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Did I get a good deal?

eabishop2

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2015
Messages
44
Reaction score
35
Points
128
Location
Olympia, WA
Resorts Owned
Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay, Mazatlan
Tahiti Village, Las Vegas
HGVC Elara, Las Vegas
Pardon the click bait title, but I want to share an apples to apples comparison of my recent HHV stay. ;)

I enjoy tournament bridge and occasionally travel to tournaments around the country. About a year ago, another couple that we frequently travel with asked if we were planning to go to the Fall NABC (North American Bridge Championships, aka "nationals") in Honolulu (at Hilton Hawaiian Village) in 2018. We were considering it and were actually in the process of closing on our 7800 HGVC point contract at Elara. I wasn't sure if it would close before the 9 month window opened for this trip and since I would be new to HGVC I didn't know if it was reasonable to expect availability at 9 months out for Thanksgiving weekend.

My friend is retired military, so they have access to the Hale Koa, right next door and can sponsor a room for a guest. We've stayed there with them before and it's a very nice facility and a great location. Our friend suggested that she could reserve us each a room for the duration of the tournament, and then if we came through with a HHV reservation through our HGVC membership she could cancel. She wanted to do this one year out, which is the soonest you can reserve there. She made the reservation for 2 rooms and told us the rate was $172 a night for each room. Hale Koa rates are complex as it's based on the military member's rank plus the different view levels. She told me this was "one up" from the cheapest, so not garden view but some type of partial ocean view.

Fast forward a few months and our sale has closed and the 9 month window is about to open. Based on my TUG education I knew how to "walk" my reservation and I was able to reserve a 2 BR OV room for our dates - 8400 points. My friend cancelled the Hale Koa reservation.

Then I did some math. My MF plus Club Dues for the year was $1053.43 or 13.5 cents per point. .135 x 8400 plus the $65 reservation fee comes to $1199. Divide that by 7 and you get $171.29 per night. Less than the cost of a HOTEL ROOM at the Hale Koa! The Hale Koa is a great deal for our military veterans and a far better price than you can get for anything else comparable in Waikiki. But wait, we would have each had a hotel room there, my HGVC cost is for both couples, in a 2BR 2BA full kitchen, LR etc condo with a lanai and a great view from the 18th floor over the marina.

Now some may argue that I have to include my initial buy-in into the equation. There are lots of ways to do that, but even if you take one of the most unfavorable methods - amortize the whole purchase over 10 years, that raises my cost per point to 26.3 cents. .263 x 8400 plus $65 comes to $2274 or about $325 per night. That's $162 per couple. No matter how you calculate it, the cost for the trip using my HGVC membership came out LESS than my friends with an amazing military benefit could've done for us in 2 hotel rooms!

Did I get a good deal? :banana::whooopie:
 
Last edited:

GT75

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
Moderator
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Messages
4,276
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Points
598
Location
Gig City in Tennessee
Resorts Owned
Legacy HGVC
FAVC-Cabo
Yes, this is a wonderful example of how a TS and HGVC can save someone money for a memorable vacations. Thanks for sharing. And what a great first booking too.
 
Last edited:

PigsDad

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
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Points
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Location
Colorado and SW Florida
Resorts Owned
HGVC Elite: SeaWorld, Surf Club, Charter Club, Valdoro
I think so! Congrats on buying something that you will use and are obviously happy with! Using any timeshare is the best way to realize the value of it. It is when people don't use it that timeshares get their bad reputation, as people only complain about how expensive it is and get nothing from it. It is nice to see a new owner happy with their purchase. Have a great time on your vacation!

Kurt
 

GT75

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
Moderator
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Resorts Owned
Legacy HGVC
FAVC-Cabo
Congrats on buying something that you will use and are obviously happy with! Using any timeshare is the best way to realize the value of it. It is when people don't use it that timeshares get their bad reputation, as people only complain about how expensive it is and get nothing from it. It is nice to see a new owner happy with their purchase.

Well stated and I agree.
 

Panina

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
6,781
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9,968
Points
499
Location
Florida
Resorts Owned
Hgvc Anderson, Blue Ride Village Resort
The military rates are great, we have used them for a night or two between timeshare stays. As great as they are, you have shown one example what a great value timeshare ownership can be. I am a believer, just like you!
 

Arimaas

TUG Member
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Messages
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New York
I made a spread sheet awhile back in google spreadsheets that will break down your costs including initial buy in, MFs, reservation fees, etc. i use it to compare to a rack rate at the same location to see the break even point. If you want access to it let me know.

Since my Wyndham TS was basically free, it’s taken a lot less to “make money” off of it as compared to HGVC since there was about a $4500 buy in. Either way, you got a great deal with this stay, and that’s why I love TS too. So much more bang for your buck (when you’re working off a resale purchase).
 

Jason245

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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As long as you bought resale and are using It in full you are doing better than at least 250k of the 300k hgvc members.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 

frankyip

TUG Member
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Messages
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I use a similar formula to evaluate the TS I’m buying:

[(MFs+taxes+Dues)+(buy in price+closing fees)] / annual points = cost per point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

SmithOp

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2010
Messages
7,610
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3,403
Points
499
Location
Huntington Beach, CA
Resorts Owned
HGVC King's Land 2BR Premier 23.040K Points.
I use a similar formula to evaluate the TS I’m buying:

[(MFs+taxes+Dues)+(buy in price+closing fees)] / annual points = cost per point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I take it a little further because I consider usage years and if there is a resale value or do you expect to give it away.

(Total Annual Fees + ((Total Purchase cost - Resale Value) / expected usage years)) / number of points= cost per point


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 

cas42021

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2016
Messages
80
Reaction score
16
Points
118
Location
Upstate NY
Pardon the click bait title, but I want to share an apples to apples comparison of my recent HHV stay. ;)

I enjoy tournament bridge and occasionally travel to tournaments around the country. About a year ago, another couple that we frequently travel with asked if we were planning to go to the Fall NABC (North American Bridge Championships, aka "nationals") in Honolulu (at Hilton Hawaiian Village) in 2018. We were considering it and were actually in the process of closing on our 7800 HGVC point contract at Elara. I wasn't sure if it would close before the 9 month window opened for this trip and since I would be new to HGVC I didn't know if it was reasonable to expect availability at 9 months out for Thanksgiving weekend.

My friend is retired military, so they have access to the Hale Koa, right next door and can sponsor a room for a guest. We've stayed there with them before and it's a very nice facility and a great location. Our friend suggested that she could reserve us each a room for the duration of the tournament, and then if we came through with a HHV reservation through our HGVC membership she could cancel. She wanted to do this one year out, which is the soonest you can reserve there. She made the reservation for 2 rooms and told us the rate was $172 a night for each room. Hale Koa rates are complex as it's based on the military member's rank plus the different view levels. She told me this was "one up" from the cheapest, so not garden view but some type of partial ocean view.

Fast forward a few months and our sale has closed and the 9 month window is about to open. Based on my TUG education I knew how to "walk" my reservation and I was able to reserve a 2 BR OV room for our dates - 8400 points. My friend cancelled the Hale Koa reservation.

Then I did some math. My MF plus Club Dues for the year was $1053.43 or 13.5 cents per point. .135 x 8400 plus the $65 reservation fee comes to $1199. Divide that by 7 and you get $171.29 per night. Less than the cost of a HOTEL ROOM at the Hale Koa! The Hale Koa is a great deal for our military veterans and a far better price than you can get for anything else comparable in Waikiki. But wait, we would have each had a hotel room there, my HGVC cost is for both couples, in a 2BR 2BA full kitchen, LR etc condo with a lanai and a great view from the 18th floor over the marina.

Now some may argue that I have to include my initial buy-in into the equation. There are lots of ways to do that, but even if you take one of the most unfavorable methods - amortize the whole purchase over 10 years, that raises my cost per point to 26.3 cents. .263 x 8400 plus $65 comes to $2274 or about $325 per night. That's $162 per couple. No matter how you calculate it, the cost for the trip using my HGVC membership came out LESS than my friends with an amazing military benefit could've done for us in 2 hotel rooms!

Did I get a good deal? :banana::whooopie:

What's the 8400? Was that the resale price of the contract?
 

eabishop2

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2015
Messages
44
Reaction score
35
Points
128
Location
Olympia, WA
Resorts Owned
Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay, Mazatlan
Tahiti Village, Las Vegas
HGVC Elara, Las Vegas
What's the 8400? Was that the resale price of the contract?
The 8400 is the number of points the HHV reservation required.
 

frankyip

TUG Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2018
Messages
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Reaction score
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Points
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I take it a little further because I consider usage years and if there is a resale value or do you expect to give it away.

(Total Annual Fees + ((Total Purchase cost - Resale Value) / expected usage years)) / number of points= cost per point


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I don’t disagree with that. I just want to “stress” it a bit and see how much it cost per night. One can also argue you can amortize that over 15 or 20 years.
 

Sandy VDH

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
9,848
Reaction score
4,227
Points
648
Location
Houston, TX
Resorts Owned
Wynd VIP Plat GF, HGVC Elite, WM, HICV, +
Writing off any initial investment in the first year is not practical. Spread that out of the amount of years you expect to hold the property.
 
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