Hawaii to Ease COVID Quarantine Restrictions in October

Hawaii Governor David Ige has announced that mandatory quarantine restrictions will be eased for inbound visitors starting October 15. That’s great news for Hawaii timeshare owners and other visitors who don’t have the two weeks to quarantine before taking a vacation.

Until October 15, visitors to Hawaii will need to continue to abide by the mandatory 14-day quarantine restriction upon entering the state. As of that date, inbound visitors will be able to provide a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of arrival in order to avoid the quarantine requirement.  

This only applies to U.S. residents, as international visitors are still banned from Hawaii due to COVID-related travel protocols still in place. You can read up on the details by going to https://www.gohawaii.com/safe-travels.

Similar requirements are now in place in the U.S. Virgin Islands, consisting of the islands of St Thomas, St John and St Croix, which reopened to visitors last weekend. Those specifics can be seen by clicking on https://usviupdate.com/.

What About California?

With Hawaii announcing its easing of restrictions, all eyes look to California as the last remaining state with a large timeshare base that has major restrictions in place. Understandably, the wildfire situation in California has residents on edge; however, COVID-related restrictions remain in place which are keeping major attractions such as Disneyland closed for the foreseeable future.

The good news is that the state’s COVID positivity rate has fallen below 3 percent this week, indicating that restriction relief could be on the way for California timeshare owners and other visitors. California’s color-coded ranking system has led some counties to reopen facilities such as indoor dining rooms for restaurants, and the state has left the management of tourism-related restrictions largely to the local authorities. For more information about specific destinations within the state, please click here.  

A Toast to Las Vegas

Not only did the newly-relocated Las Vegas Raiders NFL team get its first win in its new town this week, but fans, Las Vegas timeshare owners and all residents and visitors can toast the team now that bars have reopened.

Restaurants have been able to serve alcohol, but stand-alone bars have been closed for the last 10 weeks until this past Monday. This does not include nightclubs, and entertainment venues continue to be closed, but this is the latest step toward normalcy for Vegas.

In addition, New York’s infamous Tri-State quarantine blacklist has removed Nevada from the list, meaning visitors from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut no longer have to quarantine after returning from Las Vegas. Seeing that about a million visitors a year that visit Vegas come from the Tri-State region, that’s a big deal for Vegas tourism.    

Timeshare Resort Openings

More tropical storm uncertainty is impacting the Gulf Coast, this time from tropical storm Beta bringing flooding to Texas coastal areas. Timeshare owners with trips planned to timeshare destinations such as Galveston are advised to contact your resort or management company for specific details pertaining to your resort.

For resort updates from the major brands, please see below:

Bluegreen Vacations – Bluegreen resorts are open, while club associate resort Pono Kai Resort is showing a September 30 opening date in advance of the Hawaii COVID quarantine restrictions being eased in mid-October. Please click on https://www.bluegreenowner.com/featured/travel-advisory-resort-status for more details.

Capital Vacations – No changes have been made on the Capital Vacations website regarding the status of Sea Palace in St. Maarten and Coral Sands on Grand Cayman. Both resorts are showing as closed, but St. Maarten is open to visitors and Grand Cayman is scheduled to reopen on October 1. Owners for these resorts are encouraged to contact Capital directly for the latest details. All US-based Capital Vacations timeshare resorts are open, so for more information please go to https://www.capitalvacations.com/covid.php.

Club Wyndham – Wyndham timeshares in Hawaii are showing a September 30 reopening date ahead of the Hawaii COVID restrictions being eased. Wyndham San Francisco resorts still list a reopening date of October 1, but that is pending any potential changes to COVID protocols in the Bay area. Five other Wyndham timeshare resorts dotted around the country are listed as closed but the vast majority of resorts are open. Please visit https://clubwyndham.wyndhamdestinations.com/us/en/covid-19-information/list-of-impacted-resorts for the latest information.

Diamond Resorts –the five Diamond timeshare resorts in Hawaii are scheduled to open on October 14 prior to the easing of travel restrictions. Marquis Villas Resort in Palm Springs is still due to reopen on September 30 while Alhambra Villas in Kissimmee remains on schedule to open on October 29. For the latest information please go to https://www.diamondresorts.com/covid-19-update.

Disney Vacation Club – the announcement of eased COVID restrictions in Hawaii is great news for Disney’s Aulani resort. While no official word has come yet regarding an opening date, expect officials to announce a reopening date soon.

Disney officials have announced temporary changes at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort that will impact DVC owners staying in villas and bungalows at the resort. These are due to renovations taking place at the resort. You can review the changes by clicking here.

Grand Californian has now pushed out online rental bookings to mid-October in anticipation of a possible resort reopening date. No word yet on the status of reopening timeshares at the resort. The remaining Disney timeshare resorts are open so for more details please click on https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/.

Divi Resorts – Divi timeshares in St. Maarten and Aruba remain open, with Divi Flamingo Beach Resort in Bonaire reopening on October 15 and Divi Southwinds Beach Resort in Barbados set to reopen on October 31. Divi Carina Bay in St Croix is still showing as closed for renovations. Please go to https://www.diviresorts.com/news.htm for more information.

Grand Pacific Resorts – all Grand Pacific resorts are open with the exception of Indian Palms Vacation Club, which is still expected to open on October 1. Please click on https://grandpacificresorts.com/resort-reopening-updates/ for the latest information.

Hilton Grand Vacations – still a waiting game for the 10 closed Hilton timeshare resorts with no reopening dates scheduled on the Hilton website. These resorts are the six resorts in Hawaii (which could reopen mid-October), The Quin Central Park by Hilton Club, The Hilton Club – New York, the Residences by Hilton Club and Hilton Grand Vacations Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile. The rest of the U.S.-based Hilton timeshares are open, so for the latest information please visit https://www.hiltongrandvacations.com/en/travel-alert.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations – All Holiday Inn Club Vacations resorts are open, including the flagship Orange Lake resort. HICV updates the amenity status of each resort per COVID protocols, with details at https://holidayinnclub.com/safe-travels/resort-updates.

Marriott Vacation Club –Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove on St. Thomas is now open after the U.S. Virgin Islands reopened last weekend following its latest COVID closure. Marriott’s Waikoloa Ocean Club in Hawaii remains closed as does Marriott Vacation Club Pulse San Francisco and Marriott Vacation Club Pulse New York City. All other U.S.-based Marriott timeshare resorts are open. Please go to https://hub.vacationclub.com/resort-updates/ for up-to-date information.

Vistana Signature Experiences – Westin St. John Resort Villas has reopened following the easing of USVI COVID closure restrictions. All other Westin timeshares and all Sheraton timeshare resorts remain open as well as Harborside Resort at Atlantis.

Westgate Resorts – nothing new to add here as Westgate Leisure Resort, Westgate Blue Tree Resort, Westgate Palace Resort and Westgate Towers Resort remain closed until November 19. Westgate New York Grand Central and Westgate Tunica Resort are closed with no announced reopening date. All other Westgate timeshare resorts are open. For more information please visit https://www.westgateresorts.com/coronavirus-travel-advisory/.

WorldMark – WorldMark Hawaii timeshare resorts are showing a September 30 reopening date in advance of the easing of Hawaii’s COVID quarantine restrictions. WorldMark San Francisco is not taking reservations for stays prior to February 21, 2021. All other resorts in the WorldMark timeshare network are open. For more details, please click on https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/news/covid19_impacted_resorts.shtml.