Marriott Vacation Club
Company: Marriott Vacation Club
Company Description: Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI), is the vacation ownership division of Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR). Since becoming the first branded hospitality company to enter the timeshare industry in 1984, MVCI has generating over $12 billion in cumulative revenue and boasts more than 395,000 families around the globe who have chosen to own their vacations “the Marriott way”.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Department Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Department of the Year - Hospitality & Tourism
Nomination Title: Marriott Vacation Club – A Sales Team that ADAPTS to Change is a SUCCESSFUL Sales Team
Tell the story about what this nominated department achieved since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
This has been a CHALLENGING few years for the real estate market across the
country. The real estate crunch has been the worst they have seen in over a
decade. This economic downturn in real estate has virtually frozen spending in
most households – especially monies spent on vacation and leisure. It is a
market in which only the strong will survive! Marriott Vacation Club’s sales
department is one of the STRONG units that has survived the economic downturn.
This team was known as a world-class team during the best of times as
demonstrated by winning the American Business award for “Best Sales
Organization” in 2003, 2006, and 2007. However these difficult years would be
the true test to determine if they really are the best – and they proved that
they are in spite of the effects of the eroding economy. The department has
weathered the storm through the difficult economic turns in the past few years
and has been able to stay positive and focused. This is a team of 700 seasoned
sales professionals that are willing to do anything asked of them to obtain
their sales goals and maintain the high level of achievement they are
accustomed too. They proved this loyalty and commitment by participating in a
major change to their sales strategies in June 2010.
Studies had shown that because of the long development cycles in timeshare
development, upwards of 20 years, that the traditional timeshare model is
extremely capital intensive and 20 years is a long time to forecast the future
of a location. Marriott Vacation Club challenged their team to improve the
value proposition for their Owners and the return on their own investment and
adapt the tight credit situation of their consumer base.
Marriott Vacation Club had to change their “26 year” approach to selling
timeshare! They had to transition from being a real estate developer to a Just
in Time approach to selling. The main focus of the plan was to create a more
efficient use of their capital, a better use of their inventory on hand, and
to limit the need to develop new sites for their customers to purchase. After
three years of planning, strategizing, and piloting the program in Asia and
the Pacific, they restructured their U.S.-based weekly purchase program to a
points-based purchase program.
To authenticate this transition they had to create a multi-state Land Trust.
They developed a marketing plan to revamp their branding. The new branding
needed to reflect positive change for their current owners so that they
immediately understood that what they were getting was better than what they
already had. They developed a new sales center technology to replace the
obsolete paper book system of the past. The sales galleries were now updated
with interactive multimedia presentation screens, art, and murals. The
customer could now see the story of their vacation experience unfold in front
them. This enabled the Sales Executive the opportunity to sell the value of
the vacation experience rather than the traditional view of one week at a host
resort. They simplified their fee for service structure to reflect the
maintenance fees for the points-based purchase program. The new service fee
program was streamlined to a simple cost per point maintenance fee instead of
having a complicated list of maintenance charges based on the resort and the
type of service.
They developed the final component -- training. The sales training was so
important to Marriott Vacation Club that they closed all sales galleries from
the Pacific across the continental US to the Caribbean for the three day
training period. This closing was at the expense of $1M+/day, but essential to
the roll out of the new points-based program. This again proved the RESILIENCE
of the sales team; a group of professionals that are compensated on a
commission based system, stopped selling for three days and cooperated fully
with the sales management team to learn about the new points-based system.
The diligent efforts, determination, and hard work of all members of the sales
department from the high level executives on down were responsible for the
successful implementation and adaptation of this new program. The organization
and marketing of this new program had to be well thought out and drafted to
reflect the main mantra of the reorganization – They were transitioning from
being known as a real estate developer to a company that sold a vacation
experience through a network of resorts. All of the team effort that went into
the launch of the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations points-based program was
successful and was met with excitement by both Owners and Associates. Sales
throughout the organization soared with every sales professional welcoming new
owners the very 1st month after launch! This SUCCESS would not have been
possible without the combined TEAM effort of the three-time award winning
world-class Sales Department.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
For more information on Marriott Vacation Club and the new Marriott Vacation
Club Destinations program, please visit our newsroom at
http://www.marriottvacationclub.com/newsroom
Press Release: Marriott Vacation Club Introduces New Ownership Program:
http://www.marriottvacationclub.com/news-press-releases/2010/06/2010-06-21-Marriott-Vacation-Club-Introduces-New-Vacation-Ownership-Program.shtml
Fact Sheet: Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Program:
http://www.marriottvacationclub.com/common/cms/mvc/pdfs/news/fact-sheet.pdf
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated sales organization:
Brian Miller is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Service
Operations for Marriott Vacation Club International. Miller joined Marriott
Vacation Club International in 1990 as National Director of Marketing
Operations and was appointed Vice President of Marketing in 1994. In his
current role, Miller oversees the distribution of Marriott’s timeshare,
fractional, and whole ownership products on a worldwide basis, encompassing
three brands – Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott and The
Ritz-Carlton Destination Club. Miller also oversees the customer service
operations worldwide for those brands and several corporate support functions
to enhance customer focus for the company.