Booking rooms for some co-workers in Vegas... Guest question.

[JoeAdkins]

I'm going to a conference next month with a couple co-workers and have extra points, so figured I'd save them a $1k each using points. Looking online, it almost seems like I can register the rooms to them for free.... Perhaps a prompt for payment for a guest cert is on the next screen?

I'm just gifting them the points, not selling... But will be arriving in different time flights, so check in was going to be difficult.

Is the next screen a guest cert prompt for $99?

See attached image

Thanks!

 

[Kaneo'pohaku]

I just got my friend a room the same time as my wife and i and it cost $69 for the guest cert.

It's after that screen but you will have another screen where you add in their info and your credit card info before the final purchase or being held to buying it. You won't be charged if you don't enter your credit info. You also won't get the guest cert too if you don't pay but you're not locked in at that point

 

[HuskerATL]

You can charge your friends and family for point use. You book it like you are doing, create the guest cert under their name, check those boxes that you know them and accept responsibility for any damages, and then you will get an email showing them as a guest. They don't need that when but will need to give their name and show an ID like any hotel to check in.

I have heard of Elara asking guests to fill out a form that asks about getting the reservation and the cost. No other place, that I have heard of does this so it isn't a HGV policy to fill it out. I think Elara is just being nosey about guest cert use but you can let them know that they may have to fill one out. Since they are friends, no big deal though. Personally, I would push back and say it is none of your business and not fill it out..

Btw, you can work out whatever for payment but we typically charge our average MF/pt cost. Good deal for them and we don't lose money.

 

[brp]

Btw, you can work out whatever for payment but we typically charge our average MF/pt cost. Good deal for them and we don't lose money.

Agreed. Since this is an isolated case, the rule violation against renting club reservations has about zero chance of being noticed. The fact that you actually do know them makes it this unlikely.

Cheers.

 

[HuskerATL]

Agreed. Since this is an isolated case, the rule violation against renting club reservations has about zero chance of being noticed. The fact that you actually do know them makes it this unlikely.

Cheers.

By the rules, you are allowed to do this with friends and family so no issues. You just can't "rent" non-HW stays commercially

 

[ernststarhemberg]

I guess they're trying to make sure owners aren't charging guests for use of the guest certs - e.g., using the points for "commercial activity" a la Airbnb. Kind of weird that they'd try to get guests to narc on owners, but whatever.

We've redeemed guest certificates for family to stay at Elara and didn't hear anything about them having to fill out a narc form. Had they been requested to fill out the form we probably would have called Elara and HGV and given them our strong opinion on that.

 

[ernststarhemberg]

One of the gray area benefits of bHC club language is that, since bHC deeds don't include home weeks, there is no overt restriction against renting out points. The language is more vague in that it restricts owners from using points in a (paraphrasing) 'pattern that might be deemed commercial use.' Extremely nebulous, I've pasted the exact language from the ownership documents in another thread in the past.

And supposedly the sales weasels at Elara have used this nebulous language as a sales pitch for the bHC units, bragging that they can be rented out for special events like F1 and Super Bowl.

 

[HuskerATL]

I guess they're trying to make sure owners aren't charging guests for use of the guest certs - e.g., using the points for "commercial activity" a la Airbnb. Kind of weird that they'd try to get guests to narc on owners, but whatever.

We've redeemed guest certificates for family to stay at Elara and didn't hear anything about them having to fill out a narc form. Had they been requested to fill out the form we probably would have called Elara and HGV and given them our strong opinion on that.pr

Folks may have rented out more due to stuff like F1 and the Superbowl so they were trying to make it uncomfortable.

 

[HuskerATL]

Language is clearer in HGVC

 

[brp]

By the rules, you are allowed to do this with friends and family so no issues. You just can't "rent" non-HW stays commercially

So, by rule, one can rent now-HW weeks as long as it is to friends? And receive payment? I was not aware of this, I thought that any compensation for non-HW weeks was not allowed. Is rental to friends and family for compensation spelled out in the HGVC T&Cs? That's interesting and new knowledge for me!

Cheers.

 

[HuskerATL]

So, by rule, one can rent now-HW weeks as long as it is to friends? And receive payment? I was not aware of this, I thought that any compensation for non-HW weeks was not allowed. Is rental to friends and family for compensation spelled out in the HGVC T&Cs? That's interesting and new knowledge for me!

Cheers.

I will post the section in the rules. It doesn't explicitly say that you can be paid but it says that you can extend your ownership to friends and family. I think they they would frown on profits being made but breaking even is reasonable

 

[brp]

I will post the section in the rules. It doesn't explicitly say that you can be paid but it says that you can extend your ownership to friends and family. I think they they would frown on profits being made but breaking even is reasonable

Thanks. So it seems to be as I understood. In theory, any payment, even breaking even, is technically not allowed, but would likely be overlooked. They have no way of knowing the amount of the transaction (breakeven or profit), so gifting seems within the rules, profiting is more of a violation, and breaking even, which is a monetary transaction, is a stretch.

In any event, infrequent events, of any type, are unlikely to face issues. Especially if one has some relationship with the renters: family, friends or "friends."

It's all about what one is comfortable with and what one can get away with.

Cheers.

 

[HuskerATL]

They do monitor though. I think you really have to show a pattern of guest use. I have heard about a person who was doing it a lot, probably for profit, and HGV cancelled all their reservations and cracked down on them. They were then selling their weeks because of it.

A few guests here and there will not matter but if there's is a pattern, it could be a problem.

 

[Talent312]

I'm going to a conference next month with a couple co-workers...

Is it a work-related conference?
Is the business not covering the costs of transit & lodging?
.

 

[JoeAdkins]

Good to know there is grey area for charging MF at least. Thanks all.

 

[JoeAdkins]

Is it a work-related conference?
Is the business not covering the costs of transit & lodging?
.

I'm a contractor... And our contact prime has no budget for conferences, so we're paying our own way.

 

[brp]

Good to know there is grey area for charging MF at least. Thanks all.

Since they have no idea how much you may charge, the grey area is about not having a pattern and being willing to claim the guests as family or friends.

Cheers.