Marriott Timeshare Points For Sale

The cost of a Marriott timeshare depends on the type of product you are looking for and how it is purchased – whether through a Marriott resort or on the timeshare resale market. Remember that Marriott only sells points packages, so if you are looking for a week of Marriott timeshare you’ll have to buy it from an existing seller on the resale market.

Marriott states that their points packages start at $22,000, so the phrasing infers that this is an entry price point to buy Marriott points through them. The minimum points package is 1,500 points, so this would average out to about $14.50 per point. Keep in mind that a Marriott salesperson will probably use a price drop technique to lower the price somewhat, but not enough to reasonably compare to resale prices.

Resale prices can be discounted as much as 50-60 percent compared to buying through the resort. This is because sales and marketing costs are included in the resort prices so the salespeople can be paid commissions and to cover the costs of getting buyers to the resort in the first place.

Compared to resales, there is no comparison. You can find Marriott Vacation Club points for sale for as little as $7.50 per point and in some cases you can get twice the number of points for the same amount that you would pay through Marriott.

For buying a week of timeshare, the resale deals are still impressive, but you would need to compare the equivalent price point cost to assess the value. For example, we’ve seen a two-bedroom Platinum week in May at Marriott Grande Vista in Orlando listed for $12,000. This would use the equivalent of 1,900 points in the Marriott system, which would cost about $27,550 if those points were bought through Marriott. And buying a week provides a certain level of assurance that you would get a specific week compared to using points to book a specific week within the system.

Marriott timeshares can be a good deal if you know how to purchase what you want on the resale market. Buying through Marriott can cost significantly more money, which could affect your perception of the value of the deal.

First you should decide if you want a points package or a week of timeshare. Weeks can only be purchased on the resale market since Marriott stopped selling weeks years ago when they started selling points. Buying a week can be a better way to secure a particular week of the year at a specific destination for a vacation, such as New Years week in Hawaii, but points can provide more flexibility and allow you to take shorter, more frequent breaks during the year. It is purely a lifestyle question for you as to how you tend to vacation.

For comparison’s sake, let’s look at points. Marriott says they sell points starting at $22,000 which would be for about 1,500 points. On the resale market, you can find Marriott points for sale for as little as $7,000 for three times that number of points – giving you many more vacation options.

Keep in mind what 1,500 points can get you in the Marriott timeshare resort network. If you are looking for a week of vacation time, you will be limited with 1,500 points. For example, take Hilton Head Island as a destination. You could stay in a two-bedroom unit at Marriott’s Harbour Point or Sunset Pointe resorts at any time of the year but be very restricted and in some cases unable to stay at the other six Marriott resorts on the island. This is why you would want to discuss your options with a licensed timeshare resale agent who can go over them with you.

Generally, the lower the price, the better the deal. Resales show that they can save buyers thousands of dollars on the initial price – in some cases allowing for a cash buy and saving the need to finance the purchase, saving even more money in the long run.

Remember that Marriott timeshares, like any other timeshare or vacation club product, is a use product – meaning the real value is in using it. You wouldn’t consider a car a good deal if it were locked in the garage all the time, so similarly you would want to use your timeshare vacation as much as possible.

Yes, Marriott Vacation Club is a timeshare operation with over 60 resorts in its network across the United States, Caribbean, Europe and Asia. In essence, a buyer would purchase vacation time in the Marriott system and own a deeded interest in either a resort or the club and pay annual fees for the upkeep, maintenance or ongoing costs of either the resort or the club program. This is the fundamental principle of timeshare ownership, where an owner buys vacation time at today’s prices and owns a deeded interest in a resort.

You can get ride of your Marriott timeshare in a few ways. You can either sell it yourself, use the services of an advertising company, hire a timeshare broker or contact Marriott to use their resale services. Each option has its strengths and weaknesses, so it really depends on how involved you as the seller want to be in the process.

Choosing to sell your Marriott timeshare yourself would involve your own promotional options such as posting on social media, telling friends and family or maybe using outlets such as magazines or newspapers. Whether you can attract buyers that way remains to be seen, but they are options to consider.

Using an advertising company can be a good option to sell, especially with the strength of the Marriott timeshare brand and the demand for the product. If you use this option, make sure you use a company that you can easily find by using a simple internet search. The majority of buyers start by looking online, so if you cannot find the company online then neither will the buyers. The primary drawback is that you would pay an advertising fee in advance, so you would be out of pocket regardless of whether the timeshare sells.

Hiring a licensed timeshare broker can be your best bet since the brokerage would assign an agent to your case similar to the way traditional real estate is handled. The agent would take your listing, advertise your timeshare for sale and work their network of timeshare brokers to find a buyer. They would also handle the negotiation and all the paperwork for you, with payment to the agent as a commission after the sale has closed. All you would have to do is provide your details, give approval for the sale and sign the relevant paperwork.

You can also contact Marriott to see if they will take your listing in their in-house resale service. The problem is that they charge the most of any company in the industry – 35-40% commission – to handle resales. Keep in mind they are always in active sales through their sales centers, so they are competing against themselves here and you should ask yourself where their priorities are when it comes to selling timeshare.

One group of companies you may have heard about are the supposed timeshare exit or timeshare cancellation companies. They charge owners upwards of $5,000 and up and claim to get owners out of their timeshares, but all they usually do is contact Marriott on your behalf – something you can do on your own at no cost. Many of these companies are under attorney general investigation for allegedly deceiving owners, so you will want to be very careful of even considering such companies.

Marriott has an in-house resale program where they offer to sell timeshares on the resale market. This service is the most expensive in the industry, charging 35-40 percent of the sale price to sell Marriott timeshares. Because they have a department designed to actually sell timeshare resales themselves, they are not known to outwardly buy back timeshares.

They have a customer service program where Marriott claims to help owners exit their timeshares, but the timeshare needs to be free of any mortgages or liens and all annual fees need to be paid in full before they will even proceed with the conversation. Usually this is for long term owners and just an entry point to refer to their in-house resale department.