How happy are you with your HGVC ownership?

[jp10558]

Bluegreen has an Aruba resort. Maybe we will get access to that?

Worth pointing out for

OneOldGuy75​

that resale HGVC doesn't get Max, so wouldn't have any access to Bluegreen. The one "work-around" might be Craig and Dex, but that's not the same thing really. HGVC is certainly not something where you'll "lose" points, but you might have to "overpay" to use them, i.e. in an Exchange it might be more MFs than a cash RCI deal, and HHonors conversion will be more MF than the HHonors points are usually worth, but you'll certainly get *something* IMO via HGVC.

 

[dazzlingheart]

I am pretty happy so far. I feel that customer service is excellent, and the point system is exactly what we were looking for. We own Diamond Resorts US Collection, and I like that setup better than owning at one location. It is pretty flexible.

 

[Nomad420]

I would say neutral on HGVC. Bought pretty much for NYC and it fits that need. I would say it is expensive if you buy retail and the MF's are getting high (very) so now almost approaching hotel costs. Not bailing on what I own but if service and quality feel off that would be a different story.

 

[GT75]

Bluegreen has an Aruba resort. Maybe we will get access to that?

I certainly don't expect HGVC will.

 

[GT75]

We own Diamond Resorts US Collection, and I like that setup better than owning at one location. It is pretty flexible.

I would assume that you know that you don't own in the HGVC system but HVC/DRI. You can exchange into HGVC properties (since you are a member of The Club with HGV Max) if there is availability at 6 month.

 

[dayooper]

We still like the system. We only use points for HGVC stays and are not interested in any of the perks. It’s flexible and we are always treated well. We own 2 platinum 2 bedrooms in Vegas (Flamingo and Boulevard) so our MF’s are fairly low. We couldn’t get at 3 bedroom on the ocean for 10 days in Myrtle Beach for under $2000, at least not the quality of our Ocean Enclave accommodations. Our stay, if booked through the Hilton Hotels app/website would have been just under $17,000!

 

[elaine]

This thread is from 2017-interesting to see if views have changed. I’ve owned since 2020-very happy.

 

[Panina]

Still love HGVC. I have a high point week and can get at least 5 mini vacations from it.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Our HGVCs seem to get better. For example the free addition of DEX exchanges for our Craig deeds. Never saw that one coming.

Also enjoyed the F1 party they threw at the Elara. Will do more of these events.

 

[letsgobobby]

Our HGVCs seem to get better. For example the free addition of DEX exchanges for our Craig deeds. Never saw that one coming.

Also enjoyed the F1 party they threw at the Elara. Will do more of these events.

can you say more about this event? who was invited and how much was it? When did they announce the event last year?

My sister in law wants to know what viewing options she has if she goes to Elara for F1.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@letsgobobby Ultimate Access Events. Look on this thread below. Discounted food buffet for 3 nights, concerts and TV monitors of the race Wed to Sat 6 to midnight.

Had to attend a presentation. Offer came about 1 mo before race.

Post in thread 'Viewing 2023 Formula 1 races from Elara - November, 16-18th' https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/v...om-elara-november-16-18th.346490/post-2997936

 

[letsgobobby]

@letsgobobby Ultimate Access Events. Look on this thread below. Discounted food buffet for 3 nights, concerts and TV monitors of the race Wed to Sat 6 to midnight.

Had to attend a presentation. Offer came about 1 mo before race.

Post in thread 'Viewing 2023 Formula 1 races from Elara - November, 16-18th' https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/v...om-elara-november-16-18th.346490/post-2997936

how much did it run?

 

[Lodemia]

I know this is an old thread but I continue to get good value from HGVC, but I can see the value equation shifting at some point in the future. We use our points as a combination of hgvc plus exchanging a bunch for honors points for high-value destinations. We also do some renting of weeks but this year has been slower than last year for some reason.

This year we are spending a week at west 57th, a week at the district, 10 nights at Walldorf Berlin, 10 nights at Conrad London, renting a week at kings land and sharing some points with family members for frequent Vegas stays. It works for us for the time being, but we’ll see if it continues to hold.

Before someone jumps in and tells me that converting points is a terrible idea, 10 nights in Hilton London is around $5,500 USD (640k honors points) depending on conversion from GBP to USD. My blended point rate is $.11 in maintenance fees, so it “saves me” $1,100.

West 57th is always cost positive whenever I do the math, so there’s that too.

Like I said, I can see this equation shifting in the future, at which time, we’ll just liquidate. I think for my use it’s slowly approaching cost neutrality.

 

[brp]

This year we are spending a week at west 57th, a week at the district, 10 nights at Walldorf Berlin, 10 nights at Conrad London, renting a week at kings land and sharing some points with family members for frequent Vegas stays. It works for us for the time being, but we’ll see if it continues to hold.

Before someone jumps in and tells me that converting points is a terrible idea, 10 nights in Hilton London is around $5,500 USD (640k honors points) depending on conversion from GBP to USD. My blended point rate is $.11 in maintenance fees, so it “saves me” $1,100.

I think the consensus here is that the HHonors conversion is a bad idea in general but, as you point out, it can be advantageous in well-researched cases like this. Using it as a selling point to the uninitiated is deceptive, but it can definitely work out.

So, for 10 nights, is this 2 5-night (5th night free) awards, or does a 10-night stay booked as one include 5th night free twice? Conrad is generally 80K/night, so your 640K is 8 nights, and just wondering what was required to get the two extra nights in terms of booking logistics.

Cheers.

 

[SmithOp]

@Lodemia why do you think the equation will shift in the future?

I've owned for over 20 years and still get good value from my ownership. I doubt if there will ever be a bubble burst in hotel or timeshare costs like the housing market, it survived Covid. I remember when Motel 6 was $19 a night.

 

[ernststarhemberg]

I know this is an old thread but I continue to get good value from HGVC, but I can see the value equation shifting at some point in the future. We use our points as a combination of hgvc plus exchanging a bunch for honors points for high-value destinations. We also do some renting of weeks but this year has been slower than last year for some reason.

This year we are spending a week at west 57th, a week at the district, 10 nights at Walldorf Berlin, 10 nights at Conrad London, renting a week at kings land and sharing some points with family members for frequent Vegas stays. It works for us for the time being, but we’ll see if it continues to hold.

Before someone jumps in and tells me that converting points is a terrible idea, 10 nights in Hilton London is around $5,500 USD (640k honors points) depending on conversion from GBP to USD. My blended point rate is $.11 in maintenance fees, so it “saves me” $1,100.

West 57th is always cost positive whenever I do the math, so there’s that too.

Like I said, I can see this equation shifting in the future, at which time, we’ll just liquidate. I think for my use it’s slowly approaching cost neutrality.

We've utilized the point conversion at 1:32. At 1:16 it's a harder sell but at 1:32 there is definitely value in it if the converted points are being used to stay at more expensive hotels. Our blended MF ratio is also about $0.11.

For instance, Staying five nights at a 80,000/nt five star property (e.g., Waldorf). That would be 400,000 HHonors points. But wait, Hhonors Diamond members get their fifth night free when booking with points, so 320,000 HHonors points for five nights at the Waldorf.

At a 1:32 conversion that's 10,000 HGV club points. At a MF ratio of $0.11 that's $1,100 worth of MFs. Paying out of pocket it's unlikely we'd be able to stay five nights at a Waldorf for anywhere near $1,100, especially after taxes and fees.

Could those same 10,000 HGV Club points go further within the HGV system? Sure, but if you're traveling somewhere that doesn't have a HGV resort nearby it's definitely not a "bad" use of points in terms of dollars and cents. At 1:32 that is.

Just looked at five nights for cash at Waldorf Berlin - it would cost 2,225 euros or about $2,380. Getting the same stay for $1,100 worth of MFs is a bargain in my book.

 

[brp]

We've utilized the point conversion at 32:1. At 1:16 it's a harder sell but at 1:32 there is definitely value in it if the converted points are being used to stay at more expensive hotels. Our blended MF ratio is also about $0.11.

Our one bHC resort (1:32) is W. 57th and the MF ratio is higher here (about $0.21), so less of a good deal. Plus, we go to new York annually, so never have any of these available. Our lower MF points (Blvd) only get 16:1 so, as you say, not as great.

For us, conversion would not be the best option. Since we have about 2.2M Hhonors points plus two FNC annually, that's enough. Just shows that all of our situations are different and this highlights the flexibility of HGVC.

Cheers.

 

[Lodemia]

I own both west 57th and The District, so my blended bHC points rate is a bit better, but I really don’t convert them to honors, I have a son who works in Reston, VA so we get to DC regularly. Honestly, my interests for bHC are NewYork and based, and I can see staying there for a month at a time each year in the future. It would be dangerous to offer me a super-deed for 4 weeks in one of the New York properties.

Addressing a number of other things that came up - we convert our points for locations where there is no HGVC, and we will stay in HGVC as first choice. Our interests right now are European and Asian cities, which there are few timeshares available, and seemingly never the weeks we want to go. We also stay in premium brands when given the chance -Walldorf, Conrad, etc.

As a diamond, I get the 5 for 4 when converting points so I plan my trips in multiples of 5. Leaving on a Friday, and returning on a Monday nets me 10 days with only taking 7 days of vacation, so I’m maximizing my stays and my time off. When we went to Singapore Gran Prix last year, we did 5 nights, simply because the flights were so long and required extra travel days.

Why do I see it possibly changing? MFs went up disproportionately last year, and our blended point rate went up as well. If we have a couple more years of that, it might be cheaper to chase points some other way, or to rent the rooms outright. There is a hassle with maintaining timeshares, and it’s a hassle I’m ok with so long as there is a decent cost equation.

I started in this timeshare journey after a very expensive Hawaii trip with the family. Now that the kids are all adults, our needs have changed, so there’s that at well.

 

[Lodemia]

Just posting for posterity sake. Our w57th (we have a 14,880 1br) is $.18 per pt and our district (23040 1br) $.13 per pt. Honestly the District is probably the best for converting to honors. 737,200 honors points for $2997 is still quite a deal. Maybe I need to buy more there…. lol!!!

 

[GT75]

I must still be very happy with HGVC because I have added many additional deeds since 2017. I also agree with @CalGalTraveler and think that HGVC has gotten better with addition of DeX exchange for Craigendarroch owners. This has added many new properties without requiring an upgrade fee like HgvMax.

 

[letsgobobby]

I own both west 57th and The District, so my blended bHC points rate is a bit better, but I really don’t convert them to honors, I have a son who works in Reston, VA so we get to DC regularly. Honestly, my interests for bHC are NewYork and based, and I can see staying there for a month at a time each year in the future. It would be dangerous to offer me a super-deed for 4 weeks in one of the New York properties.

Addressing a number of other things that came up - we convert our points for locations where there is no HGVC, and we will stay in HGVC as first choice. Our interests right now are European and Asian cities, which there are few timeshares available, and seemingly never the weeks we want to go. We also stay in premium brands when given the chance -Walldorf, Conrad, etc.

As a diamond, I get the 5 for 4 when converting points so I plan my trips in multiples of 5. Leaving on a Friday, and returning on a Monday nets me 10 days with only taking 7 days of vacation, so I’m maximizing my stays and my time off. When we went to Singapore Gran Prix last year, we did 5 nights, simply because the flights were so long and required extra travel days.

Why do I see it possibly changing? MFs went up disproportionately last year, and our blended point rate went up as well. If we have a couple more years of that, it might be cheaper to chase points some other way, or to rent the rooms outright. There is a hassle with maintaining timeshares, and it’s a hassle I’m ok with so long as there is a decent cost equation.

I started in this timeshare journey after a very expensive Hawaii trip with the family. Now that the kids are all adults, our needs have changed, so there’s that at well.

it was outrageous NYC hotel prices which prompted us to buy W57th. We got burned in an absolute dump of a studio - 2 double beds crammed into a musty room with not even a closet - for almost $500/night (with taxes and resort fees) one year and started exploring. At W57th a 1BR in plat season for a week $2500 based on my STP MFs is still a great deal given the free breakfast and light dinner and so much space for four people (for NYC).

 

[Nomad420]

Our one bHC resort (1:32) is W. 57th and the MF ratio is higher here (about $0.21), so less of a good deal. Plus, we go to new York annually, so never have any of these available. Our lower MF points (Blvd) only get 16:1 so, as you say, not as great.

For us, conversion would not be the best option. Since we have about 2.2M Hhonors points plus two FNC annually, that's enough. Just shows that all of our situations are different and this highlights the flexibility of HGVC.

Cheers.

I own at HCNY and similar to you we travel to NYC from the Bay Area usually every year and if we don't I just bank the points. I NEVER convert to HH points even at 32 to 1. Having said that my brother who owns at 57th St. has converted (same rate as you know) several times over the years he has owned there. He somehow finds ways to use them but I personally don't see the advantage despite the fact that I often do stay at Hilton properties when I travel for business and occasional pleasure trips. Same situation as you, got tired of paying crazy NYC hotel rates but as I noted in my post above, with the rising MF's that gap in fees is closing fast. To add, with the remote possible exception of buying more HGVC properties in the after market in NYC I WILL NOT buy any additional HGVC properties. No slap at HGVC just it is just that most locations they are at I ether already own properties or don't really travel to (ie. Orlando) and the Euro properties to me don't make sense.

 

[ljmiii]

Hello - in process of researching and purchasing resale - live in CA and would want to use locations that can drive to on occasion, along with Hawaii as two primary destinations. Curious of your opinion as we are now in 2024 and believe some changes with major systems …. Do you still favor HGVC?

Best timeshare system out there long as you are happy with HGVC’s core locations - Waikiki, Big Island, Myrtle Beach, Las Vegas, Orlando, and (maybe) NYC. Or if you are interested in staying for a week once a year (or every other year) in a much wider range of locations. Or want shorter stays in NYC or DC.

 

[letsgobobby]

Have said many times that the purchases of lower end systems like HVC and BG do zero for me. They need to go upscale - I like the bHC locations and properties - but I really think expanding into major European locations is the opportunity. Not Malaga but Madrid; not the Cotswolds but London. Gove me opportunities to stay in Paris and Rome and Barcelona and who knows how many points I'd buy. As it stands I'm looking at fractional ownerships for my European fix.

 

[Lodemia]

Have said many times that the purchases of lower end systems like HVC and BG do zero for me. They need to go upscale - I like the bHC locations and properties - but I really think expanding into major European locations is the opportunity. Not Malaga but Madrid; not the Cotswolds but London. Gove me opportunities to stay in Paris and Rome and Barcelona and who knows how many points I'd buy. As it stands I'm looking at fractional ownerships for my European fix.

We have similar wishes.