With the acquisition of Diamond Resorts in 2021 and the launch of HGV Max this April, it’s certainly an exciting time for Hilton Grand Vacations. What’s more, 2022 marks HGV’s 30th anniversary — three decades of turning travel dreams into reality. Here, HGV President and CEO Mark Wang reflects on the past three decades and what the future holds for the company.

HGV has come a long way since its inception in 1992. How has the company evolved over the years? I joined Hilton Grand Vacations while I was living in Hawaii in 1999. Since then, we’ve added great products and offerings in new and existing markets. In 2018, we committed to invest over $1.5 billion over six years in new resorts. We began to see the benefits of that investment last year with projects opening in Maui, Charleston, Los Cabos, Okinawa and additional offerings on The Big Island and in New York City. And last August, we acquired Diamond Resorts, more than doubling our properties while adding 20 new markets. As the CEO of HGV, what accomplishments are you most proud of? I truly believe people are the heart of everything we do, so I’m always looking at how we can wow our Owners and have the best team in the industry. I’m proud of the product we’ve developed — it’s by far the highest quality offering in the vacation ownership industry. I’m proud of our dedicated Team Members who serve our Owners and guests every day. And I’m proud of how loyal our Owners have been — they’ve allowed us to succeed through both good and more challenging times.

The importance of sustainability has grown in recent years. How does HGV help care for the environment? At HGV, we’re always striving to minimize our environmental footprint. Our sustainability efforts include using energy-efficient appliances across our new resorts, eliminating single-use plastic straws at all HGV-branded properties and recycling soaps and toiletries through our partnership with Clean The World. Our employees all around the world are also committed to the cause — for instance, our Team Members in Japan participate in beach clean-up efforts and we’re part of the Malama Hawaii program in Hawaii.

Mark chats with Team Members on a recent visit to a call center in Las Vegas

Can you also tell us more about HGV’s corporate social responsibility efforts? HGV has always been a company that truly cares about the environment and community. Previously, our efforts were more informal, with each property or area of the company doing its own thing. But as we’ve matured, we’ve rolled out a more structured corporate social responsibility program, HGV Serves, with four pillars – disaster relief, homelessness, youth development and veterans. We’ve also forged relationships with national and international nonprofit organizations, including the United Service Organizations and Habitat for Humanity.

Mark and members of his leadership team visited the Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort in 2021 as part of his tour of Diamond properties

You traveled to several legacy Diamond properties last year. Did you manage to connect with new Team Members and, if so, what was the experience like? Together, my leadership team and I have managed to visit almost every single Diamond property in North America. At the end of the day, it’s the similarities between HGV and Diamond — in particular, the high level of care and concern that Team Members have for Owners and guests — that have made the acquisition such a smooth process. For me, this has been a really positive and rewarding experience. That said, we’re highly focused on the rebranding of many of these resorts to the new Hilton Vacation Club collection to ensure they align with the quality and service standards associated with our brand. It’s been almost a year since HGV acquired Diamond. How has the acquisition enhanced the HGV brand? We feel that going into 20 new markets – many in drive-to destinations – is great for both existing and new Owners. This gives us more flexibility and enables us to offer a wider range of resorts, from upscale to luxury. Our integration efforts are also going as planned, and I think our Owners will have a wonderful time experiencing these new properties through our new membership program, HGV Max.

Mark and members of HGV’s executive leadership team gather with LPGA player and TOC champion Danielle Kang

What are your views on the recent Tournament of Champions, HGV’s first title sponsorship event? First of all, I’m a big fan of golf, so supporting the LPGA and what it does not only for female athletes, but also for the world of golf is extremely important to me. The tournament also kicked off the launch of HGV Ultimate Access, our new experiential events platform, and being able to see the program’s offerings for the first time was incredible. Watching Sheryl Crow and LeAnn Rimes perform was amazing! Plus, the tournament and events gave me a great chance to chat with Owners and hear more about their experiences. Through events such as these, we hope to take Owners’ vacation experience to the next level by providing exceptional offerings they can’t get anywhere else. Finally, how do you see HGV further evolving as a company in the future? When I think about the company’s evolution, it’s important to look at the substantial growth HGV made before acquiring Diamond. In the previous four years, we made significant investments in property development, with the opening of exciting destinations. We also added inventory in already popular locations, not to mention our second resort in Japan. When you look back at that growth, it’s exciting to see what we were able to deliver in such a short timeframe. Add in the acquisition of Diamond and launch of HGV Max, and I feel we’ve increased the overall value we bring to our Owners. Looking forward, we hope to evolve in line with what’s most important to our Owners, and I believe they truly value experiences. I’m not just talking about the on-site experience at our properties, but also the opportunity to experience moments that result in an exceptional vacation with their loved ones. And this is one of the reasons why I’m excited about HGV Ultimate Access. The experiential component of HGV Ultimate Access delivers our Owners exclusive and even once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to enrich their lives, while also learning about new vacation possibilities and promotions. As we evolve the company into the future, enriching our Owners’ vacation experience is what I’m most excited about.

Mark meets with Team Members at Riviera Beach Resort and Riviera Shores Resort

Can you tell us a little bit about HGV Max and how that came about? We’re extremely excited about the introduction of HGV Max — this is the most robust membership program we’ve launched in 30 years. When we first acquired Diamond Resorts, we faced the challenge of having distinct Club programs with separate sets of rules operating under one company umbrella. As we planned how to best bring more options and experiences to all our Owners and Club Members, we knew we wanted to avoid disrupting anything they already had in place, while pulling the strengths of each Club into one offering. The result is HGV Max, a program everyone can participate in and one that bridges both Club programs. As we worked on designing HGV Max, we took into account feedback Members have given us about both programs and focused on adding the best of both Clubs while adding new tangible benefits. How do you see HGV Max enhancing Members’ vacation experiences? With HGV Max, we’ve expanded vacation possibilities by offering Members more destinations and experiences while not impacting their existing ownership options. We’ve listened carefully to Members’ feedback over the years – things such as the bundling of fees and enhanced Hilton benefits – and have integrated these into the program.

Mark’s Favorite HGV Destinations

South Carolina

Borgo alle Vigne, Italy

Hawaii

“Hawaii has a special place in my heart. I lived there for 25 years and it’s where I spent the first chapter of my career. It’s also where my HGV Home Weeks are!”

“I’ve played golf in Myrtle Beach several times and I love its oceanfront setting.”

“My family and I love to travel, and Italy combines so many of our favorites – spectacular cities, beautiful scenery and, of course, great food!”

30 for 30

In celebration of Hilton Grand Vacations’ 30th anniversary, we’ve launched a campaign called “30 for 30” that will expand on our current CSR program, HGV Serves. Through 30 volunteer and philanthropic initiatives, we’ll focus on supporting organizations based on four philanthropic areas — disaster relief, homelessness, veterans and youth development. The first initiative includes the completion of a successful $50,000 matching gift campaign with the American Red Cross to assist with domestic disaster relief efforts. In Europe, we’ve proudly partnered with the We Are Water Foundation to bring clean drinking water to countries in need. With the recent humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, We Are Water is working to provide access to adequate sanitation for refugees sheltering in Romania and Moldova. To support this important mission, we’re accepting donations at all our properties in Europe. Simply speak to our Front Desk team if you wish to donate. We’ll forward all collected funds to We Are Water to help with this worthy cause.

Club Traveler

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