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Points Presentation

ExDean

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We recently had our two-hour visit with a very knowledgeable Marriott Sales Exec in Orlando and found the session interesting and helpful. The presentation was very well done, good graphics, a chart of all our MVCI history (sort of a CIA report on us), visual aids (a four buckets demo) and had many questions answered – although we had additional ones after we chatted about what we heard. We were offered 15,000 MR points or $100. We took the points.

When we raised the issue of Marriott not informing the owners of what was coming, our rep apologized for Marriott’s “poor job of marketing.” He further stated that they were, however, 150% over their sales budget (locally or system wide?) with sales – he didn’t break that down and we didn’t press him. He maintained that competition forced the point system.

At the start of his presentation, he said that only one person has ever said “no” when he was done.

Background: (I took pages of notes and am now trying to make sense of them, so forgive me if I get some stuff wrong or confusing.)

Some four years ago, Mr. Marriott established a group to study the timeshare industry looking at the top players DVC, HVC, etc. They set up owner focus groups for one year and plotted trend lines on the input received. According to our rep. the issues that surfaced were:
• Owners were not happy with II
• Want to check in at any time not just weekends
• Want to check in at any resort
• Didn’t like being nickel dimed with charges (lock off, exchange, II, etc)

Further, Bill Marriott said to study the other players but don’t copy them, come up with a unique Marriott product. He further said, “Don’t change the system.” (Not sure what that meant.)

The presentation: He began by showing us that when we join we could still have what we have today:
1. Occupy our home resort
2. Exchange within MVC
3. Exchange outside MVC w/II
4. Exchange for MR points
Plus:
5. We can join MVC programs at Owner Only special rates

“Currently owners have the best of all worlds” … if we buy in, of course. We have a choice – old or new. With the new (at the 6500 points level), we don’t compete with non-MVC owners.

In other words, what we have now doesn’t go away we just add to it. He said 4% of owners go outside MVCI. He occasionally commented what we interpreted as negative statements, about II. In his bucket demo he said II will be getting “less and less MVC weeks” and we shouldn’t “enroll in trouble in the future” by sticking with a “diminishing II.”

Then he got to the number crunching prodding us, not really pushing, to purchase 1000 points to add to our 4600. “But, we really needed to get to 6500 points to maximize our situation.” He had all sorts of Bill Marriott “gifts” of points with each purchase level, 1400 to 2000+ points depending on the level purchased, along with the fact that MVC pays the $595 entry fee,. We were quoted $9.20/point. And, of course, points cost are going up. All this plus what MR points we would get using our Marriott Visa card,

Another positive he told us of the special toll free phone number for “one stop shopping” to handle all our requests.

In addition he emphasized the 1-30 point conversion ratio, one Destination Club point = 30 MR points in exchange.

We talked about the “skim” although we didn’t refer to the point difference as that.
We respectfully declined to make any purchase and wanted to digest what we had heard and seen. We were then offered the “Encore $1495 Package.” $100 down to lock in the Vacation Club Point cost for two years for when you return, to one of three Orlando properties, for another 60-minute presentation. If you purchase within 12 mos. the Vacation Club Point price is $10.10. If after 12 mos., the price is $10.60.

CAVEAT: When you read the “fine print” in this four-page document, you discover your credit card will be billed for equal monthly installments of $139.50 unless you cancel in writing within 10 days of signing. If you don’t cancel, you’re stuck for the whole $1495. They failed to explain this minor point but emphasizing the $100 deposit was refundable.

Afterward I did some calculations based on how we use our weeks. (We’re not interested in mini-stays but in two/three week blocks.) If we just used our points to stay three weeks in our season, our allocated 4600 points would put us between 875 and 1275 points short. So why enroll or buy more points when we could still be short?

Also, using the 1 for 30 point exchange we still come out short. By exchanging our Royal Palms (90,000 yearly) and our Grand Vista (100,000 EOY) we get 190,000 MRPs. Using the points program exchange - 4600 x 30 = 138,000 MRPs, making us 52,000 points short.

The only fault I could attribute to the presentation was our rep seemed to not hear our needs and how we us our weeks. His emphasis was on free cruises, flying first class to most any destination, etc. He was selling the Dream in the hopes that we were buying.

To date we have been very happy with our decision to purchase Royal Palms in 1989 and Grande Vista (Florida Club) in 1997. We have always been pleased with II (and RCI earlier) in our dealings with them and in getting what we wanted in an exchange.

We’re still considering joining the MVC Collection program (but not buying 1000+ points) as we think it might be beneficial, in the long run, for us to save the various fees and perhaps a tad lower MFs??
 

Lawlar

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Wizard

As I read this post, I couldn't help but think of the man behind the curtains in the Wizard of Oz. As the old guy pushed his buttons there was plenty of impressive smoke and mirror effects. But in the end, it was just a lot of flim flam.

If you own week(s) at a resort you enjoy and can afford, then by all means enjoy. But there is no reason to throw your money into this sales pitch pit.
 

scrapngen

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NOTE: Your MF's will not be lower if you join the Destination Club. Those are set by the resort. (apples and oranges) If you buy more points, then THOSE points would have separate MF's that are probably considerably higher than what you are now paying.

If you like how you currently travel, and don't pay lock-off fees, then the program will not likely benefit you in any way. Many of us have chosen not to join, and those who have from TUG mostly seem to have done it to save fees - NOT to actually use points. There are a few exceptions - mostly those with multiple weeks who are loving the versatility and don't mind the skim. That's my take on it, anyway.
 

puckmanfl

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good afternoon...

Did the focus groups used to design the new system for legacy owners request a 5-10% skim on the points value!!! I have used points successfully within the parameters and rules of the new system but I must state that the "skim" still sticks in my gullet....

4 months ago the salesman was selling weeks, propping up the value of lock offs and up trading with II etc. Now according to this rep II is a devalued product. What will they say next year when the rules get changed again???

I believe that he decreased II inventory will occur (slowly) because now MVCI will place excess inventory in DC to fulfill point requests. MVCD controlled inventory is not trivial and does account for a large number of the previously happy II outcomes...
 

jerseyfinn

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Thanks for your insightful post about how Marriott is trying to sell exisiting MVC owners into the DC with it's VC points program. Above all things, Marriott is in the business of making a profit selling their product, and this is not a bad thing. But it is indeed a two way street and we as MVC owners ( actually Marriott customers who were sold what has now become the "legacy" program ) also have our own specific interests to look after. So it is interesting to take your experience as Marriott is presenting it to flesh and blood owners and posit where our interests as owners of a destination travel prodcut coincide with Marriott's interests to sell us, and where these interests diverge.

My own comments here are my own attempt to "flesh out the story" as I see it and to illustrate the larger process of choices/challenges/dilemmas that each of us as MVC owners now face. In other words, I'm positing what runs through my own mind ( and hopefully other MVC owner minds ) as we try to figure out this new reality which Marriott creates/imposes upon us and how many, or how few choices we have at this moment.

. . . He further stated that they were, however, 150% over their sales budget (locally or system wide?) with sales – he didn’t break that down and we didn’t press him. He maintained that competition forced the point system . . . .

An earnest statement, but remember it might be more accurate if he admits that as the MVC sales base grew out and matures ( how many additional weeks can owners continue to add ) that the recession turns off that spigot. Marriott was in the fortuitous position of already exploring other product/sales options and the recession shows them the door and Marriott quickly opens the door to Destinations Club. Marriott is seeking ways to accelerate and grow destination travel profits. Also note the high cost to Marriott of selling the old MVC program and the huge sales staff and office space required and how Destinations eliminates the need to sell 50 discrete resort destinations one weekly owner at a time versus the ability in Destinations to deploy a smaller sales force selling an aggregate destination travel product ( which could or could not be the resort at which a prospective customers visits during the presentation ).

The question we must push real hard at Marriott is what's in this thing for we MVC folks?

At the start of his presentation, he said that only one person has ever said “no” when he was done.

I admire his sales bravado and chuckle at his hubris, but it is disappointing to see the Marriott sales force rolling out this sort of line to a legacy owner. Give MVC owners some respect. We MVC folks have some serious decisions to make here now that Marriott has redefined the timeshare product and the environment that we MVC folks and Marriott must now coexist in.

The good news is that Marriott is a serious company which spent a lot of time doing it's homework to find out what owners think and what they want. They've tried to create a product to entice us while also looking after their end of the business. It still feels to me as if they take good care of themselves while tip-toeing around the full scope of implications for MVC owners.

. . . “Currently owners have the best of all worlds” … if we buy in, of course. We have a choice – old or new. With the new (at the 6500 points level), we don’t compete with non-MVC owners.

An accurate sales statement but remember that in the legacy program, we MVC folks seeking to trade into another MVC resort were only competing against other MVC owners in terms of that 20 to 30 day window when each MVC Interval-deposited week first comes into Interval's possession and only MVC owners may queue on a like-for-like basis during that period for those MVC weeks. If you had an II request in for another MVC resort, and that MVC inventory is eventually deposited by another MVC owner, you already are functioning in a non-MVC environment.

. . . In his bucket demo he said II will be getting “less and less MVC weeks” and we shouldn’t “enroll in trouble in the future” by sticking with a “diminishing II.” . . .

When/if Marriott attains the critical membership mass it seeks ( and this requires a pool of non-MVC folks who join DC straight off and a sufficient pool MVC converts who enroll their weeks and give Marriott control of that inventory) the "relevancy" of MVC is greatly diminished and so too the importance of the Interval relationship with Marriott. We have not reached this point yet ( but Marriott does indeed want/need to break free from Interval quickly to make DC work to Marriott likings ). Interval is obviously the big loser in this change by Marriott. The question for we MVC owners is how long before those of us who are non-adopters of Destinations begin to experience difficulty making Interval trades for MVC resorts as we MVC folks have now become Interval's soul source of MVC inventory -- how might that work to our advantage? Marriott has turned off it's spigot to Interval, and a good short term question to ask is how long can we MVC folks sustain an Interval pipeline of inventory for ourselves.

Destinations is not a benign invention by Marriott which will not harm the trading rights/interests of MVC owners who seek trades to other MVC resorts. There are negative impacts to what Marriott seeks to achieve with DC and Marriott doesn't want to talk about that.

Marriott is going to great lengths here to emphasize lower fees in DC, but this statement really functions more for MVC owners who were primarily aggregate traders rather than "occupy at home resort" owners who incur no fee to stay at their home resort.

We were quoted $9.20/point. And, of course, points cost are going up.

I guess that one expects this sort of pitch, but it annoys me that Marriott insists that "all is well" if we do not join DC, and yet they pressure we MVC folks with this sort of line to get us to make a decision that we're not comfortable making at this moment.

. . . If we just used our points to stay three weeks in our season, our allocated 4600 points would put us between 875 and 1275 points short. So why enroll or buy more points when we could still be short? . . .

You're asking a question that lots of us ask when we look at the VC points Marriott dangles in front of us to enroll our weeks in DC and we discover that we do not receive the same aggregate stay in nights by so-doing.

I'm curious as to if your sales rep bothers to explain the three tiers of membership in Destinations as only the "premier plus" DC member receives the most flexibility ability to reserve further in advance than other members ( the OP would need almost 3x the amount of VC points to reach that tier with their existing weeks pegged at 4600 points ). Fortunately the OP divines that the MR redemption implications as a Destinations member are less than their present MVC MR redemption rate.

And yes, the aggregate MF cost for VC is higher than the annual MF an MVC owner would pay if compared to equivilant VC points.

. . . our rep seemed to not hear our needs and how we us our weeks. His emphasis was on free cruises, flying first class to most any destination, etc. He was selling the Dream in the hopes that we were buying.

Very insightful observation. Looks and sounds to me as if Marriott remains completely uncomfortable selling Destinations to an MVC owner, especially an experienced MVC owner who realizes that there's a lot of tradeoffs involved for an MVC owner to come into Destinations. The "glitter approach" emphasizing cruises and exotic destinations is a sales pitch better aimed at a completely new customer who has no TS or MVC experience.

The sooner that Marriott begins to candidly admit to MVC owners that "flaws" and "disparaties" exist between the legacy program and DC, the sooner Marriott can rework the deal. It's early in the game so Marriott at this point is not laying many cards on the table as it wants to see how lucky it can get with MVC owners.

Marriott says that an MVC owner can enjoy the "best of both worlds". Sounds more like a Washington politician than a corporation which I trusted when I take the MVC plunge with my hard earned dollars. The question that Marriott does not want to hear from we MVC owners at this moment is how in the world are they going to run two parallel destination travel programs in the future without encountering a collision of interests? Interval is one choke point by which Marriott wants to induce us to "come in from the rain". Others exist as well. The sooner that Marriott starts admiting they exist, the sooner that DC and MVC can move into the future.

Once again, thanks to the OP for keeping accurate notes which convey the tenor and mood of the Marriott sales pitch for Destinations.

Barry
 

DanCali

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He occasionally commented what we interpreted as negative statements, about II. In his bucket demo he said II will be getting “less and less MVC weeks” and we shouldn’t “enroll in trouble in the future” by sticking with a “diminishing II.”

I assume he failed to say that fewer deposits in II also means less Marriott owners competing in II for those weeks so it almost washes out?

Or that the remaining II Marriott weeks will have their trading power increase accordingly due to desirability and eventual scarcity of high quality Marriott resorts?

At the start of his presentation, he said that only one person has ever said “no” when he was done.

We respectfully declined to make any purchase and wanted to digest what we had heard and seen.

That was mean on your part... now you lowered his batting average.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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At the start of his presentation, he said that only one person has ever said “no” when he was done.


That's odd. I saw the same sales rep. after you, and he told me the very same thing. I guess he must have forgotten that you just turned him down or maybe he tells everyone the same thing:hysterical:

Just kidding on seeing the same sales rep:)
 

Herb33

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I've told our story elsewhere in this forum. It's not a story I'm particularly proud of, and I won't waste bandwidth telling it again. But for what it's worth, we've decided to disenroll our weeks from DC and continue to use them as we always have until Marriott's self-inflicted character assassination starts to show up in the quality of our vacations.
 

BocaBoy

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And yes, the aggregate MF cost for VC is higher than the annual MF an MVC owner would pay if compared to equivilant VC points.

Not always. This is generally true at the high-priced resorts but not at those with lower point values. For my wife and me, it is true for Hawaii and Las Vegas but not for Sabal Palms, where the MF for an equivalent number of DC points would be about $300 less than what we pay as a legacy owner.
 

windje2000

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I've told our story elsewhere in this forum. It's not a story I'm particularly proud of, and I won't waste bandwidth telling it again. But for what it's worth, we've decided to disenroll our weeks from DC and continue to use them as we always have until Marriott's self-inflicted character assassination starts to show up in the quality of our vacations.

I must have missed the conclusion of the story, so I'll ask - did you manage to rescind your points purchase in addition to the aforementioned disenrolling from DC?
 

Herb33

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I must have missed the conclusion of the story, so I'll ask - did you manage to rescind your points purchase in addition to the aforementioned disenrolling from DC?

No, we didn't.

And we're not holding our breath waiting for the unsolicited Marriott gift card that the Director of Customer Advocacy told me he would send us.
 
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jlf58

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For a second, I was worried. I thought you would going to say Mr Marriot did it to actually save MVCI and make more money. Good to know that wasn't the reason :)

We recently had our two-hour visit with a very knowledgeable Marriott Sales Exec in Orlando and found the session interesting and helpful. The presentation was very well done, good graphics, a chart of all our MVCI history (sort of a CIA report on us), visual aids (a four buckets demo) and had many questions answered – although we had additional ones after we chatted about what we heard. We were offered 15,000 MR points or $100. We took the points.

When we raised the issue of Marriott not informing the owners of what was coming, our rep apologized for Marriott’s “poor job of marketing.” He further stated that they were, however, 150% over their sales budget (locally or system wide?) with sales – he didn’t break that down and we didn’t press him. He maintained that competition forced the point system.

At the start of his presentation, he said that only one person has ever said “no” when he was done.

Background: (I took pages of notes and am now trying to make sense of them, so forgive me if I get some stuff wrong or confusing.)

Some four years ago, Mr. Marriott established a group to study the timeshare industry looking at the top players DVC, HVC, etc. They set up owner focus groups for one year and plotted trend lines on the input received. According to our rep. the issues that surfaced were:
• Owners were not happy with II
• Want to check in at any time not just weekends
• Want to check in at any resort
• Didn’t like being nickel dimed with charges (lock off, exchange, II, etc)

Further, Bill Marriott said to study the other players but don’t copy them, come up with a unique Marriott product. He further said, “Don’t change the system.” (Not sure what that meant.)

The presentation: He began by showing us that when we join we could still have what we have today:
1. Occupy our home resort
2. Exchange within MVC
3. Exchange outside MVC w/II
4. Exchange for MR points
Plus:
5. We can join MVC programs at Owner Only special rates

“Currently owners have the best of all worlds” … if we buy in, of course. We have a choice – old or new. With the new (at the 6500 points level), we don’t compete with non-MVC owners.

In other words, what we have now doesn’t go away we just add to it. He said 4% of owners go outside MVCI. He occasionally commented what we interpreted as negative statements, about II. In his bucket demo he said II will be getting “less and less MVC weeks” and we shouldn’t “enroll in trouble in the future” by sticking with a “diminishing II.”

Then he got to the number crunching prodding us, not really pushing, to purchase 1000 points to add to our 4600. “But, we really needed to get to 6500 points to maximize our situation.” He had all sorts of Bill Marriott “gifts” of points with each purchase level, 1400 to 2000+ points depending on the level purchased, along with the fact that MVC pays the $595 entry fee,. We were quoted $9.20/point. And, of course, points cost are going up. All this plus what MR points we would get using our Marriott Visa card,

Another positive he told us of the special toll free phone number for “one stop shopping” to handle all our requests.

In addition he emphasized the 1-30 point conversion ratio, one Destination Club point = 30 MR points in exchange.

We talked about the “skim” although we didn’t refer to the point difference as that.
We respectfully declined to make any purchase and wanted to digest what we had heard and seen. We were then offered the “Encore $1495 Package.” $100 down to lock in the Vacation Club Point cost for two years for when you return, to one of three Orlando properties, for another 60-minute presentation. If you purchase within 12 mos. the Vacation Club Point price is $10.10. If after 12 mos., the price is $10.60.

CAVEAT: When you read the “fine print” in this four-page document, you discover your credit card will be billed for equal monthly installments of $139.50 unless you cancel in writing within 10 days of signing. If you don’t cancel, you’re stuck for the whole $1495. They failed to explain this minor point but emphasizing the $100 deposit was refundable.

Afterward I did some calculations based on how we use our weeks. (We’re not interested in mini-stays but in two/three week blocks.) If we just used our points to stay three weeks in our season, our allocated 4600 points would put us between 875 and 1275 points short. So why enroll or buy more points when we could still be short?

Also, using the 1 for 30 point exchange we still come out short. By exchanging our Royal Palms (90,000 yearly) and our Grand Vista (100,000 EOY) we get 190,000 MRPs. Using the points program exchange - 4600 x 30 = 138,000 MRPs, making us 52,000 points short.

The only fault I could attribute to the presentation was our rep seemed to not hear our needs and how we us our weeks. His emphasis was on free cruises, flying first class to most any destination, etc. He was selling the Dream in the hopes that we were buying.

To date we have been very happy with our decision to purchase Royal Palms in 1989 and Grande Vista (Florida Club) in 1997. We have always been pleased with II (and RCI earlier) in our dealings with them and in getting what we wanted in an exchange.

We’re still considering joining the MVC Collection program (but not buying 1000+ points) as we think it might be beneficial, in the long run, for us to save the various fees and perhaps a tad lower MFs??
 
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gblotter

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They set up owner focus groups for one year and plotted trend lines on the input received. According to our rep. the issues that surfaced were:
• Owners were not happy with II
• Want to check in at any time not just weekends
• Want to check in at any resort
• Didn’t like being nickel dimed with charges (lock off, exchange, II, etc)
Oh, I get it now ... the new DC is all about making us owners happy. So really, if this new points program sucks we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Afterall, we asked for it and they gave it to us. Yep - they really gave it to us.
 

Big Matt

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I think that it is interesting what they told you that Mr. Marriott thought.

The reason that I think that it is interesting is because I agree with him. I would love to see a solution to the problem that we face. Here'e the problem with what he implemented:

• Owners were not happy with II - Didn't fix that one.
• Want to check in at any time not just weekends - got that one right
• Want to check in at any resort - sort of got that one right
• Didn’t like being nickel dimed with charges (lock off, exchange, II, etc) - blew that one totally. How can I not feel nickel and dimed when I'm being charged a crap load of money to convert and I get skimmed. That sucks.

That one last bullet is what torpedoed the entire implementation of Marriott's new product.

Guess what stood in the way? You've got it......money.
 

windje2000

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I think that it is interesting what they told you that Mr. Marriott thought.

The reason that I think that it is interesting is because I agree with him. I would love to see a solution to the problem that we face. Here'e the problem with what he implemented:

• Owners were not happy with II - Didn't fix that one.
• Want to check in at any time not just weekends - got that one right
• Want to check in at any resort - sort of got that one right
• Didn’t like being nickel dimed with charges (lock off, exchange, II, etc) - blew that one totally. How can I not feel nickel and dimed when I'm being charged a crap load of money to convert and I get skimmed. That sucks.

That one last bullet is what torpedoed the entire implementation of Marriott's new product.

Guess what stood in the way? You've got it......money.

Four years ago they got wind of great dissatisfaction??? Owners were not happy???? (Note that four years ago = 2006)



from the transcript
Marriott International Timeshare Analyst Day, February 26, 2008
Page 9

The weeks product has been very successful for us. Based on our owner satisfaction scores and the number of owners who buy additional weeks, I would say that our 370,000 owners worldwide are clearly pleased with the structure and benefit of our product. Guest preference can also be seen in how our owners use our product each year. Our product provides a myriad of options for owners to choose from, including home resort occupancy, trading to other Marriott Vacation Club properties, exchange within the Marriott family to a Marriott hotel through Marriott Rewards or exchanging outside through Interval International. As you can see, 80 percent of our owners take advantage of a Marriott experience each year. We definitely view this as a tribute to the strength of the overall Marriott brand in our owners’ eyes.

Yes, our owners love our product and we’re happy to report that their love increases sales and lowers overall marketing and sales costs for us year after year. Over 50 percent of our domestic sales come from our existing owner base, either through owner referrals or owner reloads, which represents either owner upgrades or additional purchases. There is no greater indication of satisfaction than when an existing owner wants more of our product or is willing to refer their friends and families. So as our owner base grows we expect to continue to leverage this low cost channel to drive additional sales volumes. As a point of reference, over 110,000 of our more than 300,000 domestic owners own more than one week and the average Marriott Vacation Club.

I guess Bill Marriott changed his mind about all that customer satisfaction . . . when the product stopped selling.
 

csalter2

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I Was One of those Surveyed

Hey Folks,

I must admit that I was one of those Marriottt focus group members. I received a call to go to Irvine for the session. There were other members too. I remember several questions about what to name the vacation club, questions about the logo and what we thought about when we saw certain kinds of pictures about MVC. The best part was they paid us $100 cash for our troubles.

I don't really remember any questions about points. I do remember questions about how we much we enjoyed our membership.

The only thing I remember about the new points system is when they sent us a survey via email a couple of years ago. That was it.
 

cruisin

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So currently this salesmans numbers arent looking good if his rejections are doubling by the day.
 

Asia2000

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The salespeople are being taught to "sell the sizzle" of the program. That means they are pouring on the benefits, even while you're asking questions. Some questions are answered, others are bypassed with a benefit.

It's especially difficult being at these beautiful resorts and being presented the golden package, while you are in "vacation mode". I think about the two "seal the deal" seats at Maui Ocean Club, overlooking the beautiful ponds, pools and ocean. I would imagine the salespeople fight over who has the rights to bring their prospects to those two chairs. A lot of common sense probably goes out the window for most in this beautiful setting.

I agree with Big Matt's comments. However, behind closed doors, Marriott knows exactly where the line is (entrance fee to the DC club) and has it set that way to please shareholders. If MVC can ride out the storm of the economy, they may be actually in a position to take over, convert or build some new timeshare units.
 
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carolinept

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It is disappointing to see the Marriott sales force rolling out this sort of line to a legacy owner. Give MVC owners some respect. We MVC folks have some serious decisions to make here now that Marriott has redefined the timeshare product and the environment that we MVC folks and Marriott must now coexist in.

The "glitter approach" emphasizing cruises and exotic destinations is a sales pitch better aimed at a completely new customer who has no TS or MVC experience.

I think that this point made by Barry is very well-worded and a HUGE point to be made to the Marriott sales force. Do they honestly think that existing owners will respond well to the "glitter approach" and misleading sales statements like we've never been there before?????
 

BocaBoy

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Here's the problem with what he implemented:

• Owners were not happy with II - Didn't fix that one.
• Want to check in at any time not just weekends - got that one right
• Want to check in at any resort - sort of got that one right
Didn’t like being nickel dimed with charges (lock off, exchange, II, etc) - blew that one totally. How can I not feel nickel and dimed when I'm being charged a crap load of money to convert and I get skimmed. That sucks.

That one last bullet is what torpedoed the entire implementation of Marriott's new product.

I think the one thing they got right was eliminating the nickel and dime fees.
 

dioxide45

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I think the one thing they got right was eliminating the nickel and dime fees.

To most it will appear this way. They did eliminate the many fees one could pay, but they just lumped those in to the skim. So no more nickels and dimes are lots, now points are lost.
 

MEDSKIS

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what I heard at my Maui Ocean club presentation yesterday

Hello

As a first timer in Maui on an II exchange to Maui Ocean Club (Ocean View lockout in Molokai tower) I attended the TOUR yesterday. I was under the impression it would be 45 minutes, low pressure --- our host firmly but nicely said it would last 90 minutes or we could do a shorter tour without a gift. It ended up being one hour. My takeaways are : 1 - host stressed they are not selling Maui, they are selling Marriott / points. Points cost $10 each .... Maintenance fee is $0.40 per point. Very interesting perhaps is that the host said "did you see that group of men we walked past ....they are the top Marriott brass visiting here to see how we do it" "We are a success .... 20 % sold (we had toured Napoli villas)" We are anticipating an "aggressive" price hike every 90 days and we may be at $15 a point in a few years.
Just thought I would share that on this forum
 

DanCali

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We are anticipating an "aggressive" price hike every 90 days and we may be at $15 a point in a few years.
Just thought I would share that on this forum

The problem is that it will never be worth $10/point when you sell it on the resale market, let alone $15.
 
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