# HGVC vs Marriott timeshare



## Uscjusto (Nov 24, 2015)

I am a HGVC owner (bought in 2013) with little experience in the timeshare industry.
I was browsing the TUG forums and looking at HGVC vs Marriott threads/posts, there are 4-5x more Marriott threads/posts than HGVC.

Is Marriott that much more popular, or do they have have so many issues that come up that people need to post about?

We bought HGVC without doing much comparison research, so I'm asking after the fact.


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## presley (Nov 24, 2015)

Most likely there are just more active Marriott owners on Tug than Hilton owners. Also, once you get the system down with Hilton, there's not much left to post about, other than to try to help new people with questions.

I like Hilton better. Some people like Marriott better.


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## PigsDad (Nov 24, 2015)

Marriott has more properties --> more owners --> more forum traffic.

I think it is as simple as that.

Kurt


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## dsmrp (Nov 24, 2015)

In my very limited knowledge of Marriott (by occasional look at their posts) their rules seem much more complicated with the Destination Club, legacy points and resale prohibitions on joining the club in some cases.  HGVC is simpler because they are more flexible for resale IMO.

But Marriott does have many more resorts at more locations than HGVC.


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## Helios (Nov 24, 2015)

dsmrp said:


> In my very limited knowledge of Marriott (by occasional look at their posts) their rules seem much more complicated with the Destination Club, legacy points and resale prohibitions on joining the club in some cases.  HGVC is simpler because they are more flexible for resale IMO.
> 
> But Marriott does have many more resorts at more locations than HGVC.



Marriott rules are more complicated than Starwood (which I know well) and they also seem more complicated than HGVC.  HGVC is definitely the most resale friendly system of the 3.  From what I've seen, IMHO, their quality is below Starwood (Westin Resorts) and HGVC.  But, they have a lot more locations even though they have a large concentration in Hilton Head and Orlando.


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## Seaport104 (Nov 24, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> I am a HGVC owner (bought in 2013) with little experience in the timeshare industry.
> I was browsing the TUG forums and looking at HGVC vs Marriott threads/posts, there are 4-5x more Marriott threads/posts than HGVC.
> 
> Is Marriott that much more popular, or do they have have so many issues that come up that people need to post about?
> ...



I own both Marriott and HGVC. HGVC is hands down simpler. Marriott rules are complicated because of all the various types of ownerships and rules that come with them- legacy, enrolled/non enrolled, pure trust points 

However, IMHO, I prefer Marriott because of the variety of locations it offers and II trading.


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## Jodi0415 (Nov 25, 2015)

moto x said:


> Marriott rules are more complicated than Starwood (which I know well) and they also seem more complicated than HGVC.  HGVC is definitely the most resale friendly system of the 3.  From what I've seen, IMHO, their quality is below Starwood (Westin Resorts) and HGVC.  But, they have a lot more locations even though they have a large concentration in Hilton Head and Orlando.



I'm new to timesharing and did a fair amount of due diligence before purchasing. I've been going to timeshare presentations for the free stuff for about 18 years and almost bought retail twice! One was this past August in Maui at a Diamond presentation!! So glad I did not! But I bought a sampler and can already see that it was good I did not purchase a full contract! 

The only reason I didn't buy Marriott in addition to HGVC AND STARWOOD is because there were too many rules and restrictions on resales. I may one day purchase a Marriott trader but I have to wait until all the Timshare heat cools down!!  

I'm grateful Hilton came through very quickly and I already have 2 reservations!


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## presley (Nov 25, 2015)

Jodi0415 said:


> I've been going to timeshare presentations for the free stuff for about 18 years...



You may get the prize for living through all of that. What is it that prompts you to go to the presentations? They must not annoy you very much.


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## Ron98GT (Nov 25, 2015)

moto x said:


> Marriott rules are more complicated than Starwood (which I know well) and they also seem more complicated than HGVC.  HGVC is definitely the most resale friendly system of the 3.  From what I've seen, IMHO, their quality is below Starwood (Westin Resorts) and HGVC.  But, they have a lot more locations even though they have a large concentration in Hilton Head and Orlando.


I own a Marriott 2-BDRM Lock-off (L/O) week and I also own a HGVC worth 7K points.

1. The HGVC points system is nice and easy to use, although I don't like being limited to to a 9 month reservation window instead of 12/13 months (Marriott) or even 24 months (RCI).
2.  I really like the Marriott preference, which always gives Marriott owners access to Marriott properties before others in II.
3. Each year, I L/O my Marriott week and deposit both weeks into II. This always gets me 2 weeks, which I use in Hawaii, for a 2-BDRM Marriott or Westin TS.  Last year we even stayed in a 2-BDRM TS at the Marriott Aruba Surf Club.
4.  From my experience, I'd say Marriott's are definitely of better quality than the HGVC's: granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, seem to be maintained and upgraded more often, etc.
5. On Oahu, HGVC is on Waikiki Beach and Marriott is in Ko'Olina: both are nice and different.  HGVC is on the Big Island.  Marriott is on Maui and Kauai.  I've stayed at all of the properties including the Westin on Maui which was super nice.
6. HGVC has properties in NYC, which we've stayed at. HGVC also has a TS in Miami Beach.
7. Marriott is in the Caribbean: St Thomas, St Kitts, & Aruba. HGVC is not.
8. Marriott also has TS's in Paris, Spain, and Thailand.
9. Marriott weeks uses II for all Marriott-to-Marriott exchanges, whereas all HGVC exchanges are internal.
10.  You can use HGVC for Italy, Portugal, Scotland, & Mexico.
11. HGVC is good for short points stays, like Las Vegas New Years Eve, NYC, and the Lagoon Tower for a few days.
12.  Marriott has a lot more locations along the East Coast. 

Both systems are completely different, the resorts are different, and for the most part the locations are different.

I really like owning both systems and highly recommend it to others.  I wouldn't say one is better than the other, I like them both, but would never buy into the Marriott points system.


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## Jodi0415 (Nov 25, 2015)

presley said:


> You may get the prize for living through all of that. What is it that prompts you to go to the presentations? They must not annoy you very much.



Lol! I guess they didn't! They certainly do now (our last presentation was nightmarish!) and can't see myself going again after we've used all the sampler points. I will set a timer on my cell for exactly 60 min and without a word we will stand and exit. 

And with our timeshare ownership I will simply take the phone off the hook!

We always went for the free and discounted stuff!


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## JSparling (Nov 25, 2015)

Ron98GT said:


> I really like owning both systems and highly recommend it to others.  I wouldn't say one is better than the other, I like them both, but would never buy into the Marriott points system.



Ron appears to be an expert on both so owning both is a good thing for him. I consider myself an expert on HGVC and decided it would be fun to own another system and see what that was like. So we bought a SVO week last year and I hate it. I don't understand the system, I don't like that I can't borrow from next year until I pay next year's MF's, and I don't like the restrictions with II when I want to change my reservation 10 months out. 

In other words, I wish we never bought it because I don't have the time to learn the ins and outs and secrets of the SVO system like I did for HGVC. If you don't have time to become an expert with whatever system you buy you're probably not going to get the most out of it and may not enjoy it as much as you would if you knew everything and how to work the system.


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## JSparling (Nov 25, 2015)

Jodi0415 said:


> Lol! I guess they didn't! They certainly do now (our last presentation was nightmarish!) and can't see myself going again after we've used all the sampler points. I will set a timer on my cell for exactly 60 min and without a word we will stand and exit.
> 
> And with our timeshare ownership I will simply take the phone off the hook!
> 
> We always went for the free and discounted stuff!



Good for you! And you've proven that people can say "no".    How many times do you see the victims on here that blame the salesman for their $40K resale purchase because "they wouldn't let me say no" or they "made me sign the contract even when I wasn't comfortable doing so"? 

Jodi knows the systems, knows her rights, and capitalizes on the free-bees. Good for her. And thanks for not being a crybaby who wants to blame everyone except the person in the mirror for signing on the dotted line.


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## Helios (Nov 25, 2015)

Jodi0415 said:


> I'm new to timesharing and did a fair amount of due diligence before purchasing. I've been going to timeshare presentations for the free stuff for about 18 years and almost bought retail twice! One was this past August in Maui at a Diamond presentation!! So glad I did not! But I bought a sampler and can already see that it was good I did not purchase a full contract!
> 
> The only reason I didn't buy Marriott in addition to HGVC AND STARWOOD is because there were too many rules and restrictions on resales. I may one day purchase a Marriott trader but I have to wait until all the Timshare heat cools down!!
> 
> I'm grateful Hilton came through very quickly and I already have 2 reservations!



Marriott has some pros.  IMHO Marriott makes sense when you have specific goals.  In my case, I bought Marriott Ko Olina because I wanted access to Oahu since Starwood does not have properties there.  That was before purchasing King's Land.  I would probably not buy Marriott now because I think their quality is not on par with Starwood.  

Marriott is terrible for resale owners.  You really need to buy where you want to go or can rent the years you cannot use your VOI.  The Marriott to Marriott preference in II is a nice perk.


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## Helios (Nov 25, 2015)

presley said:


> You may get the prize for living through all of that. What is it that prompts you to go to the presentations? They must not annoy you very much.



No kidding.


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## frank808 (Nov 25, 2015)

I own hgvc, dvc and marriott (weeks owner only)and bought them in that order.  For my needs these systems complement each other very well.  Hgvc and marriott are strong in different areas. 
DVC treats their resale owners the best followed by HGVC and then Marriott.  
Quality of units in my opinion start with marriott, hgvc and dvc the worat of the three systems.  Not that the units are bad but just seems like the furnishings and maintenance of dvc units are not as good as marriott.
DVC is the most expensive in maintenence fees but there are no fees to book your stays and the most flexible of the three.  Marriott points owners have the same flexibility as dvc.  If you are a marriott weeks owner you have to book full week stays.  Hgvc allows a minimum of 3 night bookings so not as flexible as the other two.  Worst thing about hgvc is they nickel and dime you to death.  Charge you to make each booking, there is a charge to rescue points and many other fees.  Worst for me is that they even charge you to park at their waikiki timeshares.  
In the past 7 years our patterns have changed.  We now donot stay at hgvc very much anymore. That leaves us with a ton of points left evey year that i pay to rescue to the next year.  I have mainly used those points to stay 8 weeks at aulani last year and 6 weeks this year.   But the exchange beast has changed yet again and there has been no deposits lately.  We are using our marriott timeshares the most followed by disney.  In orlando we have not stayed in an hgvc unit for over 3 years.  We would rather stay in marriott for a few weeks and dvc for about a week.  Even my son gets tired of the mouse now after a week and tells me he would rather goto stay at a marriott lakeshore reserve.
We prefer marriott ts right now and love all the different locations it offers.  Hgvc is only on oahu, carlabad, las vegas, florida and new york in the US.  Marriott has way more locations.  Well dvc is mainly only in orlando.   They do have a big presence here on oahu but only a small presence hilton head, vero beach and grand california.
Also love that marriott presence in Interval.  I can't figure out why rci penalizes hgvc owners trying to book back into hgvc.  Would prefer hgvc get first dibs at trading back into the same system like marriott does.


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## hockeybrain (Nov 26, 2015)

Ron / Frank - Marriott always seemed the best to us because of number of locations and II availability.   However, Marriott seems horrible for resale owners and the maintenance fees were by far the highest last I looked.    Can a resale owner even use the Marriott time share system with the exception of staying in the resort they purchased resale?


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## Helios (Nov 26, 2015)

hockeybrain said:


> Ron / Frank - Marriott always seemed the best to us because of number of locations and II availability.   However, Marriott seems horrible for resale owners and the maintenance fees were by far the highest last I looked.    Can a resale owner even use the Marriott time share system with the exception of staying in the resort they purchased resale?



If resale owner does not enroll in DC, then the answer is no.  Unless, you trade via II.


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## Ralph Sir Edward (Nov 26, 2015)

I'm a recent refugee from Marriott, and I would like to provide an alternative viewpoint.

First, I only buy resale. Second, I don't buy naked points (a la MVC points).

I owned a single Platinum (Red) week, and a single Bronze (Blue - hurricane) Week at an Orlando Marriott resort. Being different seasons, they could not be combined for booking.

The Marriott booking system discriminates against single week owners. HGVC does not. This is something to consider, if you plan to be a single week owner.

A multi-week owner gets two windows to book, once at 13 months in the future, and once at 12 months in the future. A single week owner only get access at the twelve month window.

But it doesn't stop there...With Marriott, you can book multiple weeks at a time when the 13th month window opens. Example, say you own 4 Platinum weeks at a resort, and you wanted to book President's Day week, above all. You could start booking at the 13th month window, 3 weeks in advance of President's Day week, and book the 4 consecutive weeks, Getting President's Day week, at nearly 14 months in advance, and then cancelling the other 3 weeks reservations, for other uses.

This is great if you are a multi-week Marriott owner, not so great for a single week Marriott owner.

The HGVC system is much friendlier to a single week owner, and to home use owners. You have a 3 month window, where you only compete with other owners at your home resort. Each week is open to all at the window, no booking ahead for multiple weeks.

I don't even want to go into the respective points system...


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## SmithOp (Nov 26, 2015)

frank808 said:


> I can't figure out why rci penalizes hgvc owners trying to book back into hgvc.  Would prefer hgvc get first dibs at trading back into the same system like marriott does.




I agree with all of Franks points, and this last one really sticks in my craw.  HGVC dumps a lot of weeks into RCI well in advance of the 9 month limit so we never get a shot using HGVC points through the RCI gateway access.  The only way is to own a separate RCI account, which is the direction I took when expanding beyond HGVC.  


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## Jason245 (Nov 26, 2015)

SmithOp said:


> I agree with all of Franks points, and this last one really sticks in my craw.  HGVC dumps a lot of weeks into RCI well in advance of the 9 month limit so we never get a shot using HGVC points through the RCI gateway access.  The only way is to own a separate RCI account, which is the direction I took when expanding beyond HGVC.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad Mini 4 using Tapatalk


Might have something to do with the fact that we are booking through hgvc portal into rci. . They don't like the idea of you booking into their system with more lead time then you should have.. I do wonder if the same nine month window applies for hilton club ny.. since technically non hilton club owners can't ever book from source other than rci..

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## tompalm (Nov 26, 2015)

A lot of interesting views here.  I guess it really matters what type of travel you are looking for. I have traveled to all the places around the US that I care to visit and only have an interest in Vegas, Hawaii and Florida. So HGVC works great for us. I love the flexibility of reserving 3 days or 3 weeks if I want, or getting a studio or two bedroom.  I agree that staying with one TS company is best and would not consider buying into a different system.


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## easterntraveler (Nov 27, 2015)

Ron98GT said:


> ***
> I really like owning both systems and highly recommend it to others.  I wouldn't say one is better than the other, I like them both, but would never buy into the Marriott points system.



Confused I am. You say you would never buy into the Marriott points system, but you do indeed own Marriott.


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## easterntraveler (Nov 27, 2015)

frank808 said:


> ***  Hgvc is only on oahu, carlabad, las vegas, florida and new york in the US. ***



Your information is very helpful. You left out Waikoloa, Breckenridge, Palm Desert, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Park City, among others.


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## SueDonJ (Nov 27, 2015)

easterntraveler said:


> Confused I am. You say you would never buy into the Marriott points system, but you do indeed own Marriott.



Marriott has both a Weeks system, the original product, and a Points system, introduced in 2010.  Many Weeks Owners have no interest at all in buying into the Points system.


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## Ron98GT (Nov 27, 2015)

easterntraveler said:


> Confused I am. You say you would never buy into the Marriott points system, but you do indeed own Marriott.



I own a 2-BDRM L/O "week" in the old legacy Marriott weeks system, which is in the Palm Desert (Shadow Ridge). I can L/O my week (the 1-BDRM & the studio), deposit both weeks into II, and then get 2 weeks in Hawaii (or somewhere else) in a 2-BDRM Marriott or Westin TS, with a full kitchen and W/D.  If I was using Marriott points, I wouldn't have enough points for 1 full week, let alone 2 weeks, but I really do like Ko'Olina and have stayed there several times. 

We leave on Sunday morning for a 2 week stay at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club (MOC), Lahaina & Napili towers, which will be in a 2-BDRM Ocean Front TS with full kitchen and W/D: we couldn't have done this with Marriott points nor could we have done this with any number of HGVC points (HGVC isn't on Maui and when they do open a TS they will be in Kihei and they won't be on the beach). I also really like the Marriott Waiohai Beach Club (WBC) on Kauai in Poipu: no HGVC's on Kauai. On Oahu, you can chose between the Marriott Ko'Olina and the HGVC HHV: one year we stayed at both over 2 weeks.

Note that all of my TS's have been purchased on the resale market, using eBay or here on TUG. I never purchased from the developer and never will.

As stated, Marriott's seem to me to offer slightly better quality over HGVC and Marriott offers more locations and over-all more TS's.  I won't say that one is better than the other, I think that they compliant each other very well.  Example, next year we'll be spending 2 weeks on the BI in Waikoloa at HGVC Kings' Land and the Kohala Suites (aka WBR): no Marriott TS on the BI.  We'll be at the Flamingo here in Vegas for 3 days over new Years: can't do this with my Marriott.  And we'll be at the HGVC W57th St in NYC again in 2017: again no Marriott.  Like I said, I like owning both and they compliment each other.

Lastly, I'm not a proponent of buying where you want to vacation.  Things change and we mix up locations a lot, I like trading.


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## meamo (Dec 4, 2015)

What does Marriott do that makes buying resale significantly worse than retail?

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## taterhed (Dec 4, 2015)

Nothing.  

If you are rich (joking) and have a ridged schedule and don't want to micromanage your vacations--buy HGVC or Marriott points.   You'll have little to worry about except your MF's and loan payments.  If you are a value hunter and flexible and willing to 'work' for the value of 2 weeks for 1 etc... buy Marriott weeks.   Seriously:  there is nothing wrong with HGVC resale.  There is nothing wrong with Marriott Legacy (weeks) resale.  Just know that any legacy 'weeks' program in a system which has converted to points (Marriott, RCi, etc..) requires more flexibility, faith and hands-on effort to acheive the same results; at a lower cost.  IMHO.  YMMV.  I hope that helps.

Rob from W10


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## alexadeparis (Dec 4, 2015)

meamo said:


> What does Marriott do that makes buying resale significantly worse than retail?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk



Depends on the product. The main problem is the ridiculous fee they charge to legitimize resale *points* into their system: $2 per point. Their *weeks* system doesn't do that, but is less flexible.


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## Ron98GT (Dec 4, 2015)

meamo said:


> What does Marriott do that makes buying resale significantly worse than retail?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk




I don't have a clue what you are asking? I don't know of any problems buying a resale Marriott legacy week: any.


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## Ron98GT (Dec 4, 2015)

We checked into the Marriott Maui Ocean Club (MOC) on Sunday, November, 29th and we"ll be here in the same OF unit for 2-weeks.  We have a 2-BDRM, full kitchen, W/D, and Ocean Front.  As I'm typing this, I'm listening to the waves crash, we haven't had the air on since we got here.

At this time, I luv, luv, luv,, owning my Marriott.

Just got back from a sunset cruise and now I'm off to the pool with my mask, fins, & snorkel to practice for tomorrow's SCUBA refresher course, here at the Marriott.

Did I mention that I luv Marriott? Legacy weeks rock!



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## taffy19 (Dec 5, 2015)

You are so lucky.  What unit are you in?  How is it this time of the year?  Is there a beach?  ENJOY!  Post a picture, please.


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## rvk5d01 (Dec 29, 2015)

Hello all..I'm a newbie...trying to find anyone who owns a timeshare in nj..at home 2.a Hilton property..


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