HGVC tid bits (2006 thread)

[haygos01]

I have a couple of things that I believe should be of interest for fellow HGVC tuggers...

First, the construction of the HGVC Waikoloa is coming along, the entire resort will be 2 BR, 2 BR Plus and 2 BR Premier. 7 buildings total, 2 buildings with “Garden View” will be the 2 BRs (7000pts), the other buildings will have 2 BR plus on floors 1 and 2 and 2BR Premier on the third floor. So, the great majority of the resort will be 8400pts per week. It looks nice, the pool is not that big, however there will be shuttle service to the Hilton where you will have access.

In addition, while on the virtual tour of the resort (located at the Hilton Waikoloa resort), the “Senior Sales Rep” also indicated there are plans for another HGVC resort in the Waikoloa resort. He refereed to it as Kingstown, I believe. Anyway that would make sense since it will be closer to the Kings Shops and the Kings Golf course. No idea on when construction will start but I am sure it will not be until they are close to selling out the current construction. He also mentioned Kaui and Maui, but those rumors have been around a long time so, until I see it, or hear it from Mr Kreiger I am not sure if I believe it.

On another note, the plan is to open access to the CI resorts to all members in 2007. This was what Mr. Kreiger told me earlier last year when the CI deal was announced and it was also confirmed by him this month when a Hilton rep requested clarification from him on my behalf. I really do believe Mr. Kreiger has all the club members interest at heart, and most of the speculation on the divergence of Elite and regular members is just that, speculation.

Finally, my understanding on the qualifications for Elite was wrong, so there may still be some others who are unclear as well. In order to be Elite, you need 14000 annual points ALL of which were purchased from Hilton and at least one of the units must be an HGVC resort not an affiliate. So even if you have 100,000 points per year all at an affiliate resort, no dice. Or if you bought 10,000 pts from Hilton and 7000 on resale, you do not qualify.

 

[alwysonvac]

Thanks for the update

What type of view do you get for the plus and premium units?

 

[CaliDave]

Good info.. thanks so much for the update

 

[Bill4728]

Thanks for the info

Finally, my understanding on the qualifications for Elite was wrong, so there may still be some others who are unclear as well. In order to be Elite, you need 14000 annual points ALL of which were purchased from Hilton and at least one of the units must be an HGVC resort not an affiliate. So even if you have 100,000 points per year all at an affiliate resort, no dice. Or if you bought 10,000 pts from Hilton and 7000 on resale, you do not qualify.

This may be HGVC offical policy but we have heard from several people here on TUG that they have been given Elite status using the some properties which they purchased resale. Maybe HGVC is going to crack down but as of now there are several TUGGERs who are elite via resale.

 

[ricoba]

This may be HGVC offical policy but we have heard from several people here on TUG that they have been given Elite status using the some properties which they purchased resale. Maybe HGVC is going to crack down but as of now there are several TUGGERs who are elite via resale.

I have heard tuggers say the same thing here, but I think some of them moved up to Elite right when it first came out and even HGVC was confused how it worked. So lucky for them, but harder for the rest who are looking to upgrade now.

Thanks to the OP for the update...

Was there any word on the new tower that's going to be built next to the Lagoon Tower at HHV?

 

[haygos01]

Ahh, a couple of great points.

You can still get elite through re-sale, but only if you are buying re-sale through Grand Vacations Realty. This is where the contracts that were obtained from the ROFR end up. It (as I am told) was quite a debate to still allow this, and it is not an "advertised" option, but it is there. From what I understand in the early days there was some confusion, and some people did slip in without the total 14000 coming from Hilton. Also in the early days some resales from "close" resale agents counted, but that was discontinued. For now, you can still get Elite through Grand Vacations Realty... and as far as what I have observed Hilton is agressively making the rules more and more clear. Finally I also have a disclaimer that indicates that Elite participation is effective from the moment of qualification and continues through the end of the year,,,renewal of Elite membership will not automatically be renewed for the following year if the qualifications are not met on Dec 31st. To me that looks like an out they could take to fix any mistakes that are identified from the early days... I am not sure if they will exercise that, but it looks like they could.

To the other questions:
The views in Waikoloa for the plus and premier are golf course views. You will not be able to see the water from this location.

Also, the sales rep I spoke to indicated they were underway with the new tower in Oahu but I do not have any further details.

 

[CaliDave]

Finally I also have a disclaimer that indicates that Elite participation is effective from the moment of qualification and continues through the end of the year,,,renewal of Elite membership will not automatically be renewed for the following year if the qualifications are not met on Dec 31st. To me that looks like an out they could take to fix any mistakes that are identified from the early days... I am not sure if they will exercise that, but it looks like they could.

Since they have this "out" it also means in the future that they could decide only developer purchases count and not resale through Grand Vacations.
If someone really wants to be assured of getting Elite and KEEPING elite, they need to buy from developer. For me.. I dont see much benefit of being Elite.

 

[naptime]

naptime

The benefit of the elite status was crystal clear to us when we stayed at the Hilton Rome Cavalier last year. The upgrades to the executive floor were awesome with a great breakfast and evening spread daily (liquors, latte, dessert with a stunning view).

 

[CaliDave]

The benefit of the elite status was crystal clear to us when we stayed at the Hilton Rome Cavalier last year. The upgrades to the executive floor were awesome with a great breakfast and evening spread daily (liquors, latte, dessert with a stunning view).

You got that treatment for being Hilton Honors Gold, which I achieved from spending on my Hilton Amex

 

[Sandy VDH]

You got that treatment for being Hilton Honors Gold, which I achieved from spending on my Hilton Amex

Yes but Elite automatically gives you Gold. I do not have a Hilton AMEX or stay enough at Hilton to maintain my Gold, but I get those benefits with my Elite membership.

Think of it as an additional bonus.

 

[auandagbug]

HGVC Elite Status & Marketing

I agree that if you meet the HGVC prerequisites and qualify for HGVC Elite status anyway, getting HHonors Gold VIP status might be a good deal, but I don't own that many HGVC points and don't plan to anytime soon.

Still, if you're a member of probably any airline frequent flyer program affiliated with Hilton, you can probably get a promotional upgrade to Gold VIP status with four paid stays in 90 days or something similar if you qualify as an elite frequent flyer at any tier. It's a lot less costly than the high spending required on HHonors credit cards, or owning 14K HGVC points a year.

If I recall correctly, I read in the latest HGVC "Grand Times" newsletter that 90K families are now HGVC members. I wonder how many of those are elites?

I can fully understand HGVC trying to reward their very best customers with more benefits, real or perceived, but it's getting harder and harder to use those HHonors Gold VIP benefits at many HHonors properties regardless of how you attained Gold VIP status. Sure, you might get a couple free bottles of water and continental breakast coupons, but the coveted free accomodation upgrades are harder and harder to come by as the Gold VIP population increases.

Of course, anyone with 14K or more annual HGVC points is probably too busy staying at their timeshares while the rest of us are staying at HHonors properties on business travel and lucky to get any room upgrades at all, let alone time off to enjoy our HGVC timeshares 7 days a year!

Likewise, as the number of Gold VIPs increases, it seems so does the number of HHonors points required for free stays at the most desirable HHonors resort properties while the 23:1 conversion ratio from HGVC to HHonors points remains fixed by contract. The net result is a net decrease in vacation purchasing power. I have yet to convert my HGVC points to HHonors points because fortunately I earn enough HHonors points through business travel.

Even if you have the required number of HHonors points required for a "free" stay, actual availability at resort properties you'd want to actually stay at when you want to stay is another matter altogether.

Unless I see a significant positive change in the availability of actual Gold VIP benefits at HHonors properties, even if I had the money to buy more HGVC points to qualify for HGVC Elite status and had the free time to use them, the benefits currently offered are simply not worth it to me.

I sometimes wonder what the people in the HGVC marketing department are thinking. I purchased my HGVC timeshare at the Hilton Hawaiian Village shortly after 9/11 at a real bargain price, despite the fact that I bought it directly from the developer before I learned of TUG.

Now I get unsolicited phone calls fairly regularly from HGVC in Orlando offering to "buy back" my timeshare and allowing me to "upgrade" from Gold to Platinum season or to a two bedroom unit there or at a different location. All they offer is a "credit" for my original purchase price while the HGVC developer asking prices have since doubled, if not more. They must really think we're stupid. Of course, I have always declined because their offers have been insulting, to say the least.

I don't regret my HGVC timeshare purchase and we've really gotten a lot of enjoyment from our home resort and the exchanges we've done, but the tactics I've seen from the HGVC marketing people in Orlando aren't inspiring us to buy from them anymore.

 

[Eyecare]

Old post but I was researching any benefits of advancing my Elite HGVC status and I came across this.

In speaking to/with the HGVC reps it seems like the benefits you get from Elite status are comensurate with your level, much like it is with Hilton Honors. Whether it's really worth "investing" more into HGVC to obtain the status upgrade is debateable. We've had the base HGV Elite for a number of years now and HH Diamond for at least as many (from stays, not from HGVC).

I must say that from years of personal experience travelling throughout Europe that anything less than HH Diamond seldom brought the same level of benefits that Diamond did. This was especially true for the former Eastern Block countries. At my local HGVC resort in Waikiki they made a distinction just tonight between standard Elite and the higher levels when asking for things such as early check-in and late check-out, even though our HH Diamond status is supposed to cover that for HGVC resorts. Annoying but still not worth upgrading to a higher Elite status for me.

My primary concern with more HGVC time, aside from financal concerns, is that I have a huge amount of difficulty making reservations at the local Lagoon Tower where I have both a 2-BR oceanfront and 3-BR Penthouse unit even 12 months in advance for the timeframe I want. I personally feel that they've oversold the units or they've sold so many set time units to the Japanese tour companies and/or individuals that the rest of us with flexible times don't have a chance at getting what we want, even during non-holiday periods. For the most part I've been forced to convert to HH points and use them instead. This definitely isn't the plan I had in mind when I was sold these units years ago.

Someone mentioned the Rome Cavalieri. We've stayed there a number of times and I can't recommend that hotel highly enough. It has by far the best Executive Lounge in any of the Hiltons we've stayed in all over the world. It has the only three-Michelin stars restaurant in any Hilton. Coat and tie required for gentlemen; ask for reservations at least a month before your stay. I personally think it's the best Hilton anywhere inclusive of any of the others in their Waldorf-Astoria collection. (We've stayed at them all.)

 

[DEROS]

My primary concern with more HGVC time, aside from financal concerns, is that I have a huge amount of difficulty making reservations at the local Lagoon Tower where I have both a 2-BR oceanfront and 3-BR Penthouse unit even 12 months in advance for the timeframe I want. I personally feel that they've oversold the units or they've sold so many set time units to the Japanese tour companies and/or individuals that the rest of us with flexible times don't have a chance at getting what we want, even during non-holiday periods. For the most part I've been forced to convert to HH points and use them instead. This definitely isn't the plan I had in mind when I was sold these units years ago.

This can't be right? You should be able to reserve a 1 week stay somewhere between the 9-12th mth. If HGVC over sold, then that is a concern/illegal. If I was you, if you can't find the a 1 week stay between 9-12mths out, I would call and demand a week. You have a contract to reserve the type of room you purchased 9-12mths out.

Deros

 

[jestme]

This can't be right? You should be able to reserve a 1 week stay somewhere between the 9-12th mth. If HGVC over sold, then that is a concern/illegal. If I was you, if you can't find the a 1 week stay between 9-12mths out, I would call and demand a week. You have a contract to reserve the type of room you purchased 9-12mths out.

Deros

Even at the 9-12 month level, rooms are first come first served. I always book my Kalia reservation in the first few hours on the first day it is available, 12 months out. If you wait until the 10 month timeframe, then 8 more weeks of people could have taken your desired time period by booking at 12 months. Only owners in your home resort can book there, but that is still a large number of people.
I highly doubt they are overselling, as the "unit weeks" are all registered as individual properties and the land registry office can only register the properties to one owner at a time. If you look closely at your deed, you can decipher what legal "unit-week" they have actually sold you and registered, even though the week itself floats within the HGVC.

 

[Talent312]

What jestme said.
HGVC gives you a deed which specifies the unit+week, so they can't sell the same unit+week more than once. However, home resort stays (reserved in the 9-12 week window) still compete with everyone else who owns the same class of TS in the same-season who also wants that week. Elite or not, its still a race to the reservation desk.

 

[pianodinosaur]

Yes but Elite automatically gives you Gold. I do not have a Hilton AMEX or stay enough at Hilton to maintain my Gold, but I get those benefits with my Elite membership.

Think of it as an additional bonus.

Sandy:

You should seriously consider getting the Hilton AmEx. The points add up very quickly at the Gold and Platinum levels. Hilton has some great hotel resorts. Going Global will get you some very nice trips.