How do I convince my reluctant DH to buy DVC?

[disneyeveryyear]

I have decided DVC is the way for us to go. We usually go to WDW at least once, if not twice a year. Have stayed both onsite and off. Prefer on.

We did the original sales tour in 1991 or 1992 and decided not to do it at that time (pre-kids) - now kicking myself repeatedly.

While we were on the Disney Cruise in November, DH got interested. I think he would have done it then and there, but smart me told him, it's cheaper resale. So we waited and now he says no. That will teach me to try and save money. Plus, I wasn't sure SSR was our best choice.

So, how should I convince him? One thought was a quick long weekend for our family. Rent points and stay one night in each of the properties that interested us. I think OKW might be perfect with the lower points and bigger rooms. We have toured it in the past and I really liked the rooms and the location, however, I haven't seen any of the others.

So I guess I have two questions. How did you convince your reluctant spouse, and how did you pick your resort? I plan to buy where I plan to stay.

Thanks for the help, and sorry this is so long.

 

[Chuck S]

I think staying at the resorts you are interesting in is a very good idea. That way, you will know the pros and cons of each location and you than pick the one you like best. Or if the two of you like different resorts, you can buy small resales contracts at each.

 

[floridafam]

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I would do a cost comparison and show how DVC will save you money in the long run. Especially not having to pay that nasty 11% or 12% tax (It's been so long since we paid it that I forgot what it is). We used to stay at the Polynesian or the Baech Club getting two connecting rooms each time during peak periods. DVC has saved us a ton of money over the years. Of course if you can't show a savings, then either DVC isn't for you or you need to find another reason that it is.

HBC

 

[tjkraz]

If you haven't already done so, I would call DVC and have them send you their promotional video. When DW saw all of the exchange options (including the cruises), it went a LONG way toward getting her to buy into the concept.

Picking a home resort is tough. If you haven't stayed at any of the resorts, you're kinda left with doing a bit of research and making a best guess.

We chose SSR for a number of reasons, with the main ones being:
- We had stayed at OKW (and loved it) and SSR seemed to be a comparable resort.
- Price: We were fortunate enough to get in before the recent wave of price increases.
- Lower points per night than BWV, BCV and VWL.
- 50 year contract.

With the price increases, you're essentially now paying for the 50 year contract if you want to buy SSR. At the other properties you only get 38 years (or less depending on the borrowed status of any particular resale contract). Maybe the extra years will make a difference to you--maybe not.

Barring any major changes to the program, you will always have the opportunity to book non-home resorts. It's just a question of how difficult that might become in another 20-30-40 years.

We looked at our situation and decided if we were forced to stay at SSR every visit for the next 50 years, we could live with that.

 

[CarolMN]

I'd just show him the numbers.

If you really will visit at least once a year and plan to stay on site in at least a moderate resort, DVC will be less expensive over the long run than paying cash as you go. A bonus is that you will be staying in larger accomodations with more amenities than a moderate provides.

If you do a search, you will find some pretty good cost/benefit analyses. There are also some on this site:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/dvc/

 

[rombar]

I convinced my reluctant husband by convincing him to give it as a gift to me for our wedding anniversary!

 

[erikthewise]

You could tell him about all the great guys you've met on this board who are really into Disney and DVC in particular, myself included

And if that doesn't work, there are plenty of much better suggestions above.

 

[jmatias]

It took me 2 years to convince my DH that DVC was for us.

What changed his mind was finding a great BWV resale contract at a great price of $65 per point and what finally did it...though this one maybe hard to duplicate.....was having a baby girl!!!

After 2 sons, now 8 and 6 years old...our little was all the pixie dust I needed.

I would also recommend doing the math.

Good Luck!

 

[kaseyC]

I do all of the vacation planning for our family. I showed my DH how much each of our previous WDW vacations cost and pointed out how we could have bought DVC a long time ago.
The video was also a major factor.
What really pushed him over the edge was once he saw the floor plan for the 2bdrm units. We had already come to the conclusion that one room for our family of 5 was not an option anymore.
I also gave up getting a new car this year, an Acura MDX, I decided I could keep my Honda Odyssey for a few more years and buy DVC.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Thanks to all of you for the ideas!

tkjraz - I clicked on a few minutes ago and ordered the Video.

If we decide on SSR, who is a good "host" to work with?

Jmatias - I am afraid if I told DH that we were expecting a third it would sound like I Love Lucy at my house "You got some 'splaining to do!" LOL - Dr. took care of that for us!

Erik - maybe I'll just use that threat. Of course, with two kids, I do have a log of baggage (and I don't mean luggage)!

Rombar - I think I used that one yesterday! It is just a little more than we usually spend on each other. I guess it could be B-day, Anniversary and Christmas and V-Day for the rest of my life! Fine with me!

Carol & HBC - I did some figuring real quickly at today's dollars. It is about equal for the next 38 years for a $125/night room for 7 nights ($125 + tax) as it is to buy enought points for 1 week in a 1 bedroom at OKW and pay current dues. I am assuming fairly equal inflation for both. May not be accurate, but gives me something to go on.


Floridafam: I have already thought of that! Told him, I'd catch him in a "weak" moment. LOL (Don't have access to all of your fun smilies) .

Chuck - Hopefully I'll be able to plan this. However, we just got back 3 weeks ago and I am not sure when I could convince him to go again. Would love to do it over 5 day Columbus Day weekend (if not before).

If anyone else have a surefire way, bring it on!

Thanks again!

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by disneyeveryyear
If we decide on SSR, who is a good "host" to work with?

DVC calls their salespeople "Guides." If you spoke with a representative as recently as November, chances are your account has already been assigned to a Guide. If you call the DVC 800 number, they will connect you with your Guide.

I hate to publicly shill for one Guide over another--although we couldn't have been happier with ours. Most people seem to be very pleased with their Guide. If you happen to get bad vibes, call and speak to a supervisor and see if you can get another assigned.

There have been a number of threads around here from time-to-time listing Guides who have some very satisfied customers. Doing a forum search should quickly turn up that list of names.

Carol & HBC - I did some figuring real quickly at today's dollars. It is about equal for the next 38 years for a $125/night room for 7 nights ($125 + tax) as it is to buy enought points for 1 week in a 1 bedroom at OKW and pay current dues. I am assuming fairly equal inflation for both. May not be accurate, but gives me something to go on.

A couple of alternative ways to look at it:

Pick a week (or weeks) of the year when you think you would typically visit. Then pick a DVC resort and room type. Find out the number of points required for this stay. Then determine the WDW Rack Rate (or discount the RR by 20% to account for discounted rates) for that same room/resort/dates. Remembering to factor in the Annual Dues, you should be able to determine your "breakeven point" when your initial investment has been paid for. From that point forward, every subsequent trip costs you a fraction of the Rack Rate (equal to just Annual Fees).

Another (perhaps easier) method would be to do a pseudo-straight line depreciation of your initial purchase. If you buy SSR at $95 per point, your 50 years of ownership means that points are valued at $1.90 per year ($95/50). Add to that Annual Dues of $3.80 per point. That means a single point in 2004 cost you $5.70. Now, if a studio would run you 12 points per night, you're paying $68.40 for that single night through your DVC purchase. Compare this amount with the cash rates and see how much you are saving.

Most people struggle to project annual increases. The way I look at it, both the cash room rates AND your Annual Dues are subject to unknown increases. Your best bet is to do the entire analysis in 2004 dollars, and assume (hope) that all will remain relatively equal down the road.

Hope this helps.

 

[wtpclc]

A $125 per night room is nothing like a 1 bedroom at OKW. A better comparison is a studio, but even that has much more than a regular room. I cannot believe that someone who goes every year could not break even in less than 10 to 15 years.

What got my DH was that we could go more often at a better place for the same price.

Did you include cost savings for having some meals in your room?

Good Luck!!

By the way, I was really happy with Judy Kaufman as a guide (800-827-3393).

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by disneyeveryyear
If we decide on SSR, who is a good "host" to work with?

If you haven't had one assigned yet, ours is Marc Turner. He is very knowledgeable,low pressure,returns calls,etc. He has been with DVC since its inception.

If you want his number just e-mail(ncligs1@aol.com) or PM me.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Carol & HBC - I did some figuring real quickly at today's dollars. It is about equal for the next 38 years for a $125/night room for 7 nights ($125 + tax) as it is to buy enought points for 1 week in a 1 bedroom at OKW and pay current dues. I am assuming fairly equal inflation for both. May not be accurate, but gives me something to go on.

For the same price you will be getting much more than double the space, a jacuzzi and a kitchen. There is really no comparison between DVC and the moderates for size, luxury and convenience.

HBC

 

[Sammie]

Stay in a 2 bedroom, after that it's very hard not to buy.

Just buy where you want to stay the most and are happy to stay if you can't get another resort at 7 months.

We have stayed at all of them and enjoy all of them for different reasons.

 

[RuthnPaul]

disneyeveryyear:

In our case, I was the reluctant wife -- we've literally been debating whether to buy into the DVC for the last 10 years. In the meantime, we've been to WDW every year! The cost of lodging for those vacations would probably have paid for one of the contracts we just purchased!

With small kids, it just doesn't seem like you could go wrong!

RuthnPaul

 

[jodifla]

I never thought I'd be able to convince DH to buy! But I did convince him to go on the tour because I wanted to see the beach houses at Vero!

Once we saw all the rooms there he was intrigued, so the next weekend, on our way to Gainesville for a UF game, we stopped in Orlando and saw OKW and the Boardwalk. When we walked into a grand villa, I knew I was on my way! No way would we stay in accommodations like that without DVC. DH saw it as a way to vacation with his parents and brother's family, and we were in.

The best thing is, we bought in prekids, and now its paid off, and we're down to 1.5 incomes, but still vacationing first-class. It's hard to look ahead to when the mortgage is paid off, but once it's done, it's just the dues. I spent more in 3 nights at a Hilton last week than my dues for this year, and I'll spend about 15 nights in a DVC accommodation this year. And the Hilton room was no great shakes.

It's a no-brainer for anyone who likes to go to Disney, and loves comfortable accommodations.

 

[Degli]

We finally did it, as of this past 3 weeks. Bought resale through timeshare store, (Jerry). I must have pestered my dh for a year and a half. Before we went last May, I tried to get him to do it but he wasn't biting. He didn't want to hear anything about it. I think his exact words were...."It will come to divorce before we buy a timeshare"! But, with persistance, he stated to listen. I think he was realizing how much it meant to me and our kids. When I told him about the price increase at SSR and how it would probably affect resales, he agreed to put a bid in on a resale at OKW. The resale just passed ROFR and I am sending the final contract today. With persitance, dreams can come true!

 

[niks81]

Originally posted by floridafam

You don't convince, you just do it. You just come home and say, "Honey I just spent 20,000 today on a timeshare!" YEAH RIGHT, just kidding

All I had to do was the math for my husband....we bought site unseen.