# HGV CHARGING $25 a day resort Fee



## dannybaker (Mar 13, 2018)

WTH. I just booked six exchanges into Hilton in Orlando and luckily I read the fine print. The new fee is $25 dollars a day resort fee. So in addition to my $239 exchange fee x 6, it’s another $175 resort fee x 6 plus I’m sure other tax. I believe all Hilton owners should pay $500 to exchange into my units in San Diego. Where does this end? Does every time share include this resort fee in the future? Sorry I had to rant I’m really upset with the way Timeshare’s are heading. My $79 dollar exchange has gone up a lot in 13 years. I’m sure the answer will be simply don’t stay at Hilton. What if all resorts start charging $175 resort fee.


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## Travel1 (Mar 13, 2018)

Agree.  If all timeshares start charging resort fees, it would truly starts defeating the value and the need to own a timeshare.


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## tschwa2 (Mar 13, 2018)

I worked for an airline in the early 2000's.  They were always raising fares and adding fees and hoping the other airlines would follow suit.  If they did not an it hurt business they would remove the fees.  If the others followed suit the fees were there to stay.

Disney and Diamond were two of the pioneers of adding fairly significant weekly fees ($100+)onto exchanges.  There are also a handful of others that charge a $25-$40 per week.  

In certain places that either offer a significant advantage or amenities over other area timeshares or have location and availability that other timeshares can't match- maybe.  But come on, Orlando (non DVC) and Williamsburg resorts with amenities that are on par with other options should not be charging those fees and thankfully for now they can be avoided.  Hopefully other resorts will not follow suit.  

While one could say that owners at the resort benefit from this as they don't pay the fee and it supplements their week.  In reality, I don't think the developers have a line item for giving these fees back to the HOA.  They pocket them.


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## SmithOp (Mar 13, 2018)

6 exchanges, seems excessive?

I've paid resort fees exchanging into SoCal resorts, they are all charging it now, Hilton is just catching up...


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 13, 2018)

I agree that resort fees stink. We recently cancelled an RCI reservation because the resort fee at the Manhattan club would have been close to $1000 for an upcoming stay when you add in the exchange and housekeeping fees.  This was on top of paying with expensive HGVC points.

FWIW...HGVC does not care about people exchanging into their system because they would rather incent you to be a card carrying HGVC owner. Owners do not pay for resort fees for use of the HGVC internal system with points.

The other part that stinks about RCI is their draconian policy for reservations. We currently are locked into a reservation and will lose our $239 fee for a reservation that we have made for 2 years from now. That's crazy.

Plus, with RCI you are typically locked into a week whereas the HGVC system enables us to take several long weekends. These factors are incenting us to increasingly use the HGVC internal system which means fewer HGVC weeks available on RCI.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 13, 2018)

tschwa2 said:


> In reality, I don't think the developers have a line item for giving these fees back to the HOA.  They pocket them.



In this case, they should be depositing those resort fees into the HOA to offset maintenance because they are exchanging owner's weeks paid with owner's maintenance fees and not developers weeks. If not, this is a lawsuit waiting to happen.


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## dannybaker (Mar 13, 2018)

where does this end? Do all resorts charge start charging $500 resort fees.


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## jestme (Mar 13, 2018)

CalGalTraveler said:


> In this case, they should be depositing those resort fees into the HOA to offset maintenance because they are exchanging owner's weeks paid with owner's maintenance fees and not developers weeks. If not, this is a lawsuit waiting to happen.


Just like the Open Season fees should go to the HOA as well, especially since the HOA is incurring additional costs for room maintenance (maids) , checkin, electricity, furniture wear and tear, etc. But they don't. There is no line on the Financial statement for that revenue at all. 
Hilton and other hotels add the "Resort Fees" after the booking rate. Unless you read the fine print when you book, you usually find out when you arrive and get the shock. There was some talk last year about forcing hotels to advertise the full ACTUAL daily rate, including all fees, etc. but I haven't heard any follow up on that for a while now.


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## pedro47 (Mar 13, 2018)

I feel DRI started this by charging non Diamond Club Owners a daily resort fee a few months ago. All non Diamonds owners exchanging into a Diamond Resorts must pay a daily resort fee.
HGV is just following DRI marching orders to add to their profits margins and that is IMHP.


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## Talent312 (Mar 13, 2018)

CalGalTraveler said:


> We currently are locked into a reservation and will lose our $239 fee for a reservation that we have made for 2 years from now.



Being locked in...
I lucked into getting an RCI Exchange on Lido Key at the beach.
We waited ~six months, then with a month to go, I looked at the confirmation.
It was for one year hence. So, we went elsewhere and waited out the year.
Then, with less than a week to go, Hurricane Irma blew through.

It took a hurricane to get our points+booking fee refunded.
.


_._


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## Cyberc (Mar 13, 2018)

More info on the subject here.

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/new-hgvc-resort-fee-as-of-1-16-through-rci.269123/

Turns out not all HGVC resort are charging the fee, but most are.


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## Travel1 (Mar 13, 2018)

Shouldn't exchanges be just that...if a Hilton timeshare user offers up his unit (and doesn't have to pay the resort fee themselves if they stay in their own unit), shouldn't the person exchanging into his Hilton unit get the same benefit.

It should work just like the housekeeping charge...all timeshares require them (as far as I know), so for me to deposit and exchange my unit, I have to include a Housekeeping token or the cost of a housekeeping token, but when I exchange to another timeshare, I receive the same housekeeping service.  In others words....its an even trade.

Adding resorts fee to exchanges is not playing on an even field...when an owner puts their unit up for a trade, all benefits should go with it. 

It does not only seem unfair to me, but also unethical and not in the spirit of what an exchange is supposed to be.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 13, 2018)

Talent312 said:


> Being locked in...
> I lucked into getting an RCI Exchange on Lido Key at the beach.
> We waited ~six months, then with a month to go, I looked at the confirmation.
> It was for one year hence. So, we went elsewhere and waited out the year.
> ...



Life happens and that's why I prefer flexibility. Southwest and AK over Big 3 American air carriers. HGVC reservations over RCI. Changeable hotel reservations vs. prepay...

In this case we booked Disneyland for Christmas 2019 (Peacock Suites 2 bdrm) to visit Star Wars Land when it opens so we can't complain too much because cannot book Disneyland through HGVC.  However I now realize that we could have rented a nicer timeshare from an owner (Worldmark Anaheim) for exactly the days we wanted for about the same price per night (savings $ on the nights we don't use.) We are locked in - live and learn.


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## Tamaradarann (Mar 14, 2018)

Travel1 said:


> Shouldn't exchanges be just that...if a Hilton timeshare user offers up his unit (and doesn't have to pay the resort fee themselves if they stay in their own unit), shouldn't the person exchanging into his Hilton unit get the same benefit.
> 
> It should work just like the housekeeping charge...all timeshares require them (as far as I know), so for me to deposit and exchange my unit, I have to include a Housekeeping token or the cost of a housekeeping token, but when I exchange to another timeshare, I receive the same housekeeping service.  In others words....its an even trade.
> 
> ...



I totally agree that exchanges should not have to pay resort fees just as owners shouldn't.  You are exchanging your timeshare week or your timeshare points that you own for that resort.  RCI sets the point or week exchange value and are the value level regulator of the resort and the accommodations for the system.  For a resort to charge additional fees to exchangers means to me that RCI is NOT doing its job in keeping the field level and regulated.  The resort is doing its own regulation after the exchange.  

On a different level.  Where do the resort fees go?  I was under the assumption that the board of directors of the resort decided to initiate the resort fee to bring in more money to the resort without raising the maintenance fees.  My view of that is that the resort board of directors needs to manage the maintenance fees and costs WITHOUT burdening exchangers.  If that is not true and the fees are going to the resort management or developer then that raises a different issue which I have a hard time even addressing.


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## alwysonvac (Mar 14, 2018)

dannybaker said:


> ... *Where does this end? Does every time share include this resort fee in the future? Sorry I had to rant I’m really upset with the way Timeshare’s are heading. My $79 dollar exchange has gone up a lot in 13 years.*



Exactly... This is more than just a HGVC issue.
Folks should have serious concerns about where this is headed (high maintenance fees, reservation fees, exchange fees, resort fees, transfer fees, etc).


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## jestme (Mar 14, 2018)

dannybaker said:


> where does this end? Do all resorts charge start charging $500 resort fees.


It ends when people stop paying them. The OP is paying $239 plus $175 in "resort fees" on top of the MF's he is paying for whatever he traded to get to the Orlando exchange per room in the first place. That's a lot of money just for the privilege of exchanging into a resort. When you take all those costs into account, plus the restrictions of exchanging and check-in days, the long term pre-planning required, as well as the uncertainty of getting what you want, and the fact you could have booked a place, when you want to, where you want to stay, with cancellation options, directly, without those restrictions, the advantages for exchanging go away. 
Once the costs exceed the value of using a timeshare, or exchanging into one, people will stop using them.


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## Mosescan (Mar 14, 2018)

This is another reason to own where you want to stay. No fees if you don’t trade.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 14, 2018)

This is eventually going to cause issues for low cost RCI (and II) trader properties, who's owners purchased with the intent of trading into brand name timeshares. RCI is disincenting brand timeshare owners from depositing due to high fees.  This creates less supply with the major brands depositing less often.

On the other side the owners of RCI and II traders see more expenses to exchanging and less supply and will dump their units. This will cause some of these trader properties to financially collapse.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 14, 2018)

Unlike other timeshare weeks systems, the beauty of the HGVC system is the ability to trade with minimal friction within the system. If club reservation fees get too high, this could change the dynamic of the entire system - and not for a positive outcome.


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## hurnik (Mar 14, 2018)

Wow, that's about as bad as the Virgin Islands (can't remember if it's BVI or USVI, or both) charging a daily resort tax on timeshares.

But in this case I wonder if it's Hilton or RCI doing the fee-fee collecting.
If it's Hilton, then they need (IMO) to use that collected fee to offset the MF fees, but I doubt they are.


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## Tamaradarann (Mar 14, 2018)

hurnik said:


> Wow, that's about as bad as the Virgin Islands (can't remember if it's BVI or USVI, or both) charging a daily resort tax on timeshares.
> 
> But in this case I wonder if it's Hilton or RCI doing the fee-fee collecting.
> If it's Hilton, then they need (IMO) to use that collected fee to offset the MF fees, but I doubt they are.



In my previous post I brought up the issue of offsetting the MF, also questioning what is being done with the RESORT FEE.  The way this is handled it is clear to me that it ISN'T RCI doing the Resort fee collecting since it is resort dependent and collected.  However, if it is indeed the Board of Directors initiating the resort fee with the purpose of offsetting the MF all timeshare owners need to ask the question why doesn't my Board of Directors start to initiate resort fees to reduce my MF?  If all resorts started to do that it would become a wash in owners overall timeshare owning and use cost.  It would only benefit those that own and don't use their timeshares at all.


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## dannybaker (Mar 14, 2018)

It really is upsetting to see this being done in the timeshare industry. Thank you everyone for listening to my rant, I was fuming when I realized that HGV was doing. Is this not a lawsuit for the owners? Do the maintenance fees go down. Here is where the $25 goes.
Effective January 17, 2018, a mandatory Daily Resort Charge of $25.00 U. S. Dollars plus tax, will be added at check in and includes: Guest internet access; domestic long distance calls (30 min max per day); DVD NOW with unlimited movies; 2 complimentary cups of Starbucks Coffee OR 2 16 oz. bottles of water per day; 1-800/local calls.


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## Tamaradarann (Mar 14, 2018)

dannybaker said:


> It really is upsetting to see this being done in the timeshare industry. Thank you everyone for listening to my rant, I was fuming when I realized that HGV was doing. Is this not a lawsuit for the owners? Do the maintenance fees go down. Here is where the $25 goes.
> Effective January 17, 2018, a mandatory Daily Resort Charge of $25.00 U. S. Dollars plus tax, will be added at check in and includes: Guest internet access; domestic long distance calls (30 min max per day); DVD NOW with unlimited movies; 2 complimentary cups of Starbucks Coffee OR 2 16 oz. bottles of water per day; 1-800/local calls.



So the $25 doesn't offset maintenance fees unless they were going to raise the maintenance fees to cover these ridiculous "Benefits". 

- With cell phones who needs domestic long distance calls!
- DVD movies are nice, but NOT necessary
- 2 cups of Starbucks Coffee or bottled water; we make coffee in the room which is less expensive and more convenient in the morning and either buy a case of water for $4/case or use tap

The only benefit that is worth anything that I see is the internet access which is clearly not worth $25/day more like $15/week.


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## hurnik (Mar 14, 2018)

dannybaker said:


> It really is upsetting to see this being done in the timeshare industry. Thank you everyone for listening to my rant, I was fuming when I realized that HGV was doing. Is this not a lawsuit for the owners? Do the maintenance fees go down. Here is where the $25 goes.
> Effective January 17, 2018, a mandatory Daily Resort Charge of $25.00 U. S. Dollars plus tax, will be added at check in and includes: Guest internet access; domestic long distance calls (30 min max per day); DVD NOW with unlimited movies; 2 complimentary cups of Starbucks Coffee OR 2 16 oz. bottles of water per day; 1-800/local calls.



Interesting.  OK, let's pretend (I like to play let's Pretend--haha).
The fee would cover things that were previously not covered:
Internet Access (meaning prior to this, it was "included" in whatever HGVC is charging for MF and whatnot).
DVD NOW (not sure when this was added at the resort, but when I stayed last year in October there was a DVD NOW kiosk "included" with my stay).
Phone calls

OK, so now they're collecting this fee from exchanges only, so I don't see how this shouldn't reduce (a little) the MF.  Although I'm not sure how detailed the budgets are.

I guess we should probably write into the various boards where we own and inquire as to this and maybe see what the answer is?

Granted, I have only ever exchanged back into HGVC once (long time ago as I had bonus points that were expiring and it was cheaper in points to get the same sized unit).

Although I know when exchanging via II/RCI into Vidanta resorts it's $12/adult/day resort fee (SFX has the flat $75 fee per unit still) which covers the WiFi, shuttle service and maid service.  But that can add up too.


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## tschwa2 (Mar 14, 2018)

When it is a fee initiated by the developer/resort manager (vs the HAO) which I believe these are, it doesn't lower the MF's anymore so then when the developer raises the transaction fees or a guest fee.  It isn't really so much a resort fee but a fee for the developer to manage the resort/amenities at the resort.


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## pedro47 (Mar 14, 2018)

How much can a resort or the developer make in a year by charging a $25.00 per day resort fee?


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## Talent312 (Mar 14, 2018)

pedro47 said:


> How much can a resort or the developer make in a year by charging a $25.00 per day resort fee?



A bushel and a peck.
.


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## pedro47 (Mar 14, 2018)

Let's do some simple math for 52 weeks in resort fees. Resort A is charging $25.00 per day for Resort Fees @ seven (7) nights. That is $175.00 Dollars in Resort Fees for one week.

This daily resort fee does not apply to HGVC Members.

Now multiply $175.00 X 52 weeks = $9,1000 in Resort Fees.
That is a very nice profit. 

Again, this daily resort fee does not apply to HGVC Members!

This was only an example what this new resort fee can generate for HGVC.


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## Talent312 (Mar 14, 2018)

The reason I said, "A bushel and a peck," is that simple math won't get you there.
The fees do not apply to HGVC members who'll use the unit much of those 52 weeks.
You need to know the average use of a unit for RCI + hotel stays, and...
you need to know the # of units subject to that factor.


.


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## tschwa2 (Mar 14, 2018)

Not everywhere charges it, but lets say all of Orlando and Hawaii does.  Judging by the bulk deposits in RCI, my guess would be at least 6000 unit/week per year through RCI in those 2 locations- multiple resorts. That would be $1, 050,000 per year.


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## Iggyearl (Mar 14, 2018)

Where does the money go?  One year ago, HGV stock was $29/share.  Today it closed at $47.00.  There is another thread on TUG regarding a major investor reaping a 88% gain on HGV stock.  Seems like the shareholders are the real winners. 

Additionally, Marriott Vacation Club (VAC) was spun off in 2010 at a price of $25/share.  Today's closing price is $143.93.  Not bad.  I assume that the management of these companies will see what they can do to push the envelope.  The "mutual benefit" theme of timeshare seems to be deserted by the major corporations.  It's all about profits.  Look at the action in WYN or ILG in the last year.  Up big.  Where does it end?


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## Tamaradarann (Mar 14, 2018)

tschwa2 said:


> When it is a fee initiated by the developer/resort manager (vs the HAO) which I believe these are, it doesn't lower the MF's anymore so then when the developer raises the transaction fees or a guest fee.  It isn't really so much a resort fee but a fee for the developer to manage the resort/amenities at the resort.



The issue that should be addressed to everyone satisfaction is: 
Owners pay the maintenance on the units they own.  If they go back to the unit they own they get the resort amenities free of charge.  If their resort does NOT charge for resort amenities then exchangers who come to their resort get the resort amenities free of charge.

If that owner uses his week or points to stay at the resort that the exchanger that came to his resort owns which charges exchangers for resort amenities then he has to pay for the resort amenities.  That is NOT appropriate or fair.  

By the way an argument that you may get from RCI or certain resort management people is that some resorts have more or less amenities.  However, if everyone who stays at that resort has the same amenities(owners and non-owners) then that is all that the resort has and RCI and the resort indicates the amenities and you decide if you want to buy there and stay there or not.  You don't get a fee for exchanging when owners get a pass and don't have to pay the maintenance fee for that amenity.


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## jestme (Mar 14, 2018)

The thing HGVC is missing with the fees is that the reason they have Gold status at RCI with their resorts is because of the quality of the resort, which includes the amenities. To ask people to exchange into the resort, as a gold resort, then add a resort fee on top of that is double dipping.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 14, 2018)

Junk fees are a race to the bottom; HGVC was unique in that they were one of the few on RCI that did not charge but now they are compelled to play "catch up" while increasing profitability; should eliminate for all.


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## littlestar (Mar 15, 2018)

The younger generation will think timeshare trading is dumb and just use Airbnb. Makes you wonder if the government needs to get involved or lawyers to find out why these fees?  Especially since owners already cover the costs of maintenance and Internet. Smells stinky to me. Corporate greed will probably kill the timeshare trading concept - might as well rent or own where you want to go and the government may have to step in to keep corporate greed in check. Timeshares are different than hotels- at least they are supposed to be.


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## klpca (Mar 15, 2018)

littlestar said:


> The younger generation will think timeshare trading is dumb and just use Airbnb. Makes you wonder if the government needs to get involved or lawyers to find out why these fees?  Especially since owners already cover the costs of maintenance and Internet. Smells stinky to me. Corporate greed will probably kill the timeshare trading concept - might as well rent or own where you want to go and the government may have to step in to keep corporate greed in check. Timeshares are different than hotels- at least they are supposed to be.


I agree with you that the competition for timeshares is going to be AirBnB, and they don't have resort fees or (as Disney is now charging) parking fees. Now to be fair, AirBnB's don't usually have resort amenities either, but they do have kitchens and living spaces, so that makes them the competition.

I own at two resorts that have always had resort fees and although everyone complains about them, the resorts are still in high demand. And I suppose that is why they charge the fees - because they can. In my case they are managed by Grand Pacific and I think the fees are a line item on the HOA financials ( I could be wrong about that and I can't find my records at the moment) but to have the developer pocket the money is just wrong on so many levels.

I suspect that people will be angry about the fees, and will complain about the fees, but will pay the fees to stay at these properties. If not, then there should be more open season availability for owners?


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## SmithOp (Mar 15, 2018)

AirBnB is not without fees either, the owners charge cleaning fees and ABB charges a service fee ranging from 6-12% of what the owner receives.

I think its just the way the whole travel industry is operating now, tacking on fees for everything.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 15, 2018)

+1

We rented an AirBnB that was listed at $149/night but when housekeeping and management fees were attached it was about $260/night for a 3 night weekend stay - effectively a $100 'resort fee' per night on top of the rental price.  AirBnb seems to be best for longer term rentals where these costs can be spread across multiple days - I agree with the premise stated earlier that it is a competitor.  Note that timeshare owners can also post their timeshares for rent on AirBnB too.  So if you cannot beat 'em join them.

Hotels are better for short stays.

It is only a matter a time before AirBnB owners charge extra for "amenity fees" aka Internet, TV, Washer/Dryer, bbq, deck shoveling, plow, view...you get the idea.


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## bogey21 (Mar 15, 2018)

Mosescan said:


> This is another reason to own where you want to stay. No fees if you don’t trade.



This is exactly what I did a number of years ago when I was traveling a lot.  I bought 6 Weeks at 6 Resorts in 6 different cities and HOA Controlled Independent Resorts with low MFs.   I think I paid between $6 and $8 thousand for the lot.  Every now and then (really rarely) I didn't use one of them but overall my cost was very reasonable.

George


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## Cyberc (Mar 15, 2018)

Sorry but I don’t understand what all the fuss is about?

In this group we are all owners and owners don’t pay the resort fee, well you do if you book hgvc through RCI. 

I understand why non owners complain but that’s just another reason to become owners. 

I honestly don’t care what hgvc charge or don’t charge through RCI I rarely use my hgvc points through RCI.


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## bnoble (Mar 15, 2018)

Fees don't matter. They really don't.

The only thing that does matter is (a) what does it cost for me to stay there, all-in and (b) is that worth it? Just add this to the other things you pay--exchange fee, the cost of what you are exchanging, etc. and see what the total is. That gives you (a).

For Hawaii, the answer to (b) is quite likely yes, at least for me. In Orlando, it's a much harder sell IMO. There are too many lovely resorts, and frankly the one I've been to (Sea World) was perfectly fine, but nothing special for that market. I'm willing to pay DVCs nuisance fees, because the overall experience is qualitatively different. Orlando HGVC? Not so much.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 15, 2018)

Based on this discussion, I am going to charge $25 extra per day at my AirBnB vacation rental for Internet access, two water bottles, and a telephone number for access to the free shuttle to the local ski resort. Plus another $25 per day to park two cars on the driveway because this causes wear and tear on the asphalt.

LoL, I am leaving money on the table!!!!


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## Talent312 (Mar 15, 2018)

The next time my DW asks me to order a pizza, I'm gonna charge her a fee.

.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 15, 2018)

Talent312 said:


> The next time my DW asks me to order a pizza, I'm gonna charge her a fee.
> 
> .



LOL, You could charge a phone fee too!


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## jestme (Mar 16, 2018)

Cyberc said:


> Sorry but I don’t understand what all the fuss is about?
> 
> In this group we are all owners and owners don’t pay the resort fee, well you do if you book hgvc through RCI.
> 
> ...


Because this could be just step one. Charge the fee to RCI exchanges first, then charge internal HGVC exchanges. It's a slippery slope.


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## pedro47 (Mar 16, 2018)

Is this new resort fee in place to collect fees from owners that do not pay their m/fees?

 Is this new fee in place to reduce bad debts from owners?


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## Blues (Mar 16, 2018)

bnoble said:


> Fees don't matter. They really don't.
> 
> The only thing that does matter is (a) what does it cost for me to stay there, all-in and (b) is that worth it? Just add this to the other things you pay--exchange fee, the cost of what you are exchanging, etc. and see what the total is. That gives you (a).



Thank you.  You just explained why fees matter.  A lot.  If you're trying to rent your unit, there's a total cost that the market will bear.  If HGVC is taking a $175/week cut out of that, that's $175 less that you'll be able to get from your rental.


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## hurnik (Mar 16, 2018)

Cyberc said:


> Sorry but I don’t understand what all the fuss is about?
> 
> In this group we are all owners and owners don’t pay the resort fee, well you do if you book hgvc through RCI.
> 
> ...



I look at it another way (which could be factually wrong):

HGVC has already collected my MF which is already being used to pay for Internet, phone lines, DVD NOW, etc.
HGVC is now collecting "extra" for these and is not (or maybe they are--don't know 100%) reducing my MF accordingly (which would probably be like $0.18--haha).

I wonder if HGVC guests (NOT exchangers) get the 2 free water bottles and coffee or whatever it was.  I certainly didn't get any of that in October 2017 when staying at Tuscany Village/I-Drive in Orlando last year.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 16, 2018)

jestme said:


> Because this could be just step one. Charge the fee to RCI exchanges first, then charge internal HGVC exchanges. It's a slippery slope.



I certainly hope this is not being considered as this would have a devastating impact on HGVC program because low point/low season and less popular properties would go bankrupt as people who trade internally see no economic value in keeping and dump these holdings. This is a key reason why many weeks programs in other systems have transitioned to points portfolios.

One of the great differentiation points of HGVC from other systems is the ability to trade frictionlessly throughout the system. Remove that by adding internal fees and you ruin the economics of the program.  It is a slippery slope.


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## tschwa2 (Mar 16, 2018)

Blues said:


> Thank you.  You just explained why fees matter.  A lot.  If you're trying to rent your unit, there's a total cost that the market will bear.  If HGVC is taking a $175/week cut out of that, that's $175 less that you'll be able to get from your rental.


You can't rent an RCI exchange and if it is reserved with HGVC points the fee would not apply.


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## Talent312 (Mar 16, 2018)

[What _tschwa2_ already said.]
.


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## dannybaker (Mar 16, 2018)

We refuse to stay at a Hilton anymore in Orlando. Really not a big deal because we can stay in 30 plus other resorts that are equal to Hilton in Orlando . Just booked six weeks at Another Gold crown resort in a larger unit in Orlando. Saved $1050 in junk fees compared to HGV. In addition I used 80 less points in RCI.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 16, 2018)

dannybaker said:


> We refuse to stay at a Hilton anymore in Orlando. Really not a big deal because we can stay in 30 plus other resorts that are equal to Hilton in Orlando . Just booked six weeks at Another Gold crown resort in a larger unit in Orlando. Saved $1050 in junk fees compared to HGV. In addition I used 80 less points in RCI.



Congrats on avoiding junk fees and finding a more spacious unit. 

With all due respect, why would HGVC care if exchangers pay junk fees if they haven't bought into their system and will never buy?


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## tschwa2 (Mar 16, 2018)

CalGalTraveler said:


> Congrats on avoiding junk fees and finding a more spacious unit.
> 
> With all due respect, why would HGVC care if exchangers pay junk fees if they haven't bought into their system and will never buy?


HGVC will care if they don't make the money the anticipate making from these fees because if they can't get it from exchangers, they will turn to raising fees for owners.  Also anyone who exchanges into HGVC is seen as potential fresh meat to show them the properties and to entice them to buy.  Finally if it really effects the number exchanging in (it probably won't) it could lead to a lowering of HGVC rating within RCI and with reviews from exchangers from Trip Advisor who expect to get something for the extra money they are paying beyond what they can get elsewhere without paying.

The reason I think it will only minimally effect the number of those exchanging in, is that although they may not be someone's first, second, or even third choice of places to stay they still are nice and there are always those that don't plan ahead when there is plenty of inventory and may get stuck with only resorts with high resort fees and HGVC may be the nicest of that bunch.


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 17, 2018)

I called RCI today to make sure we wouldn't be charged the $25 per day resort fee for our May stay.  We have 3 units for two weeks for the kids and grandkids to join us.  I just cannot believe I will never be able to go to a Hilton timeshare through RCI again.  I will go through SFX from now on, if Hilton is my only option for any given area. 

I had a lot of options, when I booked this last August for our stay to visit Disneyworld and Universal.  I prefer a few Marriott and of course Vistana Villages for our Orlando stays.  Those are just so much nicer than the others.  Hilton is equal to those resorts in quality, but $25 per day is excessive for Orlando, the most overbuilt area for timeshares.  I thought the one-in-four rule was a total turnoff, and now the $25 per day fee.  Hilton is going to get inundated with bad reviews from exchangers who have no idea about this fee and never check the fine print.  

RCI is becoming less and less a system I am willing to use.  I may just dump most of my RCI Points this year.  I have rented my Presidential Villas units for this summer myself.  I can get out of RCI points with a simple signature.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 17, 2018)

This isn't just a Hilton issue. It's an RCI issue. It appears that RCI is not willing to police this;  I got the impression when I complained about excessive fees that were introduced after I had made my reservation at a non-HGVC property.

RCI response was that it's up to the property to institute fees; RCI has let the genie out of the bottle on this one. And it's in the fine print of the reservation that property can change the fees at any time which feels like bait and switch.

So keep the screenshot from when you made the reservation in case they increase the fees.  I am also finding inconsistencies between the screen on the sign up and the actual reservation email so check that as well. With some reservations at RCI 2 years in advance, fees could increase  significantly.

In my case I was able to convince the RCI rep to cancel our reservation and refund our exchange fee.  I had to HUCA tho because the 1st rep would not do it.


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## Talent312 (Mar 17, 2018)

This discussion exemplifies the theory behind buying where you want to go.
I will never enroll my one independent TS in RCI becuz we use it every year, as is.

.


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 19, 2018)

What Hilton did was say, "If you don't let us charge $25 per day fee, RCI, we will go to II."  That is what happened.  So Hilton gets by with these outrageous fees.  Well, be sure you don't book Hilton and let RCI know how you feel about the fees.  

I have so many choices, I don't need RCI.  I really need to deposit my oddball weeks into alternate exchange companies that II doesn't serve.  HTSE is pretty good.  I have so many TPU's, you wouldn't believe it.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 19, 2018)

rickandcindy23 said:


> What Hilton did was say, "If you don't let us charge $25 per day fee, RCI, we will go to II."  That is what happened.



Do you know this for sure? or are you speculating what happened? 

FWIW...It seems that fees have been instituted on Non-HGVC properties for quite some time, Hilton is playing "catch up" on this downward spiral.

Frankly, I wish HGVC would move to II because there are more quality properties in that system, but that will never happen if Marriott buys ILG.


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## tschwa2 (Mar 19, 2018)

CalGalTraveler said:


> Do you know this for sure? or are you speculating what happened?
> 
> FWIW...It seems that fees have been instituted on Non-HGVC properties for quite some time, Hilton is playing "catch up" on this downward spiral.
> 
> Frankly, I wish HGVC would move to II because there are more quality properties in that system, but that will never happen if Marriott buys ILG.


Resorts that charge any resort fees through RCI really are in the minority.  If you add in resorts that charge nothing or less than $5 per day  (other than AI's) you really are talking 95% of RCI exchange inventory.  Diamond (DRI), Disney, Vidanta and the Manhattan Club which along with HGVC and a few other resorts with mandatory resort fees make up less than 5% of RCI exchange inventory and if you only look at US inventory (taking out Vidanta), you are probably looking at less than 2% of RCI US resorts, with resort fees that are more than $5 per day.  

Hilton isn't playing catch up.


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## CalGalTraveler (Mar 19, 2018)

Disney, Vidanta, Fiesta Americana, Grandview, Four Seasons Villamoura, and the Manhattan Club are properties of higher quality similar to HGVC.  Who know's the actual percentage, but the properties I want to stay in tend to have resort fees.


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## vacationhopeful (Mar 19, 2018)

Talent312 said:


> The next time my DW asks me to order a pizza, I'm gonna charge her a fee.
> 
> .



Do tell us all how that works out for you ... her personal service's fee would recoup the "pizza fee order & fetch" by at least by 50 fold.


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## Tamaradarann (Mar 19, 2018)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I called RCI today to make sure we wouldn't be charged the $25 per day resort fee for our May stay.  We have 3 units for two weeks for the kids and grandkids to join us.  I just cannot believe I will never be able to go to a Hilton timeshare through RCI again.  I will go through SFX from now on, if Hilton is my only option for any given area.
> 
> I assume you mean you won't use your HGVC points to stay at a Hilton timeshare through RCI again; you will go through SFX.  While I don't do that I have used my RCI points from a non HGVC resort to stay at a Hilton timeshare through RCI.  Going through SFX wouldn't help since I would assume that HGVC would consider that exchange and charge the $25/day resort fee.


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## hurnik (Mar 19, 2018)

I think your quoting came off (LOL).

Anyway, re: SFX
Not necessarily.  SFX is the only exchange company (AFAIK) that Vidanta only has the $75 flat fee/unit charge.  RCI/II zing you $12/adult/day for Vidanta.

SFX does have a "relationship" with HGVC (you can call and book the Vidanta resorts via SFX directly with HGVC points).

Not saying it won't happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if, at least for now, there's no $25/day fee if using SFX to stay at the HGVC resort.

Although now that gets me thinking to use SFX from now on to get back into HGVC (haha) as I can get the upgrade to a 2 BR.  hmmmm.


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## Miss Marty (Jun 22, 2018)

Resort Fees for RCI Exchangers


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## klpca (Jun 22, 2018)

Btw, no resort fee on our Kohala Suites place this week per the GM. Our exchange was made before the new fee went into effect.


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## JohnPaul (Jun 22, 2018)

We really like the Red Wolf Lakeside Lodge (north shore of Lake Tahoe) but when the daily fee went to $20 I decided it was too much on top of the exchange fees.  The rooms are very nice but small and the location right on the lake is terrific.

I guess you get some things for your fee.  No extra charge for internet.  They do a mini clean twice during your stay if i remember correctly.  You used to get a daily newspaper but they dropped that.


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## Anthony Schmid (Jun 22, 2018)

I see the Elara in Las Vegas now has a $25 resort fee, not for Hilton Grand Vacation Club owners of course.


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## Tamaradarann (Jun 23, 2018)

tschwa2 said:


> HGVC will care if they don't make the money the anticipate making from these fees because if they can't get it from exchangers, they will turn to raising fees for owners.  Also anyone who exchanges into HGVC is seen as potential fresh meat to show them the properties and to entice them to buy.  Finally if it really effects the number exchanging in (it probably won't) it could lead to a lowering of HGVC rating within RCI and with reviews from exchangers from Trip Advisor who expect to get something for the extra money they are paying beyond what they can get elsewhere without paying.
> 
> The reason I think it will only minimally effect the number of those exchanging in, is that although they may not be someone's first, second, or even third choice of places to stay they still are nice and there are always those that don't plan ahead when there is plenty of inventory and may get stuck with only resorts with high resort fees and HGVC may be the nicest of that bunch.


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## Tamaradarann (Jun 23, 2018)

Twenty-five dollars a day which adds up to $175/week  is a lot of money for someone who is on a budget and exchanging their timeshare for a stay at another resort.  They are accustomed to just paying an exchange fee and then being able to stay for free.  The resort fee almost doubles the cost to exchange into a HGVC resort.  I usually use my HGVC points at HGVC resorts so that the RCI exchange fee and the resort fee are insignificant.  

Furthermore, the effect on occupancy of HGVC timeshares could be a concern in Orlando and Las Vegas where there is a lot of availability of timeshares to exchange into.


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## Cyberc (Jun 23, 2018)

Anthony Schmid said:


> I see the Elara in Las Vegas now has a $25 resort fee, not for Hilton Grand Vacation Club owners of course.



Where do you see that in rci ? I just checked and couldn’t see it.


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## Anthony Schmid (Jun 23, 2018)

Cyberc said:


> Where do you see that in rci ? I just checked and couldn’t see it.



I found that on Hilton.com


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## Cyberc (Jun 23, 2018)

Anthony Schmid said:


> I found that on Hilton.com
> View attachment 7170
> View attachment 7169



I think that Hilton has always charged a resort fee or at least for the past few years. In this thread people meant that hgvc was charging the resort fee when booking through RCI which hgvc did not do before.


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## Inhislove (Jun 27, 2018)

Does anyone who booked before the fee was added have experience with avoiding the fee?


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## Panina (Jun 27, 2018)

As an owner on occasion I have traded thru RCI using my HGVC points to another HGVC Resort.  With this new policy now as a HGVC owner I still would have to pay the $175 in addition to the trade fee.  In this scenario they should wave the fee but they won’t, I asked.


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## klpca (Jun 28, 2018)

Inhislove said:


> Does anyone who booked before the fee was added have experience with avoiding the fee?


See my post above. No fee.


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