Changes Abound With Marriott

As we briefly discussed last week with Jason Gamel, changes are nearly constant within the timeshare industry. Today we look at the new Abound program with Marriott. I spoke with Lori Gustafson at Marriott Vacations Worldwide to get details and discuss recent activity within the timeshare industry. 

Thanks for your time Lori. What’s your role at Marriott Vacations Worldwide?

My name is Lori Gustafson and I am the Executive Vice President and Chief Brand and Digital Officer for Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC), a leading global vacation company that offers vacation ownership, exchange, rental and resort and property management, along with related businesses, products and services. We have over 120 vacation ownership resorts around the world, and approximately 700,000 owner families in a diverse portfolio that includes some of the most iconic vacation ownership brands.  Primarily, I am responsible for the growth of the enterprise’s global brand footprint, leading several global centers of excellence encompassing business transformation, digital products, customer experience, data and analytics, brand, and communications.

MVW recently announced a new program called Abound. Can you give our readers a brief description of this new program?

Abound by Marriott Vacations™ is a new Owner benefit and exchange program that is going to make vacationing even better with more destinations, more brands, and more choices. Abound provides access to 90+ vacation club resorts across Marriott Vacation Club®, Sheraton® Vacation Club and Westin® Vacation Club, as well as access to 8,000+ Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 2,000 vacation homes, and 2,000+ unique experiences like cruises, guided and culinary tours, premiere events, outdoor adventures and more.

Does Abound require current owners to make an additional purchase?

Owners do not need to make an additional purchase to experience the benefits of Abound by Marriott Vacation™. Launching later this summer, eligible Owners can reserve vacations throughout an expanded network of brands or for cruises, vacation tours, hotel stays, car rental, airline miles, golf, travel protection, and more.

Will owners of all the timeshare brands under the MVW umbrella be able to take advantage of this new program?

Launching this summer, Abound by Marriott Vacations™ will be made available to eligible Owners of Marriott Vacation Club®, Sheraton® Vacation Club and Westin® Vacation Club. Designed to offer more flexibility and access, we affiliated our internal exchange programs. This helps simplify our products and offerings, connects our vacation ownership products with Club Points and amplifies program benefits including cruises, guided tours, hotel stays, and more. 

MVW has recently acquired several timeshare brands. What is behind these acquisitions?  Do you feel that the industry is going to see more M&A activity and if so, is this a good thing for owners?

Our acquisition of ILG in 2018 combined two of the premier global vacation ownership companies to create a leader in the vacation experiences industry with significant scale, an expanded presence in key leisure destinations, the largest portfolio of upper-upscale and luxury brands in the industry and world-class exchange networks. The acquisition also allowed us to be the global licensee of seven upper-upscale and luxury vacation brands, including Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, St. Regis Residence Club, and Hyatt Residence Club. While we are not currently planning for any acquisitions, we regularly assess the needs of our business and will make additional changes as appropriate to match changing business needs.

We all know that the message from the developer sometimes gets lost. Has MVW contacted all their owners to let them know about Abound? 

Communicating news with our Owners is always a major priority, and our Owners will receive information as the program rolls out formally later this summer

Lastly, where can owners turn to get their questions answered without necessarily attending a sales pitch at a resort?

Travelers interested in Abound by Marriott Vacations™ can visit a newly created website later this summer when Abound launches to learn more about our Vacation Clubs and the benefits of Vacation Ownership. In the meantime, travelers interested can click here for more information.

Thanks Lori. 

Remember, as she said, the best way to keep up to date on these and other changes is directly from the developer.