Bring back Claire!

[Sammie]

She is happy in Paris, she is not coming.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I agree that the 2 were unrelated. As for the Aulani books being "cooked", I do not gamble but I would bet some pretty big bucks that was NOT the case. There was a major screw up with that whole mess. Hawaii's laws are quite different for timeshares (among other things) and Disney didn't have any legal folks that were apparently up on all the nuances from what I heard. It was seemingly the straw that broke the camel's back for Jim Lewis that someone dropped the ball big time on that one. It's costing some big bucks to DVC as a result.

It was a supposition based on the people who were let go, and probably too strong and unfair. It was stated the under funding was unintentional but I don't believe anything was ever published about it being Hawaii timeshare laws but more about the timeshare oversight findings which are different things IMO.

 

[wdrl]

I think that there can be a balance between sustained growth and profit while providing an exceptional product. Disney decided that even more profit can be made sooner by cutting employees, quality of product, reducing included offerings and charging extra for everything they can.

Claire wasn't that kind of executive and she not only was removed at the DVD/DVC, she was moved to another country.

Bill

Claire Bilby was in charge of the sales organization at Disneyland Paris at the time she was appointed head of DVC. When she was replaced by Potrock in January 2013, she returned to Disneyland Paris as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Disneyland Paris and Europe. Yes, she was moved to another country, but it sounds like Bilby was merely returning to her original position.

 

[disneynutz]

Claire Bilby was in charge of the sales organization at Disneyland Paris at the time she was appointed head of DVC. When she was replaced by Potrock in January 2013, she returned to Disneyland Paris as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Disneyland Paris and Europe. Yes, she was moved to another country, but it sounds like Bilby was merely returning to her original position.

She might be back as the Senior Vice President, Event Operations and Premium Services at Walt Disney World Resort.

I met her a couple of times, and she seemed like a the kind of person who really cared about the DVC and it's future.

Bill

 

[Deb & Bill]

Every time I hear Ken Potrocks, I think of the Flintstones.

 

[Sammie]

Every time I hear Ken Potrocks, I think of the Flintstones.

Yaba daba doo.

 

[ScubaCat]

That goes well with "Ken Pet Rock".

 

[Dean]

The reality is that DVC is a timeshare. The one in charge is much like the quarterback on a football team. If things go well they get too much credit and if things go poorly they get too much blame. Clair likely got too much credit and Lewis too much blame comparatively speaking. While the changes may not be what present or future members want, at the end of the day, what DVD and Disney want is sales. This is a normal timeshare approach for pushing people to retail purchases and away from resale. Sounds like it's working from the discussion here. And no, I don't believe this will hurt their sales enough to notice. This is the nature of timeshares and there are MANY other changes they can make. I suspect they're done making such changes for a while to see how it does but long term I suspect we'll see other more aggressive changes.

 

[bwvBound]

The reality is that DVC is a timeshare. The one in charge is much like the quarterback on a football team. If things go well they get too much credit and if things go poorly they get too much blame. Clair likely got too much credit and Lewis too much blame comparatively speaking. While the changes may not be what present or future members want, at the end of the day, what DVD and Disney want is sales. This is a normal timeshare approach for pushing people to retail purchases and away from resale. Sounds like it's working from the discussion here. And no, I don't believe this will hurt their sales enough to notice. This is the nature of timeshares and there are MANY other changes they can make. I suspect they're done making such changes for a while to see how it does but long term I suspect we'll see other more aggressive changes.

Fair enough ... thanks for the insight and comment, Dean.

 

[DenLo]

Anyone even think that maybe Claire Bilby doesn't want to be in charge of the DVC operation?

 

[wdrl]

Claire Bilby was in charge of DVC in late 2011 when DVC reallocated the SSR point chart, increasing the cost of the Treehouse Villas by close to 15%.

Although I have issues with DVC increasing the cost of the Treehouse Villas (after marketing the THVs as a way for families to get a three bedroom accommodation for the same price as a two-bedroom villa), it wasn't the actual reallocation that surprised me. It was how DVC handled the notification of the point reallocation.

At the DVC Annual Meeting in December 2011, a member asked the DVC Board of Directors if there were any more point chart reallocations coming out. Bilby said that the 2013 point charts would have some changes, but not as widespread as the changes that had recently occurred in 2010 and 2011. She made no mention of the THV reallocation at the Annual Meeting, even though she should have known about it the time.

I've never understood why DVC isn't more forthcoming about certain things, including whenever point charts are reallocated. DVC Annual Meetings are held in early December each year and the head of DVC should already know what reallocations are being done on the forthcoming point charts. Yet, DVC -- whether its headed by Lewis, Bilby, or Potrock -- tends to wait until late December or early January to release the point charts.

 

[Dean]

Claire Bilby was in charge of DVC in late 2011 when DVC reallocated the SSR point chart, increasing the cost of the Treehouse Villas by close to 15%.

Although I have issues with DVC increasing the cost of the Treehouse Villas (after marketing the THVs as a way for families to get a three bedroom accommodation for the same price as a two-bedroom villa), it wasn't the actual reallocation that surprised me. It was how DVC handled the notification of the point reallocation.

At the DVC Annual Meeting in December 2011, a member asked the DVC Board of Directors if there were any more point chart reallocations coming out. Bilby said that the 2013 point charts would have some changes, but not as widespread as the changes that had recently occurred in 2010 and 2011. She made no mention of the THV reallocation at the Annual Meeting, even though she should have known about it the time.

I've never understood why DVC isn't more forthcoming about certain things, including whenever point charts are reallocated. DVC Annual Meetings are held in early December each year and the head of DVC should already know what reallocations are being done on the forthcoming point charts. Yet, DVC -- whether its headed by Lewis, Bilby, or Potrock -- tends to wait until late December or early January to release the point charts.

IMO the THV was one of the worst debacles. It should have been a separate resort. One has to wonder if they went into the sales on that project planning to reallocate as they did or at least actively and purposefully keeping their options open for that possibility. I've said before, I feel DVC would make their life easier and have happier members if they just did a few things well and consistently. I don't believe they should give notifications far into the future for many of the changes. As an example, 2 weeks on the valet parking issue and a sign/notification at checkin would have been sufficient. I also don't believe they should be overly flexible waiving the rules routinely. Just have a consistent, straight forward message with appropriate notice and stick to it. And enforce the rules consistently. Don't return points when people complain inappropriately or unreasonably.