# Hyatt Incline Village availability questions



## klpca (Aug 21, 2018)

Tahoe seems to be the sweet spot for our family although we aren't really "fixed week" people so I am less than thrilled about the weeks being sold as fixed. (We never seem to use our fixed weeks and almost always trade into another week - it just seems like something always comes up). So could I buy into Sedona and trade into High Sierra or if we want something in the summer, do we need to buy a summer week at High Sierra? What about Sept/early October weeks? 

Thanks for any help. I am also considering Welk to access Northstar. If you also know about that system, please feel free to chime in.


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## DAman (Aug 21, 2018)

klpca said:


> Tahoe seems to be the sweet spot for our family although we aren't really "fixed week" people so I am less than thrilled about the weeks being sold as fixed. (We never seem to use our fixed weeks and almost always trade into another week - it just seems like something always comes up). So could I buy into Sedona and trade into High Sierra or if we want something in the summer, do we need to buy a summer week at High Sierra? What about Sept/early October weeks?
> 
> Thanks for any help. I am also considering Welk to access Northstar. If you also know about that system, please feel free to chime in.



My experience is that summer weeks don't show up very often for Hyatt High Sierra in the Hyatt internal trading system.  I don't remember ever seeing anything in July or early August.  I have seen several Hyatt Northstar units appear internally for this August but those are not very common.

I haven't specifically looked for Sept./Oct. weeks but my sense is that they are easier for High Sierra. Sometimes it depends if you want a week or just a two or four day midweek stay. Of course the best time to look internally is six months before you want to stay.

In the winter for skiing I prefer to stay at Northstar but the rest of the year I prefer High Sierra.

There is a four night stay starting August 28, 2018 available today at High Sierra.


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## wilma (Aug 21, 2018)

I often see 2 or 4 day exhanges at hyatt sierra for july or august. In fact there are 2 & 4 day exchanges available for next week in the hyatt internal exchange right now. They often show up at the last minute so you have to be flexible. Sept & oct are often available. Last week an entire sept week was available.


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## heathpack (Aug 21, 2018)

What is your logic in buying Sedona if you want to go to Tahoe?  Less upfront cost?


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## klpca (Aug 21, 2018)

heathpack said:


> What is your logic in buying Sedona if you want to go to Tahoe?  Less upfront cost?


Yep. If I'm going to trade in anyway I may as well spend less. (And Sedona would be my second choice anyway because I love it there). But if I need to own there then I would have to think about the fixed week option. I'm not sure that this makes the most sense for us. My adult kid's lifestyles aren't terribly conducive to a fixed week unfortunately.


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## heathpack (Aug 21, 2018)

klpca said:


> Yep. If I'm going to trade in anyway I may as well spend less. (And Sedona would be my second choice anyway because I love it there). But if I need to own there then I would have to think about the fixed week option. I'm not sure that this makes the most sense for us. My adult kid's lifestyles aren't terribly conducive to a fixed week unfortunately.



My impression is that Hyatt in Incline Village in summer is a difficult internal trade.  I think a lot of people use their weeks.  Sedona seems like a consistently easier trade.  So other than the upfront cost, imo it makes more sense to own a Tahoe summer week.  They are expensive to buy but also hold value when it comes time to sell.


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## klpca (Aug 21, 2018)

My kids are already pushing for Sept/Oct but I would prefer summer. We also need two units. I may just trade into Ridge Tahoe to see if that would work for us (even though I much prefer north Lake Tahoe) or maybe just rent. I am pretty sure that they would never commit to a specific week....I had a hard enough time getting them up to Northstar last week even with nearly 2 years notice! Fair enough,  they have their own lives.


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## heathpack (Aug 21, 2018)

klpca said:


> My kids are already pushing for Sept/Oct but I would prefer summer. We also need two units. I may just trade into Ridge Tahoe to see if that would work for us (even though I much prefer north Lake Tahoe) or maybe just rent. I am pretty sure that they would never commit to a specific week....I had a hard enough time getting them up to Northstar last week even with nearly 2 years notice! Fair enough,  they have their own lives.



Sept in Tahoe is really nice.  Much of September at the Hyatt is silver season, so pretty affordable.

But I get it about the planning too.  A lot of people just don’t want to commit to a plan until a few months out.   Really we’re the abnormal ones, booking travel 2 years out...


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## klpca (Aug 22, 2018)

heathpack said:


> Sept in Tahoe is really nice.  Much of September at the Hyatt is silver season, so pretty affordable.
> 
> But I get it about the planning too.  A lot of people just don’t want to commit to a plan until a few months out.   Really we’re the abnormal ones, booking travel 2 years out...


So true. As recently as New Years, not one of my three "kids" could commit to the August dates. And in the end because of their job commitments we had two daughters from Friday - Monday and the other from Sunday - Thursday. Plus two of their friends joined us. All in all it was a perfect trip and everyone wants to do it again, but it will probably be more of a long weekend thing than a full week. I will have to give September some thought. I just want to be able to kayak while were are there and I am not sure if we can rent a kayak in Sept or if they are closed for the season. I guess that we are not ready to make any decisions yet. 

Thanks for the input everyone. It was most helpful!


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## TravelTime (Aug 22, 2018)

DAman said:


> My experience is that summer weeks don't show up very often for Hyatt High Sierra in the Hyatt internal trading system.  I don't remember ever seeing anything in July or early August.  I have seen several Hyatt Northstar units appear internally for this August but those are not very common.
> 
> I haven't specifically looked for Sept./Oct. weeks but my sense is that they are easier for High Sierra. Sometimes it depends if you want a week or just a two or four day midweek stay. Of course the best time to look internally is six months before you want to stay.
> 
> ...



Where do you stay at Northstar during ski season? I know almost all the Northstar Village condos are part of various timeshares programs. I can trade into them using Elite Alliance or stay at Marriott using my MVC points. But these are expensive and hard trades to get. I got a 3 night stay in a 2 bedroom at the Ritz Carlton for President’s Day weekend in 2019. I was incredibly lucky to get the 2 bedroom because there are only two 2 bedrooms at the Ritz Carlton Residence Club. So while it cost a lot in points, it was definitely less than the 3 and 4 bedrooms, which I often see available. I am just wondering what other options there are for Northstar.

We also bought a Getaway at Olympic Village Inn at Squaw Valley for the week before Christmas. Great deal for $300 for the week. Even though it is before Christmas, the tail end of our week ends on Sunday and that part of the week is the start of the holiday high season.

I almost bought a week at Hyatt High Sierra but my main interest is skiing and High Sierra is too far from Squaw and Northstar so we decided to pass. I see many exchanges through II into Hyatt High Sierra in shoulder seasons. That was another reason we decided not to buy there. We can pick up a Getaway on II or trade into it if all we want to do is enjoy Tahoe and the Lake.


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## lizap (Aug 22, 2018)

We have a gold week at High Sierra and absolutely love it. You name it. We have used it, have traded it using the internal system, and have used it to trade into Marriotts via II (it has great trading power).  Love the north side of the lake.  We have stayed at Welk Northstar, but would not want to buy Welk.


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## klpca (Aug 22, 2018)

lizap said:


> We have a gold week at High Sierra and absolutely love it. You name it. We have used it, have traded it using the internal system, and have used it to trade into Marriotts via II (it has great trading power).  Love the north side of the lake.  We have stayed at Welk Northstar, but would not want to buy Welk.


Have you traded it for any summer weeks? How many points do you have? Just trying to figure out what we need.

Yeah, Welk locations are limited so internal trading isn't great for us. I don't know much else about their system.


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## DAman (Aug 22, 2018)

TravelTime said:


> Where do you stay at Northstar during ski season? I know almost all the Northstar Village condos are part of various timeshares programs. I can trade into them using Elite Alliance or stay at Marriott using my MVC points. But these are expensive and hard trades to get. I got a 3 night stay in a 2 bedroom at the Ritz Carlton for President’s Day weekend in 2019. I was incredibly lucky to get the 2 bedroom because there are only two 2 bedrooms at the Ritz Carlton Residence Club. So while it cost a lot in points, it was definitely less than the 3 and 4 bedrooms, which I often see available. I am just wondering what other options there are for Northstar.
> 
> We also bought a Getaway at Olympic Village Inn at Squaw Valley for the week before Christmas. Great deal for $300 for the week. Even though it is before Christmas, the tail end of our week ends on Sunday and that part of the week is the start of the holiday high season.
> 
> I almost bought a week at Hyatt High Sierra but my main interest is skiing and High Sierra is too far from Squaw and Northstar so we decided to pass. I see many exchanges through II into Hyatt High Sierra in shoulder seasons. That was another reason we decided not to buy there. We can pick up a Getaway on II or trade into it if all we want to do is enjoy Tahoe and the Lake.



I stay at the Welk/Hyatt Northstar Lodge.


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## heathpack (Aug 22, 2018)

klpca said:


> Have you traded it for any summer weeks? How many points do you have? Just trying to figure out what we need.
> 
> Yeah, Welk locations are limited so internal trading isn't great for us. I don't know much else about their system.



We also have a gold week at High Sierra.

A gold week is worth 1880 points.  I believe summer weeks are 2000 pts (platinum), so without owning multiple weeks (and thus having more points), you can't use a Hyatt gold week to trade into a platinum week.

If you need two units and are fine with September, I believe September weeks are 1400 pts.  If you could find two units in the same week, you'd have 2800 pts which would be really nice in the Hyatt system.  You would have enough points to trade into most weeks (availability might be the issue of course), or you could use your two owned weeks at Tahoe.  If you're ok with September, you could maybe trade in using a Pinon Pointe ownership, but it would probably be more straightforward to own Tahoe.

The drawback is two MFs but the purchase price would be lower for two silver (1400 pt) weeks than one platinum summer week at Tahoe.  The other drawback is your silver units might be harder to sell but I think you'd have a good chance of getting most of your investment back, if you didn't over pay when you bought.


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## lizap (Aug 22, 2018)

klpca said:


> Have you traded it for any summer weeks? How many points do you have? Just trying to figure out what we need.
> 
> Yeah, Welk locations are limited so internal trading isn't great for us. I don't know much else about their system.



No, have never traded for a summer week. Points questions answered by HP.


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## stover33 (Aug 29, 2018)

heathpack said:


> We also have a gold week at High Sierra.
> 
> A gold week is worth 1880 points.  I believe summer weeks are 2000 pts (platinum), so without owning multiple weeks (and thus having more points), you can't use a Hyatt gold week to trade into a platinum week.
> 
> ...


Can you combine points from different units?  For example if you own 2 1400 pt units, and move both units to CUP, can you combine those points and use them to reserve a single unit that costs 2200 points?


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## wilma (Aug 29, 2018)

stover33 said:


> Can you combine points from different units?  For example if you own 2 1400 pt units, and move both units to CUP, can you combine those points and use them to reserve a single unit that costs 2200 points?


Yes, as long as the CUP/LCUP overlap for the time period that you want. I did this to get hyatt maui one year in a 2 bedroom, and this past april in a 3 bedroom at maui.


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## vikingsholm (Aug 29, 2018)

Late August and all of September are great times to be at Tahoe. Fewer crowds, but still good weather. Fall colors usually start in earnest in October, but can start in late September in higher elevations.

I prefer South Lake, but we spend time all around the lake both in timeshare stays and just traveling to other parts of Tahoe while there. It's an easy and always scenic day trip along the Nevada east side between Incline and South Lake too.

You may want to investigate closing dates for kayak rentals though. I suspect they're open until the end of August, but not sure about September. A day trip you should consider is the free kayak use on Independence Lake north of Tahoe. The Nature Conservancy bought the lake and woods around it from a timber company IIRC, and preserves it for hiking and kayaking. It's a bit of a dirt road to get there after a 20-30 minute drive north of Truckee, but an interesting management style of a near-wilderness type setting.


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