Hilton Grand Vacations Announces Business Updates Due to COVID-19

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. has updated its business response to the ever-changing landscape resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

HGV has decided to suspend its sales operations in the U.S. as of today, due to the increase in travel restrictions at all levels as well as shelter-in-place mandates enforced in certain areas. Sales operations in Japan and South Korea remain open for the time being.

They have also closed several brand resorts and are holding off on making any new reservations until the end of April at its U.S., Barbados, and Europe resorts.

HGV’s customer service team is working diligently to help owners wanting to modify or cancel their travel plans, while their employees are promoting social distancing with remote work policies in place.

“The safety of our team members, owners and guests remains our paramount concern in this time of global crisis,” said Mark Wang, president and CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations. “While the level of disruption to the travel industry is unprecedented, we remain confident in our ability to manage through this difficult period. Approximately 40% of 2019 segment EBITDA was derived from recurring fees in our Finance and Club & Resort segments. Through the end of March, we have collected approximately 90% of our member fees for fiscal 2020, which fund all of the operational costs of our resorts. We have continued to see a healthy level of inquiries from owners interested in booking stays when business resumes, and we believe that our strong inventory pipeline and focus on net owner growth has built a solid foundation of engaged owners that positions us well for the return of leisure travel as the pandemic subsides.”

Mr. Wang continued:

“We have a conservative balance sheet, and we are taking the appropriate steps to reduce our operational cost structure and preserve our cash flow. We have also implemented proactive measures to extend the payment schedules for some of our upcoming projects with minimal impact to our planned sales launches, which allows us to defer up to $200 million of budgeted inventory spend for the year, if necessary. Finally, we have paused our share repurchase program.”

For more information on Hilton Grand Vacations, visit their official website.