# Hyatt Purchase question



## pinetree1 (Oct 3, 2013)

I am looking for help from veteran Hyatt owners.

I am considering to purchase a resale Hyatt week. We live in Pennsylvania and usually take vacation during summer and Christmas-New Year season.

Hyatt offers attractive locations with deed week/deed unit so I do not have to call at 12 month mark at 9:00 AM to book next year’s travel as some Marriott owners mentioned in TUG.

Since we are in East coast, the Florida properties are within driving distance with 1 overnight over. The diamond 51-52 at Sunset Harbor is ideal with its closeness to downtown Key West. However, there are not much available weeks on the market and the price is kind of expensive.

The 2nd option is to by a more reasonable priced Platinum or Diamond week in other locations such as Hyatt Pinon Pointe in Sedona or Highlands Inn in  Camel, CA .

My question are as:

1. How hard to book summer beach and/or Christmas/New Year by using 6 months Club Use Period.

2. Which resorts offer optimal purchase, maintenance fee and desirability balance

3. Which resorts offer 2 bedroom lock-off

Suggestions and comments are highly appreciated!


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## lizap (Oct 3, 2013)

Summer beach and Christmas holidays are going to be hard to get at 6 months out using CUP.  Remember you can put your request in 18 months in advance with Hyatt.  If your request doesnt go through, you can transfer your points to Interval 4 months before the end of CUP.  I would say Pinion and San Antonio offer relatively good prices relative to maintenance fees.  High Sierra would be third; mfs are expected to go up there a good bit this year to cover some refurbishments.  If I had not purchased at HS, I would have probably bought at San Antonio.  You may want to consider exchanging sometimes through Interval.  I really didn't think I would be interested in doing this, but recently have found some really good exchanges available through them.  Do make sure to get enough points when you buy.  I would say a minimum of 1880, preferably 2000 or 2200.  Hyatt is building a new resort in Hawaii and I'm certain the points required will be relatively high.  The Hyatt system is a little hard to understand compared to Starwood and Hilton, but they have some very  nice resorts in interesting locations.








pinetree1 said:


> I am looking for help from veteran Hyatt owners.
> 
> I am considering to purchase a resale Hyatt week. We live in Pennsylvania and usually take vacation during summer and Christmas-New Year season.
> 
> ...


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## heathpack (Oct 3, 2013)

pinetree1 said:


> I am looking for help from veteran Hyatt owners.
> 
> I am considering to purchase a resale Hyatt week. We live in Pennsylvania and usually take vacation during summer and Christmas-New Year season.
> 
> ...



If the concept is that you are trying to minimize hassle factor, you should buy the week you want. The Florida resorts are Sunset Harbor, Windward Pointe, Beach House and Coconut Plantation.  Right now, there is a 2BR Christmas week avail at Windward Pointe and a studio at Coconut Plantation.  I think if you were ok with any of those resorts, you could probably trade in 70-75% of the time, but honestly I'm not sure.  Hyatt does make things easier by having the wait list system and online booking/inventory.

You need 2200 points if you want 2BR Christmas week.

Not sure why you are asking about lock-off.  The only scenario in which that matters is one in which you intend to occupy part of your unit.  Otherwise, you are working with points, you just spend what you need.  You don't lock off your unit and trade your studio for a 2BR like in Marriott.  Don't make assumptions about fundamental aspects as to how Hyatt works compared to other systems, I find this to be very common.

Off the top of my head, resorts that are 2BR with no lock offs are High Sierra, Windward Pointe and Beach House.  Everything else locks off in some way.  Some resorts have 3BR units that lock off into a studio plus 2BR, though.  Not every resort has 1BR units.  One resort has 1BR units that have the points allotment of 2BR units.

Best overalls costs to buy/own might be Piñon Pointe.  I think you can buy a 2200 pt unit there without breaking the bank.  High Sierra 2200 pt weeks are very expensive, I think.  Coconut Plantation might work, not sure of purchase costs.  San Antonio?  No idea.

H


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## lizap (Oct 3, 2013)

I agree.  Standard advice here is to buy where you would want to go most of the time.  When we were looking, I found some very good prices relative to maintenance fees at San Antonio.  I would take a close look there and at Pinon Pointe, but I am concerned about your ability to use points to exchange into resorts at peak times.  This will not be a sure thing, and it will be very important for you to make requests as far out as possible, preferably 18 months.  I have personally found internal availability more limited at Hyatt than Starwood, but it may well be that people are making requests and the inventory simply isn't showing up online.  I love the setup that Hyatt has with Interval.  Your yearly fees cover your Interval membership.  What you can get is based on your number of points (Hyatt).  I have 1880 points and can easily take 3 trips a year with Interval, and lately availability has been excellent at very good resorts (non-Hyatts;Hyatt exchanges not allowed for Hyatt owners with Interval) if you have some flexibility (even on relatively short notice).  This has been a pleasant surprise for me, so this may be something you may want to consider in your decision-making process.




heathpack said:


> If the concept is that you are trying to minimize hassle factor, you should buy the week you want. The Florida resorts are Sunset Harbor, Windward Pointe, Beach House and Coconut Plantation.  Right now, there is a 2BR Christmas week avail at Windward Pointe and a studio at Coconut Plantation.  I think if you were ok with any of those resorts, you could probably trade in 70-75% of the time, but honestly I'm not sure.  Hyatt does make things easier by having the wait list system and online booking/inventory.
> 
> You need 2200 points if you want 2BR Christmas week.
> 
> ...


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## pinetree1 (Oct 3, 2013)

*Hyatt purchase*

The reason I ask about 2 bedroom lock-off is to use it as 2 consecutive weeks or use 1 side and rent out another side if I do purchase Diamond weeks in Key West or Siesta Key.

Another question is which Key West property is the best taken into consideration of location & beach access.

Since Hyatt offers fixed week & fixed unit, which floor or view or unit is the most desirable of all Florida properties?  

Thank you in advance!


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## lizap (Oct 3, 2013)

With Key West properties, a lot depends on which location you want:  Sunset Harbor is in the heart of Old Towne,  Beach House is close in; while Windward Pointe is closer to the airport with beach across the street (which bothers some).  I don't know if Siesta Key has any resales, since it's relatively new, but you might want to consider it, if $ isn't a deal breaker.



pinetree1 said:


> The reason I ask about 2 bedroom lock-off is to use it as 2 consecutive weeks or use 1 side and rent out another side if I do purchase Diamond weeks in Key West or Siesta Key.
> 
> Another question is which Key West property is the best taken into consideration of location & beach access.
> 
> ...


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## peas (Oct 4, 2013)

pinetree1 said:


> The reason I ask about 2 bedroom lock-off is to use it as 2 consecutive weeks or use 1 side and rent out another side if I do purchase Diamond weeks in Key West or Siesta Key.


Just an FYI, even though you didn't ask, you may not know...

To use one side & rent the other, you need to call Hyatt (no way to do this online currently).  Note- original poster had issues because initially the whole unit was reserved vs splitting the booking from the get go.  Specifically see bdh's post #6 of this thread
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191468

To use it as 2 consecutive weeks, the hyatt system gives you a choice on what you want to do with your home week: use the whole 2 bedroom, use the 1 bedroom portion, use the studio portion, or convert everything to points.  You choose the side that you want.  Then the remaining unit would convert to points.  With those points, you'd enter the general pool and try to book the consecutive week.  To try to get the specific week needed, you probably would have put in a standing request previously to be higher up on the waiting list.

To address your last question about 2 bedroom lockoffs:
The whole 2 bedroom lock off is very much a Marriott type system construct.  It's used there since you trade X-size room for a X-size room.  Hyatt, when talking about internal trading with points, resembles a point system.   Once you decide that you don't want to use your home week, you get X number of points.  With that, you can use it in multiple ways that don't involve having to be limited to a one item for one item exchange.  For example, with 2000 points, you can book  a platinum 1 bdrm week and 1 platinum studio week or if wanting to stretch points, 2 full weeks in a diamond season studio (750 pts/wk x 2 = 1500) and have 500 points left to do a gold season 3 night midweek (500 pts) or 3 night diamond season weekend (450 pts).  That lock off idea is not needed when everything converts to points.
However, it is good to know which resorts only have 2 bedrooms (ex: beach house, windward point, high sierra) because you may not have enough points to book the season you want at those locations since there is no 1 bdrm or studio option.


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## bdh (Oct 4, 2013)

pinetree1 said:


> The reason I ask about 2 bedroom lock-off is to use it as 2 consecutive weeks or use 1 side and rent out another side if I do purchase Diamond weeks in Key West or Siesta Key.
> 
> Another question is which Key West property is the best taken into consideration of location & beach access.
> 
> ...



Siesta Key is/was sold as fractional (either a 3 week or 6 week ownership) so I don't think you'll be able to find a single diamond week.  I expect it is technically possible for a current owner of SK weeks to break apart their fractional ownership and sell an individual week, but I just don't see that as happening.

Even though Hyatt has a property named "Beach House" and the Marriott property next to Beach House is named "Beachside", KW is not really a beach place.  So as far as location goes, the vast majority of people will say Sunset Harbor - there are so many positives with this location, its hard to beat.

Siesta Key is #1 in FL for multiple reasons - all of the following are fabulous: beach, units, views, service and price (fabulously high).  But since there just aren't single diamond weeks at SK, I doubt its part of a purchase discussion.  Coconut Plantation, Beach House, Windward Pointe and The Blue each have some great attributes, but its Sunset Harbor that's the hardest to get into as its got the highest occupancy rate of the group.  

As far as which floor/unit at SH: the consensus will be 2nd or 3rd floor, unit view will vary depending on if a person prefers a pool/harbor view or an unobstructed harbor view.  With the diamond weeks in KW being 7, 51 and 52, your choices are set.


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## jonevans (Oct 4, 2013)

*maintenance fees*

Mind if I ask question about maintenance fees. 
Could you please explain how maintenance fees are charged.

does hyatt charge all 1 bedroom the same fee? so a low season and platinum pay same price?

do the number of points you get set the maintenance fee?


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## bdh (Oct 4, 2013)

jonevans said:


> Mind if I ask question about maintenance fees.
> Could you please explain how maintenance fees are charged.
> 
> does hyatt charge all 1 bedroom the same fee? so a low season and platinum pay same price?
> ...



In general, the same size units at the same property will pay the same MF (thats one reason why the standard recommendation is to buy larger pt value weeks in lieu of smaller pt value weeks).  The different pt value weeks of same size units will have a slight difference ($15 to $25) in MF due to the property tax amount paid on the respective weeks.

MF is not set by number of pts - MF is determined by the HOA Board at each property based on the operating and reserve expenses the respective properties.


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## Kal (Oct 4, 2013)

bdh said:


> Siesta Key is/was sold as fractional (either a 3 week or 6 week ownership) so I don't think you'll be able to find a single diamond week. I expect it is technically possible for a current owner of SK weeks to break apart their fractional ownership and sell an individual week, but I just don't see that as happening...


 
There could be a bit of a price difference between Siesta Key and Sunset Harbor.  My guess is high season Sunset Harbor units could run about $10-12K on the resale market.  A nominal price for a Siesta Key unit would be about $300K (plus or minus).


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## bdh (Oct 5, 2013)

Kal said:


> There could be a bit of a price difference between Siesta Key and Sunset Harbor.  My guess is high season Sunset Harbor units could run about $10-12K on the resale market.  A nominal price for a Siesta Key unit would be about $300K (plus or minus).



Absolutely, SK "fabulous" does not come cheap - lol.


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## scsu_hockey_fan (Oct 5, 2013)

I have also been thinking about buying a week in the Hyatt system, as i have been studying the system for about 18 months now.  This would be our 1st timeshare, with no doubt it will be a resale. However, I still have a few more questions. One of the main things I have been going back and forth on is the location.  We love the coconut plantation, love it there! (anytime between nov and april) However, the maintenance fees are so much cheaper in Sedona, about a difference of $350 per year, and im sure the margin will only get greater as time goes on.  Here is my strategy for each one.  For Sedona, I would like to try and find a platinum or diamond (every other year) week in the spring (around week 15).  (OR) buy a yearly platinum at coconut plantation in the spring (being from Minnesota that's where the Twins have spring training) and rent out what we don't use, therefore the need for a lock-off. I keep going back and forth and don't know which option to do.  I ses pros and cons of each way, anyone wish to share the experience or wisdom?

The other issue I am struggling with is how user friendly is the internal Hyatt exchange as well as external with interval for family's that have little ones in school.  Is it not so good and I should totally for get about the timeshare idea?  I myself also only get 3 weeks of vacation per year.

Other random questions:

1.) once a guest certificate is made, can it be changed to a different guest, without risk of losing the reservation?

2.) Does interval allow guest certificates?

3.) Does anyone know what kind of reserves Coconut has???  How about Sedona??   As well as "bad Debt"??? Does anyone have a current break down of MF's for these resorts?

4.) anyone know the 2014 MF's yet?

5.) has anyone heard anything new on the eagles nest at coco?  or the beach erosion? or if they are expanding anytime soon??


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## heathpack (Oct 5, 2013)

scsu_hockey_fan said:


> I have also been thinking about buying a week in the Hyatt system, as i have been studying the system for about 18 months now.  This would be our 1st timeshare, with no doubt it will be a resale. However, I still have a few more questions. One of the main things I have been going back and forth on is the location.  We love the coconut plantation, love it there! (anytime between nov and april) However, the maintenance fees are so much cheaper in Sedona, about a difference of $350 per year, and im sure the margin will only get greater as time goes on.  Here is my strategy for each one.  For Sedona, I would like to try and find a platinum or diamond (every other year) week in the spring (around week 15).  (OR) buy a yearly platinum at coconut plantation in the spring (being from Minnesota that's where the Twins have spring training) and rent out what we don't use, therefore the need for a lock-off. I keep going back and forth and don't know which option to do.  I ses pros and cons of each way, anyone wish to share the experience or wisdom?
> 
> The other issue I am struggling with is how user friendly is the internal Hyatt exchange as well as external with interval for family's that have little ones in school.  Is it not so good and I should totally for get about the timeshare idea?  I myself also only get 3 weeks of vacation per year.
> 
> ...



If the purchase prices are similar, I would personally buy Coconut Plantation.  The Hyatt points systems is an overlay to the owned week.  Hyatt can (and likely will based on past history) make substantial changes to the point requirements.  But they cannot mess with the week & unit you own.

I don't know the answers to most of your other questions, except for the exchanging question.  Reasonable availability for internal exchanges, however if you are tied to a school schedule there is a major limitation in Interval- you can only place requests or "see" units 1 yr or less in advance.  Many prime units are deposited well before that.  So, although Hyatt "sees" everything that is not under internal preference (ie very high quality units/resorts), it can't "see" far enough in future to get many prime weeks like school holidays.  Hyatt is a great interval trader otherwise and its a great value for people who like to trade into non-school-holiday weeks.  But for you, usefulness in II would have this limitation. 

H


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## lizap (Oct 5, 2013)

I purchased Hyatt and Westin a few months ago.  Both systems are completely different.  Maybe I don't completely understand the Hyatt internal system yet, but I find it more complicated than Westin's.  You can book a non-home resort 6 months out from your time of desired travel date(at the beginning of CUP).  I ham NOT finding a whole lot of availability for really any resort at 6 months out, perhaps with the exception of San Antonio and some of the Key West properties (really hit or miss).  Hyatt is a relatively small system and I suspect (and hope) other Hyatt owners are making a request at 18 months out, which is allowed; so what I am seeing at 6 months out is availability after ongoing requests have been filled.  

I have been pleasantly surprised at good short-term availability using II.  In fact, in many cases, your points actually get you more weeks using II.

In short, I would buy where you want to visit most often (this is the generally recommended advice on this forum); systems can change point requirements/rules at any time.  November-April includes some peak times in FL so there's no guarantee you could get Coconut through internal Hyatt exchange using points and even less likely using II.




scsu_hockey_fan said:


> I have also been thinking about buying a week in the Hyatt system, as i have been studying the system for about 18 months now.  This would be our 1st timeshare, with no doubt it will be a resale. However, I still have a few more questions. One of the main things I have been going back and forth on is the location.  We love the coconut plantation, love it there! (anytime between nov and april) However, the maintenance fees are so much cheaper in Sedona, about a difference of $350 per year, and im sure the margin will only get greater as time goes on.  Here is my strategy for each one.  For Sedona, I would like to try and find a platinum or diamond (every other year) week in the spring (around week 15).  (OR) buy a yearly platinum at coconut plantation in the spring (being from Minnesota that's where the Twins have spring training) and rent out what we don't use, therefore the need for a lock-off. I keep going back and forth and don't know which option to do.  I ses pros and cons of each way, anyone wish to share the experience or wisdom?
> 
> The other issue I am struggling with is how user friendly is the internal Hyatt exchange as well as external with interval for family's that have little ones in school.  Is it not so good and I should totally for get about the timeshare idea?  I myself also only get 3 weeks of vacation per year.
> 
> ...


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## heathpack (Oct 5, 2013)

You can book internally with Hyatt at 1 year out.  You can set up a wait list 18 mo out.  I think you are confused by the fact that there tends to be a spike in availability 6 mo out.  You are correct that you are seeing leftover units after the wait list requests have matched.

You also comment that it is "less likely" that a Hyatt owner could get a Coconut Plantation week thru II.  It is in fact impossible.  Hyatt owners can only book Hyatt units through Hyatt.  They can never book a unit through II.

The Hyatt internal system is not confusing IMO.  All the systems have their rules and you just have to understand them.  We own Hyatt, Disney, Starwood and (soon) Marriott.  Each system has their own quirks to maximize usage and rules to learn.  Hyatt is not difficult by any means.  Maybe the only challenge is that there are less total owners & therefore less people out there talking about how to use Hyatt.  But really it's quite simple.

H



lizap said:


> I purchased Hyatt and Westin a few months ago.  Both systems are completely different.  Maybe I don't completely understand the Hyatt internal system yet, but I find it more complicated than Westin's.  You can book a non-home resort 6 months out from your time of desired travel date(at the beginning of CUP).  I ham NOT finding a whole lot of availability for really any resort at 6 months out, perhaps with the exception of San Antonio and some of the Key West properties (really hit or miss).  Hyatt is a relatively small system and I suspect (and hope) other Hyatt owners are making a request at 18 months out, which is allowed; so what I am seeing at 6 months out is availability after ongoing requests have been filled.
> 
> I have been pleasantly surprised at good short-term availability using II.  In fact, in many cases, your points actually get you more weeks using II.
> 
> In short, I would buy where you want to visit most often (this is the generally recommended advice on this forum); systems can change point requirements/rules at any time.  November-April includes some peak times in FL so there's no guarantee you could get Coconut through internal Hyatt exchange using points and even less likely using II.


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## lizap (Oct 5, 2013)

What I meant is you have until the beginning of CUP to make a decision as to whether to release your home resort.  I have been told repeatedly (probably a dozen or more times) by Hyatt representatives that most don't release their home resort until close to 6 months out from the beginning of their use year (beginning of CUP).  Compared to Starwood, I personally find the system more challenging.  With Starwood, at 8 months out, I can call and get a reservation at almost any non-home resort (of course we don't have to travel during peak times), excluding WSJ.  No wait lists required..




heathpack said:


> You can book internally with Hyatt at 1 year out.  You can set up a wait list 18 mo out.  I think you are confused by the fact that there tends to be a spike in availability 6 mo out.  You are correct that you are seeing leftover units after the wait list requests have matched.
> 
> You also comment that it is "less likely" that a Hyatt owner could get a Coconut Plantation week thru II.  It is in fact impossible.  Hyatt owners can only book Hyatt units through Hyatt.  They can never book a unit through II.
> 
> ...


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## ondeadlin (Oct 5, 2013)

lizap said:


> With Starwood, at 8 months out, I can call and get a reservation at almost any non-home resort (of course we don't have to travel during peak times), excluding WSJ.  No wait lists required..



The Hyatt reservations system simply isn't designed to work this way.  It rewards planning.


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## lizap (Oct 5, 2013)

Both require planning.  The Hyatt system requires more planning further in advance, and you usually have to wait to see if you can get what you want.  With Starwood, I can usually call at 8 months out and get instant gratification, like I did recently with WKORV.




ondeadlin said:


> The Hyatt reservations system simply isn't designed to work this way.  It rewards planning.


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## scsu_hockey_fan (Oct 5, 2013)

heathpack said:


> If the purchase prices are similar, I would personally buy Coconut Plantation.  The Hyatt points systems is an overlay to the owned week.  Hyatt can (and likely will based on past history) make substantial changes to the point requirements.  But they cannot mess with the week & unit you own.
> 
> I don't know the answers to most of your other questions, except for the exchanging question.  Reasonable availability for internal exchanges, however if you are tied to a school schedule there is a major limitation in Interval- you can only place requests or "see" units 1 yr or less in advance.  Many prime units are deposited well before that.  So, although Hyatt "sees" everything that is not under internal preference (ie very high quality units/resorts), it can't "see" far enough in future to get many prime weeks like school holidays.  Hyatt is a great interval trader otherwise and its a great value for people who like to trade into non-school-holiday weeks.  But for you, usefulness in II would have this limitation.
> 
> H



or they could change the resort management companies like they did at Northstar.  What other recent changes has hyatt made to the points system other then Carmel???

Visited Sedona recently, i was talking to an owner who said that the sales people told her that you have to buy two weeks now because of some changes.... i personally think there were feeding her a bunch of BS just to get them to buy another week, which she did!  I think they may have been referring to new properties like hawaii etc....


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## lizap (Oct 5, 2013)

I suspect Hawaii is going to be a lot of points.  WSJ recently increased the number of points required at that resort, so it could happen anywhere.  I suggest buying as much as you can afford, given the season you want.  For example, we got 1880 pts. with our HSierra purchase.  We specifically wanted this resort but wanted a specific time (late spring/early summer), so we purchased gold.  This gives us enough points to generally do what we want, but would have liked 2000 or more.  However, we didn't want to buy the season that was associated with that number of points at this resort..



scsu_hockey_fan said:


> or they could change the resort management companies like they did at Northstar.  What other recent changes has hyatt made to the points system other then Carmel???
> 
> Visited Sedona recently, i was talking to an owner who said that the sales people told her that you have to buy two weeks now because of some changes.... i personally think there were feeding her a bunch of BS just to get them to buy another week, which she did!  I think they may have been referring to new properties like hawaii etc....


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## ondeadlin (Oct 5, 2013)

lizap said:


> Both require planning.  The Hyatt system requires more planning further in advance, and you usually have to wait to see if you can get what you want.  With Starwood, I can usually call at 8 months out and get instant gratification, like I did recently with WKORV.



If that's what works for you, that's great.  In two years I have never placed a waiting list request for a Hyatt week that hasn't been filled, so it works for me.  We're both making one phone call.  I don't see a huge difference.

Plus, as you've admitted, you're asking for off-season/low-demand weeks.  That's why you're having the experience you're having.  No surprise low-demand weeks are available.  I'm asking for ski weeks.  You're not going to get that at 8 months out in Starwood, at least not at the Westin Riverfront or Steamboat.  I know because I've talked to multiple Starwood owners trying to reserve those weeks.


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## heathpack (Oct 5, 2013)

scsu_hockey_fan said:


> or they could change the resort management companies like they did at Northstar.  What other recent changes has hyatt made to the points system other then Carmel???
> 
> Visited Sedona recently, i was talking to an owner who said that the sales people told her that you have to buy two weeks now because of some changes.... i personally think there were feeding her a bunch of BS just to get them to buy another week, which she did!  I think they may have been referring to new properties like hawaii etc....



As I understand it, the diamond weeks were not in the original system.  A some point, Hyatt created the diamond weeks when platinum owners had already bought thinking they were buying the highest season & would be able to trade into any week.

I speculate the "needing two weeks" might be a hint/threat that the points requirements in Maui may be double that of current weeks.  Thus you would need two weeks.  Pure speculation on my part, I have zero inside info.

H


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## heathpack (Oct 5, 2013)

ondeadlin said:


> If that's what works for you, that's great.  In two years I have never placed a waiting list request for a Hyatt week that hasn't been filled, so it works for me.  We're both making one phone call.  I don't see a huge difference.
> 
> Plus, as you've admitted, you're asking for off-season/low-demand weeks.  That's why you're having the experience you're having.  No surprise low-demand weeks are available.  I'm asking for ski weeks.  You're not going to get that at 8 months out in Starwood, at least not at the Westin Riverfront or Steamboat.  I know because I've talked to multiple Starwood owners trying to reserve those weeks.



The other nice thing about the wait list is that you can set it up online in your own.  I don't like to call unless I need a human.  The wait list is a nice feature.  Not all systems have that- you have to call in and if there's no availability, call again until you find something that will work.

H


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## scsu_hockey_fan (Oct 5, 2013)

heathpack said:


> If the purchase prices are similar, I would personally buy Coconut Plantation.  The Hyatt points systems is an overlay to the owned week.  Hyatt can (and likely will based on past history) make substantial changes to the point requirements.  But they cannot mess with the week & unit you own.
> 
> I don't know the answers to most of your other questions, except for the exchanging question.  Reasonable availability for internal exchanges, however if you are tied to a school schedule there is a major limitation in Interval- you can only place requests or "see" units 1 yr or less in advance.  Many prime units are deposited well before that.  So, although Hyatt "sees" everything that is not under internal preference (ie very high quality units/resorts), it can't "see" far enough in future to get many prime weeks like school holidays.  Hyatt is a great interval trader otherwise and its a great value for people who like to trade into non-school-holiday weeks.  But for you, usefulness in II would have this limitation.
> 
> H



actually it seems like the prices are a little cheaper at coconut plantation, but probably the higher maintenance fees factoring in.  

Well, we are not tied to a school schedule yet, but will be relatively soon. But the school we are hoping for has a little more flexibility when they get their breaks. 

Any idea how interval trades in the summer months, but not too far south though as not a big fan of hot hot weather, well the furthest south i would be willing to go in the summer would be TN (the great smokey mountains)


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## lizap (Oct 6, 2013)

That makes me feel a whole lot better about getting what we want using the Hyatt waiting list request system.  We will need low season, so our odds should be pretty good.




ondeadlin said:


> If that's what works for you, that's great.  In two years I have never placed a waiting list request for a Hyatt week that hasn't been filled, so it works for me.  We're both making one phone call.  I don't see a huge difference.
> 
> Plus, as you've admitted, you're asking for off-season/low-demand weeks.  That's why you're having the experience you're having.  No surprise low-demand weeks are available.  I'm asking for ski weeks.  You're not going to get that at 8 months out in Starwood, at least not at the Westin Riverfront or Steamboat.  I know because I've talked to multiple Starwood owners trying to reserve those weeks.


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## heathpack (Oct 6, 2013)

scsu_hockey_fan said:


> actually it seems like the prices are a little cheaper at coconut plantation, but probably the higher maintenance fees factoring in.
> 
> Well, we are not tied to a school schedule yet, but will be relatively soon. But the school we are hoping for has a little more flexibility when they get their breaks.
> 
> Any idea how interval trades in the summer months, but not too far south though as not a big fan of hot hot weather, well the furthest south i would be willing to go in the summer would be TN (the great smokey mountains)



Sorry, I don't really know about summer II trades, I've really not tried for much in summer.  Anything that gets deposited 12 mo or less out, you'd have a great shot at.  But Im under the impression the best stuff is deposited >1 year out.

I always argue that Hyatt is a great Interval trader- but honestly what's great about it is the ability to trade a single 2BR unit into multiple smaller units each year.  Because of the 12 mo restriction, the best trading is into less in-demand times.  That said, I've accomplished some peak trades (Aruba summer, KoOlina March, Cancun Easter week) but in part that's because we can readily live with any size unit.  The need for a 2BR summer week makes the challenge even greater.

If you can plan ahead, an RCI trader might be a thought for you.  As I understand (and I'm not an RCI member, so I could have things wrong), there is no quality filter in RCI- it's just a matter of who got in line first.  So summer weeks are more do-able if you put yourself in line 2 years ahead.  Maybe an EOY Coconut Plantation week and a cheap RCI trader?

H


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## optimist (Oct 6, 2013)

scsu_hockey_fan said:


> Visited Sedona recently, i was talking to an owner who said that the sales people told her that you have to buy two weeks now because of some changes.... i personally think there were feeding her a bunch of BS just to get them to buy another week, which she did!  I think they may have been referring to new properties like hawaii etc....




I hope the weeks she bought were back to back.  Unless your deeded weeks are around the same time, you can't have access to all your points at the same time.  It's one of the quirky things about the Hyatt system that I don't like.  

We trade our Hyatt all the time. In fact, I think I have never stayed at a Hyatt property (except three nights in Sedona) since we bought it four years ago.
Our kids are older and we are tied to the University schedules but if you make your request a full year in advance, I think your chances of getting a trade are good.   I agree with Heathpack that the advantage of an Interval trade  is that the Hyatt currency is worth more.  As an example, we traded our points for a President's week and stayed at the Westin Kierland Villas using 870 points.  A holiday week  at any Hyatt would require 1450.
Hilton  has the same increased value in RCI. In fact, you can trade for a Hilton property in Interval using fewer points than you would need if you trade within HGVC.   Hyatt doesn't let you do that. You won't 'see' any Hyatt availability in II.


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## lizap (Oct 6, 2013)

Did I misread your post- Hilton isn't in II?




optimist said:


> I hope the weeks she bought were back to back.  Unless your deeded weeks are around the same time, you can't have access to all your points at the same time.  It's one of the quirky things about the Hyatt system that I don't like.
> 
> We trade our Hyatt all the time. In fact, I think I have never stayed at a Hyatt property (except three nights in Sedona) since we bought it four years ago.
> Our kids are older and we are tied to the University schedules but if you make your request a full year in advance, I think your chances of getting a trade are good.   I agree with Heathpack that the advantage of an Interval trade  is that the Hyatt currency is worth more.  As an example, we traded our points for a President's week and stayed at the Westin Kierland Villas using 870 points.  A holiday week  at any Hyatt would require 1450.
> Hilton  has the same increased value in RCI. In fact, you can trade for a Hilton property in Interval using fewer points than you would need if you trade within HGVC.   Hyatt doesn't let you do that. You won't 'see' any Hyatt availability in II.


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## optimist (Oct 6, 2013)

lizap said:


> Did I misread your post- Hilton isn't in II?




No, you are right.  I was responding to Heathpack's comment about RCI being a possible choice.


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