# Any new info regarding DRI sale to Hilton?



## TJALB (Jul 26, 2021)

Just wondering if anyone has any new information regarding the sale of DRI to Hilton?  A friend of mine is at The Point at Poipu this week. I own in the Hawaii collection but she owns deeded weeks in Sedona Arizona.   She called me today to say that she attended a “owners update” in other words, a sales pitch.  The sales scammer told her and her husband that only owners in the “Hawaii” collection will be able to trade into Hawaii properties once Hilton Grand Vacation takes over.  Since my friend owns deeded weeks in Sedona, not in Hawaii, the sales guy told her she would have to buy points in the hawaii collection then convert their deed into the hawaii collection if they ever want to be able to trade into a Hawsii property again.  Bottom line … It would cost them $20,000.00 to convert into the Hawaii collection.  I told her not to sign anything because the sales people dont know anything more than the rest of us at this point. 

Does anyone have any additional information or words of wisdom to offer?  Anything is appreciated.


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## dayooper (Jul 26, 2021)

TJALB said:


> Just wondering if anyone has any new information regarding the sale of DRI to Hilton?  A friend of mine is at The Point at Poipu this week. I own in the Hawaii collection but she owns deeded weeks in Sedona Arizona.   She called me today to say that she attended a “owners update” in other words, a sales pitch.  The sales scammer told her and her husband that only owners in the “Hawaii” collection will be able to trade into Hawaii properties once Hilton Grand Vacation takes over.  Since my friend owns deeded weeks in Sedona, not in Hawaii, the sales guy told her she would have to buy points in the hawaii collection then convert their deed into the hawaii collection if they ever want to be able to trade into a Hawsii property again.  Bottom line … It would cost them $20,000.00 to convert into the Hawaii collection.  I told her not to sign anything because the sales people dont know anything more than the rest of us at this point.
> 
> Does anyone have any additional information or words of wisdom to offer?  Anything is appreciated.



If this is correct (a huge if), why couldn’t she just wait until she finds out for sure after the sale takes place? Don’t do anything until after HGVC potentially sets up different rules  (if they change them at all). That offer, or a better one will always be there.

The old TUG adage applies here: how do you know a timeshare salesman is lying? Their lips are moving.


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## bnoble (Jul 26, 2021)

My advice to your friend: don’t spend $20K to solve a problem you don’t have yet.


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## Willowcol (Jul 26, 2021)

I just did an update in Orlando at the Mystic dunes on thursday. They told us that the only changes they knew of so far was it would give us more resorts and ways to use our points. They didn't say anything about it limiting them or that we needed to buy more points.


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## dougp26364 (Jul 26, 2021)

And so it begins.

It’s not just a lie, it’s a BIG lie. The sales staff has no more information than the average owner walking the street. 

Marriott purchased ILG several years ago. The sales staff started selling current owners with the idea that they needed to upgrade in order to cross reserve. So far…….. crickets. 

DON’T buy on a promise or a threat. You’ll never see the benefit they promise.


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## youppi (Jul 26, 2021)

dougp26364 said:


> And so it begins.
> 
> It’s not just a lie, it’s a BIG lie. The sales staff has no more information than the average owner walking the street.
> 
> ...


and me I got a bigger lie. As a Silver Hawaii Collection member, they told me I must upgrade to Gold because when HGV will buy, only *Gold & up* + *HGVC owners* will be allowed to book The Point at Poipu. I laugh.
Sales say anything to scare people to sell them more points.


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## dayooper (Jul 26, 2021)

youppi said:


> and me I got a bigger lie. As a Silver Hawaii Collection member, they told me I must upgrade to Gold because when HGV will buy, only *Gold & up* + *HGVC owners* will be allowed to book The Point at Poipu. I laugh.
> Sales say anything to scare people to sell them more points.



If you were already gold, only platinum would be able to book there. If you were already platinum, they would tell you there’s a new level and the points will be very high to earn once HGVC takes over. But you can be grandfathered in at a lower total if you buy right now..

Maybe I’m missing out on something, but the freebies you get just don’t make it seem worthwhile to me. My vacation time is limited so I don’t want to spend it with a salesman. Maybe that will change when I retire and have more time.


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## youppi (Jul 26, 2021)

dayooper said:


> If you were already gold, only platinum would be able to book there. If you were already platinum, they would tell you there’s a new level and the points will be very high to earn once HGVC takes over. But you can be grandfathered in at a lower total if you buy right now..
> 
> Maybe I’m missing out on something, but the freebies you get just don’t make it seem worthwhile to me. My vacation time is limited so I don’t want to spend it with a salesman. Maybe that will change when I retire and have more time.


I decline often their invitation but $200 US for 1 hour early in the morning when my teenager's daughter is still sleeping anyway was acceptable especially when you are on a multi weeks vacation on Kauai and it's not the first time you come on Kauai (you are not running everywhere to see everything).


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## Mongoose (Jul 26, 2021)

Willowcol said:


> I just did an update in Orlando at the Mystic dunes on thursday. They told us that the only changes they knew of so far was it would give us more resorts and ways to use our points. They didn't say anything about it limiting them or that we needed to buy more points.


I used to own at Mystic Dunes.  Liked the location, but was so disgusted by Diamond and their ever escalating MF's I sold it.


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## Mongoose (Jul 26, 2021)

youppi said:


> I decline often their invitation but $200 US for 1 hour early in the morning when my teenager's daughter is still sleeping anyway was acceptable especially when you are on a multi weeks vacation on Kauai and it's not the first time you come on Kauai (you are not running everywhere to see everything).


Some times I do the same, but you certainly wouldn't want a negative experience to impact your beautiful Hawaiian vacation.


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## DesireMore (Jul 26, 2021)

dayooper said:


> If you were already gold, only platinum would be able to book there. *If you were already platinum, they would tell you there’s a new level *and the points will be very high to earn once HGVC takes over. But you can be grandfathered in at a lower total if you buy right now..
> 
> Maybe I’m missing out on something, but the freebies you get just don’t make it seem worthwhile to me. My vacation time is limited so I don’t want to spend it with a salesman. Maybe that will change when I retire and have more time.



There actually is a new loyalty level for Diamond Owners with 100,000+ points called Centum.

That being said, one of my best friends since grade school works for Diamond Resorts in Florida, and he certainly has no reason to lie to me. He says that the lower level employees like him don't know any more than anyone else right now.


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## dayooper (Jul 26, 2021)

DesireMore said:


> There actually is a new loyalty level for Diamond Owners with 100,000+ points called Centum.
> 
> That being said, one of my best friends since grade school works for Diamond Resorts in Florida, and he certainly has no reason to lie to me. He says that the lower level employees like him don't know any more than anyone else right now.



The less people know the inside details, the better. A salesman starts spewing inside information, the wrong info gets out and it can really mess things up.


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## Ty1on (Jul 26, 2021)

dayooper said:


> The less people know the inside details, the better. A salesman starts spewing inside information, the wrong info gets out and it can really mess things up.



Not to mention that they'll like get it twisted in the telling.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jul 26, 2021)

I hope HGV starts to crack down on this BS. Ask for a guarantee in writing. Watch them wiggle out of that.

IMO...a Sedona (or Poipu or KBC) week may be better than points because the week may be converted to HGVC so yes she may not have access to Hawaii Collection but may gain trading access to the HGVC system in Hawaii. Hang tight. HGVC will likely want Sedona weeks.


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## SandyO (Jul 26, 2021)

What about the "new" program DRI started a year or two ago that took the place of the affiliation they had with II.  DEX...or something like that.  You could deposit your points and redeem them for up to five years with the exchange fees supposedly less than those charged for an II exchange.  I wonder if that will go away with new owners and, if so, will our deposited points disappear too.  Guess we must wait and see.


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## dayooper (Jul 26, 2021)

SandyO said:


> What about the "new" program DRI started a year or two ago that took the place of the affiliation they had with II.  DEX...or something like that.  You could deposit your points and redeem them for up to five years with the exchange fees supposedly less than those charged for an II exchange.  I wonder if that will go away with new owners and, if so, will our deposited points disappear too.  Guess we must wait and see.



I wonder about that as well. HGVC is lined up with RCI. I don’t think you will see many changes right away (or a couple of years). The Marriott/Vistana merger hasn’t been figured out yet and that was 2 or 3 years ago. This one might be faster, but I doubt it.


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## RLS50 (Jul 26, 2021)

It might take awhile before any meaningful points system integration between Diamond / Hilton points.

Based on the CC with Wall Street for the acquisition announcement, it sounded like one of the immediate things we might see are the higher end Diamond properties rebranded as Hilton.   Based on some of the specific Q&A on that call I am curious if that results in some immediate upgrades planned to bring some of those resorts (or certain elements or features within those resorts), up to Hilton standards.   

And of course, the bigger question yet to be answered if the above happened, is how that would be paid for?    That question was specifically asked to the Hilton Senior leadership, and they claimed it would covered by the synergies of the deal and not necessarily through increased Maintenance fees.   We'll see.


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## dougp26364 (Jul 27, 2021)

dayooper said:


> If you were already gold, only platinum would be able to book there. If you were already platinum, they would tell you there’s a new level and the points will be very high to earn once HGVC takes over. But you can be grandfathered in at a lower total if you buy right now..
> 
> Maybe I’m missing out on something, but the freebies you get just don’t make it seem worthwhile to me. My vacation time is limited so I don’t want to spend it with a salesman. Maybe that will change when I retire and have more time.



Marriott has been following this same model. We were executive level, they told us we needed to be presidential level. We were presidential level, but we needed to be chairman’s level. Once we hit chairman’s level, there is this “new” level coming with newer, greater, benefits.

We upgraded slowly because we wanted the points and we waited until there were incentives that were good enough we felt comfortable purchasing. We had deeded back our DRI ownership and pivoted to Marriott. They didn’t know we didn’t care about the lies. All I wanted was to get to the negotiations over price and incentives. It took several years and a lot of wasted time listening to a lot of truth stretching.

We own with Hilton, but have toyed with the idea of divesting our ownership with them until this merger. I have no intention of increasing our ownership. I haven’t been as impressed with HGVC’s program. I’ll probably book an update, just to listen to the creativity or lack there of in their lies, but not this year or next. Maybe 2023. Right now it’s far to early and they’re far to unimaginative.


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## dougp26364 (Jul 27, 2021)

dayooper said:


> I wonder about that as well. HGVC is lined up with RCI. I don’t think you will see many changes right away (or a couple of years). The Marriott/Vistana merger hasn’t been figured out yet and that was 2 or 3 years ago. This one might be faster, but I doubt it.



MVC/ILG began with the prelims 4/30/2018. To date no meaningful integration has happened.


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## dougp26364 (Jul 27, 2021)

RLS50 said:


> It might take awhile before any meaningful points system integration between Diamond / Hilton points.
> 
> Based on the CC with Wall Street for the acquisition announcement, it sounded like one of the immediate things we might see are the higher end Diamond properties rebranded as Hilton.   Based on some of the specific Q&A on that call I am curious if that results in some immediate upgrades planned to bring some of those resorts (or certain elements or features within those resorts), up to Hilton standards.
> 
> And of course, the bigger question yet to be answered if the above happened, is how that would be paid for?    That question was specifically asked to the Hilton Senior leadership, and they claimed it would covered by the synergies of the deal and not necessarily through increased Maintenance fees.   We'll see.



One of the things I have liked about Hilton has been their ability to hold down MF’s while maintaining some of the highest quality resorts. When they acquired Planet Hollywood from Westgate, we got a front row seat to the Hilton upgrades. We’ve stayed there for a few nights every year we’ve been able to reserve it. They have come, but slowly. Last year was the year they were notable. TV’s, microwaves and washer/dryers were replaced, getting rid of the Westgate off brands and putting in better quality name brands. Essentially, they waited until it was the refurbished schedule time rather than jumping in off schedule, like DRI did with the Sunterra acquisition, before making big changes. Hilton acquired management rights in November 2011. Some soft upgrades happened quickly, removing the garish Westgate style, but significant changes were nearly 10 years in the making. Only last year did we really feel as if we were staying at a Hilton resort, not a Hilton purchased resort. 

I understand the hesitancy by DRI owners since DRI made changes quickly and expensively. I don’t believe you’ll see the same out of Hilton. It will happen, but more slowly and more in line with the resorts normal refurbishment schedules.


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## DRIless (Jul 27, 2021)

TJALB said:


> Does anyone have any additional information or words of wisdom to offer?  Anything is appreciated.


My crystal ball says maybe more news on August 2nd.  I have seen sales people get fired over discussing anything to do with the sale/merger other than what is available to the general public in financial news.  Maybe they're a lot stricter on the Right Coast than on the Left Coast and Hawaii?


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## winger (Aug 1, 2021)

youppi said:


> and me I got a bigger lie. As a Silver Hawaii Collection member, they told me I must upgrade to Gold because when HGV will buy, only *Gold & up* + *HGVC owners* will be allowed to book The Point at Poipu. I laugh.
> Sales say anything to scare people to sell them more points.


And I bet if I attend the same update as you, and if were a Gold level, they will tell me only Platinum and above will be Allowed to put into the Pt at Poipu. What a joke haha


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## bryjake (Aug 1, 2021)

HGVC 2nd Quarter Earnings Call Notes:
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/hil...v-q2-2021-earnings-call-transcript-2021-07-30

*David Katz* -- _Jefferies -- Analyst_

I wanted to ask about the Diamond. We're obviously waiting with bated breath, as I'm sure you are to get Diamond closed. Can you just talk about the to-do list immediately upon closing and give us a sense for what that might look like once you get done?

*Mark Wang* -- _President And Chief Executive Officer_

Sure, David, this is Mark. Look, we are extremely excited about this opportunity. And the teams have been working tirelessly to develop our plans, and we have a very, very detailed integration plan that charts out how we're going to be integrating the two companies together. But probably -- let me provide a little bit of color on how we're looking at the rebranding process. And as you know, the rebranding of Diamond and launching a new membership offering are really essential to driving the revenue synergies. Our plan right now is that we're going to be introducing a new compelling membership offer as early as next year, the first part of the year. And the plan is really to position all of our consumer-facing promotions and all of our marketings could be all unified under the Hilton Grand Vacations Company brand. So as we talk to customers out there, as we promote our products and offerings, it's going to be all under the Hilton Grand Vacations brand. Today, as you know, Hilton Grand Vacations has its own point-based club membership program. Diamond has its own point-based membership program.

But early next year, we're going to be offering one new membership program under the HGV flag, and we're going to be using one consistent currency for points. And so that's going to really help us better manage the value proposition and importantly, create a lot of value in what we're going to be offering. From a property standpoint, HGV today has two brands. We've got the Hilton Grand Vacations brand, which is our upper-upscale brand. We have the Hilton Club brand, which is our luxury offering. As we announced earlier in the year, we are going to be launching and converting the Diamond properties over to our new upscale brand, the Hilton Vacations Club. And so that will start in earnest as we -- as soon as we close. We're looking to have the first tranche of properties converted over the first half of next year. So anyways, similar to Hilton Honors. Just stepping back on the membership side, similar to how Hilton Honors works and connects all the brands that Hilton has today, the 18 brands. We're creating this new membership program that's going to really improve the value proposition. And we're going to go to one single currency. It's going to allow us, our members to have substantially more access and flexibility, more properties.


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## TJALB (Aug 2, 2021)

So, does Mark Wang work for HVAC?  Who is David Katz?  I’m a little confused with this message.  Did someone gather this info and post it here or did Katz or Wang weigh in here on TUG?


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## DRIless (Aug 2, 2021)

bryjake said:


> HGVC 2nd Quarter Earnings Call Notes:
> https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/hil...v-q2-2021-earnings-call-transcript-2021-07-30
> 
> *David Katz* -- _Jefferies -- Analyst_
> ...





TJALB said:


> So, does Mark Wang work for HVAC?  Who is David Katz?  I’m a little confused with this message.  Did someone gather this info and post it here or did Katz or Wang weigh in here on TUG?






Really??  https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/hilton-grand-vacations-inc-hgv-q2-2021-earnings-call-transcript-2021-07-30


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## CanuckTravlr (Aug 2, 2021)

TJALB said:


> So, does Mark Wang work for HVAC?  Who is David Katz?  I’m a little confused with this message.  Did someone gather this info and post it here or did Katz or Wang weigh in here on TUG?



First, its HGV or HGVC, not HVAC.  Let me make it really simple.  These excerpts were from the online meeting with HGV execs and various investment analysts for the HGV 2nd quarter results.  Mark Wang is the President and CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. and will soon be in charge of both HGVC and Diamond, once merged.  David Katz is a market analyst with Jefferies Financial Group in NYC.  These meetings are held quarterly, as is the case with most publicly-traded companies.


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## youppi (Aug 2, 2021)

We received this email today



























Today marks an exciting milestone for our company and the entire travel industry.
As of this morning, Hilton Grand Vacations has officially acquired Diamond Resorts. Together, we are now one of the world’s largest timeshare networks with a combined portfolio of 710,000 Owners, 154 properties and the broadest range of offerings in vacation ownership.
To our new Owners, I am excited to welcome you to the Hilton Grand Vacations family and look forward to meeting many of you in the future. And to all of you, thank you. We reached this milestone today because of your loyalty and passion for travel and, together, we remain focused on delivering high-quality, world-class vacation experiences.
We recognize the world of travel is changing and through this transformational combination, we are better positioned to provide you with more options in more destinations, which means more flexibility in where, how and when you travel.
As Owners, your vacation experiences with us are critical, and I want to highlight what opportunities this combination will create or enhance. I'll also highlight what is not changing — our exceptional service and focus on once-in-a-lifetime experiences.​





*What Are The Opportunities*

*More Destinations:* Our network now extends to over 150 properties in sought-after destinations, including drive-to, regional and international markets. Many of these properties are in new locations and highly desired vacation spots.


*Greater Product Access:* Together, we will provide the broadest range of offerings with a broader price range — from upscale to luxury offerings. As new membership and timeshare product opportunities are available, we will be sure to share these with you, including program and product costs. For the time being, nothing changes — your important contacts remain the same, and you will continue to make reservations as you do now.






*What Is Not Changing*

*Uninterrupted Services:* We are committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition to a combined business. Integrating Hilton Grand Vacations and Diamond Resorts is a multi-year, phased approach and, at this time, both companies will continue to operate independently. Your access to your timeshare or Club exchange programs, existing resort destinations, contracts and services will remain the same.


*Focus on Excellence:* Both Hilton Grand Vacations and Diamond Resorts are dedicated to creating exceptional travel experiences. As a combined business, we will be guided by the Hilton Grand Vacations mission, vision and values and we'll remain committed to delighting our Owners and guests through exceptional service, while achieving new heights of excellence.






In the months and years ahead, our Team Members look forward to serving you as we integrate these two outstanding companies into one. If you have any questions in the meantime, please *click here*. This page provides answers to questions you might have about the acquisition.
We truly appreciate your continued loyalty, and I hope that you are as excited as we are to embark on this new chapter together. With our shared vision for the future, I am proud to be part of a strong, unified and truly exceptional new era for Hilton Grand Vacations.​










​


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## youppi (Aug 2, 2021)

*About the Acquisition


Q1. How does Hilton Grand Vacations’ acquisition of Diamond Resorts impact my timeshare ownership?*
HGV’s acquisition of Diamond has created one of the largest timeshare networks in the industry, joining HGV’s brand and culture with Diamond’s strong, independent portfolio. This combination will increase product and service offerings in the future, while providing the same level of hospitality you’ve come to expect from both companies. Please read President and CEO Mark Wang’s email for details about the acquisition.
*Q2. What details can you provide about the acquisition?*
For full details about the acquisition, please read Hilton Grand Vacations’ official press release available at hiltongrandvacations.com/en/news.
*Q3. Will HGV remain a publicly-traded company?*
Yes. HGV will continue to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “HGV.”
*Q4. I read HGV is going to provide access to more products and destinations. Can you share any details?*
HGV’s acquisition of Diamond will expand our property portfolio in the future, providing more vacation options around the world. While HGV will acquire Diamond, integrating the two companies will be a multi-year, phased initiative. As new membership and timeshare product opportunities are available in the future, including program and product costs, these will be communicated to Owners.


*Timeshare Ownership & Club Membership


Q5. Will the acquisition of Diamond affect Owners?*
Although we expect to be able to offer more choices and vacation opportunities in the future, your ownership rights and access will not be changed or diluted.
*Q6. Will the terms of my current timeshare ownership change? Will my 2021 fees go up?*
Your timeshare ownership will remain the same, and you will continue to make reservations the same way you do now. Also, there will be no changes to any of your 2021 Club Dues or maintenance fees as the result of the acquisition. Information about your 2022 maintenance fees and Club Dues will be shared with you when available.
*Q7. Can I transfer my Diamond timeshare to HGV?*
Your timeshare ownership cannot be transferred to HGV.
*Q8. I own both an HGV and Diamond timeshare. Can I merge my ownership interests?*
Your timeshare ownership cannot be transferred or merged.
*Q9. Will HGV buy my Diamond timeshare?*
HGV is unable to buy any Diamond timeshares from current Owners. Similarly, Diamond is unable to buy any timeshares from HGV Owners.
*Q10. Will Club Members automatically become part of each Club program?*
Your Club program membership will remain as it is currently. As new membership and timeshare product opportunities are available in the future, including program and product costs, these will be communicated to Owners.
*Q11. Will my payment options change in 2021?*
You will continue to make payments the same way you do now, including maintenance fees, Club Dues and other payments.


*Inventory Availability and Access


Q12. Will the acquisition impact inventory availability?*
You will continue to access available inventory the same way you do now. Over time, we will provide additional details on how these two Clubs may function together, including future access and program costs or options.
*Q13. Can I use my Points to access HGV resorts?*
You may continue to use your Points to access your timeshare ownership the same way you do now. If you wish to access a resort outside of your current Club program, you may do so through DEX or another timeshare exchange platform based on the rules of your current Club membership program.
*Q14. Will I be able to access HGV’s Club website to make a reservation?*
You will continue to access the Club website the same way you do now. Over time, we will provide additional details on how these two Clubs may function together.
*Q15. I’m a Diamond Owner. Will I have access to HGV properties?*
You will continue to access inventory the same way you do now. Over time, we will provide additional details on how these two Clubs may function together, including future access and program costs or options.


*Relationship with Hilton


Q16. Will HGV retain the Hilton brand?*
HGV will remain one of Hilton’s many brands. The Hilton values and standards are cornerstones of our business and critical to our future success.
*Q17. I’m a Diamond Owner. Can I use my Points to book a stay at a Hilton hotel?*
You will continue to have access to the services and programs you do now. Over time, we will provide additional details on how these two Clubs may function together, including future access and program costs or options.
*Q18. I’m a Diamond Owner. Will I automatically get Hilton Honors Silver Status as the result of the acquisition?*
You will continue to have access to the services and programs you do now. Over time, we will provide additional details on how these two Clubs may function together, including future access and program costs or options.


*Brand Standards and Management


Q19. What are HGV’s plans for rebranding properties?*
Our service to Owners is of the utmost importance. Rebranding of properties is under consideration but will be a multi-year, phased approach. We will also work in partnership with Hilton, our partners and associations during this process.
*Q20. Is HGV going to manage all Diamond properties now?*
Diamond properties will continue to be managed the same way they are now with some involvement from Hilton Grand Vacations. Integrating the two companies will be a multi-year, phased initiative.


*Updates and Communications


Q21. How will I be notified of upcoming changes?*
As details are identified and new vacation products and services are available, we will communicate with Owners to keep you informed along the way. We will continue to leverage existing communication channels, including updates via email and through your Club program website.
*Q22. Who can I contact with additional questions or concerns related to this acquisition?*
As the merger continues, we will communicate with Owners to keep you informed.
- If you’re an HGV Owner, please visit our Contact Us page for contact information.
- If you’re a Diamond U.S. Owner, please contact 877-374-2582 or email theclub@diamondresorts.com.

- If you’re a Diamond EU Owner, please contact 0345-359-0005 or email theclub@diamondresorts.com.

- If you’re an Embarc Owner, please contact 604-695-8473 or email theclub@diamondresorts.com.


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## DRIless (Aug 2, 2021)

DRIless said:


> *My crystal ball says maybe more news on August 2nd.*  I have seen sales people get fired over discussing anything to do with the sale/merger other than what is available to the general public in financial news.  Maybe they're a lot stricter on the Right Coast than on the Left Coast and Hawaii?



Am I good, or what???









youppi said:


> We received this email today
> ​
> 
> ​
> ...





youppi said:


> *About the Acquisition
> 
> 
> Q1. How does Hilton Grand Vacations’ acquisition of Diamond Resorts impact my timeshare ownership?*
> ...


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 3, 2021)

We have our "Owners Update" scheduled for Aug. 10 at Point at Poipu.  It will be interesting, particularly because if there are any Diamond properties that Hilton would be interesting in upbranding, the Point is one of the likely properties. 

If I have time I will report on what I hear.


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## pedro47 (Aug 3, 2021)

DRIless said:


> Am I good, or what???
> Yes! Good job.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 3, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> We have our "Owners Update" scheduled for Aug. 10 at Point at Poipu.  It will be interesting, particularly because if there are any Diamond properties that Hilton would be interesting in upbranding, the Point is one of the likely properties.
> 
> If I have time I will report on what I hear.



Hopefully you can get some straight answers out of them. I’m a little surprised/impressed that Hilton believes they can have the structure of an integrated program ready to roll out by early next year. Especially since they’ve put it out there in official announcements bs MVC, which seems to only spread rumors via their sales force.

Right now I fear it will still be rumors, buy more now to get grandfathered in, but nothing in writing. Until it’s in a writing I’m not holding my breath. 

I’ve semi-sort-of revisited the DRI portfolio and have come to the conclusion that, for us, it’s to little to late out of Hilton. Except for Sedona and Santa Fe, I have the vast majority of locations we’d be interested in covered. If the joiner fee (assuming there is a joiner fee) is low enough, it would allow us to easily drop II and never pay an exchange fee to them again. Right now, the only way we get to Sedona, which we love, is via an exchange. DRI commands Sedona. With their decision to pull away from II, getting a unit at one of their better resorts has been a little more difficult.


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## pedro47 (Aug 3, 2021)

Information only:
DRI owners will still login into their accounts using the DRI website.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 10, 2021)

DesireMore said:


> That being said, one of my best friends since grade school works for Diamond Resorts in Florida, and he certainly has no reason to lie to me. He says that the lower level employees like him don't know any more than anyone else right now.


Sales organizations have regular training sessions, ostensibly to teach the sales staff about what they are selling.  That's a lie.  The purpose of the training sessions is to help the sales staff make more sales.  And what the sales staff want to know is how they can increase their sales efficiency.

Knowledge of the product is important only to the extent it helps close sales.  And when that product information is passed on, it is always targeted to how you can use that information to help make sales. 

So when something such as the Hilton deal comes along, these are the key issues among the sales staff. For most (but not all) people the questions will occur in the following order:

 Are the new bosses going to lay me off or fire me?
How is this going to screw up the sales pitches I know and make it harder for me to get sales?
How can I use this as a selling point to get more sales?
With respect to point #3, if they don't have information they will brainstorm ideas and concepts they can use that might sound plausible.  Because they have to have something to offer as a reason to buy. They can't afford to have you in the sales room and say, "We don't know what this means.", because that doesn't lead to sales, and they need to makes sales quotas or #1 will definitely happen. 

So absolutely they will stretch and extrapolate and infer and do anything else that is needed for them to able to give you a reason to buy more. Because if they don't come to something to pitch, then soon they won't be coming to work.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 11, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> We have our "Owners Update" scheduled for Aug. 10 at Point at Poipu.  It will be interesting, particularly because if there are any Diamond properties that Hilton would be interesting in upbranding, the Point is one of the likely properties.
> 
> If I have time I will report on what I hear.


So, a summary of our Owners Update at Point at Poipu.  Note that Owners Update is different from the sales to the masses. Much lower key.

They were careful to say that very little has been determined in regards to the combination with Hilton, though they expect that overtime there will be some interchanges between systems.

This led to their Fear of Loss pitch. When the crossover happens, Hilton owners will be able to book Poipu, and our ability to reserve weeks at the Point will be diminished.  So we need to buy more Diamond points now to get to a higher level in Diamond, because when the crossover occurs Platinum and higher owners in Diamond will likely be accorded similar reservation rights in Hilton.

And we can get more points in Diamond for the bargain p;rice of $11.68 per point.  Which means that if we wanted to add 10,000 points (roughly equivalent to one week in a partial ocean view at the Point), it would only cost us $116,800.

And that price of $11.68 per point is a bargain, because when the systems are merged, Hilton is going to jack up the price per point. But right now, until the systems are merged, Hilton is allowing Diamond to continue selling points at $11.68 as a "Thank You" to Diamond owners for showing faith in Hilton by being willing to add to their ownership despite the uncertainties.

When that clearly was a no go, they downscaled the offer to 4500 points, so that we would have enough Diamond points to be able to reserve three weeks for our multi-generational family vacations. And that would be only $52,600.  I didn't push him on the math because it was clearly ridiculous.  We have enough Diamond points now to reserve three weeks if we reserved three garden view units, one of which we could upgrade to partial ocean view.  And if I need more points I can just deposit our Winners Circle week via Club Combinations to get 5000 more points.  So we've pretty much already have what he was proposing. Or we can borrow points from a future year.

With that being a no-go, the "boss" came-in, and he said that they could sell us more points at the average points value of all of the points purchases we have made over the years from Diamond.  That came out to about $5.80 per point.  And that offer was good for 18 months from today.  After that Hilton was going to take it away and we would be obligated to pay Hilton rates for any point additions we want to make. So now those 4500 additional points would only cost us 26,100 dollars.  Still a no go.

Referencing what I put into another comment about how sales is more about listening that it is about talking.  The guy we were with was talking pretty much non-stop, and not dispensing much useful information.  He went into the pitch we have heard before about the wonderful opportunities to use our points for others activities such as cruises or visits to eco-resorts in Costa Rica.  

I responded that every time I have looked into monetizing our points for anything other than Diamond resort reservations, the pricing is terrible.  For what my monetary cost is in Diamond points, I could just simply book that activity or option for less money.  I concluded with saying that as far as I could tell, the only reason to monetize Diamond points for other travel services is because you have expiring points that you can't use and you can salvage some value from them. He had no response.

He finally got to the point he should reached much sooner, and asked what is keeping us from taking the offer.  We had previously indicated that what we had now now met our current needs, and that we were really only interested in using our points to come to Poipu.  The dots on the map don't mean much to us. So things had largely come down to what if our extended family grew and we wanted to be able to reserve three units instead of two. 

So I said that if we were in a situation in which we felt a need to acquire more time at the Point, I would just simply go out on the resale market and get a 15,000 point Hawaii trust ownership or a deeded ocean front week for no cost, transfer fees only and sometimes not even that.  He seemed genuinely shocked that was possible - that people were willing to give away their ownerships.  I mentioned to him the Diamond Transitions program, in which Diamond allows Club owners to surrender contracts, and charges them $1000 for the privilege.  If those ownerships had any value, why would owners be willing to pay Diamond to surrender the ownership, instead of going out and selling the for real money?  I don't think he had ever thought about that question, or perhaps he was unfamiliar with the Transitions program. He was clearly unfamiliar with ownership transfer process within Diamond, as he insisted that it couldn't be possible that Diamond would transfer ownership for a set fee.  He mentioned many times supposed added transition fees that Marriott adds (he previously worked for Marriott at their Poipu property), such as cost recovery for owner education programs. But he was clearly completely uninformed about ownership transition in Diamond.

Then at the end they brought in the person to do the final pitch.  Her job was to tell us about the special program where if we paid $3995, we could lock in that $5.80 per point price for 24-months. That was so ridiculous it was insulting. We already had that price locked in for 18 months.  Why would I pay $3995 to extend it for six months more?


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 11, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> So, a summary of our Owners Update at Point at Poipu.


An added thought.

There was absolutely no pressure to buy today. No today only incentives. No today-only price.  The only issue related to any kind of timeline is the price lock, but that's good for 18 months.


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## Bunk (Aug 12, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Then at the end they brought in the person to do the final pitch.  Her job was to tell us about the special program where if we paid $3995, we could lock in that $5.80 per point price for 24-months. That was so ridiculous it was insulting. We already had that price locked in for 18 months.  Why would I pay $3995 to extend it for six months more?



Does this mean that if you don't exercise the options to buy these points, you will have lost $3,995?


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## DRIless (Aug 12, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> An added thought.
> There was absolutely no pressure to buy today. No today only incentives. No today-only price.  The only issue related to any kind of timeline is the price lock, but that's good for 18 months.





Bunk said:


> Does this mean that if you don't exercise the options to buy these points, you will have lost $3,995?



Probably came with some sort of Sampler Package Points?


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 12, 2021)

Bunk said:


> Does this mean that if you don't exercise the options to buy these points, you will have lost $3,995?





DRIless said:


> Probably came with some sort of Sampler Package Points?


Thank you - I forgot that point.  Yes - the $3995 included 50,000 regular Diamond points. _[on reflection, I'm not sure this is correct.  It seems way too little $ for that many points.] _I didn't pursue this to find out if those would be attached to a specific collection (and hence would have home resort privileges somewhere in the system) of they would be just general club points. (Most likely the latter.)

*********************

Not sure what I posted above is correct.  Thinking further, I think the 50,000 point add-on would have occurred in conjunction with the original 10,000 point offer (which was > $100k).  That makes more sense.


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## pedro47 (Aug 12, 2021)

So you must attend a sales presentation to be offered the 50,000 regular Diamonds points at $3995. Correct?


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 12, 2021)

pedro47 said:


> So you must attend a sales presentation to be offered the 50,000 regular Diamonds points at $3995. Correct?


Probably.  And it's likely an offer that they only make to owners.  For non-owners they probably have a sampler package.  The sampler package that I recall, before they separated existing owners from non-owners in the sales process, was good only at limited set of resorts.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 12, 2021)

pedro47 said:


> So you must attend a sales presentation to be offered the 50,000 regular Diamonds points at $3995. Correct?


See edited comments about the 50k point offer.  I don't believe it was connected to the close-out offer, but to the first points purchase offer they made.

Sorry - that was a detail that I didn't attend to closely in the presentation because it was clear we weren't going to be buying anything.


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## youppi (Aug 12, 2021)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> See edited comments about the 50k point offer.  I don't believe it was connected to the close-out offer, but to the first points purchase offer they made.
> 
> Sorry - that was a detail that I didn't attend to closely in the presentation because it was clear we weren't going to be buying anything.


Normally the pitch is 20k points for $3995 valid for 2 years and count for your loyalty level.
If you own already 30k points, they will tell you that you will have 50k points and be platinum for 2 years.
The 50k points is real only on the first year. The second year you get only your 30k but you keep the platinum level the second year too.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 12, 2021)

youppi said:


> Normally the pitch is 20k points for $3995 valid for 2 years and count for your loyalty level.
> If you own already 30k points, they will tell you that you will have 50k points and be platinum for 2 years.
> The 50k points is real only on the first year. The second year you get only your 30k but you keep the platinum level the second year too.


Our close out didn't mention anything about loyalty levels.  It lasted no more than three minutes.


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