A couple recently canceled a $23,000 purchase with Marriott Vacation Club after discovering the booking portal they saw during a sales presentation may have been a fabricated mockup, according to BroBible. The wife, Courtney, said on TikTok that the couple was told 1,500 credits a year would be enough, but their own research suggested otherwise.
In the video, Courtney said she and her husband were required to attend a Marriott Vacation Club presentation during a trip to Orlando. Despite their initial plan to avoid purchasing anything, the couple was persuaded to sign a contract for a $23,000 payment and annual maintenance fees between $1,300 and $1,400. They were promised an annual allotment of points for participating properties.
When Courtney contacted her salesperson after signing to check availability for a trip to Kauai, he claimed he could not access the Marriott Vacation Club owners portal. This was particularly frustrating because the salesperson had shown the portal during the meeting one day earlier. Instead of showing the portal, he sent hypothetical point totals that did not reflect bookable inventory.
She says the salesman got angry when she kept asking about availability
Courtney said the salesperson became agitated when she pushed. “He gets pretty ***** with us and says, ‘I’m giving you all this free stuff. Why are you questioning so much?'” Courtney said. The exchange led Courtney to suspect the website shown during the pitch was a sandbox or developmental site meant to simulate availability rather than a live system.
She noted that after doing her own research, it appeared there was little to no inventory available. She told the outlet in an email that she successfully rescinded the contract during the legally mandated period. “I wholeheartedly believe the intent is to misrepresent the amount of inventory actually available in the system,” Courtney said.
Booking stays with points has been a sore spot for some owners, as Marriott Vacation Club members operate on a separate reservation system. That means they are not entitled to the same room availability as the general public. However, a property with rooms open for cash bookings may still show no points availability.
Travel companies have faced viral customer complaints before, including when a Delta passenger was waiting for his flight at John Wayne Airport and was accused of stealing. No direct evidence has emerged that Marriott Vacation Club showed the couple a fake website during the Orlando pitch. However, the couple never had to prove it, as Courtney’s rescission went through before the cancellation window closed.
Florida gives purchasers of covered timeshare contracts 10 calendar days to cancel, and the right cannot be waived, so any buyer who leaves a Marriott Vacation Club presentation with doubts can still back out.
Published: Oct 12, 2026 12:59 pm