Concierge Collection

[LDPKELLY]

We are in the process of buying OKW resale...and are very excited. We are very excited about several of the options available through the concierge collection, especially Keystone. We skiied there 2 years ago and loved it. I have to admit that I am a little discouraged after reading the boards about the value of Disney henging on whether you are planning to go to Disney every year. It is not our intention to go to a DVC resort every year, nor is it our intention to trade through Interval International.
We do plan on using the Concierge Collection. Have we made a mistake? Is that a good value??

 

[tiffany123]

We think that DVC can and should be used however you wish. Some owners would never consider using their DVC points for anything outside WDW---not even vacations to HH or Vero. Others use only for DVC locations. Still others for Disney only exchanges like Disneyland, DCL or DisneyParis. Still others are very happy with using their points for Concerige and even II exchanges. We plan to use the points for several Concerige trips and feel that it's in no way a misuse of our points. The reason we bought though DVC was for the options it presented. Feel comfortable using your points anyway that makes your vacation experiences unforgettable ones. We'll be using points at Keystone, Stein Erickson and the Broadmoor in 2003.

 

[PamOKW]

I think the Concierge Collection is a great alternative to a Disney trip. I look forward to using it in the future. I'm not as likely to want to book full week exchanges with II. I'm glad we have the Concierge Collection option.

 

[Dean]

I would agree that every member shoud use DVC as they wish. What's a good deal for one is not a good one for another. Personally, I could consider the CC, DC, DCL in particular to be relatively poor uses of points compared to paying cash for the same item. I generally value my points at $10 pp but there's a hassle factor associated with renting or paying using other means so I drop the value for these type of uses to around $8 pp. Therefore if the cost is 200 points and I can get the same or essentially the same accomodations for $1000, using points is a bad choice.

Obviously the situation will vary based on other available options and discounts. I'd never pay 125-150 points per person for a cruise that I can book for $799 each. You may find that for high demand times, the price may be a more reasonable deal using DVC, if there's no black out dates. The higher DCL cabins seem to be more comparable as well. This is also not a guaranteed program and could go away at any time. I think the bottom line is one must evaluate each scenario individually based on the desires and options available. Overall though, I still think using DVC routinely for other options is not a reasonable use of points.

 

[Synonymous]

We've stayed at CC hotels twice and will certainly do so in the future. Both the Plaza in NYC and Charleston Place were wonderful and well worth the points, in my opinion. The fact is that I would never put up the kind of cash it costs to stay at these places, but using points we get to give them a try. The only issue is whether we would rather se them at Disney or at the other place.

 

[downontheBW]

If you take the time to look around, I believe there are a few trades that are pretty good deals (at least not a terrible deal). I tend to use the $10 per point guideline when deciding whether a trade is a good deal. In the future, I'll probably trade through MS for an off-season HHI studio (55 points) for a spring or fall week in a studio in Colorado or Lake Tahoe.

The other good use of points is private trades. I have one planned for a studio at Four Seasons Aviara near San Diego which is comparable to BWV. Another possibility is to find someone who will privately trade their timeshare - either a larger unit or a longer period of time - for your DVC property. I've had offers of a 2 bedroom for my BWV studio - haven't found the right one yet, though.

Use your points for whatever what makes you comfortable and happy. That's why so many of us own DVC.

 

[Dean]

When I use my DVC points, I am using cash so it's really no different for me. It's basically how many points or how many dollars. Since there are many times specials using cash, one can't compare to rack rates for most visits. I think II is a special deal and that's why I chose not to discuss it as the thinking is somewhat different for that choice. If one gives up a HH studio for adventure for a comparable unit at a comparable resort, that can be an ok to a good deal. If one gives up 296 points for a unit they could have rented for $1000 or could have gotten for a trade using a unit that only cost $3000 total, that's NOT a good deal.

Some have said they bought DVC to use and that was their vacation plan and essentially they didn't care what the value was beyond that. That is their choice just like when one buys the Lexus LS 430 or Mercedes E320 at $50,000. Others have have said they didn't want to learn about other timeshares, that's fine but I sure wouldn't accept an exchange without at least learning about that timeshare.

Even for II, only a portion (maybe 40-50) of the available resorts are truly comparable to DVC. Most resorts in the DVC-II exchange program would still be a trade down for DVC owners. That's why one needs information when accepting an exchange. Of course direct exchanges have a way of evening out because one can negotiate to give up a 5 or 6 day DVC exchange and/or give up a smaller unit than received or any one of a number of combinations.

Again, none of my comments should be construed as telling somewhat what THEY should do with their points. I am simply stating what I feel is the reasonableness of certain options and hopefully prompting anyone considering buying DVC or using their points to THINK about what the situation is and not make certain fatal assumptions without actually getting the facts.