Does an HGVC purchased resale allow usage throughout the system?

[DaveNV]

Probably a lame question, but I'm not finding it answered anywhere. On the Marriott forum I was told a resale purchase wasn't eligible for exchanging within the Marriott system, and to go to a different resort than the deeded one requires an outside exchange company. What about with HGVC? If I find a resale that is reasonably priced and enough credits and such, and the much-desired Platinum season, is there any reason not to buy it? If I owned such a contract, could I use it to get to any HGVC location, as long as there were enough credits to cover the stay? I get that different seasons have different values, and that different locations charge more (or less) to stay there. But is there any reason I wouldn't want to buy that resale bargain?

Dave

 

[dayooper]

Probably a lame question, but I'm not finding it answered anywhere. On the Marriott forum I was told a resale purchase wasn't eligible for exchanging within the Marriott system, and to go to a different resort than the deeded one requires an outside exchange company. What about with HGVC? If I find a resale that is reasonably priced and enough credits and such, and the much-desired Platinum season, is there any reason not to buy it? If I owned such a contract, could I use it to get to any HGVC location, as long as there were enough credits to cover the stay? I get that different seasons have different values, and that different locations charge more (or less) to stay there. But is there any reason I wouldn't want to buy that resale bargain?

Dave

Yes, you get the same booking rights as any other member. That’s the beauty of the system. The only restriction you have is you can’t earn elite status buying resale, and there are ways you can even get that!

I’ve booked Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and Chicago with my Vegas points. I know someone that just booked Maui with their Vegas points. There are resorts that have smaller booking windows, but they are the same for every owner, not just resale.

I see no reason not to purchase. @GT75 has a great spreadsheet in the sticky above that gives the best MF to point ratios in the system. Your best bets are The Boulevard and Paradise platinum deeds and Elara 1 bedroom Grand and Grand Plus deeds.

 

[Msb1102]

For the most part, yes. There are some exclusions/limitations for by Hilton Club properties where your booking window is pretty small and Hilton Club NY where your points don't translate but you can read the stick for more info about those exclusions.

 

[bizaro86]

You can use it for any location in the system.

Some locations (the 'by Hilton Club' ones) have a shorter reservation window for regular HGVC owners. This isn't a resale discrimination though, if you buy a 'by Hilton Club' unit resale you'd get the same window. Those units tend to be urban (eg, NYC, DC).

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks! I'm trying to learn the system so I can make a smart choice. I've been reading all the threads, and am gaining a lot of great knowledge.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

Another couple of questions: How does it work with multiple contracts? If I had an Odd year contract, and later bought an Even year, can the credits be combined to give a greater credit total in whichever off year? As I understand it, credits can be rolled over from one year to the next, correct? So if I wanted to save the Odd year credits to combine with the Even year, would that work? Is it smarter to own multiple contracts like that, or does it work out cheaper to rent credits from another owner? Seems renting would be cheaper, since I wouldn't be paying maintenance fees on two contracts. (Do they even do that sort of credit renting thing? I know WorldMark does.)

I'm trying to decide the least expensive way to dip my toe into the HGVC world. If I started with a smaller contract, and see how it works for me, then added a larger one, that would be ok. But I think I read somewhere it was smarter to sell the smaller week and buy a larger one. ?

Dave

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Unlike MVC traded via II where you only can trade week for week, HGVC points can be used for short stays of 3 nights or more and take advantage of lower weekday rates so you can stretch your points.

Everyone pays an enrollment fee of abt $650 upon purchase. This makes for a more fluid system where you can reserve a penthouse or view unit because everyone is enrolled. In the MVC system only 60% are enrolled meaning the best units like 3 bdrm Maui are not enrolled so not accessible for trades.

 

[DaveNV]

And just to clarify: The owned season only limits which weeks can be booked, right? So a Gold season week can only book during that resort's Gold season? I see that at Boulevard, Gold is about 31 weeks of the year, but at Bay Club in Hawaii, Gold is basically May and September. So owning a Gold week and trying to book Bay Club means I could only book the weeks that are named Gold, so May and September. Am I understanding that correctly?

Dave

 

[elaine]

Very happy with hgvc resale. Yes, You can book gold week for your specific resort during priority booking only for gold times. Once (most) places hit 9 months, you can book anything, available. Example, I used my gold Marco island points to book platinum sanibel island. Of course, it took more points to book platinum than gold. 5,000 for gold Marco and 7,000 for platinum sanibel. I could only get 4 weekdays, so points difference was moot. [Some places have a shorter booking window than 9 months.]
Places like SW FL are very difficult to book, esp in high season, as many use their weeks. So think about where you’d likely want to go and then research on TUG how “available” it is. Certain Oahu resorts are also difficult to book. If you see yourself wanting a low supply place, consider buying resale there to ensure you can book it.
Also, not to dissuade you, as I like the Hgvc system. If you have other TS and trade via Rci, bay club is an easy trade when hgvc bulk deposits it’s weeks if you can plan and commit at least a year out.

 

[brp]

Some locations (the 'by Hilton Club' ones) have a shorter reservation window for regular HGVC owners. This isn't a resale discrimination though, if you buy a 'by Hilton Club' unit resale you'd get the same window. Those units tend to be urban (eg, NYC, DC).

This is an important point. This is not a resale restriction. All by Hilton Club purchases have the same rights whether direct or resale. And all non by Hilton Club have similar limitations regardless of source.

Cheers.

 

[SmithOp]

Another couple of questions: How does it work with multiple contracts? If I had an Odd year contract, and later bought an Even year, can the credits be combined to give a greater credit total in whichever off year? As I understand it, credits can be rolled over from one year to the next, correct? So if I wanted to save the Odd year credits to combine with the Even year, would that work? Is it smarter to own multiple contracts like that, or does it work out cheaper to rent credits from another owner? Seems renting would be cheaper, since I wouldn't be paying maintenance fees on two contracts. (Do they even do that sort of credit renting thing? I know WorldMark does.)

I'm trying to decide the least expensive way to dip my toe into the HGVC world. If I started with a smaller contract, and see how it works for me, then added a larger one, that would be ok. But I think I read somewhere it was smarter to sell the smaller week and buy a larger one. ?

Dave

Be aware that “rolling over”, or SAVE points as HGV calls it, incurs a fee. What you want to do is get in the habit of Borrowing from future year, no fee, and you can borrow before paying the maintenance fee! Borrowing would allow you to use both points if you owned odd and even contracts, they do combine in the same account as long as you take ownership using exactly the same names on the title.


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[Talent312]

There is _no_ seasonal restriction on when you can go. Points are points.
Your season makes a difference only for Home-Week vs. Club bookings.

Home-Weeks are 1-week in the same resort, season & size as you own.
HW get a 3-month exclusive start (12-9 months out) on Club bookings.
Club bookings - whenever - usually start 9 months out (3N minimum).
But "by Hilton Club" resorts are a unique subset with a different scale.

As others say, resale owners <=> retail owners (except for "elite" status).
Elite members here say that paying retail $$ to get there is not worth it.
But resale owners - usually - do not get invited to "owner updates" (so?).

.

 

[dayooper]

And just to clarify: The owned season only limits which weeks can be booked, right? So a Gold season week can only book during that resort's Gold season? I see that at Boulevard, Gold is about 31 weeks of the year, but at Bay Club in Hawaii, Gold is basically May and September. So owning a Gold week and trying to book Bay Club means I could only book the weeks that are named Gold, so May and September. Am I understanding that correctly?

Dave

That is not correct. Each deed has a season attached to it and that season only matters when booking your home week reservation. Unless you own a a hard to book property, you will almost always make a club season reservation. The only time you would make a home season reservation is if you bought at a hard to book property (Gulf Coast Florida prime week, ski week in Colorado/Utah or a prime week in Oahu). Otherwise, you can make any booking you want as long as you have the points and there’s availability.

Example, due to not using our points last year, we had 14,000 to spend this year. We booked 7 nights in a platinum 2 bedroom at Hilton Head, 5 nights in a gold 3 bedroom at Elara and 3 nights in a platinum 1 bedroom plus in Chicago. The only reason platinum matters us is you get more points for your MF.

@Talent312 They knew I was resale and they still tried to get us to go to an update at a Elara and Chicago. It all depends if they have room to fit you in. We declined because we never go.

 

[mjm1]

Dave, another nice feature of HGVC is “open season.” During that time you can reserve a unit for cash rather than points. I believe it is only within 30 days of check in and is subject to availability. The open season rates have increased in recent years, but are still a good deal. For instance, we own at Flamingo, but have never stayed there. Since we live in Vegas we have used open season twice and stayed at Trump International and Elara. You have ro reserve at least two nights, which worked great for a staycation. Given you now live in Mesquite you could easily take advantage of that feature without using your points.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[dayooper]

Dave, another nice feature of HGVC is “open season.” During that time you can reserve a unit for cash rather than points. I believe it is only within 30 days of check in and is subject to availability. The open season rates have increased in recent years, but are still a good deal. For instance, we own at Flamingo, but have never stayed there. Since we live in Vegas we have used open season twice and stayed at Trump International and Elara. You have ro reserve at least two nights, which worked great for a staycation. Given you now live in Mesquite you could easily take advantage of that feature without using your points.

Best regards.

Mike

Just curious, since you own HGVC, Marriott and Vistana, his do you compare the 3?

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks for all the help, folks. So much to think about.

@mjm1: Mike, yes, being in Mesquite is one of the real reasons I'm thinking about HGVC. Nice properties in Las Vegas, and weekends away would be great, so Open Season sounds perfect. The ability to book short stays in other areas, or longer, would be a great option.

As for where we'd want to go, there aren't any specific places, other than Hawaii, New York City, and Washington DC. Owning just WorldMark, I'm kind of locked into the western USA locations. WM has only a few resorts on the East Coast, there are none in New York or DC, and Hawaii can be very difficult to book. Using HGVC to get back to NYC or DC would be great. We don't visit Florida often, but it'd be nice to have the option. Same with West Coast beach properties. I have family in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, so we'd be pushed to stay with them. Not sure how much the HGVC locations would be used, which is actually good - we'd have options.

Hawaii is another matter. I don't know that I'd ever need to stay at a Hilton property on Oahu. Being retired Navy, one of the benefits I have is the ability to book at the Hale Koa military hotel in Waikiki. It's the place with the awesome beach bar on the boardwalk just adjacent to the HHV property. I can book an ocean view unit there for a very reasonable price. So I'd probably save the HGVC credits for another location. Currently that would seem to only be the north end of the Big Island. But once Diamond joins the mix, things should open up, right? At least, that's my expectation. Having stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Club on Maui, I'd be happy to try and stay there again. Unless I'm missing something, I'd expect that resort to become bookable through HGVC. Is that right?

Dave

 

[Tamaradarann]

Thanks for all the help, folks. So much to think about.

@mjm1: Mike, yes, being in Mesquite is one of the real reasons I'm thinking about HGVC. Nice properties in Las Vegas, and weekends away would be great, so Open Season sounds perfect. The ability to book short stays in other areas, or longer, would be a great option.

As for where we'd want to go, there aren't any specific places, other than Hawaii, New York City, and Washington DC. Owning just WorldMark, I'm kind of locked into the western USA locations. WM has only a few resorts on the East Coast, there are none in New York or DC, and Hawaii can be very difficult to book. Using HGVC to get back to NYC or DC would be great. We don't visit Florida often, but it'd be nice to have the option. Same with West Coast beach properties. I have family in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, so we'd be pushed to stay with them. Not sure how much the HGVC locations would be used, which is actually good - we'd have options.

Hawaii is another matter. I don't know that I'd ever need to stay at a Hilton property on Oahu. Being retired Navy, one of the benefits I have is the ability to book at the Hale Koa military hotel in Waikiki. It's the place with the awesome beach bar on the boardwalk just adjacent to the HHV property. I can book an ocean view unit there for a very reasonable price. So I'd probably save the HGVC credits for another location. Currently that would seem to only be the north end of the Big Island. But once Diamond joins the mix, things should open up, right? At least, that's my expectation. Having stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Club on Maui, I'd be happy to try and stay there again. Unless I'm missing something, I'd expect that resort to become bookable through HGVC. Is that right?

Dave

Dave,

When was the last time you were in Honolulu. There has been a major renvoation in 2018/19 of the Hale Koa Pool and Bar Areas. We left in March 2020 so there could have been even more changes since then. I would consider the renovation a major upgrade of the pool area for families. The bar area, while very nice, is no longer adjacent to the boardwalk. It is further inside the property and I would call it more of a "lawn bar" rather than a beach bar. While we did go to the original bar for drinks and music a few times while staying at the HHV, we didn't go to the new bar. Perhpas you could buy a drink at the "Lawn Bar" and bring it to the pool area which is adjacent to the Boardwalk.

 

[ccwu]

E
Also: Resale owners do not get invited to "owner updates" (so what?).

.

I did not know that resale owner do not get invited to owner update! Is that true?


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[BingoBangoBongo]

I did not know that resale owner do not get invited to owner update! Is that true?


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Not true. We’re resale owners as of 1/21 and got invited in April. The rep was a little baffled why we were there and after I told him what we paid he didn‘t have much to offer.

 

[elaine]

Also you must book a minimum 3 night stay using hgvc points. Weekends “cost” more than weekdays, sometimes almost double points.
One thing I really like is being able to modify a reservation up to 60 days out without extra fee. So Hawaii booked 9 months out can swap out to FL then CA etc and if I can’t make it work, as long as it’s 31+ days out and before 12-31, I can canx and then save (fee) into the next year.

 

[HGVC Lover]

Not true. We’re resale owners as of 1/21 and got invited in April. The rep was a little baffled why we were there and after I told him what we paid he didn‘t have much to offer.

Same here......we have been resale owners since 2000 and have always been invited to owner presentations with the exception of Kingsland, HI......but is that really such a big LOSS not being invited to a timeshare presentation.....really?

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Same here......we have been resale owners since 2000 and have always been invited to owner presentations with the exception of Kingsland, HI......but is that really such a big LOSS not being invited to a timeshare presentation.....really?

@HGVC Lover - my thought EXACTLY!

 

[DaveNV]

Dave,

When was the last time you were in Honolulu. There has been a major renvoation in 2018/19 of the Hale Koa Pool and Bar Areas. We left in March 2020 so there could have been even more changes since then. I would consider the renovation a major upgrade of the pool area for families. The bar area, while very nice, is no longer adjacent to the boardwalk. It is further inside the property and I would call it more of a "lawn bar" rather than a beach bar. While we did go to the original bar for drinks and music a few times while staying at the HHV, we didn't go to the new bar. Perhpas you could buy a drink at the "Lawn Bar" and bring it to the pool area which is adjacent to the Boardwalk.

Last time on Oahu was five years ago. Doesn't seem that long, but I guess it was. I knew they were remodeling the Hale Koa pool area. The pool bar used to be open to the public, and was a kind of destination for watching the Friday night fireworks at HHV. I look forward to seeing the changes next time I'm on the island. With Covid travel issues these last 18 months, we've had several trips we've cancelled, so I'm not sure when I'll be there next.

Dave

 

[mjm1]

Just curious, since you own HGVC, Marriott and Vistana, his do you compare the 3?

Our largest ownership is with Marriott, followed by Vistana, HGVC and Hyatt. And we are newer owners with HGVC and Hyatt.

We have only used HGVC at the MarBrisa resort so far due to having to cancel a stay at HHV. We love the flexibility of the system and fact that resale owners can use the internal trading system (points) the same those who bought directly from HGVC. We don’t like all of the transactional fees that you have to pay, but that’s part of the system. We also have enjoyed the “open season” during which we have rented a unit for a short stay within 30 days of check in. Locations are more limited than MVC. It will be interesting to see how they handle the acquisition of Diamond Resorts and any potential interplay of usage. However, that isn’t a big deal for us.

Marriott offers more resorts and locations and the quality has been very consistent. We bought resale and have since enrolled units via the original opportunity in 2010 and since then by buying directly from MVC. So we can play with both weeks and points. For someone just buying in with a resale unit they will only be able to trade in II unless they buy points or certain weeks (Aruba, St Kitts etc) when that offer is available. They can also buy a bundle (week and points together) when available. So MVC doesn’t allow as easy of access to using their internal points system, but it can be had for a price.

Vistana also offers quality resorts, but not as many locations. We bought a mandatory unit, which enables us to use their internal points system. I believe there are five mandatory resorts and when bought resale their internal points transfer to the buyer. They are Westin Kierland Villas, Westin Kaanapali, Westin Kaanapali North, Westin St John, and Sheraton Vistana Village (I believe the Bella section). Other resorts are not mandatory and resale buyers can only use their home resort or trade via II. So there is a possibility of internal trades for resale buyers. Marriott is developing a system that is suppose to enable Vistana and Marriott owners to cross utilize their systems, but no details are available. Supposedly in the first half of 2022, but we shall see.

You didn’t ask about Hyatt, but I will comment on them too, since we just bought a Pinon Pointe unit earlier this year. I have been intrigued by Hyatt for a while as I have a friend who owned at Highlands Inn in Carmel and we have seen the Maui property. Now that we live in Las Vegas we have gone to Sedona the past 3-4 years and really enjoyed it. We looked at Diamond’s Sedona Summit, but finally stayed at Hyatt’s Point Point. Really enjoyed the resort and location, so decided to buy. They are fixed weeks (unit and week of the year), but resale owners also have access to their internal points system. Their resorts seem to fit into the surrounding environment and seem smaller in number of units. The quality of the resorts also seem to be very good too. MVC, which owns Hyatt, recently bought Welk Resorts and plans to rebrand those resorts as Hyatt. Again, nobody knows what that will look like as far as cross utilization.

So, for us each of the systems is very good. It really depends on where one wants to go and how they would like to use their ownership. We wanted to try HGVC and Hyatt, so bought one unit in each. We will use them for a couple years and then decide whether to keep them, sell them or even add to them. As we Tuggers know buying resale saves a lot of money and reduces your risk of loss if you decide to sell or give away.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[Sandy VDH]

Only thing not permitted via resale is Elite status.