Marriott at Marco Island

Anybody got any info as to whats happening with this project? Is this new construction, or did Marriott purchase and is refurbishing? Got any timeframe regarding completion or anticipated selling prices?
Thanks,
Mike

Marriott purchased the Radisson Suite Beach Resort in Marco Island, Florida. Marriott plans to convert it to a timeshare resort. However, its initial plans were to build upward from the property's current 125 feet height to 175 feet. The Marco Island City Council balked and a compromise was eventually reached in August. Marriott will build to a height of 150 feet.

I don't know what the timeline is.

Dave, is the Radisson the ppty on teh beach to the South of The Hilton?

Yes, I believe it is.

Laurie

More info on this (just obtained this afternoon) -

Marco Island sales should start June 2007
No lock-offs
Full kitchens
Mid range price $55,000
Probably max out around $100,000
Probably 2 & 3bd units
Probably fixed weeks and floating weeks

Those prices are crazy.

I don't care how many points they give you, you can't buy and make this work out financially.

People will trade in with Bronze Summit Watch weeks that they bought for $1500.

Ouch.

Dave M said:

More info on this (just obtained this afternoon) -

Marco Island sales should start June 2007
No lock-offs
Full kitchens
Mid range price $55,000
Probably max out around $100,000
Probably 2 & 3bd units
Probably fixed weeks and floating weeks

Click to expand...

Uh, not really.... Maybe September
Winter Marco weeks could the hardest trade in Marriott's inventory.

Big Matt said:

Those prices are crazy.

I don't care how many points they give you, you can't buy and make this work out financially.

People will trade in with Bronze Summit Watch weeks that they bought for $1500.

Ouch.

Click to expand...

Bet me. Seriously, I'll buy lunch. The most ridiculous trades come through in flexchange even during prime times. I'm not saying that a Bronze SW will get an ongoing search for a prime week, but you get the point. How do you think I got a July Grande Ocean with my Manor Club AC? Go look at what's available during Christmas week. I've seen Hawaii, Paris, etc. just in the last two days.

Eric said:

Uh, not really.... Maybe September
Winter Marco weeks could the hardest trade in Marriott's inventory.

Click to expand...

Yikes......I agree. Marco Island is an incredibly difficult trade during the season, but those prices are steep for non lock-offs. It will be interesting to see how quickly they sell.

Anythink is possible I guess. Thats why people play the lottery.

Big Matt said:

Bet me. Seriously, I'll buy lunch. The most ridiculous trades come through in flexchange even during prime times. I'm not saying that a Bronze SW will get an ongoing search for a prime week, but you get the point. How do you think I got a July Grande Ocean with my Manor Club AC? Go look at what's available during Christmas week. I've seen Hawaii, Paris, etc. just in the last two days.

Click to expand...

what is special of Marco island and how is this any difference from Destin white sand or Palm beach a few hours away.

not to slight any place, but Marco Island is to Destin as Greenwich Ct is to Bridegport Ct. Marco, Sannibel, Naples are pretty expensive areas. Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach Shores are nice resorts but immediate surrounding areas are not the same. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about.

Here's one difference between Destin and Marco. Destin's high temps for the next 10 days range from 54-67. Marco's are 73-83. West Palm Beach's are 73-82.

Because we have family in the Florida panhandle we spent a week during Christmas break at Legend's Edge. Good thing we all like to read. Cold and rainy.

Matt, why does it trouble you so that a bronze Summit Watch could pull a high end week within the flexchange period? It surely won't be the norm. I figure the buyers of the pricey weeks are those who want that element of guarantee that they can visit the resort during the timeframe they want or even the exact week if they buy a fixed week. But the bronze Summit Watch could never count on something being available.

It doesn't trouble me in the least. My point was the opposite, in fact. I was trying to point out that someone will pay upwards of $100k for a prime week and someone with a very low Marriott trader can still sit next to them at the pool having traded in for $89.

I can't imagine justifying the $100k.

Quilter said:

Matt, why does it trouble you so that a bronze Summit Watch could pull a high end week within the flexchange period? It surely won't be the norm. I figure the buyers of the pricey weeks are those who want that element of guarantee that they can visit the resort during the timeframe they want or even the exact week if they buy a fixed week. But the bronze Summit Watch could never count on something being available.

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Don't be so glib.

It's not a million to one shot like a lottery, it happens all the time.

I'm very happy getting the occasional week in Hilton Head at Grande Ocean or another great trader using next to nothing to trade in. All you need is flexibility.

Now if you want to go to the same resort every year and have a guaranteed unit, I understand why you might want to spend that kind of money for insurance. I can't justify it. It's not real estate.

Eric said:

Anythink is possible I guess. Thats why people play the lottery.

Click to expand...

Big Matt said:

Don't be so glib.

It's not a million to one shot like a lottery, it happens all the time.

I'm very happy getting the occasional week in Hilton Head at Grande Ocean or another great trader using next to nothing to trade in. All you need is flexibility.

Now if you want to go to the same resort every year and have a guaranteed unit, I understand why you might want to spend that kind of money for insurance. I can't justify it. It's not real estate.

Click to expand...

Totally agree. While I was enjoying my Gold Horizons trade to Platinum Grande Ocean the resale guy there told me that Marco Island would top out at $100k. Even for a 3 bd, for the $5k interest plus $1k MF you have to be able to find a beach house for a week somewhere close by. Can't see how you would justify it, but will enjoy trading in when it is ready. It is always easy to trade in during construction when Marriott still owns a lot of the units.

Matt & Winnie the Pooh,
You and MOST of the TUG BBS are NOT Marriott's average customer. They not only pay cash for their weeks but that cash is a small part of their disposable cash, not the majority of it. Most MVCI owners don't want to take a chance on a good week once in a blue moon on 2 weeks notice. They want the best and can afford it so they buy it. People are paying 80K to 100K for Maui weeks and don't hesitate. I would never pay 80K for Marco but many people will.

Big Matt said:

Don't be so glib.

It's not a million to one shot like a lottery, it happens all the time.

I'm very happy getting the occasional week in Hilton Head at Grande Ocean or another great trader using next to nothing to trade in. All you need is flexibility.

Now if you want to go to the same resort every year and have a guaranteed unit, I understand why you might want to spend that kind of money for insurance. I can't justify it. It's not real estate.

Click to expand...

MikeM132 said:

not to slight any place, but Marco Island is to Destin as Greenwich Ct is to Bridegport Ct. Marco, Sannibel, Naples are pretty expensive areas. Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach Shores are nice resorts but immediate surrounding areas are not the same. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about.

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Having never been there, I was trying to understand why Marco Island is so expensive and desireable.Then I have also never been to Greenwich and Bridgeport as well so I really don't understand your compparison.

I understand that Sannibel has better seashell so the kids can go an collect them. I heard that both Destin and Marco have the white sand while ocean pointe have the gold sand. The water at ocean pointe is colder to swin than that of the gulf--This is great in the summer but in the winter month I find OP kind of cold to swim-- but then the gulf has more jelly fish-- We always love Ocean point.

Other than that--please enlighten me -- what make the vacation experience at Marco difference than that of Ocean Pointe or any of the Hyatt at Key West.

I am going to check this out when I visit Marco May-June 2007. Marco is one of the last Gulf coast places on my to do list that I have not visited.Temps are warm and the beaches look gorgeous. I have been to Sanibel/Captiva,Sarasota/Anna Maria,Longboat, Legend's Edge/Panama Beach and drove along the Emerald coast past Seaside and Watercolor to beautiful Destin.

Marriott does it's research and so the demographics regarding cost factor are there. There is only so much beachfront real estate.DH and I were speaking about cost of this new resort at lunch yesterday. Boomers are buying Gulf Coast Florida. We investigated this 2 years ago for the greater Sarasota area. It's driveable,temps are warmer in the winter and there are inexpensive flights unlike Hawaii or the Carribean. SWA now flies to RSW/Ft Myers.

Can someone occasionally get prime season on an AC who can travel on short notice with a lesser week? We all know it's possible but it won't be very often. Those that can are very lucky.

Seatrout...
I am trying not to be offensive. A beautiful beach is one thing, and all those places have them. The difference is the neighborhood. Marco is a very exclusive place. A regular condo can easily cost 7 figures. A 100K week in a t/s there might sell pretty well. Marriott would know.
Bridgeport Ct is a city on Long Island sound, so is Greenwhich. Bridgeport is a former industrial hub, now full of closed business's. It was famous several years ago as the largest US city to attempt to declare bankruptcy. Greenwich is uber-affluent. Tennis courts and heliports are common on the personal estates there. This is the home of many NYC CEOs, etc.. Assuming Marriott built a t/s resort on the water in Greenwhich and Bridgeport, which one would you pay 100K for?

Although admittedly I am not familiar with Marco Island and its beauty may be overwhelming, I was shocked by the pricing Dave posted. I have never even heard of it except here. I really wonder if it has the name recognition to carry those prices? Are timeshare buyers willing to spend that kind of money on a single week?

People buy top weeks for two reasons- to use and to have a great trader that will get them what they want to trade into. We bought in Aruba with those reasons in mind and were willing to shell out a few thousand dollars more for those reasons, as opposed to buying elsewhere. However, here we are talking about tens of thousands more.

To spend that kind of money, someone would have to want to always use the week, because it sure would be too expensive to trade. Do rentals there exceed $1500 a night, because that is the kind of money the area would have to command in order to beign to justify that kind of price (based on the premise of trying to recoup your investment over a ten year period)?

Out of curiosity- what are the new Maui units selling for? I was surprised to see someone post an 80K figure- was that for a holiday week? Curious as to their price structure.

As for me...I'll be very happy to trade into the Marco Island unit perhaps ... even though I am sure people will be buying this to use, the purchasers are like everyone else and personal emergencies arise and/or professional demands cause people to need to change vacation plans. Units will ultimately find their way into the trading system. With no lock-offs, a studio or 1 BR might ultimatley be strong enough to request a 2 BR there

beachfront condo on the East Coast of Florida is around $750,000
That same condo on the West Coast is almost 2X that price.

What makes living in a house in Malibu CA different than living in a house in Trenton New Jersey. They both have a/c and a front door

location, location, location = $$$ $$$ $$$



Other than that--please enlighten me -- what make the vacation experience at Marco difference than that of Ocean Pointe or any of the Hyatt at Key West.[/QUOTE]

Eric said:

Matt & Winnie the Pooh,
You and MOST of the TUG BBS are NOT Marriott's average customer. They not only pay cash for their weeks but that cash is a small part of their disposable cash, not the majority of it. Most MVCI owners don't want to take a chance on a good week once in a blue moon on 2 weeks notice. They want the best and can afford it so they buy it. People are paying 80K to 100K for Maui weeks and don't hesitate. I would never pay 80K for Marco but many people will.

Click to expand...

Hmmmmm.... maybe you didn't see the following, posted by Dave M on another thread:

"53% of Marriott's 2004 profit from timeshares came from sales. An astounding 33% came from financing!"

I would leave my $100K in my investment account, where I would expect to earn at least $6000 per year (and would be disappointed if that's all I made). With my earnings, and my $1000 (++++) maintenance fee, I'm pretty sure I could come up with a decent weekly rental.

If most MVCI owners were as wealthy as you seem to believe, they would be buying whole units, not weeks. And, Marriott would not be reaping 1/3 of their profits from financing.

Here's a link that shows what Marco is like.

http://www.marco-island-florida.com/shell.htm