# Hilton Grand Vacation purchase of Diamond international is final



## Clifbell (Aug 3, 2021)

Wondered if anyone is as hopeful as me about getting more ways to use my HGV points?

Special thanks to the TUG universe as I just bought used 7000 HGVC points in anticipation of the additional resorts from Diamond International... 

I don't have any facts, but hoping additional resorts arrive around January 2022 that can directly book with HGV points.


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## PigsDad (Aug 3, 2021)

Take a look at other major timeshare mergers -- it can be *years *before the systems are merged.  I think the probability of seeing additional resorts due to this merger by January would be extremely small, but I won't complain if I'm wrong!

Kurt


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## Clifbell (Aug 3, 2021)

PigsDad said:


> Take a look at other major timeshare mergers -- it can be *years *before the systems are merged.  I think the probability of seeing additional resorts due to this merger by January would be an extremely small number, but I won't complain if I'm wrong!
> 
> Kurt


No complaints from me either.... Hoping they are faster than Marriott :-(.  Marriott set the bar very low.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Aug 3, 2021)

HGV management did make it sound like their integration plans were mostly complete.  Personally i think January 22 might be a bit optimistic,  but perhaps some integration happens in 2022


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## Clifbell (Aug 3, 2021)

1Kflyerguy said:


> HGV management did make it sound like their integration plans were mostly complete.  Personally i think January 22 might be a bit optimistic,  but perhaps some integration happens in 2022


I'm hoping for at least an announcement by January... You are probably correct that it will take longer, but the letter I got sounded like they had the intention of making some available over the next couple of years... Hoping the one on Kauai is added to other Hawaii properties.

Cliff


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## geist1223 (Aug 3, 2021)

I think in the short run (for a couple of years) it will be kind of like Club Pass with Wyndham and Worldmark. The priority will go to owners in each organization until about 8 or 9 months prior to check-in. Then it will open up to Members to Book in the other System as an in-house exchange.  They will have to establish rough Point Values and fees for the Exchange. Even this might take a year or 2 to set up. The interesting question is will they limit it to Members that bought Developer Points/Credits as it is with Club Pass.


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## Seaport104 (Aug 3, 2021)

1Kflyerguy said:


> HGV management did make it sound like their integration plans were mostly complete.  Personally i think January 22 might be a bit optimistic,  but perhaps some integration happens in 2022



They probably have a very compentent IT team, unlike Marriott ......


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## CalGalTraveler (Aug 3, 2021)

@geist1223 Interesting thoughts. How does Club Pass handle owners who own a mix of developer and resale?


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## Clifbell (Aug 3, 2021)

geist1223 said:


> I think in the short run (for a couple of years) it will be kind of like Club Pass with Wyndham and Worldmark. The priority will go to owners in each organization until about 8 or 9 months prior to check-in. Then it will open up to Members to Book in the other System as an in-house exchange.  They will have to establish rough Point Values and fees for the Exchange. Even this might take a year or 2 to set up. The interesting question is will they limit it to Members that bought Developer Points/Credits as it is with Club Pass.


Luckily I have both developer points and aftermarket.


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## Ty1on (Aug 3, 2021)

CalGalTraveler said:


> @geist1223 Interesting thoughts. How does Club Pass handle owners who own a mix of developer and resale?



That is a superbly interesting question, considering that you pay $0.02 per thousands on the Plus Partners program that gets you Club Pass, and you currently pay that on the combination of resale and store bought points.  I have to imagine they would rather give up this small loophole than figure out how to charge a differential Club Fee rate.


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## Clifbell (Aug 3, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> That is a superbly interesting question, considering that you pay $0.02 per thousands on the Plus Partners program that gets you Club Pass, and you currently pay that on the combination of resale and store bought points.  I have to imagine they would rather give up this small loophole than figure out how to charge a differential Club Fee rate.


I would think HGVC would rather give the rooms to HGVC owners even if resale as compared to others.  My resale points were passed from HGVC because they wanted maintenance payments more than the upfront payment.


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## Ty1on (Aug 3, 2021)

Clifbell said:


> I would think HGVC would rather give the rooms to HGVC owners even if resale as compared to others.  My resale points were passed from HGVC because they wanted maintenance payments more than the upfront payment.



You will have to start looking at DRI owners as Hilton owners who are just in a different club.

HGVC want rooms to go to whoever maximizes their monetization.


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## CalGalTraveler (Aug 3, 2021)

FWIW...They said "integration plans" by 2022. I don't recall them saying "integration implementation."

However when I called today re: a reservation, the HGVC switchboard sets the branches to dial one for "Diamond Owners" and dial two for "HGV Club Owners"  Not bad for second day on the job. It took 1.5 years since the merger for the Vistana/Westin switchboard reset to reflect Marriott brand. Still separate phone numbers.


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## Ty1on (Aug 3, 2021)

CalGalTraveler said:


> FWIW...They said "integration plans" by 2022. I don't recall them saying "integration implementation."
> 
> However when I called today re: a reservation, the HGVC switchboard sets the branches to dial one for "Diamond Owners" and dial two for "HGV Club Owners"  Not bad for second day on the job. It took 1.5 years since the merger for the Vistana/Westin switchboard reset to reflect Marriott brand. Still separate phone numbers.



They said integrating the companies, to boot.  I did not feel like he was suggesting club integration at all, but rather the RIF that comes with an acquisition.


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## BingoBangoBongo (Aug 3, 2021)

geist1223 said:


> I think in the short run (for a couple of years) it will be kind of like Club Pass with Wyndham and Worldmark. *The priority will go to owners in each organization until about 8 or 9 months prior to check-in.* Then it will open up to Members to Book in the other System as an in-house exchange.  They will have to establish rough Point Values and fees for the Exchange. Even this might take a year or 2 to set up. The interesting question is will they limit it to Members that bought Developer Points/Credits as it is with Club Pass.



Considering HGVC Club season starts at 276 days from checkout I don’t see how they could offer DRI owners equal access at 9 months unless there is some process for HGVC owners to deposit Home Weeks or exchange points and that inventory is open to DRI owners.


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## CalGalTraveler (Aug 3, 2021)

BingoBangoBongo said:


> Considering HGVC Club season starts at 276 days from checkout I don’t see how they could offer DRI owners equal access at 9 months unless there is some process for HGVC owners to deposit Home Weeks or exchange points and that inventory is open to DRI owners.



I would be upset if they offered same 9 month club to all DRI because it would place too much demand on HGV properties. Trading up many Honda Civics for Lexus. Only equivalent quality properties would work e.g. those named in a prior thread e.g. Embarc, Point at Poipu, Sedona, Cabo Azul weeks.


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## dioxide45 (Aug 3, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> They said integrating the companies, to boot.  I did not feel like he was suggesting club integration at all, but rather the RIF that comes with an acquisition.


Exactly. Integrating back office functions. IT (uhoh), accounting, HR. All that stuff where they can lay off a bunch of staff to save money to claim they are paying for the purchase.


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## Talent312 (Aug 3, 2021)

Seaport104 said:


> They probably have a very competent IT team...



You are being sarcastic, right?
.


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## Seaport104 (Aug 3, 2021)

Talent312 said:


> You are being sarcastic, right?
> .



Compared to MVC's website snaffu's and constant issues, I wasn't being sarcastic. I have owned both for the same amount of years and only MVC's website has given me constant issues and their website has gotten progressively worse.


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## ccwu (Aug 3, 2021)

CalGalTraveler said:


> @geist1223 Interesting thoughts. How does Club Pass handle owners who own a mix of developer and resale?



I think for Hilton is easy. Retail and resale are the same.  Resale points can not be count toward elite level. The method to treat the points are owners level (elite or not elite). I have mixed of retail and resale. The points are combined in my elite premier account when I use them, they are equal. Points are used and treated at owners level. My resale points reservations got elite free upgrade as often as retail points. 

But for DRI, it is more complicated. if you have resale and retail, they are in two separate account. Very flexible for retail points, very strict on resale points. You would have two membership number and pay two separate fees. Talking about that, it depends on collection too. Each collection has separate membership fees. 


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## ccwu (Aug 3, 2021)

CalGalTraveler said:


> I would be upset if they offered same 9 month club to all DRI because it would place too much demand on HGV properties. Trading up many Honda Civics for Lexus. Only equivalent quality properties would work e.g. those named in a prior thread e.g. Embarc, Point at Poipu, Sedona, Cabo Azul weeks.



I don’t think Diamond would have inventory
Until hgv deeded owner put their point to exchange for Diamond points. (Same as hgv owner exchange for HHonor points, so Hilton customer can used HHoner points to book hgv resorts). Diamond member has 12 month to book home resorts. All US collections are home resorts for US collection member. Being platinum elite, has 14 months in advance to book home resorts. HGV did not give elite benefit of early booking over home resorts. Only 12 months home resort, and 9 months club reservation Vs Diamonds 10 month club reservation. So by the time HGV can book earliest would be 10 months. For Diamond developer owner may participate in exchange to request booking HGV maybe 9 months as hgv club member. DRI resale member could not even participate in the Interval exchange, I doubt they can exchange to HGV exchange. DRI may have sale program to get resale buy into program. That is my guess. HGV May sell to deeded owner to convert to HGV point. It would be easier since HGV is all based on deeded program per season, and room size to value to points. 

In my opinion the merger is a great opportunity for sales pitch for both HGV and Diamond. 


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## Clifbell (Aug 3, 2021)

ccwu said:


> In my opinion the merger is a great opportunity for sales pitch for both HGV and Diamond.



Certainly would make for a faster integration if there was a sales angle to the merger


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## geist1223 (Aug 4, 2021)

BingoBangoBongo said:


> Considering HGVC Club season starts at 276 days from checkout I don’t see how they could offer DRI owners equal access at 9 months unless there is some process for HGVC owners to deposit Home Weeks or exchange points and that inventory is open to DRI owners.



Did not know that. In DRI in your Home Collection it is 13 from check-in date. In your non-Home Collections I believe it is 10 months from check-in. Then if you are DRI Platinum you get an additional month. So maybe 7 or 8 month.


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## geist1223 (Aug 4, 2021)

CalGalTraveler said:


> @geist1223 Interesting thoughts. How does Club Pass handle owners who own a mix of developer and resale?



You can only use Developer Credits/Points for Club Pass and certain other Booking as into the South Pacific Club. It my Worldmark Account there are two columns for the Credits: WM which are resell and WTS which are Developer Credits. When I make a Booking if it is one that WM Credits are eligible it draws the WM Credits first. Basically WM Resell Credits can only be used in the 90+ Worldmark Resorts. It is also possible to have WM+A Credits from 15 years ago. Any Credits owned prior to November **, 2006 are WM+A. If WM+A or WTS are sold they become WM Credits for the Buyer.


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## geist1223 (Aug 4, 2021)

ccwu said:


> I think for Hilton is easy. Retail and resale are the same. The method to treat the points are owners level (elite or not elite). I have mixed of retail and resale. The points are combined in my elite premier account when I use them, they are equal. Points are used and treated at owners level. My resale points reservations got elite free upgrade as often as retail points.
> 
> But for DRI, it is more complicated. if you have resale and retail, they are in two separate account. Very flexible for retail points, very strict on resale points. You would have two membership number and pay two separate fees. Talking about that, it depends on collection too. Each collection has separate membership fees.
> 
> ...



For a short period of time we owned both Developer and resell DRI Points. It was one Account with separate underlying Contracts. The Points were separated but in one Account. You could not combine the Points for a Booking. So once for KBC we had a 4 day Booking from the resell Points and a consecutive 3 day Booking from our Regular Points. Our MF's were based up in the total number of Points.


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## youppi (Aug 4, 2021)

geist1223 said:


> For a short period of time we owned both Developer and resell DRI Points. It was one Account with separate underlying Contracts. The Points were separated but in one Account. You could not combine the Points for a Booking. So once for KBC we had a 4 day Booking from the resell Points and a consecutive 3 day Booking from our Regular Points. Our MF's were based up in the total number of Points.


Do you remember if you paid the base collection fees ($250 + $10.42) once or twice if both developer and resell points were in the same collection ?


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## BingoBangoBongo (Aug 4, 2021)

Clifbell said:


> Certainly would make for a faster integration *if there was a sales angle to the merger*



At the end of the day it’s all about the sales.


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## Clifbell (Aug 4, 2021)

ccwu said:


> I think for Hilton is easy. Retail and resale are the same. The method to treat the points are owners level (elite or not elite). I have mixed of retail and resale. The points are combined in my elite premier account when I use them, they are equal. Points are used and treated at owners level. My resale points reservations got elite free upgrade as often as retail points.
> 
> But for DRI, it is more complicated. if you have resale and retail, they are in two separate account. Very flexible for retail points, very strict on resale points. You would have two membership number and pay two separate fees. Talking about that, it depends on collection too. Each collection has separate membership fees.
> 
> ...


I have a combination of Developer and resale.  I have enough retail points for my elite status, but just shy of Elite plus with my purchase of resale points.  If I bought enough resale points, would Hilton move me to the next level or is elite status only from retail points?


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## geist1223 (Aug 4, 2021)

youppi said:


> Do you remember if you paid the base collection fees ($250 + $10.42) once or twice if both developer and resell points were in the same collection ?
> 
> View attachment 38202




Paid them once. The Points were all Hawaiian Collection.


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## brp (Aug 4, 2021)

ccwu said:


> I think for Hilton is easy. Retail and resale are the same.



For now, If there were ever a time to reconsider this going forward (very unlikely to do anything with existing owners), this integration would be the time. Not a good prospect, to be sure. But it makes sense from their standpoint.

Cheers.


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## escanoe (Aug 4, 2021)

brp said:


> For now, If there were ever a time to reconsider this going forward (very unlikely to do anything with existing owners), this integration would be the time. Not a good prospect, to be sure. But it makes sense from their standpoint.
> 
> Cheers.



Time to buy resale, now! I have been thinking about improving my portfolio if I find something at the right price as MFs come due. In the unlikely event they do reassess this, it will not be great news for someone trying to get out of an HGVC deed in the future.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 4, 2021)

BingoBangoBongo said:


> Considering HGVC Club season starts at 276 days from checkout I don’t see how they could offer DRI owners equal access at 9 months unless there is some process for HGVC owners to deposit Home Weeks or exchange points and that inventory is open to DRI owners.



my guess would be all points, DRI and HGVC, would be placed into a combined club pool with a common currency, then reservation abilities would be governed by the rules in that pool.

DRI owners who stay with DRI keep those rules. HGVC owners who stay with HGVC play with those rules. Ownership deed/points inventory placed in the combined product reserve in that inventory.

It will get real complicated real fast, which is why I was surprised to read they thought they’d have something to offer at the start of next year.

My bet is, once they get a good look at the complexities of combining the two programs, it takes considerably longer than they initially thought

Or maybe if you elect to be in the combined product, you ONLY play on that pool, making all of that inventory always available, which would make reservations easier to obtain.


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## brp (Aug 4, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> my guess would be all points, DRI and HGVC, would be placed into a combined club pool with a common currency, then reservation abilities would be governed by the rules in that pool.
> 
> DRI owners who stay with DRI keep those rules. HGVC owners who stay with HGVC play with those rules. Ownership deed/points inventory placed in the combined product reserve in that inventory.
> 
> ...



It is possible that they will do something like they've done with regular HGVC and bHC points, At one point it was one big pool. Then they separated into 2 pools with different rules. With the infrastructure in place, I would think that adding more pools to the equation would be reasonably straightforward.

Cheers.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Aug 4, 2021)

In the most recent earning call, they indicated there would be a single common currency after the merger.   But there will be three brands,  bHC, HGV and Hilton Vacation Club (Diamond Properties).  The first tranche of Diamond Properties will be converted in the first half of next year... 

They expect to begin selling the new program early next year, and you will be able to upgrade across the brands, or own multiple brands.. 

While they sound like they will move a lot faster than MVC has, it certainly does not sound like everything is fully integrated into a single system right away to me.


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## brp (Aug 4, 2021)

1Kflyerguy said:


> In the most recent earning call, they indicated there would be a single common currency after the merger.   But there will be three brands,  bHC, HGV and Hilton Vacation Club (Diamond Properties).  The first tranche of Diamond Properties will be converted in the first half of next year...



Interesting. That implies that bHC and HGV would be recombined. Despite the comments I just don't see that happening.

Cheers.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Aug 4, 2021)

brp said:


> Interesting. That implies that bHC and HGV would be recombined. Despite the comments I just don't see that happening.
> 
> Cheers.



Yes their wording is confusing.  I suspect what will happen is a common currency,  but which brand the currency is associated with will determine what you can do with it...  Sort of like you can use your bHC points to book a regular HGV resort if you want.  I can use my HGV points to book into bHC with some extra restrictions...   so a common currency, but not all points are equal... 

Not certain, and i am not rushing to buy more points just yet..


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## brp (Aug 4, 2021)

1Kflyerguy said:


> Yes their wording is confusing.  I suspect what will happen is a common currency,  but which brand the currency is associated with will determine what you can do with it...  Sort of like you can use your bHC points to book a regular HGV resort if you want.  I can use my HGV points to book into bHC with some extra restrictions...   so a common currency, but not all points are equal...
> 
> Not certain, and i am not rushing to buy more points just yet..



OK. That's an interpretation that makes more sense to me.

Cheers,


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## ccwu (Aug 4, 2021)

I own both bHC, HGV, and DRI, I know the differences. Hgvc is by deed. You don’t pay the same MF fee per points. One pay three times more in the front initial deed purchase for a deed pays less MF annually (if you own HGV, you understand the system). If you hold for 20 years, you will break even. But DRI is per trust point and all points is the same, your home resorts is in the collection you hold. HGV only have a special resort, season, and specific type of unit. Say I have a deeded penthouse one bedroom unit in NYC residence Club. To book home week a year in advance, I need to use total 16,800 points to book a week 12 months in advance. The hardest to book is Thanksgiving for Macy parade that is in front of Hilton. I only need 2-3 days not a week, but I can not book it. If I waited for 9 months, I will have no possibility to get a room. I called HGV elite service to see how can I solve the problem. They told me since all owners of residence of platinum week compete for the thanksgiving week. So the best strategy is wait for midnight after thanksgiving to book the week. When it is 9 month out cancel the reservation and rebook the 3 nights. I did it. One year , I forgot and try to book the home week until two nights after thanks giving for next year thanksgiving, it was gone and no availability. So you can see how difficult is to book popular resort at popular week. The club reservation for bHC is 10 month while HGV to book bHC resort is 89 days now for some bHC resorts. So it is going to be difficult for DRI to book into deeded properties unless the owner put the deeded week for inventory for DRI member to book. Then in DRI system, the platinum members may have priority…. 

The best way is if you want to book HGV buy HGV. Buy resale is ok with HGV. The resale points is not able to be count toward elite. But all other is the same as bought from developer. 


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## brp (Aug 4, 2021)

ccwu said:


> The club reservation for bHC is 10 month while HGV to book bHC resort is 89 days now for some bHC resorts.



Good summary. Just one correction - Club reservation for bHC is 276 days, so basically 9 months just like HGV - at least it is for us...maybe elite get a winder window? As for when HGV can book bHC, I know that that is all over the place and I can';t keep track anymore 

Cheers.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 4, 2021)

My head already hurts from the speculation.

One way or another, they’ll be trying to get into everyone’s wallet


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## PigsDad (Aug 4, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> One way or another, they’ll be trying to get into e everyone’s wallet


That is the _only _given with this merger. 

Kurt


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## CalGalTraveler (Aug 4, 2021)

1Kflyerguy said:


> Yes their wording is confusing.  I suspect what will happen is a common currency,  but which brand the currency is associated with will determine what you can do with it...  Sort of like you can use your bHC points to book a regular HGV resort if you want.  I can use my HGV points to book into bHC with some extra restrictions...   so a common currency, but not all points are equal...
> 
> Not certain, and i am not rushing to buy more points just yet..




This seems plausible. I believe there are more DRI property owners than HGVC owners and more DRI properties than HGVC. So if all of DRI is given unrestricted access to HGVC and bHC during the last few months with a common currency, we can kiss HGVC open season and last minute reservations goodbye.  I hope they will require a buy-in to HGVC similar to bHC to restrict access and avoid system overload via DRI to HGVC arbitrage.


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## LEMONLEE (Aug 4, 2021)

ccwu said:


> I own both bHC, HGV, and DRI, I know the differences. Hgvc is by deed. You don’t pay the same MF fee per points. One pay three times more in the front initial deed purchase for a deed pays less MF annually (if you own HGV, you understand the system). If you hold for 20 years, you will break even. But DRI is per trust point and all points is the same, your home resorts is in the collection you hold.



We are DRI owners, but we have a deeded week at Kaanapali Beach Club.  We are not part of the Hawaii trust and never ponied up to convert to points.  I am sure we are in the minority, but would guess there are others in our position (i.e. owning deeded weeks) so not all are per trust points).


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## Eric B (Aug 5, 2021)

1Kflyerguy said:


> Yes their wording is confusing.  I suspect what will happen is a common currency,  but which brand the currency is associated with will determine what you can do with it...  Sort of like you can use your bHC points to book a regular HGV resort if you want.  I can use my HGV points to book into bHC with some extra restrictions...   so a common currency, but not all points are equal...
> 
> Not certain, and i am not rushing to buy more points just yet..



IMHO, all points will be equal in the common currency - it's just that some will be more equal than others.


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## escanoe (Aug 5, 2021)

CalGalTraveler said:


> This seems plausible. I believe there are more DRI property owners than HGVC owners and more DRI properties than HGVC. So if all of DRI is given unrestricted access to HGVC and bHC during the last few months with a common currency, we can kiss HGVC open season and last minute reservations goodbye.  I hope they will require a buy-in to HGVC similar to bHC to restrict access and avoid system overload via DRI to HGVC arbitrage.



I am not sure I agree with this theory. I think DRI owners may face their points not going that far in HGVC, so they will use them where they can get more vacation in DRI. HGVC owners who are willing to sacrifice a little on luxury may find their points go much further in DRI. Also, there are a bunch of HGVC owners that don't necessarily have good local options in HGVC. With DRI's vast portfolio many HGVC owners could find they now have several more local options. 

[Huge Caveat: I still think we are getting way ahead of ourselves on predicting how usage portability may shake out ... and we are almost certainly overestimating what portability may exist.]


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## dougp26364 (Aug 6, 2021)

escanoe said:


> I am not sure I agree with this theory. I think DRI owners may face their points not going that far in HGVC, so they will use them where they can get more vacation in DRI. HGVC owners who are willing to sacrifice a little on luxury may find their points go much further in DRI. Also, there are a bunch of HGVC owners that don't necessarily have good local options in HGVC. With DRI's vast portfolio many HGVC owners could find they now have several more local options.
> 
> [Huge Caveat: I still think we are getting way ahead of ourselves on predicting how usage portability may shake out ... and we are almost certainly overestimating what portability may exist.]




DRI does have more local options for us. The problem is, I have better options with other systems. Everyone doesn’t have that availability though, so I can see some HGVC owners looking at this merger as a good thing. It will open up locations like Branson, Gatlinburg, Lake Tahoe, Palm Desert, Sedona to name a few. 
What does HGVC bring to the table? Orlando, Oahu, Vegas? Other than Oahu, which can be expensive in points and difficult to book, DRI has Vegas and Orlando covered reasonably well. 

But we have the cart before the horse. Absolutely nothing has happened yet.


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## GT75 (Aug 6, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> But we have the cart before the horse. Absolutely nothing has happened yet.


I agree with your statement.   Per the announcement, the combined DRI/HGVC/bHC will currently remain as is.  There may be some future means to book between the different systems but I would except that to cost some money ( IMO, predict much greater than $1K).  So my advice is, “ don’t start counting the chickens before they hatch”.   Let’s just wait for the announcement, whenever that comes.


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## brp (Aug 6, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> What does HGVC bring to the table? Orlando, Oahu, Vegas? Other than Oahu, which can be expensive in points and difficult to book, DRI has Vegas and Orlando covered reasonably well.



Hawai'i Island. For us our favorite use of our cheaper Vegas points. New York, where we also own and stay several tiems a year.

Cheers.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 6, 2021)

brp said:


> Hawai'i Island. For us our favorite use of our cheaper Vegas points. New York, where we also own and stay several tiems a year.
> 
> Cheers.



True


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## CalGalTraveler (Aug 6, 2021)

escanoe said:


> [Huge Caveat: I still think we are getting way ahead of ourselves on predicting how usage portability may shake out ... and we are almost certainly overestimating what portability may exist.]





dougp26364 said:


> But we have the cart before the horse. Absolutely nothing has happened yet.



Of course! But it is sure fun to speculate!


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## dayooper (Aug 6, 2021)

@dougp26364 I think the South Carolina resorts are a big plus for HGVC. I’m not sure DRI has much in the way of resorts there.

In general, I think you are correct, though. DRI has much more on the way of locations.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 7, 2021)

dayooper said:


> @dougp26364 I think the South Carolina resorts are a big plus for HGVC. I’m not sure DRI has much in the way of resorts there.
> 
> In general, I think you are correct, though. DRI has much more on the way of locations.



If they can be booked. HGVC took so long to begin developing areas outside of the big three that demand outstrips supply. I don’t see availability being any easier with more owners having access.

DRI, on the other hand, built large resorts in popular destinations. So much so that you could say they overbuilt. Williamsburg, Branson and Sedona all have tons of inventory, as does Vegas and Orlando, but I don’t see HGVC owners jumping on a lot of DRI’s offering in Vegas/Orlando since those locations are heavily developed with higher quality resort options.


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## GT75 (Aug 7, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> I don’t see availability being any easier with more owners having access.


HGVC has 3 large resorts in Myrtle Beach.   So availability there is pretty easy.   I would agree that Ocean Oak in Hilton Head is difficult to book.   I don't follow the new bHC resort in Charleston.


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## CalGalTraveler (Aug 7, 2021)

@dougp26364 HGVC also has several resorts with availability in Carlsbad next to Legoland and San Diego. 

Other than Sedona (which is interesting) are there other large DRI resorts in the west?  Does the Tahoe resort have much availability for exchange during peak season? Others?

IMHO...For west coasters like us, Williamsburg, Branson and Virginia Coast are regional destinations. Not worth the time zone change and flights so will never visit. If they have any resorts in Oregon coast, Washington, or Utah, Colorado (for skiing) that would be of interest.


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## NOLA47 (Aug 7, 2021)

1Kflyerguy said:


> Yes their wording is confusing.  I suspect what will happen is a common currency,  but which brand the currency is associated with will determine what you can do with it...  Sort of like you can use your bHC points to book a regular HGV resort if you want.  I can use my HGV points to book into bHC with some extra restrictions...   so a common currency, but not all points are equal...
> 
> Not certain, and i am not rushing to buy more points just yet..


Would you please explain what bHC means.....I know HGV is Hilton Grand Vacations and DRI is Diamond Resorts International.  I'm just trying to understand them.  Thanks much.


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## Eric B (Aug 7, 2021)

NOLA47 said:


> Would you please explain what bHC means.....I know HGV is Hilton Grand Vacations and DRI is Diamond Resorts International.  I'm just trying to understand them.  Thanks much.



by Hilton Club - certain urban resorts that are in a different category than the run of the HGV resorts; they are in, for example, NY, DC, Charleston, SC, and Cabo.  The access to them is at different points for non-bHC owners.


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## NOLA47 (Aug 7, 2021)

Eric B said:


> by Hilton Club - certain urban resorts that are in a different category than the run of the HGV resorts; they are in, for example, NY, DC, Charleston, SC, and Cabo.  The access to them is at different points for non-bHC owners.


thanks so much......I'm familiar with Hilton Club.....just couldn't figure out the bHC....thanks for explaining.


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## ccwu (Aug 7, 2021)

NOLA47 said:


> thanks so much......I'm familiar with Hilton Club.....just couldn't figure out the bHC....thanks for explaining.



We did not know what bHC referred to for a while we own 3 Hilton Club resorts (NYC Residence, HCNY and 57th street). Just like in here people talk about ‘DH’. I could not figure out what they referred to. I interpret it is Daughter. But does not sound like. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## buzglyd (Aug 7, 2021)

ccwu said:


> We did not know what bHC referred to for a while we own 3 Hilton Club resorts (NYC Residence, HCNY and 57th street). Just like in here people talk about ‘DH’. I could not figure out what they referred to. I interpret it is Daughter. But does not sound like.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I think DH is Dear Husband. DW, DD etc.


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## Eric B (Aug 7, 2021)

buzglyd said:


> I think DH is Dear Husband. DW, DD etc.



I thought it was Department Head!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 7, 2021)

buzglyd said:


> I think DH is Dear Husband. DW, DD etc.


I usually interpret it as "Darling".  Darling Wife, Darling Son, Darling Daughter, Darling Daughter-in-Law, Darling Son-in-Law, Darling Granddaughter - DW, DS, DD, DDIL. DSIL, DGD.  Still waiting to activate DGS.


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## momofkipper (Aug 7, 2021)

Some of the Embarq properties look nice!  The reviews on most of the DRI properties are so uneven--I hope HGVC doesn't divert rehab capital from our existing properties to DRI which clearly needs a lot!


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## brp (Aug 7, 2021)

buzglyd said:


> I think DH is Dear Husband. DW, DD etc.



I think that's Facebook-speak and I don't to Facebook. So these are not familiar to me, even though I know know what they mean, I would never consider using them.

Cheers.


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## ccwu (Aug 7, 2021)

momofkipper said:


> Some of the Embarq properties look nice! The reviews on most of the DRI properties are so uneven--I hope HGVC doesn't divert rehab capital from our existing properties to DRI which clearly needs a lot!



HGV maintenance fee is for each deed. The club membership fee is to the HGV headquarters. All other fees stay with the deeded property. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Talent312 (Aug 7, 2021)

brp said:


> I think that's Facebook-speak and I don't to Facebook.



Not eggsactly.
These acronyms pre-date Facebook and other popular social media.
But someone would need to know a little bit of internet history.

People starting talking between local networks via Usenet about 40 years ago.
Usenet (Users Network) featured "Newsgroups" (120,000 at one point), that
were dedicated to specific topics.

Many acronyms we use today, got their start on Usenet and in Newsgroups.
Newgroups focusing on relationships developed their own special acronyms.
"S2BX' for example, was an acronym commonly used in divorce-discussions.

Today, web-based social networks have largely supplanted Usenet, but a few
Usenet servers, such as GigaNews, still exist.
----------------
TMI ?


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## Eric B (Aug 7, 2021)

Talent312 said:


> FWIW, "S2BX" can also
> 
> 
> Not eggsactly.
> ...



What does Three Mile Island have to do with this…?


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## brp (Aug 7, 2021)

Talent312 said:


> FWIW, "S2BX" can also
> 
> 
> Not eggsactly.
> ...



Interesting. At my age I am Very familiar with Usenet and had some good friends that I met through that medium. Never, in all my time there, did I see these particular inane acronyms. I must have been on the wrong subset of the 120K Newsgroups 

Since I worked at Bay Area rock concerts for about 20 years, rec.music.gdead was a popular haunt, for example 

In any event, these things live on in Facebook and that ilk.

Cheers.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 7, 2021)

brp said:


> I think that's Facebook-speak and I don't to Facebook. So these are not familiar to me, even though I know know what they mean, I would never consider using them.
> 
> Cheers.


I learned them as TUG-speak.  And Tug is the only place I use them. I don't do Facebook and I'm not a nit-Twit.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 7, 2021)

CalGalTraveler said:


> @dougp26364 HGVC also has several resorts with availability in Carlsbad next to Legoland and San Diego.
> 
> Other than Sedona (which is interesting) are there other large DRI resorts in the west?  Does the Tahoe resort have much availability for exchange during peak season? Others?
> 
> IMHO...For west coasters like us, Williamsburg, Branson and Virginia Coast are regional destinations. Not worth the time zone change and flights so will never visit. If they have any resorts in Oregon coast, Washington, or Utah, Colorado (for skiing) that would be of interest.



DRI has a resort in Steamboat Springs and Estes Park. I know Estes Park was tough to book when I owned with them. We got a few nights there once, but I was never able to get it again. I’m not certain of the availability with Steamboat. 

DRI also has some resorts in Scottsdale AZ. We only looked at Tahoe for summer availability, but we could always get into the Ridge or Marriott, so it wasn’t a high priority. I think DRI has a resort in Palm Desert, but again, Marriott has plenty of availability there, so I never looked.


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## PigsDad (Aug 8, 2021)

brp said:


> Interesting. At my age I am Very familiar with Usenet and had some good friends that I met through that medium.


My all-time favorite was alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die    

Kurt


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## pedro47 (Aug 8, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I learned them as TUG-speak.  And Tug is the only place I use them. I don't do Facebook and I'm not a nit-Twit.


I also do not do Facebook or Twitter.


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## Magus (Aug 8, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> DRI does have more local options for us. The problem is, I have better options with other systems. Everyone doesn’t have that availability though, so I can see some HGVC owners looking at this merger as a good thing. It will open up locations like Branson, Gatlinburg, Lake Tahoe, Palm Desert, Sedona to name a few.
> What does HGVC bring to the table? Orlando, Oahu, Vegas? Other than Oahu, which can be expensive in points and difficult to book, DRI has Vegas and Orlando covered reasonably well.
> 
> But we have the cart before the horse. Absolutely nothing has happened yet.



Charleston and Myrtle Beach are two of the most popular tourist destinations in the US. Add on HHI as well and HGV has coastal Carolinas well covered


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## Gwendyc (Aug 8, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> If they can be booked. HGVC took so long to begin developing areas outside of the big three that demand outstrips supply. I don’t see availability being any easier with more owners having access.
> 
> DRI, on the other hand, built large resorts in popular destinations. So much so that you could say they overbuilt. Williamsburg, Branson and Sedona all have tons of inventory, as does Vegas and Orlando, but I don’t see HGVC owners jumping on a lot of DRI’s offering in Vegas/Orlando since those locations are heavily developed with higher quality resort options.


We got a great deal through Armed Forces Vacation Club to stay at a DRI property in Williamsburg. We see similar deals in Orlando, but as an HGVC owner, it's hard to stray from our favorite HGVC at Seaworld (unless we are staying on Disney or Universal property). So yeah, I look forward to locations like Williamsburg and Gatlinburg, but will likely continue to stay HGVC in locations where it is available.


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## dayooper (Aug 8, 2021)

Magus said:


> Charleston and Myrtle Beach are two of the most popular tourist destinations in the US. Add on HHI as well and HGV has coastal Carolinas well covered



While Myrtle Beach is fairly easy to get, Hilton Head is not. I’ve seen availability at Ocean 22 and Ocean Enclave at 6 months or later. Anderson fills up even slower. Ocean Oak is another story. That books up at 9 months and it’s a struggle to get that reservation even then. Who knows how fast Charleston will fill up, but I assume it will be more like Hilton Head and less like Myrtle Beach.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 8, 2021)

I agree, the Carolina resorts are difficult to reserve, especially if you want a particular unit style/view. It's probably best to own one of the resorts and trade out than to own anything else with hopes of trading in. IMHO, Hilton took sooooooo long to develop anything outside the big three that the pent up demand for variety in locations has been a killer when trying to book anything new.

We purchased in Vegas primarily to use in Vegas, and that's what we've done. We have booked Oahu twice and the Big Island once, but as owners since 2002, it's been mostly Vegas. We never expanded our ownership because, frankly, there was no reason. Vegas for a week or a few nights is more than enough. Oahu can be difficult to book what you want when you want, and the Big Island is great, but not my wife's favorite.

I've looked for HHI with Hilton and I'd like to try that resort, but, we prefer ocean front and, getting the view we want when we want hasn't been a possibility.

We hang on to our Hilton ownership primarily because, in Vegas, we've come to have a strong preference for Elara, which is easy to book. From my perspective, Hilton owners may gain some desired destinations, but all DRI owners are getting is the Hilton name and, hopefully, better and more responsible management.


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## brp (Aug 8, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> We hang on to our Hilton ownership primarily because, in Vegas, we've come to have a strong preference for Elara, which is easy to book. From my perspective, Hilton owners may gain some desired destinations, but all DRI owners are getting is the Hilton name and, hopefully, better and more responsible management.



Depends so much on personal taste. As I mentioned above, Hawai'i Island is a favorite for us (and easy to book), and we avoid Oahu like a plague. Also New York and the periodic Vegas.

For the DRI locations I've seen mentioned so far, only Kauai is of interest (not sure if I saw that they had something in Maui). The rest do little for us. So, for us at least, DRI doesn't bring a whole lot to the table- at least from what I've seen discussed- there may be more that I haven't seen here.

Cheers.


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## dayooper (Aug 8, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> I agree, the Carolina resorts are difficult to reserve, especially if you want a particular unit style/view. It's probably best to own one of the resorts and trade out than to own anything else with hopes of trading in. IMHO, Hilton took sooooooo long to develop anything outside the big three that the pent up demand for variety in locations has been a killer when trying to book anything new.
> 
> We purchased in Vegas primarily to use in Vegas, and that's what we've done. We have booked Oahu twice and the Big Island once, but as owners since 2002, it's been mostly Vegas. We never expanded our ownership because, frankly, there was no reason. Vegas for a week or a few nights is more than enough. Oahu can be difficult to book what you want when you want, and the Big Island is great, but not my wife's favorite.
> 
> ...



I think Myrtle Beach is fairly easy. There are 3 huge resorts and plenty of great ocean view rooms. In Hilton Head, it’s a different story. HGVC has only 1 resort It’s pretty small and very difficult to reserve. We just returned from our 1st stay at Elara. Awesome resort in a great location.


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## Clifbell (Aug 8, 2021)

brp said:


> Depends so much on personal taste. As I mentioned above, Hawai'i Island is a favorite for us (and easy to book), and we avoid Oahu like a plague. Also New York and the periodic Vegas.
> 
> For the DRI locations I've seen mentioned so far, only Kauai is of interest (not sure if I saw that they had something in Maui). The rest do little for us. So, for us at least, DRI doesn't bring a whole lot to the table- at least from what I've seen discussed- there may be more that I haven't seen here.
> 
> Cheers.


I am hopeful for additional resorts especially Kauai. But waiting to see how it unfolds.  I’d like to do more on the east coast so that is also a plus.  But is going come down to how much it costs per week to stay at a location (maintenance cost per point times number of points per week) that will affect my choices.


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## Magus (Aug 8, 2021)

Myrtle beach is usually easy to reserve (this summer an exception). HHI and Charleston you just have to book early and be flexible on dates (got my parents a week in HHI coming up and DW and I at Charleston for a long weekend).  Charleston will be easier to book as more rooms are sold retail as well. Like anything with timeshare, if you are tied to a specific week and a specific room type, it' will be difficult to book. But with flexibility HGV has most of the most popular tourist destinations in the US (NYC, Chicago, Charleston, Myrtle, Miami, San Diego, Orlando, Vegas, all over Hawaii, etc). My family has always tried to be flexible on location, timing, etc and has served us well - not just with HGV - but especially Europe and Caribbean trips.


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## CalGalTraveler (Aug 8, 2021)

@dougp26364 While I agree that HGVC was limited to those locations historically, HGVC has expanded and MVC demand outstrips supply outside of core timeshare locations as well. For Hawaii, Spain, France, and Caribbean high season, MVC owners need to book at the opening reservation bell.  Perhaps HGVC has limited availability on Hilton Head but it could be argued that Hilton has better availability in NYC (5 properties vs 1 MVC); Scotland (Multiple Hgvc properties), Waikiki (5+ properties vs ??? (Ko Olina?)), Big Island (4 properties vs. MVC 1) as well as a few others mentioned by prior posters. MVC has more rooms on Maui and Kauai, HGVC (without DRI) is has more BI and Waikiki - different strokes for different folks.

I would argue that one system is not better than the other especially now that HGVC is adding DRI. It depends upon one's travel interests e.g. Hilton Head, Branson, NJ are regional destinations and are not worth the time zone change and ticket costs for people on the west coast and vice versa. Others don't care for NYC.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 8, 2021)

CalGalTraveler said:


> @dougp26364 While I agree that HGVC was limited to those locations historically, HGVC has expanded and MVC demand outstrips supply outside of core timeshare locations as well. For Hawaii, Spain, France, and Caribbean high season, MVC owners need to book at the opening reservation bell.  Perhaps HGVC has limited availability on Hilton Head but it could be argued that Hilton has better availability in NYC (5 properties vs 1 MVC); Scotland (Multiple Hgvc properties), Waikiki (5+ properties vs ??? (Ko Olina?)), Big Island (4 properties vs. MVC 1) as well as a few others mentioned by prior posters. MVC has more rooms on Maui and Kauai, HGVC (without DRI) is has more BI and Waikiki - different strokes for different folks.
> 
> I would argue that one system is not better than the other especially now that HGVC is adding DRI. It depends upon one's travel interests e.g. Hilton Head, Branson, NJ are regional destinations and are not worth the time zone change and ticket costs for people on the west coast and vice versa. Others don't care for NYC.



I would agree that, for many, the regional destinations aren’t worth the cost to get there, but one could also argue that staying only in ones zone of life limits ones experiences. Plus, there are owners that need places within driving distance. Historically, other systems have provided those options while Hilton has not. 

Hawaii hasn’t been that difficult for us to book with the possible exception of Maui, and the issue with Maui for us is we prefer ocean front and occasionally a 2 bedroom. But, and this is a big one, we are chairman’s level and that allows us to book as few as 1 night 13 months in advance. With Hilton and even when we owned with DRI at Silver Elite level, that option wasn’t available. 

Hilton, too, must be booked at the opening bell for some of the locations outside their core. 

Over the years we realized we needed the regional aspect of a timeshare system because we live in middle America.To that end, DRI and MVC fit our needs better, but DRI was as expensive, or nearly as expensive, as MVC, just not up to MVC’s quality. When we started with Hilton, they had the big three and that was it. They added NY, but that was a separate thing of bHGVC, and they limited my ability t9 book UNLESS I bought more. That just didn’t work in our case. 

But what MVC does is irrelevant to the Hilton/DRI merger. 

I am looking forward to what Hilton does. Because of how they separated out HGVC and bHGVC, I have some trepidation. I would LOVE to have the access back into some of the regional locations as a way to burn points in years we don’t want to go to Vegas. Since we’ve been going to Vegas since 1998, we’d like some other regional options like Santa Fe, NM


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## dayooper (Aug 8, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> I am looking forward to what Hilton does. Because of how they separated out HGVC and bHGVC, I have some trepidation. I would LOVE to have the access back into some of the regional locations as a way to burn points in years we don’t want to go to Vegas. Since we’ve been going to Vegas since 1998, we’d like some other regional options like Santa Fe, NM



In recent years, they have started to change their booking windows with bHC properties. They extended the club booking season at W57th to 59 days and The Residences, The Quin, Central on 5th and The District to 89 days. La  Pacifica in Los Cabos and Liberty Square in Charleston have the standard 276 club season booking window. They make bHC more accessible to the standard HGVC member and I think that’s huge. Now, the points needed to book these properties are outrageous, but they are “luxury” properties so I guess they would want more in return.

As far as DRI properties that I would to to visit, there really aren’t that many. Cabo Azul would be top on my list, but I’m not sure when I would be able to go. My wife is not ready to travel to Mexico right now. Point at Poipu is another, but we don’t just get up and go to Hawaii. Lake Tahoe? Maybe. I would like to visit Sedona, but the rest of my family has no desire to go. Throw in the Embarc resorts and now we are talking. Blue Mountain and Sandestin look really nice and are both fairly close to me. Who knows how that will pan out, though?


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## GT75 (Aug 8, 2021)

dayooper said:


> Throw in the Embarc resorts and now we are talking.


I was under the impression that the Embarc resorts were completely separate from the other DRI system (like the "normal" DRI resorts couldn't book into Embarc and Embarc couldn't book "normal" DRI resorts).


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## dayooper (Aug 8, 2021)

GT75 said:


> I was under the impression that the Embarc resorts were completely separate from the other DRI system (like the "normal" DRI resorts couldn't book into Embarc and Embarc couldn't book "normal" DRI resorts).



I believe that’s correct. I am hoping for some sort of cross booking like there used to be.


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## dioxide45 (Aug 9, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I usually interpret it as "Darling".  Darling Wife, Darling Son, Darling Daughter, Darling Daughter-in-Law, Darling Son-in-Law, Darling Granddaughter - DW, DS, DD, DDIL. DSIL, DGD.  Still waiting to activate DGS.


According to Wikipedia, it is referred to as "Dea Husband". I also learned it only on TUG. Spent years in usenet newsgroups as well as IRC chat servers many moons ago and never saw the term spoken there.


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## holdaer (Aug 9, 2021)

Sounds like someone from Boston entered that definition into Wikipedia


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## Talent312 (Aug 11, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> ...Spent years in usenet newsgroups as well as IRC chat servers many moons ago and never saw the term spoken there.



You weren't in the the "right" newsgroups.
I participated in a few where familial acronyms were common, about 22 years ago.
.


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## rmather (Aug 14, 2021)

Clifbell said:


> Wondered if anyone is as hopeful as me about getting more ways to use my HGV points?
> 
> Special thanks to the TUG universe as I just bought used 7000 HGVC points in anticipation of the additional resorts from Diamond International...
> 
> I don't have any facts, but hoping additional resorts arrive around January 2022 that can directly book with HGV points.


I received an email within the last 10 days from HGV confirming that the merger had been completed. I certainly had the impression that HGV members could now expand into Diamond Resort offerings. It is certainly worth a call if web access is not giving you access. Best of luck.


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## pedro47 (Aug 14, 2021)

rmather said:


> I received an email within the last 10 days from HGV confirming that the merger had been completed. I certainly had the impression that HGV members could now expand into Diamond Resort offerings. It is certainly worth a call if web access is not giving you access. Best of luck.


rmather, Welcome to The TUG Website.


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## buzglyd (Aug 14, 2021)

rmather said:


> I received an email within the last 10 days from HGV confirming that the merger had been completed. I certainly had the impression that HGV members could now expand into Diamond Resort offerings. It is certainly worth a call if web access is not giving you access. Best of luck.



The merger has been completed but we are a long way from the IT being completed. The announcement even said the systems would be operated separately. My guess is the nicer resorts will be folded into the HGV system and the lower quality properties will remain separate.


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## ccwu (Aug 14, 2021)

rmather said:


> I received an email within the last 10 days from HGV confirming that the merger had been completed. I certainly had the impression that HGV members could now expand into Diamond Resort offerings. It is certainly worth a call if web access is not giving you access. Best of luck.



I did ask elite premier yesterday and the greeting was ‘welcome to Diamond Resort International’. I was upset and got the operator to transfer me to Hgvc elite premier service. When I get Elite premier devices, I told them that I want to make an complain about the DRI announcement. Elite premier services asked me to hold and tried the designated line and she got ‘welcome to Hilton Grand Vacation Elite Premier service’ she said due to the merger some phone Tree was tangled and May temporarily cause confusion. She advice me to hang up and redial. I asked her about the merger. She said they working on it. Once it is in place, they will notify us. But definitely will not be this year. They have no information how will it works. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## dougp26364 (Aug 15, 2021)

I believe the video mentions the merging of the systems will be in phases over the next few years.

The acquisition may be complete but we are a very long way from system integration.


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## Talent312 (Aug 15, 2021)

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Do not expect unfettered exchanges between systems, no matter how lofty your status.
At least not anytime soon. The integration will be neither quick nor seamless.
.


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## dayooper (Aug 15, 2021)

Talent312 said:


> Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
> Do not expect unfettered exchanges between systems, no matter how lofty your status.
> At least not anytime soon. The integration will be neither quick nor seamless.
> .



Nor free.


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