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Strangely written ad on ebay for Welk listing. Are Welk units now called Hyatt Vacation Club? I would be upset, if I bid on this for Hyatt.

rickandcindy23

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Yep there are now three different Hyatt programs: Hyatt Residence Club (HRC), Hyatt Portfolio Club (HPC), and Hyatt Vacation Club Platinum Program (HVCPP).
 

rickandcindy23

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I wonder how worthless those really are. They go pretty cheaply on ebay. Doesn't matter what name is on them. Look at the "buy it now" price. Perhaps it would be wise to buy into that program, but it could go as badly as Villas at Cave Creek did for owners when they chose Vistana as management for a while. The management moved in and tried to upsell people into that program, then the board dropped Vistana (Westin/Sheraton/Starwood) because the fees increased and owners were not happy.
 

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We don't know yet. Nothing has really changed except we're back to II with a gold membership included with our MF. And better II access than before as we can see availability without depositing points.
That particular point amount is good but EEY has its severe limitations. Usually annual Welk points go for a penny a point before COVID.
Resale welk below 420k annual is the same as retail though.

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I wonder how worthless those really are. They go pretty cheaply on ebay. Doesn't matter what name is on them. Look at the "buy it now" price. Perhaps it would be wise to buy into that program, but it could go as badly as Villas at Cave Creek did for owners when they chose Vistana as management for a while. The management moved in and tried to upsell people into that program, then the board dropped Vistana (Westin/Sheraton/Starwood) because the fees increased and owners were not happy.
MVC just paid a bunch of money to acquire Welk so that they will be merged with the Hyatt brand. I don't understand why you would compare with Villas of Cave Creek. Villas of Cave Creek was just one resort and the HOA voted to leave Sheraton/Westin/Starwood.
 

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What are the major drawbacks/restrictions of buying resale compared to retail with Welk points lets say for a 300k transfer? Thanks
 

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What are the major drawbacks/restrictions of buying resale compared to retail with Welk points lets say for a 300k transfer? Thanks

I suspect few if any. It is at the hgiher point values that there are advantages for owning Developer Points.
 

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Yep there are now three different Hyatt programs: Hyatt Residence Club (HRC), Hyatt Portfolio Club (HPC), and Hyatt Vacation Club Platinum Program (HVCPP).
Of note, none of the Welk properties have been branded as Hyatt’s. The Welk name has been removed but the Hyatt name as not yet been added; albeit, Hyatt is attached to the employe’s badges. Having had a conversation with a GM, their needs to be some changes (mostly look and feel) in order to be consistent with the Hyatt-brand. Obviously, some maintenance will need to take place at some of the resorts as well. I suspect no merging of the programs will take place for at least a year, if not 2024.
 

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Of note, none of the Welk properties have been branded as Hyatt’s. The Welk name has been removed but the Hyatt name as not yet been added; albeit, Hyatt is attached to the employe’s badges. Having had a conversation with a GM, their needs to be some changes (mostly look and feel) in order to be consistent with the Hyatt-brand. Obviously, some maintenance will need to take place at some of the resorts as well. I suspect no merging of the programs will take place for at least a year, if not 2024.
Given the slow pace that Marriott Vacations Worldwide has taken with the Vistana/MVC integration, I suspect you are correct or anticipate even further out than 2024.
 

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Given the slow pace that Marriott Vacations Worldwide has taken with the Vistana/MVC integration, I suspect you are correct or anticipate even further out than 2024.

I think a merger between Marriott and Vistana would be substantially easier than Welk/HRC. Massive differences in programs, reservation windows, and resort ownership to resolve.
 

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I wonder how worthless those really are. They go pretty cheaply on ebay. Doesn't matter what name is on them. Look at the "buy it now" price. Perhaps it would be wise to buy into that program, but it could go as badly as Villas at Cave Creek did for owners when they chose Vistana as management for a while. The management moved in and tried to upsell people into that program, then the board dropped Vistana (Westin/Sheraton/Starwood) because the fees increased and owners were not happy.
I think that is where the growth will be. They have double the owners that HRC has.
 

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Here is a good thread on the topic. https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/today’s-confusing-hrc-and-welk-announcement-merged.336476/
 

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I think that is where the growth will be. They have double the owners that HRC has.
In addition, ”Welk” had available inventory and has additional plats, at some resorts, to build. (room for one building in both Cabo and Breckenridge, multiple in Escondido).
 

rickandcindy23

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In addition, ”Welk” had available inventory and has additional plats, at some resorts, to build. (room for one building in both Cabo and Breckenridge, multiple in Escondido).
Welk also planned to build on Kauai in the Poipu area, kind of uphill from the ocean. It never came to fruition. Do you believe Hyatt will move forward with all of the plans Welk had? If so, I would be in because I love Breck, and I love Kauai.
 

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Welk also planned to build on Kauai in the Poipu area, kind of uphill from the ocean. It never came to fruition. Do you believe Hyatt will move forward with all of the plans Welk had? If so, I would be in because I love Breck, and I love Kauai.

Hyatt is done. They got out of the timeshare market. Be thankful they left us with a system which works well. I'll be amazed if they even integrate Welk. I'm willing to literally bet my farm that no new Hyatt resorts are ever built.
 
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Hyatt is done. They got out of the timeshare market. Be thankful they left us with a system which works well. I'll be amazed if they even integrate Welk. I'm willing to literally bet my farm that no new Hyatt resorts are ever built.

If you mean HRC is done, I agree. The timeshare industry has moved past fixed weeks in fixed locations; not to imply that it is not valuable for some. I could see a merging of HPP and HVCPP in the next few years. Since both are point programs, it would take much less effort to create a unified program. As I envision it, HRC would have access to Welk's inventory through II. Welk would have access to HRC resorts through II or via the intervals owned in HPP. I suspect there would a cost to HVCPP owners to join HPP. The current developer's inventory may just be added directly to HPP. Albeit it's still too early to really know.
 

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Welk also planned to build on Kauai in the Poipu area, kind of uphill from the ocean. It never came to fruition. Do you believe Hyatt will move forward with all of the plans Welk had? If so, I would be in because I love Breck, and I love Kauai.

FWIW, the Poipu property was not included in the sale.
 

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We bought in to Welk at the end of last year for $3k (Including closing costs and maintenance fees) for 540k points every year and did the same thing at Vistana putting in $3k to get an 81k equivalent StarOption week.

The only reason for these purchases was to see what transpires with Marriott and the companies they have purchased recently.

For Welk The only difference in buying resale is you lose the Platnium Priority benefits that you would get buying resale.
Honestly not a large deal but it is something. I was bummed as they initially gave me the benefit but took it away as a mistake when the dust settled.

So far I would say that Welk will likely not be a long term hold in my timeshare portfolio. I am planning to give it 1-2 years to see how it pans out with Marriott and Hyatt though.
There reservation system is terrible and you have to book 15+ months for any type of peak availability so it is a tough program to navigate in comparison to HGVC which I truly enjoy.

I will say h that Welk having the Northstar property in the mix is what drew me there in the first place so we will see how this one plays out long term.
 

rickandcindy23

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Hyatt is done. They got out of the timeshare market. Be thankful they left us with a system which works well. I'll be amazed if they even integrate Welk. I'm willing to literally bet my farm that no new Hyatt resorts are ever built.
How many big companies are even building anything new? A lot of them are buying big hotels and converting them to timeshares. Wyndham and Hilton come to mind, also Marriott does that. They don't build new, they just buy old, fix it up and sell as timeshares.
 

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We bought in to Welk at the end of last year for $3k (Including closing costs and maintenance fees) for 540k points every year and did the same thing at Vistana putting in $3k to get an 81k equivalent StarOption week.

The only reason for these purchases was to see what transpires with Marriott and the companies they have purchased recently.

For Welk The only difference in buying resale is you lose the Platnium Priority benefits that you would get buying resale.
Honestly not a large deal but it is something. I was bummed as they initially gave me the benefit but took it away as a mistake when the dust settled.

So far I would say that Welk will likely not be a long term hold in my timeshare portfolio. I am planning to give it 1-2 years to see how it pans out with Marriott and Hyatt though.
There reservation system is terrible and you have to book 15+ months for any type of peak availability so it is a tough program to navigate in comparison to HGVC which I truly enjoy.

I will say h that Welk having the Northstar property in the mix is what drew me there in the first place so we will see how this one plays out long term.
I have to disagree with you about needing to book 15 months out for peak season..... It's more like 9 the past 7 years, before COVID.
Right now is a hard time to judge true availability as welk let people have all their '20 points rolled into 21 with no restrictions and then in 22 people have rolled a lot of their 21 points into 22 so availability is low the last year till now.

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I have to disagree with you about needing to book 15 months out for peak season..... It's more like 9 the past 7 years, before COVID.
Right now is a hard time to judge true availability as welk let people have all their '20 points rolled into 21 with no restrictions and then in 22 people have rolled a lot of their 21 points into 22 so availability is low the last year till now.

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Good Perspective but didn't change how light the entire year of 2022 was from an availability standpoint for someone who had just bought.
For someone looking to purchase Welk now I think knowing what it is like currently is good to know as their first 1-2 years of points can be
a little tough to get good value from.

I will say though I did find a way to use my 2022 points so it is not impossible.
 

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I literally book a week at Welk/Hyatt Breckenridge for June 12-17 and Dec 10-17 just two weeks ago... Ive never see an availability issue at any of the resorts. There's barely a week on the calendar I can't book wherever I want 6 months out. Not 15.....

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I literally book a week at Welk/Hyatt Breckenridge for June 12-17 and Dec 10-17 just two weeks ago... Ive never see an availability issue at any of the resorts. There's barely a week on the calendar I can't book wherever I want 6 months out. Not 15.....

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You can always get rooms for mud season.
 

Shankilicious

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That's not mud season. That's the beginning of summer and beginning of winter according to the TDI

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