Marriott Vacation Club Waitlists are a great way to help you book your desired vacation destination and time of year. It’s easy to join a Waitlist, and Marriott Vacation Club makes sure that waitlisted owners get priority when it comes to reserving preferred locations and dates.
In this article, we’ll be walking through what the wait list is, explaining all the rules that apply to waitlist requests, exploring the risks & benefits of using the waitlist, and tell you how to get started with creating your first waitlist request.
What Is The Waiting List?
When a Marriott Vacation Club resort has been completely booked for a specific date, Marriott Vacation Club owners are able to request to be placed on a waitlist which will perform an on-going search for your desired reservation. If a cancellation occurs, and availability opens up for your waitlisted reservation, your reservation will be automatically booked on your behalf.
This is an extremely useful feature that can save you a lot of time having to check availability constantly, and gives you better chances of being able to book even hard-to-reserve dates at popular resorts during peak times of the year.
Marriott Vacation Club Waitlist Rules
- You can place a waitlist request for 7 or more consecutive nights up to 12 months in advance of your desired check-in date.
- You can place a waitlist request for fewer than 7 consecutive nights up to 10 months in advance of your desired check-in date.
- Waitlist requests may be placed for any number of nights up to 6 months in advance at other Luxury Property locations.
| Resort Type | 12 months | 10 Months | 6 Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriott Resorts | 7 or more consecutive nights | fewer than 7 consecutive nights | fewer than 7 consecutive nights |
| Luxury Properties | N/A | N/A | any number of nights |
The rules for what happens after your request has been made are slightly different depending on how far in advance you are making your waitlist request.
61 Days Or More Prior To Desired Check-In Date
- As soon as you finish your waiting list request, the number of Marriott Vacation Club Points that are needed to book that reservation will be deducted from your account immediately.
- If your waitlisted reservation has not been confirmed at 61 days prior to the check-in date, then all Marriott Vacation Club Points will be refunded to you, and your waiting list request will be automatically canceled.
- Owners can select multiple villa options, if they are flexible on the unit size, which can increase their chances of confirming their waitlisted reservation.
- If you are selecting multiple villa options, the number of points deducted from your account is the higher point requirement of the most expensive villa option you’ve selected. If the smaller or less expensive villa is confirmed, you will receive a refund of the difference in points.
- If your request is filled, and the reservation is made, you will be notified via email.
60 Days Or Less Prior To Desired Check-In Date
- All the same rules above apply, except that your request will not be automatically canceled on your behalf. You must specify the exact date on which you want to cancel your waitlist request.
- If your waitlisted reservation is confirmed within this 60 days or less period of time, the reservation is subject to Marriott’s normal cancellation policy. This could mean cancelling the reservation causes your Marriott Vacation Club Points to be returned, but placed within a holding account that limits their functionality.
Benefits & Risks Of Waitlist Requests
While making a waitlist request is not an inherently risky endeavor, we want to explain when you should or should not consider making a waitlist request, and how to minimize any risks involved in having your points tied up in the request.
Benefits
- Letting Marriott’s computer system search for cancellations 24/7 is much more time efficient than refreshing your browser every few minutes.
- Waitlist requests are given higher priority for cancellations. If a cancellation is made at a fully booked resort, the inventory is only released for all owners to see if there were no waitlist requests already in place.
Risks
- Waitlist requests require your Marriott Vacation Club points to be deducted, which will limit your ability to access them without cancelling your request.
- Creating a waitlist request 60 days or fewer before check-in, then needing to cancel the reservation once it’s been confirmed, could lead you to having your points tied up in a holding account.
Overall, the risks are relatively small and can be planned around, while the benefits can be a game-changer for those that are patient enough to let the waitlist system fulfill their requests.
How To Make A Waitlist Request
There isn’t currently a way to make a waitlist request online. In order to place a waitlist request, owners must contact a Vacation Ownership Advisor by calling 855-682-4847. The Advisor will then work with you to create a waitlist request that meets your individual needs.
We hope you found this short guide to be helpful! If you have any further questions about how Marriott timeshares work in general, we have a vast catalog of Marriott articles that cover a wide range of topics, or would like to learn more about the process of selling or a buying a Marriott timeshare, please contact us today. Our licensed agents are more than happy to answer any questions you have.
