Anyone else get the DVC survey re: DVC 'elite' club?

[wildernessDad]

It could be that DVC is floating a trial balloon to see how members react to the idea and what they say. They are probably reviewing what we are discussing here about it.

 

[disneynutz]

I can not believe that anyone is surprised by this. DVC is a business and they need to do what other businesses do to survive and grow.

Promoting and rewarding high point owners makes sense and it is done everywhere. Frequent flyer's, hotel clubs, car rentals, even hair cuts and car washes all offer specials for customers in the clubs.

High points owners bring more money to Disney at less cost. What's cheaper, processing 10 dues payments for 100 point owners, or processing 1 dues payment for a 1000 point owner?

We may not like the idea but I think that VIP recognition is going to happen within the DVC. It is already in place within the rest of Disney.

 

[Brian Noble]

What's cheaper, processing 10 dues payments for 100 point owners, or processing 1 dues payment for a 1000 point owner?

The real savings is in marketing costs---the larger point owner only had to be "sold" on DVC once.

Industry-wide, the costs of marketing can be 50% of the total price of a developer timeshare purchase. The actual construction of the resort is typically around 25%.

 

[mla973]

The survey was about the name? WTH? Why waste people's time? Why don't they spend their funds (actually our funds) accomplishing something that all members can benefit from.

 

[wdwstar]

Sounds like DVC is going to chuck the whole reason why some of us bought into DVC. The Welcome Homes, the feeling of being " Home", everyone is your neighbors, friends, family. The class, the Magic, the special treatment, perks.
The Welcome Home, celebrations for DVC members, like the one 4 or 5 years ago were DVC members ran the MK and Epcot at night. The SSR grand opening at downtown disney with the Lunch provided by the vendors from DTD.
Yes, the DVC cruises are nice for 4 nights, but not everyone can afford those cruises.



Now its starting to sound like every other timeshare, the hustle and bustle, just another resort, another swap, just to make the money.

just like we get a discount on cash rooms if available, well i can book the room with AAA on cash and get the same discount. The old Dvc was cheaper at one point.

I want the OLD DVC back, when You Know Who was Vice pres. and trying to make a difference before he received his new job title & pay raise.

 

[tjkraz]

The survey was about the name? WTH? Why waste people's time? Why don't they spend their funds (actually our funds) accomplishing something that all members can benefit from.

Member dues do not go toward funding of sales and marketing activities.

As long as DVC does not take away any perks currently extended to the general membership base, I don't have a problem with it. Programs like this a designed to engender greater goodwill from a company's best customers. It gives people an incentive to reach that next plateau of ownership if they value the perks being offered.

As someone else said, this is no different than frequent flyer or hotel reward programs.

I'm not sure that we, as DVC members, can play the "everyone should be equal" card. After all, we're the ones getting $125 Annual Pass discounts, our own slate of meal discounts, a discount golf package, free Internet service, new attraction previews, Merry Member Mixers, etc.

I assure you a class system already exists in the Disney theme park world, and DVC members aren't exactly at the bottom. If our $15,000 investment in DVC "entitles" us to the sort of benefits listed above, then doesn't it stand to reason that someone who invested $150,000 should be entitled to another tier of perks?

Just some food for thought...

 

[hakepb]

I assure you a class system already exists in the Disney theme park world, and DVC members aren't exactly at the bottom. If our $15,000 investment in DVC "entitles" us to the sort of benefits listed above, then doesn't it stand to reason that someone who invested $150,000 should be entitled to another tier of perks?

Just some food for thought...

If they ($150,000) are entitled, then give it to them at the beginning. DVC has no right to feel guilty (for charging them too much?) after the fact!

Then people bring up frequent flier perks and such combared to MF's? That's not valid, either. Airlines /credit cards do that to reward loyality. an AA rewards member can choose to spend all flying $$$ with another airline. It is not like a DVC member can give Mariott their MF's for the year. (Unless they sell. and if the problem is selling, then start a loyality, DVC anniversary program, not large point total program)

 

[Brian Noble]

You misunderstand. The point of these programs is not to reward people who already have reached the levels. The point is to encourage new people to strive for them.

 

[lisareniff]

I have no problem with the concept. I'm sure it would be little perks such as a reception or gift basket or maybe a fastpass. What's the harm? It does show an appreciation to those that have invested a lot of money in DVC. They should get a perk or two.

If you were putting a point requirement on this club, where would it be?? 300points? (not even a week in a two bedroom during dream) 500? (that's better, 1.5 weeks in a 2 bedroom during dream) 700? (now were up to 2 weeks) Or how about round it up to a solid 1000? How many people have 1000?

I vote for 500! 'cuse that's what I've got!

 

[hakepb]

You misunderstand. The point of these programs is not to reward people who already have reached the levels. The point is to encourage new people to strive for them.

I have no problem with any program/club/perk that is funded 100% by the DVC sales people to whoever they want to reward.

I did notice several posts about potential BLT buyers who could not get ahold of their guide, and thought it was interesting seeing a post in this thread mentioning "special sales people" for those big spenders. That's 100% a sales staff issue...

 

[mndisfam]

Out of curiousity, what would be anyone's guess as to what an "elite" (to use the op's word) level of points would be?

Is there a thread somewhere about the average number of points DVCers have?

I can name a perk I think they should have for DVC. A "Club" in each park with chairs, bottled water, a cast member for help, Disney information. Make it pretty public, and when non DVCers see us ducking in for a break, I think it would be good publicity.

I have always wished there was a way to "Stand out" a bit as DVCers when we are in the park. I would take any DVC perks that come my way at a resort, but thats not important to us.We would love something that would reward us over all the other park goers for investing in Disney - like maybe a few extra fast passes - like 2 an hour, eg.

Or, a bump ahead in ressies. Anything that eould make long hot days at the park better...

 

[mgriff75]

Ok, so I am one of those 25 point members. But the reason I bought 25 points is because I already own 500k Wyndham Points. I really didn't need any more timeshare time, but I wanted the DVC perks. So a small contract works, and I am a full DVC citizen. I really like that about DVC, but I wouldn't sell my 25 points if the rules changed, unless I lost the perks I currently have. But, I might buy more points if it got me more perks. DVC might loose a little money on me, considering my MF's are low, but they are the same per point as the rest of you. Small point holders didn't make the system, we are just using it. But Disney certainly doesn't loose money on me. I have been there 4 times this year. In other timeshare programs they charge a "club fee" and then a per point maintenance fee. The club fee takes care of the cost of having a member and the MF's take care of the property. That would be an option for DVC if they were loosing money on the low point owners.

The idea of an elite club doesn't bother me that much if they are just giving extra perks, but Wyndham has used it aggressively to sell more points, and create different classes of owners. I will list some of Wyndham's VIP benefits, maybe you will get the idea of what DVC could do with an elite club.

Reservation Transactions, $35 each if you go over your allotment, free to VIP members.

Housekeeping Credits, $1.50 each if you go over your allotment, if you take a short trips instead of week long vacations you will go over your allotment. Free if you are a VIP member. (you need 77 house keeping credits for a 2 bedroom reservation, so it would cost you $115.50 for cleaning the unit if you are out of credits)

Last minute reservations. If you are a VIP member you get a point discount.

The point is that if you are a VIP member you are ok, but if not they are going to nickel and dime you with fees every chance they get.

I don't really think DVC will go this route, but you can see where I would really like the fact that DVC treats everyone the same, and be concerned when I hear of an "elite" program.

Matthew

 

[SamSam]

So basically this is like the old "class" system on ocean liners. I guess I'm in steerage. I really dislike this idea completely. You should either give perks to everyone or no one gets them IMO. Sometimes I really wonder how DVC comes up with these things. Do they have this room full of 20 somethings sitting around just making random decisions? I still don't understand why they did the redesign on Vacation Magic.

If DVC reads these boards, it could be because there have been various threads through the years, that Disney should have a 'frequent flyer' type program that rewards their most loyal customers.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Ok, so I am one of those 25 point members. But the reason I bought 25 points is because I already own 500k Wyndham Points. I really didn't need any more timeshare time, but I wanted the DVC perks. So a small contract works, and I am a full DVC citizen. I really like that about DVC, but I wouldn't sell my 25 points if the rules changed, unless I lost the perks I currently have. But, I might buy more points if it got me more perks. DVC might loose a little money on me, considering my MF's are low, but they are the same per point as the rest of you. Small point holders didn't make the system, we are just using it. But Disney certainly doesn't loose money on me. I have been there 4 times this year. In other timeshare programs they charge a "club fee" and then a per point maintenance fee. The club fee takes care of the cost of having a member and the MF's take care of the property. That would be an option for DVC if they were loosing money on the low point owners.

The idea of an elite club doesn't bother me that much if they are just giving extra perks, but Wyndham has used it aggressively to sell more points, and create different classes of owners. I will list some of Wyndham's VIP benefits, maybe you will get the idea of what DVC could do with an elite club.

Reservation Transactions, $35 each if you go over your allotment, free to VIP members.

Housekeeping Credits, $1.50 each if you go over your allotment, if you take a short trips instead of week long vacations you will go over your allotment. Free if you are a VIP member. (you need 77 house keeping credits for a 2 bedroom reservation, so it would cost you $115.50 for cleaning the unit if you are out of credits)

Last minute reservations. If you are a VIP member you get a point discount.

The point is that if you are a VIP member you are ok, but if not they are going to nickel and dime you with fees every chance they get.

I don't really think DVC will go this route, but you can see where I would really like the fact that DVC treats everyone the same, and be concerned when I hear of an "elite" program.

Matthew

A little OT, but what are your MF's on 500k points?(Since you brought it up! )

 

[corpcomp]

So the real question is, what was the point cut off for those that received the survey? I've got 240 and did not get it.

 

[roxmic]

We've got 510 points and did not get one either.

 

[corpcomp]

We've got 510 points and did not get one either.

Hmmm... about 20% of the membership have more than 500 points per a survey I did last year but that goes down to 6% once you are at 750 points.

 

[bobbiwoz]

880 here, didn't get the survey!

Bobbi

 

[LIFERBABE]

We got it and are well over 1000, so I think we know where the cut off is!

 

[Golden Rose]

Clubs are always good ideas. I am a Diamond member on Royal Caribbean and I am loyal because of it. I hope its not to punish resale. I bought resale but will buy more points direct in the future. Perks are Perks. It should be by how many points you have. If you are over 500 you deserve to be in a special club. Hey Club 500 sounds good. Gives me a goal to make

Yeah, actually, we're just Platinum on Royal Caribbean, but the perks (private check in lounge, priority check in, free wine tasting, and discounted cabins) certainly make us more likely to choose Royal Caribbean over other cruiselines. That's actually a big part the reason we've never tried Disney Cruiseline...

Actually, I have another good example of a loyalty program that I wouldn't mind seeing some perks from. I'm an Omni SelectGuest member, and I have been for years. When we stayed at an Omni two weeks ago in San Antonio, we were checked in when we arrived for the exact type of room I'd requested. We got 2 free drinks of our choice delivered to our room every morning with a free paper. (They actually did 2 drinks per person, so we ended up with a lot of bottles of water and cans of diet coke.) We had lovely, plush spa robes provided for the length of our stay. They also presented our son with a goodie box that had candy and some toys in it, although they may have given that to all kids checking in. They also left us chocolate chip cookies in our room one night. We really ended up feeling like we'd been treated very well this trip, and it made us remember why we loved that particular hotel. (The funniest thing was that I'd booked on hotwire to save money for this last minute trip... so we weren't paying anything near rack rate. When I realized I'd gotten the Omni, I figured it didn't hurt to call and ask if they could link it to my select guest account. They did quite happily and we were treated well our entire trip.)

Anyway, I would love to see something that gave increasing small perks to owners of different point levels. I think they ought to have a lot of levels, so the next level always looks like it wouldn't be too hard to acheive. I think it could definitely encourage people to buy just a few more points... it might even work on me.