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

[Goofy DVC]

I'm a Priority Club Platinum Member, and I got to tell you the rewards are awesome. So much so that the onlyplace I will stay when I travel on business is Holiday Inn. They treat me like royalty. Free upgrades to suites,when available which is quite often, free drinks,points to be used for a variety of things, free breakfast, free welcome bag, free newspaper, personalized welcome card in the room and others. I obviously don't get all these all the time but they are great.
One time I was in Des Moines at a brand new Holiday Inn right when it opened. They recognized me as a platinum member and ask me to meet with the mangement to share any feedback. The meeting was at the bar with all drinks on the house. I must admit this "elite" club keeps me coming back.

 

[Melani]

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

That's frightening!

 

[aurorafan]

I don't think I'd mind as long as they didn't take away the perks we already have (as others have said). If they just want to add new perks for members with more points I think I'd be okay with that--depending on what they were . If they start messing with the reservation windows I'd have a problem. If they want to give them concierge-type service or something similar after a certain number of points I say go for it. People pay more cash to stay concierge level to get those perks, why not buy more points to get those perks?

 

[DVC Mike]

We have 1,000 points and we participated on the online survey about the new club.

Many businesses reward people who frequently purchase their services or products, so I think this is a great idea.

 

[Janet Hill]

I have over a million Wyndham points and am platinum with them. I didn't pay developer pricing for most of my points, but did make a developer purchase to become platinum, and I do enjoy my extra perks.

I have a 25 point contract with DVC just for the perks (AP discount), and I will say that I have gotten more in discounts than my MF and purchase price. If DVC decides to have have an "elite club" or take away some of my privileges, I won't be mad. I will just consider it a prudent business decision on their part. I will then decide to either purchase more or sell whichever is best for me and my "vacation (timeshare) portfolio"

 

[fishermouse]

I did not read all the posts so maybe this was already addressed, but who pays for the special perks. Granted if you have more points you pay more dues but you also use the facilities more, so dues are paid and used equally regardless of the number of points. So unless there is an additional charge for this propsed club, it can not be exclusive based on # of points etc. Also if preferential bookings, views etc are given this also is a violation of terms every single point each of us holds is of the same value when used, we may not have as many to use as someone else, but when I book a room it should be equal to any one else that books a room. If they did not want us average folks in the club they should have made it that way from the beginning. Put me in the "I DON"T LIKE IT GROUP"

 

[Brian Noble]

who pays for the special perks

In most other systems, it gets charged to sales. So, everyone pays in proportion to their developer purchases.

 

[magicmommy]

We have 1010 points and did get they survey. We also have referred 4-5 people who have purchased DVC.

 

[tjkraz]

So unless there is an additional charge for this propsed club, it can not be exclusive based on # of points etc. Also if preferential bookings, views etc are given this also is a violation of terms every single point each of us holds is of the same value when used, we may not have as many to use as someone else, but when I book a room it should be equal to any one else that books a room. If they did not want us average folks in the club they should have made it that way from the beginning.

Legally I doubt that is true.

The POS makes general statements about room requests not being guaranteed, check-in time being after 4pm, etc. If they were to give preferential treatment to a certain group, I suspect it would be legally permitted as long as the other group still received the benefits guaranteed by the ownership docs.

In other words, they could take steps to block off a room for a "club member" that meets his/her exact location and view request, and make sure the room is ready by 8am. As long as the rest of the guests have their reserved room in-hand by 4pm, DVC has not violated any agreements with members.

What they could NOT do is bump someone from, say, a Preferred BW View room class to a Preferred Garden/Pool View in favor of a "club member." But if one of these club members books the BoardWalk View and requests "5th floor over Crest 'o the Wave", DVC could take extra steps to make that request happen.

Funding for the program would undoubtedly come from the sales department (no member dues) since the purpose is to increase sales and/or referrals from existing members.

 

[qtzar]

I'm sure the people at DVC management have discussed this idea to death internally for quite some time before sending the survey out to people who match the requirements.

I am all for the idea of an special club with "extra" privileges that do not effect the current perks of being a DVC member.

To me this means that the VIP club members would not get anything like extended booking windows as that devalues the booking windows of the non-VIP members. However a special phone number to get through to dedicated Member Support people would be a valid perk.

Somebody mentioned Fast Passes, this too would be a valid perk, and something that I would link into the members DVC Membership card ( so that people who rent points can't avail of it ), and at the same time I would issue some nice new DVC Membership cards with a new design to show the holder is a member of the club.

There are other possible privileges that the club could have, like access to the BLT viewing area even when not staying at the BLT, super pool hopping rights ( to include the non-hop pools ), a further discount on the annual passes and Disney Dining plan. There are plenty of VIP privileges that would have a minimal cost to Disney/DVC but would give the members of the VIP club that special VIP feeling and also make non-VIP members strive to hit that mark.

If I was making the decisions on this VIP club then I would probably go for the 1000 point cutoff, but I would also have some sort of sub levels at 250, 500 and 750 points as it can take time to get/afford 1000 points. When you hit the 1000 mark you could get the special membership card, the logo gear etc, at the lower levels you would still just have standard DVC membership card, no logo gear, less of an extra AP discount etc.

 

[wdwstar]

Sounds like DVC is getting nerves with the economy dropping people wont be buying DVC and the big push on using DVC outside of WDW is tapering off because of not enough hotel availablity, now lets introduce something new to our members to get them to buy more points with out spending $$$ to keep building. Yes, i am brainwash by DVC to buy points in new DVC resorts that i like to stay, but to put us all at seperate levels because of the amount of points we own. To give dVC members who own more points then the next dvc member that owns less points, more of an elite title. This is not starting to sound friendly and this probable will start fights among neighbors & families.

DVC already started singling us out by sending the survey to only the members that own a hugh amount of points. Why dont they send us all the survey, that would be a equal and fair results.

 

[Brian Noble]

with the economy dropping people wont be buying DVC

I'm not convinced of this. In particular, it is not clear to me that many folks on the upper rungs of the socio-economic ladder are feeling any real pain beyond paper losses in their 401K accounts.

 

[tjkraz]

To give dVC members who own more points then the next dvc member that owns less points, more of an elite title. This is not starting to sound friendly and this probable will start fights among neighbors & families.

I think it's important to note that DVC hasn't provided ANY specifics about this club. If you've read some of the posts here, all you are seeing is speculation about what Disney could/would do and comments about what other timeshare developers have done.

This could end up being as little as a special ID card, a few extra FastPasses per trip and preferred viewing for Illuminations.

DVC already started singling us out by sending the survey to only the members that own a hugh amount of points. Why dont they send us all the survey, that would be a equal and fair results.

If you read the posts in Page 1 which list the poll content, they never asked if members think the club is a good idea...they asked for feedback on the NAME. With less than 5% of members owning upward of 1000 points, I doubt they are going to ask what people think of the idea.

I'm not convinced of this. In particular, it is not clear to me that many folks on the upper rungs of the socio-economic ladder are feeling any real pain beyond paper losses in their 401K accounts.

I don't think you need to be on the upper rungs to be immune (401k notwithstanding.) The vast majority of the country is still gainfully employed, making regular mortgage payments and paying gas prices 1/3 of what they were over the summer.

The real question is how much impact the news stories have had on people's spending habits.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'm sure the people at DVC management have discussed this idea to death internally for quite some time before sending the survey out to people who match the requirements....

Evidently you haven't been around very long to be the brunt of DVC's "well thought out/well discussed" programs. I think Jim Lewis comes up with an idea and tells them to run with it.

 

[tjkraz]

Evidently you haven't been around very long to be the brunt of DVC's "well thought out/well discussed" programs. I think Jim Lewis comes up with an idea and tells them to run with it.

I don't want to take the thread too far off topic but do you really think JL has been that bad for DVC?

I don't know the man from Adam, but it doesn't take me long to think of a lot of positives to come from DVC in his 4-5 year tenure. Look at the great destinations added (BLT, AKV, VGC, THV, Hawaii), larger guest rooms, improved room layouts, better furniture (sofabeds, TVs), better patio furniture, better perks (AP discount, DDP access), website enhancements, more recurring member events (cruises, mixers) and discounts, free Internet, weekend hours at MS, more room categories at resorts, concierge availability, and so on.

It seems like we're pretty quick to jump on JL to bash every move that's made...even before the full effect is known. Take a look at the booking changes (11 mos from arrival.) What a case of much ado about nothing! And how many people's bookings have since gone from 5-7 phone calls to one phone call?

Sure there have been a few negatives. Those that come immediately to mind are the studio glassware policies (later reversed) and the change in banking window (while unpopular with some, others gained an advantage with the 100% window being extended). Are there other injustices I'm forgetting?

Although I wasn't an owner for long before JL came on board, I did follow DVC for several years. And my recollection is that things had pretty much stagnated. Same perks. Same useless website. Mediocre sales incentives. Few special events.

Overall I think the last 4-5 years have seen a LOT more positive changes for members than negative. And even many of the negatives are in the eye of the beholder (i.e. gaining the 2 months of banking 100% vs. loss of 2 months of banking 50/25%.)

My $.02.

 

[fishermouse]

I am all for the idea of an special club with "extra" privileges that do not effect the current perks of being a DVC member.

To me this means that the VIP club members would not get anything like extended booking windows as that devalues the booking windows of the non-VIP members. However a special phone number to get through to dedicated Member Support people would be a valid perk.

Somebody mentioned Fast Passes, this too would be a valid perk, and something that I would link into the members DVC Membership card ( so that people who rent points can't avail of it ), and at the same time I would issue some nice new DVC Membership cards with a new design to show the holder is a member of the club.

There are other possible privileges that the club could have, like access to the BLT viewing area even when not staying at the BLT, super pool hopping rights ( to include the non-hop pools ), a further discount on the annual passes and Disney Dining plan. There are plenty of VIP privileges that would have a minimal cost to Disney/DVC but would give the members of the VIP club that special VIP feeling and also make non-VIP members strive to hit that mark.

If I was making the decisions on this VIP club then I would probably go for the 1000 point cutoff, but I would also have some sort of sub levels at 250, 500 and 750 points as it can take time to get/afford 1000 points. When you hit the 1000 mark you could get the special membership card, the logo gear etc, at the lower levels you would still just have standard DVC membership card, no logo gear, less of an extra AP discount etc.

I can live with perks on this order just have a huge problem with anything that affects preferential bookings and room selections. We are not that far off the mark for what many are assuming is the magic number, and I will not feel different if (when) we cross that threshhold. A point is a point no matter how many you have and each member on each visit should be treated the same. A good argument for booking catagories in all resorts. Want a better view or concierge services give up a few more points.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I will say that the booking changes are a little too new to call. We have yet to experience Christmas or NYE bookings under the new system.

JL did not get his way on this one. We would have NO EXCHANGE company if he did. Not enough members use it to justify the expense but it looks good on paper.

 

[tjkraz]

I will say that the booking changes are a little too new to call. We have yet to experience Christmas or NYE bookings under the new system.

Just a quick reply.

I have to say that even if there are scattered reports of people not getting their reservation for that handful of days, the change was still a positive one. We've gone six months with no noteworthy reports of members having issues. Over that time THOUSANDS of phone calls have been eliminated. Bookings have gone from 5,6,7 phone calls to just one. The change served the greater good.

And if people can't get what they wanted for Thanksgiving or Christmas, it's just supply and demand kicking-in. Regardless of the system there are only so many rooms.

JL did not get his way on this one. We would have NO EXCHANGE company if he did. Not enough members use it to justify the expense but it looks good on paper.

Couldn't disagree more. The volume of exchangers may be relatively low but DVC goes to great lengths to market those destinations. Check out the thread on the recent Boston area TV commercials or look at a promotional DVD. Whether or not people use those options, DVC views them as an integral part of the product they are selling. And I believe the cost is paid for by our dues plus the fees paid by those who exchange.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Well, for 1, we have a new way of reporting availability here on the DIS where people report availability or lack of, that was implemented at the time of the change. We also have the waitlist threads.

I still have to call several times to get what I want, just don't see the point in complaining about it here, since we all have to do the same thing. I dont like it, but I have enough points to get what I want when I want, so not going to worry about it.

Not to mention, we are in a recession and the competition for reservations is not as fierce as it was. Even with DVC, people have postponed or cancelled trips. I picked up AKV Concierge for Christmas Eve last week.

2. What I stated was fact from JL himself, not heresay or assumption. I did not say that everyone in the organization agreed with him, they have stood up for Exchanges and that is why we see the push for members to use them. If they don't show the numbers, then exchanges are on JL's short-list. The Marriott/II owners are more upset about the change than the DVC members and that says alot!

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I hate the whole idea of a "special perks club". One way of thinking about it maybe Disney's way - is that it raises the perceived value of certain members. The catch, though, is that it can also make the majority of members feel less special, less valued than the "elite".

Will Disney be tempted, next time it considers extending extra benefits to all DVC members, to just extend those benefits to the elite? Over time this strategy could make a lot of 2nd class citizens...I mean members... reconsider the "specialness" of owning DVC at all.