Friends/Family going/ $$ question

[debbiepump]

I'm sure I'm not the first person to be in this situation, but how do all you guys handle the bringing friends, family, etc along to your DVC and the cost to you as the member involved? Do you just ignore it all and let them pretty much go on a 'free' vacation (sans the tickets and eats part) or what?
My sis (older and can welllllllll afford the same as me if not more) and her husband are coming in October (2 bedroom/BCV). Last December, she and I went (2 bedroom/BCV) and her 'contribution' was to pay for the car rental (around $150). How do I handle this sticky situation. I did mention to her casually what the room rate was that was posted in the room.

Thanks all!

 

[Slakk]

We got stuck in this so PROCEED CAREFULLY...we took my parents once and then it was assumed they got to come everytime. SO now we have to buy MORE POINTS so we can go and visit just me DH and DS.

It has not been so bad because my parents would buy all meals but now with DDP... I don't mean to sound mean but my parents could well afford their own accomodations and because they now feel entitled our vacations are shorter because we need a 2BR instead of a 1BR. Had we known we never would have offered the first time.

Saying that I opened my dumb mouth and invited my brother and his family and so now in 08 I will need a GV - I am a dork!!!

 

[lovewdwdvc]

We always spell things out before we ask anyone to come with us. We are very specific. We even point out that we could rent the accomodations for $XXX.00. You just need to be very honest and open about the situation from the very beginning.

I would have no difficulty having a "trade" ---- DVC accomodations for DDP and/or tickets if it was for family.

 

[PinkTink63]

You need to be upfront with them. We could never afford to take my brother's family along without them contributing. They really should understand. If you don't tell them, you'll be creating a monster that is going to snowball on you in years to come!

Steph

 

[eva]

I think that it all depends on who did the inviting. If we invite friends or family, we bite the bullet and use our points to pay for the rooms. But they are responsible for food and tickets. We make that known up front when we invite them. Now if they start inviting themselves, that is a completely different story. I think that I would use previous advice and charge them $10 a point for the difference of any upgrade you need to make.

 

[loucrew]

We are bringing my wife's two sisters and their families when we go to SSR next Feb. We are gonna be in a GV and I told them both up front it would be half of my maint. fee for 2006 each. That is still a bargain for them.

 

[tmt martins]

Well as soon as people heard we bought the first thing they started was when can we borrow your week As if we are never going to use it.

Now this 1st trip due to last years points we are taking DM & DsF to a 2 bdrm and treating them (they do a lot for us so this is no big deal ).

However for everyone else and if they want to go along again .I just explain this is how many points I have for these trips .If you want to go I can rent points from another member at about $10 a point so I can get you a discount that way.

If you want to stay with us a 2bdrm compaired to a studio is this much I will pay for this much extra and you pay this much as I'm getting a W/D and full kitchen.

I also know we can't afford right now the amount of points we NEED So I will be renting some point from now and then as well (still think the $10 pp is cheaper then most other ways to go ) Unless I can get a AP rate for somewhere else at a better price .But I know we will never have extra points until we add-on when this one is paid off in a few years.

I just explain this is not a normal type timeshare and tell the the truthful deal.

 

[halekai64]

Have her pay the diff between a one bedroom and a two bedroom.

This is exactly how we're approaching it.. the difference between a 1BR and 2BR.

We are also very involved with inviting family and are feeling a little uneasy about this as well.. I must say that when our guide "sold" us on DVC , I was so unrealistic in thinking we would be inviting everyone for free.. well.. now that four months have gone by and we're paying our fee along with dealing with the big upfront purchase, my feet are back on the ground..

To be specific, on our most recent trip, the diff between a 1BR and 2BR (sun thru thurs) was 8 points so we assumed $10/point and charged $80/night which is a steal and doesn't account for the very high point cost of the Sat night we stayed... We stayed six nights, so I asked for 6*80 = $480.. I know I am being completely fair to our guests, but I do have this uneasy feeling because I'm sure they don't "get it".

Like other's said, it's real important that you make the cost to your guests completely clear when you invite them.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have taken family twice to SSR. The first time was last October and we took my parents as a gift to them. My mother has Alzheimers and cancer, it was sort of a good bye trip in a way. We have travelled with them over the years and it was sort of the last in a long line of family adventures. Due to her illness and the cost incurred, it was our treat. We then invited DH's family (aunt, cousin, and his dad) to go with us in January. Aunt and Cousin paid us $5.50 (our cost, we didn't want a profit just what it was costing us but if I did again I would have charged more because we lost points and we can't rent them for $5.50 to make up what we no longer have) a point for their share of the 2 bedroom plus half of points for the studio we needed for my fil (we split that studio with aunt as well since fil has no money). I told them to go to allearsnet and check out SSR photos, they saw the rack rates (as I knew they would) and knew they were getting a great deal. So it made it seem to them and me that we were doing them a favor by allowing them nicer accomodations at a vastly reduced rate, not making money off them to rent our points. My sister (ever the deal hound) has mentioned several times she would love to go with us. Her take is that since we are going and paying, why not just let her squeeze in with us? I told her she could rent points from a disboarder (I know that if she rents points from me I will never see a dime), stay at Port Orleans since its so close to SSR or pay cash to stay at SSR. Never heard one word about that again! I know her well enough to not get myself in something I can't get out of and also that if I do it once, she'll be along for the ride for eternity. I guess my point is that for each of our scenarios, I handled it differently based upon my relationship with that particular family member, their finances etc. Having a timeshare I am finding, really opens up a can of worms with friends and family! I think honesty is the best route and just know that you may have to say "no" to people you once said "yes" to. For example we are cruising with DH's aunt and cousin in September, the ones we stayed with at SSR in January. We decided to spend 3 nights at WDW before the cruise. I told them we just preferred to stay in a moderate that trip which was fine with them and roughly the same price as renting points from us. In all truth, I would have enough points for a couple of studios at OKW but I didn't want to use my points for another joint family trip. Even though they paid for their share, it really took a lot of points to upgrade to a two bedroom plus an extra studio. As I go along I realize my points are very valuable and I am getting more saavy at how I use them! And if I ever do take family again, I am charging them $10 a point, which is still a great deal on a DVC resort.

 

[cman]

We are planning our 3rd trip to BWV with a large group of family members - 18 to be exact.

The agreement we have had in the past is that each family gives us $100 a night. We had come up with that amount when planning our first trip because that was what a night at one of the All Star resorts would have cost each family if we weren't taking them with us to BWV.

There are five other family's involved in this next trip so we'll get $500 X 8 nights for $4000. That pays for our airfare, park tickets and food for the trip.

Who makes out on the deal?? Well everyone I guess. All the families feel like they are getting "Diesney Magic" for $100/night while we feel that we're getting a "free" trip since the $4k covers everything for us. If you do the math we're losing money taking everyone - and they know that. So they treat us to dinner, babysit the kids so we can go out, pay for things like the Wishes Cruise......

To tell you the truth the best moments we've ever had together have been on those two previous trips. That's enough for me!

 

[bpmorley]

We stayed with another couple in a studio. We allowed them to stay for free, but we made it understood that if we could have gotten a second studio or a 1bdr they would have paid the difference. We split meals, not that we ate together every meal. We had AP's, they had to get their own tickets

 

[KelNottAt]

We don't charge anything. For our upcoming trip in August, we're giving Dsis a 1Br for her family and my parents a 1Br for them (in addition to our own 1br). My parents treated us to an annual week in Myrtle Beach for 6 or 7 years; it's a pleasure to return the favor. My sis has an honestly tight budget, so I love giving a her a little WDW magic.

Likewise, in 2008 we'll book four 2Br x 5 nights for a reunion vacation with DH's family. 22 people. It'll be 804 points. OUCH. But, DMIL & DFIL won't be around forever and this may be our last group vacation.

These 2 trips will wipe out 5 years worth of points, but that's OK. We're blessed to be able to afford it. And, by using up all the points, we have a legit excuse when someone asks to borrow our timeshare. "Sorry, it's not available...for a loooong time."

 

[rparmfamily]

Glad someone posted about this. DH wants to bring his parents, I want to save our points for ourselves, because if they go with us they would be staying in accomdations more expensive then they would normally pay, and they they wouldn't want to pay part of the difference, and would assume we'd let them come for free.

Whoever said this isn't like a regular timeshare is right. IL's would just think that we get a week at a 2 bedroom,etc like most timeshares are, not realizing that we'd be gobbling up points bringing them and getting much larger accomadations then we normally get too. (we are studio folks, and would need a 2 br w/them.) We plan on spreading our trips out over the year, and taking them would take up most of our yearly points.

I think I'll just keep this a secret from now on LOL...

 

[McMouse Family]

I am surprised to see how many people are "charging" their family and/or friends ANYTHING to share a room or villa. EVERY TIME that we've asked family to go, we have never expected a dime in return. What we did hope for in return is that they would have a good time! I would feel very uncomfortable if family was "subrenting" from us or paying the difference.

They have been asked by us, which makes them our guests. Sharing accommodations is simply a gift on our part. What happened to "tis better to give than to receive?"

I am not going to deny that our guests have insisted upon buying some of the food to prepare in the room or treating us to a meal out. However, the cost to them has been minimal, with no "calculation" as to what the true cost would be if they were paying "the difference" between a one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit or a cottage. It would seem cheap of us to think otherwise.

And, yes, purchasing into DVC has been a big sacrifice on our part. Still working on paying off the purchase after five years. However, the good times and memories have been well worth it, and the family has reciprocated in other ways throughout other times of the year (like when college-age DS wants to visit them during spring break!!!).

 

[crisi]

For us, when we take people it is always a gift. But they are your points to do with as you wish - you are under no obligation to share, or to not charge your family. If you are letting someone (even your sister) take advantage of you, its no ones fault but your own.

 

[disneymagic316]

We took my sil, bil and 2 kids to a 2 bedroom in OKW. Honestly, my DH was so happy to have them come. We invited them and never considered charging them. The only place they had ever stayed in WDW was Ft. Wilderness in my mil's motorhome. They were so excited about everything at the resort that my DH was thrilled. We would have them again and will invite other in-laws, too. We enjoy sharing our DVC with family members who otherwise would not be able to experince the resorts. They don't come that often and they never invite themselves. (My parents, sister and brother are all DVC members so they use their own points even though we sometimes share 2 bedrooms with each other and share the points).

 

[rigsby25]

I don't think I would ever charge either. We took my SIL once, and this spring we are hosting a family reunion in a Villa. We look forward to taking other family members as well. Our family really adds to our fun and enjoyment. We are happy to be able to do this.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Just spell it out at the beginning of each invitation. If people assume incorrectly, correct ASAP so they can decide if they wish to /want to afford the trip.

Our inlaws take one adult child and family per year for a Timeshare vaxation. They are subsidizing their kids vacation but also including themselves in on the vacation so it seems a fair deal all around.

Any timeshare is expensive with buying in and maintenance costs, i would never expect it to be given free except as a wedding present or Law school graduation gift possibly.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I am surprised to see how many people are "charging" their family and/or friends ANYTHING to share a room or villa. EVERY TIME that we've asked family to go, we have never expected a dime in return. What we did hope for in return is that they would have a good time! I would feel very uncomfortable if family was "subrenting" from us or paying the difference.

They have been asked by us, which makes them our guests. Sharing accommodations is simply a gift on our part. What happened to "tis better to give than to receive?"

(

I think you are talking about something different here. There are gifts that are part of an invitation that you, the DVC owner offer and then there are solications from people who want a "deal". The difference with my "charging" (that sounds awful but okay, you're right I guess thats what I did) and not charging is this. With my parents, they can't afford to go to WDW, we INVITED them so yes, it was a gift. With Dh's family, we all decided to go to WDW to spend the holidays together. We offered to pick up his dad's room just as we had done with my parents. With his aunt and cousin however, we have a whole, understandably different relationship and left it up to them whether they wanted to rent our points or stay at a moderate. They chose to rent from us and they ended up paying much less than they would have if they had gone the moderate route, they weren't complaining believe me. We will take many more trips with them but with our elderly parents who are at the end of life we won't so I guess that affected things. So I guess the line we drew was that for our parents we would "gift" the points as they are our guests and have done so much for us it was wonderful to do something wonderful for them in return. For others we will give them the choice to pay for points or stay at another resort of their choice, if in fact we have enough points to even do that. The bottom line is that I think many people, myself included have vast amounts of friends and relatives and while I love them dearly, I don't consider it my job to finance their vacations. I certainly don't hold a gun to anyone's head to rent my points and use my timeshare. It sounds like you make the offer and invite which is what we did with our respective parents. However I have had people ask me if they can use my timeshare and that is a whole different story and therefore receives a different arrangement on my end.

 

[Coastie]

We offered accomodations to family members 2 years ago and they turn us down!

Once they found found out what DVC was about, they started hinting late last year. This year we told everyone we would provide the lodging, they would have to pay for the flight, food, and passes. July is our first family reunion... 9 nights in a 1 grand villa at BWV, two 2 BDRMs and 2 Studios at the VWL. No complaints from anyone and we received offers for dinner... anywhere on disney property.

Best advise... Be honest and upfront. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Can't wait