DVC vs. Starwood Comparison

[disneypoor]

I was just wondering if there were some DVC members who were also Starwood owners who could give me the basics of Starwood? If buying resale, what restrictions are there? Do you buy where you want to stay and how does booking work (11 and 7 months like Disney)? What are some pros and cons of Starwood, and what are some reputable brokers?

We are staying at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort now in a timeshare villa we rented from someone in Maui. It is wonderful, but buying direct is pretty pricey!

Just wanted some input from some people who might own DVC as well. Thanks!

Susan

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

We are staying at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort now in a timeshare villa we rented from someone in Maui. It is wonderful, but buying direct is pretty pricey!

I love, love, love this place!!! My parents own an annual 2 bedroom lockoff as well as an every other year 2 bedroom lockoff at WKORV. We (all the kids and grandkids) join them for a week every other year when she gets both units. The resort is incredible and the trips have been wonderful family experiences. My mom makes her reservation a full year before our travel dates. We have thought about going to the Westin resort on Kauai, but she's concerned about getting the exact travel dates and enough room for all of us because it is not her home resort. Since my mom does all the reservations, I don't have much experience with the process. Hopefully a Starwood owner will chime in with the specifics.

Enjoy your time on Maui!!!

 

[disneypoor]

I would love to hear how your mom likes this! We love it here and just wondered how easy their timeshare is to use. You are lucky! Do you think your mom would take us in? We are pretty good people
Susan

 

[Dean]

Contact tomandrobin for a good comparison and look on The Timeshare Users Group. Westin is VERY expensive, cheaper resale but not as much as some. One should only buy if you plan to stay at your home resort like Maui, Atlantic, St. John and the like. Look for mandatory points resorts to have more options but educate yourself.

 

[disneypoor]

Thank you, Dean! Do you mind me asking--what do you mean by mandatory points resorts? Thanks!

Susan

 

[disneypoor]

Dean,
I've been reading on the Tugg forums, and I think I'm getting a clearer understanding. Thank you for directing me there. The MF's are super high! I was looking in to an every other year resale, but with the purchase price and the money I would spend on MF's, I'm wondering if we should just rent every few years from the owner we rented from this time. I will continue my research though and would still love to hear from anyone with Starwood experience. TIA.
Susan

 

[slum808]

The Hawaii Westins are very expensive both to purchase and yearly MF. Renting is a great option but peak times can be hard to get or very expensive if you find them. One of the most important things is when do you want to go. Peak whale season in Feb-Mar can be difficult to book even for owners. If you're more flexible on dates, like April, May, Sept-Dec, then you have more options. You can buy a mandatory resort like Westins Kirland Villas. The buy in will be about the same but MF about $1000 less. Mandatory resorts retain the use of points in resale. This preserves much of their resale value. A voluntarily resort does not retain the use of points. They can be very cheap on the resale market. If you are really flexible on dates, you could buy a voluntary and trade in using II. There are 2 bed voluntarys around for $1000, with $600 mf. Don't expect to get whale or summer months this way. If you become a tug member you can access the sightings post. Westins just did a bulk deposit last week, so you can see what was available. Send me a pm on tug if you need more help.

 

[Dean]

Dean,
I've been reading on the Tugg forums, and I think I'm getting a clearer understanding. Thank you for directing me there. The MF's are super high! I was looking in to an every other year resale, but with the purchase price and the money I would spend on MF's, I'm wondering if we should just rent every few years from the owner we rented from this time. I will continue my research though and would still love to hear from anyone with Starwood experience. TIA.
Susan

Everyone's situation is different. For a timeshare stay every few years, it's likely better just to rent than to buy anything. Maui is a special situation (Westin, Marriott, etc) due to it's high cost, high yearly fees and high demand. We plan to go to HI about every 4 years (own on Oahu). I have had the opportunity to buy at the Marriott which is just as nice (new towers) and in a better location. I've seen a number of weeks that were very competitively priced from a buy in standpoint but simply decided the fees were too high to justify it even if we changed to every other year (which is what our Oahu 2 BR is). IIRC, a 1 BR was in the range of $1500 a year in fees. Fortunately I now have access to Marriott's destination points where I can use my other Marriott's, trade them for points and stay there. And we will be doing just that later this year.

Given Maui's very few top timeshare options and handful of good secondary options, it is unique. Another option you might consider is to buy a non HI timeshare that gives you an option to exchange to HI. This adds risk, may or may not be successful and is not for everyone but it can be a good option for some, esp if you just plan to go every few years but are not set on a specific year. Diamond resorts is a consideration (Kaanapali Beach Club), Marriott to exchange through II and Westin of course. I'd only do this though if there's another system that works for you without HI and the option to try to trade through II or to get there by some internal method is a bonus.

Hopefully DVC will have something there eventually, it only makes sense if they're going to expand off property. Having one resort in a manufactured location may not be that successful on it's own. IF I were going to own specifically for Maui I'd buy an EOY at the Marriott AND a matching every other year somewhere else either in HI on another island or elsewhere. Contact me privately if you have more questions along this lines, esp to explore the last option.

 

[disneypoor]

Thank you for the replies!. We are getting ready to fly home today but after I get back to reality, I'm going to look in to this a bit more. I always appreciate all of the help and input on the DIS! It is kind of sounding like we may be better off to rent when we know we want to go. Our renter is great and did get us spring break ocean front this year, so I'm definitely keeping her contact info!
Susan

 

[Dean]

Thank you for the replies!. We are getting ready to fly home today but after I get back to reality, I'm going to look in to this a bit more. I always appreciate all of the help and input on the DIS! It is kind of sounding like we may be better off to rent when we know we want to go. Our renter is great and did get us spring break ocean front this year, so I'm definitely keeping her contact info!
Susan

It sounds like you're making good decisions. If you have someone you're comfortable working with, that is likely your best option unless you want to pursue non Disney trips through timeshares for other times as well. Just keep up with them and be proactive. Find out when their reservation window is and plan ahead. Likely getting them a deposit before the window opens so they can be comfortable in reserving what you want.

 

[G'sMaman]

Aloha Susan! So great to hear that you had a wonderful trip to Maui. Just sent you a pm.

It looks like the addonitis bug has bit again and we just added on at Aulani. I’m surprised myself because Oahu is not one of our favorite islands. When we travel to Hawaii, we usually stay at the St. Regis in Kauai, so I was not prepared to give that up but I really loved the integration of Hawaiian history and culture at Aulani (even if some of it is a little contrived). It’s the perfect place for dd who's 4 and my parents who often tag along. This time we really are done with adding on!!

 

[disneypoor]

Tricia, it sounds like you've been busy taking care of addonitis! so glad to hear you loved Aulani! We will likely try to get there some time in the next year and a half.

Dean, thanks again for your help. I am going to read up some more on TUGG and research resales some more. I'm seeing a two bedroom lockout every other year with floating weeks 1-50 for around $9500. The MF's are about $1200. That is way cheaper than direct but I may be missing something. As we get more serious, I will PM a few of you posters for more help but please feel free to let me know your thoughts beforehand as well.

Thanks for the help DISers!

Susan

 

[Dean]

Tricia, it sounds like you've been busy taking care of addonitis! so glad to hear you loved Aulani! We will likely try to get there some time in the next year and a half.

Dean, thanks again for your help. I am going to read up some more on TUGG and research resales some more. I'm seeing a two bedroom lockout every other year with floating weeks 1-50 for around $9500. The MF's are about $1200. That is way cheaper than direct but I may be missing something. As we get more serious, I will PM a few of you posters for more help but please feel free to let me know your thoughts beforehand as well.

Thanks for the help DISers!

Susan

It's been a while since I looked specifically at their resales but those fees seem a little low for a 2 BR. I bet they bill it yearly for EOY so actual fees are likely more in the $2500-2800 range for a 2 BR. I think you'll find a 1 BR is much higher per year of use than the number you're seeing.

 

[DVC Sue]

I own at both DVC and Starwood and I can tell you about MY situation. Your situation may be different than mine.

I purchased a 2 BR LO in the Cascade section of Sheraton in Lake Buena Vista. We were young and uninformed and this was a direct purchase. I receive 90K StarOptions per year OR 44K Starpoints per year. I have used my StarOptions to book other resorts in the Starwood network such as Harborside at Atlantis, West St. James, and Westin Ka'anapali North. There are other resorts such as Westin Ka'anapali, one in Mexico (I forget where) and Sheraton Broadway in Myrtle Beach.

I get to book my home resort at the 13 month mark and other resorts at the 8 month mark. The other resorts can be EXTREMELY hard to get, but not impossible. I called 5 times a day to book Harborside, St. John and Maui, but I got them eventually.

Not every Sheraton resale comes with the StarOption so you have to be careful. Vistana Villages (Bella and Key West Phases ONLY) are the most cost effective that I have found that come with the StarOptions. You have to be careful where you buy because some of the resorts have very high maintenance fees.

I could also convert my time into Starpoints to book Sheraton hotels, transfer to airline points, etc. We used the Starpoints to book a hotel in Barcelona, Paris, Orlando, etc.

Hope that helps!
Sue

 

[Dean]

I own at both DVC and Starwood and I can tell you about MY situation. Your situation may be different than mine.

I purchased a 2 BR LO in the Cascade section of Sheraton in Lake Buena Vista. We were young and uninformed and this was a direct purchase. I receive 90K StarOptions per year OR 44K Starpoints per year. I have used my StarOptions to book other resorts in the Starwood network such as Harborside at Atlantis, West St. James, and Westin Ka'anapali North. There are other resorts such as Westin Ka'anapali, one in Mexico (I forget where) and Sheraton Broadway in Myrtle Beach.

I get to book my home resort at the 13 month mark and other resorts at the 8 month mark. The other resorts can be EXTREMELY hard to get, but not impossible. I called 5 times a day to book Harborside, St. John and Maui, but I got them eventually.

Not every Sheraton resale comes with the StarOption so you have to be careful. Vistana Villages (Bella and Key West Phases ONLY) are the most cost effective that I have found that come with the StarOptions. You have to be careful where you buy because some of the resorts have very high maintenance fees.

I could also convert my time into Starpoints to book Sheraton hotels, transfer to airline points, etc. We used the Starpoints to book a hotel in Barcelona, Paris, Orlando, etc.

Hope that helps!
Sue

The last I heard, the 2 Vistana options you mentioned, both Maui locations, Kierland, St. John's and Atlantis were the only mandatory points locations (star options) and thus the only ones you could buy resale and get the star options included. I don't think you get the star points (hotel options ) resale though.

 

[disneypoor]

Thank you, Sue! It is good to know that you've been able to get other places as well. If we bought, it would be for Maui, so would you suggest we buy there?

Dean, if I remember correctly from our presentation, you are correct, and if you buy resale you don't get the hotel options. I need to check in to the dues but I think the $1200 was per year on an EOY 2 bedroom lockout with island view.

Susan

 

[Dean]

Thank you, Sue! It is good to know that you've been able to get other places as well. If we bought, it would be for Maui, so would you suggest we buy there?

Dean, if I remember correctly from our presentation, you are correct, and if you buy resale you don't get the hotel options. I need to check in to the dues but I think the $1200 was per year on an EOY 2 bedroom lockout with island view.

Susan

I checked, it looks like it's billed yearly on an EOY. The dues for an annual were listed somewhere in the $2500 range for a 2 BR. I suspect the dues are the same no matter the view type, if so, I'd try to either get a better view or a much better price. I saw something in the $4K range for a 2BR island view but don't remember which of the 2 properties it was.

 

[disneypoor]

If you come across that listing again, please share!. 4000 is almost what we paid to rent our 1 bedroom last week. It was oceanfront and amazing, but the view isn't necessarily a deal breaker for us. Thanks, Dean!
Susan

 

[DVC Sue]

1. I don't know EXACTLY which Sheraton locations are mandatory other than Vistana Villages Bella and Key West phases. Mandatory means that the StarOptions are included with the resale. You should check before you buy anything.

2. I have been able to trade to Westin St. John, Westin Ka'anapali, and Harborside, but I don't seem to be able to get the dates I want. (Mostly summer and school vacation). I have to be flexible.

3. If you were going to stay at the Westin Ka'anapali almost every year and didn't mind the high maintenance fees, I would recommend buying there. If you don't want to go every year or didn't want the maintenance fee obligation, I would recommend renting the time you want. You can rent from TUG, Redweek or Ebay. There's a lot of listings out there.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[DVC Sue]

Also, I can send the Starwood Options chart (similar to the DVC Points chart) to anyone who would like it. I don't have current prices though.