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Do you love Marriott or are you beginning to dislike them

jme

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They gave you a bronze week but I'll bet you pay the annual maintenance fee. I view that as a huge liability.

They took you on that one. There were excess bronze weeks unsold, so they wanted someone, anyone to pay a maintenance fee.

Hope you're aware that you can probably rent that bronze week for less than the maintenance fee. Or rent the DC points and stay there even for less than renting outright.
I’ve never had a bad trade with the bronze week. Never used it in season. Always fun to talk to a person who payed between 10000 and 20000 for the same thing. Let’s put it this way I can’t rent a week at places I go for less than the maintenance fee I pay. It’s fun to be taken see you in Hawaii next year

Very glad you have gotten great trades with it. Believe me, I'm on your side for that.
My point is that it usually doesn't work out so well, and folks try to give them away.

It doesn't pull a lot of weight in trading, so perhaps it does work in seasons and at resorts that are not booked up.
That was the only way your bronze week would have passed any test.

I'll bet not one TUG member that's been around would accept a free gift of a bronze week. Or purchase one.

Sorry I won't be able to see you in Hawaii, gonna give it a rest since I was there last April at MOC.
But seriously, happy travels and hope your good fortune continues with nice upgrade trades.
 

Dean

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I’m a legacy weeks owner. I bought three weeks in the early 90s I loved it. I could trade one of my weeks for a week at any Marriott hotel in the world this is what I was told it was great. Now that same week will get me maybe two nights at a category six hotel And probably five nights if I’m lucky had a Fairfield Inn not exactly what I was told when I spent $30,000 and financed with Marriott. But that’s the way it goes when you don’t read the fine print. So we went to an info meeting lol. Just to let us in on all the wonderful news. They are buying Westin Hilton II and something else. Sounds great but you’re a leagacy weeks owner. What a bummer. You need to buy points to be able to participate in this great news. 2000 pts for a measly price of 28000 dollars what a deal. Two hrs later and 3 pissed off sales people we got our gift and left. This was once a great company now they aren’t. I’m glad I bought where I love to go. Soon my platinum week will only get me a night at a great hotel. End of rant
I'm still satisfied but I understood going in what I was and was not getting. I looked at perks and reward points as gravy that did not affect my decision and was never a great option even early 90's. Things have changed and some changes have not been for the better though some have.
 

melissy123

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I have to admit I do not own Marriott timeshares and never have. On the other hand I have stayed at many of their timeshares and too many of their hotels to count! Do I like Marriott?? I LOVE Marriott!! I am kicked back at one of their hotels right now in England at Hanbury Manor and loving every second of it! Especially the breakfast buffet. Yummy! Also, was upgraded to a Jr. Suite and I only booked the standard room and did not have to use any Suite Nights :) Yes, I am a big Marriott lover.
I actually always book the standard room whatever Marriott hotel I am at and am very rarely not upgraded. If I'm not upgraded it usually because the hotel is sold out. DH swears I have a secret sign I am wearing that says please upgrade to very nice room:)

Can I have that sign, LOL!
 

ilene13

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Marriott like most companies really only cares about their profit margin so it's no surprise things have gone up in price and devalued because that increases their bottom line. Like everything in business it is "buyer beware" and if it doesn't bring value then don't buy it or sell it if you can.

I've accepted long ago that is the way everything goes so figured out a way to make it work for me as a legacy owner of 27 Marriott weeks and it still does in a big way but I'm not the norm so i can see how many have become very disenchanted.

I did enroll 4 weeks in the DC program but don't see myself ever using DC points because although the program provides tremendous flexibility it comes at a very significant cost in points that only seems to make sense to me in very limited situations so I have no concern about using it. Even if they add the top locations of these other programs to the mix I anticipate the cost in points will be so significant that I can't see how it will be worth it.

Many people have bought into the hype and I do see some making it work but other than being able to do shorter or non-conventional day intervals ie 5 or 10 days, or getting that dream prime unit by using mega points, I think what is accomplished can be done much cheaper by owning good legacy weeks.
But don’t you use many of your weeks like a business by renting them out?
 

BocaBoy

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I looked at perks and reward points as gravy that did not affect my decision and was never a great option even early 90's.
We bought in 1987 and always traded for rewards points for about the first 10-12 years. It was actually still an excellent deal in the 90's but after 2000 things changed rapidly.
 

MabelP

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I love my four Marriott legacy weeks. I joined the Destination Club to keep the cost of trading down which has worked out very nicely. I always have requests in at least a year out, and up until two years ago, I was a teacher traveling all public holidays. My exchanges with II have worked out beautifully. Many, many happy memories with my husband, children and grandchild.
 

Dean

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We bought in 1987 and always traded for rewards points for about the first 10-12 years. It was actually still an excellent deal in the 90's but after 2000 things changed rapidly.
I can't speak for 87 but starting about 95-96 my judgement at the time was it was a good alternative but not a great option and that it was not guaranteed and thus could (and likely would) change over time. Even in the early days here when people were talking about all the extra points they were getting buying retail, I felt like it was peanuts. I can remember a single such post where I agreed it was sufficient to justify a retail purchase mainly for the extra points.
 
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dansimms

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We love the program, but have a few things working for us: chairman Tier and not tied to a school calendar. Glad we hitched our wagon to Marriott, who has taken over the world of hotels .
 

Superchief

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We bought in 1987 and always traded for rewards points for about the first 10-12 years. It was actually still an excellent deal in the 90's but after 2000 things changed rapidly.
I agree. It was a great deal for many years and we frequently converted our Royal Palms for 110k MR points. At that time, 110K points got us 7 nights at any Marriott resort worldwide, 2 airline tickets, 1 wk Hertz rental car, and two for 1 cruise certificate. Most people don't recall that the MR point requirements didn't change for several years. The annual major devaluations didn't start until Sorenson took over.

We used our MR points a lot more than we traded through II. Although we no longer use this benefit, we enjoy our MVC ownership and greatly appreciate the flexibility of the DC program.
 

Big Matt

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Here's the problem with the Bronze week in a nut shell. I can get seven days in the first half of January for 825 Destination Club points and I can get the same week on an II getaway for $650. You are paying way too much in fees for what it's worth.
 

Superchief

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First of all, "Only 50 weeks at GO are legacy"? I sincerely believe that's a total fabrication,
and I'd like to talk to that sales person and put money on it.
That's one of the best lines I've ever heard.
Frankly GO has far more legacy owners than most other Marriott resorts.
I agree that there is no way this statement is true. Perhaps they meant there are only 50 GO owners who exclusively own resale weeks and aren't enrolled in DC. I bet there are a lot more than 50 owners who have enrolled legacy weeks.
 

Superchief

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Marriott is not your friend.
The Marriott family appreciated our loyalty and therefore treated us like a friend. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case under Sorenson's regime. Their focus is on controlling all competition to eliminate alternative choices.
 

Dean

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I agree that there is no way this statement is true. Perhaps they meant there are only 50 GO owners who exclusively own resale weeks and aren't enrolled in DC. I bet there are a lot more than 50 owners who have enrolled legacy weeks.
I don't see how it could be true and it was clearly meant to be misleading but it is likely that a majority of the weeks there are enrolled in the DC system at this time, though the majority are likely using the weeks in some way rather than taking points.

It's been interesting over the years (across various companies) to see sales tactics. Add on at THIS resort as it'll give you more options, you don't have X benefit and a purchase will give it to you (even when you may have the benefit), you have EOY but you need EY as they're better, you have EY but you need EOY, X change is coming and you need to move up now so you'll qualify or before a price increase. I'd say most of my direct experiences with all companies have been generally reasonable and positive but I've also seen a lot of negatives from not so nice people and clearly dishonest and/or ill informed people. Generally Marriott tours have been better and more reasonable than my other experiences though. I'd say our tour at Ko Olina was summer was one of the worst and the not nice, dishonest, you don't have X benefit (when I knew we did) all applied. He also pulled my two favorites, trying to berate us for taking the tour when it was their idea and trying to convince us all the special things he did, at least one of which was against Marriott's rules. According to him he was taking his owners points, reserving event weeks and renting them not through Marriott for large $$$. He proclaimed himself a top salesperson and stated Marriott had moved him there because he was so good, NOT from what I saw. I doubt any of it was true but regardless I spent an extra hour talking with his supervisor about his behavior taking his office during the process. Whether it had any positive affect to the system or additional negative impact on him, I have no way of knowing.
 

burg1121

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I don’t use my bronze week to go to HH GO in January. I use it to come in September. I use to go to st Martin in April. France in September. Spain in September. Thailand in the winter. Why would I trade it in for DC pts?
I use my platinum weeks for that. I don’t get the down side I’ve never used it to go to HH in January. The person I was talking to in the jacuzzi yesterday payed 1500 plus for 5 nights. Didn’t cost me that.
 

GetawaysRus

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Yeah, the best response to that is...
Years ago, you told me what I was buying when I bought it was great. Now you are telling me what I currently own is bad, and that I need to buy your new toy for what I already own to be great again. Why would I spend more money with you when in a few years, you are going to tell me what I purchased today sucks. It makes no sense.

If anything, perhaps it would get his lips to stop moving. ;-)

That's exactly right. I need to remember this for the next time we agree to attend a presentation.

We actually did attend a presentation on a recent trip (because we hadn't done so in years and because they upped the "bribe" to 30K Bonvoy points). It was apparent that I knew more about playing the Marriott game than the salesperson. Afterwards, my wife said that I should go to work as a Marriott timeshare salesperson. But frankly, it's very difficult for me to see how I could honestly sell the current program's value at $14.50 per point. I'd probably be a lousy salesperson.
 

Big Matt

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I don’t use my bronze week to go to HH GO in January. I use it to come in September. I use to go to st Martin in April. France in September. Spain in September. Thailand in the winter. Why would I trade it in for DC pts?
I use my platinum weeks for that. I don’t get the down side I’ve never used it to go to HH in January. The person I was talking to in the jacuzzi yesterday payed 1500 plus for 5 nights. Didn’t cost me that.
That's great. You could do the same thing with a cheap lock off and have twice as much for the same fees. My points aren't that you can't do things with the week. My point is that you are paying more in fees than you need to pay regardless of whether you got if for nothing. The math is going to catch up with you. That said, if you are happy with your Bronze week, then it's really not for me to judge. Happy timesharing.
 
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bazzap

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bogey21

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It was a great deal for many years and we frequently converted our Royal Palms for 110k MR points. At that time, 110K points got us 7 nights at any Marriott resort worldwide, 2 airline tickets, 1 wk Hertz rental car, and two for 1 cruise certificate.

That deal was one of the things that enticed me to buy my pre-construction Sabal Palms Week. Another was their 20% commission when they sold or rented your Week for you. Also back in those days Marriott controlled the resale market for their Weeks meaning they would sell if for you at a price equal to or better than your cost. It took them almost 3 years to sell my Sabal Palms Week but they rented it for me while I was in the queue to sell. Because their rental commission was only 20% the amount i received while I was waiting to sell was greater than my MF. But those days are long gone...

George
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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As with any real estate purchase, (and I say that, as all real estate has ongoing fees, such as taxes), the real question is - is there value received by the purchaser?

Value (like beauty) is in the eye of the beholder (owner).

Marriott has a fine set of properties. They now go at a fine price today, on an ongoing basis. They used to be more affordable, but those days are now gone. So, given the current price structure, are days purchased with Marriott worth the price you pay - to you? (Now some people bought Marriott time shares decades ago, and ended up with better ongoing deals than new purchasers. That's nice for them, but meaningless to a person purchasing now.)

Some people can afford top end properties at top end prices, some can't. Some people value top end properties, and are willing to pay for them, some don't. I make no personal judgement, either way.

The personal question which only each individual can answer, how much am I willing to pay for value, and what is available at that price. It could be a lot, it could be a little, or it could be zero.
 

davidvel

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As with any real estate purchase, (and I say that, as all real estate has ongoing fees, such as taxes), the real question is - is there value received by the purchaser?

Value (like beauty) is in the eye of the beholder (owner).

Marriott has a fine set of properties. They now go at a fine price today, on an ongoing basis. They used to be more affordable, but those days are now gone. So, given the current price structure, are days purchased with Marriott worth the price you pay - to you? (Now some people bought Marriott time shares decades ago, and ended up with better ongoing deals than new purchasers. That's nice for them, but meaningless to a person purchasing now.)

Some people can afford top end properties at top end prices, some can't. Some people value top end properties, and are willing to pay for them, some don't. I make no personal judgement, either way.

The personal question which only each individual can answer, how much am I willing to pay for value, and what is available at that price. It could be a lot, it could be a little, or it could be zero.
This is all true, but another consideration is whether the same thing can be attained through different means, at a much better value.

Not all choose a new Porsche or BMW, some may choose a Toyota or Chevy. In either case, some will go to a dealer and pay sticker price. Others will do some research, and find a dealer, possible some miles away, thst will sell the same thing for much cheaper.
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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This is all true, but another consideration is whether the same thing can be attained through different means, at a much better value.

Not all choose a new Porsche or BMW, some may choose a Toyota or Chevy. In either case, some will go to a dealer and pay sticker price. Others will do some research, and find a dealer, possible some miles away, thst will sell the same thing for much cheaper.

I am looking at the bigger picture. To use your car analogy, I am asking the question of whether: 1. Should one even buy a car. 2. What kind of car can one afford. Yes, you can shop around, and get a new car cheaper if you look hard enough, but one shouldn't expect to buy a Porsche for a Chevy price. Is owning a Porshe worth the extra maintenance, and insurance costs? That's where the personal cost/value parameter comes in.

(I'm minded of a late 1980's Volkswagon commercial. Announcer is asking a rich German about his new Volkswagon. Announcer: "But Mein Herr, you could afford to buy a Mercedes!" Rich German: "But I can also afford <not> to." A matter of value. . . )
 
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