I remember it like it was yesterday. I was on the phone booking a room reservation for a trip to Berlin, Germany. During that call, I was transferred to a Hilton Grand Vacations representative to hear about a vacation package. I figured, why not listen to the offer — not thinking anything of it.
Honestly, I was just excited to potentially earn some Hilton Honors™ Points.
Little did I know a few minutes later, I’d be committing to a New York City vacation package and a Hilton Grand Vacations sales presentation. I'll confess that I may have done this without consulting my, now, husband — whoops.
Thankfully, we love the city so much, we looked at it as an opportunity to visit our home away from home over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. However, we had no intention of purchasing timeshare.
The Sales Presentation
When it was finally time for our timeshare presentation, it just happened to be St. Patrick's Day. Our mindset was to get in and out — then enjoy the city.
Our presentation was at West 57th Street, a Hilton Club, and we secured a fairly early timeslot, so we decided to grab a quick cup of coffee before checking in. Still to this day, I laugh because my husband and I looked at each other at the moment before walking in as if to say, “We definitely aren’t buying into this.”
We were like most people — completely skeptical about timeshare. You hear about timeshare as a structured (read: zero flexibility) way to travel.
But, quite frankly, we had no idea what to expect. I thought that we’d be in a big room listening to a presentation that would drag on for hours.
I was totally wrong.
After we checked in, we met our sales executive who took us to a private space to discuss how Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare works. What surprised us the most was how our sales executive wanted to know us and our travel style before even talking about the program.
Hilton Grand Vacations' goal is for prospective Members to get the most out of the presentation, even if it ended with us parting ways as non-Members.
The Turning Point
The way Hilton Grand Vacations works is that Members purchase HGV ClubPoints, which can be used to travel the globe, stay at resorts and even access travel experiences like guided adventures. About half-way through the presentation, after we’d just gone through a ton of information — reviewing properties, locations and what ownership could look like for us — we had a moment to think it through.
Trust me, the wheels in my brain were turning.
It was then that we looked at one another and instantly knew that timeshare with Hilton Grand Vacations was worth it.
You see, when we started to describe our travel style, we quickly realized that we were already spending a lot of money traveling. And after considering our upfront costs (and discovering the travel destinations available), it became a no-brainer decision.
We could pay ahead for future travel.
The Decision To Become Members
After our moment of discussion and weighing the options, we made the decision. We were going to become Hilton Grand Vacations Members. We couldn’t believe it. I cannot speak more highly of our sales executive as he presented the best possible option for us and our travel habits.
Since we purchased timeshare in our late 20s, we knew that as we grew, so would our travel needs — so we started with an allotment of 3,400 HGV ClubPoints every other year.
This point allotment fits perfectly into our regular travel cadence, which is to take a larger trip one year (using HGV ClubPoints) then shift to smaller weekend trips the next year (using Hilton Honors Points).
While this is more of a base-level start, it could not be a better fit for our lives right now. For us, one of the biggest benefits of timeshare is that as we grow as a family — our HGV ClubPoints allotment can grow with us, too.
"So how do I feel about becoming a Member two and a half years later? I can say 100 percent that this was the right decision."
We’ve experienced incredible places and celebrated milestones with Hilton Grand Vacations. From celebrating our engagement at West 57th Street — mere months after becoming Members — to more recently with our honeymoon at Elara, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Ocean Tower, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club.
What’s funny is that, while typical timeshares are seen as inflexible, we've actually never stayed at our home resort, Tuscany Village, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club, right in our backyard in Orlando.
That goes to show how you can customize vacation ownership to fit your travel-style. We’re not locked into a specific week at one location. We can travel the world when we want, how we want.
But trust me, our home resort is definitely on our Hilton Grand Vacations bucket list — list that is ever-growing. We can’t wait to explore the world with Hilton Grand Vacations.
Read “One Hilton Grand Vacations Owner Busts A Few Timeshare Myths” to learn more ways vacation ownership isn’t your typical’ timeshare.