Hilton Grand Vacations - Pay less vacation more purchase

[Clifbell]

This post and video is about leveraging all aspects of buying into a timeshare. Focus on everything Hilton when you decide on getting a timeshare (or whatever brand you choose ... Marriott, Worldmark, etc...).

I provide two options. The first option is to buy through Hilton direct...This is more complex, costs more, but provides the buyer with a lot of options to really test out the full use of everything Hilton. The second option is to buy a timeshare used and get the credit card. This is a lot less money but not as robust set of options to explore the Hilton experience.

Although I don't provide an opinion on which I prefer because I like both options... The one that I chose was buying direct. I did find that having all the options was helpful in getting me up to speed to use all parts of the Hilton experience. This is especially true using the Homewood Suites as a timeshare lite.... Using hotels like timeshares because they have a kitchen. I am not sure I would have discovered this as quickly if I bought used. However, I am hoping that I get a lot of comments from this group.

Hilton Grand Vacations - Pay less vacation more

 

[Patri]

I would not watch an 11 minute video.

 

[dioxide45]

I think the general consensus would always be to buy resale. Especially with HGVC. There is really no such thing as a new or used timeshare. As @AwayWeGo always says, all timeshares are used used used. Even if you buy direct someone has likely stayed in that same timeshare room before you. There really isn't a need to buy direct to learn everything. Most everything can be learned here and the difference between buying direct or resale is more a personal preference of comfort level. Some people are worried about buying resale vs. working with a trusted brand and buying direct from Hilton.

 

[Clifbell]

I think the general consensus would always be to buy resale. Especially with HGVC. There is really no such thing as a new or used timeshare. As @AwayWeGo always says, all timeshares are used used used. Even if you buy direct someone has likely stayed in that same timeshare room before you. There really isn't a need to buy direct to learn everything. Most everything can be learned here and the difference between buying direct or resale is more a personal preference of comfort level. Some people are worried about buying resale vs. working with a trusted brand and buying direct from Hilton.

I have to admit I bought originally from Hilton because I felt comfortable... However, I am thinking of adding to Hilton and I would buy used for sure now. Thinking of adding because of the Diamond international purchase.... Hilton will have a lot more locations.

 

[Clifbell]

I would not watch an 11 minute video.

Understood

 

[chapjim]

I have to admit I bought originally from Hilton because I felt comfortable... However, I am thinking of adding to Hilton and I would buy used for sure now. Thinking of adding because of the Diamond international purchase.... Hilton will have a lot more locations.

Will the management of the merged company be more like Hilton management or Diamond management?

 

[dayooper]

Will the management of the merged company be more like Hilton management or Diamond management?

HGVC management looks like it’s staying put. Diamond might have some holdovers in the rebranded HVC, but it looks like Mark Wang and company are leading the way.

 

[dayooper]

With HGVC, there is absolutely no reason to buy from the developer. You get the same booking privileges with resale as you do with a developer bought deed. The learning curve is pretty shallow and you can always ask here on Tug.

 

[Clifbell]

With HGVC, there is absolutely no reason to buy from the developer. You get the same booking privileges with resale as you do with a developer bought deed. The learning curve is pretty shallow and you can always ask here on Tug.

I will take you up on when I buy in about a year

 

[Fried_shrimp]

Will the management of the merged company be more like Hilton management or Diamond management?

That remains to be seen. Another possibility is that the two companies will be kept separate for the most part with some limited crossover.

 

[Fried_shrimp]

HGVC management looks like it’s staying put. Diamond might have some holdovers in the rebranded HVC, but it looks like Mark Wang and company are leading the way.

Based on my conversations with other Diamond owners, I would change "might have some" to "will have many". Or there will be fewer Diamond owners if Hilton decides to double our maint fees in order to "Hiltonize" our Diamond resorts. Many, if not most, Diamond owners have no desire to pay more to have access to Hilton's resorts. We are comfortable with what we own. You are correct, Mark Wang and Hilton are leading the way but it remains to be seen if he is leading everyone in the right direction. And of course, until the deal is finalized somewhere around the 2nd week of June, it could completely fall apart which happened once when Diamond tried to purchase Bluegreen.

 

[elaine]

I’m a new owner. Agree with others, resale hgvc is good! It’s a very easy system to use. Easy Learning curve.

 

[jehb2]

I can see you’re trying to present a balanced presentation on buying timeshares. And by balanced I mean you make buying from the developer a viable option. (You’re not passing judgement) I have absolutely no problem with telling people “do not buy from the developer.”

My first Hilton timeshare was bought directly from the developer too.

 

[Clifbell]

I can see you’re trying to present a balanced presentation on buying timeshares. And by balanced I mean you make buying from the developer a viable option. (You’re not passing judgement) I have absolutely no problem with telling people “do not buy from the developer.”

My first Hilton timeshare was bought directly from the developer too.

My next purchase will be used. Good to be part of a group with so much experience.

 

[dioxide45]

My next purchase will be used. Good to be part of a group with so much experience.

Technically, your last purchase from the developer was used too. I have never stayed in a timeshare resort or unit as the very first occupant

 

[The Colorado Kid]

I'm finding Hilton resales irritating since to my understanding...every time there is a $600 fee to activate the new ownership, even after you have already purchased one and are in the HGVC. Makes their resales often much higher in cost than their competitors, including Vistana and Westin.

 

[AndySamuels]

Many TS companies have fees. BG has a $500 transfer fee I believe. A few hundred $ compared to thousands of $ from a developer seems a no brainer to me.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Many TS companies have fees. BG has a $500 transfer fee I believe. A few hundred $ compared to thousands of $ from a developer seems a no brainer to me.

My comparison is apples to apples between resale purchases. No brainer to me to purchase resales that have lower or no fees vs Hilton baked in $600 - especially when same or higher quality properties than Hilton.

 

[dioxide45]

I'm finding Hilton resales irritating since to my understanding...every time there is a $600 fee to activate the new ownership, even after you have already purchased one and are in the HGVC. Makes their resales often much higher in cost than their competitors, including Vistana and Westin.

You really can't compare them to Marriott, since a Marriott weeks resale doesn't come with points. If you compare them to Marriott points, Marriott points have thousands of dollars in fees in order to be able to use them. From a Vistana perspective, they are cheaper, but Vistana has far fewer resorts that you can purchase at and still be able to use StarOptions.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

You really can't compare them to Marriott, since a Marriott weeks resale doesn't come with points. If you compare them to Marriott points, Marriott points have thousands of dollars in fees in order to be able to use them. From a Vistana perspective, they are cheaper, but Vistana has far fewer resorts that you can purchase at and still be able to use StarOptions.

Well I suppose that is one way to look at it...I prefer to look at the comparitive specific impact on my wallet and the types of properties the resales allow me to travel to.

 

[csodjd]

All I know is that I’ve saved over $100k by buying my 3 Hilton Grand Vacation Lagoon Tower timeshares, and my 1 Marriott Maui timeshare, resale and not direct, and did so almost entirely based on what I learned here. Marriott now wants to sell me on enrolling my week and adding points for the flexibility and other benefits (and there are some benefits). But the cost of doing so more than buying a second 2BR oceanfront in Maui through Redweek. For my last purchase I called the agent I bought through previously, told her what we wanted and what we wanted to pay, and a couple weeks later she had it for us (which was about $4k less than the best price on Redweek).

 

[The Colorado Kid]

All I know is that I’ve saved over $100k by buying my 3 Hilton Grand Vacation Lagoon Tower timeshares, and my 1 Marriott Maui timeshare, resale and not direct, and did so almost entirely based on what I learned here. Marriott now wants to sell me on enrolling my week and adding points for the flexibility and other benefits (and there are some benefits). But the cost of doing so more than buying a second 2BR oceanfront in Maui through Redweek. For my last purchase I called the agent I bought through previously, told her what we wanted and what we wanted to pay, and a couple weeks later she had it for us (which was about $4k less than the best price on Redweek).

Well-played!