I am an Elite+ owner of HGVC timeshare units. I have kept this level of ownership due to Gold status and my ability to convert HGVC points to HHonors points. The recent increases (twice now in 7 months!) in the point levels of many Hilton Hotels effectively dilutes the value of my ownership. I intend to let Hilton know that I expect them to increase the conversion rate of HGVC points to HHonors points.
Double whammy because the Gold status has also been greatly diluted since I held that status a few years ago...I am guaranteed to have it simply by having the HHonors Citi Reserve visa card.
At my level of ownership I would have expected Diamond given that they give away Gold. That being said, I have been treated well at Hiltons with this status.
I do agree that the Diamond status would be justified if one is a significant owner of a timeshare. A few years ago, I had gone to hear a sales pitch on HGVC timeshares in HNL, but with the sole intention of walking away with 21K HH bonus points that were offered for just hearing the pitch. However, the salesperson got so aggressive in trying to get me to go for it that I had to concoct a story to weasel out of it. He let up and I kept the bonus points .
I have run into some of their aggressive sales pitches, complained, then got suckered in to "Owner updates to explain new properties and new benefits" where the sales person was still upset that I had zero intention of buying more.
I also experienced the way to aggressive way of selling time shares. I am keeping my distance for sure, only a limited group of people will benefit. And will be the true owner or saying it in other words; selling dreams in bubble wrap.
In all of the sales pitches we have been subjected to recently, the ability to convert to HH points was quite prominently mentioned, indeed as we are at an Elite level, that has been almost all they talked about after reviewing their newest properties. Since converting from HGVC points to HH points provides them with an ability to profit from my inventory (It is a value for value swap) the increase in point requirements undermines the value of my HGVC ownership substantially. Up to this point, we have been reasonably happy owners because we believe we have gotten good value from our ownership. Two family gatherings in Hawaii (BI & HHV), extended family trips to London, Scotland and Las Vegas all came about through HGVC. With the dilution of HH points in 2010 and again this year it is less likely that we will see reasonable value in the future from our HGVC point conversions and, to me, that has been the real point of being an owner at the Elite+ level. Unless they up the conversion rate from 25 HHpoints per HGVC point significantly, then I will have to believe that they are taking inappropriate advantage of their captive owners.
We went through one in Florida and they did sell that component. After the presentation, I realized something that would have made the deal a possibility, that they offer Diamond for the duration of ownership. I know that it may offend some folks here, but it really doesn't cost Hilton anything. They already have your money...it could be a really good incentive for some but not enough that they would lose/dilute Diamond so severely. I mean, it is a timeshare that you are buying. You already have a Hilton property to stay at on your vacation. The random stays wouldn't break the bank for Hilton and if one converted all the HGVC points one may not have enough stay at HGV property thus still being monetarily ahead.
They offer Gold at the Elite level (14,000 points equal roughly to two Platinum weeks in a standard 2BR). Elite+ starts at 24,000 points where they offer easier conversion to HH points. Owners get Diamond status only at Elite Premier for 34,000 points. HH point conversion is 25 per HGVC point.
The NYC West 57th property does the most aggressive, high-pressure upsell I've been subjected to. I own at Hilton Club NYC and West 57th has offered me upsell weekends twice. Their two big points are the convertability to HHonors points, and the fact that Hilton Club has a limited lifespan of something like 20 years more. West 57th salespeople become extremely belligerent when I tell them I'm not interested, and the last one was downright angry when I told him he was wasting his time and mine because I had no intention of upgrading.
Depends on the property you own. A 7000 point property in Las Vegas could be ~$800/year while in Hawaii it would be double that. Some of their newest properties have been built in such a way as to reduce the fees per point substantially. Of course that means that the upfront price per point goes up. While one does not purchase a timeshare with the hope of converting to hotel points worth the annual fees, that may be what they are driving us to.
I ran into someone that rents the points out to cover the annual fee's and uses a bit for a small vacation but appreciates the status with Hilton. Said it was easier and cheaper than putting $40,000 a year onto the Amex card.
