DVC Kawfee Tawk with Pete – Saturday, May 8th

[pkrieger2287]

Join Pete Werner, Nick Cotton, and Paul Krieger LIVE at 11:00 am, EST on Saturday, May 8th as they start the morning with a discussion about Disney Vacation Club!

This will be LIVE in the DVC Fan Facebook Group and on the DVC Fan YouTube Channel!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1390779466130067459

 

[808blessing]

Great show. First time I watched a live one with you! Didn’t participate in chat but lurked. Kept refilling my Chip mug. Thought everything was adequately and fairly addressed by Nick and crew. I appreciate when there is time to dip into live questions. I’ll be back.

 

[Marionnette]

I stopped watching about halfway through. It felt as if the conversation was going around in circles and I wasn't gleaning anything new from it after the first 20 minutes. I went back later after the video had been archived and fast forwarded to the ROFR discussion, which I actually found to be more engaging.

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

While I admire Pete's dedication to his business partners, I respectfully disagree. DVCRM's track record has been stellar before this "service". Pete is right, he is going to know more of the behind the scenes workings and he should. But as a customer of a few transactions with DVCRM, maybe Pete should see it more from someone not so much in the know. Instead of telling me "You're wrong because I know more than you." Maybe explain to me why. Or maybe see it from the "layman". Take yourself out from the inner circle and see it through the general public lens.

From my experience everything that was offered with this service was already there sans backpack. You can't tell me it's not a money grab when by Pete's definition is "raising the price of something and providing nothing of value in return." DVCRM was already giving me a phenomenal service. It really showed that these guys and gals were former CMs and knew their product better than anyone. So if I was getting this kind of service before the fee, how is it not a money grab? I'm not going to get better than the best. There is only so much they can do in part of the resale process. Am I going to get through ROFR in under a week? Are my points going to be loaded the second we close? My assumption is no because that all comes from DVC's end. The service from DVCRM can't get better than what it already is. There is nothing that DVCRM can do to make the resale process suck less.

Pete says "These people don't get paid in pixie dust. They get paid in cash." That is 100% correct. But what DVCRM was trying to pass off was pixie dust for cash. If you want to call it a fee, that is fine. I understand economics and worked with other brokers who charged an "administrative fee". But call it a fee. If you want cash, call it cash. Don't sell me pixie dust when it's something I was already getting (except that backpack that I don't need). Disney has made it a habit of trying to sell pixie dust that really was much to do about nothing for the sake of cash and we rip them all the time. So how is this different? Because they aren't a large corporation? Call it what it is and I don't think you'd have the major blow back. Simple. Just be straight forward. Just because Disney does it, doesn't mean you have to.

To sum it up, I don't doubt that these people are good people. It is great that they are helping out with former CMs who fell on hard times. My experience with DVCRM has been nothing but amazing. I will continue to use them fee or not but call it just that "a fee". I don't doubt that everyone that Pete associates with are great people and are good business people. Pete wouldn't be saying these things if he truly didn't believe in these other companies. Thats why I'll continue to use DVCRM. It's water under the bridge. Just hate to be sold on something that really isn't there. But if you want to charge me a fee and said it from the get go, I wouldn't have cared at all. So you can't be surprised by people's blow back on this program. I'm sure others would probably agree if not I'll go kick rocks.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

What is the fee? This sounds a lot like Fidelity.

 

[Ruttangel]

What is the fee? This sounds a lot like Fidelity.

It was $79 to get a backpack and a "concierge level service"......but they backtracked after much grief.
It was un-opt-outable as well which just made it an admin fee.
They have biggest market share but I already find their listings too high and then this on top?

The problem is that all brokers seem to be pushing resale prices so high (high demand/low volume of listings/stimulus checks/savings) that buyers may end going direct as savings getting squeezed at some of the resorts.

 

[rawisericho]

Yeah, I didn’t dig the adversarial tone the first 15 minutes had.

 

[justadreamaway77]

It was $79 to get a backpack and a "concierge level service"......but they backtracked after much grief.
It was un-opt-outable as well which just made it an admin fee.
They have biggest market share but I already find their listings too high and then this on top?

The problem is that all brokers seem to be pushing resale prices so high (high demand/low volume of listings/stimulus checks/savings) that buyers may end going direct as savings getting squeezed at some of the resorts.

I forget if it was them or another resale company but someone was trying to sell a 500 point SSR contract for $136/point! Hahahaha, after the direct incentives from Disney you could buy that same contract for something like $10 more a point and get the blue card and usage of Riviera

 

[justadreamaway77]

While I admire Pete's dedication to his business partners, I respectfully disagree. DVCRM's track record has been stellar before this "service". Pete is right, he is going to know more of the behind the scenes workings and he should. But as a customer of a few transactions with DVCRM, maybe Pete should see it more from someone not so much in the know. Instead of telling me "You're wrong because I know more than you." Maybe explain to me why. Or maybe see it from the "layman". Take yourself out from the inner circle and see it through the general public lens.

From my experience everything that was offered with this service was already there sans backpack. You can't tell me it's not a money grab when by Pete's definition is "raising the price of something and providing nothing of value in return." DVCRM was already giving me a phenomenal service. It really showed that these guys and gals were former CMs and knew their product better than anyone. So if I was getting this kind of service before the fee, how is it not a money grab? I'm not going to get better than the best. There is only so much they can do in part of the resale process. Am I going to get through ROFR in under a week? Are my points going to be loaded the second we close? My assumption is no because that all comes from DVC's end. The service from DVCRM can't get better than what it already is. There is nothing that DVCRM can do to make the resale process suck less.

Pete says "These people don't get paid in pixie dust. They get paid in cash." That is 100% correct. But what DVCRM was trying to pass off was pixie dust for cash. If you want to call it a fee, that is fine. I understand economics and worked with other brokers who charged an "administrative fee". But call it a fee. If you want cash, call it cash. Don't sell me pixie dust when it's something I was already getting (except that backpack that I don't need). Disney has made it a habit of trying to sell pixie dust that really was much to do about nothing for the sake of cash and we rip them all the time. So how is this different? Because they aren't a large corporation? Call it what it is and I don't think you'd have the major blow back. Simple. Just be straight forward. Just because Disney does it, doesn't mean you have to.

To sum it up, I don't doubt that these people are good people. It is great that they are helping out with former CMs who fell on hard times. My experience with DVCRM has been nothing but amazing. I will continue to use them fee or not but call it just that "a fee". I don't doubt that everyone that Pete associates with are great people and are good business people. Pete wouldn't be saying these things if he truly didn't believe in these other companies. Thats why I'll continue to use DVCRM. It's water under the bridge. Just hate to be sold on something that really isn't there. But if you want to charge me a fee and said it from the get go, I wouldn't have cared at all. So you can't be surprised by people's blow back on this program. I'm sure others would probably agree if not I'll go kick rocks.

I have gotten the same service from other resale companies with no fee.....

 

[AmishGuy91]

I generally agree with Pete on all his "rants" but not this one. It came off as blind allegiance to his sponsor. If Disney had pulled something like this (add a $79 fee with initially no communication, followed-up by poor communication), he would have tore into them.

 

[Marionnette]

I forget if it was them or another resale company but someone was trying to sell a 500 point SSR contract for $136/point! Hahahaha, after the direct incentives from Disney you could buy that same contract for something like $10 more a point and get the blue card and usage of Riviera

In fairness to whoever the broker was, it's the seller who ultimately sets the price. The broker can only advise them as to what is a reasonable ask. For all we know, that seller had a mortgage to pay off at settlement and needed a certain price point in order to walk away without kicking in additional money.

 

[Jwaire]

I still don't know what you get with the concierge fee they were planning to charge? You already get access to your sales rep and their admin staff. Then you have your title company agent. What are they offering above what you already get? I watched the announcement video and wondered the same thing. Then the live came along and I thought they would go into detail, but that didn't happen either.

For the record, I've been really impressed with my interaction with DVC Resale Market's admin staff. They are on top of it. With every email I've sent, they've replied within a few hours. Same with the title company.

 

[rawisericho]

I still don't know what you get with the concierge fee they were planning to charge? You already get access to your sales rep and their admin staff. Then you have your title company agent. What are they offering above what you already get? I watched the announcement video and wondered the same thing. Then the live came along and I thought they would go into detail, but that didn't happen either.

For the record, I've been really impressed with my interaction with DVC Resale Market's admin staff. They are on top of it. With every email I've sent, they've replied within a few hours. Same with the title company.

Yeah, I think most people were happy with DVCRM overall, it was just the way the fee was introduced and the dismissive way it was discussed on Kawfee Talk that turned people off.

 

[anomamatt]

I still don't know what you get with the concierge fee they were planning to charge? You already get access to your sales rep and their admin staff. Then you have your title company agent. What are they offering above what you already get? I watched the announcement video and wondered the same thing. Then the live came along and I thought they would go into detail, but that didn't happen either.

You get a backpack!

On a more serious note, I think what bothered me most about the "concierge program" was that they said the program will somehow speed up the process. But they did not offer any concrete ways they can do this. We all know there is no way they can speed up ROFR and/or point loading by member administration. And those are the two most time consuming aspects of waiting for resale.

But let's suspend my disbelief: if they can somehow speed up the process, they will capture even more of the market by advertising this. And there would be no need to charge an additional fee, they already have the highest commission for DVC resales (8.9%). But all the buyers will want to buy there if they really can speed up the process somehow (again, I am skeptical).

As for the video, I was left less than impressed with the entire operation. When you are being paid by someone, it's hard to be unbiased. And that shone through pretty clearly.

 

[Doberge]

I don't trust anything under the World of Disney umbrella. The rental store has reservations listed at $28/point for stuff like an OKW studio. I can only hope people aren't biting. It'd be easier to stomach if telling me the DVC owner was getting paid at least $24/point for that (still a nuts price) but who thinks that's happening? Here's an example: https://dvcrentalstore.com/guests/reservations/6092f4554878e7001b62c3a8/

Selling Monera "as crack" is an endorsement to finance at 9.9% to 15.5%. Short term? Fine. But hopefully people aren't biting on that long term.

On resales, 8.9% commission would, I believe, be the highest in the industry. I don't criticize the company specifically here as much because some competitors are similar at 8.5%. It's more of an industry issue that rates are rising at the same time sales prices are increasing. Really makes one question how any resale company made it selling contracts at $90/point at lower commissions. I'm looking forward to the discussion on future hypothetical "small contract fees" on 2042 resorts when they eventually do decrease in value.

 

[Flynn's Gal]

I predict this thread will be deleted soon. Big Brother is watching.
Generally, I try to see all sides of an issue. Here is my takeaway of the real reason for the fee. In order for DVCRM to maintain the quality level of service that everyone is accustomed to, the new hires are needed to take on some of the duties. It seems they have so much business, they need help. Just a guess, but perhaps that level of service was costing the associates late nights, no weekends, no downtime or something like that. Again, just spitballing, but maybe DVCRM is trying to keep the agents sane and happy. I hear and understand the comments saying DVCRM was already providing that service, why pay for it now? Maybe the cost on the associates' well being was too high to run indefinitely at that pace. Packaging it as an extra service, with a fancy name, didn't go over quite the way they wanted on here though. As for the higher commissions, high priced contracts, and now an admin fee (that I doubt will ever be an opt out), I get the frustration. We, as consumers, have choices though. Ultimately, it's a business and they can charge what the market allows. People are either going to do business with them or they won't. To be getting as much exposure as they are, I seriously doubt DVCRM will be hurting for business even with the fee. I don't think it was done as a money grab. I think it was to pass on costs that they will have to maintain, and even improve, the level of service they expect from their company, but calling it a fee isn't very creative. DVCRM probably wants to stand out as the best. The concierge branding is certainly going to help them do that with new buyers and sellers who will likely never see the countering views on here or any other social media. It's probably best to make peace with the fee and enjoy your backpack.

As for the show, I was also disappointed in the tone, but what are you going to do? Bite the hand that feeds you? I gathered the term "money grab" was the biggest contention. It probably was an unfair label. However, these boards, the YouTube content, the FB pages etc. are owned by a business and a businessman. Viewing things from the company lens is probably very different from seeing the point of view of the group members. It'd be impossible to detach when you built this from the ground up. I've noticed in the Kawfee Tawks they are great and informational sure, but questions are screened and selected. No one with an opposing view is ever on. Same with DVC Fan. The inner circle folks have varying opinions, but trust and believe, no one is ever going to go hard on the sponsor. In the end, it's still a business... just one with entertaining commentary, great information and a welcoming platform that we're a part of on the boards.

Admittedly, I was quite shocked to see the posts from Nick and Marissa on the OG thread. You know that meme where the character backs into the bushes slowly? That's what I felt when I saw their comments. The OP just wanted to know if anyone noticed the fee on a resale company's listings and then the opinions flowed. Coincidentally, that company just happened to be the sponsor. I doubt there would have been a show if a different resale broker added a fee to improve their business and members of the boards took issue with it in a thread. Circling back, I get a 1984ish vibe if the sponsor starts getting too much criticism. Poof, this thread will be gone.

 

[chcknctlt]

I must have been asleep for a week or so....completely missed this until watching the show...is there an original post you can link to that would be more informative as to what caused this and what the explanation was?

 

[CarolMN]

The extra charge was removed from the https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/ website. I think the "horse" is dead.

 

[stwaldman]

The extra charge was removed from the https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/ website. I think the "horse" is dead.

To be fair to this thread, the clear message from the show is they're just going to revisit and repackage the "concierge" program. They aren't firing the new employees who are listed and titled on their website.

*Edited to note we don't know if it's just later buried in an admin fee or the concierge fee comes back or if they just eat the cost.

 

[holyrita]

I had to stop watching the DVC shows Have been watching for years and they were how I learned about DVC, pros and cons of the membership, and news. Now they seem more about the services their partners provide. Sad because I haven't found another show I enjoy. Still enjoy watching the room tours though!