New member to Tug, long time reader.
I currently own only one timeshare week with HGVC/Hilton (platinum 1BR) and I have been able to leverage a lot out of vacations out of it by traveling offseason. I may be in a position to purchase a 2nd timeshare later this year and have been pouring thru HVC/Hyatt threads and HVC sales prices on Ebay. HGVC/Hilton seems more flexible to me (3-? nights with starting night not specified, single changeable reservation, borrowing points easy and free) but they also seem disinterested in expanding from their few locations. HVC/Hyatt also looks pretty flexible, but the rules of the game are most understood by those who play the game. We made our first trip to Key West last December (RCI, Galleon) combined with a short Miami stay and loved it. Here is what I am thinking and I would love for HVC/Hyatt owners to shoot holes in my logic. My understanding is based on what I have read, so fire away at that also.
I am thinking of purchasing a November bronze week in Key West. We live in GA and can drive, and can combine with a 3 night Miami Beach HGVC stay if we want (LOVE JOE'S STONE CRABS RESTAURANT !!!!). We loved how quiet it was at year end in the Keys and would probably want to stay there AT LEAST every other year. Locals told me it was the offseason and we liked it that way. I understand the logic of buying max points for maint fees because that is what I did with my HGVC points - but I really want to use my home week often - and that was not my goal when buying HGVC, which was purely a points decision. Here is the way I look at this:
1) it will take many years to recoup the difference in purchase price, and it looks like a bronze goes around $7k, gold for $12k, plat for $16k (this is what I have seen, I may be wrong, the numbers MATTER). Remember - if you took the purchase price difference and invested it, it would take even longer to justify the extra initial dollars. $7k vs $12k investment, considering gold is 44% more points than bronze and assuming $900 maint fee, give an extra $400 in value per year based on MF alone. Considering $5k difference, that is 12 years without interest, estimate 15 years with interest, to make up the difference. Things can change a LOT in 15 years, and odds are timesharing will not change for the better.
2) since HVC ties your home week to a real unit, unlike HGVC, I can look for a week in a unit I LIKE instead of just going after points (this is not a feature of HGVC)
3) I do want to visit Carmel, Tahoe and Sedona, and 4 weeknights would be GREAT because I like to move around in a general area. I figure I could get 2 midweek trips with 1300 HVC points, looking at HVC charts. I think of these years as a "West coast swing" and combined with HGVC points I can get a sandwich weekend in San Fran or Scottsdale to make a nice 10 day trip (I have done weekends with HGVC/RCI so this is proven in my mind to get a weekend between two 4 day midweek HVC reservations). FYI - I have access to ski weeks at HGVC Valdoro so the HVC ski locations aren't on my wish list. I also know new locations are coming up with Hyatt - but not really a priority for me. And BTW - HGVC is raising the points stake on new locations also.
What I do not understand at this point is if I can reasonably expect to be able to get HVC midweek reservations in general. Here is what I do not fully have a grasp of:
A) Do full week reservation requests trump the order in which requests are made for partial weeks? I always want to do "West Coast" swings in Sept so I also would be 2 month behind the first possible requests in the queue for Sept reservations, but still 4 months ahead of CUP, and 6 months ahead of tossing points into extended Interval searches if I got nervous (I love options).
B) Is the risk MUCH higher in getting consective midweek reservation filled vs just one ?
C) When I submit a request for a specific time period, can I specify multiple locations?
I do not have a lot of vacation time or a lot of cash to invest. HGVC has served me well. I hope you guys can give me insight into how well HVC will work considering my approach to using it. THANKS AND LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR REPLIES !
I currently own only one timeshare week with HGVC/Hilton (platinum 1BR) and I have been able to leverage a lot out of vacations out of it by traveling offseason. I may be in a position to purchase a 2nd timeshare later this year and have been pouring thru HVC/Hyatt threads and HVC sales prices on Ebay. HGVC/Hilton seems more flexible to me (3-? nights with starting night not specified, single changeable reservation, borrowing points easy and free) but they also seem disinterested in expanding from their few locations. HVC/Hyatt also looks pretty flexible, but the rules of the game are most understood by those who play the game. We made our first trip to Key West last December (RCI, Galleon) combined with a short Miami stay and loved it. Here is what I am thinking and I would love for HVC/Hyatt owners to shoot holes in my logic. My understanding is based on what I have read, so fire away at that also.
I am thinking of purchasing a November bronze week in Key West. We live in GA and can drive, and can combine with a 3 night Miami Beach HGVC stay if we want (LOVE JOE'S STONE CRABS RESTAURANT !!!!). We loved how quiet it was at year end in the Keys and would probably want to stay there AT LEAST every other year. Locals told me it was the offseason and we liked it that way. I understand the logic of buying max points for maint fees because that is what I did with my HGVC points - but I really want to use my home week often - and that was not my goal when buying HGVC, which was purely a points decision. Here is the way I look at this:
1) it will take many years to recoup the difference in purchase price, and it looks like a bronze goes around $7k, gold for $12k, plat for $16k (this is what I have seen, I may be wrong, the numbers MATTER). Remember - if you took the purchase price difference and invested it, it would take even longer to justify the extra initial dollars. $7k vs $12k investment, considering gold is 44% more points than bronze and assuming $900 maint fee, give an extra $400 in value per year based on MF alone. Considering $5k difference, that is 12 years without interest, estimate 15 years with interest, to make up the difference. Things can change a LOT in 15 years, and odds are timesharing will not change for the better.
2) since HVC ties your home week to a real unit, unlike HGVC, I can look for a week in a unit I LIKE instead of just going after points (this is not a feature of HGVC)
3) I do want to visit Carmel, Tahoe and Sedona, and 4 weeknights would be GREAT because I like to move around in a general area. I figure I could get 2 midweek trips with 1300 HVC points, looking at HVC charts. I think of these years as a "West coast swing" and combined with HGVC points I can get a sandwich weekend in San Fran or Scottsdale to make a nice 10 day trip (I have done weekends with HGVC/RCI so this is proven in my mind to get a weekend between two 4 day midweek HVC reservations). FYI - I have access to ski weeks at HGVC Valdoro so the HVC ski locations aren't on my wish list. I also know new locations are coming up with Hyatt - but not really a priority for me. And BTW - HGVC is raising the points stake on new locations also.
What I do not understand at this point is if I can reasonably expect to be able to get HVC midweek reservations in general. Here is what I do not fully have a grasp of:
A) Do full week reservation requests trump the order in which requests are made for partial weeks? I always want to do "West Coast" swings in Sept so I also would be 2 month behind the first possible requests in the queue for Sept reservations, but still 4 months ahead of CUP, and 6 months ahead of tossing points into extended Interval searches if I got nervous (I love options).
B) Is the risk MUCH higher in getting consective midweek reservation filled vs just one ?
C) When I submit a request for a specific time period, can I specify multiple locations?
I do not have a lot of vacation time or a lot of cash to invest. HGVC has served me well. I hope you guys can give me insight into how well HVC will work considering my approach to using it. THANKS AND LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR REPLIES !