by John Terry |
Last Updated: May 11, 2019 Marriott has gone live with it’s new venture: vacation home rentals.
Homes & Villas by Marriott has partnered with vacation management companies around the globe to provide another option for travelers.
There are select locations around the world. Places such as Austin, Nashville, Lake Tahoe, Miami are options in the United States. Many destinations are what you would consider popular vacation destinations.
Europe comes in second with properties in seven countries. Homes also exist in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.
There are minimum stays that vary in length for each property.
Paying with Points
The good news is that Marriott is allowing Marriott Bonvoy members to use points to pay for these vacation rentals. The bad news is that based on ten random properties, it looks like the value of each point comes out to .7 cents.
Marriott points can be transferred into the Bonvoy program from Chase, but you would definitely be losing some value by just getting .7 cents per Chase Ultimate Reward point.
Members can also earn points when completing paid stays. Members will earn 5 points per dollar spent with Homes & Villas by Marriott. Elite bonuses will also be awarded. The Home & Villa by Marriott FAQ states that “at this time” points + cash isn’t available, so I’m wondering if that might be a thing in the future.
Final Thoughts: Homes & Villas by Marriott
Another option for travelers is a good thing. But, this is definitely more of a vacation rental service than one such as AirBnb or VBRO. A lot of these properties are very high end, have capacity for large groups and are not cheap.
Even if you won’t ever redeem with this new service, do yourself a favor and check out some of the properties.
My “favorite” so far (which I will never be able to afford) is a mansion located on a private peninsula in Costa Rica. A five-night stay would go for $116,644 or more than 16 million Marriott Bonvoy points!