DVC Complaints

[antnyh]

I do not want to start a DVC trashing topic, but we are about to join at BLT. I have read numerous posts here and at another site. I haven't really read any negative comments from DVC members. The only negative debates have been around the financial sense of joining. I am not concerned about that as I have the money and it makes financial sense to me. I do wonder if there are any complaints or dislikes that you may have. Something that you wish you knew before you joined. Not that they would make you reconsider, but it was a bummer when you found out.

Thanks...

 

[Deb & Bill]

I think the biggest thing to be aware of is that all you are guaranteed is lodging at your home resort until the end of the contract (as long as nothing happens to the resort). They could eliminate trading out, using points at other resorts, short stays, all the perks they currently give, etc. And everyone buying in needs to realize that ultimately, the dues they pay monthly will far outreach the initial buy-in.

 

[Chic]

My only complaint is I wish I would have joined sooner!
Some members did not realize that they would not receive daily housekeeping services while staying in a DVC Villa. Other than that, no surprises. If you are like the majority, you will contract "addonitus" and want to add more and more points as time passes. We love being members and recommend it to anyone who has the financial means. When you do catch addonitus, I strongly recommend the resale route, it saves tons of money.

 

[JimMIA]

In addition to Deb's post above, I think you should also understand clearly that DVC can change the points costs for a particular unit, day of the week, season, etc. Guides love to tell people the points will never change, but that's just not true.

Points costs can and have changed, sometimes to owners' detriment. Recently, for example, they increased some of the weekday points costs and reduced the weekend points costs. That helped some and hurt others.

Another thing that is more important now than when we bought 5 years ago is Use Year. With the change in banking deadlines and the inability to use the account for certain types of transactions in the last 4 months, use year really matters now.

I'd also understand clearly how banking, borrowing, and cancellations work, and also what "reservation points" are.

I'd also be aware that there is a very active resale market out there which may save you thousands of dollars, depending on what you want to buy.

As far as complaints, I think the most common complaint you'll hear from longtime owners is that the attitude toward owners has changed. Where once there was a strong attempt to build owner loyalty, nowadays corporate profits drive everything. You'll learn to cringe at the phrase "enhancement due to member input," and similar BS.

The other complaint you'll hear more than you like will be about dirty villas. We personally have never had a dirty villa in more than a dozen trips, but you'll hear some pretty bad anecdotal criticisms of housekeeping at the resorts.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

I concur with all of the posters comments here.

I'm a newbie - we just bought in April and have only made one trip, and I didn't have a dirty villa. 1BR Room Unit 7222 BLT was awesome this past May.

You will see on the boards a lot of ragging on Member Services, but since joining in April, I've called Member Services about ten times - to bank the 2009 points we got, to book our May 2010 trip, to book our December 2010 trip, to get an Annual Pass, to buy Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Part tickets, etc and I've never had a problem with them. Have all the phone calls been magical? No you're calling someone at a phone center and trying to do reservations - it's not exactly exciting stuff. But they cast members have been knowledgeable.

Just make sure you do your homework before you buy. If you signed up, read through all the docs they gave you. Read the FAQs here and at DVCmember.com, etc.

Good luck with your purchase. I definitely wish we would have purchased sooner.

BLT - May 2010
AKV (Kidani) - December 2010

 

[DebbieB]

The only thing I would change is split my 250 point BWV contract into 150 & 100. I could then selloff the 100 and buy at VGC.

 

[nifferearly]

I originally bought 2 1/2 years ago and have added on twice since then (one resale, the other direct). We absolutely love owning DVC! No, it's not always perfect but are any hotels? I've always had good experiences with MS, never had a dirty villa, and I've been very successful at getting the resort I want if I call at 7 months (we've stayed at all of them).

Yes, some things have changed for the worse - I really miss free valet parking! But other things have improved. BLT wasn't an option when we bought but we've been lucky enough to have 2 wonderful stays there already. And I can't wait to book Hawaii!

I think if you go into it with realistic expectations, you won't be disappointed!

 

[antnyh]

....that DVC can change the points costs for a particular unit, day of the week, season, etc.....

I inquired a lot about this and here is what I was told over and over. The total amount of points for a week can't change, but the amount for weekday and weekends can. That didn't make sense to me so I inquired more. He said that the total amount that is listed for weekly will remain unchanged for the contract agreement, but the individual numbers they have listed by the weekday and weekend categories can and do change a couple of points here and there, but still equal the total weekly points that are listed today. Still kind of confused. If you say that they won't go up that should mean that they DON'T GO UP...

I don't have any old points charts to compare his answer to.

 

[ACDSNY]

The only thing I would change is split my 250 point BWV contract into 150 & 100. I could then selloff the 100 and buy at VGC.

Understanding UY and the advantages of small contracts were our two items as we've sold our original contracts in order change UY.

DebbieB - go ahead an add on VGC are wonderful!

 

[antnyh]

.....Yes, some things have changed for the worse - I really miss free valet parking! ....

I was told that we got free valet parking. I remember that because I said great we no longer would have that expense!! I hope he didn't lie. I was also told that we get free hi-speed internet service. That, as small as it sounds, was another great hook for us since we like to upload our pictures while there and have them printed on the trip home. Can someone else verify that the valet parking is no longer free? That wouldn't change my mind, but I don't like be mislead.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

 

[JimMIA]

I inquired a lot about this and here is what I was told over and over. The total amount of points for a week can't change, but the amount for weekday and weekends can.

That's not true. By law, each timeshare resort has a fixed number of points determined by the number and types of units and the number of days in a year. That total number cannot change by law. However, week-to-week points change every year as the seasons are adjusted because of the change in dates of Easter. And DVC can adjust the seasons however they want as long as they don't exceed the total amount of points for that resort.

 

[DebbieB]

I inquired a lot about this and here is what I was told over and over. The total amount of points for a week can't change, but the amount for weekday and weekends can. That didn't make sense to me so I inquired more. He said that the total amount that is listed for weekly will remain unchanged for the contract agreement, but the individual numbers they have listed by the weekday and weekend categories can and do change a couple of points here and there, but still equal the total weekly points that are listed today. Still kind of confused. If you say that they won't go up that should mean that they DON'T GO UP...

I don't have any old points charts to compare his answer to.

That's not true. The total amount for the entire year for the entire resort cannot change. The weekly points can change. For example, they can increase the points for studios and decrease other size units to make up for it. If you compare the 2010 and 2011 charts you will see a difference in the weekly totals.

I was told that we got free valet parking. I remember that because I said great we no longer would have that expense!! I hope he didn't lie. I was also told that we get free hi-speed internet service. That, as small as it sounds, was another great hook for us since we like to upload our pictures while there and have them printed on the trip home. Can someone else verify that the valet parking is no longer free? That wouldn't change my mind, but I don't like be mislead.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

Nope, free valet parking was eliminated last fall. Free internet is still available, but that can be taken away, it's not guaranteed.

 

[antnyh]

Thanks JimMIA and DebbieB for those honest answers. Maybe I misunderstood the rep. So the total points for the resort per YEAR cannot increase. I understand that seasons change from year to year. Makes more sense now.

I also understand that perks come and go as well, but we just toured last week and he told me free valet was still on the table. Maybe it is just for BLT? Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[JimMIA]

I was told that we got free valet parking. I remember that because I said great we no longer would have that expense!! I hope he didn't lie.

That is not correct, and it's a good object lesson every prospective buyer needs to learn.

You are talking about a "perk," not something that is guaranteed by the legal documents that govern DVC (the Public Offering Statement or POS). We do NOT get free valet parking. We ONCE got free valet parking at the resort where we were staying, but that was changed abruptly last year. The change was unannounced and was so abrupt that some people parked their car at night with free valet and woke up to learn they owed $10!

Big lesson here: PERKS CHANGE. Don't even consider perks in your purchasing decision because they are added and deleted all the time.

I was also told that we get free hi-speed internet service. That, as small as it sounds, was another great hook for us since we like to upload our pictures while there and have them printed on the trip home.

We currently get free hi-speed (hardwire, not wireless) internet service. A year or so ago, we paid $10 per day, now we get it free. Next year, who knows?

PERKS CHANGE - ignore perks in your purchasing deliberations.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I inquired a lot about this and here is what I was told over and over. The total amount of points for a week can't change, but the amount for weekday and weekends can. That didn't make sense to me so I inquired more. He said that the total amount that is listed for weekly will remain unchanged for the contract agreement, but the individual numbers they have listed by the weekday and weekend categories can and do change a couple of points here and there, but still equal the total weekly points that are listed today. Still kind of confused. If you say that they won't go up that should mean that they DON'T GO UP...

I don't have any old points charts to compare his answer to.

I think what this means is the points per day can change but a standard week (Sun to Sat, most likely) will not change.

For example (this is not based on any actual resort) say one week at one resort will cost 155 points. Sun-Thurs cost 19 points per night and Fri and Sat cost 30 points per night. Well, DVC is noticing a huge increase in member weekday visits but the weekends are ghost-town. Point change! Now Sun-Thurs costs 21 points per night and Fri and Sat cost 25 points per night. Still adds up to 155 points for the whole week but it costs more to now stay during the cheaper weekdays. Hope this helps!

ETA: Weekly costs vary per season per type of unit. My post is regarding the same week from one year to the next.

 

[JimMIA]

I think what this means is the points per day can change but a standard week (Sun to Sat, most likely) will not change.

That is incorrect. It's a common misconception.

See DebbieB and my posts above.

 

[DebbieB]

I think what this means is the points per day can change but a standard week (Sun to Sat, most likely) will not change.

For example (this is not based on any actual resort) say one week at one resort will cost 155 points. Sun-Thurs cost 19 points per night and Fri and Sat cost 30 points per night. Well, DVC is noticing a huge increase in member weekday visits but the weekends are ghost-town. Point change! Now Sun-Thurs costs 21 points per night and Fri and Sat cost 25 points per night. Still adds up to 155 points for the whole week but it costs more to now stay during the cheaper weekdays. Hope this helps!

ETA: Weekly costs vary per season per type of unit. My post is regarding the same week from one year to the next.

That's not correct. If you compare 2010 & 2011, most of the weekly totals have changed. Some up, some down.

For example:

BWV, dream season standard studio:

2010: S-Th, 13 points, F-S 21 points, 107 weekly
2011: S-Th, 14 points, F-S 17 points, 104 weekly

BWV, dream season preferred studio:

2010: S-Th, 15 points, F-S 24 points, 123 weekly
2011: S-Th, 17 points, F-S 20 points, 125 weekly

BWV, premier season, standard studio:

2010: S-Th, 19 points, F-S 31 points, 157 weekly
2011: S-Th, 20 points, F-S 25 points, 150 weekly

BWV, premier season, preferred studio:

2010: S-Th, 22 points, F-S 35 points, 180 weekly
2011: S-Th, 26 points, F-S 29 points, 188 weekly

The odd thing is that standard view went down, which always seems to be more in demand.

 

[RickinPA]

My only complaint is I wish I would have joined sooner!
Some members did not realize that they would not receive daily housekeeping services while staying in a DVC Villa. Other than that, no surprises. If you are like the majority, you will contract "addonitus" and want to add more and more points as time passes. We love being members and recommend it to anyone who has the financial means. When you do catch addonitus, I strongly recommend the resale route, it saves tons of money.

Chic,

I agree that a savy person can, in some circumstances, save money doing a resale.

However, I don't agree that everyone can save tons of money with every add on.

This past December, we added 50 points at AKL. With the additional "on property discount," and the fact that most resale contracts were stripped, we did much better buying direct. We did not save tons of money, but we saved a few pennies and a lot of time.

Everyone's wants and needs are different.

 

[RickinPA]

Another thing that is more important now than when we bought 5 years ago is Use Year. With the change in banking deadlines and the inability to use the account for certain types of transactions in the last 4 months, use year really matters now.QUOTE]

Jim,

Interesting and informative post. You lost me on the use year change. Can you expand on your thoghts regarding this? I'm just looking to learn.

Thanks
Rick

 

[crisi]

It will be harder to stay where you want with shorter notice bookings (i.e. less than seven months) than your guide likely led you to believe. In particular, Epcot resorts during F&W and all resorts during early December and Grand Villas almost year round can be difficult to book if you don't do it within the home resort window.

Trading out of DVC is probably less of a good value than your guide led you to believe. "Look you can cruise!" Yeah, its possibly cheaper to pay cash (sometimes its a good deal).

DVC is a timeshare, there are distinct differences between a timeshare and a hotel. Understand them. This is room configurations, but also the refresh rate of the rooms (somewhat less frequent), they don't clean your room everyday or give you clean towels for the asking.