If you are a Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC) owner, you may be a bit confused about Hilton’s latest timeshare offering: Hilton Grand Vacations Max (HGV Max). After all, they are both Hilton Grand Vacations timeshares, and the name seems to indicate that HGV Max should be some kind of upgrade, right? The truth is less glamorous and more expensive than you might think.
Perhaps the largest cause of the HGV Max offering is the fact that Hilton recently acquired the Diamond Resorts properties and needed to find a way to make money off of that acquisition. Hilton Grand Vacations owners that assumed they would just have access to these new resorts as a perk of their existing membership will be disappointed; Hilton wants more money for that.
Thus, the HGV Max membership was born. This article will take a look at some common questions about HGV Max membership, particularly as it relates to current club members who are curious why their thousands of dollars of membership fees don’t entitle them to Hilton’s full portfolio of resorts.
Finally, if you’re a Hilton owner from either club that is tired of paying tons of maintenance fees and other costs for what is essentially a series of very expensive hotels, we’ll take a look at options for a legal, ethical timeshare exit with Centerstone Group. As a top leader in timeshare exits, Centerstone group can offer you an alternative to paying high fees, regardless of whether you pay them to HGV Max vs. HGVC.
Given that the names are so similar, you could be forgiven for thinking that there is not much of a difference when looking at HGV Max vs. HGVC. Like HGVC, HGV Max is the program under which new Hilton club owners will be brought into the system. It is a non-deeded timeshare system that uses vacation club points to purchase time at a variety of different resorts.
The main difference between the two, though, is what resorts the club members have access to. HGVC members are sort of the “basic membership people” who have access to only Hilton’s main portfolio of Hilton Grand Vacations Resorts. This includes a variety of timeshare units in Carlsbad, California; Hawaii; Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Sedona, Arizona; and other domestic spots. There is also a selection of international destinations like Mexico and Canada.
HGV Max is designed to be a larger, higher-end vacation club that makes use of the resorts from the Diamond acquisition. HGV Max members get access to a select group of HGVC resorts and a few of the nicer Diamond Resorts properties that have been re-branded as Hilton Vacation Club or HGV Max resorts.
Before you think that the HGV Max program sounds like a good deal, consider that Diamond Resorts properties have historically not been well-reviewed. On the whole, they are largely regarded as inferior to HGVC’s existing resorts. While Hilton has likely spent time and money renovating them (particularly the Hilton Vacation Club resorts), you have to question whether paying extra money for the Diamond resorts is worth it.
And to do that, take a look at the cost. For existing owners of HGVC, it will cost an “activation fee” of over $7,000 to become a member of the HGV Max program. You will also be looking at annual club dues for HGV Max of nearly $300 per year. Paying that much extra money for a group of resorts that are generally less well-reviewed seems like a bad idea.
Though Hilton also advertises other benefits — like Hilton Honors club status (the loyalty program for Hilton Hotels), concerts, and guest certificates — the selection of additional resorts is the main draw. Thus, if the additional resorts are of lesser quality than the resorts you are already enjoying, paying extra money does not seem like a good decision.
No. While new Hilton timeshare owners will automatically become enrolled in the HGV Max membership program, current HGVC owners will have to “upgrade” by paying thousands of dollars upfront to access the HGV Max properties.
Like any other timeshare developer, Hilton loves making timeshare presentations not only to new and prospective customers but also people who have already purchased points in their existing vacation club. We have received reports from clients that salespeople told them that their HGV Max membership “replaces” HGVC.
Unfortunately for club members, that does not appear to be the case. Hilton timeshare owners report paying HGV Max fees in addition to the already large litany of HGVC fees. So, despite what you may be told by overzealous sales staff, HGV Max will not replace HGVC. If anything, it represents an extra layer of fees on top of everything you have been paying thus far, further proving the point that timeshares are just not a good investment.
If paying more money for access to lower-quality resorts doesn’t appeal to you, you aren’t alone. Timeshare owners across the world have tired of paying ever-increasing maintenance fees, special assessments, exchange fees for companies like RCI and Interval International, and all the other ways that timeshare developers have found to nickel and dime them over the years.
While timeshares were marketed as a way to vacation more cheaply, they have become financial burdens.
Centerstone Group is a family-owned company of people who have worked in the timeshare industry and know exactly how bad things have gotten. Our mission is to help owners burdened by their timeshares find legal, ethical, and lasting exits from their timeshare contracts.
Sometimes, we can use the cancellation or rescission clauses in timeshare contracts to get our client a quick exit. Other times, we may have to use our proprietary pressure campaign to make timeshare developers do the right thing.
For really tough legal cases, we can work with our attorney and law firm partners to help you get free of your timeshare. In those cases, we can typically get you discounted legal bills because of our existing relationships with those attorneys.
We are a Better Business Bureau (BBB) certified business with an A+ rating and dozens of reviews from satisfied customers. Centerstone Group is proud to be an industry leader in timeshare exits, using its insider knowledge to consistently get the best results for its clients.
Whether you call it HGVC, HGV Max, Diamond Resorts, or anything else, there is one consistent thing you can count on. Timeshare ownership is a waste of money that will weigh down your finances, and maybe even the finances of the rest of your family, for years. Paying Hilton’s exorbitant timeshare fees is bad enough; paying even more for access to inferior resorts adds insult to injury.
Whatever the name you use, Hilton’s vacation ownership clubs are just another way to lock you into paying them money forever. Centerstone Group is here to help you break the cycle. Contact us today for a free consultation so that we can evaluate your case and tell you what we can do for you. The only thing you have to lose is more timeshare fees.
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