Concierge point up over 10 percent?????

[Lou Rindner]

I just reviewed the new DVC booklet. I went through the Concierge Collection. I noticed that alot of the resorts in term of points have gone up at least 10 percent in points. Is that the norm each year.? I also noticed the other resorts outside the main ones are up at least 5 percent as well. Should we be expecting 5-10 percent increase in points each year?

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I think you should expect the worst. That seems to be the pattern. It is the only thing I find annoying about DVC. While the value of points that I would trade for a concierge room have gone up in value, it seems like it isn't reflected in the trade for concierge rooms or the cruise. You can't tell me that a room at the Sagamore for example has increased by 10% in the past year but the value of the room I am trading at WDW hasn't gone up too to offset it.

DVC does a really poor job of negotiatiing the trade prices. Luckily I'm very happy to use our points at WDW and if we want to cruise I will rent points out and if we want to stay in a concierge collection type place, we will just pay cash. I feel really bad for those who bought in for this great option only to have it priced out of their reach in only a few years.

HBC

 

[Lou Rindner]

I agree. I was suprised by the percent of the increase of the points. Even some of the resorts outside the main ones have gone up. It sort of limits you if you lack alot of points. We have enough points at this points which will not affect where we stay but they should be honest about the increase. We were told that they do not go up very much at all as all resorts want the DVC members to stay which keeps the points down. So in 15yrs I wonder what the points will look like.

 

[Dean]

Without looking back at specifics, my impression is that there have been larger increases. I suspect we're still paying the costs of 9/11 by making up the differences. It will almost always be a better deal to rent out your points and pay cash for the non DVC options.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by Lou Rindner
We were told that they do not go up very much at all....

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Lou Rindner
We were told that they do not go up very much at all as all resorts want the DVC members to stay which keeps the points down. So in 15yrs I wonder what the points will look like.

Or even if the program will still exist. This is a classic example of two of the main points I've tried to make to this group over the years. This program, like many others, is not guaranteed in terms of costs or even existence. No one should buy DVC with the idea of using for anything except DVC resorts and that is an absolute IMO. AND one should not take at face value what a timeshare salesperson says if it's not CLEARLY spelled out in the legal documents, another absolute.

There's no question that DVC guides are a cut above and as a rule they seem to attempt to be accurate and honest, with limited exceptions. But I can tell you from first hand experience that they can be far from accurate. Having done the tour, bought resale based on info I garnered there, then had DVC offer to buy back my RESALE contract related to the misinformation, I know things don't always work correctly. But even in it's worst case scenario, the issues I hear about DVC are small potatoes compared to other timeshare sales tactics. I could list any number of absolute lies, physical threats and the like about others issues, some from first hand experience, others second hand.

 

[BobH]

Perhaps the Concierge Collection Points have increased due to travel increasing so the Concierge destinations can demand more from the DVC when members want to exchange. Unfortunately higher point costs will put some of these Concierge Collection Options totally our of reach for some of us. Has anyone kept a record of the Concierge Collection Point requirements over the years?

I am not certain how the system works but if DVC can sell our unused space at our home resorts and the cost of DVC rooms keeps going up - couldn't they cut the membership a better deal for Concierge Collection Trades. Under the current system DVC gains, the Concierge Collection Hotel gains - only the DVC member loses.

 

[spiceycat]

go find the rack rate - (NO DISCOUNTS) multiply that by the taxes (if you need to guess use 12%)add together - then dividend by $10 (what most people value their DVC points at) - you should be close.

now as Dean had says you would be better off renting your points for cash - then making a cash reservation. Most of the time you can find a discount with a cash reservation.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by BobH
Perhaps the Concierge Collection Points have increased due to travel increasing so the Concierge destinations can demand more from the DVC when members want to exchange. Unfortunately higher point costs will put some of these Concierge Collection Options totally our of reach for some of us. Has anyone kept a record of the Concierge Collection Point requirements over the years?

I am not certain how the system works but if DVC can sell our unused space at our home resorts and the cost of DVC rooms keeps going up - couldn't they cut the membership a better deal for Concierge Collection Trades. Under the current system DVC gains, the Concierge Collection Hotel gains - only the DVC member loses.

The program is supposed to be a zero sum gain, meaning break even for DVD. They take the points and give units to CRO who rents them and takes a cut. The percentages is secret but my guess is 35%. They then pay the resort (CC, DCL, DC) a pre negotiated rate, likely in the 10-15% range compared to rack rates. Plus I get the impression they are giving larger discounts on the DVC units they rent out. In the end, you get a regular room for the cost or more than that of a 2 BR at DVC.

I personally would not use rack rate to compare costs unless you're looking at something that's rarely discounted otherwise.

 

[erikthewise]

Originally posted by Lou Rindner
I agree. I was suprised by the percent of the increase of the points. Even some of the resorts outside the main ones have gone up. It sort of limits you if you lack alot of points. We have enough points at this points which will not affect where we stay but they should be honest about the increase. We were told that they do not go up very much at all as all resorts want the DVC members to stay which keeps the points down. So in 15yrs I wonder what the points will look like.

If the points were to increase by 10% every year for 15 years, they would be more than 4 times the starting amount.