Hyatt? A few questions.

[chriskre]

I don't see alot of threads about Hyatt.
Is it just not that popular with TUGgers?

Just wondering since I live in Florida and it's got a few resorts that I could own at. Anyone with experience care to answer a few questions?

How successful have your trades with II been?
I no longer have an II trader but would like something quality that trades with II. I'm mostly an off peak traveller so I don't mind shoulder season trades if they're nice places.

Is a biennial worth the hassle? I just want an occasional II trader, not every year. Coconut Plantation & Key West are within 3 or 4 hours from me so worse case scenario I'd use them myself but am thinking use half deposit half the points on say a 1300 point biennial.

I read the Hyatt links here and it seems that you can deposit some of your points and use the rest. How success is depositing off season studios and getting off season bigger units in say Orlando like at Vistana or Marriotts?

Do the fees charged include your II membership? If so can you book getaways and get AC's or XYZ promotions with Hyatt deposits?

Are you happy with your Hyatt ownership?
I don't ski anymore so not interested in ski resorts.
Any non-skiing owners?

Does Hyatt have an II portal or do you just log into II and see your deposits?

Does Hyatt have any type of discounted points for closer in booking or any bonus time rates offered?

I've read Kal's site and it's very informative but no recent data.
Has nothing changed in their system lately?

Thanks for any info.

 

[tahoeJoe]

Let me Try to answer

How successful have your trades with II been?
.

I have gotten every trade I requested. Approx 6 trades. Often instant on the phone confirmations.

Is a biennial worth the hassle? :

Yes, I prefer EOY.

How success is depositing off season studios and getting off season bigger units in say Orlando like at Vistana or Marriotts? :

Hyatt in II is a point based system. So there is no free up-trades or trading for a larger unit. If you want a 2 bedroom it will cost you more points. If you want a studio it will cost fewer points. Also, keep in mind that Hyatt controls all the inventory they give II. So if you trade points from your Key West unit, II may actually get a unit in Sedona. Not your actual unit in Key West

Do the fees charged include your II membership? If so can you book getaways and get AC's or XYZ promotions with Hyatt deposits?

Yes, your Hyatt fees include a corporate II membership. But no, you can't book getaways or get ACs or other promos.

Are you happy with your Hyatt ownership?
I don't ski anymore so not interested in ski resorts.
Any non-skiing owners?:

Although I ski, I consider myself a "non-ski owner" since I own a ski condo in Lake Tahoe and use that instead of Hyatt.

I live in Calif and purchased Hyatt Tahoe to trade into Highlands Inn (HI) in Carmel. I am disappointed with Hyatt for the following reasons.
1) after Highlands Inn was completed and sold, Hyatt significantly raised the number of points required to stay there. This should be illegal.

2) Hyatt never delivered on the new resorts they promised (NYC) or what was planned (Maui, So Cal, etc). The new resorts they did open (Northstar and Siesta key) are unsold residence clubs that are impossible to get into. The developers are renting the unsold units as hotel rooms. Effectively, those resorts don't exist to trade into.

3) Hyatt significantly devalued there Gold Passports (GP) points. Some owners could trade their weeks for a fixed number of GP points. Those GP points are now worth very little.

If you don't care about Highlands Inn, the limited number of TS locations, or GP points Hyatt may be for you.

Does Hyatt have any type of discounted points for closer in booking or any bonus time rates offered?

Not that I am aware of. You can rent units for cash but, unlike Hilton, that is pretty expensive. No real owner discount.

Does Hyatt have an II portal or do you just log into II and see your deposits?:

No on-line portal. You must call Hyatt when they are open.

I hope this helps.

-TJ

 

[heathpack]

I would agree with pretty much everything TahoeJoe had to say, especially the outrageous doubling of point requirements at Highlands Inn. I have less of an issue with the new HVC properties not opening as planned- the economy tanked and Hyatt would not have been able to sell those units. I'd rather Hyatt stay healthy and not open new resorts in a down economy than suffer financially and stick owners with the bill in the form of hefty MF increases.

Hyatt puts you in a good position for trading on a number of grounds: small system, nice properties, fairly uncommon to see available for trades- all of which increases desirability. The negative to trading your Hyatt is that you can't trade up in size, but you do get a points "discount" when you trade through II- for example, a studio diamond season in Hyatt's system is 750 points to book but only 430 in Interval.

Another nice thing with HVC is that your points in II expire 2 years after your deeded week. So for example we own a late May week. We had access to this year's points 1 year in advance, we planned all of our travel and deposited leftover points in II. Soon we get more points, we will use some to book HVC reservations and deposit some with II. Then we will combine last year's points with this year's points to request a 2BR unit for the Carolinas in summer 2012. You would have less ability to combine points across years with an EOY ownership.

We bought our Hyatt 2 years ago. Trades we have made:
1. Marriott Ko Olina studio March 2010 (II)
2. DVC Animal Kindgdom Lodge studio savannah view Oct 2010 (private trade)
3. Private 1BR NYC apt Upper East Side Thanksgiving 2010 (TUG trade)
4. Royal Haciendas (1BR) and Royal Sands (studio) 2 weeks April 2011 (II)
5. HGVC Kings Land (1BR) 4 nights Jan 2012 (TUG trade)

Internally, we traded into Highlands Inn (Carmel) and Pinon Pointe (Sedona) for 3 day weekends.

We matched an exchange with SFX into a studio in London Aug 2011; we had already booked alternate accomodations and cancelled the SFX request but they called us anyway to see if we could use the week.

If you are familiar with II's XYZ weeks, we also got two of those for just the exchange fee- a Dec studio week at Marriott's DSV I and a Jan studio week at Marriott's Grand Chateau.

So I think the trading value of Hyatt is pretty good. We do not ski, our main interest are in Tahoe, Carmel, Sedona, and Florida. We would also be very interested in NYC and Maui should they every happen.

Overall, I think Hyatt is a pretty good TS system to own, but I no longer trust any TS system to do the right thing by owners. If you decide to buy, I think you would have more flexibility in II if you bought an every-year unit.

Good luck.

H

 

[chriskre]

Thanks guys.

I've not really mastered the II thing with any of my TS's in the past but I do like staying in the Marriotts. Thought about Marriott but with so much angst lately with trading with them it's hard to make a decision of what to get.

I think I'll wait and see what II points turns out to be. Who knows the whole Hyatt points deposit thing might change too.