Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI) faces questions over tens of thousands of potentially non-compliant timeshare contracts
A leading timeshare brand
Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI) is the world’s third largest timeshare business by net income, reporting $253 million in 2023 (behind Hilton Grand Vacations at $313 million, and Travel & Leisure — owners of Wyndham Destinations — at $396 million).
MVCI has more than 700,000 members across 120+ resorts worldwide. An estimated 35,000 members are linked to three resorts in Spain: Marriott’s Marbella Beach Resort and Marriott’s Playa Andaluza (both on the mainland), and Marriott’s Club Son Antem in Mallorca.
A substantial proportion of these Spanish timeshare agreements are now being reviewed by leading timeshare claims firm European Consumer Claims (ECC).
Spain’s long-running timeshare issues
From the early 1980s, timeshare operators in Spain attracted widespread negative media attention, accused of high-pressure selling and repeatedly misleading holidaymakers. The situation became so serious that tourism began to suffer, raising concerns about knock-on effects for the wider Spanish economy.
In 1999, Spain introduced strict consumer laws intended to protect visitors. Companies were forbidden from taking money on the day of sale or during the legally mandated cooling-off period. Contract terms were limited to a maximum of 50 years, and timeshare systems based on points or floating weeks were no longer legal to sell.
In theory, these rules should have kept buyers safe. In practice, almost all timeshare companies operating in Spain ignored at least parts of the legislation for years.
MVCI was no exception.
What may be wrong with Marriott timeshare contracts in Spain?
"Our data indicates that Marriott largely stopped taking money inside the Cooling Off period," says Greg Wilson, CEO of ECC and an MVCI expert. "However they have completely ignored the law when it comes to selling floating time, and contracts which lasted longer than the maximum permitted 50 years."
"Marriott continued writing illegal contracts as though the law had never been created. They have been doing this for over a quarter of a century, and many thousands of people are affected. We at ECC are commencing large scale consumer marketing campaigns both online and offline to reach people affected by this behaviour."
Floating weeks and points-based systems are said to be illegal to sell in Spain because, in principle, they can enable a company to sell more memberships than it has inventory to accommodate. If that happens, you would expect to see a pattern of online complaints about availability when trying to book time at Marriott timeshare resorts.
MVCI’s online reputation
On the independent review site Trustpilot, MVCI has a very poor reputation, with an overall TrustScore of 1.8 stars. 82% of reviews are the minimum 1 star, with repeated reports of members being unable to book the weeks they want. "I can NEVER get a property booked," says reviewer Kim. "I am in this for thousands and outrageous dues that keep increasing. DO NOT BUY."
Kim’s concerns about availability are echoed by many other members on the platform. However, availability is not the only issue. A large number of MVCI complaints also focus on the value — or lack of value — members feel they receive.
"Absolute waste of money and will do anything to get out of this agreement," says N Yvette Pinkney. "Much cheaper to book directly with an agent for vacations. MVC is NOT an investment and the maintenance fees NEVER end!"
Tesfaye Regaa is one of several reviewers who believe they were misled during the sales process: "We were blatantly lied to about Marriott Vacation Club happily buying back the property if we needed to sell, and we were not informed about the two-week period during which we could have opted out of the contract." Tesfaye also says the loan arranged by MVCI to fund the purchase was not properly explained: "We were never informed about the exorbitant 14% interest rate, which was much higher than most bank rates at the time."
There are too many reviews to list in full here, but a clear theme emerges: once the sales presentation is over and the reality of booking and fees sets in, a significant number of MVCI members regret signing up.
Does this sound like your experience?
If any of the above feels familiar and you’re unhappy with your Marriott ownership, support may be available. In many cases, unwanted contracts can be relinquished. In some situations, there may also be significant financial compensation due.
Wherever you bought your MVCI membership, if you’re not satisfied with any part of it, there is usually a way forward.
Get in touch with our team to discuss your options.
