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Holiday Inn Club Vacation - Did I Get A Good Deal?

dayooper

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I sent the letter and saw they received it but haven’t heard back from them since monday which concerns me a bit. I keep wondering if there is anything in my letter that could make it invalid.

They legally don't have to provide you with an update. As long as you followed the instructions, you will be fine.
 

silentg

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Thanks for the replies everyone. A couple of comments:

For starters, I do not have any problem rescinding my purchase - The 10 day period for rescinding is the only reason we went ahead with the purchase, as it was stipulated in the contract, and we would be doing our research in the next few days to confirm our choice.

My wife and I did not have any previous knowledge of the TS industry, except that people often feel locked in and are not able to resell. Based on our discussions with the staff (obviously biased), we felt this was a good way to invest into future international travel opportunities at a set price and being that we live in Florida, would always be able to use it towards a staycation should we not have enough time or money for additional flights to other locations.

So whether or not we return this one and purchase on the resale market, we’d like to understand the pros and cons of the terms of our current purchase to help us make a better decision going forward.

Our priorities are the following:

1) International travel is our primary focus. We live in Florida and would only be using our points locally if time is tight. In the long run, local resorts may prove to be more worthwhile for the kids, but that’s not an issue at present.

2) Unlimited access to the amenities at the Orange Lakes Orlando resort anytime without the use of points or a booking was also a big advantage (not enough of a reason to purchase the TS but was definitely an advantage we wanted to have IF we decided to buy into the TS system). Given that, one can look at the annual maintenance fees much like your annual HOA fees; fees for access to services you will actually utilize.

3) Point system – In the contract, we specifically selected the point system and not the week-specific system. Using RCI, for example, we calculated needing roughly 166K points to do 3 weeks of trips in Europe and a one week trip in Africa (our plans for this upcoming year). This is why the HICV TS system made sense to us. Is the flexibility of using the points with RCI or better yet, Interval International (II) something we can find elsewhere at a better value if we are strictly looking to use the timeshare model for a significant amount of international travel? And having the flexibility in our schedule to take advantage of staycations Sun-Thurs locally at half the point value?

A few points we wanted help clarifying:

A) In the TS world, do the number of points required for travel to each region increase over time? Or is the cost of points fixed? We asked this question, and were told for example it will always cost 21K RCI points for a 7 night stay in Europe (which is 42K HICV points per the exchange). I see a lot of you saying that over time it will only help us get a 1 week stay in Florida, and I’m unclear why? Does the value of the points diminish over the years? We were also told we could purchase up to 50% more of our points at 1 cent/point, allowing us to get up to 190,500 points any given year if we needed them. That would only run $600, and I doubt we’d ever need that much.

B) Regarding reservation fees, our contract clearly stipulates $59/reservation with points (within HIVC), and it's only $49 if the reservation is made online. Up to $229 if made through RCI. A bit high, but still not that big an issue. Would be under a grand if you took 4 international trips/yr.

C) In terms of the resale market, if we purchase a resale HICV TS is it true that you are then locked into the week system with NO option of using the points on other resorts? If so, this would mean an HICV resale TS would not meet our needs. And again, if no other company offers you the flexibility of using the point system on international travel, without having to trade weeks then we would be tied to HICV if we are looking to use the TS system to meet those goals.

D) If anyone else has used the TS system with the primary goal of international travel, could you please recommend a company which allowed you to do so in a more cost effective manner? Or is this overall a poor use of the system? (And why?)

E) Also, for international travel is RCI the better system to be looking to get involved with or Interval International (II)??

Lanny, the presentation was at the Cape Canaveral location. Weather was cold, and that's their newest resort, and still being renovated (former Ron Jon location). And we live 1 hour from Orlando.

TIA!
Hi
I hope you recined this offer? We bought a timeshare at Orange Lake years ago. We owned a studio then upgraded to a two bedroom. Like you, we use the resort for day trips with family and friends. Since we live in Central Florida. We were at an update where they tried to sell us overpriced week. We kept saying no until we got the price lowered for127,00 points to an agreeable price for all of us. Way less than the offer you got.
We have used IHG points to travel to London, Rome, and Paris. We hardly ever stay at HIVC resorts, but have stayed at OL, Myrtle Beach, Cape Canaveral, Orlando Breeze. Used IHG in Seattle, Jacksonville, FL, and many other hotels. Usually fill in a day or two before a timeshare stay.
Hopefully you have found a better deal with a timeshare?
Let us know .
Silentg
 

kirby3

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Understanding HICV resale points

If you want to purchase HICV points on the resale market there are two ways to accomplish this.

1. Buy your resale at one of the few Holiday Inn resorts that are Points Only and not weeks. I believe that South Beach Resort (Myrtle Beach) is one such resort. These points can be used throughout the HICV system. The caveat is that points purchased on the resale market will NOT count toward progress to the next higher membership level.

2. Buy one or two resale HICV properties and then buy another property directly from Orange Lake Resorts. Under current HICV rules, you many convert up to two previously owned properties to HICV points if you buy some minimum size property from OL. I did this in November and at that time I had to purchase an OL property for $8500. It has been rumored to me that OL may decide to eliminate this option soon, so I would call them and confirm you can do this before you commit.

Option #2 provides the full benefit of the higher membership levels in HICV and is was the most cost effective way to achieve my goals. The key when buying a resale property in the OL system is to figure out the maintenance fees per 1000 HICV points. It is MUCH better to pay a slightly higher sales price and to have lower MFs. The best properties to buy are large units in platinum or diamond weeks.
Understanding HICV resale points

If you want to purchase HICV points on the resale market there are two ways to accomplish this.

1. Buy your resale at one of the few Holiday Inn resorts that are Points Only and not weeks. I believe that South Beach Resort (Myrtle Beach) is one such resort. These points can be used throughout the HICV system. The caveat is that points purchased on the resale market will NOT count toward progress to the next higher membership level.

2. Buy one or two resale HICV properties and then buy another property directly from Orange Lake Resorts. Under current HICV rules, you many convert up to two previously owned properties to HICV points if you buy some minimum size property from OL. I did this in November and at that time I had to purchase an OL property for $8500. It has been rumored to me that OL may decide to eliminate this option soon, so I would call them and confirm you can do this before you commit.

Option #2 provides the full benefit of the higher membership levels in HICV and is was the most cost effective way to achieve my goals. The key when buying a resale property in the OL system is to figure out the maintenance fees per 1000 HICV points. It is MUCH better to pay a slightly higher sales price and to have lower MFs. The best properties to buy are large units in platinum or diamond weeks.
Question: when you pay the $8500 do they take your existing deeded weeks you own and convert them all to points? If you owned a November (low) week would that week have the same value as a March (high) week? With both being the same unit size. I was told before it doesn’t matter what week you own in HIVC points system but the size of the units. This holds true for all weeks except week 52. Is this correct?
 

DrQ

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Question: when you pay the $$$$ do they take your existing deeded weeks you own and convert them all to points? If you owned a November (low) week would that week have the same value as a March (high) week? With both being the same unit size. I was told before it doesn’t matter what week you own in HIVC points system but the size of the units. This holds true for all weeks except week 52. Is this correct?

In our case, we had two Silverleaf weeks. They took one in trade and used the equity against a purchase of a new trust deed for XXXX points. In our case it was 200K points. We retained our other home resort/week but we can deposit it in to HICV for points (165K). The points on the other unit is based on its location/size/week from the book. We had to pay $16K to convert, but we didn't to lose our EE/BT and start over. I did a quick look on the secondary market and did not see much for Lake Geneva/Gatlinburg/Myrtle Beach which you can buy as points.

The trust is just points so you don't have Home access, just Resort access, so your only booking advantage is 13-10 months, then open access like everyone else.

The only other twist we have encountered is you can buy Signature Club points ($$$$$$$$) which gives you 13 month access to all the Signature properties regardless of your membership status. Supposedly, they only sell them in 100K blocks, but they offered us a 50K block, because we were "special".

As Silverleaf EE/BT holders, we were able to retain that. Our converted trust now has EE and the old week still has BT managed by the Silverleaf portal.

(EE Endless Escapes/BT Bonus Time)
 
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taro tea

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If I want to pay a lawyer to cancel the contract, how much does it usually cost?
 

mentalbreak

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If I want to pay a lawyer to cancel the contract, how much does it usually cost?

Trick question. Paying a lawyer to cancel contract is not a good option IMO.

If you are in the recession period, follow the instructions and rescind yourself. Payment to lawyer is zero.

If you are out of the recession period and “pay a lawyer to cancel the contract” you will likely pay a lot and either not cancel or “cancel” via default. This carries real-world consequences. But again you can do without a lawyer.
 
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Holiday Inn Club Vacations takes the brand awareness and business legacy of Holiday Inn, and tarnishes it with a menagerie of dishonest salesmen, unscrupulous and deceptive middle managers, backed by an organization that has zero accountability and very poor internal communication. Just try to get to the correct department to resolve an issue..it will take months.
I paid for a stay at the Orange Lake Resort in Orlando, Florida, attended a time share presentation, and relied upon what turned out to be COMPLETELY FALSE misrepresentations of what this company's point values, packages, and booking standards are. Having never actually used the timeshare after realizing that almost everything we were told about how it works was false, I have been in a month's long battle with scores of unaccountable members of this poorly run organization. The company believes in internally passing the buck and never doing what they say they will do. They will "Open investigations" into your claims that seem to never get investigated, resolved, or even remembered by the time you speak to them next. Each time you speak to a representative they will tell you that someone is looking into the matter and will contact you, which never happens. The employees don't talk to each other, obviously keep poor records, and take no responsibility for the salespeople or their organization's behavior. DO NOT BUY THIS TIMESHARE. There are plenty of BETTER ones out there run by BETTER ORGANIZATIONS. I am an owner with Diamond Resorts, and as much as I have complained about some of their practices, they are an immaculate organization compared to Holiday Inn Club Vacations. It is truly disappointing the way these people operate. If you value your money, your time, and expect basic honesty and integrity out of those you do business with, stay as far away from Holiday INN Club Vacations and all of their partners, affiliates, and subsidiaries as possible.
 

Bmatrose

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Holiday Inn Club Vacations takes the brand awareness and business legacy of Holiday Inn, and tarnishes it with a menagerie of dishonest salesmen, unscrupulous and deceptive middle managers, backed by an organization that has zero accountability and very poor internal communication. Just try to get to the correct department to resolve an issue..it will take months.
I paid for a stay at the Orange Lake Resort in Orlando, Florida, attended a time share presentation, and relied upon what turned out to be COMPLETELY FALSE misrepresentations of what this company's point values, packages, and booking standards are. Having never actually used the timeshare after realizing that almost everything we were told about how it works was false, I have been in a month's long battle with scores of unaccountable members of this poorly run organization. The company believes in internally passing the buck and never doing what they say they will do. They will "Open investigations" into your claims that seem to never get investigated, resolved, or even remembered by the time you speak to them next. Each time you speak to a representative they will tell you that someone is looking into the matter and will contact you, which never happens. The employees don't talk to each other, obviously keep poor records, and take no responsibility for the salespeople or their organization's behavior. DO NOT BUY THIS TIMESHARE. There are plenty of BETTER ones out there run by BETTER ORGANIZATIONS. I am an owner with Diamond Resorts, and as much as I have complained about some of their practices, they are an immaculate organization compared to Holiday Inn Club Vacations. It is truly disappointing the way these people operate. If you value your money, your time, and expect basic honesty and integrity out of those you do business with, stay as far away from Holiday INN Club Vacations and all of their partners, affiliates, and subsidiaries as possible.

Other than the hard selling sales agents, I've had no issues with HICV. If you hate them so much why name your account after them?
 

Sshine

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Other than the hard selling sales agents, I've had no issues with HICV. If you hate them so much why name your account after them?
I agree...We have gone to orange lake for the last 20+ plus years with my family owning a timeshare there growing up. We finally bought our own unit (on resale) this year. Other than the selling agents, we have no complaints either.
 
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I bought last Friday from hicv and sent my rescission letter today (thanks TUG!!!). Similar to this poster from a few months ago, I got 50,000 pts, but for 12,500. MF $408, membership fee $136, reservation fee is $64per, exchange fee is $59-$288 (59 for IHG, 288 for RCI. 5:4 exchange rate to ihg, 2:1 for RCI. Sales “weasel” (I like that) told me point rates for ihg stays would range from 3500-7000/night. I like the flexibility of hotel access but upon further research it seems the 7000/night is on the Low end and it’s more like 15k+ per night (any Info on that?). I was intrigued as others have been by the CHEAP mid week stays (as low as 7,000 pts for a Sunday-thurs stay in almost all weeks). I was turned off by the locations of the resorts though since I’m in the northeast and would have to fly to most for considerable cost. It seems most of you own ALOT of points or more expensive weeks. If I only traveled mid week, is this really such a bad deal? I saw nightly rates at oak and spruce or Williamsburg for a 2 bedroom or similar for ~$180/night. If I did 10nights/year that’s ~$1800, well above my fees per year (let’s say $800) and assuming 20 years of usage, averaging my $12500 purchase down to $625/year. I know now about resale and that MF goes up ~5% per year. What am I missing? Looking forward to learning the game from all of you and trying again in a few months. It seems there are good deals to be had, just have to find them. Thanks in advance!
 

Bmatrose

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Sales “weasel” (I like that) told me point rates for ihg stays would range from 3500-7000/night. I like the flexibility of hotel access but upon further research it seems the 7000/night is on the Low end and it’s more like 15k+ per night (any Info on that?). - YES this is incorrect. Most hotels are from 15,000 up to 70,000 a night


I was intrigued as others have been by the CHEAP mid week stays (as low as 7,000 pts for a Sunday-thurs stay in almost all weeks). That is not correct. You may find a studio for around 7,000 a night during the week

With 50,000 points a year you may get a couple of nights offseason in a 2 bedroom. No where near 10 nights.
 

gjw007

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Sales “weasel” (I like that) told me point rates for ihg stays would range from 3500-7000/night. I like the flexibility of hotel access but upon further research it seems the 7000/night is on the Low end and it’s more like 15k+ per night (any Info on that?). - YES this is incorrect. Most hotels are from 15,000 up to 70,000 a night


I was intrigued as others have been by the CHEAP mid week stays (as low as 7,000 pts for a Sunday-thurs stay in almost all weeks). That is not correct. You may find a studio for around 7,000 a night during the week

With 50,000 points a year you may get a couple of nights offseason in a 2 bedroom. No where near 10 nights.

You got me curious so i looked up some nightly point costs for 2-bedrooms on sun-thurs stays. These are from the slowest season.

Bay point - 7600 points per night
Apple valley - 4500 points per night
Fox river - 4500 points per night
Oak and spruce - 4500 points per night
Holiday hills - 6000 points per night
Timber creek - 4500 points per night
Ozark mountain - 6000 points per night
South beach - 5300 points per night
Smoky mountain - 6100 points per night
Hill country resort - 6000 points per night
Piney shores - 4500 points per night
Holiday lake - 4500 points per night
Villages resort - 4500 points per night
Galveston - 4500 points per night
Mount ascutney - 6900 points per night
Williamsburg - 5500 points per night
 

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Bmatrose

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You got me curious so i looked up some nightly point costs for 2-bedrooms on sun-thurs stays. These are from the slowest season.

Bay point - 7600 points per night
Apple valley - 4500 points per night
Fox river - 4500 points per night
Oak and spruce - 4500 points per night
Holiday hills - 6000 points per night
Timber creek - 4500 points per night
Ozark mountain - 6000 points per night
South beach - 5300 points per night
Smoky mountain - 6100 points per night
Hill country resort - 6000 points per night
Piney shores - 4500 points per night
Holiday lake - 4500 points per night
Villages resort - 4500 points per night
Galveston - 4500 points per night
Mount ascutney - 6900 points per night
Williamsburg - 5500 points per night

i meant to say With 50,000 points a year you may get a couple of nights in season in a 2 bedroom. No where near 10 nights.
 

DrQ

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Sales “weasel” (I like that) told me point rates for ihg stays would range from 3500-7000/night. I like the flexibility of hotel access but upon further research it seems the 7000/night is on the Low end and it’s more like 15k+ per night (any Info on that?). - YES this is incorrect. Most hotels are from 15,000 up to 70,000 a night
I've been known to refer to them as Sales weasels to their faces during a presentation.
 

Gypsy65

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I know this is an older thread and seems to bounce around a little bit
But I have a ??

We own at Orange Lake. Purchased a couple eBay weeks with 1 being week 52 and I think a 3br
Purchased one week from OL a couple years ago. Then another from them last year which brought us to a million points and in some other club. Registry I think

We are platinum elite members. Get week 53 every few years since we own the 52 week which is a extra weeks worth of points. I think 266k??

We did all this for about $75,000

Question is. Did we do this right or did we still get a bad deal?

We use it a lot and although the $$ seems high at first glance maybe it isn’t that bad considering what we get in return and would maybe have that and more in rentals etc??

We still are working on the best ways to use our time and points
They keep telling us to use them on our 1-2 cruises we take a year but the numbers seem to be off. Seems cheaper to pay cash for a cruise and have more points for our stays??

The resorts we’ve stayed at have all been great and we usually end up in a signature unit

Just curious how we did?

Thanks for any info on our deal and how we can maybe utilize it to it’s best potential
 

Gypsy65

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Duplicate post. Sorry
 

Bmatrose

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I know this is an older thread and seems to bounce around a little bit
But I have a ??

We own at Orange Lake. Purchased a couple eBay weeks with 1 being week 52 and I think a 3br
Purchased one week from OL a couple years ago. Then another from them last year which brought us to a million points and in some other club. Registry I think

We are platinum elite members. Get week 53 every few years since we own the 52 week which is a extra weeks worth of points. I think 266k??

We did all this for about $75,000

Question is. Did we do this right or did we still get a bad deal?

We use it a lot and although the $$ seems high at first glance maybe it isn’t that bad considering what we get in return and would maybe have that and more in rentals etc??

We still are working on the best ways to use our time and points
They keep telling us to use them on our 1-2 cruises we take a year but the numbers seem to be off. Seems cheaper to pay cash for a cruise and have more points for our stays??

The resorts we’ve stayed at have all been great and we usually end up in a signature unit

Just curious how we did?

Thanks for any info on our deal and how we can maybe utilize it to it’s best potential


You did much better then buying all from the developer. Im currently Elite but not signature...didnt see much benefit....Wouldn't go to platinum elite for anything...Dont want to lose the ability to rent points at .005 per point...I was able to accomplish this for less then half of what you paid but I feel like I got pretty lucky and accomplished this at just the right time. Enjoy the membership. Use your points for resort stays, never use it for cruises, rental cars, flying, maintenance fess etc...They have horrible conversion rates. Another good way to see if you see how you did is by how much your maintenance fees are.
 

Gypsy65

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You did much better then buying all from the developer. Im currently Elite but not signature...didnt see much benefit....Wouldn't go to platinum elite for anything...Dont want to lose the ability to rent points at .005 per point...I was able to accomplish this for less then half of what you paid but I feel like I got pretty lucky and accomplished this at just the right time. Enjoy the membership. Use your points for resort stays, never use it for cruises, rental cars, flying, maintenance fess etc...They have horrible conversion rates. Another good way to see if you see how you did is by how much your maintenance fees are.

Is your point rental .05 cents a point or .005 ?
At .005 it’s $5,000 for 1 million points is that correct?

I think white how and what we purchased we get a lot of perks. Bounds weeks as many do. The added 53 week points and other things that we are still trying to take advantage of and learn to use correctly

I agree to not use points for other purchases

Since we brought in fixed weeks and converted them to points Via the new purchase from the developer. Can they ever take that value back and return the points back to fixed weeks?

Also
We were told when we purchased our most recent week from the. That we can add anyone to the deed. Which I assume is correct
So I asked them. If I add a person to my deed and then remove myself from the deed Does that new person get everything we already have in place with the million points?
There answer was yes! Do you know if that’s true?
If so then in theory I could sell my entire package as points and work the deal as stated correct?
 

mentalbreak

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Also
We were told when we purchased our most recent week from the. That we can add anyone to the deed. Which I assume is correct
So I asked them. If I add a person to my deed and then remove myself from the deed Does that new person get everything we already have in place with the million points?
There answer was yes! Do you know if that’s true?
If so then in theory I could sell my entire package as points and work the deal as stated correct?

Do you know if that’s true?

I hope you have this Q&A in writing. Because it is not true.
 

Bmatrose

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Is your point rental .05 cents a point or .005 ? .005
At .005 it’s $5,000 for 1 million points is that correct? Yes, I can rent another million points for $5,000.

Can they ever take that value back and return the points back to fixed weeks? I dont think so, you have a contract on the points. I think they could change your benefit level though. That is always subject to change.

If so then in theory I could sell my entire package as points and work the deal as stated correct? No chance that is true...Trust points are a different. I think you can sell them but they have a ton of restrictions on them when resold.
 

MagicMedic

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So we just got back from a free 3-day stay in exchange for a TimeShare presentation by Holiday Inn Club Vacation (HICV). The wife & I agreed beforehand that we would listen, but no impulsive buys. Lets walk away; we're not interested in time shares.

With respect to the many reviews/comments we've come across, we didn't feel any pressure or any of the staff being push toward us at any point (I can't say that for everyone else in the room; the table next to us was getting pushed pretty hard to make a sale).

In short, what was scheduled to be around a 2 hour sales pitch turned into a 7 hour thorough info-session (because we took our time). We asked 1001 questions, had some private time to chit-chat and crunch some numbers with one another, and most importantly ask one of our friends (who owns a timeshare with a different company) regarding his experience and suggestions. Because of this, we addressed several of our questions before the deal, and not after.

Several hours in, it seemed that the math added up, especially seeing we would be paying a minimum of a third (if not half) of the timeshare purchase price in the next 2-3 trips we planned on taking this year alone. So I think we got a pretty good deal, but I'd love to hear others' perspectives/feedback:

- HICV, Points-Based system, so can book (through HICV) with Holiday-Inn Resorts, IHG (80% point exchange value), or RCI (50% point exchange value)

- No black out dates; only that certain high demand locations will require requesting months in advance, and very exclusive areas may require a wait-list (if it's another TimeShare owner's home base, which they can reserve up to 3 years in advance, so they get priority in the reservation over us).

- Non-weekend reservations (Sun - Thur) are at half-point cost

- You can take advantage of others' last minute cancellations for even better deals too.

- Our home base is Orange Lake Resort Orlando. Being that we're Floridians, that's a great value, because we have access to the resort amenities (without using any points or actually booking a hotel/resort room) for free. Unlimited use. So can literally have family/friends from out of town and drive over to the resort and use the park/water amenities, free of charge.

- The initial sales pitch was for shares @ $00.24/point. The "if you buy today only" sales pitch was $00.21/point. A quick online comparison shows another HICV member selling their timeshare on Ebay on a timeshare resale website for $25,000 for 166,000 points ($00.1506/point). So we initially thought lets wait and shop around to buy from existing owners looking to unload their timeshare.

- We asked about this indirectly; the HICV staff stated that if you purchase someone else's timeshare, you're stuck in the week-specific timeshare setup (old setup) and aren't allowed to upgrade into the point system, plus they don't extend the partnerships to IHG and RCI for them either. Its their way of making sure they control the sales/competition, and that this applies to ALL timeshare companies. So basically we're told that either you buy new and get the point system giving you flexibility to reserve anywhere, or you buy used and get locked into a specific week at a specific location. Period.

- My friend warned us about the high maintenance fees, reservation fees, and membership fees (go to through partners like IHG & RCI, etc). It seems that HICV does have its fees, but they really aren't that bad, given their initial buy-in price is a LOT cheaper than say, the #1 rated Marriott Vacation Club (http://vacation-club-review.toptenreviews.com/). And there are NO membership fees (beyond the HICV annual membership fee) to use their affiliates (eg you don't have to pay an annual membership fee with IHG, and another with RCI, etc, as some other timeshare companies make you do). There are higher reservation fees when using IHG or RCI, but that's per use.

- I'm an IHG VIP Plus member (Platinum Elite) through work, so they were able to open up deals from existing owners trying to sell back their timeshares to HICV. So we were able to get 127,000 points for $18,400 = $00.1448/point. Maintenance cost is $781 annually and $147 for property taxes annually.

- Additional points (up to 50% of your annual point value) can be purchased for $0.01/point, per year.

- You maintain IHG Platinum Elite status, and unused HICV points can be rolled over into IHG where they don't expire. Ever.

- You can rollover one year's point to HICV for the next year, but the points expire after 2 years (if not rolled over the IHG). What you do use the second year will be deducted from the rollover points FIRST, before that year's allotted points, so you can technically rollover that year's unused points as well.

So again, overall, I think we got a pretty good deal. Obviously you're limited to the 16 HCIV sites within the US, but when you combine them with the RCI options, and IHG reservations (coupled with racking up points via an IHG Credit Card), you can pretty much go anywhere with HICV for minimal out-of-pocket expense. Or at least that's how I'm seeing it.

I'd love to hear others' feedback regarding this, in particular to the following:

1) Did we indeed get a good deal?

2) Are timeshares purchased in the resale market truly limited to the week-specific system, and prevented from being upgrades/changed to the point system after transfer of ownership? Because we're ONLY interested in the point system.

3) Any pros/cons we're missing by going with HICV vs another timeshare company, based on the setup we have?

Thanks for your time & help! :)
So we just got back from a free 3-day stay in exchange for a TimeShare presentation by Holiday Inn Club Vacation (HICV). The wife & I agreed beforehand that we would listen, but no impulsive buys. Lets walk away; we're not interested in time shares.

With respect to the many reviews/comments we've come across, we didn't feel any pressure or any of the staff being push toward us at any point (I can't say that for everyone else in the room; the table next to us was getting pushed pretty hard to make a sale).

In short, what was scheduled to be around a 2 hour sales pitch turned into a 7 hour thorough info-session (because we took our time). We asked 1001 questions, had some private time to chit-chat and crunch some numbers with one another, and most importantly ask one of our friends (who owns a timeshare with a different company) regarding his experience and suggestions. Because of this, we addressed several of our questions before the deal, and not after.

Several hours in, it seemed that the math added up, especially seeing we would be paying a minimum of a third (if not half) of the timeshare purchase price in the next 2-3 trips we planned on taking this year alone. So I think we got a pretty good deal, but I'd love to hear others' perspectives/feedback:

- HICV, Points-Based system, so can book (through HICV) with Holiday-Inn Resorts, IHG (80% point exchange value), or RCI (50% point exchange value)

- No black out dates; only that certain high demand locations will require requesting months in advance, and very exclusive areas may require a wait-list (if it's another TimeShare owner's home base, which they can reserve up to 3 years in advance, so they get priority in the reservation over us).

- Non-weekend reservations (Sun - Thur) are at half-point cost

- You can take advantage of others' last minute cancellations for even better deals too.

- Our home base is Orange Lake Resort Orlando. Being that we're Floridians, that's a great value, because we have access to the resort amenities (without using any points or actually booking a hotel/resort room) for free. Unlimited use. So can literally have family/friends from out of town and drive over to the resort and use the park/water amenities, free of charge.

- The initial sales pitch was for shares @ $00.24/point. The "if you buy today only" sales pitch was $00.21/point. A quick online comparison shows another HICV member selling their timeshare on Ebay on a timeshare resale website for $25,000 for 166,000 points ($00.1506/point). So we initially thought lets wait and shop around to buy from existing owners looking to unload their timeshare.

- We asked about this indirectly; the HICV staff stated that if you purchase someone else's timeshare, you're stuck in the week-specific timeshare setup (old setup) and aren't allowed to upgrade into the point system, plus they don't extend the partnerships to IHG and RCI for them either. Its their way of making sure they control the sales/competition, and that this applies to ALL timeshare companies. So basically we're told that either you buy new and get the point system giving you flexibility to reserve anywhere, or you buy used and get locked into a specific week at a specific location. Period.

- My friend warned us about the high maintenance fees, reservation fees, and membership fees (go to through partners like IHG & RCI, etc). It seems that HICV does have its fees, but they really aren't that bad, given their initial buy-in price is a LOT cheaper than say, the #1 rated Marriott Vacation Club (http://vacation-club-review.toptenreviews.com/). And there are NO membership fees (beyond the HICV annual membership fee) to use their affiliates (eg you don't have to pay an annual membership fee with IHG, and another with RCI, etc, as some other timeshare companies make you do). There are higher reservation fees when using IHG or RCI, but that's per use.

- I'm an IHG VIP Plus member (Platinum Elite) through work, so they were able to open up deals from existing owners trying to sell back their timeshares to HICV. So we were able to get 127,000 points for $18,400 = $00.1448/point. Maintenance cost is $781 annually and $147 for property taxes annually.

- Additional points (up to 50% of your annual point value) can be purchased for $0.01/point, per year.

- You maintain IHG Platinum Elite status, and unused HICV points can be rolled over into IHG where they don't expire. Ever.

- You can rollover one year's point to HICV for the next year, but the points expire after 2 years (if not rolled over the IHG). What you do use the second year will be deducted from the rollover points FIRST, before that year's allotted points, so you can technically rollover that year's unused points as well.

So again, overall, I think we got a pretty good deal. Obviously you're limited to the 16 HCIV sites within the US, but when you combine them with the RCI options, and IHG reservations (coupled with racking up points via an IHG Credit Card), you can pretty much go anywhere with HICV for minimal out-of-pocket expense. Or at least that's how I'm seeing it.

I'd love to hear others' feedback regarding this, in particular to the following:

1) Did we indeed get a good deal?

2) Are timeshares purchased in the resale market truly limited to the week-specific system, and prevented from being upgrades/changed to the point system after transfer of ownership? Because we're ONLY interested in the point system.

3) Any pros/cons we're missing by going with HICV vs another timeshare company, based on the setup we have?

Thanks for your time & help! :)
 

MagicMedic

Guest
Joined
Nov 7, 2015
Messages
21
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2
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Location
Florida
Your post is well thought out and very thorough. The question of whether or not you got a “good deal” depends in large part what your plans for your vacations are. We love our membership in HICV and use it all the time. Sure, you can buy fixed weeks at HICV Resorts on the secondary market for cheap but you have to carry the heavy weight of high maintenance fees for only a specific week and unit at one resort. I have read some posts about people who are pretty bent out of shape about this. What buyers have to remember now is that what you are buying is the flexibility of going when and where you want. If you did the math and it works for you, be happy. The resorts are great. Resort systems like HICV are working hard to make sure they have a product to sell that cannot be undercut by the secondary market. That is understandable from their business perspective. In the past, the timeshare sales industry tried to make it seem like having a deed meant you had something of intrinsic value. Most of the time, the deed was a liability. Now, it’s all about membership in “the club”. We are very happy with HICV. MagicMedic
 

silentg

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
6,185
Reaction score
3,260
Points
649
Location
Central Florida
Resorts Owned
Fitzpatrick's Castle Holiday Homes,
Enchanted Isle.
I agree , we have a week at OL and have stayed there and some other HIVC resorts, best part is the ability to use IHG system of points for hotel stays.
Your post is well thought out and very thorough. The question of whether or not you got a “good deal” depends in large part what your plans for your vacations are. We love our membership in HICV and use it all the time. Sure, you can buy fixed weeks at HICV Resorts on the secondary market for cheap but you have to carry the heavy weight of high maintenance fees for only a specific week and unit at one resort. I have read some posts about people who are pretty bent out of shape about this. What buyers have to remember now is that what you are buying is the flexibility of going when and where you want. If you did the math and it works for you, be happy. The resorts are great. Resort systems like HICV are working hard to make sure they have a product to sell that cannot be undercut by the secondary market. That is understandable from their business perspective. In the past, the timeshare sales industry tried to make it seem like having a deed meant you had something of intrinsic value. Most of the time, the deed was a liability. Now, it’s all about membership in “the club”. We are very happy with HICV. MagicMedic
 

jbiz83

newbie
Joined
May 28, 2019
Messages
3
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Resorts Owned
Holiday Inn Club Vacations
We bought 50,000 points on 5/1, but now want to cancel. Is it to late to get any kind of refund on the down payment?
 

Bmatrose

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
374
Reaction score
118
Points
153
Resorts Owned
HICV Elite
We bought 50,000 points on 5/1, but now want to cancel. Is it to late to get any kind of refund on the down payment?
Way past recession period...Don't think their is any way to get a refund and now you are obligated to pay the rest of the contract. Learn to use the timeshare to the best of your abilities.
 
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