Why is SSR least expensive maint. fee?

[720L]

OK another question: Why does SSR have the least expensive maintenance fee? Is it location? If it's location, why isn't OKW cheap also? Which has the most expensive maintenance fee and why?

 

[browniemtb]

SSR maint fees are less because the resort is newer than the others, IMO. Both HH and VB have the higher fees because of higher insurance cost with hurricanes and being coastal resorts.
Brownie

 

[WebmasterDoc]

SSR (among other resorts) has a developer subsidy for a portion of the maintenance fees - this will lessen or disappear once the resort is completely built and sold out.

Early buyers at VB still get a substantial subsidy (promised in their purchase agreement) while those who purchased later do not get a subsidy and have much higher dues. HH's dues had, until this year, been among the lowest. This year the resort found it needed to accelerate a Capital Reserve project and took a loan to do that. The loan will be repaid over the next 6 years - likely from the Capital Reserve fund itself. Time will tell if the HH dues return to normal, but they have not escalated due to any hurricane damage.

Each resort has it's own budget and the variances are due to the specific needs of that resort. Many of the budget items are consistent with other DVC resorts, but each resort does have it's own unique needs.

 

[tjkraz]

While there is a subsidy at SSR, it's worth noting that the amount is down to just seven cents per point. Eliminate the subsidy now and dues at SSR are still less than all of the others. In fact, I think that as of 2007 DVC is subsidizing dues at several of the resorts.

SSR being newer may help a little bit with the day-to-day maintenance budget, but the higher cost items are accounted for. SSR owners are already paying substantial dollars into a fund which will be used for major projects like roof replacement, exterior painting and parking lot re-paving in the future.

I haven't done a side-by-side comparison between SSR and OKW, but I think the biggest factor if you want to compare those two is the lower point charts at OKW. A typical room at OKW costs fewer points per night/week/year than the same size room at SSR. As such, there are fewer points in circulation. The net result is that each point at OKW carries a little bit more of the burden than a point at SSR.

In real terms, OKW is still cheaper. A weekday night in a Studio at OKW in Adventure season is 8 points. 8 x $4.39 = $35.12 in OKW dues for that night.

The same room at SSR is 11 points. 11 x $4.12 = $45.32

Of course, the fact that an SSR owner can use their points at OKW muddies the waters a bit.

Some of the other resorts are quite a bit smaller and, by comparison, they get hurt by economies of scale. There are certain unavoidable fixed costs in any resort operation. When you're spreading those costs over 800+ units at SSR, each owner pays a smaller share than, say, BCV where you have just over 200 units.

But, when it comes to resort-to-resort comparison, Doc's closing comment is the most important thing to remember: "Each resort has it's own budget and the variances are due to the specific needs of that resort. Many of the budget items are consistent with other DVC resorts, but each resort does have it's own unique needs."

 

[Doctor P]

While there is a subsidy at SSR, it's worth noting that the amount is down to just seven cents per point. Eliminate the subsidy now and dues at SSR are still less than all of the others. In fact, I think that as of 2007 DVC is subsidizing dues at several of the resorts.

SSR being newer may help a little bit with the day-to-day maintenance budget, but the higher cost items are accounted for. SSR owners are already paying substantial dollars into a fund which will be used for major projects like roof replacement, exterior painting and parking lot re-paving in the future.

I haven't done a side-by-side comparison between SSR and OKW, but I think the biggest factor if you want to compare those two is the lower point charts at OKW. A typical room at OKW costs fewer points per night/week/year than the same size room at SSR. As such, there are fewer points in circulation. The net result is that each point at OKW carries a little bit more of the burden than a point at SSR.

In real terms, OKW is still cheaper. A weekday night in a Studio at OKW in Adventure season is 8 points. 8 x $4.39 = $35.12 in OKW dues for that night.

The same room at SSR is 11 points. 11 x $4.12 = $45.32

Of course, the fact that an SSR owner can use their points at OKW muddies the waters a bit.

Some of the other resorts are quite a bit smaller and, by comparison, they get hurt by economies of scale. There are certain unavoidable fixed costs in any resort operation. When you're spreading those costs over 800+ units at SSR, each owner pays a smaller share than, say, BCV where you have just over 200 units.

But, when it comes to resort-to-resort comparison, Doc's closing comment is the most important thing to remember: "Each resort has it's own budget and the variances are due to the specific needs of that resort. Many of the budget items are consistent with other DVC resorts, but each resort does have it's own unique needs."

I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure there is also an off-budget developer subsidy at SSR. It's too detailed to outline in a post, but suffice to say that Disney is bearing a larger part of the costs while the resort is under construction (the dues are being divided over a larger number of units than private owners are actually in possession of thereby lowering the dues below what they would otherwise be).

 

[ebenmax]

One of the factors that our sales rep. told us was that BWV and BCV have inside hallways which need air conditioning thus higher utilities overall.

 

[DebbieB]

SSR (among other resorts) has a developer subsidy for a portion of the maintenance fees - this will lessen or disappear once the resort is completely built and sold out.

Early buyers at VB still get a substantial subsidy (promised in their purchase agreement) while those who purchased later do not get a subsidy and have much higher dues. HH's dues had, until this year, been among the lowest. This year the resort found it needed to accelerate a Capital Reserve project and took a loan to do that. The loan will be repaid over the next 6 years - likely from the Capital Reserve fund itself. Time will tell if the HH dues return to normal, but they have not escalated due to any hurricane damage.

Each resort has it's own budget and the variances are due to the specific needs of that resort. Many of the budget items are consistent with other DVC resorts, but each resort does have it's own unique needs.

When VWL and BCV opened up, the dues were way less than BWV. Now they have caught up, just a little lower.

 

[Dean]

SSR will likely be the lowest long term due to the design of the resort, lack of many common ares that are included in the cost of other resorts and the economy of scale due to numbers. OKW will likely be next due to the same issues.

 

[4formickey]

ssr people steal less towels than at other resorts!