I stayed at the Hyatt Regency at Ka’anapali Beach in Maui this past February (report to follow).
Next door to the hotel is the Hyatt Residence Club. It is not a hotel, but a vacation ownership property, where you can purchase ownership or the right to visit the property for a given amount of time each year.
It is essentially a timeshare ownership but I was quickly and vehemently told that the Hyatt Residence Club form of ownership was better than a timeshare (as I’ll discuss later).
First, let me say this: Everywhere I went around the Hyatt Regency there were desks and kiosks devoted to advertising the Hyatt Residence Club. I sat down at one such desk near the hotel lobby and signed up for a tour. Here was the offer: attend a 90 minute vacation ownership sales presentation and receive your choice of the following: a $150 check, a $250 spa credit, 2 Luau tickets, 2 sunset cruise tickets or 15,000 World of Hyatt points. I chose the points (no surprise there).
The next day, at 11:30 a.m., we checked in at the sales gallery (which actually was within the Hyatt Regency not the Hyatt Residence Club). We went to a waiting area, where we could choose hot or cold beverages (I took a guava soda) (it was delicious).
Joe (or Bob or Bill), from Pittsburgh, got us and brought us down a hallway where he showed us photos of all of the Hyatt Residence Clubs, and a scaled model of the Maui Residence Club. He escorted us outside to a terrace where we sat around a small table. Before talking about the property, he wanted to get a feel for our travel preferences. He quickly caught on to my love for travel as well as Dave’s more reserved approach to travel.
He began by telling us how popular, desirable and valuable Maui is and went on to discuss the Maui Residence Club (but of course wouldn’t touch on the topic of price yet; that was for later). He knew my love for Hyatt hotels so he segued onto the ownership issue. He said Don’t use the term timeshare – If you want that, go next door to the Marriott! He explained that most of the property on Maui is owned by the Hawaiian families and only leased out – but the Hyatt Residence Club was special – it was owned in fee simple. Therefore, he explained that, if you purchased there, you’d become an owner in the real sense, which is much more valuable than just owning a timeshare.
He escorted us around the grounds. The lobby is welcoming and beautifully decorated. Overall, the property has a very sophisticated, elegant feel to it.
The pools are exceptionally nice.
There are one, two and three bedroom units, though the majority are two bedrooms. Knowing my affection for running and working out, Joe first brought us first to see the hotel gym.
and, check out the towels!
We then went to a model two bedroom unit (which we were told looked identical to all other two bedroom units). As expected, it was impressive (though not necessarily my style). Dave and I joked around about the use of the second bedroom – would it be his music studio or my blogging office? Joe liked that.
Time was moving on, and we were now escorted back to the terrace where we began. Now the books came out, and some of the pricing. It is presented in such a way that sounds totally reasonable. Joe said that the units were selling like hotcakes. We were told that Maui is so desired that you could trade one Maui week for multiple weeks at other Hyatt Residence Clubs or at other timeshare properties worldwide at a reasonable fee.
Here are the basics, though I’m sure there are more charges and details. For a two bedroom, for one week per year, the price was about $74,000, and you paid an annual fee for maintenance and other charges (much like an HOA fee) of $2,700.
If I had unlimited money and vacation time, this might be great. I’m the daughter of a CPA, so I started crunching the basic numbers. If the $74,000 price represents one week of a unit, then multiplying that by 52, means that the unit is $3,848,000? I asked myself, as nice as it is, is it worth nearly $4 million? Even if I was okay with that, I’m not sure I wanted to commit to $2,700 annual maintenance fee for one week vacation per year.
Overall, the sales pitch was assertive but not overly aggressive. I said I had to think about it, and of course, someone else, Vida, appeared out of the blue (how does that always happen?) to speak to us. Vida gave us an offer of coming back within two years for a visit at a modest price (no, a hefty price) (which would be applied to the purchase should we choose to purchase) along with a generous helping of World of Hyatt points. She followed up by sending this email the following morning:
Aloha,
So great to meet you both today. Here’s a re-cap of the Access package promotion I shared with you. It’s a one time, no obligation, 2 year trial program without the long term commitment of ownership. Simply more fun time in Paradise at the Hyatt Residence Club here in beautiful Maui.
Here are the two Access package promotions to choose from;One 8-Day/7-Night guaranteed stay in a gorgeous 2-bedroom 2-bath OCEANFRONT villa at the Maui Hyatt Residence Club. Travel to be completed within 2 years. Availability throughout the year except major holidays.
- plus 100,000 World of Hyatt points (3-20 free Hyatt Hotel nights, no expiration date).
- plus Price/Incentive freeze on today’s ownership prices and part or all of the cost of the Access Program can be credited toward ownership *There is no obligation to purchase ownership
- $5045 + $249 processing = $5294 Includes taxes, resort fees, etc.
- Special 0% interest financing with no credit check.
OROne 5-Day/4-Night guaranteed stay in a gorgeous 2-bedroom 2-bath OCEANFRONT villa at the Maui Hyatt Residence Club. Travel to be completed within 2 years. Availability throughout the year except major holidays.
- plus 60,000 World of Hyatt points (2-12 free Hyatt Hotel nights, no expiration date).
- plus Price/Incentive freeze on today’s ownership prices and part or all of the cost of the Access Program can be credited toward ownership *There is no obligation to purchase ownership.
- $2900 + $249 processing = $3149 Includes taxes, resort fees, etc.
- Special 0% interest financing with no credit check.
The Access program allows you to explore, on a one time trial basis, the benefits of the new floating 2-bedroom luxury villa week without a commitment to purchase ownership. Its a great opportunity to use concurrently or consecutively with your existing week or come at a different time of year. Some owners are using this in place of one of their weeks and exploring their other options, renting, exchanging, etc.As an additional bonus, if you choose to purchase an ownership during your stay, we can credit up to the price of this package to the down payment (a maximum of 10% of a purchase price) and honor price and purchase incentives offered to you on your sales presentation.
All we need to sign you up is $249 and the balance is spread out over 21 months at Zero, 0% interest.
(She also attached a PDF brochure of the property to the email but I don’t know how to attach it here. Let me know if you want me to email it to you).
The following day, I went to a pool on Hyatt Residence Club property. I spoke to a couple from Knoxville, TN who own two weeks there. They like timeshare ownership. They spend two weeks each January at a timeshare in Puerto Rico, then two weeks each February in Maui, then two weeks each March somewhere else (nice life, right?). They were thrilled with their investment and love returning to the Hyatt Residence Club each year.
So, there you have it. As much as I love Hawaii, I live to far to consider purchasing a timeshare there. Maybe someplace closer, who knows.
This week, like many others, I received an email from Hyatt with an exclusive invitation to visit one of the many Hyatt Residence Clubs in the country on very favorable grounds. Mine was for Maui (which I just visited) (Enjoy a 5-night Hawaiian escape at our oceanfront destination, Hyatt ResidenceClub Maui, Kāʻanapali Beach, including a 6-day Avis rental car, all for only $995. Plus, explore new possibilities with 7,000 Bonus Points). If it had been for Bonita Springs, Siesta Key or Key West, Florida, I may well have accepted the offer.
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
I have some issues with these “not timeshares”:
The approximately $4 million dollar (annualized) price tag is way beyond steep.
The fact that you could invest that same $74,000 and stay somewhere off what the investment earned on average, while still keeping your base money.
After the $74,000, you’re still stuck with the $2,700 a year. Forever. And I’d bet that the amount will only increase.
Anecdotally, it’s excruciatingly difficult to get out of a timeshare.
Not so difficult how u think..but u really have to give away your property..dont pay maintanance fees for few years and they wiĺl offer u to give away your timeshare to them.
That sounds like a great way to nuke your credit and have a lifetime of collections calls ahead of you
I own 3 with different companies. They each have their own programs for resell back to them when ready. People who have owned for decades obviously may no longer want or need so companies are addressing. Along with other turnoffs of an early generation ts.
Thanks for posting the detailed review! I received a 3 night Bonita Springs offer + 10k bonus points for $240. Not a bad deal but unsure if we’ll do it.
Sounds smells and acts like Timeshare ownership to me. The elephants in the room are huge upfront dollars, massive maintenance fees. Are they capped.? What about availability. Was there any conversation about if one wanted to sell it? Way too many unanswered items for me to put 75 large down. In ten years its 100grand. The best part of this is its Hawaii and a great resale market. I just dont like a negative equity vacation ownership hovering over me in perpetuity via maintenance fees.I pass…..
I went to this presentation about 3 years ago and the annual fee was around $2500. Now it’s $2700. There probably is no cap. If you do the math and assume a 5% increase each year, the annual fee will be about $4400 per year in 10 years. That’s $628 per night for a 7 night stay PLUS you paid $74,000 for the week. On the other hand, if money is no object, they are nice units and the flexibility to other properties is nice. Love Bonita Springs.
You can vacation at any place you want for the $74000 plus $2500 per year for the rest of your life.
So true , Hawaii 2 bedrooms run about $2-3,000 a week so for the money it’s ridiculously expensive as the maintenance is the same as a rental cost.
The word timeshare and investment together is an oxymoron. Go o eBay – people will give you their timeshare for free. The only people that think timeshares are a good deal are ones that can not do simple math.
This is a timeshare. If you have one week a year at this resort and only this resort, it’s a timeshare. We are Marriott Vacation Club owners which is not a timeshare like this Hyatt one is or this poster made it sound. Vacation club allots points to use anytime, anywhere. That is a much better deal than timeshare weeks. And ours cost almost half as much as this Hyatt timeshare.
Timeshare: 2 categories
Weeks or points
So what happens to your points per year with Marriott once they get devalued like they just did?
We own a TS in Orlando. Do to health reasons were got an attorney to get us out when the TS would not talk to us after 5yrs of ownwership and not used once. He took us for $5,000. The TS said we now owed 11,200 instead of the balance of $3000 due to interest and penalties. By calling the BBB they found out the lawyer was in Tenn, we were in Tx. They sent paperwok that we filled out at their request to the State Attorny General’s office and they disbarred the lawyer but we were still in hock, so we cleaned out my husbands 401K because they said we had 24hr to get them the balance in full or they would place a lean on my house.
Wife and I went to this last year. Ridiculous examples repeated out of sales book about customers who TREASURED their ownership even buying extra units despite having cancer and whatnot. I just about had to laugh at why other people’s gullibility would motivate us ?!?!
Fantastic property, got in a 1-bedroom couple of nights on points. Would go back again if a 4 or 5 night timeshare deal came along.
But the numbers add up badly. Based on bottomline total, we can go anywhere in the world for that kind of money, and not be tied to so much to a destination (or set of tradeables). Maui’s nice but maybe next year we’d rather go somewhere that HRC partners have no presence.
YMMV.
So you had an attitude right from the start (Joe, bill bob). You’re rude. Dont take the gift and dont go on the tour. You knew what you were getting yourself into. I hate reading this stuff.
Agreed! Daughter of a CPA sounds like a mooch to me. Clearly accepting the free points for free stays. It takes someone who actually spends money not free nights on hotels to value ownership. I wouldnt buy a luxury product unless i was willing to pay for its usage.
I disagree. I went to the meeting with an open mind. And as for your accusations, do you not agree that it is prudent to carefully review the numbers rather than blindly accept them?
Will, ignore those nonsense comments. I don’t think they understand the idea behind the blog if that’s what they think.
Rich and Sabrina, you both sound like timeshare sales people, living off the backs of the ill informed and using high pressure sales tactics to relieve them of their hard earned money.
There is nothing wrong with looking and listening to the pitch. The Timeshare companies offer the packages/incentives to bring people in otherwise they would have no customers.
Yes, we own a timeshare. No, we do not use it anymore. We cannot give it away and have tried for years. The timeshare company will provide no assistance to get rid of the unit.
The Timeshare industry is all about making money for the developers and sales people. The government will eventually have to step in and regulate this market and protect the consumer because the industry will not do it themselves.
It’s a timeshare regardless of what they tell you !The maintenance dues goes up every year! We own a timeshare and it’s one of the biggest mistakes we ever made
Went to the hiton timeshare and the Marriot timeshare presentations. Both are very pricey and said no got our free stay 3nights actually it was 200.00 and left. The problem is its hard to get the weeks you want January -march. Rest of yearnot to bad. Also rember thse properties are not close to liquor and groceries so you pay there fees which are over priced. Rent a condo instead on Vrbo
I purchased at time share 20 years ago for $8000 annual Maintenance fee$375 . today the maintenance fee is $1875.
Never seems available when I need it. Not the biggestMistake I ever made but certainly in the top 5
Bottom line is stay away from time share sales people.
Don’t get into it. It’s hard as hell to get rid of and if you die your kids have a nightmare.
The problem with timeshares is not the concept but the costs. We bought our first week in ogunquit Maine in 1986 for $2,000, traded it to Pompano Beach Florida and bought an ocean front week for February school vacation for $9,000 Then it 1987 bought a week in Lincoln NH for $4,000 and then in 1998 bought a week at the Marriott Custom House in Boston for $11,900. The highest maintenance fee was the Marriott at about $1,000 a year. We traded them all over the worked and then sold the Maine week for $1,500 in house. We rented out Florida property out for $1,000 a week when my parents retired to Florida and then sold it in house for $6,600. Finally, we sold the Marriott through them and netted $15,500, which was more than we paid for it. We kept the NH property since 87 and the maintenance is still only about $600 a year. Today’s prices and maintenance fees are rediculous. That is why these companies can spend so much on marketing. The mark up is what pays for the salesperson and other closer’s commissions. It does not cost millions to build 1 room in a building, no matter how nice it looks. Then $70-$80 year to maintain that one room plus taxes? That is why there are so many weeks for sale or rent on the internet now. They are not an investment like a home and cannot be sold like one. We love to travel and have used ours every year and have stayed at great properties for way less than the maintenance costs then. However, if I were in love with a property now, in this day of the internet, I would buy it from the owner and not the developer. Last year I rented a week from an owner at the Banyon in Key West for $700. That is far less than the weekly maintenance fee or resort rental and there were no long term commitments. Sometimes, there is death, divorce, medical and financial reasons that someone cannot use their week. The example given of $74,000 is absurd. My credit union pays 3%. That would be $2220 a year in interest plus the maintenance fee and you have $5000 a year to rent a nice place anywhere for a week. You can also go to a different place every year and not add the annual fee to RCI or II or the trading fee. Today with Airbnb and Homeaway and others options, you can keep the principal and lose the commitment and still travel well.
I agree with Rich, you new going in what it was and were paid to be there. Some people love it like my parents, some people cant afford it like all the people commenting negatively. They stay at crappy hotels off groupon. The upper class stay at nice places. If you dont like Timeshare dont take the tours or maybe you need to pay for your vacation this way, either way your pathetic.
The upper class don’t but timeshares. They either pay for a nice hotel or buy their own vacation home. You can easily stay at a nice hotel for the amount of the maintenance fees mentioned in this article.
+1
I have time share in FL my fee goes up every other year something it’s hard to exchange to go somewhere else.
Timeshare ….They’re not for everybody but they do work if you take the time to learn how use it ….where you own definitely makes a difference.
We’ve owned for over 20 years and have traveled very well with ours.
It’s paid for itself many times and we pay about $1000 a year .
I purchesed one in fortlauderdale about 4 years ago
Yea they started a high bid I said no
But they did not give in and gave me lower offers
It took about 9 no’s before I a time guy came in and said his last bid
Just so we could make it back so my mom and I could get on the on the cruise ship I accepted
Its really no different than any mortgages
Of course im behind on paying rci
There are ways you can use them or it for your advantage
I haven’t even had the”time” to look into it
Anyways God bless youu
Have a good holiday
The sales guy, while comparing the HRC resort to the Marriott (MOC) up the road, failed to mention that MVC (Marriott Vacation Club) just happens to own HRC along with VSE (Vistana Signature Experience); both purchased along with ILG – parent company of Interval International.
It’s pretty obvious that both Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club and Hyatt’s Ka’anapali Beach club are, IMO, both drastically overpriced timeshares with inflated Maint. fees to boot.
We stayed a week in poconos with agreement to attend 90 minute timeshare presentation. It cost less than $350. Well worth it. No obligation. Great way to travel cheaply.
I used to sell timeshare. It got to the point where I could not stand to look at myself in the mirror. The lies we had to tell honest, hard working people. It weighed heavily on my conscience. If the truth were told, no one would consider timeshare ownership. I am ashamed of that time in my life. The money we made? Six figures were the average. You just had to sell your soul to make it…
Got involved with timeshares when they only cost 2,700. That same one costs 4,500 but the maintenance fee now is 450 for 1 week plus a booking fee and dont try selling them cause none wants em. Foolishly I bought into 5. One in myrtle beach, two in Florida and 2 in Tennessee. Yes, I was young and foolish. The maintenance now is 800 in Florida each 450 in Tennessee each and 900 in myrtle beach. Retired 4 yrs ago and wanted to give them away. Nope none wants them. They are paid off. So HELL NO timeshares
Contact Timeshare Nation on the internet. They will take it off your hands.
There is a company called Timeshare Nation. Timeshares are free. They have over 80. All you have to do is pay the maintenance fee.
So apparently you can get out of your timeshare.
Yeah I purchased the trial package and was told the same thing you were told but apparently any day except holidays doesn’t mean that. I’ve tried a couple of times on random days to use it and finally had to settle for days they told me were available just to be able to use it. Even though there are plenty of rooms available to book if I wanted to pay per night. Ridiculous and I can’t wait to show up to my hour presentation. Just to tell them how much of a joke they are. DONT DO IT!!!
Thanks Frank. I hope it works out for you. Wow, what an education writing this post has been.
My career is helping people out of timeshares. This is 100% a timeshare. Most people I speak with have been scammed multiple times trying to get out of it. NEVER BUY A TIMESHARE. YOU CAN TAKE THE SAME VACATIONS THROUGH OTHER SITES. YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY PAY SUBSTANTIALLY MORE FOR THE SAME VACATIONS ANYONE CAN TAKE.
Timeshare is not for everyone. But, it need not be the debacle that most of the posters on this site seem to believe it is. If you take the time to educate yourself on how to effectively use this form of property, you might actually find it to be advantageous. By using several of our weeks and renting the remaining weeks, we stay at $600-700 per night properties for $150-200 per night AND cover all of our maintenance fees.
BTW, look at what’s available on the resale market. That’s where you should look if you are considering buying.
The concept of timeshare is simply flawed. No matter how cheap the timeshare is, I still have to pay $$ out of pocket. After all, I travel for FREE (w/ pts and miles), and for an adventure, since I ask for airline vouchers and refund of hotel pts whenever possible. Example last year I went to Hawaii for 10 days and instead of spending pts, I earned 300K pts from hotel compensation. Oh yeah
I’ve been a Hyatt owner since 2003, have gotten every dime out of what I paid. I was able to utilize it to provide over 30 fantastic trips
I also own a vacation condo close to the beach in Naples Florida. The maintenance fees, insurance and taxes have gone up faster than the Hyatt. Not to mention the special hurricane and roofing assessments
Most people do not take into account the real costs of a second home, and the worry when you are not there. My luxury brand appliances are less than 10 years old in Naples. A new air conditioner set me back over 6k this year and and then the fridge went.
Renting can be an iffy option but having a kitchen saves time and money . Found a beautiful place in Dublin next to the waste treatment plant. Another oceanfront in Martinique with great reviews that was on a busy road with a bed that was like sleeping on a rock. Hyatt has spoiled me
Hotels are also increasing in price and maintenance fees are always built into anything rented
I can count on Hyatt with their upscale locations to provide the best service and however the perks of ownership with Hyatt are amazing
We check in, the condos are perfect and when I close the door to go home I don’t think about it
Just bought additional points in their new Portfolio program and considering selling condo
Thank you Hyatt for all the awesome luxury vacations and many more to come
I find the writer to be a sniveling,broke kunt.I don’t care you’re the daughter of a cpa.Is your worthless husband broke?
And you didn’t mention what they dropped it to? They dont say 74k and let you go dummy..They drop while you’re there.And it’s times 50 stupid,not 52.All properties need 2 weeks,for upgrades and maintenance.
Not only you and your husband are broke idiots.You can’t negotiate ,and you have no character.
I’ve never been in a timeshare presentation, because I would jack off people(sales) that are on 100% commission, when I know I wouldn’t buy.
Yes,I own at a HRC and another in LV. BUT I KNOW HOW TO ACQUIRE WHOLESALE!
You seem like a 2 bit ,know it all hore,that deserves a 300 sq.ft.box.with a mini fridge that charges highway robbery,and no washer/dryer,kitchen etc..
Cliff, thank you. The idea of spending a week vacationing near you is reason alone to avoid this.
You must sell timeshares at this location, or else why be so upset?
Cliff, is it wrong to invite you to go swimming alone in the ocean after a few drinks?