retroryan

We have been comparing membership in HCC to Private Escapes Premier Preview membership. Cost wise they are fairly close. This is what I see as the major differences. I apologize in advance for any mistakes, so please let me know if I am wrong:

1 - HCC only allows 1 advance reservation a year. PE also multiple advance reservations as long as you are within your allotted number of nights.

2 - HCC does not allow holiday reservations at "entry level" membership and they consider spring break, 4 of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc. as a holiday. PE only considers Christmas and New Year a holiday, plus you can get a reservation every other year.

3 - Although HCC does have a fairly low member to house ratio, some houses do not seem as widely used while others are almost always booked. So it looks like occupancy rates are fairly high at popular locations. Glancing at reservations it looks like it would be harder to get the places you wanted with HCC. PE on the other had claims to only have a 50% occupancy. One example property is La Costa which is booked for the year with HCC. PE currently has openings at La Costa.

4. PE does lock you in for the first 18 months where as HCC you can resign at any time (subject to the 2 in 1 out policy).

5. PE does have a local concierge that can help arrange grocery delivery, etc. I am not sure how big of a benefit that is, once you have been to a location and know the area?

Those are just my thoughts from way to much research I would appreciate any feedback or corrections.

Thanks,
Ryan

kddpac

Ryan,
I am glad you asked those questions. We too are in the same boat comparing HCC and PE preview membership and spending way too much time with research. It does seem that PE has a lot more availabilty on their calender then HCC in general so that is a concern for us as well. La costa is a unique property that has to be rented out by the resort itself some of the time from what I understand. I also agree with you that the reservations are less restrictive with pe with only a 2 night minimum which is appealing if you travel a lot of long weekends. We have been speaking to both companies and feel that Heath at HCC is very accomidating. We are also a little concerned with the post merger situation with pe and if the premiere level will go on the back burner compared to the higher priced plans for the higher levels of membership. For that reason we are a little more comfortable with HCC although it would be nice to see a few more properties open up from the in development list to spread out the reservations. Also we would like a more flexible reservation calender without the restrictive sat - sat and sat- tues limitations. I am very curious to hear other opinions when comparing these two clubs.

puffpuff

HCC is a plain apple . PE Premier is essentially the same apple in terms of the properties once you are inside the properties. Many are in the same resort compound as a matter of fact.

PE has better availability than HCC right now, but HCC is 50% cheaper than PE if you travel 25 days. HCC is therefore on sale - buy one get one free. You can get HCC locations if you plan ahead and that is the reality. If you cannot plan ahead, then PE is better for now. While PE offers "unlimited" use, beware of the various booking policies in place to prevent overuse by members.

All other attributes of HCC and PE are bells and whistles which are comparable and equal .

HCC is way underprice for its offering . Its a no frills value play. For the same money as PE, I will get two HCC . HCC price should go up another 30% and still be competitive.

just my 2 cents worth.

Desties

Ryan, as a PE member I can give you the PE perspective. And I don't want it to sound biased because I have a lot of love for HCC. I think you've narrowed your choice down to a pair of great clubs, each one with its benefits and drawbacks.

I started out as a Preview for Platinum, and it's true that you are only restricted out of the drawing for Christmas and New Year's Eve weeks. I joined last April and spent Memorial Day in Miami Beach, hit Turks & Caicos in June, Abaco in July, NYC for Thanksgiving weekend, and Copper Mountain during Easter weekend. I milked those 14 days, and the fact that PE let's you spend as little as one night (though I always spent 2-4) is a great benefit.

This isn't necessarily a testament to PE's availability levels. I just went against the flow by hitting beach resorts over the summer, NYC during the Broadway strike, and the Rockies towards the end of the ski season.

The concierge level is a sweet perk, and it includes freebies (except for a few metropolitan properties) that include a pair of wine bottles, microwave popcorn, a half-dozen diet Coke cans and Gatorade bottles, frozen pizza, etc. I'm not sure what HCC does on that front, but I think you'll find that all destination clubs have planners that bend over backwards to meet member requests.

The upside of the preview membership is that it's 100% refundable at any time, and that if you upgrade within the year you're locking into the rate and terms of when you first signed on. That will no doubt come in handy post-merger. Upgrading also offers the sweet perk of reciprocity, so you can enjoy the PE Premiere homes, but also go all out and enjoy the Pinnacle properties for as much as 7 days a year. There is no reciprocity under the preview plan.

The benefit of HCC is that it will cost you less to become an actual member than even the preview plan at PE. HCC's booking rules are more restrictive and the perks fewer, but the home values for HCC and PE's entry level plans are comparable. In all honesty, I don't think you can go wrong with either club.

As for concerns of the PE/UR merger resulting in neglecting the PE Premiere plan, I don't see that happening. You will now have two companies marketing the same entry-level club, and that should result in more member growth (and more properties).

Now I can't tell you what will happen after the PE/UR merger. And I'm not just telling you that because there are confidential member-only missives that we're not supposed to discuss in public. I just don't know. Few things should change, if any, but the beauty of the preview plan is that you can always walk away by the end of next year with your deposit intact (or later, if you wish) if you don't like the end result.

LTTravel

How does reciprocity work? Are there only certain days available? How far in advance can you book in the other club?

vineyarder

Reciprocity is limited to 10% of days per quarter, but they are first come, first served, and can be booked as far in advance as you like. The only blackout dates are major holidays (Spring Break, Thanksgiving, Xmas/New Years), so if a Premiere member wanted to book a Pinnacle property for a certain date 3 years from now (i.e. for a wedding or family reunion), they could easily do so... they would just have those reservation days tied up until then (since the limitataion in PE is days reserved at any one time, not nights per year).

__________________
*************
Living in a vacuum sucks!

Desties

Reciprocity reservations can be booked at any time (up to two years away I believe) BUT there are a few restrictions. They can't be during holiday weeks. No home can have more than 10% of its nights booked by reciprocity during any quarter (i.e. - 9 nights overall). The reciprocity rates are also a bit higher than the nightly rates paid by members within the club.

The one cool perk about reciprocity is that it can be done in tandem with a regular reservation. Let's say you're going to the Outer Banks or Cabo or Watercolor and want to take 20-22 people along? Well, you can book both the home in your club and the one in the other club (if it's available within the reciprocity rules) at the same time.

Tedpilot

PE has some nice reservation features that HCC does not. Regarding the availability at HCC...I'll try to paint a picture of property availability since opening as I was one of the original members to join HCC (Dec 05'). Whenever a new property comes out it is almost always heavily booked for the coming year. People want something new so they spend their long-term reservations on getting into the new place. A few of the flagship properties have always been and will always be heavily booked (Breck Lodge, BC Village, La Costa). That being said, HCC does not have a full year at La Costa, something like 14, 18, or 24 weeks, and the rest of the time it is leased back as part of their agreement. PE must have several units there to be able to offer any date. If you look at the reservation system inside of HCC you'll see a lot of availability starting to show up at Playa Del Carmen which was previously very heavily booked. To some extent, the same is true of NYC. New properrties have large reservation waves and then settles down into a reasonable occupancy rate fairly quickly. I'm watching OB closely to see if it will subside as well...my guess from how things have gone is that it will. T&C is interesting to watch as is the new Maui property. The next Steamboat property to come online will have some interesting dynamics as well.

No matter which club you join you will enjoy it immensely. However, you will need to plan your time away a little more carefully to get what you want when you want it.

Bourne

When I signed up for HCC, it was a choice between PE Premiere and HCC for me.

I considered HCC because...

1. I cannot stand the choice of colors used on the walls in some PE properties.
2. Better homes than PE Premiere in overlapping locations.
3. The value at the price point.
4. Lower dues and no nightly fees.

The Clubs - Destinations

Given the input/questions from other members, here are my two cents on it..

HCC may not have a onsite concierge but can handle any request. They do provide stocking up of groceries, private chef and daily housekeeping. Point is that you have to pay for these services. I prefer this because it keeps dues lower without losing the option to exercise it.

HCC properties are quantitavely and qualitatively better than PE Premiere Properties. Compare La Costa, La Quinta, New York, Turks, Punta Mita, Stowe etc. The ski properties are not even comparable.

Some HCC properties are comparable to PE Platinum properties. Beaver Creek, Breck, Outer Banks, Maui, etc. That makes up for any Reciprocity benefits for me.

Regaridng availability, the main issue I have is with East coast properties. As they are limited in number, they tend to be booked solid. They are making an effort to balance this out.

In all, I think HCC is a slam dunk choice when compared to PE Premiere. As long as you are ok with 1 Mil properties and a few days in 1.5-2.0 mil properties.

__________________
The Nile is a river in Egypt......

smtravelor

It may be difficult for individuals on this forum to provide a truly accurate comparison of both clubs unless they actually belong to both clubs. Most of the rest of us have a vested interest in concluding that we made the correct choice with the club we decided to join. That said, since I don't belong to HCC, I don't think it is fair for me to compare it to PE.

Things to consider in assessing PE are that it has been our experience that the local hosts at PE bend over backwards to help you with almost anything you could ask for. My family has become very spoiled with their attention. Need to have a friend whose plane has been delayed picked up at the airport at midnight with an hour notice - no problem. A reservation at a fully booked restaurant - the local host knows the owner. Where's the best place to buy a birthday cake - the local host picked one up and dropped it off. It is hard to put a price tag on this type of service. It adds up to having a great vacation every time without me having to take care of all those details I used to spend a lot of time on.

There is also a lot of flexibility with reservations. You can make a reservation for one night only (that may have changed for new members), you can reserve any holidays except xmas and new years as far out as you want, you are not limited in how many reservations you can hold at any one time up to 30 days. Right now, I have the full 30 days reserved including vacations in July, August, xmas week, and 2009 president's week.

There is a fairly significant price diference however, which is certainly an important factor to consider. Either way, you will likely be very happy, I expect.

pwrshift

I think the lack of east coast properties is the main problem with HCC too - resorts you could drive to. HCC promises more, but have been promising them for quite some time with only Outer Banks coming to life. What about South Beach, Key West, Chicago, Boston, Toronto, another NYC, etc? I'm also bothered that even cheap timeshares have better 'on the beach' locations than HCC locations which are often quite a ways inland.

Does PE offer more east coast locations than HCC?

I understand that, with HCC, if you book Pres Week (or any holiday week)you can't book it the next year even if it's at a different location. What gives with that restriction?

The 120 day reservation is a turn off too -- I have a ton of FF miles with UA and AA and use them to book business class flights 330 days ahead ... just try to get a biz class seat with FF miles within 120 days!

Bourne

Have to be AA EXP

__________________
The Nile is a river in Egypt......

retroryan

Wow! Thanks for all the great feedback. Just seeing the level of professionalism on these forums has made me want to join a DC!

vineyarder

As one of the few dual members of HCC and PE (Platinum), here are my two cents:

Overall, both clubs are great. As many members have noted, HCC does offer at least comparable, and often superior, homes at a significantly lower price point. In my opinion, the premium that you pay with PE Premiere is for the dramatically more flexible reservation system, allowing stays of anywhere from 1 - 14 nights, starting and ending on any night, reserved essentially as far in advance as you wish, as well as much better holiday usage, so long as you plan ahead. For example, with PE, I can book Spring Break, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving every single year, if I want, and if I plan ahead. I also greatly prefer PE's Xmas & New Years lottery system to waiting up until midnight 365 days before next Christmas break, praying that my internet connection doesn't fail, and risking being shut out of all my choices if I'm not quick enough / luck enough to get my first choice. This holiday availability isn't just theoretical; this past year we had Thanksgiving at Copper Mountain, Christmas in Turks & Caicos, Spring Break at Punta Cana, and have next Thanksgiving and Spring Break booked as well. With HCC, you can only book one holiday per year in most plans, and can only book the same holiday every third year. For me, the arrival & departure flexibility is also key; as someone mentioned in the review of the HCC OBX property, Saturday traffic is horrendous - so with PE I'd just plan on arriving and departing on Sunday, or do a Friday to Sunday 9 day reservation, etc. This is particularly important at Thanksgiving, when we like to arrive Tuesday night, stay 5 nights, and return Sunday in order to maximize the break. With HCC, I'd have to book Sat - Sat, then give back Sat/Sun/Mon, but have to come back on Saturday, losing a day of vacation, and losing 3 days of usage that I might or might not recover. The ability to book a 2 or 3 night short stay well in advance is also great.

As previously mentioned, the local hosts are another benefit of PE, and how valuable that benefit is will vary with individual tastes.

So in my opinion, the importance of the significantly more flexible reservation policies would be the most important factor in determining which of these two clubs to join. If you can make a Saturday to Saturday stay work, and don't need/want a lot of holiday usage, then HCC is definately the club for you. If you need/want more flexibility and/or more holiday access and holiday flexibility, then PE is probably well worth the higher cost. For me, right now, membership in both clubs provides the perfect combination of greater choice in destinations and homes, some fixed Sat - Sat stays but plenty of holiday use and lots of flexibility overall.

__________________
*************
Living in a vacuum sucks!

want2travelmore