Marriott's timeshare division was called Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI). It is now called Marriott Vacation World. Marriott high quality accommodations and marketing innovations have sky-rocketed sales, and as a result the timeshare (vacation ownership) portion of Marriott's profit base has become a critically important segment.

A key innovation sparking Marriott popularity is the fact that Marriott Vacation Club owners have the right to convert their timeshare accommodation to "points" - credits that can be spent for such things as airline tickets and stays in Marriott hotels worldwide.

 With Marriott timeshare points, known as Marriott Rewards® Points, the timeshare owner can choose to forego the use of the timeshare by assigning the occupancy rights to Marriott, in return for Rewards® Points that can be spent like dollars for things OTHER THAN TIMESHARE. 

Such things as airline tickets, Marriott Hotels, merchandise, car rentals, cruises and more. 

Members can opt to convert their timeshare accommodation to points in most cases no more frequently than every other year. There is a modest charge to convert.

 Note that persons who buy their timeshares on the resale market are not allowed by Marriott to opt to participate in the Marriott Rewards® Points program, unless the resale points are purchased from Marriott.

Because of this, some Marriott buyers have told us that in order to take advantage of lower prices on resales, rather than buying new and relinquishing their timeshare unit to Marriott in order to get points, they opted to instead buy resale and rent-out the timeshare, using the rental proceeds to buy the items the points would have bought. (Airline tickets, hotel rooms, etc.)

Also some buyers have told us that the points are not important enough to them to pay a much higher purchase price.

The Marriott accommodations are so exceptional that there is a strong resale market. 

Marriott advertisements explain that you can earn 10 points for every dollar spent during a regular stay at all Marriott hotels - Fairfield Inn by Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Resorts and Suites, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, and all Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites. 

In Residence Inn by Marriott and TownePlace Suites earn you 5 points for every dollar spent. 

The biggest potential for reward points is connected with the conversions of the timeshare accommodation to points:

For example, you may be able to trade your usage week (either every year or every other year) for 40,000 up to 200,000 points depending on the resort, villa and season. You can redeem those points together with the rest of your acquired points to enjoy a broad offering of travel opportunities and other options-- 

Examples from the Marriott Vacation Club website:

 14,000 points- 1 weekend night at a Residence Inn by Marriott or other Select location
30,000 points- 10,000 frequent flyer miles with one of nine airline partners 
100,000 points- 7 nights at a Courtyard by Marriott or other Select Marriott accommodations 
200,000 points- 7 nights at the most in-demand Marriott Choice accommodations plus two coach round-trip airline tickets to any destination in the world, plus 25% off Hertz® rental, 100 minute pre-paid AT&T calling card.

For vacationers accustomed to up-scale vacation suites, the points incentives and exceptional accommodations have had such appeal that Marriott has enjoyed very strong sales volume.

 Marriott Newport Coast Villas, Newport Beach, CA achieved blistering sales!

 Marriott has 250,000+ families who are Marriott Vacation Club owners, rivaling the other vacation timeshare giant, Fairfield Resorts, a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation.
There are presently some 52 Marriott timeshare resorts, and more underway.

 Locations include:

United States:

CA: Newport Beach, Palm Desert; CO:Breckenridge, Vail; FL: Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Miami, Panama City, Long Boat Key HI: Maui, Kauai, MA: Boston NJ: Abson; SC: Hilton Head; UT:: Park City; VA: Williamsburg

 Numerous new resorts are in various stages of development, including the spectacular Ko Olina - Oahu, HI, Shadow Ridge in Palm Desert, CA, Timber Lodge in Lake Tahoe, and Maui Ocean Club, Maui, HI,

International

Aruba: Orangestad; Bahamas: Paradise Island; Spain: Mallorca

in detail at the Marriott Web Site.

 Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club is one of the newer concepts of Marriott Vacation Club International, geared toward active families. Horizons has resorts in Orlando, FL and Branson, MO. 
Horizons at Orlando showcases 102-two-bedroom/two-bath villas and will offer a total of 900 units upon completion.