Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. - Annual Report: 2017 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

or

For the transition period from                      to                      

Commission file number 001-37794

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code (407) 613-3100

(Former Name, Former Address, and Former Fiscal Year, if Changed Since Last Report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒   No  ☐   

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirement for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    ☐  Yes    ☒  No

As of June 30, 2017, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $2,471 million (based on the closing sale price of the common stock on that date on the New York Stock Exchange).

There were 99,251,898 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of February 23, 2018.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The registrant has incorporated by reference into Part III of this report certain portions of its proxy statement for its 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, which is expected to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2017.

HILTON GRAND VACATIONS INC.

FORM 10-K TABLE OF CONTENTS

YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2017

PART I

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs, expectations and assumptions and information currently available to management, and are subject to risks and uncertainties.  Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as: inherent business, financial and operating risks of the timeshare industry; adverse economic or market conditions that may affect the purchasing and vacationing decisions of consumers or otherwise harm our business; intense competition in the timeshare industry, which could lead to lower revenue or operating margins; the termination of material fee-for-service agreements with third parties; the ability of the Company to manage risks associated with our international activities, including complying with laws and regulations affecting our international operations; exposure to increased economic and operational uncertainties from expanding global operations, including the effects of foreign currency exchange; potential liability under anti-corruption and other laws resulting from our global operations; changes in tax rates and exposure to additional tax liabilities; the impact of future changes in legislation, regulations or accounting pronouncements; acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances that that may not result in expected benefits and that may have an adverse effect on our business; our dependence on development activities to secure inventory; cyber-attacks and security vulnerabilities that could lead to reduced revenue, increased costs, liability claims, or harm to our reputation or competitive position; disclosure of personal data that could cause liability and harm to our reputation; abuse of our advertising or social platforms that may harm our reputation or user engagement; outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services; claims against us that may result in adverse outcomes in legal disputes; risks associated with our debt agreements and instruments, including variable interest rates, operating and financial restrictions, and our ability to service our indebtedness; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; and catastrophic events or geo-political conditions that may disrupt our business. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as the words “outlook,” “believe,” “expect,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “projects,” predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negative version of these  words or other comparable words.  

You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The risk factors discussed in “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. There may be other risks and uncertainties that we are unable to predict at this time or that we currently do not expect to have a material adverse effect on our business. Any such risks could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

Terms Used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K

Except where the context requires otherwise, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “Hilton Grand Vacations,” “HGV,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Hilton Grand Vacations Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries. Except where the context requires otherwise, references to our “properties” and “units” refer to the timeshare properties managed and owned. Of these resorts and units, a portion is directly owned by us or joint ventures in which we have an interest and the remaining resorts and units are owned by our third-party owners.

Reference to “Adjusted EBITDA” means earnings before interest expense (excluding interest expense on non-recourse debt), taxes and depreciation and amortization or “EBITDA,” further adjusted to exclude certain items. Refer to “Part II—Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Business and Financial Metrics Used by Management” for further discussion of these financial metrics.

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Our History

Our history dates to 1992 with the joint venture between Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (“Hilton”) and with Grand Vacations, Limited. In 1996, Hilton Grand Vacations became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hilton. During the ensuing years, we expanded our operations and established a track record of innovation in our industry. Unlike the broader timeshare industry, which experienced a contraction in 2008 and 2009 as a result of the overall economic recession, we were able to grow contract sales during the industry downturn and have continued to deliver contract sales growth in each period since, driven by our continued focus on marketing and sales activities, our strong development margins, large-market distribution model, synergies with Hilton, commitment to new owner transactions and lean organizational structure.

Our Business

We are a rapidly growing timeshare company that markets and sells vacation ownership intervals (“VOIs”), manages resorts in top leisure and urban destinations, and operates a points-based vacation club. As of December 31, 2017, we have 48 resorts, representing 8,102 units, are located in iconic vacation destinations such as the Hawaiian Islands, New York City, Orlando and Las Vegas, and feature spacious, condominium-style accommodations with superior amenities and quality service. As of December 31, 2017, we have approximately 288,000 Hilton Grand Vacations Club (the “Club”) members. Club members have the flexibility to exchange their VOIs for stays at any Hilton Grand Vacations resort or any property in the Hilton system of 14 industry-leading brands across more than 5,000 properties, as well as numerous experiential vacation options, such as cruises and guided tours.

Our compelling VOI product allows customers to advance purchase a lifetime of vacations. Because our VOI owners generally purchase only the vacation time they intend to use each year, they are able to efficiently split the full cost of owning and maintaining a vacation residence with other owners. Our customers also benefit from the high-quality amenities and service at our Hilton-branded resorts. Furthermore, our points-based platform offers members tremendous flexibility, enabling us to more effectively adapt to their changing vacation needs over time. Building on the strength of that platform, we continuously seek new ways to add value to our Club membership, including enhanced product offerings, greater geographic distribution, broader exchange networks and further technological innovation, all of which drive better, more personalized vacation experiences and guest satisfaction.

As innovators in the timeshare business, we have successfully transformed from a highly capital-intensive business to a capital-efficient model by pursuing an inventory strategy focused on fee-for-service and just-in-time inventory acquisition.

Recent Events

On October 13, 2017, we acquired the remaining unsold inventory at an 83-unit, ski-in mountain lodge in Park City, Utah, known as “The Sunrise Lodge, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club.” Prior to the acquisition, we were providing marketing, sales and resort management services to the seller, Sunrise Park City, LLC, under a fee-for-service agreement.

On November 13, 2017, we entered into an agreement with Mori Trust to construct a new mixed-used development on Sesokojima Island, Okinawa in Japan, which will be our first timeshare project in Japan. The new-build development, to be constructed by Mori Trust, will comprise a 132-unit timeshare resort that will be owned and managed by us, as well as a 300-room hotel that will be owned by Mori Trust and managed by Hilton. The hotel component is set to open in 2020, and the timeshare resort is expected to commence operations in 2021. Subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions and project milestones, we expect to make an aggregate investment of up to approximately $187 million in phases over four years commencing in 2021.

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Our Reportable Segments

We operate our business across two segments: (1) real estate sales and financing; and (2) resort operations and club management. For more information regarding our segments, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 19: Business Segments in our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our real estate sales and financing segment generates revenue from:

Our resort operations and club management segment generates revenue from:

Other than the United States, there were no countries that individually represented more than 10 percent of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Our Products

Our primary products are fee-simple VOIs deeded in perpetuity, developed or acquired by us or by third parties. This ownership interest is an interest in real estate equivalent to annual usage rights, generally for one week, at the timeshare property where the VOI is purchased. Each Club property provides a distinctive setting, while signature elements remain consistent, such as high-quality guest service, spacious units and extensive on-property amenities. Most resorts feature studio to three-bedroom condominium-style accommodations and amenities such as full kitchens, in-unit washers and dryers, spas and kids’ clubs. Our timeshare properties are relatively concentrated in significant tourist markets, including Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Washington D.C. and South Carolina.

In addition, VOI purchasers are enrolled in our flexible, points-based Hilton Grand Vacations Club exchange program. This gives a member an annual allotment of Club points based on the value of the owned interest. Club points can be used for a priority reservation period at the home resort where a member’s VOI is deeded, and exchanged for a variety of vacation options, including stays at any Hilton Grand Vacations resort, conversion to

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Hilton Honors^® points for stays at the more than 5,000 Hilton-branded hotels and resorts, reservations for experiential travel such as cruises and guided tours, and stays at more than 4,300 resorts included in the RCI vacation exchange network. Our members also have the flexibility to choose when they will take advantage of their annual usage rights and have the option to split their time over the year. All members pay activation fees, annual dues and certain transaction fees depending on their exchange of Club points.

Inventory and Development Activities

We secure VOI inventory by developing or acquiring resorts in strategic markets, building additional phases at our existing resorts, re-acquiring inventory in the open market and sourcing inventory from third-party developers through fee-for-service and just-in-time transactions.

Our development activities involving the acquisition of real estate are followed by construction or renovation to create individual vacation ownership units. The development and construction of the units require a large upfront investment of capital and can take several years to complete in the case of a ground-up project. This investment cannot be recovered until the individual VOIs are sold to purchasers which can take several years. Traditionally, timeshare operators have funded 100 percent of the investment necessary to acquire land and construct timeshare properties.

We source VOIs through fee-for-service agreements with third-party developers. These agreements enable us to generate fees from the marketing and sale of Hilton-branded VOIs and Club memberships and from the management of the timeshare properties without requiring us to fund up-front acquisition and construction costs or incur unsold inventory maintenance costs. The capital investment we make in connection with these projects is typically limited to the cost of constructing our on-site sales centers. In just-in-time transactions, we acquire and sell inventory in transactions that are designed to closely correlate the timing of our acquisition of inventory with our sale of that inventory to purchasers. We refer to fee-for-service transactions and just-in-time sales as “capital-efficient transactions.” Over time, these capital-efficient transactions have evolved from sourcing inventory from distressed properties to sourcing from new construction projects. For the year ended December 31, 2017, sales from fee-for-service, just-in-time and developed inventory sources were 54 percent, 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively, of contract sales. Based on our 2017 sales pace, we have access to approximately five years of future inventory, with capital efficient arrangements representing approximately 89 percent of that supply. Our fee-for-service sales generally improve returns on invested capital and liquidity, while sales of owned inventory typically result in a greater contribution to the profitability of our real estate sales and financing segment. To maximize both returns on invested capital and earnings growth, we plan to sell a balanced mix of fee-for-service and owned inventory.

Owners can generally offer their VOIs for resale on the secondary market, which can create pricing pressure on the sale of developer inventory. Given the structure of our products, owners who purchase VOIs on the secondary market will also become Club members and will be responsible for paying annual Club fees, annual maintenance fees, property taxes and any assessments that are levied by the relevant HOA. While we do not have an obligation to repurchase intervals previously sold, most of our VOIs provide us with a right of first refusal on secondary market sales. We monitor sales that occur in the secondary market and exercise our right of first refusal in certain cases.

Marketing and Sales Activities

Our marketing and sales activities are based on targeted direct marketing and a highly personalized sales approach. We use targeted direct marketing to reach potential members who are identified as having the financial ability to pay for our products and have an affinity with Hilton and are frequent leisure travelers.

We sell our vacation ownership products under the Hilton Grand Vacations brand primarily through our distribution network of both in-market and off-site sales centers. Our products are currently marketed for sale throughout the United States and the Asia-Pacific region. We operate sales distribution centers in major markets and popular leisure destinations with year-round demand and a history of being a friendly environment for vacation ownership. We have sales distribution centers in Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, New York, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Park City, Oahu, Waikoloa and Japan.

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Our Hilton Grand Vacations sales tours are designed to provide potential members with an overview of our company and our products, as well as a customized presentation to explain how our products can meet their vacationing needs. Our sales centers use proprietary sales technology to deliver a highly transparent and customized sales approach. Consumers place a great deal of trust in the Hilton brand and we believe that preserving that trust is essential. We hire our sales associates using an assessment-based, candidate screening system, which is a proprietary tool we use to uphold our selection criteria. Once hired, we emphasize training, professionalism and product knowledge, and our sales associates receive significant product and sales training before interacting with potential members. Most U.S.-based sales associates are licensed real estate agents and a real estate broker is involved with each sales center. We manage our sales associates’ consistency of presentation and professionalism using a variety of sales tools and technology and through a post-presentation survey of our tour guests that measures many aspects of each guest’s interaction with us. We do not tolerate sales activities that are not consistent with our focus on treating members and guests with the highest degree of respect.

Financing Activities

We originate loans for members purchasing our owned inventory who qualify according to our credit criteria. We generate interest income from the spread between the revenue generated on loans originated less our costs to fund and service those loans. We also earn fee revenue from servicing our own portfolio and the loans provided by third-party developers of our fee-for-service projects to purchasers of their VOIs.

We offer a wide array of financing options to members purchasing our VOIs. Our loans are collateralized by the underlying VOIs and are generally structured as ten-year, fully-amortizing loans that bear a fixed interest rate typically ranging from 9 percent to 18 percent per annum. In 2017, 65 percent of our sales were to customers who financed part of their purchase. The interest rate on our loans is determined by, among other factors, the amount of the down payment, the borrower’s credit profile and the loan term. Prepayment is permitted without penalty. As of December 31, 2017, the average loan outstanding was approximately $21 thousand with a weighted average interest rate of 12.2 percent.

As loan payments are made, the nature of these fully amortizing loans establishes an increasing level of owner financial commitment in their purchase which reduces the likelihood of default. When a member defaults, we ultimately return their VOI to inventory for resale, and that member no longer participates in our network.

We have a timeshare warehouse facility and periodically securitize timeshare financing receivables we originate in connection with the sale of VOIs to monetize receivables and achieve an efficient return on capital and manage our working capital needs.

Timeshare Financing Receivables Origination

In underwriting each loan, we obtain a credit application and review the application for completeness. We require a minimum down payment of 10 percent of the purchase price on all sales of VOIs. For U.S. and Canadian purchasers seeking financing, which represented 86 percent of the individuals we provided financing to over the last three years, we apply the credit evaluation score methodology developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation (“FICO”) to credit files compiled and maintained by Experian and Equifax. Higher credit scores equate to lower credit risk and lower credit scores equate to higher credit risk. Over the last three years, the weighted average FICO score for new loans to U.S. and Canadian borrowers at the time of origination was 742 (out of a maximum potential score of 850). For non-North American purchasers seeking financing, consisting principally of purchasers in Japan, we generally observe that these borrowers have experienced default rates comparable to U.S. and Canadian borrowers within the 725 to 774 FICO score band.

Our underwriting standards are influenced by the changing economic and financial market conditions. We have the ability to modify our down payment requirements and credit thresholds in the face of stronger or weaker market conditions. Our underwriting standards have resulted in a strong, well-seasoned consumer loan portfolio. As of December 31, 2017, our portfolio had a balance of approximately $1.2 billion with over 57,000 loans and exhibited the following characteristics:

Weighted Average Original Length of Loan: 9.9 years

Weighted Average Remaining Length of Loan: 7.7 years

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Over 30 days past due not in default: 2.1%

Liquidity

We finance our working capital needs in part by borrowing against timeshare financing receivables. In general, we seek to use the majority of our financed VOI sales as collateral to borrow against the Timeshare Facility and subsequently transfer those loans into a term securitization after the loans have seasoned and an appropriately sized portfolio has been assembled. We target securitizations that range in size from $200 million to $400 million and we expect the timing of future securitizations will depend on our anticipated sales volume and capital needs. The strong performance of our outstanding loan securitizations demonstrates that loans originated by us are well regarded for their performance in the securitization market. In the future, we expect to regularly access the term securitization market, replenishing capacity on our Timeshare Facility in the process.

Loan Portfolio Servicing

We have a skilled, integrated consumer finance team. This team is responsible for payment processing and loan servicing, collections and default recovery and portfolio reporting and analytics. Accounts more than 30 days past due are deemed delinquent. We reserve for all loans based on our static pool method. A loan that is more than 120 days past due is reserved at 100 percent the following month and is delivered to the loss mitigation team that will make arrangements for any remaining outstanding payments or recommend recovery through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or foreclosure. In the deed-in-lieu of foreclosure process, the member deeds the VOI back to us. For domestic owners, this process varies from state to state and typically takes approximately 60 to 120 days, after which time we are able to resell the foreclosed VOI.

We monitor numerous metrics including collection rates, defaults and bankruptcies. Our consumer finance team also is responsible for selecting and processing loans pledged or to be pledged in our securitizations and preparing monthly servicing reports.

Resort and Club Management Activities

Resort Management

Prior to the initiation of VOI sales at a timeshare resort developed by us or by a third party with whom we have entered into a fee-for-service agreement, we enter into a management agreement with the relevant HOA. Each of the HOAs is governed by a board of directors comprising owner or developer representatives that are charged with ensuring that the resorts are well-maintained and financially stable. Our services include day-to-day operations of the resorts, maintenance of the resorts, preparation of reports, budgets and projections and employee training and oversight. Our HOA management agreements provide for a cost-plus management fee, which means we generally earn a fee equal to 10 percent to 15 percent of the costs to operate the applicable resort. As a result, the fees we earn are highly predictable, unlike traditional revenue-based hotel management fees, our management fees generally are unaffected by changes in rental rate or occupancy. Further, because maintenance fees are paid annually by owners, our management fees are recurring and less volatile than hotel management fees. We also are reimbursed for the costs incurred to perform our services, principally related to personnel providing on-site services. The original term of our management agreements is typically governed by state timeshare laws and ranges from three to five years. The agreements generally are subject to automatic renewal for one- to three-year periods unless either party provides advance notice of termination before the expiration of the term. Since our inception in 1992, none of the management agreements relating to our developed or fee-for-service properties have been terminated or lapsed.

To fund resort operations, owners are assessed an annual maintenance fee, which includes our management fee. In 2017, HOAs collected approximately $359 million in maintenance fees, including our applicable management fees. Because these funds are collected early in the year, we have substantial visibility and reliability of collection. These fees represent each owner’s allocable share of the management fee and the costs of operating and maintaining the resorts, which generally includes personnel, property taxes, insurance, a capital asset reserve to fund refurbishment and other related costs. If a VOI owner defaults on payment of its maintenance fees and there is no lien against the mortgage note, the HOA has the right to recover the defaulting owner’s VOI. As a service to HOAs at our owned resorts, subject to our inventory needs, we have the ability to reduce the bad debt expense at the HOAs

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by assuming the defaulted owner’s obligations in exchange for an agreed purchase price. We are then able to resell those VOIs through our normal distribution channels.

A portion of the annual maintenance fees collected from owners each year is set aside for property renovations. The renovations funded by these fees enable HOAs to keep properties modern, which helps the properties consistently receive the highest quality assurance scores across the Hilton brands. HOAs engage an independent consulting firm to compile a reserve study. Typically, HOAs budget the reserve study to target property renovations on a six- and 12-year cycle. HOAs generally replace soft goods every six years and hard goods every 12 years. These reserves also benefit our members by limiting the risk of special assessments and steep increases in maintenance fees due to deferred capital expenditures.

Club Management

We also manage and operate the points-based Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Hilton Club exchange programs, which provided exclusive exchange, leisure travel and reservation services to approximately 288,000 members as of December 31, 2017. When an owner purchases a VOI, he or she is enrolled in the Club and allotted a number of points that represent his or her ownership interest and allow the member to exchange his or her annual usage rights for a number of vacation and travel options available through the club. The Hilton Club operates at the Hilton New York and the The District for its VOI owners, who also enjoy exchange benefits with the Hilton Grand Vacations Club. In addition to an annual membership fee, club members pay incremental fees depending on the type of exchange they choose within the club system.

Rental of Available Inventory

We rent unsold owned and fee-for-service VOI inventory and inventory made available due to ownership exchanges through our Club programs. By using our website, Hilton’s websites and other direct booking channels to rent available inventory, we are able to reach potential new members that may already have an affinity for and loyalty to the Hilton brands and introduce them to our products. Inventory rentals allow us to utilize otherwise unoccupied inventory to generate additional revenues and provision of ancillary services. We earn a fee from rentals of third-party inventory.

Competition

The timeshare industry has historically been highly competitive and comprised a number of national and regional companies that develop, finance and operate timeshare properties.

Our timeshare business competes with other timeshare developers for sales of VOIs based principally on location, quality of accommodations, price, service levels and amenities, financing terms, quality of service, terms of property use, reservation systems, flexibility for members to exchange into time at other timeshare properties or other travel rewards, including access to hotel loyalty programs, as well as brand name recognition and reputation. We also compete for property acquisitions and partnerships with entities that have similar investment objectives as we do. There is also significant competition for talent at all levels within the industry, in particular for sales and management. Our primary competitors in the timeshare space include Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Vistana Signature Experiences, Disney Vacation Club, Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Bluegreen Vacations and Diamond Resorts International.

In addition, our timeshare business competes with other entities engaged in the leisure and vacation industry, including resorts, hotels, cruises and other accommodation alternatives, such as condominium and single-family home rentals. We also compete with home and apartment sharing services that operate websites that market available privately owned residential properties that can be rented on a nightly, weekly or monthly basis. In certain markets, we compete with established independent timeshare operators, and it is possible that other potential competitors may develop properties near our current resort locations. In addition, we face competition from other timeshare management companies in the management of resorts on behalf of owners on the basis of quality, cost, types of services offered and relationship.

Recent and potential future consolidation in the highly fragmented timeshare industry may increase competition. For example, Interval Leisure Group, Inc., which operates the Interval International exchange program,

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acquired Hyatt Residence Club in October 2014 and in May 2016 acquired the timeshare operations of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (which includes the use of Westin and Sheraton brands for timeshare purposes), known as Vistana Signature Experiences, Inc. Diamond Resorts International, Inc. completed the acquisition of the timeshare business of Gold Key Resorts in October 2015 and completed the acquisition of the timeshare business of Intrawest Resort Club Group in January 2016. Consolidation may create competitors that enjoy significant advantages resulting from, among other things, a lower cost of, and greater access to, capital and enhanced operating efficiencies.

We generally do not face competition in our consumer financing business to finance sales of our VOIs. We do face competition from financial institutions providing other forms of consumer credit, which may lead to full or partial prepayment of our timeshare financing receivables.

Seasonality and Cyclicality

We experience modest seasonality in timeshare sales at certain resorts, with stronger revenue generation during traditional vacation periods for those locations. Our business is moderately cyclical as the demand for VOIs is affected by the availability and cost of financing for purchases of VOIs, as well as general economic conditions and the relative health of the travel industry and housing market.

Intellectual Property

In connection with the spin-off, we entered into a license agreement with Hilton which grants us the right to use certain Hilton-branded trademarks, trade names and related intellectual property in our business for the term of the agreement. The license agreement provides us with, among other things, the exclusive license to design, build, manage and maintain existing and future timeshare resorts under the Hilton Grand Vacations brand throughout the world, subject to Hilton’s consent in certain circumstances. See “Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off—License Agreement” for more information. In the competitive industry in which we operate, trademarks, service marks, trade names and logos are very important to the marketing and sales of our products. We believe that the licensed marks and related intellectual property have come to represent the highest standards of quality, service and value to our members, guests, employees and those with whom we have business relationships. We have applied and will continue to apply to register our trademarks in markets in which we conduct business. We will enforce our rights against the unauthorized use of our intellectual property by third parties and otherwise protect our intellectual property through strategies and in jurisdictions we deem appropriate.

Government Regulation

Our business is subject to various international, national, federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies in jurisdictions in which we operate. Some laws, regulations and policies impact multiple areas of our business, such as securities, anti-discrimination, anti-fraud, data protection and security and anti-corruption and bribery laws and regulations or government economic sanctions, including applicable regulations under the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The FCPA and similar anti-corruption and bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or generating business. Other laws, regulations and policies primarily affect one of our areas of business: real estate development activities; marketing and sales activities; financial services activities; and resort management activities.

Real Estate Development Regulation

Our real estate development activities are regulated under a number of different timeshare, condominium and land sales disclosure statutes in many jurisdictions. We are generally subject to laws and regulations typically applicable to real estate development, subdivision and construction activities, such as laws relating to zoning, land use restrictions, environmental regulation, accessibility, title transfers, title insurance and taxation. In the United States, these include the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Accessibility Guidelines promulgated thereunder, which we refer to collectively as (the “ADA”). In addition, we are subject to laws in some jurisdictions that impose liability on property developers for construction defects discovered or repairs made by future owners of property developed by the developer.

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Marketing and Sales Regulation

Our marketing and sales activities are highly regulated. In addition to regulations implementing laws enacted specifically for the timeshare industry, a wide variety of laws and regulations govern our marketing and sales activities, including regulations implementing the USA PATRIOT Act, Foreign Investment In Real Property Tax Act, the Federal Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act and fair housing statutes, U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and state “Little FTC Act” and other regulations governing unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices including unfair or deceptive trade practices and unfair competition, state attorney general regulations, anti-fraud laws, prize, gift and sweepstakes laws, real estate, title agency or insurance and other licensing or registration laws and regulations, anti-money laundering, consumer information privacy and security, breach notification, information sharing and telemarketing laws, home solicitation sales laws, tour operator laws, lodging certificate and seller of travel laws, securities laws, and other consumer protection laws.

We must obtain the approval of numerous governmental authorities for our marketing and sales activities. Changes in circumstances or applicable law may necessitate the application for or modification of existing approvals. In addition, many jurisdictions, including many jurisdictions in the United States, require that we file detailed registration or offering statements with regulatory authorities disclosing information regarding our VOIs, such as information concerning the intervals being offered, the project, resort or program to which the intervals relate, applicable timeshare plans, evidence of title, details regarding our business, the purchaser’s rights and obligations with respect to such intervals, and a description of the manner in which we intend to offer and advertise such intervals.

When we sell VOIs, local law grants the purchaser of a VOI the right to cancel a purchase contract during a specified rescission period following the later of the date the contract was signed or the date the purchaser received the last of the documents required to be provided by us.

In recent years, regulators in many jurisdictions have increased regulations and enforcement actions related to telemarketing operations, including requiring adherence to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and “do not call” legislation. These measures have significantly increased the costs associated with telemarketing, in particular with respect to telemarketing to mobile numbers. While we continue to be subject to telemarketing risks and potential liability, we believe that our exposure to adverse effects from telemarketing legislation and enforcement is mitigated in some instances by the use of permission-based marketing in which we obtain permission to contact prospective purchasers in the future. We have also implemented procedures to comply with federal and state “do not call” regulations including subscribing to the federal do not call registry and certain state “do not call” registries as well as maintaining an internal “do not call” list.

Lending Regulation

Our lending activities are subject to a number of laws and regulations including those of applicable supervisory agencies such as, in the United States, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the FTC, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. These laws and regulations, some of which contain exceptions applicable to the timeshare industry, may include, among others, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Regulation X, the Truth In Lending Act and Regulation Z, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Housing Act and implementing regulations, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E, unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices regulations and the Credit Practices rules, the USA PATRIOT Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act and the Bank Secrecy Act. Our lending activities are also subject to the laws and regulations of other jurisdictions, including, among others, laws and regulations related to consumer loans, retail installment contracts, mortgage lending, fair debt collection and credit reporting practices, consumer debt collection practices, mortgage disclosure, lender or mortgage loan originator licensing and registration and anti-money laundering.

Resort Management Regulation

Our resort management activities are subject to laws and regulations regarding community association management, public lodging, food and beverage services, liquor licensing, labor, employment, health care, health and safety, accessibility, discrimination, immigration, gaming and the environment (including climate change). In

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addition, many jurisdictions in which we manage our resorts have statutory provisions that limit the duration of the initial and renewal terms of our management agreements for HOAs.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to certain requirements and potential liabilities under various U.S. federal, state and local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and incur costs in complying with such requirements. The costs of complying with these requirements are generally covered by the HOAs that operate the affected resort property and are our responsibility for assets owned by us. These laws and regulations govern actions including air emissions, the use, storage and disposal of hazardous and toxic substances, and wastewater disposal. In addition to investigation and remediation liabilities that could arise under such laws, we may also face personal injury, property damage, fines or other claims by third parties concerning environmental compliance or contamination. We use and store hazardous and toxic substances, such as cleaning materials, pool chemicals, heating oil and fuel for back-up generators at some of our facilities, and we generate certain wastes in connection with our operations. Some of our properties include, and some of our future properties may include, older buildings, and some may have, or may historically have had, dry-cleaning facilities and underground storage tanks for heating oil and back-up generators. We have, from time to time, been responsible for investigating and remediating contamination at some of our facilities, such as contamination that has been discovered when we have removed underground storage tanks, and we could be held responsible for any contamination resulting from the disposal of wastes that we generate, including at locations where such wastes have been sent for disposal. In some cases, we may be entitled to indemnification from the party that caused the contamination pursuant to our management, construction or renovation agreements, but there can be no assurance that we would be able to recover all or any costs we incur in addressing such problems. From time to time, we may also be required to manage, abate, remove or contain mold, lead, asbestos-containing materials, radon gas or other hazardous conditions found in or on our properties. We have implemented an on-going operations and maintenance plan at each of our properties that seeks to identify and remediate these conditions as appropriate. Although we have incurred, and expect that we will continue to incur, costs relating to the investigation, identification and remediation of hazardous materials known or discovered to exist at our properties, those costs have not had, and are not expected to have, a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Employees

For more than 20 years, we have served guests on a global scale, with varied backgrounds and lifestyles, and developed personnel strategies designed to encourage effort, reward results, honor the best, celebrate careers and cultivate an inclusive work environment, including a Diversity and Inclusion Council and Team Member Resource Groups. Our talent management strategy includes ensuring that our employees feel motivated, valued and appreciated for their contributions with authentic recognition programs such as Catch Me at My Best, Daily Dividends, Team Member Appreciation Week and International Housekeeping Week, and 25 Grand, our 25^th Anniversary celebration, which runs all year. Our ongoing training and development opportunities give our employees access to more than 3,000 learning programs, delivered in a variety of media to fit unique learning styles and schedules within the nonstop nature of our business. As of December 31, 2017, more than 8,000 people were employed at our timeshare and corporate locations around the world.

We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice, having won numerous awards that include:

As of December 31, 2017, less than 10 percent of our employees were covered by various collective bargaining agreements generally addressing pay rates, working hours, other terms and conditions of employment, certain employee benefits and orderly settlement of labor disputes.

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Spin-Off Transactions

On February 26, 2016, Hilton announced that its Board of Directors had unanimously approved a plan to enhance long-term stockholder value by separating Hilton into three independent, publicly traded companies. Hilton subsequently executed tax-free spin-offs of HGV and Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (“Park”), which holds a portfolio of Hilton’s owned and leased hotels and resorts.

On January 3, 2017, the spin-offs were completed, and we became a separate publicly-traded company. In connection with the completion of the spin-off, we entered into agreements with Hilton and other third parties, including licenses to use the Hilton brand, which did not exist historically. For more information regarding these agreements, see “—Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off.”

In connection with the spin-off, we entered into a registration rights agreement with Blackstone (which became effective upon the consummation of the spin-off) and a stockholders agreement with Blackstone which is substantially the same as Blackstone’s stockholders agreement with Hilton.

On October 24, 2016, Hilton, The Blackstone Group L.P. and its affiliates (“Blackstone”) and HNA Tourism Group Co., Ltd. (“HNA”) announced that affiliates of Blackstone agreed to sell to HNA 24,750,000 shares of common stock of Hilton, representing approximately 25 percent of the outstanding shares of common stock of Hilton, pursuant to a stock purchase agreement between HNA and Blackstone (the “Sale”). The Sale closed on March 15, 2017. The Sale included 25 percent of the shares of our common stock and Park’s common stock, which were received by Blackstone in the spin-off.

In connection with the Sale, we entered into a stockholders agreement and a registration rights agreement with HNA, which became effective upon the closing of the Sale. See “—Agreements with Blackstone and HNA—HNA Stockholders Agreement,” “—Blackstone Stockholders Agreement” and “—Registration Rights Agreements” for more detailed descriptions of these agreements.

Transactions with Blackstone Subsequent to Spin-off

On May 25, 2017, Blackstone filed a Registration Statement on Form S-1 and registered all of our common stock held by them.  On June 14, 2017, Blackstone entered into an underwriting agreement with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC pursuant to which J.P. Morgan Securities LLC agreed to purchase from Blackstone 9,650,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $35.40 per share.  The sale was completed on June 20, 2017.  Subsequently, on September 25, 2017, Blackstone completed the sale of substantially all of the remaining shares of our common stock held by them to several institutional investors.  We did not receive any proceeds from either of these sales.  As a result of these sales, Blackstone holds only a nominal number of shares of our common stock.

In July 2017, we entered into an agreement with BRE Ace Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an affiliate of Blackstone, and formed BRE Ace LLC. Pursuant to the agreement, we contributed $40 million in cash for a 25 percent interest in BRE Ace LLC, which owns a 1,201-key timeshare resort property and related operations, commonly known as “Elara, by Hilton Grand Vacations,” located in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off

This section summarizes the material agreements between us and Hilton (and, in certain cases, Park and certain affiliates of Blackstone and HNA) that govern the ongoing relationships between us and these parties which we have entered into in connection with the spin-off.  Additional or modified agreements, arrangements and transactions, which would be negotiated at arm’s length, may be entered into between us and these parties in the future.  These summaries are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the applicable agreements, which are filed as exhibits hereto.

As of January 3, 2017 when the spin-off was completed, we and Hilton now operate independently, and neither has any ownership interest in the other.  To govern certain ongoing relationships between us and Hilton and to

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provide mechanisms for an orderly transition, we, Hilton and Park entered into agreements pursuant to which certain services and rights are provided for following the spin-off, and we, Hilton and Park will indemnify each other against certain liabilities arising from our respective businesses.  We also entered into stockholders agreements and registration rights agreements with Blackstone and HNA.  The following is a summary of the terms of the material agreements we have entered into with Hilton, Park, Blackstone and HNA.

The following summaries do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of each agreement, which is incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K as Exhibits 2.1, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.6, 10.7, 10.25, 10.26, 10.27, 10.28 and 10.29.

Distribution Agreement

We entered into a Distribution Agreement with Hilton and Park prior to the distribution of our shares of common stock to Hilton stockholders (the “Distribution Agreement”).  The Distribution Agreement sets forth our agreements with Hilton and Park regarding the principal actions taken in connection with our spin-off from Hilton.  It also sets forth other agreements that govern certain aspects of our relationship with Hilton and Park following the spin-off.

The Distribution Agreement provides for certain transfers of assets and assumptions of liabilities by each of us, Hilton and Park.  The Distribution Agreement also provides for the settlement or extinguishment of certain liabilities and other obligations among us, Hilton and Park.  In particular, the Distribution Agreement provides that, subject to the terms and conditions contained in the Distribution Agreement:

In addition, notwithstanding the allocation described above, we, Park and Hilton agreed that losses related to certain contingent liabilities (and related costs and expenses) are to be apportioned among the parties according to fixed percentages of 65 percent, 26 percent, and nine percent for each of Hilton, Park, and us, respectively.  Examples of shared contingent liabilities include uninsured losses arising from actions (including derivative actions) against current or former directors or officers of Hilton or its subsidiaries in respect of acts or omissions occurring prior to the completion of the spin-off, or against current or former directors or officers of any of Hilton, Park or us,

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or of their respective subsidiaries, arising out of, in connection with, or otherwise relating to, the spin-off, subject to certain exceptions described in the Distribution Agreement.  In addition, costs and expenses of, and indemnification obligations to, third party professional advisors arising out of the foregoing actions may also be subject to these provisions.  Subject to certain limitations and exceptions, Hilton is generally vested with the exclusive management and control of all matters pertaining to any such shared contingent liabilities, including the prosecution of any claim and the conduct of any defense.  The Distribution Agreement also provides for cross-indemnities that, except as otherwise provided in the Distribution Agreement, are principally designed to place financial responsibility for the obligations and liabilities of each business with the appropriate company.

To the extent that any transfers of assets or assumptions of liabilities contemplated by the Distribution Agreement were not consummated on or prior to the date of the distribution, the parties have agreed to cooperate with each other and use commercially reasonable efforts to effect such transfers or assumptions as promptly as practicable following the date of the distribution.  In addition, each of the parties has agreed to cooperate with each other and use commercially reasonable efforts to take or to cause to be taken all actions, and to do, or to cause to be done, all things reasonably necessary under applicable law or contractual obligations to consummate and make effective the transactions contemplated by the Distribution Agreement and the ancillary agreements.

In general, neither we, Park nor Hilton made any representations or warranties regarding any assets or liabilities transferred or assumed, any consents or approvals that may have been required in connection with such transfers or assumptions, the value or freedom from any lien or other security interest of any assets transferred, the absence of any defenses relating to any claim of either party or the legal sufficiency of any conveyance documents, or any other matters.  Except as expressly set forth in the Distribution Agreement or any ancillary agreement, all assets were transferred on an “as is,” “where is” basis.

The Distribution Agreement governs the rights and obligations of the parties regarding the distribution and certain actions that were required to occur prior to the distribution, such as the election of officers and directors and the adoption of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws.  Prior to the distribution, we issued shares of our common stock to Hilton in a stock split, to the extent necessary to ensure that Hilton held the necessary number of shares of our common stock required to be distributed in the distribution.  Hilton caused the distribution agent to distribute to Hilton stockholders that held shares of Hilton common stock as of the applicable record date all of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock.  Hilton had the sole and absolute discretion to determine (and change) the terms of, and whether to proceed with, the distribution and to determine the date of the distribution.

We, Park and Hilton agreed to broad releases pursuant to which we, Park and Hilton each released the others and certain related persons specified in the Distribution Agreement from any claims against any of them that arise out of or relate to acts or events occurring or failing to occur or alleged to occur or to have failed to occur or any conditions existing or alleged to have existed at or prior to the time of the distribution.  These releases are subject to certain exceptions set forth in the Distribution Agreement and the ancillary agreements.

The Distribution Agreement provides for cross-indemnities that, except as otherwise provided in the Distribution Agreement, are principally designed to place financial responsibility for the obligations and liabilities of our business with us, financial responsibility for the obligations and liabilities of the business of Park with Park and financial responsibility for the obligations and liabilities of Hilton’s business with Hilton.  Specifically, each party will, and will cause its subsidiaries and affiliates to, indemnify, defend and hold harmless each other party, its affiliates and subsidiaries and each of its officers, directors, employees and agents for any losses arising out of or otherwise in connection with:

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The amount of each party’s indemnification obligations is subject to reduction by any insurance proceeds received by the party being indemnified and by any proceeds received from a third party for indemnification for such liability.  The Distribution Agreement also specifies procedures with respect to claims subject to indemnification and related matters.  Indemnification with respect to taxes is governed solely by the Tax Matters Agreement.

In the event of any dispute arising out of the Distribution Agreement, the general counsels of the disputing parties, and/or such other representatives as such parties designate, will negotiate to resolve any disputes among such parties.  If the disputing parties are unable to resolve the dispute in this manner within a specified period of time, as set forth in the Distribution Agreement, then unless agreed otherwise by such parties, the disputing parties will submit the dispute to mediation for an additional specified period of time, as set forth in the Distribution Agreement.  If the disputing parties are unable to resolve the dispute in this manner, the dispute may be resolved through legal proceedings as set forth in the Distribution Agreement.

Other matters governed by the Distribution Agreement include access to financial and other information, intellectual property, confidentiality, access to and provision of records and treatment of outstanding guarantees and similar credit support.

License Agreement

Under our license arrangement with Hilton prior to the spin-off, we licensed the Hilton Grand Vacations brand and paid Hilton an annual fee based on a percentage of revenue for rights to operate under this brand.  For the year ended December 31, 2017, we incurred license fee expense of $87 million.  Under our Honors^® program arrangement with Hilton prior to the spin-off, we purchased Hilton Honors^® points from Hilton based on an estimated cost per point for the costs of future club exchanges.  For the year ended December 31, 2017, we paid Hilton $59 million, respectively for Hilton Honors^® points.

In connection with the spin-off, we entered into a license agreement with Hilton granting us the right to use certain Hilton trademarks and other intellectual property in our business.  The license agreement grants us the exclusive right, for an initial term of 100 years, to use certain Hilton marks and intellectual property in our timeshare business.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement, Hilton has granted us the right to use the trademarks “Hilton Grand Vacations,” “HGV” and “Hilton Club” (collectively, the “Hilton Marks”) in connection with the current and future operation of a Hilton branded vacation ownership business (the “Licensed Business”).  We have also received a license or right to use certain other Hilton-owned intellectual property, including promotional content and access to Hilton’s reservation system and property management software (collectively with the Hilton Marks, the “Hilton IP”).  We also have the right to use Hilton’s loyalty program data and other customer information (“Hilton Data”) to promote the Licensed Business and for other internal business purposes, but may not disclose or sell such information to third parties without Hilton’s consent.

Subject to the following two sentences, Hilton will not compete or use the Hilton IP or Hilton Data in the vacation ownership business (or license others to do so) for the first 30 years of the term of the license agreement, and we may extend this exclusivity for additional 10-year terms if we achieve certain revenue targets in the last year of the initial 30-year term or any subsequent renewal term, or make a payment to cover any revenue shortfall, for a maximum of five such payments during any 10-year renewal term.  If Hilton merges with or acquires a company that owns a vacation ownership business and a hotel business, Hilton shall use commercially reasonable efforts to allow us to acquire or manage the acquired vacation ownership business.  If we do not do so, then after such acquisition by Hilton, notwithstanding the foregoing exclusivity, Hilton may use the Hilton IP, Hilton Data and Hilton’s loyalty program (but not the Hilton Marks) to allow such acquired vacation ownership business to compete with the Licensed Business for the remainder of the term of the license agreement.

The initial term of the license agreement will expire on December 31, 2116.  After the initial term ends, we may continue to use the Hilton IP and Hilton Data on a non-exclusive basis for a “tail period” of 30 years in connection with products and projects that were using the foregoing rights, or were approved by Hilton for

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development, when the term ended, provided that we continue to comply with the terms of the license agreement, including payment of royalty and other fees.

We pay a royalty fee of five percent of gross revenues to Hilton quarterly in arrears, as well as specified additional fees.  Gross revenues include our gross sales for the initial sale or re-sale of interests in the Licensed Business (subject to certain HGV Club exceptions), property operations revenue, transient rental revenue and other certain revenues earned.  We also owe Hilton an annual transition fee of $5 million for each of the first five years of the term and certain other fees and reimbursements.  The license agreement contains customary requirements with respect to our record-keeping and Hilton’s audit rights.

We are required to comply with the Hilton brand standards applicable to the Licensed Business.  Hilton has inspection and approval rights to monitor our compliance with these standards.  Hilton brand standards include: construction and design brand standards; graphic standards for use of the Hilton IP; sales, service and operating standards; and quality assurance and customer satisfaction requirements.

During the term of the license agreement, we will participate in Hilton’s loyalty program, currently known as the Hilton Honors^® program.  We can purchase Hilton Honors^® points at cost for the first 20 years of the term of the license agreement, and thereafter at the market rate (with a most favored nation provision, pursuant to which such market rate is no higher than the price paid by strategic partners that purchase a comparable volume of points annually on comparable business terms).  All members of Hilton’s loyalty program have the right to redeem loyalty program points at our properties in the Licensed Business, consistent with the tiers and rules of Hilton’s current loyalty program.  We can convert points associated with our own point-based reservations and exchange system into Hilton loyalty program points through an exchange program at a conversion rate to be determined by us.  We may not participate in a loyalty program of a Hilton competitor in connection with the Licensed Business.

We are required to operate the Licensed Business in strict compliance with all of Hilton’s standards and guidelines and all applicable laws.  We are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all necessary approvals, permits and licenses required and paying all taxes related to the Licensed Business.  We may subcontract or delegate property-level, non-management functions, including housekeeping, security and maintenance, as long as we comply with Hilton’s standards and guidelines.  Hilton has the right to enter our vacation ownership properties at any time without notice and additional permission from us in order to verify that we are complying with the license agreement and Hilton’s standards and guidelines.

We are required to comply with Hilton’s customer data privacy and security standards and protocols.  We are required to notify Hilton immediately after discovering any actual or attempted circumstances that could compromise the security of our information technology systems.  We are required to remedy any such breach at our own expense.

We are able to operate vacation ownership properties under other brands (with no royalty due to Hilton) if we do so without using any Hilton IP or Hilton Data and they are otherwise separate operations from the Licensed Business.

We are required to obtain Hilton’s consent to develop or operate any additional vacation ownership properties under the Hilton Marks (including on our own undeveloped parcels).  Hilton may not unreasonably withhold its approval for these projects as long as they comply with existing law, do not involve a co-investor that is a competitor of Hilton or is of bad moral character, and are not reasonably likely to harm Hilton, the Licensed IP or the Hilton Data.  Hilton has a right of first refusal if we want to sell an undeveloped parcel to a Hilton competitor.

We have entered into an agreement with Hilton that governs the transfer of calls from Hilton to us.  Under this agreement, Hilton is required to use its reasonable best efforts to transfer calls to us at a level consistent with past practice prior to the spin-off for the first ten years.  Hilton is required to provide the call transfer services at cost for the first 30 years and at market rates thereafter.  We have entered into other agreements that govern other services that Hilton is required to provide us.

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Under the license agreement, our right to use the Hilton Marks as a trade, corporate, d/b/a or similar name will automatically terminate if (i) the aggregate number of units of accommodation in our Licensed Business falls below two-thirds of the total number of units of accommodation in our entire vacation ownership business; (ii) we merge with or acquire control of the assets of Marriott International, Inc., Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Wyndham Worldwide Corporation and Interval Leisure Group, Inc.  or their respective affiliates and we or they use their brands in any business after such acquisition; or (iii) we become an affiliate of another Hilton competitor.

Hilton has the right to terminate the license agreement as a whole if, among other things: (i) we file for bankruptcy or cease business operations; (ii) 25 percent or more of our Hilton-branded vacation ownership properties fail certain performance thresholds or the overall customer satisfaction score for all our Hilton-branded vacation ownership properties falls below a certain threshold level, and we do not promptly cure such failures; (iii) we operate the Licensed Business in a way that has a material adverse effect on Hilton; (iv) we fail to pay certain amounts due to Hilton (and in certain cases, do not promptly cure such failures); (v) we contest Hilton’s ownership of the Hilton IP or the Hilton Data; (vi) we merge with, consolidate with or are acquired by a competitor of Hilton; or (vii) we assign the agreement to a non-affiliate without Hilton’s consent.

Hilton also has the right to “deflag” (prevent use of any Hilton IP or Hilton Data at) any property in our Licensed Business in certain circumstances, including if (i) a $10 million or more final judgment is assessed against such property or a foreclosure suit is initiated against such property and not vacated; (ii) an ongoing threat or danger to public health or safety occurs at such property; (iii) such property fails to meet certain quality assurance system performance thresholds; or (iv) such property is not operated in compliance with the license agreement or Hilton’s other standards and agreements, and such breaches are not cured in accordance with the license agreement.

If we breach our obligations under the license agreement, Hilton may, in addition to terminating the license agreement, be entitled to (depending on the nature of the breach): seek injunctive relief and/or monetary damages; suspend our access to and terminate our rights to use Licensed IP and/or Hilton Data (other than the Hilton Marks and certain other content); or terminate our rights to use the Licensed IP (including the Hilton Marks) and Hilton Data at specific locations that are not in compliance with performance standards.

If the license agreement terminates due to our fault before the end of the term, we are required to cease use of the Hilton IP and Hilton Data according to a specified schedule.  Hilton has the right to demand liquidated damages based upon its uncollected royalties and fees for the remainder of the term.

Hilton has registered certain of the Hilton Marks for vacation ownership services in jurisdictions in which we currently operate vacation ownership resorts and residential projects under the Hilton Marks.  However, Hilton does not have affirmative trademark rights in the Hilton Marks in relation to every aspect of our business in every country around the world, and we, therefore, may not be able to use one or more of the Hilton Marks to expand various aspects of our business into one or more new countries.  If we want to use a Hilton Mark in a country where it is not registered, we will have to seek Hilton’s consent, which may not be withheld if the new trademark would not reasonably be expected to harm or jeopardize the value, validity, reputation or goodwill of the Hilton Marks or subject Hilton to any risk of legal liability.

Unless we obtain Hilton’s prior written consent, we may not be able to: (i) merge with or acquire a Hilton competitor or a vacation ownership business that has entered into an operating agreement with a Hilton competitor; (ii) merge with or acquire a vacation ownership business together with a lodging business; or (iii) be acquired or combined with any entity other than an affiliate.  We may acquire control of a business that is not a vacation ownership business or a lodging business without Hilton’s consent, but we are required to operate such business as a separate operation that does not use the Hilton IP or Hilton Data unless Hilton consents to such use.  Without Hilton’s prior consent, we may not assign our rights under the license agreement, except to one our affiliates as part of an internal reorganization for tax or administrative purposes.

We are required to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Hilton from and against any claim or liability resulting from (i) third-party claims based on (ii) our breach of the license agreement; (iii) the operation of our vacation ownership properties; (iv) any use of the Hilton IP or Hilton Data in violation of the license agreement; or (v) claims based on any security breach of our systems and/or unauthorized use or disclosure of Hilton Data.

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Employee Matters Agreement

We have entered into an Employee Matters Agreement with Hilton and Park that governs the respective rights, responsibilities and obligations of Hilton, Park and us after the spin-off with respect to transferred employees, defined benefit pension plans, defined contribution plans, non-qualified retirement plans, employee health and welfare benefit plans, incentive plans, equity-based awards, collective bargaining agreements and other employment, compensation and benefits-related matters (the “Employee Matters Agreement”).  The Employee Matters Agreement provides for, among other things, the allocation and treatment of assets and liabilities arising out of incentive plans, retirement plans and employee health and welfare benefit plans in which our and Park’s employees participated prior to the spin-off, and continued participation by our and Park’s employees in certain of Hilton’s compensation and benefit plans for a specified period of time following the spin-off.  Generally, other than with respect to certain specified compensation and benefit plans and liabilities, we and Park have assumed or retained sponsorship of, and the liabilities relating to, compensation and benefit plans and employee-related liabilities relating to its respective current and former employees.  The Employee Matters Agreement also provides that then outstanding Hilton equity-based awards were equitably adjusted or converted into HGV or Park awards, as applicable, in connection with the spin-off.  After the spin-off, our and Park’s employees no longer actively participate in Hilton’s benefit plans or programs (other than specified compensation and benefit plans), and we and Park have each established or will establish plans or programs for our and Park’s employees, respectively, as described in the Employee Matters Agreement.  We and Park also have established or will establish or maintain plans and programs outside of the United States as may be required under applicable law or pursuant to the Employee Matters Agreement.

Tax Matters Agreement

We have entered into a Tax Matters Agreement with Hilton and Park that govern the respective rights, responsibilities and obligations of Hilton, Park and us after the spin-off with respect to tax liabilities and benefits, tax attributes, tax contests and other tax sharing regarding U.S.  federal, state, local and foreign income taxes, other tax matters and related tax returns.  Although binding between the parties, the Tax Matters Agreement is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).  We and Park each will continue to have several liabilities with Hilton to the IRS for the consolidated U.S. federal income taxes of the Hilton consolidated group relating to the taxable periods in which we and Park were part of that group.  The Tax Matters Agreement specifies the portion, if any, of this tax liability for which we and Park will bear responsibility, and each party has agreed to indemnify the other two parties against any amounts for which they are not responsible.  The Tax Matters Agreement also provides special rules for allocating tax liabilities in the event that the spin-off is not tax-free.  In general, under the Tax Matters Agreement, each party is responsible for any taxes imposed on Hilton that arise from the failure of the spin-off and certain related transactions to qualify as a tax-free transaction for U.S.  federal income tax purposes under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code, as applicable, and certain other relevant provisions of the Code, to the extent that the failure to qualify is attributable to actions taken by such party (or with respect to such party’s stock).  The parties share responsibility, in accordance with sharing percentages of 65 percent for Hilton, 26 percent for Park, and nine percent for us, for any such taxes imposed on Hilton that are not attributable to actions taken by a party.

The Tax Matters Agreement also provides for certain covenants that may restrict our ability to issue equity and pursue strategic or other transactions that otherwise could maximize the value of our business, including, for two years after the spin-off:

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These restrictions are generally inapplicable in the event that the IRS has granted a favorable ruling to us, Hilton or Park or in the event that we, Hilton or Park have received an opinion from a tax advisor, in either case to the effect that it can take such actions without adversely affecting the tax-free status of the spin-off and related transactions.

Transition Services Agreement

We have entered into a Transition Services Agreement with Hilton and Park under which Hilton or one of its affiliates provides us and Park with certain services for a limited time to help ensure an orderly transition following the spin-off (the “Transition Services Agreement”).

The services that Hilton has agreed to provide to us and Park under the Transition Services Agreement include certain finance, information technology, human resources and compensation, facilities, legal and compliance and other services.  We and Park have agreed to pay Hilton for any such services utilized at agreed amounts as set forth in the Transition Services Agreement.  In addition, for a specified term, we or Park and Hilton may mutually agree on additional services that were provided by Hilton prior to the completion of the spin-off at pricing based on market rates that are reasonably agreed to by the parties.

Agreements with Blackstone and HNA

HNA Stockholders Agreement

In connection with the Sale, we entered into a stockholders agreement with HNA (and with HNA Group Co., Ltd. for purposes of the standstill provision only) that became effective upon the closing of the Sale.

Under the HNA stockholders agreement, for so long as HNA beneficially owns at least 15 percent of our outstanding common stock, it will have the right to designate two directors to our board of directors, only one of which may be affiliated with HNA (but not its hospitality business) and the other of which must meet the independence standards of the NYSE with respect to our company and not have been, for two years, an employee, director or officer of, or consultant to, HNA or any of its affiliates. Each of HNA’s director designees must be reasonably satisfactory to our nominating and corporate governance committee. In addition, so long as HNA owns at least 20 percent of our outstanding common stock, HNA will have the right to designate an additional independent director to fill each third additional director seat above 10 directors; for example, if we were to increase the size of our board of directors in the future to 13, HNA would have the right to designate an independent director as the 13th member of the board of directors. HNA’s right to designate directors declines to one director when HNA’s ownership falls below 15 percent of our outstanding common stock and such right terminates when HNA’s ownership falls below five percent of our outstanding common stock, subject to certain exceptions. Each independent designee will be entitled to serve on at least one standing committee of the board of directors, as determined by the nominating and corporate governance committee.

Following the consummation of the Sale, we increased the size of our board of directors to ten members. Two members of our board of directors, Yasheng Huang and Kenneth Tai Lun Wong, were designated by HNA pursuant to the stockholders agreement.

The HNA stockholders agreement generally requires HNA to vote all of its shares in excess of 15 percent of our total outstanding shares in the same proportion as the shares owned by other stockholders are voted on all matters, except as follows: (i) in uncontested elections of directors, HNA is required to vote all of its shares either in favor of the board’s nominees or all of its shares in the same proportion as the shares owned by other stockholders are voted; (ii) in contested elections of directors, HNA is required to vote all of its shares in the same proportion as the shares owned by other stockholders are voted; (iii) for two years after the closing of the sale, in third-party acquisitions of our company in which both (x) shares of our common stock are exchanged for or are converted into the right to receive (A) solely cash or (B) a mixture of cash and stock of a person other than an HNA entity in which the value of the cash portion of the aggregate consideration is 60 percent or more of the value of the aggregate consideration and (y) the value of the consideration to be received per share of common stock is less than or equal to a reference price per share of our common stock calculated in accordance with the HNA stockholders agreement,

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HNA may vote all of its shares as it chooses; (iv) for any acquisition of our company other than an acquisition described in (iii) above or an acquisition by HNA, HNA will vote all of its shares in excess of 15 percent of our total outstanding shares in proportion to the manner in which non-HNA holders vote their shares; and (v) in the case of any charter or bylaw amendment which adversely affects HNA disproportionally as compared to other stockholders, an issuance of more than 20 percent of our outstanding shares (other than for an acquisition) at a below-market price, or an acquisition of our company by HNA, HNA may vote all of its shares as it chooses. In a third-party tender offer, HNA will be required to tender its shares in excess of 15 percent of our total outstanding shares in the same proportion as shares held by non-HNA holders are tendered.

For two years after the closing of the Sale, the HNA stockholders agreement requires HNA to not transfer any shares of our common stock that it owns unless: (i) such transfer is approved in advance by a majority of the disinterested members of the board of directors or a duly-authorized committee thereof; (ii) such transfer is to an HNA affiliate, provided that such HNA affiliate agrees to be bound by the terms of the HNA stockholders agreement; such transfer is in connection with an acquisition approved by the board of directors; (iii) such transfer constitutes a tender into a tender or exchange offer commenced by us or any of our affiliates; or (iv) such transfer is in connection with a bona fide mortgage, encumbrance or pledge of capital stock to a financial institution in connection with a bona fide loan or debt transaction or enforcement thereunder. After two years, other than in an underwritten public offering, block trade or permitted transfer described above, HNA will not be permitted to transfer more than 4.9 percent of our total outstanding shares to any person or group, or any shares to certain of our competitors or, to the knowledge of HNA or its broker, a person or group who is a five percent stockholder or who would thereby become a five percent stockholder; in an underwritten public offering or a block trade, other than a permitted transfer described above, HNA will instruct the underwriter or broker not to transfer more than 4.9 percent of our total outstanding shares to any person or group or any shares to a five percent stockholder (unless the identity of the purchaser is not known to the underwriter or broker); and in a block trade, other than a permitted transfer described above, HNA will instruct its broker not to transfer shares to certain of our competitors (unless the identity of the purchaser is not known to HNA or its broker). In addition, if we propose to issue new equity securities for cash in an offering that is not an underwritten public offering or an offering pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act, HNA will have a right of first refusal over its pro rata portion of such issuance, measured based on HNA’s ownership percentage (which shall be capped at 25 percent for purposes of the right of first refusal) in us at such time.

The HNA stockholders agreement requires HNA and its affiliates not to: (i) acquire, offer or agree to acquire, any beneficial interest in us, subject to certain exceptions; (ii) make any public announcement or public offer with respect to any merger, business combination or other similar transaction involving us (except when our board of directors recommends or approves such transaction); (iii) make or in any way participate in any “solicitation” of “proxies” to vote or seek to influence the voting of securities in a manner inconsistent with our board’s recommendation; (iv) seek election or removal of any director other than HNA designees or otherwise act, alone or in concert with others, to control or influence our company; (v) call a meeting of stockholders; (vi) participate in a “group” regarding our equity securities; (vii) act, alone or in concert with others, to seek to control or influence our management or policies; (viii) knowingly assist or encourage, or enter into any discussions or agreements with any third party, in connection with any of the foregoing; (ix) publicly disclose any intention, plan or arrangement inconsistent with the foregoing; provide any financing for a purchase of our equity securities or assets, subject to certain exceptions; or (x) take any actions that HNA knows or would reasonably be expected to know would require us to make a public announcement regarding the possibility of an acquisition. HNA will not be prohibited from: (a) transferring shares of our stock to HNA affiliates; (b) purchasing shares of our stock pursuant to its right of first refusal over its pro rata portion of newly issued equity securities; (c) making a non-public, confidential acquisition proposal to our board of directors; or (d) after a public announcement of a definitive agreement for the acquisition of our company by a third party, making a publicly announced alternative acquisition proposal for all of our outstanding shares, which, if a tender or exchange offer, must be on the same terms for all such shares and include a non-waivable condition that a majority of the shares held by non-HNA holders are tendered into such offer. To the extent HNA’s ownership percentage falls below 25 percent of our total outstanding shares (or a lower percentage that results from sales of shares by HNA) as a result of issuances by us, HNA may purchase our shares in the open market so as to maintain its ownership percentage at 25 percent (or such lower percentage that results from sales of shares by HNA).

Blackstone Stockholders Agreement

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In connection with the spin-off, we entered into a stockholders agreement with Blackstone, pursuant to which Blackstone was entitled to designate a number of directors that varied depending on its level of ownership of our common stock. These provisions of the Blackstone stockholders’ agreement terminated as a result of the Sale and Blackstone’s other recent sales of substantially all of our common stock that it held. One member of our board of directors, Kenneth A. Caplan, was designated by Blackstone pursuant to the stockholders agreement prior to the sale by Blackstone of the shares of our common stock held by it.

Registration Rights Agreements

We previously entered into a registration rights agreement with Blackstone that became effective upon the completion of the spin-off. The Blackstone registration rights agreement provided Blackstone with customary “demand” and “piggyback” registration rights. The registration rights agreement also required us to pay certain expenses relating to such registrations and indemnify the registration rights holder against certain liabilities under the Securities Act. As a result of the sale during 2017 by Blackstone of substantially all of our common stock held by it, Blackstone holds only a nominal number of shares of our common stock.

In connection with the Sale, we also entered into a registration rights agreement with HNA that became effective upon the closing of the Sale. The HNA registration rights agreement provides that, beginning two years after the closing of the Sale, HNA will have customary “demand” and “piggyback” registration rights.

Tax Stockholders Agreement

We have entered into a stockholders agreement with Hilton and certain entities affiliated with Blackstone intended to preserve the tax-free status of the distributions in connection with the spin-off (the “Tax Stockholders Agreement”). The Tax Stockholders Agreement provides for certain covenants that may limit issuances or repurchases of our stock in excess of specified percentages, dispositions of our common stock by Blackstone, and transfers of interests in certain Blackstone entities that directly or indirectly own our common stock or the common stock of Hilton or Park. Additionally, the Tax Stockholders Agreement may limit issuances or repurchases of stock by Hilton in excess of specified percentages.

Where You Can Find More Information

Our website address is www.hgv.com. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference herein. We file reports with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, and certain amendments to these reports. Copies of these reports are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file the reports with the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. Additionally, you may read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.

We are subject to various risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and stock price.  You should carefully consider the risk factors discussed below, in addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Further, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to management or that management currently deems less significant also may result in material and adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and stock price.  The risks below also include forward-looking information; and actual results and events may differ substantially from those discussed or highlighted in these forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information.”

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Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We are subject to the business, financial and operating risks inherent to the timeshare industry, any of which could reduce our revenues and limit opportunities for growth.

Our business is subject to a number of business, financial and operating risks inherent to the timeshare industry, including:

Any of these factors could increase our costs or limit or reduce the prices we are able to charge for our products and services or otherwise affect our ability to maintain existing properties, develop new properties or source VOI supply from third parties. As a result, any of these factors can reduce our revenues and limit opportunities for growth.

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Macroeconomic and other factors beyond our control can adversely affect and reduce demand for our products and services.

Macroeconomic and other factors beyond our control can reduce demand for our products and services, including demand for timeshare properties. These factors include, but are not limited to:

Any one or more of these factors can adversely affect, and from time to time have adversely affected, individual resorts, particular regions and our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Contraction in the global economy or low levels of economic growth could adversely affect our revenues and profitability as well as limit or slow our future growth.

Consumer demand for products and services provided by the timeshare industry is closely linked to the performance of the general economy and is sensitive to business and personal discretionary spending levels. Decreased global or regional demand for products and services provided by the timeshare industry can be especially pronounced during periods of economic contraction or low levels of economic growth, and the recovery period in our industry may lag overall economic improvement. Declines in demand for our products and services due to general economic conditions could negatively affect our business by decreasing the revenues we are able to generate from our VOI sales, financing activities and Club and resort operations. In addition, many of the expenses associated with our business, including personnel costs, interest, rent, property taxes, insurance and utilities, are relatively fixed. During a period of overall economic weakness, if we are unable to meaningfully decrease these costs as demand for our products and services decreases, our business operations and financial performance may be adversely affected.

We do not own the Hilton brands and our business will be materially harmed if we breach our license agreement with Hilton or it is terminated.

Following the spin-off, Hilton retained ownership of the Hilton-branded trademarks, tradenames and certain related intellectual property used in the operation of our business. We entered into a license agreement with Hilton granting us the right to use the Hilton-branded trademarks, trade names and related intellectual property in our business for the term of the agreement. If we breach our obligations under the license agreement, Hilton may be entitled to terminate the license agreement or terminate our rights to use the Hilton brands and other Hilton intellectual property at properties that do not meet applicable standards and policies, or to exercise other remedies.

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The termination of the license agreement or exercise of other remedies would materially harm our business and results of operations and impair our ability to market and sell our products and maintain our competitive position. For example, if we are not able to rely on the strength of the Hilton brands to attract prospective members and guests in the marketplace, our revenue and profits would decline and our marketing and sales expenses would increase. If we are not able to use Hilton’s marketing databases and corporate-level advertising channels to reach potential members and guests, including Hilton’s internet address as a channel through which to market available inventory, our member growth would be adversely affected and our revenue would materially decline, and it is uncertain whether we would be able to replace the revenue associated with those channels.

Even if the license agreement remains in effect, the termination of our rights to use the Hilton-branded trademarks, trade names and related intellectual property at properties that fail to meet applicable standards and policies, or any deterioration of quality or reputation of the Hilton brands (even deterioration not leading to termination of our rights under the license agreement or not caused by us), could also harm our reputation and impair our ability to market and sell our products at the subject properties, which could materially harm our business.

In addition, if license agreement terms relating to the Hilton Honors® loyalty program terminate, we would not be able to offer Hilton Honors® points to our members and guests. This would adversely affect our ability to sell our products, offer the flexibility associated with our Club membership and sustain our collection performance on our timeshare financing receivables portfolio. See “Item 1. Business—Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off—License Agreement.”

We will rely on Hilton to consent to our use of its trademarks at new properties we manage in the future.

Under the terms of our license agreement with Hilton, we are required to obtain Hilton’s consent to use its trademarks in circumstances specified in the license agreement. Hilton may reject a proposed project in certain circumstances. Any requirements to obtain Hilton’s consent to our expansion plans, or the need to identify and secure alternative expansion opportunities because Hilton does not allow us to use its trademarks with proposed new projects, may delay implementation of our expansion plans, cause us to incur additional expense or reduce the financial viability of our projects. Further, if Hilton does not permit us to use its trademarks in connection with our expansion plans, our ability to expand our Hilton-branded timeshare business would cease and our ability to remain competitive may be materially adversely affected.

Our business depends on the quality and reputation of the Hilton brands and affiliation with the Hilton Honors® loyalty program.

Currently, all of our products and services are offered under the Hilton brand names and affiliated with the Hilton Honors® loyalty program, and we intend to continue to develop and offer products and services under the Hilton brands and affiliated with the Hilton Honors® loyalty program in the future. In addition, the license agreement contains significant prohibitions on our ability to own or operate properties that are not Hilton brand names. The concentration of our products and services under these brands and program may expose us to risks of brand or program deterioration, or reputational decline, that are greater than if our portfolio were more diverse. Furthermore, as we are not the owner of the Hilton brands or the Hilton Honors® loyalty program, changes to these brands and program or our access to them, including our ability to buy points to offer to our members and potential members, could negatively affect our business. Any failure by Hilton to protect the trademarks, tradenames and intellectual property that we license from it could reduce the value of the Hilton brands and also harm our business. If these brands or program deteriorate or materially change in an adverse manner, or the reputation of these brands or program declines, our market share, reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

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Our dependence on development activities exposes us to project cost and completion risks.

We secure VOI inventory in part by developing new timeshare properties and new phases of existing timeshare properties. Our ongoing involvement in the development of inventory presents a number of risks, including:

We also source inventory from third-party developers that are exposed to such risks, and the occurrence of any of these risks with respect to those third parties could have a material adverse effect on our access to the inventory sourced from these developers.

A decline in developed or acquired VOI inventory or our failure to enter into and maintain fee-for-service agreements may have an adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

In addition to VOI supply that we develop or acquire, we source VOIs through fee-for-service agreements with third-party developers. If we fail to develop timeshare properties, acquire inventory or are unsuccessful in entering into new agreements with third-party developers, we may experience a decline in VOI supply, which could result in a decrease in our revenues. Approximately 74 percent of our contract sales were from capital-efficient sources for the year ended December 31, 2017. As part of our strategy to optimize our sales mix of capital-efficient inventory, we will continue to acquire inventory and enter into additional fee-for-service agreements to source inventory. These arrangements may expose us to additional risk as we will not control development activities or timing of development completion. If third parties with whom we enter into agreements are not able to fulfill their obligations to us, the inventory we expect to acquire or market and sell on their behalf may not be available on time or at all, or may not otherwise be within agreed-upon specifications, including the specifications that we must meet in order to use Hilton’s trademarks at such properties. If our counterparties do not perform as expected and we do not have access to the expected inventory or obtain access to inventory from alternative sources on a timely basis, our ability to achieve sales goals may be adversely affected.

In addition, a decline in VOI supply could result in a decrease of financing revenues that are generated by VOI purchases and fee and rental revenues that are generated by our resort and Club management services.

A significant percentage of our revenue is derived from our fee-for-service agreements with respect to two properties that are owned by one third party, and any termination of such arrangements could have a materially adverse impact on our revenues and financial results.

We derived approximately 15 percent of our revenues for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 from fee-for-service fees with respect to two of our properties, which are owned by a single third party, and for which we have entered into fee-for-service agreements. If these fee-for-service agreements are terminated by the property owner, if one or both properties are sold to another party without the continuation of such arrangement, or if there is any occurrence or existence of any adverse economic development, adverse acts of natural or manmade disasters, or

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any other conditions that negatively or disproportionately adversely affects either or both of these two properties, our revenues, our operating results and our financial performance could be materially adversely impacted.

We operate in a highly competitive industry.

The timeshare industry is highly competitive. The Hilton brands we use compete with the timeshare brands affiliated with major hotel chains in national and international venues, and we compete generally with other vacation options such as cruises and the vacation rental options generally offered by the lodging and travel industry (e.g., hotels, resorts and condominium rentals).

We also compete with other timeshare developers for sales of VOIs based principally on location, quality of accommodations, price, service levels and amenities, financing terms, quality of service, terms of property use, reservation systems, flexibility for VOI owners to exchange into time at other timeshare properties, or other travel rewards, including access to hotel loyalty programs, as well as brand name recognition and reputation. A number of our competitors are significantly larger than we are, and have potentially greater access to capital resources and broader marketing, sales and distribution capabilities. We also compete with numerous other smaller owners and operators of timeshare resorts, as well as home and apartment sharing services that market available privately owned residential properties that can be rented on a nightly, weekly or monthly basis. In addition, we are in competition with national and independent timeshare resale companies and members reselling existing VOIs, which could reduce demand or prices for sales of new VOIs. We also compete with other timeshare management companies in the management of resorts on behalf of owners on the basis of quality, cost, types of services offered and relationship.

We also compete for property acquisitions and partnerships with entities that have similar investment objectives as we do. This competition could limit the number of, or negatively affect the cost of, suitable investment opportunities available to us.

Recent and potential future consolidation in the highly fragmented timeshare industry may increase competition. Consolidation may create competitors that enjoy significant advantages resulting from, among other things, a lower cost of, and greater access to, capital and enhanced operating efficiencies.  There is also significant competition for talent at all levels within the industry, in particular for sales and management.

Our ability to remain competitive and to attract and retain members depends on our success in distinguishing the quality and value of our products and services from those offered by others. If we cannot compete successfully in these areas or if our marketing and sales efforts are not successful and we are unable to convert customers to a sufficient number of sales, this could negatively affect our operating margins and our ability to recover the expense of our marketing programs and grow our business, diminish our market share and reduce our earnings.

The sale of VOIs in the secondary market by existing members could cause our sales revenues and profits to decline.

Existing members have offered, and are expected to continue to offer, their VOIs for sale on the secondary market. The sale of VOIs has been made easier by recent development of virtual marketplaces assisting members with the sale of their VOIs.  The prices at which these intervals are sold are typically less than the prices at which we would sell the intervals. As a result, these sales create additional pricing pressure on our sale of VOIs, which could cause our sales revenues and profits to decline. In addition, if the secondary market for VOIs becomes more organized or financing for such resales becomes more available, our ability to sell VOIs could be adversely affected and/or the resulting availability of VOIs (particularly where the VOIs are available for sale at lower prices than the prices at which we would sell them) could adversely affect our sales revenues. Further, unlawful or deceptive third-party VOI resale or vacation package sales schemes could damage the reputation of the industry, our reputation and brand value, or affect our ability to collect management fees, which may adversely affect our sales revenues and results of operations.

Development of a strong secondary market may also cause a decline in the volume of VOI inventory that we are able to repurchase, which could adversely affect our development margin, as we utilize this low-cost inventory source to supplement our inventory needs and help manage our cost of vacation ownership products.

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Partnership or joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on partners’ or co-venturers’ financial condition, disputes between us and our partners or co-venturers and our obligation to guaranty certain obligations beyond the amount of our investments.

We have co-invested with third parties and we may in the future co-invest with other third parties through partnerships, joint ventures or other entities, acquiring non-controlling interests in, or sharing responsibility for managing the affairs, of a timeshare property, partnership, joint venture or other entity. For example, in July 2017, we entered into an agreement with BRE Ace Holdings, an affiliate of Blackstone, pursuant to which we contributed $40 million in cash for a 25 percent interest in BRE Ace LLC, which owns a 1,201-key timeshare resort property and related operations, commonly known as “Elara, by Hilton Grand Vacations,” located in Las Vegas, Nevada (the “Elara Joint Venture”). Consequently, with respect to any such third-party arrangements, we would not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the property, partnership, joint venture or other entity, and may, under certain circumstances, be exposed to risks not present if a third party were not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. In addition, we may be forced to make contributions to maintain the value of the property. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale, because neither we nor the partner or co-venturer may have full control over the partnership or joint venture. We and our respective partners or co-venturers may each have the right to trigger a buy-sell right or forced sale arrangement, which could cause us to sell our interest, or acquire our partners’ or co-venturers’ interest, or to sell the underlying asset, either on unfavorable terms or at a time when we otherwise would not have initiated such a transaction. In addition, a sale or transfer by us to a third party of our interests in the partnership or joint venture may be subject to consent rights or rights of first refusal in favor of our partners or co-venturers, which would in each case restrict our ability to dispose of our interest in the partnership or joint venture. For example, our joint venture partner in the Elara Joint Venture generally has exclusive authority to manage the business and affairs of the Elara Joint Venture, and has the discretion to call for additional capital contributions at any time. In addition, it has certain rights to transfer or sell some or all of its interests in the Elara Joint Venture and/or the property without our consent or, in certain situations, require us to sell our interests at the same time, while we are not permitted to sell or transfer our interest without their consent. Any or all of these factors could adversely affect the value of our investment, our ability to exit, sell or dispose of our investment at times that are beneficial to us, or our financial commitment to maintaining our interest in the joint ventures.

Our joint ventures may be subject to debt and the refinancing of such debt, and we may be required to provide certain guarantees or be responsible for the full amount of the debt in certain circumstances in the event of a default beyond the amount of our equity investment. Our joint venture partners may take actions that are inconsistent with the interests of the partnership or joint venture, or in violation of the financing arrangements and trigger our guaranty, which may expose us to substantial financial obligation and commitment that are beyond our ability to fund. In addition, partners or co-venturers may have economic or other business interests or goals that are inconsistent with our business interests or goals and may be in a position to take action or withhold consent contrary to our policies or objectives. In some instances, partners or co-venturers may have competing interests in our markets that could create conflict of interest issues. Disputes between us and partners or co-venturers may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers from focusing their time and effort on our business. Consequently, actions by or disputes with partners or co-venturers might result in subjecting assets owned by the partnership or joint venture to additional risk. In addition, we may, in certain circumstances, be liable for the actions of our third-party partners or co-venturers.

Our business is regulated under a wide variety of laws, regulations and policies, and failure to comply with these regulations could adversely affect our business.

Our business is subject to extensive regulation, and any failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our real estate development activities, for example, are subject to laws and regulations typically applicable to real estate development, subdivision and construction activities, such as laws relating to zoning, entitlement, permitting, land use restrictions, environmental regulation, title transfers, title insurance, taxation and eminent domain. Laws in some jurisdictions also impose liability on property developers for construction defects discovered or repairs made by future owners of property developed by the developer. In addition, the sales of VOIs must be registered with governmental authorities in most jurisdictions in which we do business. The preparation of VOI registrations requires time and cost, and in many jurisdictions the exact date of registration approval cannot be accurately predicted. Various laws also govern our lending

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activities and our resort management activities, including the laws described in “Business—Government Regulation.”

A number of laws govern our marketing and sales activities, such as timeshare and land sales acts, fair housing statutes, anti-fraud laws, sweepstakes laws, real estate licensing laws, telemarketing laws, home solicitation sales laws, tour operator laws, seller of travel laws, securities laws, consumer privacy laws and consumer protection laws. In addition, laws in many jurisdictions in which we sell VOIs grant the purchaser of a VOI the right to cancel a purchase contract during a specified rescission period.

In recent years, telemarketing legislation has significantly increased the costs associated with telemarketing. We have implemented procedures that we believe will help reduce the possibility of violating such laws, however, such procedures may not be effective in ensuring regulatory compliance. In addition, because our relationship with Hilton has changed, it may be more difficult for us to utilize customer information we obtain from Hilton in the future for marketing purposes.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Accessibility Guidelines promulgated thereunder, which we refer to collectively as the ADA, all public accommodations must meet various federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Compliance with ADA’s requirements could require removal of access barriers, and non-compliance could result in the U.S. government imposing fines or in private litigants winning damages. Our properties also are subject to various federal, state and local regulatory requirements, such as state and local fire and life safety requirements. Furthermore, various laws govern our resort management activities, including laws and regulations regarding community association management, public lodging, food and beverage services, liquor licensing, labor, employment, health care, health and safety, accessibility, discrimination, immigration, gaming and the environment (including climate change).

Our lending activities are also subject to a number of laws and regulations, including laws and regulations related to consumer loans, retail installment contracts, mortgage lending, fair debt collection and credit reporting practices, consumer collection practices, contacting debtors by telephone, mortgage disclosure, lender licenses and money laundering.

We may not be successful in maintaining compliance with all laws, regulations and policies to which we are currently subject, and such compliance is expensive and time consuming. We do not know whether existing requirements will change or whether compliance with future requirements, including regulatory requirements in new geographic areas into which we expand would require significant unanticipated expenditures that would affect our cash flow and results of operations. Failure to comply with current or future applicable laws, regulations and policies could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, if we do not comply with applicable laws, regulations and policies, governmental authorities in the jurisdictions where the violations occurred may revoke or refuse to renew licenses or registrations necessary to operate our business. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and policies could also render sales contracts for our products void or voidable, subject us to fines or other sanctions, and increase our exposure to litigation.

We may experience financial and operational risks in connection with acquisitions and other opportunistic business ventures.

We will consider strategic acquisitions to expand our inventory options and distribution capabilities; however, we may be unable to identify attractive acquisition candidates or complete transactions on favorable terms. Future acquisitions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities and/or the assumption of contingent liabilities. These acquisitions may also be structured in such a way that we will be assuming unknown or undisclosed liabilities or obligations. Moreover, we may be unable to efficiently integrate acquisitions, management attention and other resources may be diverted away from other potentially more profitable areas of our business and in some cases these acquisitions may turn out to be less compatible with our growth and operational strategy than originally anticipated. The occurrence of any of these events could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As part of our business strategy, we also intend to continue collaborating with Hilton on timeshare development opportunities at new and existing hotel properties and explore growth opportunities along the Hilton

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brand spectrum, as well as expand our marketing partnerships and travel exchange partners. However, we may be unable to successfully enter into these arrangements on favorable terms or launch related products and services, or such products and services may not gain acceptance among our members or be profitable. The failure to develop and execute any such initiatives on a cost-effective basis could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, our ability to engage in acquisitions may be limited by restrictions on our ability to raise additional equity capital. See “Item 1. Business—Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off—Tax Matters Agreement,” “Business—Agreements with Blackstone and HNA—Blackstone Stockholders Agreement,” and “Business—Agreements with Blackstone and HNA—HNA Stockholders Agreement.”

The expiration, termination or renegotiation of our management agreements could adversely affect our cash flows, revenues and profits.

We enter into management agreements with the HOAs for the timeshare resorts developed by us or by third parties with whom we have entered into fee-for-service agreements. Our management agreements generally provide for a cost-plus management fee equal to 10 percent to 15 percent of the costs to operate the applicable resort. We also receive revenues that represent reimbursement for the costs incurred to perform our services, principally related to personnel providing on-site services. The original term of our management agreements is typically governed by state timeshare laws, and ranges from three to five years, and many of these agreements renew automatically for one- to three-year periods, unless either party provides advance notice of termination before the expiration of the term. Although none of the management agreements relating to our developed or fee-for-service properties have been terminated or lapsed since our inception, any of these agreements may expire at the end of its then-current term (following notice by a party of non-renewal) or be terminated, or the contract terms may be renegotiated in a manner adverse to us. If a management agreement is terminated or not renewed on favorable terms, our cash flows, revenues and profits could be adversely affected.

Disagreements with VOI owners, HOAs and other third parties may result in litigation and/or loss of management contracts.

The nature of our responsibilities in managing timeshare properties may from time to time give rise to disagreements with VOI owners and HOAs. To develop and maintain positive relations with current and potential VOI owners and HOAs, we seek to resolve any disagreements, but may not always be able to do so. Failure to resolve such disagreements may result in litigation. Further, disagreements with HOAs could also result in the loss of management contracts, a significant loss of which could negatively affect our profits or limit our ability to operate our business, and our ongoing ability to generate sales from our existing member base may be adversely affected.

In the normal course of our business, we are involved in various legal proceedings and in the future we could become the subject of claims by current or former members, persons to whom we market our products, third-party developers, guests who use our properties, our employees or contractors, our investors or regulators. The outcome of these proceedings cannot be predicted. If any such litigation results in a significant adverse judgment, settlement or court order, we could suffer significant losses, our profits could be reduced, our reputation could be harmed and our future ability to operate our business could be constrained.

We manage a concentration of properties in particular geographic areas, which exposes our business to the effects of regional events and occurrences.

A significant number, approximately 83 percent, of the resorts we manage are concentrated in significant tourist markets including Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Washington D.C. and South Carolina and are, therefore, particularly susceptible to adverse economic developments in those areas. These economic developments include regional economic downturns, significant increases in the number of our competitors’ products in these markets, and potentially higher labor, real estate, tax or other costs in the geographic markets in which we are concentrated. In addition, the properties we manage are subject to the effects of adverse acts of natural or manmade disasters, including earthquakes, windstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, drought, fires, oil spills and nuclear incidents. Depending on the severity of these disasters, the damage could require closure of all or substantially all of these properties in one or more markets for a period of time while the necessary

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repairs and renovations, as applicable, are undertaken. In addition, we cannot guarantee that the amount of insurance maintained for these properties from time to time would entirely cover damages caused by any such event.

Fear of exposure to pandemic or contagious diseases, such as Ebola, avian flu, SARs, swine flu and the Zika virus, or natural or manmade disasters, may also deter travelers from scheduling vacations or cause them to cancel vacation plans to the markets in which the properties we manage are concentrated. Actual or threatened war, political conditions or civil unrest, violence or terrorist activities or threats and heightened travel security measures instituted in response to these events, could also interrupt or deter vacation plans to our key markets.

As a result of this geographic concentration of properties, we face a greater risk of a negative effect on our revenues in the event these areas are more severely and more frequently affected by adverse economic and competitive conditions, extreme weather, manmade disasters or pandemic or contagious diseases.

Our current operations and future expansion outside of the United States make us susceptible to the risks of doing business internationally, which could lower our revenues, increase our costs, reduce our profits or disrupt our business.

We currently offer timeshare properties located in the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy. We also market both our international properties and our U.S. properties in Europe and the Asia Pacific region, primarily in Japan and South Korea.  In addition, as part of our business strategy, we intend to continue the expansion of our operations in Japan, as well as explore further expansion opportunities in other countries located in the Asia Pacific region, Mexico and the Caribbean. Such activities may not be limited only to marketing efforts for existing international and U.S. properties in other countries, but also include acquiring, developing, managing, marketing, offering and/or financing timeshare properties in such countries.  Current and future international operations expose us to a number of additional challenges and risks that may not be inherent in operating solely in the U.S., including, for example, the following:

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These and other factors may materially adversely affect our business generally, future expansion plans, revenues from international operations, and costs and profits, as well as our financial condition, Moreover, our experience operating internationally is limited to certain markets. Expansion of our international operations into other countries and territories may result in greater inefficiencies in navigating the risks of operating internationally and could result in greater effects on our business than would be experienced by a company with greater international experience.

Further, because we market our U.S. properties and our international properties in Europe, instability of the Eurozone, including fears of sovereign debt defaults, and stagnant growth generally, and of certain Eurozone member states in particular, have resulted in concerns regarding the suitability of a shared currency for the region, which could lead to the reintroduction of individual currencies for member states. If this were to occur, certain of our Euro-denominated assets and liabilities would be re-denominated to such individual currencies, which could result in a mismatch in the values of assets and liabilities and expose us and certain of our investments to additional currency risks. Even if the Euro is maintained, continued concerns regarding the stability of the Eurozone, including potential consequences following Brexit, and the potential effects of government intervention intended to address it could materially adversely affect our business.

Similarly, we market our U.S. and international properties in Japan and we intend to continue the expansion of our operations in Japan. The Japanese economy has recently experienced periods of fiscal and economic volatility, and we may be unable to properly predict the effect of such volatility, including the actions that may be taken by the Japanese government, in a way that fully mitigates the impact of such volatility on our marketing activities and businesses in Japan.

Our insurance policies may not cover all potential losses.

We maintain insurance coverage for liability, property, business interruption and other risks with respect to business operations. While we have comprehensive property and liability insurance policies with coverage features and insured limits that we believe are customary, market forces beyond our control may limit the scope of the insurance coverage we can obtain or our ability to obtain coverage at reasonable rates. The cost of our insurance may increase and our coverage levels may decrease, which may affect our ability to maintain customary insurance coverage and deductibles at acceptable costs. There is a limit as well as various sub-limits on the amount of insurance proceeds we will receive in excess of applicable deductibles. If an insurable event occurs that affects more than one of our properties, the claims from each affected property may be considered together to determine whether the per occurrence limit, annual aggregate limit or sub-limits, depending on the type of claim, have been reached. If the limits or sub-limits are exceeded, each affected property may only receive a proportional share of the amount of insurance proceeds provided for under the policy. Further, certain types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, war, terrorist acts, such as biological or chemical terrorism, political risks, some environmental hazards and/or natural or manmade disasters, may be outside the general coverage limits of our policy, subject to large deductibles, deemed uninsurable or too cost-prohibitive to justify insuring against. In addition, in the event of a substantial loss, the insurance coverage we carry may not be sufficient to pay the full market value or replacement cost of the affected resort or in some cases may not provide a recovery for any part of a loss. As a result, we could lose some or all the capital we have invested in a property, as well as the anticipated future marketing, sales or revenue opportunities from the property. Further, we could remain obligated under guarantees or other financial obligations related to the property despite the loss of product inventory, and our members could be required to contribute toward deductibles to help cover losses.

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Failure of HOA boards to levy sufficient fees, or the failure of members to pay those fees, could lead to inadequate funds to maintain or improve the properties we manage.

Owners of our VOIs and those we sell on behalf of third-party developers must pay maintenance fees levied by HOA boards, which include reserve amounts for capital replacements and refurbishments. These maintenance fees are used to maintain and refurbish the timeshare properties and to keep the properties in compliance with applicable Hilton standards and policies. If HOA boards do not levy sufficient maintenance fees, including capital reserves required by applicable law, or fail to manage their reserves appropriately, or if members do not pay their maintenance fees, the timeshare properties could fall into disrepair and fail to comply with applicable standards and policies, and/or state regulators could impose requirements, obligations and penalties. A decline in the quality or standards of the resorts we manage would negatively affect our ability to attract new members and maintain member satisfaction. In addition, if a resort fails to comply with applicable standards and policies because maintenance fees are not paid or otherwise, Hilton could terminate our rights under the license agreement to use its trademarks at the non-compliant resort, which could result in the loss of management fees, and could decrease member satisfaction and impair our ability to market and sell our products at the non-compliant locations.

If maintenance fees at our resorts are required to be increased, our product could become less attractive and our business could be harmed.

The maintenance fees that are levied by HOA boards on VOI owners may increase as the costs to maintain and refurbish the timeshare properties and to keep the properties in compliance with Hilton brand standards increase. Increased maintenance fees could make our products less desirable, which could have a negative effect on VOI sales. Further, if our maintenance fees increase substantially year over year or are not competitive with other VOI providers, we may not be able to attract new members or retain existing members.

If purchasers default on the loans that we provide to finance their VOI purchases, our revenues, cash flows and profits could be reduced.

Providing secured financing to some purchasers of VOIs subjects us to the risk of purchaser default. As of December 31, 2017, our consumer loan portfolio had a balance of approximately $1.2 billion and experienced default rates of 4.12 percent, 3.67 percent and 2.84 percent for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. If a purchaser defaults under the financing that we provide, we could be forced to write off the loan and reclaim ownership of the VOI. We may be unable to resell the property in a timely manner or at a price sufficient to allow us to recover written-off loan balances, or at all. Also, if a purchaser of a VOI defaults on the related loan during the early part of the amortization period, we may not have recovered the marketing, selling and general and administrative costs associated with the sale of that VOI. If we are unable to recover any of the principal amount of the loan from a defaulting purchaser, or if the allowances for losses from such defaults are inadequate, our revenues and profits could be reduced.

If default rates increase beyond current projections and result in higher than expected foreclosure activity, our results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, the transactions in which we have securitized timeshare financing receivables in the capital markets contain certain portfolio performance requirements related to default, delinquency and recovery rates, which, if not met, would result in loss or disruption of cash flow until portfolio performance sufficiently improves to satisfy the requirements.

If the default rates or other credit metrics underlying our timeshare financing receivables deteriorate, our timeshare financing receivable securitization program could be adversely affected.

Our timeshare financing receivable securitization program could be adversely affected if any pool of timeshare financing receivables fails to meet certain performance ratios, which could occur if the default rate or other credit metrics of the underlying timeshare financing receivables deteriorate. In addition, if we offer timeshare financings to our customers with terms longer than those generally offered in the industry, we may not be able to securitize those timeshare financing receivables. Our ability to sell securities backed by our timeshare financing receivables depends on the continued ability and willingness of capital market participants to invest in such securities. Asset-backed securities issued in our timeshare financing receivable securitization program could be downgraded by credit agencies in the future. If a downgrade occurs, our ability to complete other securitization transactions on acceptable terms or at all could be jeopardized, and we could be forced to rely on other potentially more expensive and less attractive funding sources, to the extent available. Similarly, if other operators of vacation

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ownership products were to experience significant financial difficulties, or if the timeshare industry as a whole were to contract, we could experience difficulty in securing funding on acceptable terms. The occurrence of any of the foregoing would decrease our profitability and might require us to adjust our business operations, including by reducing or suspending our provision of financing to purchasers of VOIs. Sales of VOIs may decline if we reduce or suspend the provision of financing to purchasers, which may adversely affect our cash flows, revenues and profits.

A failure to keep pace with developments in technology could impair our operations, competitive position or reputation.

Our business model and competitive conditions in the timeshare industry demand the use of sophisticated technology and systems, including those used for our marketing, sales, reservation, inventory management and property management systems, and technologies we make available to our members and more generally to support our business. In particular, an increasing number of potential customers select products based on the providers’ technology and ease of interfacing with the provider. We must refine, update and/or replace these technologies and systems with more advanced systems on a regular basis. If we cannot do so as quickly as our competitors or within budgeted costs and time frames, our business could suffer. We also may not achieve the benefits that we anticipate from any new technology or system, and a failure to do so could result in higher than anticipated costs or could harm our operating results.

In addition, the proliferation and global reach of social media continue to expand rapidly and could cause us to suffer reputational harm. The continuing evolution of social media presents new challenges and requires us to keep pace with new developments, technology and trends. Negative posts or comments about us, the properties we manage or the Hilton brands, on any social networking or user-generated review website, including travel and/or vacation property websites, could affect consumer opinions of us and our products; and we cannot guarantee that we will timely or adequately redress such instances.

Our increasing reliance on information technology and other systems subjects us to risks associated with cyber-security.  Cyber-attacks or our failure to maintain the integrity of internal or customer data could have a disruptive effect on our business and adversely affect our financial performance.

We rely heavily on computer, Internet-based and mobile information and communications systems operated by us or our service providers to collect, process, transmit and retain large volumes of customer data, including credit card numbers and other personally identifiable information, reservation information and mailing lists, as well as personally identifiable information of our employees.  There has been an increase in the number and sophistication of criminal cyber-security attacks against companies where customer and other sensitive information has been compromised. Our information systems and records, including those we maintain with our service providers, may be subject to such cyber-attacks, which include efforts to hack or breach security measures in order to obtain or misuse information, viruses, “ransomware” or other malware. In addition, increasingly complex systems and software are subject to failure, operator error or malfeasance, or inadvertent releases of data that may materially impact our information systems and records. For instance, security breaches could result in the dissemination of member and guest credit card information, which could lead to affected members and guests experiencing fraudulent charges.

The integrity and protection of customer and employee data is critical to us. We could make faulty decisions if that data is inaccurate or incomplete. Customers and employees also have a high expectation that we and our service providers will adequately protect their personal information. A significant theft, loss, loss of access to, or fraudulent use of customer, employee, or company data could adversely impact our reputation, and could result in significant remedial and other expenses, fines, or litigation. Breaches in the security of our information systems or those of our service providers or other disruptions in data services could lead to an interruption in the operation of our systems or require us to consider changes to our customer data or payment systems, resulting in operational inefficiencies, additional expense and a loss of profits.

Our collection and use of customer information are governed by extensive and evolving privacy laws and regulations that are constantly evolving and may differ significantly depending on jurisdiction.  Compliance with these laws and regulations involves significant costs, which may increase in the future and which may negatively impact our ability to provide services to our customers, and a failure by us or our service providers to comply with

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privacy regulations may subject us to significant remedial and other expenses, fines, or litigation, as well as restrictions on our use or transfer of data. Our systems and the systems operated by our service providers may be unable to satisfy changing regulatory requirements and customer and employee expectations, or may require significant additional investments or time to do so.  

The steps we take to deter and mitigate risks related to cyber-security may not provide the intended level of protection. In particular, it may be difficult to anticipate or immediately detect such incidents and the damage caused thereby. We may be required to expend significant additional resources in the future to modify and enhance our protective measures. Although we carry cyber/privacy liability insurance that is designed to protect us against certain losses related to cyber-security risks, such insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all losses or all types of claims that may arise in connection with cyber-attacks, security breaches, and other related breaches. In addition, the third party service providers on which we rely face cyber-security risks, some of which may be different than the risks we face, and we do not directly control any of such service providers’ information security operations, including the efforts that they may take to mitigate risks or the level of cyber/privacy liability insurance that they may carry.

Changes in privacy law could adversely affect our ability to market our products effectively.

We rely on a variety of direct marketing techniques, including telemarketing, email and social media marketing and postal mailings, and we are subject to various laws and regulations in the United States and internationally that govern marketing and advertising practices. Adoption of new state or federal laws regulating marketing and solicitation, or international data protection laws that govern these activities, or changes to existing laws, such as the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, could adversely affect current or planned marketing activities and cause us to change our marketing strategy. If this occurs, we may not be able to develop adequate alternative marketing strategies, which could affect the amount and timing of our VOI sales. We also obtain access to potential members and guests from travel service providers or other companies, including Hilton; and we market to some individuals on these lists directly or through other companies’ marketing materials. If access to these lists were prohibited or otherwise restricted, including access to Hilton Honors® loyalty program member information, our ability to access potential members and guests and introduce them to our products could be significantly impaired. Additionally, because our relationship with Hilton has changed, it may be more difficult for us to utilize customer information we obtain from Hilton in the future.

The growth of our business and the execution of our business strategies depend on the services of our management team and our employees.

We believe that our future growth depends, in part, on the continued services of our management team, and on our ability to attract and retain key officers and other highly qualified personnel. Competition for such personnel is intense. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in retaining and attracting management and other highly qualified personnel. The loss of any members of our management team could adversely affect our strategic, member and guest relationships and impede our ability to execute our business strategies.

In addition, insufficient numbers of talented employees at our properties could constrain our ability to maintain our current levels of business, or expand our business. We compete with other companies both within and outside of our industry for talented personnel across a diverse array of operating disciplines. If we cannot recruit, train, develop or retain sufficient numbers of talented employees, we could experience increased employee turnover, decreased member and guest satisfaction, low morale, inefficiency or internal control failures, which could materially reduce our profits.

Third-party reservation channels may negatively affect our bookings for room rental revenues.

Some stays at the properties we manage are booked through third-party internet travel intermediaries, such as expedia.com, orbitz.com and booking.com, as well as lesser-known and/or newly emerging online travel service providers. As the percentage of internet bookings increases, these intermediaries may be able to obtain higher commissions, reduced room rates or other significant contract concessions from us. Moreover, some of these internet travel intermediaries are attempting to commoditize lodging, by increasing the importance of price and general indicators of quality (such as “three-star property”) at the expense of brand identification.

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These intermediaries also generally employ aggressive marketing strategies, including expending significant resources for online and television advertising campaigns to drive consumers to their websites. Additionally, consumers can book stays at the properties we manage through other distribution channels, including travel agents, travel membership associations and meeting procurement firms. Over time, consumers may develop loyalties to these third-party reservation systems rather than to our booking channels. Although we expect to derive most of our business from traditional channels and our websites (and those of Hilton), our business and profitability could be adversely affected if customer loyalties change significantly, diverting bookings away from our distribution channels.

Our real estate investments subject us to numerous risks.

We are subject to the risks that generally relate to investments in and the development of real property. A variety of factors affect income from properties and real estate values, including laws and regulations, insurance, interest rate levels and the availability of financing. Our license agreement or other agreements with Hilton may require us to incur unexpected costs required to cause our properties to comply with applicable standards and policies. In recent years, our financial results have been positively impacted by a lower interest rate environment.  However, when interest rates increase the cost of acquiring, developing, expanding or renovating real property increases, and real property values may decrease as the number of potential buyers decrease. Similarly, as financing becomes less available, it becomes more difficult both to acquire and develop real property. Many costs of real estate investments, such as real estate taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance costs and certain operating costs, are generally more fixed than variable, and as a result are not reduced even when a property is not fully sold or occupied. If any of these risks were realized, they could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

U.S. or foreign environmental laws and regulations may cause us to incur substantial costs or subject us to potential liabilities.

We are subject to certain compliance costs and potential liabilities under various U.S. federal, state and local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These laws and regulations govern actions including air emissions, the use, storage and disposal of hazardous and toxic substances, and wastewater disposal. Our failure to comply with such laws, including any required permits or licenses, could result in substantial fines or possible revocation of our authority to conduct some of our operations. We could also be liable under such laws for the costs of investigation, removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances at our currently or formerly owned real property or at third-party locations in connection with our waste disposal operations, regardless of whether or not we knew of, or caused, the presence or release of such substances. From time to time, we may be required to remediate such substances or remove, abate or manage asbestos, mold, radon gas, lead or other hazardous conditions at our properties. The presence or release of such toxic or hazardous substances could result in third-party claims for personal injury, property or natural resource damages, business interruption or other losses. Such claims and the need to investigate, remediate or otherwise address hazardous, toxic or unsafe conditions could adversely affect our operations, the value of any affected real property, or our ability to sell, lease or assign our rights in any such property, or could otherwise harm our business or reputation. Environmental, health and safety requirements have also become increasingly stringent, and our costs may increase as a result.

Some U.S. states and various countries are considering or have undertaken actions to regulate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. New or revised laws and regulations, or new interpretations of existing laws and regulations, such as those related to climate change, could affect the operation of the properties we manage or result in significant additional expense and operating restrictions on us. The cost of such legislation, regulation or new interpretations would depend upon the specific requirements enacted and cannot be determined at this time.

Our ability to source VOI inventory and finance VOI sales may be impaired if we or the third-party developers with whom we do business are unable to access capital when necessary.

The availability of funds for new investments, primarily developing, acquiring or repurchasing VOI inventory, depends in part on liquidity factors and capital markets over which we can exert little, if any, control. Instability in the financial markets and any resulting contraction of available liquidity and leverage could constrain the capital markets for investments in timeshare products. In addition, we intend to access the securitization markets to securitize our timeshare financing receivables. Any future deterioration in the financial markets could preclude,

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limit, delay or increase the cost to us of future securitizations. We also require the issuance of surety bonds in connection with our real estate development and VOI sales activity. The availability, terms and conditions and pricing of our bonding capacity is dependent on, among other things, continued financial strength and stability of the insurance company affiliates providing the bonding capacity, general availability of such capacity, and our corporate credit rating. If bonding capacity is unavailable, or alternatively, if the terms and conditions and pricing of such bonding capacity are unacceptable to us, our business could be negatively affected. Instability in the financial markets could also affect the timing and volume of any securitizations we undertake, as well as the financial terms of such securitizations. Any indebtedness we incur, including indebtedness under these facilities, may adversely affect our ability to obtain any additional financing necessary to develop or acquire additional VOI inventory, to make other investments in our business, or to repurchase VOIs on the secondary market. Furthermore, volatility in the financial markets, due to tightening of underwriting standards by lenders and credit rating agencies, among other things, could result in less availability of credit and increased costs for what is available.  As a result, we may not be able to obtain financing on attractive terms or at all. If our overall cost of borrowing increases, the increased costs would likely reduce future cash flow available for distribution, affecting our growth and development plans.

We have and will continue to enter into fee-for-service agreements with third-party developers to source inventory. These agreements enable us to generate fees from the marketing and sales services we provide, Club memberships and from the management of the timeshare properties without requiring us to fund acquisition and construction costs. If these developers are not able to obtain or maintain financing necessary for their operations, we may not be able to enter into these arrangements, which would limit opportunities for growth and reduce our revenues.

Changes to accounting rules or regulations may adversely affect our reported financial condition and results of operations.

New accounting rules or regulations and varying interpretations of existing accounting rules or regulations have occurred and may occur in the future. A change in accounting rules or regulations may require retrospective application and affect our reporting of transactions completed before the change is effective, and future changes to accounting rules or regulations may adversely affect our reported financial condition and results of operations. See Note 2: Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a summary of accounting standards issued but not yet adopted.

Changes to estimates or projections used to assess the fair value of our assets, or operating results that are lower than our current estimates at certain locations, may cause us to incur impairment losses that could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our total assets include intangible assets with finite useful lives and long-lived assets, principally property and equipment and VOI inventory. We evaluate our intangible assets with finite useful lives and long-lived assets for impairment when circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Our evaluation of impairment requires us to make certain estimates and assumptions including projections of future results. After performing our evaluation for impairment, including an analysis to determine the recoverability of long-lived assets, we will record an impairment loss when the carrying value of the underlying asset, asset group or reporting unit exceeds its fair value. We carry our VOI inventory at the lower of cost or estimated fair value, less costs to sell. If the estimates or assumptions used in our evaluation of impairment or fair value change, we may be required to record impairment losses on certain of these assets. If these impairment losses are significant, our results of operations would be adversely affected.

Changes in U.S. federal, state and local or foreign tax law, interpretations of existing tax law, or adverse determinations by tax authorities, could increase our tax burden or otherwise adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

We are subject to taxation at the federal, state and local levels in the United States and various other countries and jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rate could be affected by changes in the composition of earnings in jurisdictions with differing tax rates, changes in statutory rates and other legislative changes, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or changes in determinations regarding the jurisdictions in which we are subject to tax. From time to time, the U.S. federal, state and local and foreign governments make

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substantive changes to tax rules and their application, which could result in materially higher corporate taxes than would be incurred under existing tax law and could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations. Changes in the non-income tax rates to which we are subject could also have an adverse effect on the maintenance fees charged to our members, which could result in materially lower sales and higher operating costs.

The recent U.S. tax legislation enacted on December 22, 2017 represents a significant overhaul of the U.S. federal tax code. This tax legislation significantly reduced the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate and made other changes that could have a favorable impact on our overall U.S. federal tax liability in a given period. However, the tax legislation also included a number of provisions, including, but not limited to, the limitation or elimination of various deductions or credits, the imposition of taxes on certain cross-border payments or transfers, the changing of the timing of the recognition of certain income and deductions or their character, and the limitation of asset basis under certain circumstances, that could significantly and adversely affect our U.S. federal income tax position. There can be no assurance that changes in tax laws or regulations, both within the U.S. and the other jurisdictions in which we operate, will not materially and adversely affect our effective tax rate, tax payments, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, changes in tax laws and regulations that impact our customers and counterparties or the economy generally may also impact our financial condition and results of operations.  

Tax laws and regulations are complex and subject to varying interpretations and any significant failure to comply with applicable tax laws and regulations in all relevant jurisdictions could give rise to substantial penalties and liabilities. Any changes in enacted tax laws (such as the recent U.S. tax legislation), rules or regulatory or judicial interpretations or any change in the pronouncements relating to accounting for income taxes could materially and adversely impact our effective tax rate, tax payments, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, we are subject to ongoing and periodic tax audits and disputes in U.S. federal and various state, local and foreign jurisdictions. An unfavorable outcome from any tax audit could result in higher tax costs, penalties and interest, thereby and could materially and adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.  

Failure to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our international operations may increase costs, reduce profits, limit growth or subject us to broader liability.

Our business operations in countries outside the United States are subject to a number of laws and regulations, including restrictions imposed by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), as well as trade sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). The FCPA is intended to prohibit bribery of foreign officials and requires us to keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect our transactions. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign states, organizations and individuals. Although we have policies in place designed to comply with applicable sanctions, rules and regulations, it is possible that the timeshare properties we own or manage in the countries and territories in which we operate may provide services to or receive funds from persons subject to sanctions. In addition, some of our operations may be subject to the laws and regulations of non-U.S. jurisdictions, including the U.K.’s Bribery Act of 2010, which contains significant prohibitions on bribery and other corrupt business activities, and other local anti-corruption laws in the countries and territories in which we conduct operations.

If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we could be exposed to claims for damages, financial penalties, reputational harm and incarceration of employees or restrictions on our operation or ownership of timeshare and other properties, including the termination of ownership and management rights. In addition, in certain circumstances, the actions of parties affiliated with us (including Hilton, third-party developers, and our and their respective employees and agents) may expose us to liability under the FCPA, U.S. sanctions or other laws. These restrictions could increase costs of operations, reduce profits or cause us to forgo development opportunities that would otherwise support growth.

In August 2012, Congress enacted the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (“ITRSHRA”), which expands the scope of U.S. sanctions against Iran and Syria. In particular, Section 219 of the ITRSHRA amended the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), to require SEC-reporting companies to disclose in their periodic reports specified dealings or transactions involving Iran or other individuals and entities targeted by certain OFAC sanctions engaged in by the reporting company or any of its

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affiliates. These companies are required to separately file with the SEC a notice that such activities have been disclosed in the relevant periodic report, and the SEC is required to post this notice of disclosure on its website and send the report to the U.S. President and certain U.S. Congressional committees. The U.S. President thereafter is required to initiate an investigation and, within 180 days of initiating such an investigation with respect to certain disclosed activities, to determine whether sanctions should be imposed.

Under ITRSHRA, we are required to report whether we or any of our “affiliates” knowingly engaged in certain specified activities during a period covered by one of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K or Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We may engage in activities that would require disclosure pursuant to Section 219 of ITRSHRA. In addition, because the SEC defines the term “affiliate” broadly, it includes any entity controlled by us as well as any person or entity that controls us or is under common control with us. Disclosure of such activities, even if such activities are permissible under applicable law, and any sanctions imposed on us or our affiliates as a result of these activities could harm our reputation and the Hilton brands we use and have a negative effect on our results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

Our substantial indebtedness and other contractual obligations could adversely affect our financial condition, our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, our ability to operate our business, our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry and our ability to pay our debts, and could divert our cash flow from operations for debt payments.

As of December 31, 2017, our total indebtedness was approximately $1.1 billion. Our substantial debt and other contractual obligations could have important consequences, including:

For additional discussion on our indebtedness, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Financing Activities,” and Note 11: Debt & Non-recourse Debt in our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our indebtedness service obligations to increase significantly.

Interest rates may increase in the future. As a result, interest rates on our revolving credit facility or other variable rate debt offerings could be higher or lower than current levels. As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately $319 million of variable rate debt, representing 30 percent, of our total debt. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase, even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, would correspondingly decrease.

Servicing our indebtedness requires a significant amount of cash.  Our ability to generate sufficient cash depends on many factors, some of which are not within our control.

Our ability to make payments on our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. Our ability to generate cash depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. In particular, compliance with state and local laws applicable to our business, including those relating to deeds, title transfers and certain other regulations applicable to sales of VOIs, may at times delay or hinder our ability to access cash flows generated by our VOI sales. If we are unable to generate and access sufficient cash flow to service our debt and meet our other commitments, we may need to restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt, sell material assets or operations or raise additional debt or equity capital. We may not be able to effect any of these actions on a timely basis, on commercially reasonable terms or at all, and these actions may not be sufficient to meet our capital requirements. In addition, the terms of our existing or future debt arrangements may restrict us from effecting any of these alternatives. Finally, our ability to raise additional equity capital may be restricted because the issuance of our stock may cause the spin-off to be a taxable event for Hilton under Section 355(e) of the Code, and under the Tax Matters Agreement (as defined herein), we could be required to indemnify Hilton or Park for that tax and certain covenants may restrict issuances of our stock during the two-year period following the spin-off. See “Item 1. Business—Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off—Tax Matters Agreement.”

Certain of our debt agreements and instruments impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, our restricted subsidiaries and the guarantors of our indebtedness, which may prevent us from capitalizing on business opportunities.

The debt agreements and instruments that govern our outstanding indebtedness impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, certain of our subsidiaries and guarantors of our indebtedness. These restrictions limit our ability and/or the ability of our restricted subsidiaries to, among other things:

In addition, our credit agreement related to our senior secured credit facilities contains affirmative covenants that will require us to be in compliance with certain leverage and financial ratios.  

As a result of these restrictions, we are limited as to how we conduct our business and we may be unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities.

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The terms of any other future indebtedness we may incur could include more restrictive covenants. We may not be able to maintain compliance with these covenants in the future and, if we fail to do so, we may not be able to obtain waivers from the lenders and/or amend the covenants.  

Our failure to comply with the restrictive covenants described above, as well as other terms of our other indebtedness and/or the terms of any future indebtedness from time to time, could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could result in our being required to repay these borrowings before their due date. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms or are unable to refinance these borrowings, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our failure to comply with the agreements relating to our outstanding indebtedness could result in an event of default that could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and our financial condition.

If there were an event of default under any of the agreements relating to our outstanding indebtedness, the holders of the defaulted debt could cause all amounts outstanding with respect to that debt to be due and payable immediately. We cannot assure you that our assets or cash flows would be sufficient to fully repay borrowings under our outstanding debt instruments if accelerated upon an event of default. Further, if we are unable to repay, refinance or restructure our indebtedness under our secured debt, the holders of such debt could proceed against the collateral securing that indebtedness. In addition, any event of default or declaration of acceleration under one debt instrument could also result in an event of default under one or more of our other debt instruments.

Repayment of our debt is dependent on cash flow generated by our subsidiaries, which may be subject to limitations beyond our control.

Our subsidiaries own a substantial portion of our assets and conduct a substantial portion of our operations. Accordingly, repayment of our indebtedness is dependent, to a significant extent, on the generation of cash flow by our subsidiaries and their ability to make such cash available to us, by dividend, debt repayment or otherwise.

Our subsidiaries generally do not have any obligation to pay amounts due on our indebtedness or to make funds available to us for that purpose. Our subsidiaries may not be able to, or may not be permitted to, make distributions to enable us to make payments in respect of our indebtedness. Each subsidiary is a distinct legal entity and, under certain circumstances, legal and contractual restrictions may limit our ability to obtain cash from our subsidiaries. While limitations on our subsidiaries restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other intercompany payments to us, these limitations are subject to certain qualifications and exceptions. In addition, certain of our subsidiaries are party to debt agreements that contain restrictions on their ability to pay dividends or make other intercompany payments to us and may in the future enter into agreements that include additional contractual restrictions on their ability to make any such payments to us.

In the event that we are unable to receive distributions from subsidiaries, we may be unable to make required principal and interest payments on our indebtedness.  

Despite our current level of indebtedness, we may be able to incur substantially more debt and enter into other transactions, which could further exacerbate the risks to our financial condition described above.

We may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness, including secured debt, in the future. Although the agreements that govern substantially all of our indebtedness contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness and entering into certain types of other transactions, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions. Additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions also do not prevent us from incurring obligations, such as trade payables, that do not constitute indebtedness as defined under our debt instruments. To the extent new debt is added to our current debt levels, the substantial leverage risks described in the preceding six risk factors would increase.

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Risks Related to the 2017 Spin-Off From Hilton

We may be responsible for U.S. federal income tax liabilities that relate to the distribution.

The completion of the spin-off was conditioned upon the absence of any withdrawal, invalidation or modification of the ruling (“IRS Ruling”) Hilton received from the IRS regarding certain U.S. federal income tax aspects of the spin-off in an adverse manner prior to the effective time of the spin-off. Although the IRS Ruling generally is binding on the IRS, the continued validity of the IRS Ruling is based upon and subject to the accuracy of factual statements and representations made to the IRS by Hilton.

In addition, the spin-off was conditioned on the receipt of an opinion of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Hilton’s tax counsel (“spin-off Tax Counsel”) to the effect that the distributions of our and Park common stock would qualify as tax-free distributions under Section 355 of the Code. An opinion of spin-off Tax Counsel is not binding on the IRS. Accordingly, the IRS may reach conclusions with respect to the spin-off that are different from the conclusions reached in the opinion. The opinion was based on certain factual statements and representations, which, if incomplete or untrue in any material respect, could alter spin-off Tax Counsel’s conclusions.

We are not aware of any facts or circumstances that would cause any such factual statements or representations in the IRS Ruling or the opinion of spin-off Tax Counsel to be incomplete or untrue or cause the facts on which the IRS Ruling and legal opinion are based to be materially different from the facts at the time of the spin-off.

If all or a portion of the spin-off does not qualify as a tax-free transaction for any reason, including because any of the factual statements or representations in the IRS Ruling or the legal opinion are incomplete or untrue, because the facts upon which the IRS Ruling is based are materially different from the facts at the time of the spin-off or because one or more sales of our common stock, Hilton common stock or Park common stock by our respective stockholders after the spin-off cause the spin-off not to qualify as a tax-free transaction, Hilton may recognize a substantial gain attributable to the timeshare business for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In such case, under U.S. Treasury regulations, each member of the Hilton consolidated group at the time of the spin-off (including us and our subsidiaries) would be jointly and severally liable for the resulting entire amount of any U.S. federal income tax liability. Additionally, if the distribution of our common stock and/or the distribution of Park common stock do not qualify as tax-free under Section 355 of the Code, Hilton stockholders will be treated as having received a taxable dividend to the extent of Hilton’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, would have a tax-free basis recovery up to the amount of their tax basis in their shares, and would have taxable gain from the sale or exchange of the shares to the extent of any excess.

Even if the spin-off otherwise qualifies as a tax-free transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the distribution will be taxable to Park and/or Hilton (but not to Hilton stockholders) pursuant to Section 355(e) of the Code if there are (or have been) one or more acquisitions (including issuances) of our stock, the stock of Park or the stock of Hilton, representing 50 percent or more, measured by vote or value, of the stock of any such corporation and the acquisition or acquisitions are deemed to be part of a plan or series of related transactions that include the distribution. Any acquisition of our common stock within two years before or after the distribution (with exceptions, including public trading by less-than-5 percent stockholders and certain compensatory stock issuances) generally will be presumed to be part of such a plan unless that presumption is rebutted. The resulting tax liability would be substantial, and under U.S. Treasury regulations, each member of the Hilton consolidated group at the time of the spin-off (including us and our subsidiaries) would be jointly and severally liable for the resulting U.S. federal income tax liability.

We have agreed not to enter into certain transactions that could cause any portion of the spin-off to be taxable to Hilton, including under Section 355(e) of the Code. Pursuant to the Tax Matters Agreement (as defined herein), we have also agreed to indemnify Hilton and Park for any tax liabilities resulting from such transactions or other actions we take, and Hilton and Park have agreed to indemnify us for any tax liabilities resulting from transactions entered into by Hilton or Park. These obligations may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company.

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We may be unable to take certain actions because such actions could jeopardize the tax-free status of the spin-off, and such restrictions could be significant.

To preserve the tax-free treatment of the spin-off, for the initial two-year period following the spin-off, we are prohibited, except in limited circumstances, from taking or failing to take certain actions that would prevent the spin-off and related transactions from being tax-free, including: (1) entering into any transaction pursuant to which our stock would be acquired, whether by merger or otherwise; (2) issuing any equity securities or securities that could possibly be converted into our equity securities; or (3) repurchasing our equity securities.

These restrictions may limit our ability to issue equity and to pursue strategic transactions or engage in new business or other transactions that may maximize the value of our business. In addition, if we take, or fail to take, actions that prevent the spin-off and related transactions from being tax-free, we could be liable for the adverse tax consequences resulting from such actions. For a more detailed description, see “Item 1. Business—Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off—Tax Matters Agreement” and “Business—Agreements with Blackstone and HNA—Tax Stockholders Agreement.”

The spin-off and related transactions may expose us to potential liabilities arising out of state and federal fraudulent conveyance laws and legal distribution requirements.

The spin-off could be challenged under various state and federal fraudulent conveyance laws. An unpaid creditor or an entity vested with the power of such creditor (such as a trustee or debtor-in-possession in a bankruptcy) could claim that Hilton did not receive fair consideration or reasonably equivalent value in the spin-off, and that the spin-off left Hilton insolvent or with unreasonably small capital or that Hilton intended or believed it would incur debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature. If a court were to agree with such a plaintiff, then such court could void the spin-off as a fraudulent transfer and could impose a number of different remedies, including without limitation, returning our assets or your shares in our company to Hilton or providing Hilton with a claim for money damages against us in an amount equal to the difference between the consideration received by Hilton and the fair market value of our company at the time of the spin-off.

The measure of insolvency for purposes of the fraudulent conveyance laws may vary depending on which jurisdiction’s law is applied. Generally, however, an entity would be considered insolvent if the fair saleable value of its assets is less than the amount of its liabilities (including the probable amount of contingent liabilities), and such entity would be considered to have unreasonably small capital if it lacked adequate capital to conduct its business in the ordinary course and pay its liabilities as they become due. No assurance can be given as to what standard a court would apply to determine insolvency or that a court would determine that Hilton were solvent at the time of or after giving effect to the spin-off, including the distribution of our common stock.

We have a limited operating history as an independent company and our historical financial information does not predict our future results.

The historical financial information we have included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for periods prior to the spin-off has been derived in part from the consolidated financial statements of Hilton and does not necessarily reflect what our financial position, results of operations and cash flows would have been as a separate, stand-alone entity during the periods presented. Hilton did not account for us, and we were not operated, as a single stand-alone entity for periods prior to the spin-off. The costs and expenses reflected in our historical financial statements for periods prior to the spin-off include an allocation for certain corporate functions historically provided by Hilton. These allocations were based on what we and Hilton considered to be reasonable reflections of the historical utilization levels of these services required in support of our business. The historical information does not necessarily indicate what our results of operations, financial position, cash flows or costs and expenses will be in the future. For additional information, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Selected Financial Data,” and our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We may incur greater costs as an independent company than we did when we were part of Hilton.

As part of Hilton, we were able to advantage of its size and purchasing power in procuring certain goods and services such as insurance and health care benefits, and technology such as computer software licenses. We were also able to rely on Hilton to provide various corporate functions. As a separate, independent entity as a result of

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the spin-off, we may be unable to obtain these goods, services and technologies at prices or on terms as favorable to us as those we obtained prior to the distribution. We may also incur costs for functions previously performed by Hilton that are higher than the amounts reflected in our historical financial statements, which could cause our profitability to decrease.

Our accounting and other management systems and resources may not be adequately prepared to meet the financial reporting and other requirements to which we are subject as an independent company, and failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business and the price of our common stock.

Our financial results for periods prior to the spin-off were included within the consolidated results of Hilton, and we believe that our financial reporting and internal controls were appropriate for a subsidiary of a public company. However, we were not directly subject to the reporting and other requirements of the Exchange Act. As a result of the distribution, we are directly subject to reporting and other obligations under the Exchange Act. We are required to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) which requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting and a report by our independent registered public accounting firm as to whether we maintained, in all material respects, effective internal controls over financial reporting as of the last day of the year. These reporting and other obligations may place significant demands on our management, administrative and operational resources, including accounting systems and resources.

The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we are required to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. To continue to comply with these requirements, which can change over time, we may need to upgrade our systems; implement additional financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures; and hire additional accounting and finance staff. We expect to continue to incur additional annual expenses for the purpose of addressing these requirements, and those expenses may be significant. If we are unable to upgrade our financial and management controls, reporting systems, information technology systems and procedures in a timely and effective fashion, our ability to comply with our financial reporting requirements and other rules that apply to reporting companies under the Exchange Act could be impaired.

If we are unable to conclude that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting or our independent public accounting firm is unwilling or unable to provide us with an unqualified report on the effectiveness of our internal controls as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we may be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis, investors may lose confidence in our operating results, the price of our common stock could decline and we may be subject to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions, which would require additional financial and management resources. This could have a material adverse effect on our business and lead to a decline in the price of our common stock.

We are dependent on Hilton to provide certain services pursuant to the Transition Services Agreement.

We have been developing the capability to provide certain corporate and administrative services such as certain information technology, financial and human resource services internally. However, to the extent that we are unable to develop such capabilities adequately in a timely manner, we will rely on Hilton to continue to provide certain services for a period of time pursuant to the Transition Services Agreement. If Hilton is unable or unwilling to provide such services pursuant to the Transition Services Agreement, or if the agreement is terminated prior to the end of its term, we may be unable to provide such services ourselves or we may have to incur additional expenditures to obtain such services from another provider.

We could be required to assume responsibility for obligations allocated to Hilton or Park under the Distribution Agreement.

We entered into a Distribution Agreement with Hilton and Park (the “Distribution Agreement”) prior to the distribution of our shares of common stock to Hilton stockholders. Under the Distribution Agreement and related ancillary agreements, each of us, Hilton and Park are generally responsible for the debts, liabilities and other obligations related to the business or businesses that they own and operate following the spin-off. Although we do not expect to be liable for any obligations that were not allocated to us under the Distribution Agreement, a court

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could disregard the allocation agreed to among the parties, and require that we assume responsibility for obligations allocated to Hilton or Park (for example, tax and/or environmental liabilities), particularly if Hilton or Park were to refuse or were unable to pay or perform the allocated obligations. See “Item 1. Business—Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off—Distribution Agreement.”

In addition, losses in respect of certain shared contingent liabilities, which generally are not specifically attributable to any of the timeshare business, the Park business or the retained business of Hilton, were determined on or prior to the date on which the Distribution Agreement was entered (“Shared Contingent Liabilities”). The percentage of Shared Contingent Liabilities for which we are responsible has been fixed in a manner that is intended to approximate our estimated enterprise value on the distribution date relative to the estimated enterprise values of Park and Hilton. Subject to certain limitations and exceptions, Hilton is generally vested with the exclusive management and control of all matters pertaining to any such Shared Contingent Liabilities, including the prosecution of any claim and the conduct of any defense. See “Item 1. Business—Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off —Distribution Agreement.”

In connection with the spin-offs, each of Hilton and Park indemnified us for certain liabilities. These indemnities may not be sufficient to insure us against the full amount of the liabilities assumed by Hilton and Park, and Hilton and Park may be unable to satisfy their indemnification obligations to us in the future.

In connection with the spin-offs, each of Hilton and Park indemnified us with respect to such parties’ assumed or retained liabilities pursuant to the Distribution Agreement and breaches of the Distribution Agreement or other agreements related to the spin-offs. There can be no assurance that the indemnities from each of Hilton and Park will be sufficient to protect us against the full amount of these and other liabilities. Third parties also could seek to hold us responsible for any of the liabilities that Hilton and Park have agreed to assume. Even if we ultimately succeed in recovering from Hilton or Park any amounts for which we are held liable, we may be temporarily required to bear those losses ourselves. Each of these risks could negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

If we are required to indemnify Hilton or Park in connection with the spin-offs, we may need to divert cash to meet those obligations, which could negatively affect our financial results.

Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement entered into in connection with the spin-offs and certain other agreements among Hilton and Park and us, we agreed to indemnify each of Hilton and Park from certain liabilities. Indemnities that we may be required to provide Hilton and/or Park may be significant and could negatively affect our business.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The interests of certain of our stockholders may conflict with ours or yours in the future.

On March 15, 2017, Blackstone completed the sale of 24,750,000 shares of our common stock to HNA, representing approximately 25 percent of our outstanding common stock. Following the sale, Blackstone held approximately 15 percent of our outstanding common stock; and as of September 25, 2017, Blackstone completed the sale of substantially all of the remaining shares of our common stock held by them. As a result, Blackstone holds only a nominal number of shares of our common stock. HNA continues to hold approximately 25 percent of our outstanding common stock.

We have entered into stockholders agreements with Blackstone and HNA that, among other things, provide Blackstone and HNA the right, under certain circumstances, to designate a number of directors to our board of directors. Although Blackstone has disposed of substantially all of the shares of our common stock that it owned, and no longer has any right to appoint any directors to our board of directors, one director previously designated by Blackstone currently serves on our board of directors. Pursuant to the stockholders agreement with HNA, two members of our board of directors are HNA appointees, and for so long as HNA and its affiliates continue to own specified percentages of our common stock, HNA will be able to maintain representation on our board of directors. Accordingly, during that period of time, HNA may have influence with respect to our management, business plans and policies, including the appointment and removal of our officers. For example, for so long as HNA continues to own a significant percentage of our stock, HNA may be able to influence whether or not a change of control of our company or a change in the composition of our board of directors occurs. The concentration of ownership by HNA

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could deprive you of an opportunity to receive a premium for your shares of common stock as part of a sale of our company and ultimately might affect the market price of our common stock.

Each of HNA and Blackstone and its respective affiliates engage in a broad spectrum of activities, including investments in real estate generally and in the hospitality industry in particular. In the ordinary course of HNA’s and Blackstone’s business activities, HNA, Blackstone and their affiliates may engage in activities where their interests conflict with our interests or those of our stockholders. For example, all of the timeshare properties that we manage as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K utilize certain Hilton-branded trademarks and Hilton trade names and related intellectual property. Each of HNA and Blackstone and its respective affiliates own a significant portion of the outstanding stock of Hilton and have significant influence with respect to the management, business plans and policies of Hilton. In addition, each of HNA and Blackstone and its respective affiliates may pursue ventures that compete directly or indirectly with us. Moreover, affiliates of HNA and Blackstone may directly and indirectly own interests in timeshare property developers or others with whom we may engage in the future, may compete with us for investment opportunities, and may enter into other transactions with us that could result in their having interests that could conflict with ours. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that none of HNA, Blackstone, any of its respective affiliates, or any director who is not employed by us (including any nonemployee director who serves as one of our officers in both his or her director and officer capacities) or his or her affiliates will have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities or similar business activities or lines of business in which we operate. HNA and Blackstone also may pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may be unavailable to us. In addition, each of HNA and Blackstone may have an interest in pursuing acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions that, in their judgment, could enhance their respective investments, even though such transactions might involve risks to you.

For additional information, see, “Business— Agreements with Blackstone and HNA—HNA Stockholders Agreement,” “—Blackstone Stockholders Agreement,” and “—Tax Stockholders Agreement.”

Our board of directors may change significant corporate policies without stockholder approval.

Our financing, borrowing and dividend policies and our policies with respect to all other activities, including growth, debt, capitalization and operations, will be determined by our board of directors. These policies may be amended or revised at any time and from time to time at the discretion of our board of directors without a vote of our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may change our policies with respect to conflicts of interest provided that such changes are consistent with applicable legal requirements. A change in these policies could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, our results of operations, our cash flow, the per share trading price of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to pay dividends to our stockholders.

Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents and Delaware law might discourage or delay acquisition attempts for us that you might consider favorable.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may make the merger or acquisition of our company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors. Among other things:

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Further, as a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, which may impair a takeover attempt that our stockholders may find beneficial. These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions under Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company, including actions that our stockholders may deem advantageous, or negatively affect the trading price of our common stock. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions you desire.

The market price and trading volume of our common stock may fluctuate widely.

For many reasons, including the risks identified in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the market price of our common stock may be more volatile than the market price of Hilton common stock before the spin-off. These factors may result in short-term or long-term negative pressure on the value of our common stock.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, depending upon many factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including, but not limited to:

Future issuances of common stock by us, and the availability for and the potential resale of shares held by HNA and its affiliates or other stockholders, may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

None of the shares outstanding upon consummation of the spin-off were “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and substantially all of the outstanding shares of our common stock are freely tradable and available for resale in the public market, subject to certain restrictions in the case of control shares held by persons deemed to be our affiliates. Accordingly, the market price of our common stock could drop significantly if holders of a substantial number of shares of our common stock sell them in the public market, or if the market perceives that such sales could occur.

Pursuant to the Stockholders Agreement with HNA, for a period of two years from the Sale, HNA may not sell any of the shares of our common stock that it or its affiliates own, except pursuant to certain specified permitted transfers, including a bona fide pledge or encumbrance and a transfer or sale that has been approved in advance by a majority of disinterested members of our board of directors. See, “Business—Agreements with Blackstone and HNA—HNA Stockholders Agreement.” To date, HNA has pledged all of the shares of our common stock held by it pursuant to a margin loan agreement. If margin loan lenders foreclose upon the pledged shares and subsequently sell a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or if we allow HNA to sell all or substantial all of the shares of our common stock that it owns prior to the expiration of the lock-up period in the public market, the market price of our common stock may decline significantly.

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We also have entered into a registration rights agreement with HNA, which provides that, beginning two years after the closing of the Sale, HNA will have customary “demand” and “piggyback” registration rights. The registration rights agreement also requires us to pay certain expenses relating to such registrations and to indemnify the registration rights holder against certain liabilities under the Securities Act. See, “Business—Agreements with Blackstone and HNA—Registration Rights Agreements.”  As discussed above, if we allow HNA to sell all or substantially all of the shares of our common stock and register such sale prior to the expiration of the lock-up period, or HNA or its affiliates exercise their registration rights after the expiration of the lock-up period and sell their shares in the open market or otherwise, or are perceived by the market as intending to do so, the market price of our stock could decline substantially.

We have adopted an Omnibus Incentive Plan under which an aggregate of 10,000,000 shares of common stock are issuable. Equity-based awards that were outstanding under the Hilton Incentive Plan on the distribution date and held by our employees were converted into awards that became exercisable for or settleable in shares of our common stock; and an aggregate of 1,054,665 shares of our common stock were issued under the Omnibus Incentive Plan in respect of such converted awards. As of December 31, 2017, an aggregate of 1,718,330 shares have been issued under the Omnibus Incentive Plan.

We also adopted a Non-Employee Director Stock Plan, under which 325,000 shares of our common stock are issuable, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan under which 2,500,000 shares of our common stock are available for issuance. As of December 31, 2017, 32,686 shares have been awarded and zero shares have been issued under the Non-Employee Director Stock Plan and the Employee Stock Purchase Plan, respectively. We filed a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our common stock issued pursuant to our Omnibus Incentive Plan and our Non-Employee Director Stock Plan. In addition, we filed a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register shares of our common stock to be issued pursuant to our Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Accordingly, shares registered under such registration statements may be sold in the open market.

We have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock, and our indebtedness could limit our ability to pay dividends in the future.

Although we expect to return capital to stockholders through dividends or otherwise in the future, we have no current plans to pay any cash dividends. The declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends on shares of common stock will be at the sole discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may take into account general and economic conditions, our financial condition and results of operations, our available cash, current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax and regulatory restrictions on the payment of dividends by us to our stockholders or by our subsidiaries to us, and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is limited by our credit agreement related to our senior secured credit facilities. Our ability to pay dividends may also be limited by covenants of other indebtedness that we or our subsidiaries incur in the future.

None.

Timeshare Properties

As of December 31, 2017, we had 48 resorts, representing 8,102 units. We owned 47 percent of all unsold units, representing 1,104 of the 2,372 unsold units, at these resorts. We also own, manage or lease fitness, spa and sports facilities, undeveloped and partially developed land and other common area assets at some of our resorts, including resort lobbies and food and beverage outlets.

As of December 31, 2017, our resorts included the following locations and units:

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Corporate Headquarters and Sales Distribution Centers

Our corporate headquarters are located at 6355 MetroWest Boulevard, Suite 180, Orlando, Florida 32835, and consist of approximately 102,000 square feet of leased space. The lease for this property initially expires on November 30, 2021 with options to renew for two additional five-year periods. In November 2017, the initial lease was amended extending lease term through November 30, 2026 with no changes to renewal options.  Our sales distribution centers are located in Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, New York, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Park City, Honolulu, Waikoloa and Tokyo. We also have other corporate offices and call centers located in Orlando, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Tokyo.

We believe that our existing office properties are in good condition and are sufficient and suitable for the conduct of our business. In the event we need to expand our operations, we believe that suitable space will be available on commercially reasonable terms.

We are involved in various claims and lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of business, some of which include claims for substantial sums, including proceedings involving tort and other general liability claims, employee claims, consumer protection claims and privacy claims. Most occurrences involving liability, claims of negligence and employees are covered by insurance with solvent insurance carriers. For those matters not covered by insurance, which include commercial matters, we recognize a liability when we believe the loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated. The ultimate results of claims and litigation cannot be predicted with certainty. We believe we have adequate reserves against such matters. We currently believe that the ultimate outcome of such lawsuits and proceedings will not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity. However, depending on the amount and timing, an unfavorable resolution of some or all of these matters could materially affect our future results of operations in a particular period or our ability to run our business as currently conducted.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “HGV.” Our common stock began trading on a “when-issued” basis on December 15, 2016 but did not commence regular-way trading on the NYSE until January 4, 2017, the day after the completion of our spin-off.  We have not made any unregistered sales of our equity securities.

The following table sets the high and low sales prices for our common stock for the indicated period after regular way trading began:

Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative share price performance since December 15, 2016 with the Russell 2500 (R2500) Index and the Dow Jones US Travel & Leisure Index GICS Level 3 (DJUSTLE). The graph assumes that the value of the investment in our common stock and each index was $100 on December 15, 2016, which was the first day our common stock began trading on a “when-issued” basis.

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Holders of Record

The number of stockholders of record of our common stock as of February 23, 2018 was 23.

Dividends

Although we expect to return capital to stockholders through dividends or otherwise in the future, we have no current plans to pay dividends on our common stock. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the sole discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our Senior Secured Credit Facilities (as defined herein) and certain of our non-recourse debt includes a provision limiting our ability to make restricted payments, including dividends.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

We did not repurchase any shares of our common stock during the quarter and year ended December 31, 2017.

The following selected consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected historical consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K but was included in our Registration Statement on Form 10. The selected historical consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2013 is derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements that are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K but was included in our Registration Statement on Form 10. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for any future period.

The selected consolidated financial data below should be read together with the audited consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

Our Business

We market and sell VOIs, manage vacation resorts in top leisure and urban destinations and operate a point-based vacation club. As of December 31, 2017, we had 48 resorts, representing 8,102 units, and approximately 288,000 Hilton Grand Vacations Club (the “Club”) members. Club members have the flexibility to exchange their Club points for stays at any Hilton Grand Vacations resort or any property in the Hilton system of 14 industry-leading brands across more than 5,000 properties, as well as numerous experiential vacation options, such as cruises and guided tours.

On January 3, 2017, the spin-off was completed and we entered into agreements with Hilton and other third parties, including a license agreement to use the Hilton Grand Vacations brand, that have either not existed historically, or that may be on different terms than the terms of the arrangement or agreements that existed prior to the spin-off. See Part I – “Item 1 Business - Key Agreements Related to the Spin-Off” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

We operate our business across two segments: (1) real estate sales and financing; and (2) resort operations and club management.

Real Estate Sales and Financing

Our primary product is the marketing and selling of fee-simple VOIs deeded in perpetuity, developed either by us or by third parties. This ownership interest is an interest in real estate generally equivalent to one week annually, at the timeshare resort where the VOI was purchased. Traditionally, timeshare operators have funded 100 percent of the investment necessary to acquire land and construct timeshare properties. In 2010, we began sourcing VOIs through fee-for-service and just-in-time agreements with third-party developers and have successfully transformed from a capital-intensive business to one that is highly capital-efficient. The fee-for-service agreements enable us to generate fees from the sales and marketing of the VOIs and Club memberships and from the management of the timeshare properties without requiring us to fund acquisition and construction costs. The just-in-time agreements enable us to source VOI inventory in a manner that allows us to correlate the timing of acquisition of the inventory

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with the sale to purchasers. Sales of owned, including just-in-time inventory, generally result in greater Adjusted EBITDA contributions, while fee-for-service sales require less initial investment and allow us to accelerate our sales growth. Both sales of owned inventory and fee-for-service sales generate long-term, predictable fee streams, by adding to the Club membership base and properties under management, that generate strong returns on invested capital.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, sales from fee-for-service, just-in-time and developed inventory sources were 54 percent, 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively, of contract sales. See “—Real Estate Sales Metrics” for additional discussion of contract sales.  Based on our 2017 sales pace, we have access to approximately five years of future inventory, with capital efficient arrangements representing approximately 89 percent of that supply. The visibility into our long-term supply allows us to efficiently manage inventory to meet predicted sales, reduce capital investments, minimize our exposure to the cyclicality of the real estate market and mitigate the risks of entering into new markets.

We originate loans for members purchasing our developed and acquired inventory and generate interest income. Our loans are collateralized by the underlying VOIs and are generally structured as 10-year, fully-amortizing loans that bear a fixed interest rate typically ranging from 9 percent to 18 percent per annum.

The interest rate on our loans is determined by, among other factors, the amount of the down payment, the borrower’s credit profile and the loan term. The weighted average FICO score for new loans to U.S. and Canadian borrowers at the time of origination were as follows:

Prepayment is permitted without penalty. When a member defaults, we ultimately return their VOI to inventory for resale and that member no longer participates in our Club. Historical default rates, which represent annual defaults as a percentage of each year’s beginning gross timeshare financing receivables balance, were as follows:

Some of our loans have been pledged as collateral in our securitization transactions, which have in the past and may in the future provide funding for our business activities. In these securitization transactions, special purpose entities are established to issue various classes of debt securities which are generally collateralized by a single pool of assets, consisting of timeshare financing receivables that we service and related cash deposits. For additional information see Note 4: Timeshare Financing Receivables in our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on form 10-K.

In addition, we earn fees from servicing our securitized loan portfolio and the loans provided by third-party developers of our fee-for-service projects to purchasers of their VOIs.

Resort Operations and Club Management

We enter into a management agreement with the HOA of the VOI owners for timeshare resorts developed by us or a third party. Each of the HOAs is governed by a board of directors comprising owner and developer representatives that are charged with ensuring the resorts are well-maintained and financially stable. Our management services include day-to-day operations of the resorts, maintenance of the resorts, preparation of reports, budgets and projections and employee training and oversight. Our HOA management agreements provide for a cost-plus management fee, which means we generally earn a fee equal to 10 percent to 15 percent of the costs to operate the applicable resort. The fees we earn are highly predictable due to the relatively fixed nature of resort operating

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expenses and our management fees are unaffected by changes in rental rate or occupancy. We are reimbursed for the costs incurred to perform our services, principally related to personnel providing on-site services. The original term of our management agreements typically ranges from three to five years and the agreements are subject to periodic renewal for one to three year periods. Many of these agreements renew automatically unless either party provides advance notice of termination before the expiration of the term.

We also manage and operate the points-based Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Hilton Club exchange programs, which provide exclusive exchange, leisure travel and reservation services to our Club members. When an owner purchases a VOI, he or she is generally automatically enrolled in the Club and given an annual allotment of points that allow the member to exchange his or her annual usage rights in the VOI that they own for a number of vacation and travel options. In addition to an annual membership fee, Club members pay incremental fees depending on exchanges they choose within the Club system.

We rent unsold VOI inventory, third-party inventory and inventory made available due to ownership exchanges through our club programs. We earn a fee from rentals of third-party inventory. Additionally, we provide ancillary offerings including food and beverage, retail and spa offerings at these timeshare properties.

Principal Components and Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

Principal Components of Revenues

Factors Affecting Revenues

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Principal Components of Expenses

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Factors Affecting Expenses

Other Items

Key Business and Financial Metrics and Terms Used by Management

Real Estate Sales Metrics

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Resort and Club Management and Rental Metrics

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA, presented herein, is a financial measure that is not recognized under U.S. GAAP that reflects net income (loss), before interest expense, a provision for income taxes and depreciation and amortization. During the first quarter of 2017, we revised our definition of EBITDA to exclude the adjustment of interest expense relating to our non-recourse debt as a reconciling item to arrive at net income (loss) in order to conform to the presentation of the timeshare industry following the consummation of the spin-off from Hilton. The revised definition was applied to prior period(s) to conform with current presentation. Adjusted EBITDA, presented herein, is calculated as EBITDA, as previously defined, further adjusted to exclude certain items, including, but not limited to, gains, losses and expenses in connection with: (i) asset dispositions; (ii) foreign currency transactions; (iii) debt restructurings/retirements; (iv) non-cash impairment losses; (v) reorganization costs, including severance and relocation costs; (vi) share-based and certain other compensation expenses; (vii) costs related to the spin-off; and (viii) other items.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not recognized terms under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss) or other measures of financial performance or liquidity derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, our definitions of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

We believe that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to investors about us and our financial condition and results of operations for the following reasons: (i) EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are among the measures used by our management team to evaluate our operating performance and make day-to-day operating decisions; and (ii) EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties as a common performance measure to compare results or estimate valuations across companies in our industry.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered either in isolation or as a substitute for net income (loss), cash flow or other methods of analyzing our results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

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Because of these limitations, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as discretionary cash available to us to reinvest in the growth of our business or as measures of cash that will be available to us to meet our obligations.

Recent Events

 On January 18, 2018, we completed an offer to exchange up to $300 million aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 6.125% senior unsecured notes due 2024 that we had issued in November 2016 in a private placement offering (the “original notes”) for up to $300 million of new 6.125% senior unsecured notes due 2024 that have been registered (the “exchange notes”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The exchange notes, which have identical terms as the original notes, were issued pursuant to a prospectus, dated December 12, 2017, relating to our registration statement on Form S-4 that was declared effective by the SEC on December 8, 2017. Pursuant to the exchange offer, holders of an aggregate principal amount of $299.95 million of the original notes, which represented approximately 99.98% of the outstanding principal amount of such notes, tendered for an equal amount of the exchange notes.

On December 22, 2017, the United States enacted tax reform legislation commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”), resulting in significant modifications to existing law.  HGV follows the guidance in SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 118 (“SAB 118”), which provides additional clarification regarding the application of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740 (“ASC 740”) in situations where we do not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain income tax effects of the Act for the reporting period in which the Act was enacted. SAB 118 provides for a measurement period beginning in the reporting period that includes the Act’s enactment date and ending when we have obtained, prepared, and analyzed the information needed in order to complete the accounting requirements but in no circumstances should the measurement period extend beyond one year from the enactment date.

As of December 31, 2017, we have not completed our accounting for the tax effects of enactment of the Act.  However, in certain cases, we have made a reasonable estimate of the effects on the one-time transition tax and our existing deferred tax balances. In other cases, we have not been able to make a reasonable estimate and continue to account for those items based on our existing accounting under ASC 740, Income Taxes, and the provisions of the tax laws that were in effect immediately prior to enactment.  In all cases, we will continue to make and refine our calculations as additional analysis is completed. In addition, our estimates may also be affected as we gain a more thorough understanding of the Act.  See Note 15: Income Taxes included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

 Hurricane Irma

On September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane, weakening somewhat as it made landfall along Florida’s southwest shoreline. Although certain of our managed Florida properties were temporarily closed during the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, neither HGV’s operations nor financial performance were significantly impacted by this storm. In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the IRS granted an automatic extension to individuals and businesses affected by the hurricane, which extended tax filing and payment deadlines beginning September 4, 2017.  As a result, we delayed our third and fourth quarter Federal income tax payments until January 2018.  

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Results of Operations

Year Ended December 31, 2017 Compared with Year Ended December 31, 2016 and Year Ended December 31, 2016 Compared with Year Ended December 31, 2015

Segment Results

We evaluate our business segment operating performance using segment Adjusted EBITDA, as described in Note 19: Business Segments in our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We do not include equity in earnings from unconsolidated affiliate in our measures of segment revenues. For a discussion of our definition of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, how management uses them to manage our business and material limitations on their usefulness, refer to “—Key Business and Financial Metrics and Terms Used by Management—EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA.” The following tables set forth revenues and Adjusted EBITDA by segment, reconciled to consolidated amounts, including net income, our most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure:

The following table reconciles net income, our most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted

EBITDA:

   ⁽²⁾     For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts include $8 million and $30 million, respectively, of costs associated with the spin-off transaction.

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Real Estate Sales and Financing

Real estate sales and financing segment revenues increased for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to 2016, primarily due to a $62 million increase in sales revenue, a $23 million increase in marketing revenue and a $13 million increase in financing revenue. The increase in sales revenue was primarily due to a $40 million increase in Sales of VOIs, net, due to sales at our newly developed projects beginning the second half of 2016, in Washington, DC and New York, NY as well as a $22 million increase in commission and brand fees.  The $23 million increase in marketing revenue was primarily due to a $10 million reduction of our expected redemptions of expired discounted vacation packages and an $11 million increase in other marketing revenue. The increase in financing revenue was primarily due to an increase in interest income from higher outstanding timeshare financing receivable balances.  Real estate sales and financing segment Adjusted EBTIDA increased by $23 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to 2016, primarily due to an increase in revenues associated with the segment, partially offset by a $69 million increase in sales and marketing and financing expenses.

Real estate sales and financing segment revenues increased for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to 2015, primarily due to a $44 million increase in sales revenue. The increase in sales revenue was primarily due to a $28 million increase in commissions and brand fees and a $16 million increase in sales of VOIs, net. The sales of VOIs, net increased primarily due to sales at our newly developed projects during the second half of 2016, partially offset by a $10 million increase in our loan loss provision. Additionally, marketing revenues and financing revenues increased $14 million and $7 million, respectively. Real estate sales and financing segment Adjusted EBITDA increased primarily due to an increase in revenues associated with the segment and a $21 million decrease in cost of VOI sales, due to a decline in existing owners upgrading into fee-for-service projects, partially offset by a $64 million increase in sales and marketing expense.

Refer to “—Real Estate” and “—Financing” for further discussion on the revenues and expenses of the real estate sales and financing segment.

Resort Operations and Club Management

Resort operations and club management segment revenues increased for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to 2016, primarily due to (i) a $15 million increase in resort and club management revenues from the launch of new properties during and subsequent to the second quarter of 2016 and (ii) an increase of $6 million in rental and ancillary services revenues as a result of higher transient room and club inventory rentals at our developed and fee-for-service properties.  Resort operations and club management segment Adjusted EBITDA increased from the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to 2016, primarily due to increases in revenues associated with the segment, partially offset by a $16 million increase in segment expenses.

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Resort operations and club management segment revenues increased for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to 2015, primarily as a result of a $14 million increase in club operations revenue, a $4 million increase in resort management revenue and a $9 million increase in rental revenue. Resort operations and club management segment Adjusted EBITDA increased for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to 2015, primarily due to increases in segment revenues, partially offset by a $4 million increase in resort operations and club management expenses.

Refer to “—Resort and Club Management” and “—Rental and Ancillary Services” for further discussion on the revenues and expenses of the resort operations and club management segment.

Real Estate Sales and Financing Segment

Real Estate

Contract sales increased for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to 2016, primarily due to an increase in tour flow, telesales and VPG. VPG increased due to a 1.9 percent increase in average transaction price, partially offset by a 0.2 percentage point decrease in the close rate.

Contract sales increased for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to 2015, primarily due to an increase in tour flow, telesales and VPG. VPG increased due to a 0.61 percentage point increase in the close rate and a 4.3 percent increase in average transaction price.