trading power ko olina

2 questions:(1) Marriott and resales agents claim that ko olina has excellent trading potential for exchanges to other resorts with II,including other Hawaiin resorts and the carribean. How true is that. (2) If you buy resale do you get the same priority to exchange to other Marriott resorts as do owners who purchase directly from Marriott.Also, what if you bought from Marriott at another location(eg:orlando) and buy resale at ko olina.

I'd like to know the answer as well

conmag wrote:

2 questions:(1) Marriott and resales agents claim that ko olina has excellent trading potential for exchanges to other resorts with II,including other Hawaiin resorts and the carribean. How true is that. (2) If you buy resale do you get the same priority to exchange to other Marriott resorts as do owners who purchase directly from Marriott.Also, what if you bought from Marriott at another location(eg:orlando) and buy resale at ko olina.

I am not a Marriott owner but I do work in the industry and I own with Diamond Resorts and Westin.

Regardless of rather you purchase a Marriott from the developer or on the resale, they DO NOT HAVE AN INTERNAL EXCHANGE SYSTEM. So you can either go to your home resort or deposit with II and hope for the best although Hawaii does have good trading power.

I own with Diamond Resorts which has been know in the past as Sunterra. I have a deed in trust which have points attached to it so I can either exchange within their internal system which consists of about 100 resorts but I also have access to thousand of weeks (without paying an exchange fee) which come from Diamond owners who own some place else such as I do and they can deposit their traditonal week on any given year for a nominal fee and receive points which is what I do with my Westin, as they only have about a dozen properties internally. There are generally a lot of Marriott weeks on this list and also Westin, Hyatt etc. they will only accept gold crown, five star or ID, prime time or mid season weeks.

I can also exchange through II but unlike any other company, Diamond owners exchange through II using points and I have exchanged into several Marriotts. Diamond points do are not on the same scale as Marriott and all point based companies have their own point values.

When I exchange through II to a Marriott, a studio for a week, prime time is 3500 pts, one bdrm 5500, and 2 bdrm 6500 but if I exchange 59 days out or less, the points are half of what they normally are. I have found it quite easy to go where I want when I want booking 59 days out or less. This past June, I booked three weeks out and I was able to stay 25 days which a week of that was at the Marriott in a studio for 1750 pts. which was great because it was just myself and my daughter.

You pay a lot to own because of the name and my suggestions would be buy at the resort that you want to stay at because Marrott's cost a lot even on the resale. Last week, I actually had cients who at the Ko Olina and also a Marriott in Vegas. When I shared the way Diamond's system worked and pulled up availability for them at the ko olina for 2625 points for a one bdrm for a week, they decided to purchase with Diamond.

I like staying at Marriott Resorts just as you probably do but again, I would suggest that if you are going to purchase with them, then buy where you want to go every year but if you are buying it to go there and exchange, the I would suggest you check out other comapnies before you do,

I am a Marriott Ko Olina owner and yes Marriott does not have an internal exchange system (which is something I've been told will most likely happen within the next 1 or 2 years), they do have Inventory Priority which has a 24 day hold on Marriott to Marriott exchanges, before II gets to show the weeks to the rest of the non-marriott exchangers of II. A friend of mine bought a Marriott resale and couldn't get where they wanted, when they wanted. I guess for resale, being flexible is the key. For me and my family, we need holiday or school break weeks so the 24 day inventory priority Marriott gives to us is very nice. We've exchanged to the Marriott in Lake Tahoe during spring break, to Newport in the summer, to Maui in the summer, and we are going back to Ko Olina this year for the spring break! And this was done all in advance so I could book my airfare early and save $.

maryloue2 wrote:

conmag wrote:

2 questions:(1) Marriott and resales agents claim that ko olina has excellent trading potential for exchanges to other resorts with II,including other Hawaiin resorts and the carribean. How true is that. (2) If you buy resale do you get the same priority to exchange to other Marriott resorts as do owners who purchase directly from Marriott.Also, what if you bought from Marriott at another location(eg:orlando) and buy resale at ko olina.

I am not a Marriott owner but I do work in the industry and I own with Diamond Resorts and Westin.

Regardless of rather you purchase a Marriott from the developer or on the resale, they DO NOT HAVE AN INTERNAL EXCHANGE SYSTEM. So you can either go to your home resort or deposit with II and hope for the best although Hawaii does have good trading power.

I own with Diamond Resorts which has been know in the past as Sunterra. I have a deed in trust which have points attached to it so I can either exchange within their internal system which consists of about 100 resorts but I also have access to thousand of weeks (without paying an exchange fee) which come from Diamond owners who own some place else such as I do and they can deposit their traditonal week on any given year for a nominal fee and receive points which is what I do with my Westin, as they only have about a dozen properties internally. There are generally a lot of Marriott weeks on this list and also Westin, Hyatt etc. they will only accept gold crown, five star or ID, prime time or mid season weeks.

I can also exchange through II but unlike any other company, Diamond owners exchange through II using points and I have exchanged into several Marriotts. Diamond points do are not on the same scale as Marriott and all point based companies have their own point values.

When I exchange through II to a Marriott, a studio for a week, prime time is 3500 pts, one bdrm 5500, and 2 bdrm 6500 but if I exchange 59 days out or less, the points are half of what they normally are. I have found it quite easy to go where I want when I want booking 59 days out or less. This past June, I booked three weeks out and I was able to stay 25 days which a week of that was at the Marriott in a studio for 1750 pts. which was great because it was just myself and my daughter.

You pay a lot to own because of the name and my suggestions would be buy at the resort that you want to stay at because Marrott's cost a lot even on the resale. Last week, I actually had cients who at the Ko Olina and also a Marriott in Vegas. When I shared the way Diamond's system worked and pulled up availability for them at the ko olina for 2625 points for a one bdrm for a week, they decided to purchase with Diamond.

I like staying at Marriott Resorts just as you probably do but again, I would suggest that if you are going to purchase with them, then buy where you want to go every year but if you are buying it to go there and exchange, the I would suggest you check out other comapnies before you do,

Marriott does have an internal exchange system. Our inventory is kept completely seperate for the other inventory in II and used for the other Marriott owners to pick up. Own in an area of high demand/low supply on the ocean and with in driving distance. Hawaii is an easy exchange to get to as most owners do not go back each year.

I own EOY odd at Ko Olina. Yes, we did buy through Marriott, but I don't regret it. We LOVE Ko Olina (live on the East Coast but used to live on Oahu).

I do think it has good trading power, but would never buy just for that. We do plan on going EOY to Oahu, so would not plan on trading our whole unit ever. Saying that, we did last year use only our 1br portion. I deposited our studio with II. I just booked early June in a 2br unit at the Four Seasons in Scottsdale, Arizona for our studio deposit, for our family early summer vacation. This condo has daily maid service, 2 bedrooms and 3 full baths, and sounds wonderful. We have been wanting to take our two children there for a while, and are very happy with the trade (and no, it did not show up as a "getaway" as some trades have done).

Marriott does NOT have a true internal trading system, like Disney. We do have "priority" but no, it is not a true internal system. I do think that if they did, we would purchase more weeks. We have been told it's in the works for years. I almost bought Disney years ago, but am glad I didn't, since I think Interval is superior to RCI (we go to Disneyworld every year, sometimes 2 and 3 times a year).

Marriott Ko Olina is a wonderful Hawaiian resort with a great beach and beautiful pools. So for this reason alone I think it will have tremendous trading power for a long time.

Having said that ...

Marriott Ko Olina is a very large resort with a lot of unsold inventory. One of the three buildings sits partially finished, and another building is planned but not even started. All this unsold inventory means that it will be easier to exchange into this property and perhaps more difficult to exchange out of the property. Also, be aware that Disney is building an enormous resort just down the beach. The Disney resort will be a combined hotel/timeshare complex with a tropical-themed waterpark. Of course the Disney timeshares won't be cheap, but I expect that Marriott Ko Olina will have a much tougher time selling to families after the Disney resort opens next door.

I actually think that Disney will add to both the appeal as well as the publicity of Marriott Ko Olina. Kind of a shame as we have loved the "neighbor island" feel of Ko Olina for the last 15 years, but great with the new Costco, Super Target, and other shops and restaurants in the area.

They did just finish the other rooms in the new building, but I think the economy more than anything else is causing some openings right now there.

I also just traded our studio deposit with Interval for a two bedroom, three bathroom villa at the Four Seasons Scottsdale. It did have a lot of trading power, but still, I wouldn't purchase any timeshare like Ko Olina with the intention of only trading.

I have never had good luck trading my Ko Olina Oceanview unit for anything that is comparable to my home resort. However, I have limited dates to travel. I have a friend with a Marriott unit in Phoenix (much less value) that has had great luck trading into places like Marriott's in Hawaii because their dates are flexible. Ko Olina is a very special, magical place and there are few resorts that compare to it, so you may find like myself, that you are happy to go back there year after year. The staff at the outdoor ocean side restaurant remembers me year after year and always gets excited to see myself and my daughter when we return. The views are beyond spectacular. Every amenity imaginable is there, yet there is no worry about crowds and noise that you find at most other resorts or on a cruise ship. It is peaceful and relaxing, yet you have one of the best JW Marriotts a short walk down the beach side walk past 4 gorgeous lagoons or a 5 minute hotel shuttle ride to enjoy the usual 5 star hotel amenities also.