DVC Investment Calculator

[Tom Nolan]

Hey everyone! Some of you may have seen this is the Facebook group yesterday, but I created an investment calculator for DVC! Trying to get some more feedback to make it better as well as possibly create more tools for everyone!

You can check it out here: http://www.dvctools.com/

I did some minor updates with feedback from other members yesterday accounting for inflation for hotels, including adding a down payment field and allowing decimals in a few of the fields.

Other feedback is definitely welcome!

 

[Wakey]

I just get a blank blue page?

 

[DVCMinnie2532]

Hey everyone! Some of you may have seen this is the Facebook group yesterday, but I created an investment calculator for DVC! Trying to get some more feedback to make it better as well as possibly create more tools for everyone!

You can check it out here: http://www.dvctools.com/

I did some minor updates with feedback from other members yesterday accounting for inflation for hotels, including adding a down payment field and allowing decimals in a few of the fields.

Other feedback is definitely welcome!

I can't comment on the calculations but the calculator is awesome!! Nice job! Thank you!

 

[MHDTS]

This is certainly an interesting concept --

what I do know is we have owned DVC for 25 years (yep, one of the originals), and the "investment" has not only paid off ten times over, but we could now sell the points for probably 3 times what we paid for them. So we now consider the annual dues the only real cost for our trips to DVC properties.

 

[Paddy Pat]

I just get a blank blue page?

me to

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

I just get a blank blue page?

me to

I get the same blue page using Internet Explorer. The site works using Chrome.

 

[amymgould]

Love this! Any way you could add an option if you go every other year? We plan to do that and then rent our points on the years we don't go. However, we may also bank them if we want a bigger room one year.

 

[Tom Nolan]

@amymgould Yes! I'm adding a way to add decimals to that # of vacations per year field in order to accommodate those that don't go every year!

To everyone else having issues with the blue screen, I'm taking a look at the browser support for IE, now!

 

[mustinjourney]

looks pretty nice. No idea how accurate it is -- but it does show me saving a lot of money!

And spending a bunch of money. hahaha

 

[DVC Doctor]

Very nice....the look and feel is close to the same as DVC uses....what language did you program it in?

 

[jesschris]

Looks great, thanks!

 

[Saratoga Springs Tom]

Nice tool for use to look at the expenses involved with DVC ownership. It could help with the decision process. I personally don't consider DVC ownership an investment, it's more like a owning a boat. You need disposable income, and the desire to go to the same location for the long term. I've always taken the approach we paid up front for our hotel room.

 

[Anna114]

I like it! Those savings dollars made me smile. Thanks for taking the time.

 

[jodifla]

Cool! Thanks

 

[Tom Nolan]

Very nice....the look and feel is close to the same as DVC uses....what language did you program it in?

It's written in React (JavaScript)

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Something seems off to me, but I could be missing something.

I put in my BLT contract - which I had purchased @ 120 / pt - but I even left it at the default of 180 and I put in 220 points (which is what I have). That costs me about $1200 / yr in dues right now.

However, it's saying that the dues come in at $247,000 over the life of the contract!!! Now I know it's figuring an annual year on year cost increase of 5%, but it's someone ludicrous to assume that my annual dues at the end of the term will be 13K / year in current dollars. I don't see any way DVC could or would try to argue that - they would be mobbed since that's an annual cost almost approaching the purchase price!

I could POSSIBLY see those being in tomorrow dollars, but even that is sketchy and very high for inflation. Does your vacation cost take into account tomorrow dollars for the price per night accounting for equal inflation?

 

[gmboy95]

The minute i was able to enjoy my DVC membership the most was the day i stopped thinking about it as an investment....its a terrible "investment"....mainly because it ENDS....every year closer is a little less value. When I bought in to DVC 17 years ago ($72 per point) if you took into account the cost of Disney all around it was worth the money for me, and still remains so to this day

that being said. I have zero idea how folks at today's point prices believe that they are saving money at all???....I have an advanced degree in business, and there is no computation i can make in my mind to justify the per point price coupled with the dues...But people are just buying these points up by the bucket full...so what do i know

But DVC is the furthest thing from an "investment" in the proper sense of that word

 

[Dean Marino]

Hey everyone! Some of you may have seen this is the Facebook group yesterday, but I created an investment calculator for DVC! Trying to get some more feedback to make it better as well as possibly create more tools for everyone!

You can check it out here: http://www.dvctools.com/

I did some minor updates with feedback from other members yesterday accounting for inflation for hotels, including adding a down payment field and allowing decimals in a few of the fields.

Other feedback is definitely welcome!

Here is a problem that most, if not ALL, calculators miss.
There is no such thing as Rack Rate.

For a calculator to predict payback date of initial investment, it must track best DISCOUNT rate at the main hotel. Generally, this is impossible, as WDW keeps changing the REAL cost of Rooms just about quarterly. You likely did a great job - but there is no way for you to predict payback of upfront cost. You just don't have the data. NO ONE has it.

We just keep a simple spreadsheet.... every trip, I examine the DISCOUNT rate of a hotel- not rack. We use THAT number to keep track of our break even date for initial DVC investment.
Doing this for about 6 years? We see our DVC breakeven point at ABOUT year 8, accounting for dues and REAL Main Hotel Room Cost (NOT RACK). We really won't know until we account for Main Hotel discounts in 2018 .


Again - do not feel bad.... NO ONE can predict REAL Main Hotel cost. You can't create code that just doesn't have access to the data . You MIGHT assume an average (historical) 30% discount from rack.... but unless your code does a Main Hotel Discount autosearch? WDW will mess with you .

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Something seems off to me, but I could be missing something.

I put in my BLT contract - which I had purchased @ 120 / pt - but I even left it at the default of 180 and I put in 220 points (which is what I have). That costs me about $1200 / yr in dues right now.

However, it's saying that the dues come in at $247,000 over the life of the contract!!! Now I know it's figuring an annual year on year cost increase of 5%, but it's someone ludicrous to assume that my annual dues at the end of the term will be 13K / year in current dollars. I don't see any way DVC could or would try to argue that - they would be mobbed since that's an annual cost almost approaching the purchase price!

I could POSSIBLY see those being in tomorrow dollars, but even that is sketchy and very high for inflation. Does your vacation cost take into account tomorrow dollars for the price per night accounting for equal inflation?

Compounding. It's great if your saving. Not so great to see the spending side. I'd guess that OP used the average increase at each resort to come up with the estimated annual increase. Using 3-5% really isn't out of line - MF's have gone up faster than inflation recently and it's better to assume that will continue. And if inflation increased then you could be looking at more. And BLT has had some of the higher percentage increases for dues.

But that's also over 4 decades until the end of the BLT contract.

 

[Sammie]

Here is a problem that most, if not ALL, calculators miss.
There is no such thing as Rack Rate.

For a calculator to predict payback date of initial investment, it must track best DISCOUNT rate at the main hotel. Generally, this is impossible, as WDW keeps changing the REAL cost of Rooms just about quarterly. You likely did a great job - but there is no way for you to predict payback of upfront cost. You just don't have the data. NO ONE has it.

We just keep a simple spreadsheet.... every trip, I examine the DISCOUNT rate of a hotel- not rack. We use THAT number to keep track of our break even date for initial DVC investment.
Doing this for about 6 years? We see our DVC breakeven point at ABOUT year 8, accounting for dues and REAL Main Hotel Room Cost (NOT RACK). We really won't know until we account for Main Hotel discounts in 2018 .


Again - do not feel bad.... NO ONE can predict REAL Main Hotel cost. You can't create code that just doesn't have access to the data . You MIGHT assume an average (historical) 30% discount from rack.... but unless your code does a Main Hotel Discount autosearch? WDW will mess with you .

Why do you say there is no such think as Rack Rate? not everyone qualifies for a discount rate and some do pay rack rate.