Why is there no Vacation Point Exchange for HGVC?

[ski_sierra]

https://vacationpointexchange.com/ exists for MVC owners. I'm curious if HGVC owners can have a points exchange site like that.

It would be nice to transfer your orphaned points to someone else and not have to pay the save fees. Or occasionally rent in points so you can book a bigger/nicer unit.

Would you like an equivalent of VPE for HGVC? Please vote in the poll.

 

[Talent312]

It's been reported that you can actually transfer points to other members.
It appears to take a 3-way call and may require speaking to a supervisor.
But recognition in the rules and the ability to do it online would be nicer.
.

 

[alwysonvac]

It's been reported that you can actually transfer points to other members.
It appears to take a 3-way call and may require speaking to a supervisor.
But recognition in the rules and the ability to do it online would be nicer.
.

Here’s some additional information about the 3-way call.

The following is from a April 2018 thread titled “Transferring points from one member to another” - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/transferring-points-from-one-member-to-another.272340/

Cyberc posted

We did have the 3-way call today and....... it was a success

It took a few minutes and I received the points in my account. However it seems to be luck of the draw as I had to call twice, the first club counselor said it wasn’t possible so I hung up and called back - I would take no for an answer

The second counselor said sure, I asked if he could start the 3-way call, he couldn’t. So I initiated the 3way call with Arimaas and hgvc.

Any thoughts?
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MikeinSoCal replied

So, how does HGVC validate who is on the phone? If you're initiating the call, are you exposing your personal information to HGVC on the 3-way call? Because if so, you'd have to be able to trust the other party with your personal info. Thanks.
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Cyberc response

Yes once the 3rd part is on the call he/she will need to give the member number to hgvc and then verify the account. So I agree it takes trust.
​

 

[ski_sierra]

Here’s some additional information about the 3-way call.
Cyberc response

Yes once the 3rd part is on the call he/she will need to give the member number to hgvc and then verify the account. So I agree it takes trust.
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Thanks for digging this up. Looks like you can set a security quesiton to keep yourself safe as per this post

I actually wouldn’t be too too concerned. It’s not like the points are going to some random person without an identity. Even if someone were to go in a steal my points, HGVC knows exactly who’s account they are going into. They have that persons information, including home address and probably the ability to back the points right out. Most of us seem to be pretty well intrenched in our HGVC accounts. I think we would notice anything fishy to the accounts pretty quickly.

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...-member-to-another.272340/page-2#post-2129269

 

[brp]

I think that legal point rental outside of Home Week (with limits to prevent professional renting, as done with DVC) would be nice. It's easy enough to do now by making reservations for "friends," but it would be nice if it were allowed by rule.

Cheers.

 

[dioxide45]

Don't see why VPE couldn't also be used for HGVC points? Perhaps reach out to @StevenTing to see if HGVC points could be added as a category for listings. It would take people to promote it for HGVC since it is currently dedicated to Marriott DC.

 

[dayooper]

Don't see why VPE couldn't also be used for HGVC points? Perhaps reach out to @StevenTing to see if HGVC points could be added as a category for listings. It would take people to promote it for HGVC since it is currently dedicated to Marriott DC.

Not sure how vpe works (looks like exchanging points with other owners), but the rules for HGVC about renting/exchanging points seems like it might interfere with something like this. HGVC won’t let you exchange your points in RCI without going through their portal. I know some do rent their points and HGVC doesn’t know about it. Do it enough, though and they will catch on. I think the same applies here, but it’s worth exploring.

 

[JIMinNC]

Don't see why VPE couldn't also be used for HGVC points? Perhaps reach out to @StevenTing to see if HGVC points could be added as a category for listings. It would take people to promote it for HGVC since it is currently dedicated to Marriott DC.

I think the reason may be that Marriott explicitly allows points transfers and rentals and doesn't have prohibitions about renting points to someone else for cash. I think the HGVC rules are more subtle, and while as some have noted, they have from time-to-time helped facilitate transfers between "friends", a more overt point rental arrangement might run afoul of their specific rules. That would be a legal issue for Steven Ting to consider.

 

[GregT]

All,

VPE started off as a very awkward bulletin board and StevenTing has really made it into a slick community. We used to have a forum that applied to other systems and could be used to rent reservations or to arrange Direct Exchanges, but the new software no longer has that capability. I did several Direct Exchanges with Marriott owners, and made reservations for them on the Big Island in exchange for Marriott DC Points. It worked well for all parties, and I think the need is still there considering I think the HGVC properties are superior to the Marriott property on the Big Island.

Do people really transfer HGVC points that frequently? I had thought that HGVC made it much more challenging than Marriott's system, where it is built into the design of the system.

Please advise with your thoughts and thanks!

Greg

 

[CalGalTraveler]

IMO...the frictionless ability to sell and exchange points easily is the best feature of the MVC system. I may actually buy in if I can enroll our Vistana unit for a reasonable price and include those points in our trading.

 

[dioxide45]

I think the reason may be that Marriott explicitly allows points transfers and rentals and doesn't have prohibitions about renting points to someone else for cash. I think the HGVC rules are more subtle, and while as some have noted, they have from time-to-time helped facilitate transfers between "friends", a more overt point rental arrangement might run afoul of their specific rules. That would be a legal issue for Steven Ting to consider.

I took the OP as saying that the ability to transfer was there, just that they needed a venue to facilitate bringing people together. That doesn't seem to be the case...

 

[ski_sierra]

I feel like not having a points rental platform is like not applying for the dream job for fear of being rejected.

I thought this was a gray area so I started a discussion hoping to hear from people who have read the T&Cs in more depth. It seems like nobody has voted against the idea so far.

HGVC doesn't want us renting out club reservations and it is expressly prohibited. Renting out points is not expressly prohibited, correct? It is not positively permitted like Worldmark or MVC either. I think not having a platform forces people to make reservations for "eBay friends". I would rather see a fellow member paying club fees take advantage of the HGVC inventory.

You can accuse me of motivated reasoning and I'm happy to change my opinion if there is a well-reasoned argument for not having a place to rent out HGVC points. I think we are all interested in hearing opinions from all angles

 

[alwysonvac]

It would be nice to have the option .

Here are the two sections in the 2019 Club Rules and 2019 Disclosure Document.

No Commercial Use of Club by Members or Guests. Accommodations available through the Club are for the personal use and enjoyment of Members, the Members’ immediate family, and guests personally known and acquainted with Members. The Club strictly forbids the use of the Club for commercial purposes or monetary or other consideration by Members or their guests including the use of a confirmed reservation in an Affiliated Resort for any rental, resale or other commercial use (other than an owner’s Home Week) including through the use of guest certificates. Failure to abide by this restriction may result in immediate cancellation of the applicable reservation(s) (without refund or credit), suspension of Club or Open Season reservation privileges, denial of access to any confirmed reservations, or other products or services offered through the Club and limitations on the number or type of transactions by a Member. Any lease or rental agreement for a Home Week shall be deemed to contain a provision requiring that any sums due to the Club as annual Club Dues or due to the Association as assessments must be deducted from the gross rentals and paid directly to the party for which such sums are owed.

Club Benefits for Members Only.
Membership benefits are only for the benefit of Club Members who own a vacation ownership interest at an Affiliated Resort. Members may be asked to answer security questions or otherwise verify identity prior to servicing. Members are responsible for the activity that occurs on their account, and must keep their account access information secure. Hilton Grand Vacations has no obligation to provide services or benefits to Member guests. Reservations booked through third party exchange, travel holiday clubs or any third-party rental or exchange site not affiliated with Hilton Grand Vacations including but not limited to AirBnB, VRBO, HomeAway, eBay, Craigslist, or similar may be denied by Hilton Grand Vacations in its sole discretion. Hilton Grand Vacations is not responsible
for any loss, claim, demand or other injury, including, but not limited to, disclosure of private information, loss or rental proceeds, fraud, performance or non-performance of any transactions, or misapplication of funds, refunds, or credits, arising out of or related to the use of a Member account or reservation at an Affiliated Resort by any third party, including any third party rental or exchange program not affiliated with Hilton Grand Vacations, any designated or authorized user, authorized, permitted or provided access to the account by the Member, including any use rights granted through corporate, partnership, trust or other entity or organizations holding membership.
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[seagila]

If HGV ever allowed point transfers of current year or banked points more openly, I doubt it would be free like MVC nor would HGV allow it for rental purposes as @alwysonvac pointed out in the current disclosures. Currently, any points-management transaction has a fee - e.g. saving points over phone = $118. Some members may think it's worth paying the fee, but to others the fee may be a deterrent.

 

[brp]

I know some do rent their points and HGVC doesn’t know about it. Do it enough, though and they will catch on. I think the same applies here, but it’s worth exploring.

Yup. Be careful about how many "friends" one has

Cheers.

 

[GT75]

t would be nice to transfer your orphaned points to someone else and not have to pay the save fees. Or occasionally rent in points so you can book a bigger/nicer unit.

I certainly would like to have this option or at least better defined than what we currently have (which if more like ad hoc). But I am agreement with @Seagila, I think that if we forced the issue with a rule change, then either it won't be allowed or HGVC will charge a fee. I would actually vote to leave as is.