Direct Purchase benefits announced!

[tjkraz]

No matter how anyone paints this picture, the changes have devalued our contracts, whether one owns all direct, all resales, or a combination of these points. What loss occurs from these changes remains to be seen.

Applying the term "value" to a timeshare is a bit of an oxymoron. I don't mean to sound like some sort of DVC apologist but assigning any sort of future value to a timeshare purchase is somewhat ludicrous. Future liquid value is determined by a host of uncontrollable factors and I find it difficult to get worked-up about this any moreso than what the poor economy did to resale prices, supply & demand, dwindling contract values, etc.

The only "value" I assigned to my DVC points purchases was the value I derive from using 290 points per year until 2042/2054/2059. And that hasn't changed at all.

I don't see how this helps Disney's sales. The number of sales Disney is losing to resale is base on how many people have to put their contract up for sale. This change isn't going to stop people from having to sell.

By making resales less attractive, the people who have to sell will have to lower their price a bit to compensate. But they are still going to sell, just at a lower price.

I disagree.

On a daily basis we see members spending thousands of dollars more to buy a Home resort of "X" instead of "Y". People will pay more for 31 years at the Beach Club than they will for 43 years at Saratoga Springs.

It's not so far-fetched to believe that buyers will similarly pay more for the ability to lock-in DCL and non-DVC resort access for the next 50 years.

Meanwhile, Disney's main product - new DVC sales - has just been hurt. While not every new buyer considers resale value. Many do. And it's now going to be tougher to sell to those people because what they are buying is now worth less.

Horrible change that it going to hurt every owner who ever has to sell.

I would be surprised if the number of owners who consider resale values are anything more than a tiny blip on the radar. Most buyers don't contemplate a host of what-ifs. They are drawn in by the program's tangible benefits.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

I guess we also payed for DVD to upgrade their computers so that they can track resale vs direct. Nice way to spend our dues. Take our money and shove it to us. Nice. The Disney difference!

 

[bethy]

My question is what will happen when VGC is fully booked? Currently we can use our points at Disneyland hotel, etc. But it appears that this option will only be reserved for direct-buy customers. Without multiple DVC choices available, I'm not sure what this means for us. (We have been considering a resale add on for a while)

This is my personal concern, too. And THEN if the next step is to tinker with the booking windows, one might never be able to book when they want to at VGC using resale points. There are only 44 units.

Any move that limits options and flexibility and devalues our contracts is a bad thing for owners - whether it affects us personally or not. And if their next step is tinkering with booking windows as was was rumored along with these new, confirmed changes then our contracts will be devalued even more.

I bought all my points direct, btw.

 

[Sammie]

And so it begins, one nail at a time.

 

[RescueRanger]

Channel 11 BREAKING NEWS! We now take you live to our correspondent Polly Goodbody who is standing by with an eye witness... "This is Polly coming to you live from the offices of DVC. I am here with timeshare expert, Chicken Little. Mr. Little, what is your comment on the recent changes to DVC?.... Chicken Little, "THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING"... Polly, "Well, there you have it. It is pandemonium here in Orlando."



I'm sorry but I couldn't resist. This is much ado about nothing. I honestly was expecting something more severe when the rumors started. Who knows? Maybe they were going to make more drastic changes, but changed their minds. In the long run, it really doesn't matter. When I was researching my DVC purchase, one thing that was made perfectly clear was that you are only guaranteed points to use at the resort you purchase. All the other stuff could go away at any time. This will do nothing to resale prices in my opinion. The stuff they took away never made financial sense anyway.

 

[Sammie]

If this is jim's view of a tiered benefit, he needs to be replaced!

This is not the tiered benefit, this is the punishment, the tiers will be rewards.

And as Disneynutz said, now they will want all of us to sell for them.

This is manipulation at it's finest.

 

[Sammie]

Channel 11 BREAKING NEWS! We now take you live to our correspondent Polly Goodbody who is standing by with an eye witness... "This is Polly coming to you live from the offices of DVC. I am here with timeshare expert, Chicken Little. Mr. Little, what is your comment on the recent changes to DVC?.... Chicken Little, "THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING"... Polly, "Well, there you have it. It is pandemonium here in Orlando."



I'm sorry but I couldn't resist. This is much ado about nothing. I honestly was expecting something more severe when the rumors started. Who knows? Maybe they were going to make more drastic changes, but changed their minds. In the long run, it really doesn't matter. When I was researching my DVC purchase, one thing that was made perfectly clear was that you are only guaranteed points to use at the resort you purchase. All the other stuff could go away at any time. This will do nothing to resale prices in my opinion. The stuff they took away never made financial sense anyway.

So you would not have any problems with restrictions on booking windows for resale points or changing the booking window for home resort to a one month advantage which they can do.

I do totally agree with what Liferbabe posted, everyone that purchases DVC best know for sure what they are buying, because it ain't what they are selling.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Sorry, I must disagree. You bought under certain terms that could or could not change, but if they did, would change for "all" owners. Now there is a differentiation between your direct points and your resales points. They are no longer the " same". Doesn't matter how they are different, whether you care if the differences affect you, or how anyone else interprets these differences. They are now not the same. Your original purchases have been devalued.

Applying the term "value" to a timeshare is a bit of an oxymoron. I don't mean to sound like some sort of DVC apologist but assigning any sort of future value to a timeshare purchase is somewhat ludicrous. Future liquid value is determined by a host of uncontrollable factors and I find it difficult to get worked-up about this any moreso than what the poor economy did to resale prices, supply & demand, dwindling contract values, etc.

The only "value" I assigned to my DVC points purchases was the value I derive from using 290 points per year until 2042/2054/2059. And that hasn't changed at all.



I disagree.

On a daily basis we see members spending thousands of dollars more to buy a Home resort of "X" instead of "Y". People will pay more for 31 years at the Beach Club than they will for 43 years at Saratoga Springs.

It's not so far-fetched to believe that buyers will similarly pay more for the ability to lock-in DCL and non-DVC resort access for the next 50 years.




I would be surprised if the number of owners who consider resale values are anything more than a tiny blip on the radar. Most buyers don't contemplate a host of what-ifs. They are drawn in by the program's tangible benefits.

 

[lilpooh108]

Can you imagine the flood of calls to resale agents between now and March to get people's ROFRs through, or those ROFRs which have gone through to simply close.

My last resale contract closed a full 14 days or so after passing ROFR just b/c our agent was so slow. If I was going through ROFR I'd freak out!

 

[RescueRanger]

So you would not have any problems with restrictions on booking windows for resale points.

Actually, No I wouldn't. Of course, I own direct but it looks as though DVC is grandfathering. If you don't intend on using your contract for the term you bought it, you shouldn't be purchasing in my opinion. DVC is not an investment. Timeshare in general is not an investment and anyone who thinks it is has not done the needed research before making that significant of a purchase.

 

[Sammie]

Actually, No I wouldn't. Of course, I own direct but it looks as though DVC is grandfathering. If you don't intend on using your contract for the term you bought it, you shouldn't be purchasing in my opinion. DVC is not an investment. Timeshare in general is not an investment and anyone who thinks it is has not done the needed research before making that significant of a purchase.

Would you be upset if they change the booking window on direct points?

 

[BWV Dreamin]

This is an unrealistic statement. While I have no hard facts, the odds are very slim that you will hold on to your contracts for the full length of time of ownership.

Actually, No I wouldn't. Of course, I own direct but it looks as though DVC is grandfathering. If you don't intend on using your contract for the term you bought it, you shouldn't be purchasing in my opinion. DVC is not an investment. Timeshare in general is not an investment and anyone who thinks it is has not done the needed research before making that significant of a purchase.

 

[Corwin]

...Any move that limits options and flexibility and devalues our contracts is a bad thing for owners - whether it affects us personally or not. And if their next step is tinkering with booking windows as was was rumored along with these new, confirmed changes then our contracts will be devalued even more.

I agree. These changes hurt all owners, whether they bought direct or via resale, and whether or not they personally value the ability to make reservations within the Concierge Collection, the Disney Collection, or the Adventurer Collection.

Realize that even if it doesn't affect your use of the membership, it hurts your resale value.

To their credit, at least DVC did grandfather the resale purchases conducted before March 20, 2011. If they had not done that, I for one would have felt betrayed by them. I would have seriously considered getting rid of my DVC contract as soon as possible (even at a loss), and had nothing more to do with DVC.

(And for this thread to characterize the change as a "benefit" in the title is almost Orwellian. It's not a benefit that is being granted to anyone; instead, it's something all purchasers used to have that is now being taken away from some.)

 

[RescueRanger]

This is an unrealistic statement. While I have no hard facts, the odds are very slim that you will hold on to your contracts for the full length of time of ownership.

No it's not. I fully intend to keep my contract. IN fact, I had my contract divided into 2 equal smaller contracts so that I could give 1 to each of my daughters should I decide I am unable to enjoy it any longer. I know I have read many other posts from people doing the same. I would say that people like you are most likely in the minority. Not the other way around.

 

[mphillips76]

Can you imagine the flood of calls to resale agents between now and March to get people's ROFRs through, or those ROFRs which have gone through to simply close.

My last resale contract closed a full 14 days or so after passing ROFR just b/c our agent was so slow. If I was going through ROFR I'd freak out!

Freaking out over here! My agent says we should def be through ROFR and closed before the deadline...but still freaking out! And hoping Disney isn't about to ROFR everything they have right now!

 

[LIFERBABE]

Good point. In addition, your concern should be the fact that this change is just additional evidence that Disney will do what's good for Disney, even at the expense of it's DVC Members.

Truthfully, I did not need anymore evidence after they lowered pool temps and took the mugs away (bringing them back after protest) That was enough evidence for me.

That's when I stopped referring DVC to the layperson. It wasnt what they did, it was how they did it that told me what kind of culture was in place. The same for the valet parking and OKW extension. This takeaway is kinder and gentler than any of those previous transgressions.

I am pretty liberal when it comes to using my points, but I know how to maximize their value and be conservative if need be.

I also stopped wearing the hats and lanyards on the cruises because they arent paying me to be a walking billboard. I lost respect for DVC Marketing with the sign to announce the sign

The basic product is still sound and we enjoy our trips immensely and I dont even open the perks book anymore. There is plenty to keep our family entertained and last trip was 14 days and we spent $60 onsite. No parks (have hoppers just did not want to go), no Disney TS, had a blast!

 

[Sammie]

Surely everyone realizes this is about sales, which right now is the focus for DVC.

If DVC was able to sell all the points they wanted at the price they want, they would care less about resales, gee that is what happened until now.

They want to make resales seem less desireable than direct sales and believe me when I say this is just the first nail, if they don't accomplish what they want out of this restriction, there will be more.

They also want to reward a certain percentage of DVC, big point holders, to encourage those big sales and addons which will be the tier program.

They also want to encourage all members to sell for them, by rewarding them for doing so. There was a time the product was so great, we all gladly were sales people for DVC, that has fallen off. Instead of trying to manipulate us into selling they ought to wonder why members are not doing it willingly anymore.

If resale had been a problem in the past this would have happened before. If they truly felt that big point holders deserved extra benefits, they would have done that too.

This is all done to increase sales, as Disneynutz said it's not about the members and has not been for some time now.

Maybe, just maybe if they had not overbuilt the market, built quality resorts with quality products that did not require them going back in and redo mistakes, if they focused on houskeeping and maintenance, maybe the sales they are so desperately now trying to get, would have come to them easily. Just as they did in the past when the product literally sold itself.

 

[RescueRanger]

Would you be upset if they change the booking window on direct points?

If it is done in accordance with the POS, then no. Once again, people should be doing their homework before buying.

 

[mphillips76]

I agree. These changes hurt all owners, whether they bought direct or via resale, and whether or not they personally value the ability to make reservations within the Concierge Collection, the Disney Collection, or the Adventurer Collection.

Realize that even if it doesn't affect your use of the membership, it hurts your resale value.

To their credit, at least DVC did grandfather the resale purchases conducted before March 20, 2011. If they had not done that, I for one would have felt betrayed by them. I would have seriously considered getting rid of my DVC contract as soon as possible (even at a loss), and had nothing more to do with DVC.

(And for this thread to characterize the change as a "benefit" in the title is almost Orwellian. It's not a benefit that is being granted to anyone; instead, it's something all purchasers used to have that is now being taken away from some.)

I created the thread using the title that DVCnews.com used...sorry.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I created the thread using the title that DVCnews.com used...sorry.

You can always edit it.......