The Point at Poipu rebranded to The Point at Poipu, a Hilton Vacation Club

[artringwald]

It's official. I got the email today. I was glad to hear that the cost of rebranding will not come out of the HOA budget. I just hope they continue with the plans to upgrade the units, particularly the kitchens. Here's what they said.

Dear Owner,

As promised in August 2021, we made a commitment to keep you informed of any changes about Hilton Grand Vacations’ acquisition of Diamond Resorts. We are excited to report that efforts are currently underway at The Point at Poipu to bring the property under the Hilton Grand Vacations brand.

The rebranding will take place during August 2022. Once rebranded, the new name will be The Point at Poipu, a Hilton Vacation Club — the property’s name under your governing documents and your Owners Association name will not change. Certain additional Diamond properties will be undergoing similar rebranding, with the process expected to take place over a phased, multiyear period.

Access and Reservations
Please rest assured that your ownership rights and access will not be changed or diluted once the property is rebranded. Your timeshare ownership and contract will remain the same, and you will continue to make reservations the same way you do now.

Maintenance Fees
Additionally, your association’s 2022 maintenance fees will not change as a result of the rebranding. Hilton Grand Vacations will cover the main rebranding costs, such as signage and collateral, needed to meet Hilton Grand Vacations’ brand standards.

 

[goaliedave]

Actually it says only that 2022 MF won't change - of course, since they were billed back in November 2011 so that would generate owner disillusion - but makes no promise 2023 will exclude the remainder of the rebranding costs.

Awaiting an interesting November to see how much 2023 MF increase at all the rebranded resorts.

 

[TJALB]

It's official. I got the email today. I was glad to hear that the cost of rebranding will not come out of the HOA budget. I just hope they continue with the plans to upgrade the units, particularly the kitchens. Here's what they said.

Dear Owner,

As promised in August 2021, we made a commitment to keep you informed of any changes about Hilton Grand Vacations’ acquisition of Diamond Resorts. We are excited to report that efforts are currently underway at The Point at Poipu to bring the property under the Hilton Grand Vacations brand.

The rebranding will take place during August 2022. Once rebranded, the new name will be The Point at Poipu, a Hilton Vacation Club — the property’s name under your governing documents and your Owners Association name will not change. Certain additional Diamond properties will be undergoing similar rebranding, with the process expected to take place over a phased, multiyear period.

Access and Reservations
Please rest assured that your ownership rights and access will not be changed or diluted once the property is rebranded. Your timeshare ownership and contract will remain the same, and you will continue to make reservations the same way you do now.

Maintenance Fees
Additionally, your association’s 2022 maintenance fees will not change as a result of the rebranding. Hilton Grand Vacations will cover the main rebranding costs, such as signage and collateral, needed to meet Hilton Grand Vacations’ brand standards.

Please tell me where you obtained this letter. I can’t find anything like that on the DRI website.
Thank you!

 

[magmue]

I got that email too, from HGV. Subject line: Exciting Update About Your Resort, and addressed to Dear Owner. I'm thinking it went out to all the owners of a deeded P@P week.

 

[TJALB]

Thank you for your reply. I’m a deeded (KBC) Ka’anapali Beach Club owner. Maybe that’s why I haven’t received it.

 

[timsi]

"Hilton Grand Vacations will cover the main rebranding costs"
I bet the main cost of rebranding is not actually stickers and such but rather the time spent by the resort staff who are actually paid by the owners.

 

[TJALB]

I'm currently in Poipu however, not staying at P@P. I did tour the property and speak with front desk
associates. I was told that so far, nothing has changed under Hilton. No upgrades and no re-branding of the name. Does anyone have any info on when they will begin upgrading the property and re-branding?

 

[artringwald]

In case you didn't notice, they did start rebranding the signage.

When we were there in February, an employee I've known for many years said the room renovations will start this fall. They've always had a high occupancy rate, so I don't think they'll be doing many at one time.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

They changed all the mattresses when we were there in May. Location is fantastic. Looking forward to major renovations to units. Tired finishes, fixtures, cracked tiles. We had several items break while we were there but maintenance was on it once we called. Buildings sorely need paint. Pools and landscaping seemed in good order.

Despite this, we still enjoyed the resort and Poipu area.

 

[TJALB]

No, I didn't notice the new sign. Thank you for calling that to my attention. Can't wait to see what they do in the renovation. I totally agree with you, we always enjoy staying there. We have enough points to get several condos for two weeks at a time. We like to take our kids and grandkids with us so I often pick P@P because I get a bigger bang for my buck. I do hope they do something with the pool area. The pool is way too small for all the units and the sand is annoying but, not a lot of area to work with. The grounds are always beautiful, lush and impeccably manicured. There are definitely a lot of Pro's to the property.
Mahalo!

 

[pedro47]

Is this a tier 1,2 or tier 3 resort??

 

[TJALB]

I’m not sure.

 

[magmue]

Is this a tier 1,2 or tier 3 resort??

Go higher.

And it depends. Depends on both view (garden, partial ocean view, ocean view, or ocean front) and season (High vs Peak).
The DEX Exchange booklet from 2022/23, says range is from Tier 4 to 6 depending on those parameters.

 

[cd5]

From experience at a different resort acquired by Hilton - rebranding includes stuff like stationary, signs, towels, bedding, website changes etc. Renovations (including things like kitchens, appliances, mattresses etc) are not included in rebranding, they are in each resort's operational budget, and it is still the members who pay for all that. Hilton is not spending their own money on renos. Just "rebranding" is going to be a massive amount of money.

 

[artringwald]

The Point at Poipu has already gone through several rebrandings, Embassy Suites, Sunterra, Diamond, and now Hilton. Since Diamond took over, they've been good about keeping appliances, furniture, and mattresses updated, although not always with high end replacements. They had budgeted long overdue major renovations to the kitchens and bathrooms, to start in 2020. Delayed once because of COVID, and again because of Hilton, they should start this fall. They should have the reserves to cover it.

 

[TJALB]

Artringwald, thank you for the update. Much appreciated!

 

[TJALB]

From experience at a different resort acquired by Hilton - rebranding includes stuff like stationary, signs, towels, bedding, website changes etc. Renovations (including things like kitchens, appliances, mattresses etc) are not included in rebranding, they are in each resort's operational budget, and it is still the members who pay for all that. Hilton is not spending their own money on renos. Just "rebranding" is going to be a massive amount of money.

CD5, thanks but, I’m aware that stationary and anything pertaining to the actual name change will be part of the rebranding. However, when I was at the P@P a couple years ago there were several Hilton property evaluators on sight. They were checking things like quality and aesthetics of the property. Also, I’ve read several times that one of the main reasons Hilton acquired DIR was to have a larger presence in Hawaii and to be able to offer more Hawaii destinations to their members. I also tad that they intend to bring their “premier” destinations that they acquired through the purchase up to the standard of the Hilton brand. I know that by purchasing DRI Hilton is tripling their presence on the island.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

If my synapses are firing correctly .....

I recall that ~2005, before Sunterra created the Hawaii Trust and before Sunterra bought out the partnership groups that were the original developers of KBC and Point at Poipu, a major hotel branded timeshare operation was evaluating both properties for acquisition. It must have been Hilton. I'm sure it wasn't Hyatt, or Mariott, and it was a hotel chain that lacked a major resort operation on either of those islands.

The deal didn't go through; I heard that KBC was the resort they were primarily interested in, because of the west Maui location, near Ka'alapaki. The deal supposedly collapsed because of estimated removation costs to upgrade the properties.

 

[dayooper]

If my synapses are firing correctly .....

I recall that ~2005, before Sunterra created the Hawaii Trust and before Sunterra bought out the partnership groups that were the original developers of KBC and Point at Poipu, a major hotel branded timeshare operation was evaluating both properties for acquisition. It must have been Hilton. I'm sure it wasn't Hyatt, or Mariott, and it was a hotel chain that lacked a major resort operation on either of those islands.

The deal didn't go through; I heard that KBC was the resort they were primarily interested in, because of the west Maui location, near Ka'alapaki. The deal supposedly collapsed because of estimated removation costs to upgrade the properties.

It was Hilton. When Hilton Hotels acquired Embassy Suites, they were evaluating whether they were going to purchase KBC and P@P. From what I understand, it was close to happening but a deal could not be reached. I believe that Hilton regretted that decision ever since.

 

[artringwald]

It was Hilton. When Hilton Hotels acquired Embassy Suites, they were evaluating whether they were going to purchase KBC and P@P. From what I understand, it was close to happening but a deal could not be reached. I believe that Hilton regretted that decision ever since.

Very interesting! Here's something I didn't know until just now.

In 1990, the parent company of Embassy Suites became The Promus Companies Incorporated. Embassy Suites opened its first international property in 1992 in Toronto. In 1999, Embassy Suites Hotels joined the Hilton Family after the merger of Hilton Hotels Corp.

Embassy Suites by Hilton - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

From what I understand, it was close to happening but a deal could not be reached. I believe that Hilton regretted that decision ever since.

That's what I understand as well. And that the hangup was Poipu, because Poipu wasn't laid out like a hotel and didn't fit the operational model Hilton was looking for. They wanted something that would compete with the Sheraton. the Hyatt, and the Mariott, and Poipu didn't fit the hotel resort model.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Very interesting! Here's something I didn't know until just now.

In 1990, the parent company of Embassy Suites became The Promus Companies Incorporated. Embassy Suites opened its first international property in 1992 in Toronto. In 1999, Embassy Suites Hotels joined the Hilton Family after the merger of Hilton Hotels Corp.

Embassy Suites by Hilton - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There were four Embassy Vacation Resorts - Point at Poipu, Ka'anapali Beach Club, Lake Tahoe, and Orlando. Embassy never had any ownership or operational involvement in the resorts; they simply were paying for naming rights. A few years after Hilton acquired Embassy, Hilton decided to end the naming rights agreement. This was probably about the same time that they decided to not acquire the Hawaii properties.

 

[TJALB]

There were four Embassy Vacation Resorts - Point at Poipu, Ka'anapali Beach Club, Lake Tahoe, and Orlando. Embassy never had any ownership or operational involvement in the resorts; they simply were paying for naming rights. A few years after Hilton acquired Embassy, Hilton decided to end the naming rights agreement. This was probably about the same time that they decided to not acquire the Hawaii properties.

 

[TJALB]

There were four Embassy Vacation Resorts - Point at Poipu, Ka'anapali Beach Club, Lake Tahoe, and Orlando. Embassy never had any ownership or operational involvement in the resorts; they simply were paying for naming rights. A few years after Hilton acquired Embassy, Hilton decided to end the naming rights agreement. This was probably about the same time that they decided to not acquire the Hawaii properties.

I'm a little confused. Are you saying that Hilton Owned KBC all along and just now ended the naming rights agreement?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I'm a little confused. Are you saying that Hilton Owned KBC all along and just now ended the naming rights agreement?

No. The Embassy Vacation resorts were set up by Sunterra (as the managing partner for the partnerships that were the actual developers). As I mentioned previously, Embassy had no ownership interest in the resorts. Embassy simply licensed use of the Embassy name.

So after Hilton acquired Embassy, Hilton then owned the Embassy name. And somewhere around ~2004 Hilton terminated Sunterra's license to use the Embassy name. So the four Embassy Vacation Resorts dropped "Embassy Vacation Resort" from their names. So Poipu went from "Embassy Vacation Resort - Point at Poipu" to "The Point at Poipu". Similar with the KBC.

Separately, about the same time, Hilton looked into buying the developer rights, the remaining developer inventory, and the management contracts at the two Hawaii properties, but ultimately walked away. Had the deal gone through, the resorts would have been rebranded as Hilton properties.

Meanwhile, Sunterra was acquired by Diamond. Hilton then obtained ownership interests at the Point and KBC when they acquired Diamond.

A minor note. Hilton doesn't actually own the resorts. The resorts are owned by the property owners. But since Hilton controls the HOA at both properties, they have effective control of the operation.