DVC Sales Trips? Worth it?

[MTMom]

DVC is offering a special deal for $99/nt (3 nts, with one free nt) at the Hilton Head property for a one or two bedroom villa. Unfortunately, the dates won't work for us (trip has to end before 3/2/02), but in the off chance that they'll offer another (will they?), we thought that this would be a super way to learn all about the DVC and get a mini vacation at the same time. Has anyone taken a "sales" trip? If so, can you tell me about your experience?

Also, is membership in DVC a good financial move for us? We like to stay in the deluxe level resorts, have kids 8 and 5 so we anticipate many years ahead of Disney vacations, and really enjoy the Disney cruises.

 

[Granny]

I can't shed much light on a sales trip....but if they're like other DVC sales tactics, they should be pretty low key.

As for whether DVC is a good financial move? You've started to answer that yourself.

Do you anticipate going to WDW at least every other year?

You're already demonstrating a willingness to pay a premium to stay on-site, so that is part of the DVC decision you have already gotten past.

You said you stay in deluxe resorts, so the payback is pretty fast, while you are staying in better accommodations. If you go every year, most members would say that you will break even financially in 5-8 years, with inexpensive vacations for the remaining 30+ years!

And of course you can always stay at Vero Beach or Hilton Head as well.

The main advice is to purchase where you will want to stay the most often. That is due to the 11 month vs 7 month reservation advantage you get at your home resort. This is very important if you plan on visiting during any peak seasons.

Good luck with your decision. Come back and ask questions. You'll find a wealth of knowledge here on these boards.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Our first official introduction to DVC was via one of the special sales trips to VB: 4 nights for the price of 3 at a reduced rate of $99/night. We were scheduled for a sales talk/tour at the time we made the reservation. This proved to be a very low key affair, with no sales pressure of any kind. Its primary focus was explaining the basic features of DVC and describing the available sales incentives (this was in January, 2001, so there was a $13/point Magical Beginnings program available for VB purchases). We had already decided that if we purchased DVC, it would be a BWV resale (buy where you most like to stay), so our sales talk/tour with our guide was over in about 30 minutes. That was all the time it took for our questions to be answered. We never actually toured the models.

Having sat through a (high pressure) timeshare sales presentation about 20 years ago, I found the DVC approach a breadth of fresh air.

Ralph