Marriott Vacation Club
The Marriott Vacation Club has over 50 resorts around the world. In 2010, Marriott Vacation Club Destinations completely revamped its timeshare program. Instead of offering traditional week based timeshares, Marriott created something called a “Land Trust”. The "Land Trust" is the owner of the units and Marriott now sells points where you can exchange the points for nights. You can reserve as little as one night in this new system.
Marriott has instituted various levels of Marriott ownership. The status levels are based on the amount of Vacation Club Points owned. The five tiers are “Owners”, “Select”, “Executive”, “Presidential” and “Chairman’s Club.
Marriott has instituted various levels of Marriott ownership. The status levels are based on the amount of Vacation Club Points owned. The five tiers are “Owners”, “Select”, “Executive”, “Presidential” and “Chairman’s Club.
- Owners own up to 3,999 Vacation Club Points.
- Select Members own 4,000 - 6,999 Vacation Club Points.
- Executive Members own 7,000 - 9,999 Vacation Club Points.
- Presidential Members own 10,000 - 14,999 Vacation Club Points.
- Chairman's Club Members own 15,000+ Vacation Club Points.
Hyatt Residence Club
The Hyatt Residence Club currently consists of 16 locations. The Hyatt System is a hybrid week / point system. Owners purchase a specific week and can elect to use that specific week or convert their owned week into points. The amount of points given will depend on the size of the unit as well as the season of the owned week. Hyatt uses seven designations for the seasons. The seasons are Mountain, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. Hyatt also is unique in that it allows you to book, 2, 3, 4 or 7 night stays with you points.
Hilton Grand Vacations
Hilton Grand Vacations has been around since 1992 and currently has 58 club resorts. Hilton currently offers a hybrid system of ownership where you own a specific deeded week that can be converted into a specific number of Hilton Club Points. The amount of Hilton Club Points will vary according to various factors such as the resort, location, size of the unit and season.
For those owners who own 14,000 or more Hilton Club Points, Hilton awards Elite Status. Hilton currently offer three levels of Elite Status. Elite requires 14,000 or more Hilton Club Points. Elite Plus requires 24,000 Hilton Club Points and Elite Premier requires 34,000 Hilton Club Points. There are various perks associated with each Elite level but there generally include room upgrades, daily newspaper, separate check-in area, early/late check-in/out, discounted reservation fee and discounted open season rental rates, a separate Elite Member Services telephone number, along with a number of other Elite benefits.
For those owners who own 14,000 or more Hilton Club Points, Hilton awards Elite Status. Hilton currently offer three levels of Elite Status. Elite requires 14,000 or more Hilton Club Points. Elite Plus requires 24,000 Hilton Club Points and Elite Premier requires 34,000 Hilton Club Points. There are various perks associated with each Elite level but there generally include room upgrades, daily newspaper, separate check-in area, early/late check-in/out, discounted reservation fee and discounted open season rental rates, a separate Elite Member Services telephone number, along with a number of other Elite benefits.
Vistana Signature Experiences (Formerly Sheraton Vacation Club and Westin Vacation Club)
Vistana Signature Experiences is the new name for what used to be the Sheraton Vacation Club and Westin Vacation Club. Both of these programs were under the umbrella of Starwood.
Vistana has spunoff from Starwood and operates vacation ownerships. Vistana currently has 20 properties around the world. A complete list of the current properties are found here.
Vistana, like other major timeshare companies, is a hybrid system where you purchase a specific deed week but each deeded week is assigned a certain number of StarOptions. StarOptions can be used to exchange into other properties within the Vistana system.
Vistana does materially differentiate between owners who purchase directly from Vistana and those who purchase resale. Purchasers who purchase resale are generally restricted in using StarOptions for exchanging into other Vistana properties.
Vistana has spunoff from Starwood and operates vacation ownerships. Vistana currently has 20 properties around the world. A complete list of the current properties are found here.
Vistana, like other major timeshare companies, is a hybrid system where you purchase a specific deed week but each deeded week is assigned a certain number of StarOptions. StarOptions can be used to exchange into other properties within the Vistana system.
Vistana does materially differentiate between owners who purchase directly from Vistana and those who purchase resale. Purchasers who purchase resale are generally restricted in using StarOptions for exchanging into other Vistana properties.
Exchanging Your Timeshare
All major timeshares are affiliated with an exchange company. The two largest are RCI and Interval International. The general idea is that you will exchange your owned timeshare week for another week deposited by another one of their members. Since most programs are now point systems, you generally will be able to exchange your points for a different week. Exchanging is one of the ways which you can maximize ownership by finding nice resorts and better weeks than what you own. Many times, you can get one or more additional weeks out of your owned week, depending on what you own.
Interval International
In order to use II, your owned timeshare week needs to be affiliated with II. If your timeshare is affiliated with II, II membership is either included by the timeshare company (i.e. Hyatt, Marriott, etc) or requires an additional fee to use II. Depending on your timeshare, Interval International has specific charts for what is needed to exchange into the various size units. You can perform a real time search for inventory by looking online through II’s search function or you can put in a Request First or Deposit Search request for a desired location, week, resort and unit size.