Unlimited Vacation Club … What is it?
Ever wonder what the Unlimited Vacation Club is?
You most likely have come across this in a few different ways: you’ve visited or currently at a Secrets, Dreams, or other Hyatt branded all inclusive Resort and you’ve been offered an incentive to attend a meeting, you’ve seen signs around a Secrets or Dreams resort, or you’ve overheard people in the pool talking about a “timeshare” meeting they were offered or attended.
You could also be currently in a meeting with a representative and you are quickly doing a Google search to determine if this is something you should actually consider.
Well, I’m here to provide an introduction to what the Unlimited Vacation Club or “UVC” really is from an existing member’s point of view.
What is the Unlimited Vacation Club?
The Unlimited Vacation Club or what you will hear most people refer to it as “UVC” is not exactly a timeshare, although many people would make that comparison.
UVC was originally part of the Apple Leisure Group (not associated with the Apple you are thinking about) which was then acquired by Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) in 2021. Apple Leisure Group generally owned the brands of Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, etc and UVC was a program to take advantage of these brands.
Since 2021, Hyatt has been integrating the all-inclusive brands into their portfolio of hotel brands and have kept the UVC program alive.
There is no clear number of members as of today (Feb 2024), however, they surpassed 100,000 members in October 2021. Needless to say, I imagine the membership has only increased as the number of all-inclusive properties under their various brands have only increased.
UVC is global and you can find countless resorts in Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe. The vast majority (and probably the most popular) of resorts are found in Mexico.
There are a number of different tiers available which provide a variety of participation levels—Pearl, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Impression. More on some of the differences in a later blog post 🙂.
A key thing to note here is that most people do not realize that UVC does not own the resorts and from what I hear and understand neither does Hyatt. Most resorts are independently owned and Hyatt takes over the management of the resorts with UVC as a program available to guests and members. This means benefits and services can vary at each resort but they try their best to accommodate and assist their members as much as possible.
So if it’s not a timeshare, then what exactly is it?
According to the Unlimited Vacation Club website they define it as, “The Unlimited Vacation Club® is an exclusive travel club whose participants enjoy guaranteed preferred rates and benefits at properties around the world.”
I would actually say their definition is actually straightforward and accurate. In our experience, we do typically see lower rates through UVC then what you might find directly on their resort sites and 3rd party travel sites (eg. Expedia, Priceline, etc) and we are guaranteed onsite benefits that you would otherwise need to pay for.
UVC is different from a timeshare since you are not beholden to a single resort or location, time window, or expensive maintenance fees.
You only pay for the cost of the contract, a yearly maintenance fee, and obviously any bookings you make for a resort.
But for all intents-and-purposes, you could consider it more like a flexible time share.
“Preferred rates” and “benefits”?
Preferred Rates? I believe all contracts with UVC provide a rate that is 25% lower than the listed price on a property’s website.
But what really makes the program even better is that you are able to price match and/or receive a rollback if you find a cheaper price somewhere else. More on some tips & tricks in a different blog post 🙂 later.
Ultimately, this means you are guaranteed the best price possible for your booking because you are always able to take advantage of the best price.
Preferred Benefits? I believe this one is dependent on which tier or what it says in your contract. However, in general from personal experience and what I’ve discussed with others, most provide benefits that you would have normally received if you booked a Preferred (or what they now call Club Level) rooms which typically include access to a “Preferred Check-In” area, “Preferred Bar”, and in some resorts a whole section exclusively for “Preferred” guests which can be a pool, restaurants, and/or both.
These “Preferred” areas typically have high-er shelf alcohol selections and light snacks.
Other preferred benefits can include free hydrotherapy sessions at the spa and discounts at the onsite gift shop, pharmacy, spa services, and alcohol purchases.
So instead of paying for a higher tier room to take advantage of “Preferred” or “Club Level” benefits, you can pay for a regular room and still take advantage.
I think another special thing here is that if you come with friends or family, they will also be able to take advantage of everything you have; both the preferred rates and benefits.
Great info…but is it worth it?
As with anything, the answer is, it depends.
In my opinion, I think it comes down to a few key factors, such as:
How often you vacation, and more specifically, how often you like to vacation at all-inclusive resorts
If you prefer some level of consistency in terms of service, food, hotel amenities, and expectations
If you are willing to put in some work to take advantage of the benefits of membership into UVC
I’ll get into this question more in depth in a later blog post.
Overall, we’ve been members since 2019 and we’ve felt the general value of what we’ve received and expected have been met. This is certainly not the case for everyone, but if you know what you’re generally signing up for, take advantage of all the rates and benefits, and put some time into making the membership work for you, it is a great way to (and excuse) to leave your worries behind and enjoy that tequila, lime, and sunshine.
