times. Have not been to Maui, but have been in Oahu and Kauai and agree that it is wonderful.

How many Marriott points did you receive for purchasing? Generally I would not recommend buying Marriott in Hawaii unless you want to go there every year. The units cost top $$ and the maintenance fees are $1,000 +. If you want the unit for trading you can get much better value at other resorts. Every trade you make from Maui will be a step down in value. If you want the unit for points you can also do better at other resorts. Some people have done well by 2 brm lockoffs in Maui, but that requires renting out part of the unit and that is too much work for me.

If you are just interested in going every few years I think you best bet is a direct exchange with a Marriott owner for your DVC points. That way you save the initial outlay and high maintenance fees. The have a direct exchange board on www.tug2.net

 

[Joe T.]

We bought at Marriott Grande Vista two years after buying OKW in 1995. We have never stayed at Grande Vista, but have used the options to trade for Marriott Reward points and II trades.

Marriott has not yet seen the light on the point system as offered by Disney and Fairfield. There is less flexibilty and more cost for trading than the other timeshares. However, the resorts are all very good with all kinds of activities.

Be glad to answer any questions.

 

[barb45]

How much do the other Marriotts cost? This one was $11,940.00 for a one bedroom/every other year. The maintence is $1,034 ish every year divided by 2. They said when you trade anywhere else you get a bonus week and if a place only has 2 bedroom units you get a 2 bedroom unit for 2 weeks. We got 50,000 bonus points for buying right away. I need as much info as I can get before Friday because I may cancel this.

Also how easy is it to get those II getaway weeks? Any thoughts about that?

 

[PrincessDadx2]

I think weeks average about $20k for every year 2 bdrms, although premium views like oceanfront sell up to $30-40k. The maintenance fee for the weeks I own are $607 and $614 annually, although most beach resorts are now approaching $1,000. The bonus week is received from II for turning in a week that they have high demand for. These are not guaranteed, but depend on II. I have received one for my Williamsburg week for the last 3 years. If you have flexibility they are very useful. I traded one this year for a 160 point OKW week for a fee of $249. If you can travel within 60 days you can take any week in II inventory, otherwise it is very restrictive on what you can trade for.

Getaway weeks are OK, but limited to high supply areas in off season. You can also buy them through condo direct for $100 more than the II member price. I would not place a high value on this.

50,000 points seems light, but I do not think Marriott is offering very good sales incentives right now. They were much better when we purchased after 9/11.

The way I would think of it is as follows:

Purchase price - 11,940

Less Incentive of 50,000 x .01 = $500

Total Invested = $11,440

at 5% interest this equals $572 per year

Maintenance fees + 2 years interest = $2,178 per week.

This is equal to $311 per night tax included which equals a rental price of about $275 a night plus tax.

You can rent most of the mainland Marriotts for less than this and you also have to add exchange fees, etc.

You can probably rent Maui for that much in the off season. If you want peak season only it will probably be cheaper to buy than renting from Marriott.

By comparison, using the same formula my Marriott weeks cost about $120 per night tax included.

As someone mentioned the program is not as flexible as Disney. It is designed to be used 7 nights at a time and that is it.

We have been extremely pleased with our purchases. Good luck with your decision. HTH

 

[jmatias]

Hi barb45,

We are also Marriott owners and very happy with it. One of the best advantages of Marriott is that you have a 21 day priority with Interval for another Marriott trade.

The Maui Marriott is our favorite resort...just beautiful...but very expensive...it is not a resort you buy to trade. If you want a Marriott for trading there are cheaper alternatives out there with cheaper maintenance fees.

It is tough to trade into the Maui Marriott but it does happen if you are very flexible and easier if you want a 1 bedroom or studio.

The best recommendation I can give is to visit TUG ( timeshare users group) at www.tug2.net and read the Marriott board.

Good Luck!

 

[barb45]

Thanks for that run down. I am getting closer and closer to cancelling this. One of the big perks - owning a Marriott Visa card to grow your points is useless to us because I just found out that you have to be a US resident and we are Canadian. I asked the sales guide several times about this and he said it was no problem for Canadians to get the card. Also I went to the II website to try to see some examples of the getaway weeks and could find nothing for the peak times in the areas we would use them. This is not looking so good now but please keep the suggestions and tips coming.

 

[CarolA]

RESALE!

If you want this timeshare see if you can get it resale. Just like Disney resales are cheaper!

Also, you are paying a premium for Hawaii so unless you can afford to fly there every year you might be better off with another Marriott timeshare.

 

[Caskbill]

Don't forget that with Marriott there are other fees to consider.

All Marriott trades go through II, even when trading one Marriott for another. That's a $79 fee. If you own a 2-B/R for a week and want to split it into a 1-B/R and a Studio so you can get 2-weeks, that's another $79 fee and if you're trading each half (Studio and 1-B/R) to other Marriott resorts, it's $79 each.

Also you have your II membership fees every year. So if you plan on buying something with the idea of trading a lot, get the cheapest Marriott you can find. I'd only get Hawaii if that's where you want to go every other year. It would be a waste to purchase there and then trade it out for anything except a few other super premium spots around the globe.

 

[Caskbill]

Originally posted by CarolA
RESALE!

If you want this timeshare see if you can get it resale. Just like Disney resales are cheaper!

Also, you are paying a premium for Hawaii so unless you can afford to fly there every year you might be better off with another Marriott timeshare.

However, unlike Disney where there is absolutely no difference whether a member purchased from Disney or from resale, Marriott does distinguish the two. A resale purchaser cannot use the full Marriott program. For example, a resale purchaser cannot exchange their week for Marriott Reward points to use within the Marriott worldwide hotel system or hotel/airline packages for some of those around the world type trips you can take.

In other words a resale purchaser is restricted to the Marriott timeshare system only and not the full Marriott system.

 

[CarolA]

Yes, but the OP is already restricted from using the CC to get points.

I did the math on Marriott one time. I figured for the difference between resale and new I could buy a lot of the features that Marriott gives you with the "new" purchase!

Marriott reward points are not all they are cracked up to be. I have a LOT of them, but using them when and where I want is not always easy.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Caskbill
So if you plan on buying something with the idea of trading a lot, get the cheapest Marriott you can find.

That's good advice if you're planning to trade into lower demand Marriott weeks. For example, there are folks who buy Marriott resales for under $10 thousand -- or even under $5 thousand -- for an "every year" week. And with some planning, they can be quite successful trading into off-season weeks.

However, if your goal is to trade into high demand weeks, I would not recommend following that advice. High quality, hgh demand weeks go first to those who are trading other high quality, high demand weeks. That's called "trading power."

Originally posted by Caskbill
In other words a resale purchaser is restricted to the Marriott timeshare system only and not the full Marriott system.

I'm not sure I understand that line or that I agree with it.

A Marriott resale buyer who does not buy though Marriott is treated exactly the same as someone who buys a new week or a resale week from Marriott -- except for one thing. That resale buyer cannot trade in their points (every year or every other year, depending on the contract) for Marriott Rewards points. But that's not a big deal. It requires a fee of around $100 and by the time you figure in the purchase price and the annual fees, it's difficult (but not impossible) to get derive enough value from those Marriott Rewards points to justify the transaction.

As far as being "restricted to the Marriott timeshare system only," that's not the case. Through I.I., you can trade to Marriott and non-Marriott resorts. What you can actually get depends on your trading power, the timing of your request, the time of year, and luck.

 

[barb45]

I went to the tug2.net site and can't seem to find the Marriott board. OK - I can be a little dense but can you help me out here? I'm probably looking right at it and can't see the forest for the trees. Thanks again.

 

[Dean]

You should only purchase that property if you intend to use it like every year. It is a horrible option for trading due to the cost, even worse than DVC in many ways. I'd cancel and look for a resale if you want it. Otherwise, consider a different property and trade in for the occasional trip.

 

[barb45]

How hard would it be to get by trading in from a different Marriott property? We really didn't want to go every other year (which is what we purchased). They talked us into it because of trading power but I will probably cancel it. I can't get the CC points either. They told us you could get 2 weeks anywhere you wanted to go at any time of the year.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by barb45
How hard would it be to get by trading in from a different Marriott property? We really didn't want to go every other year (which is what we purchased). They talked us into it because of trading power but I will probably cancel it. I can't get the CC points either. They told us you could get 2 weeks anywhere you wanted to go at any time of the year.

More sales BS to an extent. Sure, the trade power will be high but at what cost. If you want to go every few years but not EOY, just rent or pay cash or trade something else. It is far too expensive both in terms of up front and yearly to make it worth owning to trade. That's not to say some don't make it work, they do. They do this by working direct exchanges and renting it out when they don't use it.

There's certainly no guarantee on exchanging, even if you own another top Marriott like HH, so you must take that into account. I'd cancel, you can always go back later. And don't let them convince you the points have a lot of value, it's not a perk worth paying developer prices for. And remember for EOY, you're paying 60% of the every year fee, not half.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

I think that buying a Hawaii week directly from Marriott is not a good fit for you, especially if you do not want to go there every year.

I received about 300,000 points when I bought my 2 weeks and paid with my visa card plus a free exchange week and free maintenance fees for a year. This made sense to me because I also travel for business with Marriott and it gave me enough points to get some travel packages which are a good value with Marriott rewards. If you can't use the credit card and do not travel alot then 50,000 points will not be a great value to you.

You can get two weeks of use, in fact my Williamsburg week gets 3 weeks of use - 2 lock off weeks plus a bonus week. However, you can't go wherever you want whenever you want. With Maui trade power you can probably do that for one week if you plan a year in advance, but the other (bonus) week is though II and is restricted. Its great if you like Orlando because Orlando always has good availability for Orlando Marriott's, but you will have a hard time going to the beach in the summer unless you happen to catch a cancellation in the 60 day window.

We have really liked our Marriotts and think we have received good value. This last year we stayed 21 nights at our favorite Orlando resort (Horizons) and 7 nights in an OKW 1 bedroom for $1703. It really works for us, but you have to fit the profile.

I do not think this property is a good fit for you. I would cancel and then research some more about what you are really looking for value wise. If you are not able to maximize the points program then resale is your best option.

 

[barb45]

I just noticed something else in the paperwork. My bonus points are actually 65,000 or 1 week at the Ritz Carlton, Kapalua. Then the next section says that to receive this I have to pay a fee of $935.00 - the salesman and manager said they were my free bonus for signing up right then - I don't get it.

Another thing I would like your opinions about - is this a good investment for investment sake? They said that with the resort selling out soon and no more timeshares being able to be built on Maui that the cost is going to skyrocket so resales would be extremely high a few years down the road if we wanted to use it for a while then sell it. They also said you could make really good money renting it out when you don't use it. Any thoughts?

We have signed the cancellation form - all I have to do is fax it tomorrow. First the new Vacation Ownership Advisor told me I would have to mail it but I pointed out that it would never reach them within the 7 days - then she said I could fax it. Does anyone know if this will work - I would hate to be strung along until it is too late.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by barb45
I just noticed something else in the paperwork. My bonus points are actually 65,000 or 1 week at the Ritz Carlton, Kapalua. Then the next section says that to receive this I have to pay a fee of $935.00 - the salesman and manager said they were my free bonus for signing up right then - I don't get it.

Another thing I would like your opinions about - is this a good investment for investment sake? They said that with the resort selling out soon and no more timeshares being able to be built on Maui that the cost is going to skyrocket so resales would be extremely high a few years down the road if we wanted to use it for a while then sell it. They also said you could make really good money renting it out when you don't use it. Any thoughts?

We have signed the cancellation form - all I have to do is fax it tomorrow. First the new Vacation Ownership Advisor told me I would have to mail it but I pointed out that it would never reach them within the 7 days - then she said I could fax it. Does anyone know if this will work - I would hate to be strung along until it is too late.

You'd be paying a years maint fees for the privilege of trading the 2004 week for points instead of usage. You'd also get bonus points for signing on. NO, it's not a good hoice for investment sake, unless you'll use it a fair amount yourself. While you can rent it, you'll never make enough to justify owning for that reason.

Make sure you read the proper cancellation procedures and follow them to the letter. It may take certified, return receipt.

 

[Caskbill]

Originally posted by CarolA
Yes, but the OP is already restricted from using the CC to get points.

Just to clarify, you don't have to have a marriott CC to get and use Reward Points. You can get them several ways: by staying at a Marriott property, anything from a Fairfield Inn on up, or by taking a tour of a Marriott timeshare, or by exchanging your Marriott week for points.

But if you purchase resale the 3rd option is not allowed, and that's the option that would get someone the greatest number of points if your goal was to use points for stays at different Marriott resorts instead of doing a timeshare exchange.

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
As far as being "restricted to the Marriott timeshare system only," that's not the case. Through I.I., you can trade to Marriott and non-Marriott resorts. What you can actually get depends on your trading power, the timing of your request, the time of year, and luck.

You're correct HH and I guess I wasn't clear. Of course you can use Marriott timeshares for trading just like any other timeshare. What I meant was the big difference was a resale purchaser can not exchange their week for Marriott Reward points to use within the Marriott Hotel system, whereas someone who purchases directly from Marriott is given that option. Whether there's any real value there or not is a separate question. Marriott does give some significant sign-up bonus points when you purchase direct.