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  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

New Website Enchancements

Sandy VDH

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Found this on the website today.....


Club Website Updates
Thanks to Member feedback, the Club website has received quite the facelift! We are excited to introduce an enhanced look and feel that improves the Member experience and makes navigating the website easier than ever.

Enhancement Overview
Book Now & Search Bar
The search bar is also easier to access through the “Book Now” button located at the top of the page. Members can now also view their recent and saved searches—the three most current and recently saved searches will appear separately in a dropdown menu when using the search bar. Note: When logged out, the “Book Now” button will appear as “Search Resorts.”

SearchBar.png

Tooltips
New tooltip question mark icons provide helpful information to assist Members throughout the website.

Tooltips.png

New Member Dashboard

Profile Information
This section makes it easier for Members to change their profile picture and display name.

Profile.png

Club Member Benefits
Hilton Honors, RCI Exchange and ClubPartner Perks information is now prominently displayed at the top of the dashboard.

ClubMemberBenefits.png

Points Summary
Members can quickly switch between years to view Point balances within a color coordinated circle graph.

PointsSummary.png

Upcoming/Current Vacation
This section features links to Pre-Arrival Information, Things to Do, and the Club Guide, all designed to help Members better plan their vacation. Highlight: The new Club Guide allows Members to share their experiences and answer questions related to resorts.

CurrentVacation.png


Destinations Update

Main Destinations Page
The updated main page displays a destination map, allowing Members to explore all the exciting HGV properties. In addition, can’t-miss banners will link directly to new Resort Specials when available.

DestinationsPage.png


Things to Do & Availability
By scrolling past the top image, Members can now access even more updates. “Things to Do” provides examples of shopping, events, dining and nightlife within selected regions, while “Availability” offers Members an accessible space to select dates and room types. The “Availability” section also includes a new map that allows Members to view proximity between resorts, and a “View Booking Eligibility” link that displays available booking windows in a convenient pop-up window. If a specific booking window is unavailable, Members can click on “Get Notified” to receive an email once the booking window has opened.

ThingsToDo.png


AvailabilityMapView.png


BookingEligibility.png


Resort Pages

View Photos & Quick Links
At the top right of the page, a new “View Photos” button provides Members with beautiful, full screen images of the resorts. In addition, links to additional resources—such as Overview, Availability, Details & Reviews, Things to Do and the Club Guide—are now listed at the top of each resort page for easy access.

ResortPage.png
 

Talent312

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More pretty pictures and other fluff.
Now if they'd only improve functionality.
 

brp

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More pretty pictures and other fluff.
Now if they'd only improve functionality.

For example?

For my use, this site is extremely functional. convenient and reliable. It allows me to book/see what I need to. Quickly and efficiently. Then again, I have realistic expectations and don't look at every action as a reason to complain. But that's just me :)

Cheers.
 

buzglyd

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Also, if you click through to the RCI portal, you will see a link to view and book the RCI Select resorts for HGV members. Elites can see the inventory a year in advance and the rest of us at 6 months. A decent option where some gaps are filled in areas where HGV doesn’t have resorts.
 

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I like what they did with the enhancements, but they took away the ability to do the same through smartphones. Basically when you click on a date selector, the popup window used to be pre-populated with any availability , so you will get an idea what is available in that particular month without selecting any dates. But since I am the one who has been complaining for the past few days, I have a feeling most of you are using desktops/tablets.
 

brp

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I like what they did with the enhancements, but they took away the ability to do the same through smartphones. Basically when you click on a date selector, the popup window used to be pre-populated with any availability , so you will get an idea what is available in that particular month without selecting any dates. But since I am the one who has been complaining for the past few days, I have a feeling most of you are using desktops/tablets.

I had thought that the app never allowed this. I thought I had tried this come time back and, even then, had to enter dates first.

In any event, this is not something I do on an app so, while it would be nice in a general sense, it's low on my priority list relative to website development. I do much on apps, but some thing just work better on the big screen.

Cheers.
 

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I had thought that the app never allowed this. I thought I had tried this come time back and, even then, had to enter dates first.
Cheers.

You are right, smartphone app never allowed this, but I was always able to use the browser on the phones which showed me the availability without entering the dates, until the last upgrade/enhancements
 

brp

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You are right, smartphone app never allowed this, but I was always able to use the browser on the phones which showed me the availability without entering the dates, until the last upgrade/enhancements

Ah, got it. I misunderstood your point. That's something I never did try.

Cheers.
 

bizaro86

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I some thing just work better on the big screen.

Cheers.

In 2019, Web Development should strongly consider mobile use, if it isn't mobile first. I book almost all my TS reservations on my phone.
 

JIMinNC

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In 2019, Web Development should strongly consider mobile use, if it isn't mobile first. I book almost all my TS reservations on my phone.

I agree with "strongly consider" since there are many people like you who use their phones as their primary web tool, however, the limited real estate available on a phone screen is still a problem. I have found very few, if any, things that work better on a phone than they do on a computer screen. Having more screen real estate makes things so much easier. I'll use a phone if I am away from my desk or don't have my laptop, but for almost anything (except phone calls and texts), my phone is my last resort device. For web activities my preferences in order are 1) 27" iMac; 2) MacBook Pro; 3) iPad; 4) iPhone. But I guess I'm just a dinosaur; I still use a DSLR for photography and only use my iPhone camera if I don't have a real camera.
 
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JIMinNC

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Also, if you click through to the RCI portal, you will see a link to view and book the RCI Select resorts for HGV members. Elites can see the inventory a year in advance and the rest of us at 6 months. A decent option where some gaps are filled in areas where HGV doesn’t have resorts.

I saw the link on the HGV site, but when I click through to RCI, I don't see how to search for this inventory specifically. Looks like it goes right into the main RCI portal and it appears that I'm seeing regular RCI inventory. Is there a way to just look for these locations at 6 months?
 

brp

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In 2019, Web Development should strongly consider mobile use, if it isn't mobile first. I book almost all my TS reservations on my phone.

As noted above, I think it depends on the application. Some things just don't lend themselves as well to a smaller screen. I love mobile, but there are things that, to me, just don't, and can't work as well on the smaller screen.

Also, I'm likely someone out of the ordinary for someone my age (late 50s), in my general preference for mobile when it makes sense. But I'm sure that many older (like me :)) folks do not go mobile first. Considering that the bulk of HGVC's clientele are likely on the older side, "mobile first" does not make as much sense. Development also has to consider the demographic.

Cheers.
 

bizaro86

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As noted above, I think it depends on the application. Some things just don't lend themselves as well to a smaller screen. I love mobile, but there are things that, to me, just don't, and can't work as well on the smaller screen.

Also, I'm likely someone out of the ordinary for someone my age (late 50s), in my general preference for mobile when it makes sense. But I'm sure that many older (like me :)) folks do not go mobile first. Considering that the bulk of HGVC's clientele are likely on the older side, "mobile first" does not make as much sense. Development also has to consider the demographic.

Cheers.

I agree that it is almost certainly generational. HGVC has said new owner growth is their top priority, and I think improved mobile experience would be one key in attracting younger generations, which they will eventually need to start doing.
 

brp

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I agree that it is almost certainly generational. HGVC has said new owner growth is their top priority, and I think improved mobile experience would be one key in attracting younger generations, which they will eventually need to start doing.

I actually don't think that the mobile experience, per se, will be very important in attracting younger purchasers. I think that it will be a minor consideration relative to everything else. However, I do agree that it could potentially become a factor for owner satisfaction among that group going forward.

Given the sorts of things I want to do when looking at/booking HGVC reservations, the mobile platform cannot possibly work for me given the size, However, booking hotels is (for me) a simpler process and I routinely do this online when not in front of a computer. Most of the airline booking things I do, though, are way too complicated to do on a mobile platform so that, again, needs a computer. And that what very likely be true for someone of any generation trying to do the things I do. Others, of course, have different needs that may make mobile just fine.

IN any event, at least one of their platforms is making improvements without any loss to the other :)

Cheers.
 

escanoe

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I actually don't think that the mobile experience, per se, will be very important in attracting younger purchasers.

People that are sharp about using mobile devices to do things like perform research and comparison shop are probably the people least likely to make a developer purchase while on vacation.
 

escanoe

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As noted above, I think it depends on the application. Some things just don't lend themselves as well to a smaller screen. I love mobile, but there are things that, to me, just don't, and can't work as well on the smaller screen.

That is true. However, some companies are much better at optimizing the mobile experience than others. I find the RCI mobile site to be pretty easy to use to book timeshare stays (for those with a full RCI account -- their app stinks just as bad as the HGVC one). The mobile HGVC environment is not very functional on either the mobile web or in the app for me.
 

brp

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People that are sharp about using mobile devices to do things like perform research and comparison shop are probably the people least likely to make a developer purchase while on vacation.

Not sure I see the correlation here. Likely a lot of these folks go to standard sites to do their comparison shopping may well not know what to look for here. Tech savvy ≠ savvy often.

Cheers.
 

bizaro86

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I actually don't think that the mobile experience, per se, will be very important in attracting younger purchasers. I think that it will be a minor consideration relative to everything else. However, I do agree that it could potentially become a factor for owner satisfaction among that group going forward.

Given the sorts of things I want to do when looking at/booking HGVC reservations, the mobile platform cannot possibly work for me given the size, However, booking hotels is (for me) a simpler process and I routinely do this online when not in front of a computer. Most of the airline booking things I do, though, are way too complicated to do on a mobile platform so that, again, needs a computer. And that what very likely be true for someone of any generation trying to do the things I do. Others, of course, have different needs that may make mobile just fine.

IN any event, at least one of their platforms is making improvements without any loss to the other :)

Cheers.

I agree you're right that it would be more related to owner satisfaction (and thus maybe propensity to upgrade) than it would be to initial sale.

Out of curiosity, what type of airline travel do you book that you can't use mobile for? I regularly use itasoftware on mobile to compare different airlines, start/end airports, length of stays, open-jaw options, etc. You can even make it search for hidden city options with a bit of practice if that's your preference. (I never do as I check bags). And obviously booking a flight once you've decided which one is trivial on mobile.
 

brp

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I

Out of curiosity, what type of airline travel do you book that you can't use mobile for? I regularly use itasoftware on mobile to compare different airlines, start/end airports, length of stays, open-jaw options, etc. You can even make it search for hidden city options with a bit of practice if that's your preference. (I never do as I check bags). And obviously booking a flight once you've decided which one is trivial on mobile.

I do experimental routings and package options. While I could do this on a mobile, again, I find the increased real estate invaluable. As well, the typing of the various city pairs for the different options is easier on a keyboard.

We don't ever check bags when we travel, but hidden city won't work well if you actually want to come back :)

Been a while since I used ita as we have certain airlines we fly, so most of what ita might offer is not useful.

Cheers.
 

Tamaradarann

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Not sure I see the correlation here. Likely a lot of these folks go to standard sites to do their comparison shopping may well not know what to look for here. Tech savvy ≠ savvy often.

Cheers.

I have a question about the new website that has nothing to do with the mobile app. using a Laptop and Chrome I can't figure out how to change a reservation to another resort. I can change a reservation to the same resort but I can't figure out how to change the resort. Every time they change the system it is always a challenge to learn how to do something that you have been doing for years with the old system!!
 

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When you click the change reservation link, you will be presented with this screen ( see attached) where you have a change resort link
 

Attachments

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    2019-08-08 08_05_48-Hilton Grand Vacations - Ocean Enclave by Hilton Grand Vacations Club.png
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I have a question about the new website that has nothing to do with the mobile app. using a Laptop and Chrome I can't figure out how to change a reservation to another resort. I can change a reservation to the same resort but I can't figure out how to change the resort. Every time they change the system it is always a challenge to learn how to do something that you have been doing for years with the old system!!

Yeah, something's screwy with the new site and Chrome/Firefox.
I noticed that the "day" slider is like halfway in between the dates

So instead of "greening" out say, all of Monday, it's half on Monday and half on tuesday.
Which makes using the "slider" a bit tricky.

Although maybe it's a WAD (Working as Designed) in that you're technically checking in on Monday in the Afternoon? I dunno.
I know the "old" version was a bit screwy on the end date. Like if you wanted a Sat-Sat stay, the green selected day stopped on Friday (meaning Friday night) so perhaps they're trying to appease everyone with the "half" mark?
 

brp

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Yeah, something's screwy with the new site and Chrome/Firefox.
I noticed that the "day" slider is like halfway in between the dates

So instead of "greening" out say, all of Monday, it's half on Monday and half on tuesday.
Which makes using the "slider" a bit tricky.

Although maybe it's a WAD (Working as Designed) in that you're technically checking in on Monday in the Afternoon? I dunno.
I know the "old" version was a bit screwy on the end date. Like if you wanted a Sat-Sat stay, the green selected day stopped on Friday (meaning Friday night) so perhaps they're trying to appease everyone with the "half" mark?

Yeah, just looked and I see what you're saying. I find that this makes more sense. Previously, I had to make sure I was booking what I intended: that green through Friday really meant staying Friday night and checking out Saturday. This is definitely more intuitive.

Cheers.
 

GT75

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Although maybe it's a WAD (Working as Designed) in that you're technically checking in on Monday in the Afternoon? I dunno. I know the "old" version was a bit screwy on the end date. Like if you wanted a Sat-Sat stay, the green selected day stopped on Friday (meaning Friday night) so perhaps they're trying to appease everyone with the "half" mark?

I think that it is working as designed (different than previous). I know that I have been caught before thinking that I could make a reservation within 276 days because of the slider, but I really needed one more day for checkout. This looks like it fixed that issue.
 

lds337

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I think that it is working as designed (different than previous). I know that I have been caught before thinking that I could make a reservation within 276 days because of the slider, but I really needed one more day for checkout. This looks like it fixed that issue.

That’s a nice fix as I always had to look at the dates on a calendar to confirm the nights were what I wanted


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