Do you own a Marriott timeshare? This is one of the premium brands in timesharing and Marriott has timeshare resorts located all over the United States, with several international locations as well, such as in Spain, Thailand and Aruba.
But sometimes, as a Marriott owner, you might want to plan a vacation to some locale that doesn't have a Marriott timeshare, but does have a Marriott hotel. In that case you might wonder if you can get a discount for a stay at the hotel. I hate to say it, but in most instances the answer is no. You can't just get a discount for staying at any of the hotels just because you are one of their timeshare owners.
There is another option however. If you aren't planning to use your Marriott timeshare this year, you can exchange the use of it for Marriott Rewards points. Marriott Rewards is the hotel loyalty program that Marriott runs. It's just like the frequent flyer programs that airlines run. Regular Marriott hotel guests earn points for staying at the hotels and once they have enough points they can exchange points for free hotel stays or room upgrades.
As a timeshare owner, you can skip needing to rack up the hotel stays by simply depositing your Marriott timeshare for points. Then you can use the Marriott Reward points to stay at any of the Marriott hotels and since there are many more hotels than there are timeshares, you should have no problems finding a Marriott property in your vacation destination.
The reward points are good for a variety of hotel brands that Marriott owns, including the Marriott Hotels & resorts, JW Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and Fairfield Inn. So you should be able to find a hotel to suit your points budget.
Another option for getting a discount on hotel stays is to use the Marriott Visa card. I believe that using your Marriott Visa to reserve and pay for your hotel bill qualifies you for a small loyalty discount when you book.