I’ve already told you in a recent post the new resorts that Marriott Owners will be able to use reserve using Destination Points within the next month: Additional 23 Resorts Added to MVC . If that isn’t exciting enough, I have discovered even MORE resorts that are listed on the MVC hub website https://hub.vacationclub.com/.
To get everyone on the same page, the MVC hub website was created because of COVID. During the onset and surge of COVID infections, Marriott created the MVC hub website that lists each MVC, including the Pulse properties, the Ritz-Carlton resorts and the Marriott Residence property in South Lake Tahoe. The website gives the current status of each resort and the amenities that are available or closed. It’s an efficient and easy reference for owners to check on various resorts’ statuses before making reservations. If you don’t use the website, I recommend you start. Even now that COVID isn’t the main topic of travel, refurbishments and temporary closures should still be something to be aware of before you make your reservation or travel there.
For anyone who has been to the hub website recently, you may have noticed a few changes. The top of the landing page looks like this:
This is the first time they have the resorts separated out by company on the hub website — of course in preparation for the additional resorts being added to the MVC website. But no St. Regis Residence Club resorts are on the Marriott list being announced to Marriott Owners — and TWO resorts are listed in this group on the website!!! In further investigation, I found FIVE new resorts listed on the hub page that is not included on the Marriott list of new resorts soon to go online for reservations.
The five properties are:
- St. Regis Aspen St. Regis Aspen
- St. Regis New York City St. Regis New York City
- Grand Residence London Grand Residence London
- Westin Puerto Vallarta Westin Puerto Vallarta
- Westin Baja Point Resort Villas Westin Baja Point Resort Villas
Bear in mind that the name of the MVC hub website is accessed by going to https://hub.vacationclub.com/ — not hub.marriott or hub.marriotthotels or something similar, but hub.vacationclub. Why would they add 5 resorts to the hub.vacationclub site if they weren’t planning on adding these resorts as properties to reserve in the Marriott Vacation Club network???
Currently, you can use Destination Points to reserve Grand Residence London and Westin Puerto Vallarta through the Explorer Collection under the Hotels & Luxury Residences category. But in my analysis of using Destination Points for Luxury Hotels, you don’t get a very good value for your points doing that. The average value for Destination points in a foreign hotel was just over 56 cents per points compared to almost 33 cents per point for domestic hotels. That’s no where near the value you get when using Destination Points for MVC resorts — which average is about $1.50. You can read the entire post here with more details: Using MVC Points for Hotels and Luxury Residences .
Moving these two resorts — Grand Residence London and Westin Puerto Vallarta — to MVC inventory will really improve the value of Destination Points needed to reserve them. Not to mention the other THREE resorts that you couldn’t use Destination Points for!!!
I know this is a lot of numbers to follow. Suffice it to say that I’m thinking we will soon be able to add the five resorts listed above to the additional 23 that Marriott has already announced. Will it be at the same time? Probably not — but the “writing is on the website”!!
Can not get your photos in the email. Have to go to Browser version. Any help? Frustrating.
I’m sorry — I was not aware of the problem. I’ll look into it and see if we can fix that for you. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Sadly it looks like Marriott Vacations Worldwide sold the property in Puerto Vallarta that was planned for conversion to timeshare. So no new Marriott related timeshare in Puerto Vallarta that will be able to be booked directly with Club Points outside of Explorer.
I’ve heard that rumor. Bummer. That would have been a great location. Let’s hope no others fall by the wayside! Thanks for the info.
I think the only other questionable ones are London (this has long been a MVC managed property but it is really only able to be reserved through the Explorer Collection. No option to book it with MVC Club Points directly. The two St Regis properties are not available for Vistana owners to book with StarOptions, so I don’t think we will ever see those in Abound except perhaps with Explorer. Based on what MVC put into some marketing material, I think some of these locations were more there to impress but without any practical way to book them with Club/Abound Points.
You might be right. It would be a great option if the St Regis properties (and other properties not even on “the horizon” yet) will eventually be available in Abound — thus to Vistana owners if they enroll. If the properties are in Abound, they will hopefully then have a better value ratio than the Explorer options we currently have with the hotels. But in rereading your great comment, I admit your thoughts of a marketing ploy is more plausible.
I wish they would build a new vacation club based out of Nuevo Vallarta.