I'm not surprised - since they made Nanea a Flex resort, it was only a matter of time before they created a new group.
This is a way for VSE to repackage Westin Mission Hills which is struggling as a voluntary resort with high maintenance fees.
During the 12-8 month owner's priority period, Flex owners will only be able to exchange for reservations in the flex pool - not the deeded weeks inventory that already belongs to owners.
From the start, this will really impact Nanea, because all Nanea reservations will be available to everyone in this group during the owner's reservation period. But at least to begin with, it shouldn't impact the other 3 Hawaii resorts as much. But eventually, as more and more deeds are sucked into the Flex pool inventory, there will be less and less Staroption availability.
(If I was a Nanea owner, I would be be po'd about this!)
It will probably mean that after Jan. 4th, you will only be able to buy FlexOptions from the developer at the 6 resorts in this group, but you can still buy deeded weeks on the resale market. However, it may mean that VSE will actively pursue more resales, or exercise ROFR more often, to acquire inventory for the Flex Pool.
As Robert said, this is a bad deal for owners/buyers, and a good deal for VSE.