Hilton Grand Vacations Re-Sale/Buying/Questions Galore!

[heri0125 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close heri0125]

Hi everybody.

I just found this forum doing my searches on Google and found plenty of great information so far...however this is another one of those "interested in buying, but not sure if I wanna buy a resale or not" type posts.

To give some background: I'm actually a timeshare owner. Back in 2005 when I was under meds, I stupidly decided to buy into a timeshare in East Texas with relatively little to no trade value as far as RCI goes. Well much headache and heartache later, I've actually managed to enjoy the property itself and make my weekly trek every year (usually just 1/2 of the week but still worthwhile).

A few years back I went to Las Vegas on a timeshare presentation trip with Hilton Grand Vacations. I sat through their presentation and was much more impressed than anything Silverleaf (owner of my other timeshares) did. Even better was the very subtle, and not obnoxious pressure buy. I mean they offered a great deal, but when I said I wasn't ready at the time they didn't press the issue further (I suppose thats part of the reason I still look favorably upon them).

Fast forward a few more years to today, I'm now looking to purchase a timeshare and Hilton Grand Vacations makes a lot of sense for me. Specifically I saw their point plans I suppose in Las Vegas and figured that would work well.

I'm not exactly sure how the re-sale system works. As best as I can tell, it is very similar to the process in buying a house (i.e. closing costs, deeds, etc). I know that any perks offered by the seller are usually non-transferable, but it seems I wouldn't miss out on HGV stuff.

So I guess before I continue, are all Hilton Grand Vacation properties on the week system? Or is there some form of equivalent? I know that there is the whole HGV -> Hilton Honor point transfers, but would I be able to buy x-points in Las Vegas and then eventually use some of that for say, Orlando or Hawaii? Does the whole white/red/blue week thing apply (I've seen references to Silver, Gold, and Platinum). Are certain periods locked out if thats the case? Say I were to buy Gold, does that mean that I can't go during "Platinum" time or is it simply a cost issue (i.e. Platinum time stays costs 1.5 times what a Gold time stay would for instance)?

Are there any perks whatsoever for buying from Hilton Grand Vacations themselves?

Any help on the details would be greatly appreciated.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

You've got quite a few questions.. I'd recommend you speak with a resale broker who knows that program. I sent you a pm with several recommendations, but you can also check online forums for others.

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

Just a few FAQ about HGVC:

Resale purchases can:
During the home resort reservation period (9-12 months before checkin) You can only reserve what you own. So you can't reserve hawaii, if you own Orlando. And you must reserve exactly what you own. You own a 2 bd, you must reserve a 2bd for the whole week.

During club season, ( 1 month to 9 months before checkin) then HGVC becomes a point based system. You can use the points your TS generates to make any reservation over 3 days long at any HGVC resort and room size. Using your points from this year & using points saved from last year or borrowed from next year. So you can use Orlando points to go to Hawaii at 9 months from checkin.

Please note your MFs are based not on how many points you have but the size of the TS unit. So a 2 bd in Platinum season in Vegas gets 7000 pts and 5000 pts during gold season but both pay the same MFs. Therefore many people pay extra for platinum pts to get the cheaper MF/pt.

Hope this helps

PS BUY RESELL WITH HGVC the only thing you'll lose is the possiblity of elite status ( which is nice but not worth the extra $10K- $20K you'll pay)

[heri0125 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close heri0125]

Interesting.

So if I own in Las Vegas and have a 2 bedroom, then I can only do a 2 bedroom there if I want to set my reservation 9-12 months ahead of time...but if I want to go elsewhere, I reserve 1-9 months ahead of time and have the option of using points?

I had seen the term "club season", but I wasn't exactly sure what it pertained to...but I suppose being an owner opens it up to you?

I guess the level of stuff doesn't really apply since the values vary according to the demand on the seasons?

You mentioned that the reservation had to be 6 days or longer...does that mean I couldn't break it up into a 3 day trip and a 4 day trip elsewhere/later?

[PigsDad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PigsDad]

Interesting.

So if I own in Las Vegas and have a 2 bedroom, then I can only do a 2 bedroom there if I want to set my reservation 9-12 months ahead of time...but if I want to go elsewhere, I reserve 1-9 months ahead of time and have the option of using points?

That is correct. Where you own gets you a 3 month advantage over other owners at your home resort. But getting a reservation at Las Vegas, Orlando, the Big Island are never a problem at 9 months out. Oahu can be difficult during popular times, and the other affiliate resorts have less availability, depending on the season.

I had seen the term "club season", but I wasn't exactly sure what it pertained to...but I suppose being an owner opens it up to you?

Club Season is just the period 9 to 1 month out for making reservations.

I guess the level of stuff doesn't really apply since the values vary according to the demand on the seasons?

Not sure exactly what you are asking here... HGVC is a point system, so you don't worry about "trading value" as you do with a regular week. Depending on the unit size and the season you own (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze), you get a certain number of HGVC points. Those points can then be used to stay at any resort, during any season (as long as you have enough points for the reservation). You can bank and borrow points to combine points from multiple years together for a single reservation, if you want.

You mentioned that the reservation had to be 6 days or longer...does that mean I couldn't break it up into a 3 day trip and a 4 day trip elsewhere/later?

6 days was a typo in Bill's post -- the minimum reservation during Club Season is 3 days. There is no maximum (just limited to your available points).

HGVC is extremely flexible. As a resale buyer, you have all the benefits as a retail buyer. The only exception is that your purchase does not count toward "elite" status (minimum 14,000 HGVC points). The elite benefits are marginal, especially considering the 10's of thousands of dollars extra you would have to pay vs. resale.

You can use your points for RCI trades (weeks and/or points), conversion to Hilton HHonors points, reservations at HGVC properties, and a few other options (cruises, RVs, etc.). You can "stretch" your points by staying during a lower season, in a smaller unit size, and/or weekday stays. I have been getting an average of 2 1/2 weeks of stays out of my 1 week's worth of points by doing this.

If you want more information, I would highly suggest also checking out TUG -- another timesharing forum. They have a fairly active Hilton forum with FAQs, etc. They also have a couple of resale brokers (Judy and Seth) that specialize in HGVC properties.

Take your time to decide what will work best for you. If you go with HGVC, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Kurt

[zdxlc9p6 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zdxlc9p6]

I have been getting an average of 2 1/2 weeks of stays out of my 1 week's worth of points by doing this.
Kurt

Your ratio is better than mine. I own 5 HGV, and manage to get 9-10 weeks/year. Two that I own are only 1-BR, so maybe that's why your ratio is better.

OP-only 1 was purchased from the developer. The rest have been from individuals or eBay. All are in Florida, but MFs vary by resort so be sure you factor that into your calculations.

[heri0125 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close heri0125]

Wow, definitely very helpful. Thanks to all of you for helping clear things up.

I guess the level of stuff doesn't really apply since the values vary according to the demand on the seasons?

Not sure exactly what you are asking here... HGVC is a point system, so you don't worry about "trading value" as you do with a regular week. Depending on the unit size and the season you own (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze), you get a certain number of HGVC points. Those points can then be used to stay at any resort, during any season (as long as you have enough points for the reservation). You can bank and borrow points to combine points from multiple years together for a single reservation, if you want.

I had gotten so used to weeks being rated by seasons that the point concept just didn't go through. My fear was that if I owned, say, 5K HGVC points (Gold)...that I'd have access to only time rated as "Gold". But it truly is nice to see that it is simply you spend the points you can.

I did venture onto TUG momentarily...but haven't had the chance to really read there. As it is, I spent a good chunk of time just reading through posts here. Great site!

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

Quote:
You mentioned that the reservation had to be 6 days or longer...does that mean I couldn't break it up into a 3 day trip and a 4 day trip elsewhere/later?

6 days was a typo in Bill's post -- the minimum reservation during Club Season is 3 days. There is no maximum (just limited to your available points).

It wasn't a typo, I was just plain worng, I just got my many TS systems rules confused.

Thanks for correcting me.

[zdxlc9p6 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zdxlc9p6]

My fear was that if I owned, say, 5K HGVC points (Gold)...that I'd have access to only time rated as "Gold". But it truly is nice to see that it is simply you spend the points you can.

With HGVC, points are points. IE, I use a 2-BR Gold to get 5000 pts., and then reserve (2) 1-BR Silver weeks @2400/week with 200 pts. remaining in my account.

[zendog Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zendog]

Hilton Grand Vacation Club - Parc Soleil Orlando

Well this does not exactly go to answer your questions, but may provide some insight on the sales pitch and purchase price.

We just purchased (Oct 2009) a timeshare at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club called Parc Soleil in Orlando Florida. Everything I have ever learned about timeshares told me not to buy, but we bought it anyway. My fear was confirmed when I saw all the available timeshares out there for less than we paid. We paid $44,000 for 8400 points for a 2 bedroom plus unit (1 week), which is the same as a 3 bedroom in points. Maintenance is $1013 per year.

The sales pitch goes something like this: if you were to rent a 3 bedroom suite like this it would cost you about $250/day, for a 7 days, and the next say 30 years plus 2% inflation…well that is $210,000 you are spending. You can get that today for less ($44K) by using “ANYWAY” money. That is money you would have spent anyway.
Well I got it “anyway”… One thing I liked was the ability to convert the points to at Hilton hotels points around the world at a rate of 25 to 1. That means that my 8400 points could convert to 210,000 hotel points which never expire. It takes about 140,000 to 176,000 pts to stay at a very nice Hilton for a week. The other nice thing was the ability to rent other “available” rooms during our stay for family or friends at great rates: studio $60/day, 1B $80, 2BR $100, and 3BR $120. One hitch…you can only reserve these 24 – 30 days in advance. So your guest have to be willing to go on short notice.

In the beginning the sales guy asked me what I knew about timeshares, I told the guy that timeshares are a ripoff because, because they charge more in maintenance fees than the actual cost… I still bought it anyway… For example our unit fee is $1013 a year, times 52 weeks, times 1200 units equals $62 million in collected maintenance fees per year. Sure they may only sell off half of the timeshares so that is only $32M a year. I think I could run a facility with that much and that does not include the $44k we paid.

The facility is beautiful, staff top notch, and the location is between Sea World/Universal and Disney. I asked the salesmen when the other buildings were going to be completed they had no idea “ maybe 7 years for full completion.” Two out of seven are done now. I cannot believe they were ignorant of the construction schedule of the facility they were selling, I guess they were selling a dream so specifics were not important. I specifically asked if construction had stopped due to the downturn in the economy and they said “no” and that they were fully funded through capital from Hilton not banks. They said that work would be continuous until all the buildings were completed.