[ 2023 ] Why does this make me nervous?

[Mongoose]

Just received this email:

A good vacation changes everything.

Your vacations are about to get even better. This summer, Hyatt Residence Club will become Hyatt Vacation Club. You’ll still enjoy your Ownership just as you do today. But you’ll notice things starting to look and feel different at the resorts, too. This isn’t just a renaming—it’s a re-imagining. It’s about creating more happiness through purposeful vacation experiences. I truly believe that a good vacation is exactly the therapy humans need to live and thrive in our modern world. Hyatt Vacation Club will champion and celebrate the power of vacations, especially for our Owners, who’ve made the bold commitment to prioritize this essential part of a well-balanced life.

 

[Scavanjer]

Wonder if this will cause HRC owners to unload now before the changes kick in. The current financial markets and now the uncertainty of this rebranding…what’s next?

 

[cafeirene]

I have to admit I had the same gut reaction when I saw the email a few minutes ago, part of why I headed over here.... the devil will be in the details.

 

[TBipp]

For a corporation that probably pays big money for tips on public relations, what a bust this was. Announcing changes but won't tell us just yet? I was nervous when I saw it also--is that the reaction they wanted?

 

[dioxide45]

So they are aligning the HRC brand to what they renamed the Welk brand to?

 

[ivywag]

So they are aligning the HRC brand to what they renamed the Welk brand to?

That’s what it looks like. More dilution of our internal exchanges!

 

[andre10056]

One of the paragraphs reads as follows:

• New Names. Reflecting these enhanced and expanded experiences, the Hyatt Vacation Club flag will fly at 20+ resorts, including the Hyatt Residence Club resorts you know today. You’ll start seeing signage changes this summer.

So what 20 "plus" resorts will be "Hyatt Vacation Club" resorts?

 

[dioxide45]

One of the paragraphs reads as follows:

• New Names. Reflecting these enhanced and expanded experiences, the Hyatt Vacation Club flag will fly at 20+ resorts, including the Hyatt Residence Club resorts you know today. You’ll start seeing signage changes this summer.

So what 20 "plus" resorts will be "Hyatt Vacation Club" resorts?

There are 15 HRC resorts and 8 Welk. Add those up and it is 23.

 

[ChicagoDave]

FAQ from FB group

 

[CPNY]

Hyatt Vacation Club
Marriott Vacation Club
Westin Vacation Club
Sheraton Vacation Club

It all matches.

 

[dioxide45]

Hyatt Vacation Club
Marriott Vacation Club
Westin Vacation Club
Sheraton Vacation Club

It all matches.

I always thought "Residence" Club was kinda strange.

 

[ChicagoDave]

l

 

[andre10056]

I looked over the Welk list after Hyatt merged or bought or whatever they did with Welk. And realized that there's not one location in which I had any interest. So if all we're getting is greater competition from the owners of...ahem....I won't use the obscenity word... resorts, I'm not happy.

 

[ChicagoDave]

One of the paragraphs reads as follows:

• New Names. Reflecting these enhanced and expanded experiences, the Hyatt Vacation Club flag will fly at 20+ resorts, including the Hyatt Residence Club resorts you know today. You’ll start seeing signage changes this summer.

So what 20 "plus" resorts will be "Hyatt Vacation Club" resorts?

launches in summer 2023. 15. What properties will fly the Hyatt Vacation Club flag?
• Desert Oasis, Palm Springs Area
• Hyatt Residence Club Beaver Creek, Mountain Lodge
• Hyatt Residence Club Bonita Springs, Coconut Plantation
• Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge, Main Street Station
• Hyatt Residence Club Carmel, Highlands Inn
• Hyatt Residence Club Dorado, Hacienda del Mar
• Hyatt Residence Club Key West, Beach House
• Hyatt Residence Club Key West, Sunset Harbor
• Hyatt Residence Club Key West, Windward Pointe
• Hyatt Residence Club Lake Tahoe, High Sierra Lodge
• Hyatt Residence Club Maui, Kā‘anapali Beach
• Hyatt Residence Club at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek
• Hyatt Residence Club San Antonio, Wild Oak Ranch
• Hyatt Residence Club Sarasota, Siesta Key Beach
• Hyatt Residence Club Sedona, Piñon Pointe
• Northstar Lodge, Lake Tahoe
• One Village Place, Lake Tahoe
• Sirena del Mar, Cabo San Lucas
• The Lodges at Timber Ridge, Branson
• The Ranahan, Breckenridge • The Welk, San Diego Area

 

[andre10056]

launches in summer 2023. 15. What properties will fly the Hyatt Vacation Club flag?
• Desert Oasis, Palm Springs Area
• Hyatt Residence Club Beaver Creek, Mountain Lodge
• Hyatt Residence Club Bonita Springs, Coconut Plantation
• Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge, Main Street Station
• Hyatt Residence Club Carmel, Highlands Inn
• Hyatt Residence Club Dorado, Hacienda del Mar
• Hyatt Residence Club Key West, Beach House
• Hyatt Residence Club Key West, Sunset Harbor
• Hyatt Residence Club Key West, Windward Pointe
• Hyatt Residence Club Lake Tahoe, High Sierra Lodge
• Hyatt Residence Club Maui, Kā‘anapali Beach
• Hyatt Residence Club at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek
• Hyatt Residence Club San Antonio, Wild Oak Ranch
• Hyatt Residence Club Sarasota, Siesta Key Beach
• Hyatt Residence Club Sedona, Piñon Pointe
• Northstar Lodge, Lake Tahoe
• One Village Place, Lake Tahoe
• Sirena del Mar, Cabo San Lucas
• The Lodges at Timber Ridge, Branson
• The Ranahan, Breckenridge • The Welk, San Diego Area

Your list has 20 names. Their email indicated "20 plus" resorts.

 

[ChicagoDave]

Your list has 20 names. Their email indicated "20 plus" resorts.

These came from the FAQs, so not sure what others are on the list.

 

[andre10056]

I looked at the Welk list and thought, "Zero of these locations are of interest to me EXCEPT for San Diego." Until I looked into where Escondido was. 18 miles inland, 30 miles northeast of San Diego, 100 miles south of Los Angeles.

Why would I want to go there? Well inland California. I can tell you from having been stationed in 29 Palms, California that you really don't want to vacation anywhere in that state where you won't have ocean breezes.

 

[Mongoose]

I always thought "Residence" Club was kinda strange.

It was originally Hyatt Vacation Club. Back to the future……

 

[dioxide45]

It was originally Hyatt Vacation Club. Back to the future……

So when was the name changed? When it was spun off and sold to ILG?

 

[Mongoose]

This one blows my mind! What’s the point of all this if you have to use II? At least it won’t dilute availability.

Will I now be able to book directly to all Hyatt Vacation Club resorts using my Portfolio or Club Points?
No. Your Ownership and ownership booking rights are not changing at all.
You can place an Interval International® request to travel to the resorts within the Hyatt Vacation Club Platinum Program. Additionally, you will receive a discounted fee and Priority Access over other Interval International members who are not Hyatt Residence Club or Hyatt Vacation Club Owners when requesting an exchange to these participating resorts:
• Northstar Lodge, Lake Tahoe
• One Village Place, Lake Tahoe
• Desert Oasis, Palm Springs Area
• The Welk, San Diego Area
• The Ranahan, Breckenridge
• Sirena del Mar, Cabo San Lucas
• The Lodges at Timber Ridge, Branson
Please note, Interval International will not allow you to place an internal exchange request to travel to a former Hyatt Residence Club property since reservations at these resorts can be confirmed through the Club-to-Club

 

[Mongoose]

So when was the name changed? When it was spun off and sold to ILG?

1995 it opened as Hyatt Vacation Club. 2009 changed to Hyatt Residence Club. 2023 back to the original. 14 years for each name change?

 

[dioxide45]

This one blows my mind! What’s the point of all this if you have to use II? Will I now be able to book directly to all Hyatt Vacation Club resorts using my Portfolio or Club Points?
No. Your Ownership and ownership booking rights are not changing at all.
You can place an Interval International® request to travel to the resorts within the Hyatt Vacation Club Platinum Program. Additionally, you will receive a discounted fee and Priority Access over other Interval International members who are not Hyatt Residence Club or Hyatt Vacation Club Owners when requesting an exchange to these participating resorts:
• Northstar Lodge, Lake Tahoe
• One Village Place, Lake Tahoe
• Desert Oasis, Palm Springs Area
• The Welk, San Diego Area
• The Ranahan, Breckenridge
• Sirena del Mar, Cabo San Lucas
• The Lodges at Timber Ridge, Branson
Please note, Interval International will not allow you to place an internal exchange request to travel to a former Hyatt Residence Club property since reservations at these resorts can be confirmed through the Club-to-Club

I suspect there is a longer term play here. They are probably working on some type of integrated system. It took MVW nearly 5 years to roll out the combined Marriott/Vistana program, expect something similar with HRC/Welk.

 

[heathpack]

Well there’s really nothing appealing in Welk to me. Kind of sad to see the changes. I can’t imagine it will be good. But I like my home proportions- High Sierra and Highlands Inn. So at least we’ll have that!

 

[ivywag]

I suspect there is a longer term play here. They are probably working on some type of integrated system. It took MWV nearly 5 years to roll out the combined Marriott/Vistana program, expect something similar with HRC/Welk.

I agree. This is just another step towards full integration. We are not happy about that because the only Welk that we might visit is Northstar. The others don’t interest us. We traded once to Sirena del Mar (Cabo) and although nice, was not a resort where we would return. We bought Hyatt because we liked the resorts and the locations. The internal trading system worked well until the HPP was launched. Now, internal trading is becoming more difficult with everyone chasing the best weeks. Imagine what it will be like if/when the Welk members are also competing for the desirable weeks. This certainly isn’t the Club that we originally purchased. Add on the high maintenance fees and you have to wonder if it’s worth staying?

 

[SteelerGal]

It will be interesting. We really like Incline Village Tahoe but w/ the beach closed for the next 2yrs, we would request NorthStar. However I was able to trade in Interval cheaper than MF. We may ultimately sale if fees for Sedona increases significantly.