Questions after seeing some listings in the marketplace

[carloscordon82]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the info so far. I was looking through the market place and after seeings multiple listings I do have some basic questions (I did some research before this post, so I'll add my understanding of a few things):

- I see that listings advertise points as Gold, Platinum, etc. My understanding is that unless I'm planning to visit that specific resort, I should only care about the amount of points vs the MFs. Correct?
- Regardless of the kind of points (Gold, Platinum, Gold, etc) I can use those points anywhere and during any season right? Obviously the amount of points vary at each resort depending on dates and room type, but I can use them that way, right?
- If I don't use all my points in 1 year I understand that for a fee I can roll them over to the next year, correct?
- In the marketplace, what does "Floating" mean? Some even say floating but they list Jan 1 to Dec 31.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

 

[4TimeAway]

1. You will/should use your points every year as you can borrow from the next. Rolling is waste.
2. MFs will push you to pay some money for a "good" resale timeshare.
3. There is no free lunch. Pay now to acquire the timeshare or pay later to get rid of it.
4. MFs are EVERY YEAR.... They add up.
5. TUG will recommend: Scotland (RCI, II and towards status) with low MF. I chose MarBrisa (GPX, local and Legoland, CA) basically free and Kohala 15,360 pts for like $6,000 plus some costs.
6. ROFR.net shows what the floor price is. Try to be a bit above for a good week, if ROFR applies.
7. Buying Resale takes months not days. It’s painful and ROFR is a drag.
8. You are paying 80-90% less than retail so relax. Plus, when you BUY PLATINUM the MFs are so much better. BUY RESALE PLAT.
9. Float means you might have a deeded week, but you can select another week. The "points" float. So a 2 Bedroom Plat, might mean 3 weeks in a Studio Silver.
10. You will never fully know how things will work out. Deals will popup, like 40% off for Black Friday. You will book or rebook then.

It is a game to lower your cost to travel. It is not always fun, and you will NEVER get the perfect deal. Seriously, the goal should be to travel at 20-50% normal cost. Generally, it will work out that you get a better place 1 bedroom with a decent kitchen for the cost of a hotel room. Many times, it will be a 2 Bedroom unit with a kitchen for 15%-30% of a Hotel Room.... IT is not FREE.


PS- Some deals are random. If a place is a good deal and you can go. GO!

 

[GT75]

- I see that listings advertise points as Gold, Platinum, etc. My understanding is that unless I'm planning to visit that specific resort, I should only care about the amount of points vs the MFs. Correct?

I think you understand the basic idea. You statement will be completely correct if you change it to:

My understanding is that unless I am planning to book my home week, I should …

Home week is very restrictive (exact unit type, in the deeded season, for a week, started on a specific day of the week (usually Saturday)). Most on Tug have never used their HW, but I do for my ski weeks at Valdoro and Sunrise Lodges.

- Regardless of the kind of points (Gold, Platinum, Gold, etc) I can use those points anywhere and during any season right? Obviously the amount of points vary at each resort depending on dates and room type, but I can use them that way, right?

Yes, If you purchase a HGVC deed, you will be able to book any unit at any resort when the club season window opens (usually at 276-days before check-out (assuming it it available). The key to TS is to plan and book early for best availability. One some resorts/units this requires booking immediately (like midnight) and others you have some time.

- If I don't use all my points in 1 year I understand that for a fee I can roll them over to the next year, correct?

Correct

- In the marketplace, what does "Floating" mean? Some even say floating but they list Jan 1 to Dec 31.

Floating means that there isn’t a specific week assigned, therefore it floats and must be book. Technically, it doesn’t float the complete year but only in the season that it is deeded.

 

[carloscordon82]

Thanks for all the replies. So what I'm concluding is, regardless of Gold points, Platinum platinum, etc, I should look for the best value between points and MFs, taking into count the initial purchase price. Correct? Based on looking at listings in the Market place I see that Platinum points tend to give more for the MFs, but the buy in price tends to be higher, so I'll just have to take that into account when I calculate if it works for me.

 

[GT75]

I should look for the best value between points and MFs, taking into count the initial purchase price. Correct? Based on looking at listings in the Market place I see that Platinum points tend to give more for the MFs, but the buy in price tends to be higher, so I'll just have to take that into account when I calculate if it works for me.

You got it if you are just purchasing a deed for points (not going to use your HW)

 

[letsgobobby]

Thanks for all the replies. So what I'm concluding is, regardless of Gold points, Platinum platinum, etc, I should look for the best value between points and MFs, taking into count the initial purchase price. Correct? Based on looking at listings in the Market place I see that Platinum points tend to give more for the MFs, but the buy in price tends to be higher, so I'll just have to take that into account when I calculate if it works for me.

yes but… I always suggest having an exit strategy. How will you offload these deeds in the future? Platinum deeds are easier to sell, whereas some gold deeds you can’t even give away. For that reason I prefer to own Plat deeds. Everything I own can be sold, for some value. I will not get stuck holding the bag.

 

[carloscordon82]

yes but… I always suggest having an exit strategy. How will you offload these deeds in the future? Platinum deeds are easier to sell, whereas some gold deeds you can’t even give away. For that reason I prefer to own Plat deeds. Everything I own can be sold, for some value. I will not get stuck holding the bag.

Great tip! Thanks!!!

 

[alwysonvac]

@carloscordon82

Before you buy, think about....

1. how many trips (with HGVC banking and borrowing you can travel every year, every other year or every three years).
2. where you want to visit (look at the HGVC points charts and the time of year you want to visit to determine the number of points you'll need)
3. your travel date flexibility (depending on the resort, you might have to travel based on availability of your desired unit size/type)

Keep in mind that there will be lots of families competing whenever the kids are out of school (especially late June to mid August, Thansgiving and Christmas/NYE). Spring break is a little easier since it varies.

Owners get priority booking at their home resort (for the exact unit size, type, season they purchased on the select home resort checkin day) before everything opens up to all owners during the Club reservation window.

Some destinations are harder to book than others (due to high demand and/or limited in availability (link)). High demand locations and/or high demand travel dates will require booking your club reservation as soon as the booking window opens at midnight eastern (link). Some unit sizes/type will be taken/gone within minutes after the Club reservation window opens. As a result, some of us own weeks that we use specifically for home week reservations only and club reservations only.

Here are some examples:

HGVC Resorts on Florida Gulf Coast

Looks like they are all External Exchanges and have extremely limited availability -- mostly a day or two here and there. Fort Myers Beach seems to be the worst hit and slowest recovering. Are Captiva, Marco, and Sanibel Islands worth going to or are they still rebuilding? Even if the...

tugbbs.com

Tips on booking Hilton Vilamoura during high season

We have checked for the past few years (minus this one) to try to get this property but, of course, we want to go in summer. Any non-owners ever have luck getting a unit in July? Just wondering if it is really possible!! Thanks in advance.

tugbbs.com

HGVC Barbados at the Crane Availability

Has anyone booked a stay here at the 9 month window recently? Wondering what availability is like? I was thinking of booking for Presidents Day week in 2022. Should I start walking a reservation now? It’s particularly annoying to do that since this resort can not be booked on the app, and would...

tugbbs.com

Here are some Poll results from 2013 and 2018

• In 2013, 100 folks voted and 34% indicated that they make home week reservations (link)
• In 2018, 87 folks voted and 33% indicated that they make home week reservations (link)

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[carloscordon82]

@carloscordon82

Before you buy, think about....

1. how many trips (with HGVC banking and borrowing you can travel every year, every other year or every three years).
2. where you want to visit (look at the HGVC points charts and the time of year you want to visit to determine the number of points you'll need)
3. your travel date flexibility (depending on the resort, you might have to travel based on availability of your desired unit size/type)

Keep in mind that there will be lots of families competing whenever the kids are out of school (especially late June to mid August, Thansgiving and Christmas/NYE). Spring break is a little easier since it varies.

Owners get priority booking at their home resort (for the exact unit size, type, season they purchased on the select home resort checkin day) before everything opens up to all owners during the Club reservation window.

Some destinations are harder to book than others (due to high demand and/or limited in availability (link)). High demand locations and/or high demand travel dates will require booking your club reservation as soon as the booking window opens at midnight eastern (link). Some unit sizes/type will be taken/gone within minutes after the Club reservation window opens. As a result, some of us own weeks that we use specifically for home week reservations only and club reservations only.

Here are some examples:

HGVC Resorts on Florida Gulf Coast

Looks like they are all External Exchanges and have extremely limited availability -- mostly a day or two here and there. Fort Myers Beach seems to be the worst hit and slowest recovering. Are Captiva, Marco, and Sanibel Islands worth going to or are they still rebuilding? Even if the...

tugbbs.com

Tips on booking Hilton Vilamoura during high season

We have checked for the past few years (minus this one) to try to get this property but, of course, we want to go in summer. Any non-owners ever have luck getting a unit in July? Just wondering if it is really possible!! Thanks in advance.

tugbbs.com

HGVC Barbados at the Crane Availability

Has anyone booked a stay here at the 9 month window recently? Wondering what availability is like? I was thinking of booking for Presidents Day week in 2022. Should I start walking a reservation now? It’s particularly annoying to do that since this resort can not be booked on the app, and would...

tugbbs.com

Here are some Poll results from 2013 and 2018

• In 2013, 100 folks voted and 34% indicated that they make home week reservations (link)
• In 2018, 87 folks voted and 33% indicated that they make home week reservations (link)

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Thank you for posting this! I did have a question about points. I see that on a yearly deed the points obviously come in every year, but I was wondering if the points needed for a specific booking ever change (I would imagine they do) and if so, does the yearly points attached to a deed ever go up? To kind of keep up with the increase. I hope my question makes sense.

 

[geist1223]

I can not give firm answer for HGVC. But we own several Point/Credit Timeshares. The number needed for a Booking various by Season and size of Unit. Normally Points do not go up. Recently after HGVC bought DRI they adjusted the number of Points each HGVC Owner as well as the number of Points needed for a Booking to bring it more on par with DRI.

Remember a 2 bedroom Platinum is worth more Points than a 2 bedroom Gold. But the MF are determined by size of Unit. So MF are the same for a 2 bedroom whether Gold or Platinum.

 

[alwysonvac]

Thank you for posting this! I did have a question about points. I see that on a yearly deed the points obviously come in every year, but I was wondering if the points needed for a specific booking ever change (I would imagine they do) and if so, does the yearly points attached to a deed ever go up? To kind of keep up with the increase. I hope my question makes sense.

In general points point assignments rarely change at existing HGVC resorts.

What HGVC will do instead is increase the number of points required with each new resort. For example, look at the 4 properties at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Oahu. Lagoon and Kalia Towers (the oldest) have similar point requirements then came along Grand Waikikian Tower which raised point requirements followed by Grand Islander Tower which has even higher point requirements. Fast forward and we now see much higher point requirements with the newest Hawaii resorts (Ocean Tower on the Big Island and Maui Bay Villas on Maui).

NOTE: Many years ago they adjusted some seasons, those owners received an adjustment in their favor (link). There is a change coming in 2025 that will impact partial week owners but so far it's unclear how they plan to handle it (link).

Point Charts for Lagoon Tower (older Hawaii resort) vs Maui Bay Villas (newest Hawaii resort)
The Point requirement for a one week stay during Platinum Season

• Oldest resort (Lagoon Tower) has one bedrooms starting at 7,680 ClubPoints and two bedrooms starting at 11,200 ClubPonts.
• Newest resort (Maui Bay Villas) has one bedrooms starting at 14,880 ClubPoints and two bedrooms starting at 20,160 ClubPonts.

 

[brp]

Thank you for posting this! I did have a question about points. I see that on a yearly deed the points obviously come in every year, but I was wondering if the points needed for a specific booking ever change (I would imagine they do) and if so, does the yearly points attached to a deed ever go up? To kind of keep up with the increase. I hope my question makes sense.

I know this from other TS systems, and it is likely true here as well: The total points assigned to a property can't change (unless they change your point allotment as well, as happened when all HGVC got a 60% increase to align with DRI). In your contract, you "own" a certain percentage of the resort. That is deeded and can't change.

For resorts like HGVC, where one buys a room type, it is likely that the points allotted to that room type can't change, except as noted above). It may even apply across seasons since we buy seasons, but not sure.

Overall, they can't inflate the resort without a compensatory increase for owners.

Cheers.

 

[carloscordon82]

Thank you for all the answers. This definitely helps me understand better.

 

[carloscordon82]

Here's 2 questions after seeing many listings in the market place:

1. I see some are listed by the actual owner and some look like an agent. Is there a preferred way of doing this? Is an agent more efficient? or is direct buyer better?
2. I've used the "Contact Member" button but haven't heard back in days, do people use this feature or is it best to just call the number? I prefer messages so that I can have written history of what was said so far.

 

[WaikikiFirst]

I've used the "Contact Member" button but haven't heard back in days

I did the same with a couple, got the same, but eventually got a response. Unless you're in a real hurry, I'd give it a bit more time. Most of the people listing may be from a generation that did not obsessively check email, texts, etc every few minutes. Raise my hand, realizing my cellphone has not been turned on today. If THEY sound like they're in a hurry, call, otherwise, give it time.

 

[carloscordon82]

I did the same with a couple, got the same, but eventually got a response. Unless you're in a real hurry, I'd give it a bit more time. Most of the people listing may be from a generation that did not obsessively check email, texts, etc every few minutes. Raise my hand, realizing my cellphone has not been turned on today. If THEY sound like they're in a hurry, call, otherwise, give it time.

oh ok, thanks for confirming that