Guild Wars 2

Are guild halls going to add-on to the current system or completely replace it?

So, are all guild banks, banners, missions and bonuses still going to be useable upon release of HoT or will they disappear.

http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=36174

The Zam article states that both influence and merits are going away, meaning that there will be no future way to upgrade the current system. Missions are being reworked into the guild hall. Banners and WvW items will be crafted in one of the new buildings.

If replacement is the case and you have to purchase HoT to start a guild hall to keep what you have built already, it seems unfair to hold small guilds hostage for $50.

I currently have a personal guild that is almost maxed. It use to be an active guild of no more than 25 members, all who have either left guild or quit the game. Since we were small I spent money on gems, gems to gold, then gold to influence to build up the guild quickly. Did I basically just wasted all that money?