u/Kindly-Ganache-1782

We went to a Westin/MVC owner update today.

For context, we are very upfront when we go to these. We go for the 500 Marriott Vacation Club points. We know we are giving up 90 minutes. We always say no. Sometimes we learn something useful, but always the points are worth it to us.

Today started normally enough.

We met with a salesperson who was very friendly. He asked how our ownership experience had been since we bought in 2022.

And honestly? It has been terrible.

We had a deed problem for the first 15 months, so we could not use what we bought. Then we booked a 10-day Hawaii vacation, and Lahaina happened, so we had to push the trip back. Even though we bought in 2022, we did not get to use the ownership until 2025.

He acted genuinely shocked and sympathetic. He asked what else had gone wrong. I told him. I also told him one of the reasons we still go to these updates is that we will take the 500 MVC points and use them toward two nights somewhere. It is worth 90 minutes of our time.

Then he said he was going to make this the best presentation we had ever had because he felt terrible about our experience. He said he had been with the company for 20 years and wanted to make it up to us. Maybe, he said, he could get us some money back or something.

Then the tone changed.

He said there was a note in our file from 2024. He asked if we knew about Westin deeded property.

I said no.

He explained that instead of Westin Flex, this would mean actually owning a deeded interest connected to a specific Westin property. He also said our file showed that back in 2024 we had supposedly been offered three options, but there was no signature showing we had declined.

I told him we had never been offered anything like that.

He made it sound like this might be a real issue. Like maybe something had gone wrong. I mentioned that there is a two-year statute of limitations and maybe we needed to involve a lawyer. He said no, let him talk to their legal team there and see if they could do something. Like for a moment, I thought this guy might be legit.

Then the “legal team” walked in.

Except it was not a legal team.

It was the sales director/closer, who not just had 30 minutes before brought our “gift” of a candle and a pack of playing cards (Westin branded, of course!)

And suddenly there was a full sales packet ready to go.

The “solution” was that we could turn our Westin Flex ownership into a Westin deed. They supposedly still had three available…two years later, after we “missed our chance?!” They would take the equity from our Flex ownership and use it as the down payment, and only $97 dollars due today!🙄 And we could get 2890 MVC points each year instead of 2810. For this 80pt difference (and a deed!! To real property!!) our monthly payment would only go up about $200, and our maintenance fees would go down $300.

A year😂

The salesperson had listened to my entire history with them, found the pain point — the deed problem, the delay, the feeling that something had gone wrong — and then framed the sales offer as if it was connected to fixing that problem.

It was incredibly slick.

They also said they were under a mandate to get everyone into deeded properties.

That caught my attention.

Because I had recently asked for a copy of the offered audit for the Westin Flex Owners Association and found some things that looked very off to me. I am currently communicating with the Westin Flex corporate team about that audit.

So I told them I did not think it was a good idea for me to give up my Westin Flex ownership right now, especially while I am already in communication with corporate about the audit.

The closer got very quiet.

Then I asked directly: is there a reason Westin wants Flex owners to become deeded owners and get out of the Westin Flex Owners Association?

He put his head down.

After he left, my husband looked at me and said, “What was that?”

Exactly.

I am not claiming I know exactly what is going on. But I left with a very strong feeling that there is a reason they are trying to move Westin Flex owners out of Flex and into deeded ownership.

And the way they did it today was not a normal high-pressure timeshare pitch. It felt like they used our complaint history, created urgency around a supposed 2024 file note, brought in the “legal team” who was actually the closer, and tried to sell us the exact thing they wanted to sell us all along.

We said no.

But if you are a Westin Flex owner, I would really like to compare notes.

Have any other Flex owners been told they need to convert to a deeded property?

Have you been told there was a prior offer or note in your file from 2024?

Have you asked for or reviewed the Westin Flex Owners Association audit?

Because after today, I think Flex owners may need to start sharing information with each other.