DVC prices getting TOO high???

[prncssjas]

With all this talk about BCV prices and the speculation around the 2004 Villas on the golf course, I am wondering just how high prices will go. Don't you guys think that Disney can only raise prices so high before people will find it too outrageous and super expensive? I know that if you love Disney, you will pay for Disney. And I understand that prices do go up but really now...how high are they going to go?!!! What does everyone think?? I don't think that $100 per point is too far off but how about in 10 years?? Will it be $150 per point? OUCH!

 

[Joeblack]

They are not getting high but they might. What I don't understand is why some DISers are giving ideas to Disney about raising prices to outrageous levels. If any kind of trend and logic is followed, prices for BCV should not be higher than $82/pt, which would be the highest jump a DVC resort has ever taken. Thre are some people who will see no difference betwee paying that or 100/pt, but I am sure that Disney realizes that most prospective members are working-class people with families who have to make an effort to pay the initial investment and not millionaires.

 

[lodgelady]

A while back there was a poll here about average income of DVC owners. As I recall, the average was between $50,00 & $75,000 per year. I know that this is not a perfect sample, but I wonder if Disney plans to reach higher income market segment by building more exclusive and expensive DVC onsite resorts. Maybe "Eagle Pines" will cost more per share and cost so many points to stay per night that it would discourage folks with more modest point amounts from spending their points there? I know that sounds like I'm a skeptic.... I took just enough marketing in school to make me suspicious, but not enough to earn money at it On the other hand, maybe sales have been so strong, that they will just keep raising the price per share and building new units until the demand levels off.

 

[bandstand]

Disney can create a "more expensive" resort without changing the point value -- all they have to do is require more points per night. Indeed, this is the only way they can do this and include the new "fancy" resort in the DVC resort pool with point-based exchanges. They already have done this -- look at the per-night point differences between HH and VB.

My guess is that the new "Eagle Pines" resort will be differentiated from OKW in exactly this fashion -- by having higher point requirements (& maybe higher maintenance fees). OKW will be their "moderate" villas priced to compete with, say Marriott) and Eagle Pines will be their "luxury" villas priced to compete with, say, Four Seasons VC).

Someday DVC may build a "economy" resort at WDW, with lower per-night points, smaller accomodations and less elaborate theming and facilities -- more in the range of the All Star resorts

 

[Geyser Gazer]

Last year when we started planning for our first WDW trip as a family I experienced a serious case of sticker shock when looking for on sight accomodations. I spent lots of time working every angle at every resort looking for our best value (this was before I discovered the dis). I came to conclusion that once the " need stay on site" pill is swallowed.....nobody does a better job at pricing value than Disney. Want a value resort? give up the themed pool and sweet rooms. Upgrade to a deluxe? you probably do get what you pay for. Pay extra for a sweet view?, heck you only live once, and by golly we're already sinking $X into this anyway. Disney's pervasive pricing prowess (nice alliteration eh?) is apparent at every turn. $5 for a hot dog is craziness but it does kinda make $35 for a steak seem darn reasonable. What I am suggesting here is that Disney knows exactly how many carrots they need and just how far away from our faces to hold it to make us go. Some of the speculative pricing Ive read on this board lately does not fit with Disneys consistent expertise in marketing and pricing "value". If I am wrong, and Disney "goes for the greed" you can count me out of the add-on obsession. We will be content with our little piece of magical real estate in the woods.

PS:
For those of you who are wondering "just where did they end up staying?... My quest for on site value led us to an OKW reservation which we changed to VWL when it opened ahead of schedule. We ended up falling in love with the VWL and the rest is DIStory.

 

[PamOKW]

I'm not sure who DVC is pursuing. I'm sure all kinds of research and targeting goes into their decisions. It'll be interesting to see what information comes out about Eagle Pines. They could be make a run to developing WDW as a true golf resort. (It's got all the pieces but lots of people still think of it just as an amusement park.)

I'm not sure where the money comes from but in my part of the country it's pouring out everywhere....bad economy or not. A million dollar house means nothing. There are several advertised every week for $3-$4 million and some that go up, up, up. There's one talked about today on two acres that started as a spec house for $7.9 but the folks who bought it added upgrades bringing it to over $10 million. If DVC can find a way to rope in these people, there's no telling how high prices could go.

I'm just hoping that DVC will stay more middle income oriented so that folks like most of us still have a chance to do add-ons.

 

[Joeblack]

Just two things:

First, a resort cannot get much more deluxe than Boardwalk Villas. That is the reason why it is rated the #1 Timeshare in the world (and tnot just WDW) in the TUG. I have stayed at the Boca Raton Resort and Club, designed by Addison Mizner, whose influence will (according to the rumours) be present in the new Bonnet Creek resort. It is a very glamorous hotel, but in all honesty, Boardwalk Villas are nicer.

Secondly, people who pay 10 million for a house are people who will usually not waste their "valuable time" making reservations 11 months out. They will go tho the best available resort and pay rack rate whenever they want.

DVC, and timesharing in general is a concept aimed at people who look for value and have time to do so by planning way ahead.

What is my point? I am quite confident that, although the price/point for the new resorts will keep going up at the same rate it has in the past, the points/night will be no higher than BWV, WLV. It just wouldn't make sense.

 

[CarolMN]

And besides that, I really want him to be right! LOL!

Love my BWV and am not anxious to have more competition for rooms - i.e., reservations between 0 and 7 months.

Mom always said I had trouble sharing.