Hilton GRAND Vacation Club Palm Desert Coming Q3 2022

[cd5]

That would be a huge devaluation for owners. It would be time to walk away and seek greener pastures. It costs almost $400 if you add protection to exchange. In addition to higher MF from base deposit. Resort fees are a race to the bottom.

It's not a devaluation for us (Embarc members). We have 13 resorts we can exchange into within our own system, without any fees of any kind. We don't have to pay any Club fees either. Only our annual fee per point owned.

 

[Kaneo'pohaku]

Hilton considers us HGVC

But have to have max to book here though, correct?

 

[cd5]

But have to have max to book here though, correct?

You can also find us in DEX (Craig ownership?), SFX and Interval as many Embarc members exchange into these. No need for Max - as a matter of fact, at 6 months out from checkout there's very little left even for ourselves except off season and shorter stays.

 

[GT75]

I'm not sure if they charge this for DEX exchanges, would be interesting to know.

I traded into Embarc Panorama via a DEX exchange from a Craig deposited. Reporting back that we were considered Embarc members with this exchange so no additional resort fees (similar to trading into HVC resorts such as Cabo Azul with the same deposit). This is a huge benefit for this exchange system over RCI because these resort fees can range between $22 - $70 per day for many of the resorts which I want to exchange into.

 

[dioxide45]

Don’t properties in DEX have their own set fo resort fees when exchanging through DEX? The fees are shown in the DEX guide when applicable.

 

[GT75]

Don’t properties in DEX have their own set fo resort fees when exchanging through DEX? The fees are shown in the DEX guide when applicable.

Yes, there are fees shown in the resort fee section but they didn't apply for us. We are considered members when exchanging into either Embarc or HVC resorts.

 

[dioxide45]

Yes, there are fees shown in the resort fee section but they didn't apply for us. We are considered members when exchanging into either Embarc or HVC resorts.

Who would be using DEX that wouldn't be considered members? Aren't all people that use DEX an owner at either HGVC, Embarc or a DIR property?

 

[GT75]

Aren't all people that use DEX an owner at either HGVC, Embarc or a DIR property?

No, there are resorts listed in the exchange system which are non-HGV properties. I would assume (but certainly don't know until someone exchanges into a non-HGV property and reports back) that fees will apply to those cases.

Let's think about this exchange system. Additional resort fees hurt the exchange system causing fewer people to exchange. This DEX exchange system is a former Diamond product (now HGV but all of the documentation still states Diamond). DEX charges fees to use the exchange system. If the HGV resorts also charge resort fees then it would be like double-charging fees. RCI is a Wyndham exchange system so the exchange system and the HGV resorts are in different systems.

We can also look at the math if I would use this system if resort fees are charged:

3BR Craig MFs deposited into DEX*: $1355.61 (£1061.54 using the exchange rate or 1.2769 $/£)
DEX exchange fee: $210.07 (£165 using the exchange rate or 1.2769 $/£)
Total cost: $1566.29

Now, would I use this system if there were additional resort fees of $40-$70/day? That would add $280-$490 to the exchange. Probably NOT.

My DEX deposit is a tier 6 so I can use it for any exchange w/o any tier upgrade fee. There is also an exchange cancellation fee of £155.

btw, one must also look at the math when using RCI. For HGVC owners, sometimes this works because we are charged fewer pts for our exchange.

*There are better DEX deposits such as 2BR Craig summer weeks but this is what I have to work with.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

The lower cost per point of the RCI exchange is a really good point. There are also excellent exchange possibilities in II which offset the higher fees. DEX is trading an HGVC quality unit for equivalent (former Embarc, Cabo Azul) or lower (former DRI). In II one is trading for high (and sometimes higher) quality resorts: Westins, Marriotts. Hyatts, Ritz. This is an important distinction between the exchange systems which justifies the higher fees.

On top of existing DEX fees, I believe there is already an additional fee for points protection if you need to cancel. So that needs to be factored in because it is difficult to plan a year in advance without some type of escape.

I am new to II but really liking the ePlus capability of exchanging up to 3x for an extra fee. To me this is better than cancellation protection because if better rooms, dates or resorts come available or plans change, I do not feel locked in. With DEX I feel locked into my reservations which is a downside risk.

I would love it if DEX added an ePlus re-trade capability and would happily pay a reasonable fee for this flexibility.

 

[sponger76]

The lower cost per point of the RCI exchange is a really good point. There are also excellent exchange possibilities in II which offset the higher fees. DEX is trading an HGVC quality unit for equivalent (former Embarc) or lower (former DRI). In the case of II one is trading for high quality resorts: Westins, Marriotts and Hyatts. And sometimes higher.

To be fair, II does have lower quality resorts that one can trade into as well. It's just that we here on TUG tend to focus on the higher-end brands, and II has more of them than RCI or DEX.

 

[dioxide45]

Now, would I use this system if there were additional resort fees of $40-$70/day? That would add $280-$490 to the exchange. Probably NOT.

I understand the concept, but I don't think the resort fees showing in the DEX guide are anywhere close to $40-$70/night. I think you may also be conflating resort fees applicable to RCI exchanges and resort fees for DEX. It looks like only a limited number of resorts in the DEX guide have resort fees listed. I can only find 13 resorts that show a fee and five of those are GPR properties. This is different than the more across the board resort fees associated with RCI and II exchanges into Diamond and HGVC properties.

I certainly wouldn't expect the $40-$70 resort fees that are associated with an RCI exchange to be charged to people who exchange through DEX. Mystic Dunes doesn't have a resort fee listed in the DEX guide, but I understand an RCI exchanger will pay the resort fee ($25?). For the resorts you exchanged in to through DEX, did the DEX guide indicate a resort fee? I suspect they didn't and thus why a resort fee wouldn't apply to your stay and since it was DEX it is why a resort fee associated with RCI exchanges wouldn't apply either.

You said, perhaps in another thread, that the resort fees didn't apply to you because you were considered a member. The real reason they didn't apply to you is because you exchanged through DEX.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@dioxide45 I know the exchange fee is lower for MVC/Vistana preference. I do not believe that there is a resort fee for owners exchanges in that system either. However when I looked at Peak 7 and Peak 8 in II which are separate systems from MVC/Vistana, I saw a resort fee which appeared substantial.

The units in DEX that are not former DRI/Embarc appear to be from RCI. For example, I see Raintree units listed. Not sure about availability because I haven't checked but those are definitely not DRI.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

It's not a devaluation for us (Embarc members). We have 13 resorts we can exchange into within our own system, without any fees of any kind. We don't have to pay any Club fees either. Only our annual fee per point owned.

It is interesting that the Embarc club fee is embedded in your MF. If an HGVC unit added the club fee in MF/point, I wonder how that MF/pt would compare?

 

[dioxide45]

@dioxide45 I know the exchange fee is lower for MVC/Vistana preference. I do not believe that there is a resort fee for owners exchanges in that system either. However when I looked at Peak 7 and Peak 8 in II which are separate systems from MVC/Vistana, I saw a resort fee which appeared substantial.

The units in DEX that are not former DRI/Embarc appear to be from RCI. For example, I see Raintree units listed. Not sure about availability because I haven't checked but those are definitely not DRI.

I think Diamond had some affiliation agreements with certain resorts. I notice that some Vidanta properties are also listed and still indicate the $75 fee. I am not sure if they can still be booked through DEX though.

Resort fess for II and RCI exchangers is completely separate from DEX. I think there was some confusion in this and past threads as if the resort fees charged to RCI and II exchangers somehow also applied to DEX exchanges. They don't. DEX discloses resort fees where applicable to DEX exchangers. It looks like only 13 resorts. RCI and II resort fees aren't being waived to guests who exchange in through DEX. Those fees simply don't apply to them because they only apply to RCI and II guests.

 

[cd5]

It is interesting that the Embarc club fee is embedded in your MF. If an HGVC unit added the club fee in MF/point, I wonder how that MF/pt would compare?

Our US fee per point is 16¢. We don't pay to bank points, to borrow points, to reserve for a guest. We can cancel a booking up to 30 days away for $25 without losing points, and can move unused points to someone else's existing booking for $35. We call this "renting" points and it is done by paying the member whose points are moved over, for the value of those points, then one's own points are moved back into our own account to be re-used (so no need to buy more permanently for occasional "shortages"). Everyone is on the same footing for bookings - booking 6+ nights is at 11 months out from check in and 5 or less is 6 months out from check in (which is why Max is 6 months out from check OUT). We can reserve last minute - 14 days out (60 days out for Zihuatanejo) - for unused member points at very low $ cost per night. No administrative fees.
We have no charges with Embarc for their admin work when making exchanges or deposits with outside exchange companies (most popular are Interval & SFX). Simple, straightforward. 16¢ per point owned basically, for usage, except for cancellations & transfers. Fee price per point is not the only measure of "cost". When people here say Embarc fees are high, it is not based on full knowledge of our system.

 

[WaikikiFirst]

Fee price per point is not the only measure of "cost".

I could not begin to count the # of times I thought these exact words when reading stuff here ... or even count the # of different contexts.