[ 2010 ] Is Hyatt Insane?

[tahoeJoe]

Just got an e-mail from HVC with an EXCLUSIVE opportunity to buy a Beach House bronze (1300pts) week for $10,000 and a silver (1400pts) for $13,000. Is Hyatt insane or do they think we are just stupid? Resale gold and platinum weeks are going for far, far less.

So far I have been very unimpressed with Hyatt. I would not recommend anyone buy Hyatt.

-TJ

 

[timeos2]

They are not on an island by themselves. Apparently there is a land of milky honey where the economy is stuck in 2004 and money is flying around in the air like a cyclone just waiting to be plucked & spent at will. Most if not all major timeshare companies (Wastegate being a big exception) are living there and continue to offer full cost timeshares as if they are a bargain at thousands of times what the exact same use rights can be obtained for virtually for the asking of a willing taker - free!! Some owners might even pay you to take it.

Must be quite a lifestyle there on timeshare island. Steak & Berriies for all!!!

 

[JanT]

I received the same email from Hyatt but my reaction wasn't quite as strong as yours although I did chuckle a bit to myself. Hyatt is a business and they aren't in business for the fun of it - they are trying to make money. In "the day," the price they are offering for those Key West weeks would be a pretty good deal. And even in today's market, the average buyer who doesn't know about TUG, etc. will think that's a pretty decent price for a week in Key West every year. I don't think they believe people are stupid. I think they are trying to sell the weeks and are trying to make a profit just like they always have. Granted the economy sucks and many people aren't shelling out money for timeshares but there are those people who will. Hyatt is trying to reach those that will.

I'm not sure what your issues are with Hyatt. We personally love the program. We can take our 1300 and 1400 point weeks and turn them into alot of vacations via II or use our home resorts - whatever we choose to do. Hyatt in general is a good product, one of the best in my mind. And those two Key West weeks we own are serious traders.

So....does Hyatt think we're stupid? I don't think so. I think they're trying to make a profit just like any other business and they're not going to do that by giving away their timeshare weeks.

 

[Beaglemom3]

I received the same email from Hyatt but my reaction wasn't quite as strong as yours although I did chuckle a bit to myself. Hyatt is a business and they aren't in business for the fun of it - they are trying to make money. In "the day," the price they are offering for those Key West weeks would be a pretty good deal. And even in today's market, the average buyer who doesn't know about TUG, etc. will think that's a pretty decent price for a week in Key West every year. I don't think they believe people are stupid. I think they are trying to sell the weeks and are trying to make a profit just like they always have. Granted the economy sucks and many people aren't shelling out money for timeshares but there are those people who will. Hyatt is trying to reach those that will.

I'm not sure what your issues are with Hyatt. We personally love the program. We can take our 1300 and 1400 point weeks and turn them into alot of vacations via II or use our home resorts - whatever we choose to do. Hyatt in general is a good product, one of the best in my mind. And those two Key West weeks we own are serious traders.

So....does Hyatt think we're stupid? I don't think so. I think they're trying to make a profit just like any other business and they're not going to do that by giving away their timeshare weeks.

That was my take, too. :rofl:
Little does Hyatt know that we only look stupid !

 

[tahoeJoe]

Fantasy Island

They are not on an island by themselves. Apparently there is a land of milky honey where the economy is stuck in 2004 and money is flying around in the air like a cyclone just waiting to be plucked & spent at will.

Must be quite a lifestyle there on timeshare island. Steak & Berriies for all!!!

I want to live on that island of milk and honey with steak and berries for all. Let's call it Fantasy Island.

So I guess the answer to my question is that Hyatt is not insane, merely delusional.

-TJ

 

[tahoeJoe]

My problems with Hyatt

I'm not sure what your issues are with Hyatt. .

My issues with Hyatt are as follows:
1) Highlands Inn point inflation
2) Gold Passport (GP) point inflation
3) Promised resorts (NYC, Maui) that never materialize.

1) Hyatt is a desperate attempt to spur sales at Highlands Inn devalued all our HVC points by increasing the points at Highlands Inn with no rational justification. Hyatt does not sell timeshare weeks, they sell access into their system. Don't believe me? Walk into any HVC sales office and look at the how many framed pictures of other HVC resorts and point and week charts are on the walls. When Hyatt took this action they not only devalued the points our weeks were worth but set a dangerous precedent.

These "after the fact" point increases cost Hyatt NOTHING but makes them a ton of money. However, it does costs (through lost opportunity) existing owners at other resorts. What is to stop them from doing this in the future at non-sold out properties to increase sales? Look for point increases at Wild Oak Ranch, Siesta Key and others.

2) Last year Hyatt increased the number of Gold Passport (GP) points required to say at properties you would want to stay at (NYC, Huntington Beach, Aruba, Hawaii) by 47%. However the exchange rate from HVC weeks to GP point remain the same. For those who bought through Hyatt or an authorized reseller your week is now worth less. Hyatt could have made this right by increasing the conversion rate (like Hilton did) but they didn't.

3) Hyatt has too few resorts. They promised, in writing, a new resort in NYC and the sales people talked about Maui. Those project are now a long shot. I understand the economy in in the toilet (except on Fantasy island) but they could do other things. They could create partnerships with affiliated resorts like Hilton did with Grand Pacific, Fiesta Americana and Club Interwest. They could allow owners to use "club-use" points for nightly stays in Hyatt hotels at a reasonable point cost, and not through GP point cost. Hyatt hotels trades through RCI. So RCI members can trade into Hyatt hotels but HVC owners can't? This makes no sense.

As far as i am concerned Hyatt has shown complete contempt for their owners.

-TJ

 

[Kal]

I want to live on that island of milk and honey with steak and berries for all. Let's call it Fantasy Island.

So I guess the answer to my question is that Hyatt is not insane, merely delusional.

-TJ

If you look at the profile of the "typical" Hyatt owner, spread across all the resorts, you will see a pretty affluent group. Those folks don't even know how to spell "resale", but rather know only the price Hyatt sets for purchase transactions.

However, the Hyatt owners on TUG, only know the word "resale" and are far removed from the typical Hyatt profile. So let's see how the supply and demand curve works. We know for a fact that Hyatt shut down all new construction, or more likely couldn't get a developer to foot the bill. That might begin to give them a hint that something is going south on the economy and discretional spending for timeshares.

The many Hyatt owners that I talk to have a common theme - Hyatt is pricing themselves out of the market especially on new purchases and maintenance fees. They seem to be ignorant on the real value of timeshares which is the "resale" price. But there's always a fool who will plunk the buck$ on the table and buy something.

 

[pgnewarkboy]

I don't own Hyatt. I understand that Marriott has "adjusted" points several times. IMO it should be illegal for a timeshare company using points or its equivalent to unilaterally devalue the points. I don't care what the purchase contract says. Contract clauses are often found to be illegal. It would be a different matter if the value of points within a system was determined by a market that Hyatt or Marriott did not control. When they are allowed to unilaterally make an owners points worth less they are basically stealing the owners property and enriching themselves at the expense of the owner.

 

[Phill12]

Little does Hyatt know that we only look stupid !

Of coarse your only talking about us Tuggers!:rofl:

Nothing has changed in timeshare sales for many resorts because most buyers I would think have never heard of these forums. They know nothing more than what the resort tells them and they buy. Remember most of us old timers bought our first timeshare from the resort many years ago because of no outside information. Sales still work because people that have never stayed in a timeshare resort probably never waste their time reading timeshare forums and probably never gave a thought of them before buying.

The other thing is I bet many owners are very happy with their timeshare until they do see one of these forums and read that they could have bought for much less money. At this point they feel like they were scammed by the resort.

PHILL12

 

[Hyatt-Owner]

My problems with Hyatt



My issues with Hyatt are as follows:
1) Highlands Inn point inflation
2) Gold Passport (GP) point inflation
3) Promised resorts (NYC, Maui) that never materialize.

1) Hyatt is a desperate attempt to spur sales at Highlands Inn devalued all our HVC points by increasing the points at Highlands Inn with no rational justification. Hyatt does not sell timeshare weeks, they sell access into their system. Don't believe me? Walk into any HVC sales office and look at the how many framed pictures of other HVC resorts and point and week charts are on the walls. When Hyatt took this action they not only devalued the points our weeks were worth but set a dangerous precedent.

These "after the fact" point increases cost Hyatt NOTHING but makes them a ton of money. However, it does costs (through lost opportunity) existing owners at other resorts. What is to stop them from doing this in the future at non-sold out properties to increase sales? Look for point increases at Wild Oak Ranch, Siesta Key and others.

2) Last year Hyatt increased the number of Gold Passport (GP) points required to say at properties you would want to stay at (NYC, Huntington Beach, Aruba, Hawaii) by 47%. However the exchange rate from HVC weeks to GP point remain the same. For those who bought through Hyatt or an authorized reseller your week is now worth less. Hyatt could have made this right by increasing the conversion rate (like Hilton did) but they didn't.

3) Hyatt has too few resorts. They promised, in writing, a new resort in NYC and the sales people talked about Maui. Those project are now a long shot. I understand the economy in in the toilet (except on Fantasy island) but they could do other things. They could create partnerships with affiliated resorts like Hilton did with Grand Pacific, Fiesta Americana and Club Interwest. They could allow owners to use "club-use" points for nightly stays in Hyatt hotels at a reasonable point cost, and not through GP point cost. Hyatt hotels trades through RCI. So RCI members can trade into Hyatt hotels but HVC owners can't? This makes no sense.

As far as i am concerned Hyatt has shown complete contempt for their owners.

-TJ

Does anyone know where to find the new 2017 point chart for HRC – I notice they raised the season levels of most weeks at the Key West resorts on January 1st.

Sure sucks that Hyatt is doing this, first with Highlands Inn in 2010 and now Point Inflation with Key West…

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

Use points calculator on the site.Should have updated chart for 2017. We have been very happy with HRC. Of course no timeshare offers sales at resale prices. That's why we have TUG. At least they are not buying back at the level they were for a period there. Our points go far with Hyatt which is why we went with them over some of the other programs. Although I still am impressed by Starwood

 

[theo]

Just got an e-mail from HVC with an EXCLUSIVE opportunity to buy a Beach House bronze (1300pts) week for $10,000 and a silver (1400pts) for $13,000. Is Hyatt insane or do they think we are just stupid? Resale gold and platinum weeks are going for far, far less.

So far I have been very unimpressed with Hyatt. I would not recommend anyone buy Hyatt.

I frankly don't know much about the Hyatt system, but I would buy a fixed winter week at Hyatt Sunset Harbor in Key West in a heartbeat (but only at or less than the figures you have cited for those bronze and silver offerings at Beach House).

For Beach House, those "exclusive offerings" may not be "insane", but they are certainly at least "overly optimistic" at best and, at worst, completely delusional.

P.S. Sorry, I just noticed that I have inadvertently responded to a 2010 post --- although that doesn't actually change a single word of my stated viewpoint.

 

[Kal]

I frankly don't know much about the Hyatt system, but I would buy a fixed winter week at Hyatt Sunset Harbor in Key West in a heartbeat (but only at or less than the figures you have cited for those bronze and silver offerings at Beach House).

For Beach House, those "exclusive offerings" may not be "insane", but they are certainly at least "overly optimistic" at best and, at worst, completely delusional.

P.S. Sorry, I just noticed that I have inadvertently responded to a 2010 post --- although that doesn't actually change a single word of my stated viewpoint.

It's time to totally recalibrate the Key West situation. Hyatt significantly upgraded the Key West points effective Jan. 1, 2017. This upgrade, in large part, will provide Key West owners with "free" HRC points. If a person uses Key West points to stay in a Key West unit, it will generally be a NULL transaction. If Key West points are used elsewhere, it's a gain. If an owner uses non-Key West points to stay in Key West, it will take more points than before.

It's hurting my frontal cortex thinking about how all this fits together with the "Total Points Program", resale pricing, ROFR and where's the Key West market going. So, the Hyatt message about Beach House sale pricing might make the $10K to $13K a good deal considering those units are 2000 point weeks.

Stay tuned for more twists and turns in the Hyatt saga.

 

[Cropman]

It's time to totally recalibrate the Key West situation. Hyatt significantly upgraded the Key West points effective Jan. 1, 2017. This upgrade, in large part, will provide Key West owners with "free" HRC points. If a person uses Key West points to stay in a Key West unit, it will generally be a NULL transaction. If Key West points are used elsewhere, it's a gain. If an owner uses non-Key West points to stay in Key West, it will take more points than before.

It's hurting my frontal cortex thinking about how all this fits together with the "Total Points Program", resale pricing, ROFR and where's the Key West market going. So, the Hyatt message about Beach House sale pricing might make the $10K to $13K a good deal considering those units are 2000 point weeks.

Stay tuned for more twists and turns in the Hyatt saga.

As a new Key West Sunser Harbor owner, did I miss some communications from Hyatt? I know nothing about point increases and I can't find anything on the Members page indicating what is being talked about. Could someone please enlighten me? Thank you!

JC

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

I guess they changed all the levels of the Florida sites with the exception of Siesta Key. The up side fr us is that our 1880 pt Beach House is now worth 2200 points. No clue what our maintenance fees will be though.

 

[Cropman]

I guess they changed all the levels of the Florida sites with the exception of Siesta Key. The up side fr us is that our 1880 pt Beach House is now worth 2200 points. No clue what our maintenance fees will be though.

Congrats!! And thanks for the info. That sounds like really good news. As far as MFs, remember I'm new, but I think they don't change. I think in Hyatt every unit owner of that resort pays the same regardless of the number of points the week is worth. I could be wrong. Hopefully Kal will weigh in again and shed more light on the situation.

JC

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

Supposedly there is a letter being sent out to all Florida owners. We have not yet received one but called Hyatt today to find out why we had extra points in our account and learned the new info.

 

[lizap]

I don't believe Coconut Plantation was adjusted either.

 

[stover33]

Just called Hyatt because I noticed extra points in my account. They told me my week had been revalued. Very nice bonus if other properties remain the same (I know Highlands Inn had been revalued a few years back so I guess they do it based on demand). I did notice that the pdf points calendar on the HVC web site has not been updated yet, but if you use the points calculator function the new point values are displayed.

 

[bdh]

Coconut was adjusted, just not as much/wide spread as KW.

 

[lizap]

I have a reservation there for 2017 (made in 2016). Just checked the points calculator and it is still showing the same number of points for the same date...

Coconut was adjusted, just not as much/wide spread as KW.

 

[sts1732]

Congrats!! And thanks for the info. That sounds like really good news. As far as MFs, remember I'm new, but I think they don't change. I think in Hyatt every unit owner of that resort pays the same regardless of the number of points the week is worth. I could be wrong. Hopefully Kal will weigh in again and shed more light on the situation.

JC

Not true, We own at Sunset and it is dependent on what you own. Ours is wk. 27 2 bdr. in blg.#5, deeded, yearly use. and it's not the same as a studio, or a wk. in say gold.

 

[Kal]

Congrats!! And thanks for the info. That sounds like really good news. As far as MFs, remember I'm new, but I think they don't change. I think in Hyatt every unit owner of that resort pays the same regardless of the number of points the week is worth. I could be wrong. Hopefully Kal will weigh in again and shed more light on the situation.

JC

Fortunately the MFs are not related to the point value of the resort unit. The MFs are determined by the resort BOD and that includes upgrades, repairs and the annual operating costs. Over time, my thumb rule is to expect at least a 5% annual increase. Resorts in the warm maritime climate can expect more upkeep to combat weathering issues.

I can't wait to see how this whole issue plays out. Of course there are ALWAYS owners who will see a conspiracy with any change.

For me, I now need to look at how I will use the additional 500+ points from my Key West resorts! Ooooo La La!

 

[sts1732]

Up date, in going back and looking at my point values. The Sunset harbor we bought 20yrs. ago at 1440 points is now 2000 points. I'm with Kal ooooooooo, la, la!!

 

[Kal]

Up date, in going back and looking at my point values. The Sunset harbor we bought 20yrs. ago at 1440 points is now 2000 points. I'm with Kal ooooooooo, la, la!!

Here's the Points Chart!
http://www.bywindkal.com/Hyatt/HRCPointsChart_2017.pdf

But the Bad Gnews is...it will cost you 2000 points to stay in your unit!