What could HGVC do to enhance your ownership?

Well, we know that developing anything outside the core markets is not in the cards.

But I was thinking .........What else could HGVC do to add value to your ownership?

I would love the following:
(1) Dual exchange affiliation with both RCI and Interval International
(2) The option to use HGVC points for room upgrades at the Hilton family of hotels during cash stays or HHonors reward stays
(3) The option to use HGVC points for travel packages (air + hotel packages like Marriott)
(4) HGVC Reservation Waitlist option (instead of having to constantly check)
(5) A display of the number of rooms available online for a specific HGVC unit size/type (maybe color coding to indicate the last one, less than 3 rooms, more than 3 rooms or more than 10 rooms
(6) A new and improved CLASSIC Reservation System (instead of the new Revolution Reservation System ) that will continue to provide QUICK (requiring the fewest number of mouse click) and EASY (single page view across multiple weeks) access.

How about making all of their affiliates as well as resorts available for reservation online?
But what'cha gonn'a do to make 'em listen? Kick 'em in the shins? Don't hold your breath on any of this.

1. HGVC members should get the best of either corporate or government rates at all Hilton brand hotels.
2. The online guide needs a "search" capability badly. Actually, re-write the clumsy user interface altogether.
3. HGVC stays should be eligible for Hhonors points. Not for the room, but for meals, drinks, etc. that are charged back from Hilton restaurants. I don't mean that you use your HHonors Amex card to get them. I mean you get the points from your bill, just like a hotel stay.
4. Change the checkout time to 11:00.
5. I agree with Talent312, all affiliate availability should be available online.

Hilton would go a long ways in my eyes if they'd kick RCI to the curb. The only exchange I might be interested in through RCI would be the DVC resorts and of those, only the HHI resort is of interest to me. Right now, if I don't want to travel to the Big 3 + 1 (Manhattan), I'm stuck with converting my points to Hhonors points, rescuing them to next year or a cruise exchange. Nothing else is really of interest to me.

At this point I've managed to make use of our 2009 and 2010 points by making a cruise exchange, which is NOT the most efficient usage of our points. I'm already trying to figure out what I'm going to do for 2011. By 2011, we will have been to Hawaii twice, once Hilton on Oahu and once Marriott on Kauai, and I don't know that I'll be in the mood the spend another $1,600 to $1,800 on airfare getting back to Hawaii for a 3rd year in a row. By then it will have been 3 years since going to Vegas so, Maybe I'll borrow a few points from 2012 and go for one of the penthouse units at the LV Strip location. It's a great resort and the Penthouse units are some of the best in Vegas. If Hiton would affiliate with I.I., it would open up an entire new option of exchanges with quality resorts like Westin, Hyatt and Marriott. I'd love to be able to use our HGVC points for an exchange into one of the Hyatt's in Key West.

Right now they offer Hhonors Gold for HGVC elites.

I would like to see a modification to this that instead of giving you gold, would give you credit for the stays/nights needed to achieve gold. Then you could get Diamond for the additional stays needed.

It's getting difficult to achieve Diamond when I spend so many days at HGVC.

Would also like to see a wider booking window for NY 57th St non-owners. Perhaps a tiered system: 44 days regular, 75 days lowest level elite, 90 days next level, etc.

Most of these sound pretty good, I would really like having the silver/gold elite as credit to the next level. But HGVC and Hilton Hotels are different pocketbooks. Any additional benny from Hhonors would probably require reimbursement from HGVC. Would the membership accept higher dues for more perks. I would really like to be able to do RCI searching online, which of course has been beaten to death. Someday, maybe....

Access to a really decent resort in Maui. The ones we are currently able to exchange into are horrible.

Get rid of x number of days prior to check-out rule for reservation and change it back to x number of day prior to check-in.

Go back to points or cash or open season rentals and not just cash.

Let us make RCI reservations online. The main reason I haven't exchanged into RCI is because I like to see the options before making a decision of when and where to go.

linsj said:

Let us make RCI reservations online. The main reason I haven't exchanged into RCI is because I like to see the options before making a decision of when and where to go.

Click to expand...

Hilton has announced that they plan to do so, and they've been testing the system. I just talked to an RCI specialist at HGVC yesterday (tried to make an RCI trade, which wasn't available). At the end of my transaction, I asked her about this. She acknowledged that they had been testing the on-line RCI reservation system and had run into some problems. No word on what those problems were, or when they may have them fixed to test again. But "the check is in the mail."

-Bob

jehb2 said:

Access to a really decent resort in Maui. The ones we are currently able to exchange into are horrible.

Get rid of x number of days prior to check-out rule for reservation and change it back to x number of day prior to check-in.

Go back to points or cash or open season rentals and not just cash.

Click to expand...

A week ago, I made two reservations in open season for The Grand Waikikian using points. I didn't know it had ever changed.

nonutrix