April 2022 Direct Sales Numbers

[HIRyeDVC]

My non-scientific analysis is that RVA owners seem to skew younger. Millennial couples and families. At least I see more of them at RVA than VGF.

I'll buy that. It's swanky. Got the longest contract length. And has the skyliner which little kids love. I'm not a millenial, and I think it's cool. My only wish is that I wish it was on Crescent lake, closer to Epcot and HS.

 

[BeachClub2014]

My non-scientific analysis is that RVA owners seem to skew younger. Millennial couples and families. At least I see more of them at RVA than VGF.

Could very well be. Not in our case, though. We are closer to 60 than 50 and bought Riviera direct because its a beautiful resort, has points that expire in 2070, was reasonably priced, and had good incentives.

 

[Docwheeze]

I'll buy that. It's swanky. Got the longest contract length. And has the skyliner which little kids love. I'm not a millenial, and I think it's cool. My only wish is that I wish it was on Crescent lake, closer to Epcot and HS.

Agree in part. Real little kids under 10 might prefer the monorail, older kids the skyliner. Not only does our 4 yo like the monorail but Mom not crazy about heights so prefers monorail too. Different strokes for different folks. I like the monorail loop that provides quick access to different resorts and restaurants if MK too busy (almost all the time!). Not sure about 48 years versus 42 years as much of issue as still multi-generational to pass on if we pass out, hope not. Sure as kid gets older, we will transition more to Epcot and HS but therein lies the beauty of DVC to be flexible over time with other resort sales.

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

And let the debate begin - are the resale restrictions hurting RIV sales?

Yes

 

[BeachClub2014]

And let the debate begin - are the resale restrictions hurting RIV sales?

Nope

 

[npatellye]

My non-scientific analysis is that RVA owners seem to skew younger. Millennial couples and families. At least I see more of them at RVA than VGF.

True for us. My husband isn’t technically a millennial but I am. We did opt for RIviera because our children were very young at the time and the longer contract length and Skyliner appealed to us. Having stayed there, we love it. Once we hit our goal of staying at every East Coast DVC, we plan to stay at Riviera one year and OKW the next for as long as we can go to WDW. (This is assuming we won’t add on Poly2 points later, which we most likely will).

My MIL loves VGF and we took her on a long trip there last May. My husband and I did not like VGF at all and my MIL and FIL didn’t like Riviera.

The great thing about DVC is there’s something out there for everyone’s tastes.

 

[kboo]

Personal anecdote but I own RIV and need 50-75 more points but am hesitant and am considering VGF instead assuming it will have a higher resale value.

But even a $50 pp difference in resale price is only $2500, and in the future.

but the Riviera common areas feel more actual-upscale as opposed the Grand, which feels more faux-upscale. And I'll shout from the rooftops how much of an upgrade the Skyliner is over the monorail, albeit minus a lot of the nostalgia factor.

Agree. The Grand (at least the actual VGF) doesn't have so much common area anyway. And the big atrium in the main building is often crowded and loud. (We own at both, so we love both, but we generally start in the MK area and then move to Riv for more peace and calm. This summer we are doing the opposite (it saves points) but I would have preferred to finish up in the EP/HS area rather than MK.

Agree in part. Real little kids under 10 might prefer the monorail, older kids the skyliner. Not only does our 4 yo like the monorail but Mom not crazy about heights so prefers monorail too. Different strokes for different folks. I like the monorail loop that provides quick access to different resorts and restaurants if MK too busy (almost all the time!). Not sure about 48 years versus 42 years as much of issue as still multi-generational to pass on if we pass out, hope not. Sure as kid gets older, we will transition more to Epcot and HS but therein lies the beauty of DVC to be flexible over time with other resort sales.

My kids (6/10) like both, with a slight preference for the skyliner because it's less smelly and faster. We really love both. we have enough points at VGF now, so if we add it will be RIV for larger units or ... (need to work on the partner) ... vgc

 

[Brian Noble]

This is a strong result for DVD. Slightly fewer deeds, but about 15% more points sold in April '22 (~311K) vs. April '19 (~270K), the best comparison from the Before Times.

 

[heather2328]

My non-scientific analysis is that RVA owners seem to skew younger. Millennial couples and families. At least I see more of them at RVA than VGF.

I am in the process of buying a resale Riviera contract and I am 33 with young kids, we visited last week and fell in love with it. So I think your analysis might be right! Grand Floridian was beautiful but not for us and my boys love the skyliner.

 

[hglenn]

I am in the process of buying a resale Riviera contract and I am 33 with young kids, we visited last week and fell in love with it. So I think your analysis might be right! Grand Floridian was beautiful but not for us and my boys love the skyliner.

If we were to ever buy RIV it'll be a resale contract bc we want to stay there... In a few short years (**sniff, sniff**) my kiddos will be (should be) leaving the nest so husband and I could do the tower studios for a few trips.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

My non-scientific analysis is that RVA owners seem to skew younger. Millennial couples and families. At least I see more of them at RVA than VGF.

I mean that's just going to happen, right? The newest resort is going to have the youngest owners almost as a rule.

I'm 33 and don't own Old Key West because it went on sale when I was 2.

 

[Leight19]

Doesn't the skyliner running there upgrade the location?

If they had run the monorail over to that location, would you still call it a moderate location?

For me the order of location/transport preference is walking, monorail/boats, then skyliner/busses but I think this is highly person specific. My view of skyliner is I love riding it but more view it as an extra ride at the parks and would never want to rely on it as main transport for peak times of day.

I think the idea it’s a moderate location is because it shares transport with moderate and value resorts and can argue the moderate resort is actually the better location on skyliner. For me I view riviera location more on par with akl/ssr/okw more so then it is to dvc monorail resorts and/or Epcot resorts (I personally even prefer ssr/okw location for ds access).

 

[RKS03]

Someone mentioned April direct sales of VGF units to new members would only reflect half a month. Is that accurate?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

For me the order of location/transport preference is walking, monorail/boats, then skyliner/busses but I think this is highly person specific. My view of skyliner is I love riding it but more view it as an extra ride at the parks and would never want to rely on it as main transport for peak times of day.

I think the idea it’s a moderate location is because it shares transport with moderate and value resorts and can argue the moderate resort is actually the better location on skyliner. For me I view riviera location more on par with akl/ssr/okw more so then it is to dvc monorail resorts and/or Epcot resorts (I personally even prefer ssr/okw location for ds access).

"Mode of transportation" is highly dependent on where you're coming from and where you're going, no? Walking to Hollywood Studios from Boardwalk is not the same as walking to Magic Kingdom from Bay Lake Tower. Monorail from the Poly to Magic Kingdom is not the same as Monorail from the Grand to Epcot.

In terms of total transit time, the Monorail from the Grand or the Contemporary to Epcot is much less efficient than a bus from Animal Kingdom Lodge to pretty much anywhere.

I like the Skyliner, taken as a whole, so much more than the Monorail. Caribbean Beach is really the only resort that gets the full benefit without a transfer, but the same is true of the Monorail. Unless you're staying on the East side of the Poly, the transfer to the Epcot line really bogs thing down.

 

[kilik64]

This is a strong result for DVD. Slightly fewer deeds, but about 15% more points sold in April '22 (~311K) vs. April '19 (~270K), the best comparison from the Before Times.

Min wasnt 150 for a new contract in 4/2019 right? So the average would skew higher.

 

[kilik64]

Someone mentioned April direct sales of VGF units to new members would only reflect half a month. Is that accurate?

Not sure where that came from, sales went live to anyone 3/31 afaik so april reflects a full month of sales to new members.

Some people are making hay over the fact that of the 177k sold only 43k were new deeds, but I wonder if a ton of those points posted april from last week of existing member sales of march. People waiting/debating the add on until had to pull the trigger that last week. So could a big chunk of those points not from new deeds come from March sales? There is some lag time right?

 

[RKS03]

Not sure where that came from, sales went live to anyone 3/31 afaik so april reflects a full month of sales to new members.

Some people are making hay over the fact that of the 177k sold only 43k were new deeds, but I wonder if a ton of those points posted april from last week of existing member sales of march. People waiting/debating the add on until had to pull the trigger that last week. So could a big chunk of those points not from new deeds come from March sales? There is some lag time right?

Yeah maybe there is a reporting lag? Or very possible I misunderstood the comment.

One other question I had is do the deeds get reported even if the deal didn’t technically close? For example, I bought VGF direct at end of March but they let me pay over 3 months. I wonder if my points were reported.

 

[Leight19]

"Mode of transportation" is highly dependent on where you're coming from and where you're going, no? Walking to Hollywood Studios from Boardwalk is not the same as walking to Magic Kingdom from Bay Lake Tower. Monorail from the Poly to Magic Kingdom is not the same as Monorail from the Grand to Epcot.

In terms of total transit time, the Monorail from the Grand or the Contemporary to Epcot is much less efficient than a bus from Animal Kingdom Lodge to pretty much anywhere.

I like the Skyliner, taken as a whole, so much more than the Monorail. Caribbean Beach is really the only resort that gets the full benefit without a transfer, but the same is true of the Monorail. Unless you're staying on the East side of the Poly, the transfer to the Epcot line really bogs thing down.

I’m not exactly sure what your getting at but I agree ranking of location depends where your going and is largely personal preference. No resort is close to all locations but I often try to split stay to where I’ll have an epcot/hs resort and mk resort. If I can’t get those then a ds resort is nice replacement.

From location perspective I’ll book monorail or boat resort for mk side of my stay with preference for monorail but also enjoy boat. For Epcot I’ll book bc or bw. If I can’t get those I’ll also consider doing ssr or okw for dsiney springs. Ak and riviera are my personal last choices for resort from location perspective (though ak is my favorite resort so transport isn’t eveything).

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I’m not exactly sure what your getting at but I agree ranking of location depends where your going and is largely personal preference. No resort is close to all locations but I often try to split stay to where I’ll have an epcot/hs resort and mk resort. If I can’t get those then a ds resort is nice replacement.

From location perspective I’ll book monorail or boat resort for mk side of my stay with preference for monorail but also enjoy boat. For Epcot I’ll book bc or bw. If I can’t get those I’ll also consider doing ssr or okw for dsiney springs. Ak and riviera are my personal last choices for resort from location perspective (though ak is my favorite resort so transport isn’t eveything).

Right, I was making a speed/efficiency point, not a personal preference point. If you love love love the monorail, cool. If you love the monorail because you think it's a faster way to get from the Grand to Epcot than a bus would be, that's just incorrect.

 

[Brian Noble]

Min wasnt 150 for a new contract in 4/2019 right?

I don't know, but it doesn't really matter that much: DVD is in the business of selling points, not contracts. And, thinking about it, more points in fewer contracts is probably even better news than more points in the same number of/more contracts, because it is less work for DVD.