DUES Info! - All resorts dues have been released

[Chili327]

I'll also add, I'm now convinced going forward to just prepay anything on my .0 contract.

Yes, I have also learned this.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Are you looking at it on a mobile browser or a full desktop/laptop browser? On my phone, it is a bit wonky they way they display it, but on my laptop browser, it is very easy to read and see how they took what I prepaid, applied it as a balance forward against my two home resorts, then line by line the amounts due for 2026, and what I owe after my balance forward was applied. This is on a laptop browser. The same information is on the annual dues statement page on my phone, but it would be much harder to make sense out of if I had not seen the laptop version first.

I'll also add, I'm now convinced going forward to just prepay anything on my .0 contract.

Desktop. The tax credit and the payment credit looks identical. They both just say 2026 dues


Above is the payment credit of $19.69 ($435 is my sub dues credit)


This one is the Tax credit.


Ahh so now looking at these my payment just reflects "adjustment" not "billing adjustment"

 

[PolyRob]

Desktop. The tax credit and the payment credit looks identical. They both just say 2026 dues

View attachment 1031823
Above is the payment credit of $19.69 ($435 is my sub dues credit)

View attachment 1031825
This one is the Tax credit.


Ahh so now looking at these my payment just reflects "adjustment" not "billing adjustment"

It looks like you're viewing the "Dues Transaction History"

Click on blue "View Statement" button. It's much easier to digest and will show the balance forward in the totals.

 

[airjay75]

I was just about to say the same thing as @PolyRob. I'll share a screenshot of my page - it's no secret on these boards how many points I own and where. I prepaid $8,427.85. I was very diligent about allocating my prepaid amounts to each of my 8 contracts - the $306.94 balance was all on my last contract, even though I paid off each contract proportionally. I didn't bother with the dues transaction history for each contract because this page matches up what I prepaid, what I'm being billed for, and what's left. All makes sense to me.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I was just about to say the same thing as @PolyRob. I'll share a screenshot of my page - it's no secret on these boards how many points I own and where. I prepaid $8,427.85. I was very diligent about allocating my prepaid amounts to each of my 8 contracts - the $306.94 balance was all on my last contract, even though I paid off each contract proportionally. I didn't bother with the dues transaction history for each contract because this page matches up what I prepaid, what I'm being billed for, and what's left. All makes sense to me.

Yes I looked at this last year and totally forgot to look at this year.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I am jumping in this thread a little late, but do other people think the dues are increasing at a higher rate lately? Based on the rate that dues have historically increased, I created a spreadsheet to estimate the dues for each year going forward. The estimate for 2026 was roughly $300 less than it actually is (a 200 point contract). The percentage rate increase seems to be dramatically going up compared to historical averages. Not sure if others have noticed that as well.

And considering the dues are supposed to cover cost of operation and nothing more, I’m not sure how they could be going up that much. I know over the last few years DVC has done some things that some members have considered “unscrupulous” (especially regarding point charts)…not sure if they would attempt to collect more than what is required to cover resort operations.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I am jumping in this thread a little late, but do other people think the dues are increasing at a higher rate lately? Based on the rate that dues have historically increased, I created a spreadsheet to estimate the dues for each year going forward. The estimate for 2026 was roughly $300 less than it actually is (a 200 point contract). The percentage rate increase seems to be dramatically going up compared to historical averages. Not sure if others have noticed that as well.

And considering the dues are supposed to cover cost of operation and nothing more, I’m not sure how they could be going up that much. I know over the last few years DVC has done some things that some members have considered “unscrupulous” (especially regarding point charts)…not sure if they would attempt to collect more than what is required to cover resort operations.

Yes it was more than average this year. Nobody knows if this will be the new trend or just an off year.

 

[Chili327]

I am jumping in this thread a little late, but do other people think the dues are increasing at a higher rate lately? Based on the rate that dues have historically increased, I created a spreadsheet to estimate the dues for each year going forward. The estimate for 2026 was roughly $300 less than it actually is (a 200 point contract). The percentage rate increase seems to be dramatically going up compared to historical averages. Not sure if others have noticed that as well.

And considering the dues are supposed to cover cost of operation and nothing more, I’m not sure how they could be going up that much. I know over the last few years DVC has done some things that some members have considered “unscrupulous” (especially regarding point charts)…not sure if they would attempt to collect more than what is required to cover resort operations.

Yes it was more than average this year. Nobody knows if this will be the new trend or just an off year.

Yea, I can understand it’s been a weird year (and even more than a year), so I just hope it’s a sign of the times and goes back to a more normal increases.

@DVCSunDevil was it still on track last year?

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Yes it was more than average this year. Nobody knows if this will be the new trend or just an off year.

It wasn’t just this year. The dues have been escalating at a higher than average rate for several years. Really since Covid.

 

[airjay75]

It wasn’t just this year. The dues have been escalating at a higher than average rate for several years. Really since Covid.

Sort of like everything else . . .

But, are our dues merely keeping pace with inflation or outpacing it?

BLT, the resort with the biggest increase this year. In 2020, it's dues were $6.58. The cumulative rate of inflation 2020-2025 is 25.5% (using this calculator: www.usinflationcalculator.com). So, if it were just keeping pace with inflation, dues should be $8.26. Actual 2026 dues are $8.74.

On the opposite end of the dues growth, you have RIV. In 2020, dues were $8.31. If it were keeping pace with inflation, dues should be $10.43. Actual 2026 dues are $9.45.

I think most resorts lie somewhere between RIV and BLT in terms of dues growth rates. So, some resorts are still not even keeping pace with inflation, while others are outpacing it just a bit. On the whole, I'd say probably just keeping pace with overall inflation.

If someone had more time on their hands, the more interesting comparison would be comparing growth rate in dues to growth rate in rack rates for our rooms. As long as those two things are moving in tandem, cost/benefit calculus with DVC isn't changing. I do suspect that the 2025-2026 growth in dues, if viewed in isolation, is probably exceeding any increase in rack rates, but I haven't done the comparison. But, DVC is much better viewed over time, not any one particular year.

 

[Brian Noble]

do other people think the dues are increasing at a higher rate lately?

The dues have been escalating at a higher than average rate for several years. Really since Covid.

They are, and it is completely unsurprising because coming out of lockdown, inflation has been a thing when, previously, it was very much not a thing for a very long time.

https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0L1E?output_view=pct_12mths

Worse, that's the price of goods and services. The price of goods tends to rise a little lower than overall inflation, because it is possible to be more efficient at producing goods through technology. The price of services, on the other hand, tend to rise a little faster than overall inflation, becuase a human is pretty much a human over time, and doesn't really get faster. (This is sometimes called the Baumol Effect.) Most (but not all) of the costs for operating DVC are tied to services, not goods.

 

[VGCgroupie]

It wasn’t just this year. The dues have been escalating at a higher than average rate for several years. Really since Covid.

There were high % increases before 2020. https://www.dvchelp.com/page/maintenance-fees-current-and-historical

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Yea, I can understand it’s been a weird year (and even more than a year), so I just hope it’s a sign of the times and goes back to a more normal increases.

@DVCSunDevil was it still on track last year?

No it has been “off track” for the last three years in a row. This is why I am getting a little concerned. How is DVC kept in check? Who validates that the dues are indeed in line with the cost of running the resort?

 

[AstroBlasters]

There were high % increases before 2020. https://www.dvchelp.com/page/maintenance-fees-current-and-historical

This is a fantastic resource.

With that said, past results are not a guarantee of future outcomes.

 

[WinterSolider]

No it has been “off track” for the last three years in a row. This is why I am getting a little concerned. How is DVC kept in check? Who validates that the dues are indeed in line with the cost of running the resort?

The money does not go into some slush fund corporate Disney bank account. It's held by the Association. Your conspiracy theory is quite literally impossible. Even if DVC charged double or triple the dues that they actually needed, that money would just go into the Association's lock box and would either reduce future dues or eventually come back to the owners as a refund.

 

[Brian Noble]

And even setting that aside, you have to decide whether you trust Disney to be more or less sensible. The documents are written in such a way that Disney has total control over the resorts, and the owners don't even have the ability to elect the Board members, because we grant DVC the right to vote on our behalf.

So, you have three choices

1. Assume that Disney is a reasonably reputable and honest operator.
2. Assume that Disney is not such an operator, but decide that the costs are such that you still get value from owning.
3. Sell.

Pick one.

Full disclosure: I am somewhere between #1 and #2, mostly sitting at #1. But, when I take a good hard look at what my cost per night is in just Dues for my preferred lodging choices, I do sometimes have to swallow hard. It's not cheap, even if the purchase price were free---and it wasn't.

 

[davidhr]

The way I see it’s this: inflating the dues for profit is fraud. Do I think DVC will commit fraud for a small extra percentage of profits? No. Then I don’t lose sleep about it.

I know our dues pay some kind of audit, but I honestly haven’t checked any details about how that works.

 

[Sandisw]

No it has been “off track” for the last three years in a row. This is why I am getting a little concerned. How is DVC kept in check? Who validates that the dues are indeed in line with the cost of running the resort?

We have contracted with WDPR to provide the property management.

They bill us the costs to do that. I know that both DVCMC and WDPR are audited so my guess is that there is some level of oversight.

As an owner, you can request an appointment to view records of the association…and I believe that includes this…

But, ultimately, someone would need to have evidence that WDPR is billing the condo associations fraudulently for the services they are providing.

The contract allows up to 15% increase each year…so, there is an upper limit…and it’s never come close to that.

 

[Girlstar30]

Yes. I still like to know what is actually paid per point and to see what other resorts were actually paid.

Do these tax credits happen often or is that more expected with the "for sale" resorts?

 

[davidhr]

Do these tax credits happen often or is that more expected with the "for sale" resorts?

The tax adjustment happens every year as DVC is estimating how much tax is going to be billed. There’s always some difference.