Marriott Rewards has become a bait and switch program
 

Marriott Rwards has increased the number of hotel categories, which requires the use of more points. They also have changed the redemption policy at Vacation Clubs. It now requires almost twice as many points, for a week's stay. I tried to redeem a stay, prior to the July 15th change, for 9 months in the future. I was informed there was no availability. When I raised these issues, with MR Customer Service, I was told the changes were made to benefit the members. They have not convinced me , with that explanation.

Wow...talk about a delayed program change grenade... :p ;)

I also redeemed a stay on July 14th, eight months into the future. 2-bedroom MVCI unit, 150k for 1 week. I found what I expected: good availability everywhere in the mainland U.S. except Arizona. (Mid-March is peak MLB spring training season there.) I had my choice of Florida, South Carolina, California, and maybe one or two other states...I forget exactly.

I chose Newport Beach - it remains to be seen whether we actually complete the stay. I just wanted to get one booked before it was no longer an option.

C'mon, Mike Glazer. That's your very first post on this forum? You can do better than that! As an effective "trash Marriott in general" post, I'd have to rate it merely a 1 on a scale to 10. Better work on your chops!;)

First of all, welcome to Flyertalk!

Great first post. :eek:

Maybe you'd like to share which hotel program you find superior to MR and why?

Just wait until they start closing Executive Lounges at weekends - then you'll be mad!

...Or begin withholding elite benefits at properties arbitrarily deemed a "resort". I hear that's in the works... ;)

Has there ever been much inventory at marriott timeshare properties 9 months in advance?

no because owners have a right to the weeks they own

Well there are a number of programs...say SPG, Hyatt....

I pretty much knew that. I was basically saying the premise of this thread is silly. But the timeshare owner issue begs the question - is there a standard timeframe when MVCI releases owned rooms, or is it randomly just when the owner of a week decides to deposit it into the pool instead of trading or using it.

First off--an apology for the rudeness you see here. We do occassionally have an oddball who unfortunately cannot simply be ejected.

You have some interesting points--IMHO the most egregious area where Marriott has not looked after the best interests of its customers is the points devaluation that occurred about one year ago, just as the economy was heading into a tailspin.

As an owner who purchased a timeshare unit direct from Marriott (never mind a regular Platinum customer), I valued the ability to take 100,000 points in lieu of using our timeshare unit every other year. That benefit has lost a huge amount of value with the devaulation--arguably a good example of "bait and switch"....

I am now trying to exchange from my home resort to another east coast resort next year--so far unsuccessfully. But the unit I am trying to exchange to can be purchased direct from Marriott for over $600 per night. In other words, Marriott is not making the unit available for exchange to someone who already paid them--but rather seeking another few grand from someone else.

Any wonder then that Marriott today announced a $750 million right off of timeshare assets? It's called "not looking after your customers".

there are a lot of factors that go into it but it starts with when the owners decide to deposit it

??? As an owner I would expect that you'd be familiar with the way the entire industry handles trades (not just MI)...also remember just because there's a MVCI villa available for rent doesn't mean MI get's to pocket the cash...owners are able to offer their weeks for rent through MI....as an owner myself I'd be pretty upset if I had asked them to find a renter for my week and they came back and told me they accepted a trade for it

The term "bait and switch" has been thrown around a couple times. The definition of the term is "An illegal tactic in which a seller advertises a product with the intention of persuading customers to purchase a more expensive product."

I'm curious why you consider that this derogatory term applies to the situation that you and the OP are upset about.

If points or miles were legally defined as property with value (e.g., a traded currency), then I think people would have more of a leg to stand on with regards to a civil suit claiming a bait and switch.

Just on a basic level, if I sell you 50 coupons redeemable for 1 banana each and then, after you buy and take delivery of the coupons, I call you and say "Sorry...now they are worth 0.8 bananas each", I think the term "bait and switch" would pop into your head - regardless of whether the courts would use it.

But - as we all know - the airlines and hotels have been effective at *not* allowing points and miles to be defined as a tradable currency/commodity. I think overall that works in our favor. ("our" = Flyertalkers who pay close attention to promos, offers, sweet spots, loopholes, etc.)