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Hilton Waikoloa 600 room conversion moves ahead

alwysonvac

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the current website of HWV lists 4 types of rooms, Ocean Front, Oceanview and Partial Oceanview, and Resort View So there is your Premier, Plus (OV rooms) and Standard Room categories...

Sadly, I think the point charts will be similar to the high point requirement we see with Grand Islander and Parc Soleil.

Similar to Oahu's Grand Islander One Bedroom point structure
Resort View Regular 1 Bedroom - 7,200(Platinum) / 5,100(Gold)
Partial Ocean View Plus 1 Bedroom - 9,300(Platinum) / 6,300(Gold)
Ocean View Premier 1 Bedroom - 12,600(Platinum) / 8,700(Gold)
Ocean Luxury View Premier 1 Bedroom - 16,800(Platinum) / 11,600 (Gold)
And Maybe a "one bedroom Penthouse" room category

Similar to Orlando's Parc Soleil Studio point structure
Studio - 2,200(Platinum) / 1,600 (Gold)
Studio Plus - 3,500 (Platinum) / 2,500 (Gold)
Studio Premier - 6,200 (Platinum) / 4,200 (Gold)
And Maybe a studio luxury view premier and studio penthouse room categories
 

alwysonvac

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Also the number of rooms converted into studios might be a very small percentage (based on what they did with the Kalia Tower on Oahu).

For those who don't know....
The Kalia Tower is a combination hotel/timeshare tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Oahu. Kalia timeshare units are converted hotel rooms. The rooms are located on 6 floors (floor # 12 through 18; there is no 13th floor).
At Kalia there are 72 timeshare units (66 one Bedrooms and 6 studios).
 

davidvel

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Also the number of rooms converted into studios might be a very small percentage (based on what they did with the Kalia Tower on Oahu).

For those who don't know....
...The rooms are located on 6 floors (floor # 12 through 18; there is no 13th floor).
...
There is a 13th floor. Its just numbered 14 to trick the superstitious. :eek:
 

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Sadly, I think the point charts will be similar to the high point requirement we see with Grand Islander and Parc Soleil.

Similar to Oahu's Grand Islander One Bedroom point structure
Resort View Regular 1 Bedroom - 7,200(Platinum) / 5,100(Gold)
Partial Ocean View Plus 1 Bedroom - 9,300(Platinum) / 6,300(Gold)
Ocean View Premier 1 Bedroom - 12,600(Platinum) / 8,700(Gold)
Ocean Luxury View Premier 1 Bedroom - 16,800(Platinum) / 11,600 (Gold)
And Maybe a "one bedroom Penthouse" room category

Similar to Orlando's Parc Soleil Studio point structure
Studio - 2,200(Platinum) / 1,600 (Gold)
Studio Plus - 3,500 (Platinum) / 2,500 (Gold)
Studio Premier - 6,200 (Platinum) / 4,200 (Gold)
And Maybe a studio luxury view premier and studio penthouse room categories

Yes, this is the type of point chart that I am expecting for the Ocean Tower at HWV. I also think it will have the shortened Club Season reservation window similar to Grand Islander (6 months -- I think Hokulani has this also) and may also have the Friday check-in for Home Resort reservations, like Grand Islander. A timeshare sales rep told me that the Friday check-in was preferred by the Japanese target market, I don't recall why that was the case.

I don't know how I will feel about this property. It's a far walk to the lobby and then another far walk to a car. From Google earth, I don't think there is anyway to put a parking garage near the building -- especially for 450 timeshare units. But it's a great location and it will be interesting to watch for further developments.

Best,

Greg
 
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1Kflyerguy

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I have mixed thoughts as well. We stayed in the Ocean Tower years ago before we bought our T/S. It is a long walk, and yes you can take the tram or boat but there can be a long wait for those too... The ocean view will be nice to have, but there is no real beach at the resort.

I agree the point requirements are likely to be high.. I think have to be more than Kings Land, at least the ocean view should command more than the Lava / Golf view at KL.

For me part of the appeal of Waikoloa is the lack of crowds, as least when we travel in the off season. I do worry a bit that with the new housing development, the Marriott T/S conversion, now Hilton Conversion that it may start to feel more crowded.
 

Sandy VDH

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At Kalia there are 72 timeshare units (66 one Bedrooms and 6 studios).

Does anyone know where the 1 studio per floor is located??
 

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Does anyone know where the 1 studio per floor is located??
They are room 49 on the 12-18'th floor. (1249,1449,etc.) They face the ocean, and are down a bit from the elevators, on the Tapa tower end of the building. There is also a lanai, but in the afternoon, it is too hot to sit out there. They probably would have been 1BR+'s like the others on that side of the building, but there is now an electrical room where the other hotel room was.
 

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I'm sure having the hotel amenities, pools and dolphin area (not to mention some ocean views) adjoined to TS units will be big selling points. Will make Waikoloa much like HHV, but without the Waikiki busy-ness.

Now that we are older, we still prefer our quieter and larger Bay Club unit. Quite frankly, a really nice large resort with bells & whistles, is wasted on DH, LOL :D

We are big fans of Bay Club (using Flamingo points). We are trying Kohala in November, but that's not that much different in location. We do wander down to the Hilton once or twice per visit to wander around and very much like the grounds. We did stay at the hotel once and enjoyed that visit. We would be likely to stay at the converted Hilton in the future.

Cheers.
 

Sandy VDH

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We are big fans of Bay Club (using Flamingo points). We are trying Kohala in November, but that's not that much different in location.

I love the Bay Club units. They have great lanais.

Of the 3 choices, I like Kohala the least. Smallish rooms and OK pool, just nothing that the others don't do better.

So here is my vote

If you want a great room and huge lanai - then Bay Club #1 choice
If you want a awesome pool area onsite - then Kings' Land

I would probably NOT pick Kohala unless you want HWV access and ONLY higher point level units are left at KL and you want to save some points.
 

brp

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I love the Bay Club units. They have great lanais.

Of the 3 choices, I like Kohala the least. Smallish rooms and OK pool, just nothing that the others don't do better.

So here is my vote

If you want a great room and huge lanai - then Bay Club #1 choice
If you want a awesome pool area onsite - then Kings' Land

I would probably NOT pick Kohala unless you want HWV access and ONLY higher point level units are left at KL and you want to save some points.

Thanks for the rundown. I don't like the grounds for KL even a little bit. I go by there every morning running and it looks very uninteresting. I much prefer the setting of Bay Club/Kohala. That makes it a tougher choice since, for this trip, we do want HHV access, so Kohala is really the only choice.

Of course, if we end up not liking the rooms, the grounds around KL may start to look better in the future if we again want HHV access :)

Cheers.
 

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Thanks for the rundown. I don't like the grounds for KL even a little bit. I go by there every morning running and it looks very uninteresting. I much prefer the setting of Bay Club/Kohala. That makes it a tougher choice since, for this trip, we do want HHV access, so Kohala is really the only choice.

Of course, if we end up not liking the rooms, the grounds around KL may start to look better in the future if we again want HHV access :)

Cheers.
This is an interesting comment - i had not considered the grounds at Kohala/Bay Club to be special. Do others feel the same way? I am accustomed to Kings Land by now but never thought the grounds were much to look at. But I like the clubhouse and the main pool.

Would appreciate others perspective. Thx!

Best,

Greg
 

brp

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This is an interesting comment - i had not considered the grounds at Kohala/Bay Club to be special. Do others feel the same way? I am accustomed to Kings Land by now but never thought the grounds were much to look at. But I like the clubhouse and the main pool.

Would appreciate others perspective. Thx!

Best,

Greg

To be fair, my view of KL is from the road, running by. I've mot been into the interior where it might be nice.

I like the smallerness (yeah, I made up a word) of the Bay Club/Kohala area. It's long, but really narrow. I actually do like the main pool setting, and the Bay Club quiet pool - where we're more likely to be even staying at Kohala. So, the grounds may not be all that special, but I guess I just like the feel of it...and the familiarity as we've been several times now.

Cheers.
 

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Greg and brp bring an interesting perspective to this conversation. Back in 2010, My family vacationed in the Ocean tower and toured Kings' Land. We joined HGVC on that trip. We haven't been back to the Big Island since that trip but we would love to come back.

The most interesting thing I noticed was the different locations which can create a unique experience while at the same location.

Having various points of view is exciting and very informative.
 

Luanne

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This is an interesting comment - i had not considered the grounds at Kohala/Bay Club to be special. Do others feel the same way? I am accustomed to Kings Land by now but never thought the grounds were much to look at. But I like the clubhouse and the main pool.

Would appreciate others perspective. Thx!

Best,

Greg
It's the location of the Bay Club that makes it my first choice. It's closer to the Hilton hotel property. I also like the larger units. Kingsland is closer to tne highway and therefore less desirable.
 

1Kflyerguy

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We did a sales presentation at Kings Land this week. No we did not buy anything.

I know the sales talk is always suspect, but he stated the the Ocean Tower conversation will be a mix of 1,2 and 3 bedroom units. No studios will be built. They plan to start taking reservations for elite members in December of this year.

He also stated the going from 600 hotel rooms to 200 HGVC suites, so that will drop the over room count at the resort quite a bit. That is probably good the main hotel has felt deserted every-time we have been over there. I know its the slow season here, but the hotel feels super slow.

Lastly he showed me a news article showing HGVC is spending 825K on each room to really boost the luxury factor, supposedly the typical Orlando resort is only 50K per room.

Hard to know how much of this is accurate, but much of the info seems at least possible. He was trying to convince us to go for elite, so definitely pushing the possibility that the first reservations will be elite only and the fact that its a premium resort with high point requirements.
 

Sandy VDH

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I know the sales talk is always suspect, but he stated the the Ocean Tower conversation will be a mix of 1,2 and 3 bedroom units. No studios will be built. They plan to start taking reservations for elite members in December of this year.

He also stated the going from 600 hotel rooms to 200 HGVC suites, so that will drop the over room count at the resort quite a bit. That is probably good the main hotel has felt deserted every-time we have been over there. I know its the slow season here, but the hotel feels super slow.

So either 1 of three things is going on. 1) consider the source, Salesman has no clue. 2) Reporter got the facts wrong 3) The Plans have changed in the 3 years since this article was published (mar/14 date).

Ok, so this reporter stated in this article
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-news/plan-appealed-convert-ocean-tower-rooms-timeshares

By Erin Miller
West Hawaii Today
emiller@westhawaiitoday.com
Hilton Waikoloa Village’s neighbors are protesting a plan that would convert 601 Ocean Tower hotel rooms to 450 timeshare units.

But I also found a much later article that quoted the same number.
https://www.elitepronet.com/hilton-undertaking-timeshare-conversion-project-at-resort/


A search Nov 2016 yielded this:
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/...ertaking-timeshare-conversion-project-at.html

Hilton Worldwide is in the early stages of converting about half of its 600 hotel units in the Ocean Tower at its Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island into timeshare units, a spokeswoman for Hilton Grand Vacations confirmed to Pacific Business News on Monday.

The 1,243-hotel is, by far, the largest resort on the Big Island, according to PBN research. It opened in 1988.

The plan is to turn 347 hotel rooms in the Ocean Tower into timeshare units. A general contractor for the project has yet to be selected.

Erin Pagan, a spokeswoman for Hilton Grand Vacations, told PBN that, when the project begins, it will occur in phases with the tower remaining open.


But it provides confusing info...
First it said 600 hotel rooms then it says 347 hotel rooms, I think the error is perhaps it meant 600 hotel to 347 timeshare units. (That is 100 less than earlier comments)

How does one locate planning commission appeal information?
 
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frank808

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I can't fanthom that they would spend 800k plus for a unit if they only spend 50k for an orlando unit. What would make hgvc spend 16 times more per unit? They are not going to be charging 16 times more points for the same size hawaii units vs orlando units.

I know construction costs here are higher than orlando. Maybe 2 to 4 times but not that 16 time premium. I cannot see hgvc spending more money than they have to to convert the hotel units to timeshare units. Spending more than needed hurts their profit margins.

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I just read a story from January 2017 concerning a presentation made by the new HGVC holding company concerning another new building at the HHV on Oahu. There also was a discussion about the conversion of 600 rooms at the Waikoloa hotel to timeshare units. The article mentioned a $1.7 billion vale for the hotel, or $825,000 per room. So perhaps HGVC paid $825,000 per room for the purchase. Or perhaps that was the intrinsic pet room value used in determining the price for each room. So there is some arguable basis for an $825,000 price per room, but not for the amount being spent per room for the conversion. The sales person is misusing a publicly available detail.

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Sandy VDH

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I just read a story from January 2017 concerning a presentation made by the new HGVC holding company concerning another new building at the HHV on Oahu. There also was a discussion about the conversion of 600 rooms at the Waikoloa hotel to timeshare units. The article mentioned a $1.7 billion vale for the hotel, or $825,000 per room. So perhaps HGVC paid $825,000 per room for the purchase. Or perhaps that was the intrinsic pet room value used in determining the price for each room. So there is some arguable basis for an $825,000 price per room, but not for the amount being spent per room for the conversion. The sales person is misusing a publicly available detail.

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It is the land AND the building units I assume. Certainly can't imagine it is a leasehold. So that could add some price to that large $$ to it. It is Ocean FRONT, and on an island that is limited.
 

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Well, they likely aren't buying the land, because they are buying units. The hotel probably is being converted into a condominium, with HGVC buying condo units. This is just my guess, not anything I've seen. The buildings themselves don't seem to be trading.

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Well, they likely aren't buying the land, because they are buying units. The hotel probably is being converted into a condominium, with HGVC buying condo units. This is just my guess, not anything I've seen. The buildings themselves don't seem to be trading.

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The units I assume are sitting on land? If so they are either buying that land or leasing it. I doubt they are leasing it.
 

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The units I assume are sitting on land? If so they are either buying that land or leasing it. I doubt they are leasing it.
i'm with you. It is not a leasehold. The land and units have to owned by HGVC.
 

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They do not, if HGVC is buying only certain floors of the hotel. I haven't seen what the anticipated layout of the units, but if HGVC is buying certain floors and not whole buildings, then they likely are not buying land but rather an undivided intetest in the land on which the buildings sit as part of buying the units. A lot will depend on where the rooms being converted are.

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Sandy VDH

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They do not, if HGVC is buying only certain floors of the hotel. I haven't seen what the anticipated layout of the units, but if HGVC is buying certain floors and not whole buildings, then they likely are not buying land but rather an undivided intetest in the land on which the buildings sit as part of buying the units. A lot will depend on where the rooms being converted are.

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There is your understanding problem. They are getting the entire Ocean Towers buildings. Separate from all other buildings. On its own land, off on one side of the property.
 

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It is the land AND the building units I assume. Certainly can't imagine it is a leasehold. So that could add some price to that large $$ to it. It is Ocean FRONT, and on an island that is limited.

I have the same assumption, and this was my reaction when I saw the number. $825K all-in for these units is a reasonable number, if you need to include the value of the land.

However, the land is not a cash amount being paid here and construction costs are probably closer to $200K-$300K per unit. So the owner of the hotel (and land) will be out of pocket for $90M cash (for ~300 units, and they also need to contribute the land) and will be in a position to monetize 300 units X 50 weeks X $50K/average per week -- so $750M in retail sales (before marketing costs and commission to HGVC)? Numbers are rough, but that's how it can make sense.

Currently, they have 647 hotel rooms that are a financial drain while they sit on priceless land. Much better to pay the $90M construction costs, have HGVC manage the sales process (and the resulting timeshare property) and the new timeshare owners will also kick in $XXX/each towards the common upkeep of a very expensive property.

It's really a great model for the hotel owner and one we should expect will continue at every Chain hotel in a prime location, that has excess capacity.

And for the record, I still like the sound of HGVC Barbados.

Best,

Greg
 
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