International RCI Resorts available with DVC membership?

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Lil' Grumpy, thanks so much for your thoughtful post!

Hubby and I actually loved the Munich area when we traveled there so many years ago. We spent a month in Germany while we were still in college... just before the reunification. We were very ignorant tourists at the time, thinking the entire world provided the same rights to us as America! As a result, we found ourselves in some pretty dicey situations while we were there (for instance, finding myself on the business end of a Kalashnikov after taking photos of the "cool soldier" at Checkpoint Charlie when entering East Germany). Despite our ignorance, we had a magical time, moving from town to town every few days and experiencing the flavors and people as we did. Our typical lodging was a hole-in-the-wall on the wrong side of town, but the people always seemed delightful. Of course, this was 30+ years ago, and the international attitude towards American travelers has changed significantly since then. We stayed in Germany until we had only enough money left for transport to Hamburg and the return plane tickets.... arriving back home with 37 cents and a deutschmark between the two of us (seriously!). Ahhh, to be young and stupid again!

We've done quite a few more free-spirited vacations over the years, except perhaps with a bit more financial responsibility... but most of those have been limited to the U.S., Canada and Mexico. We truly enjoy staying off the beaten path and are fine with lower-end accommodations, as long as what we receive is comparable to what we expected and what we paid for.

Our first few years of Disney travel, we stayed in a tent at Fort Wilderness. Memories from those trips are definitely counted among some of our favoriate Disney moments! We've moved up in Disney accommodations over time, but we do still make time for more outdoorsy/roughing-it trips to other locales. The thing is, if I'm trading my Disney villa, I expect to receive something that has a comparable rack rate in return. Unlike the true RCI Points program, where the point value taken out of your account is scaled to the value received, DVC takes out a set amount of points based solely on the travel date and size of accommodation... no matter what the rack rate is for the resort you are booking. They claim that they are selecting the "best" resorts in each region so that we have the most options, but looking up the rack rates of randomly selected DVC/RCI options does not support that claim. Additionally, there are no selections offered at many of the best destinations. With our only RCI contact being filtered through DVC, we are denied the opportunities offered to other RCI members, such as the choice to pay an additional fee ($99) to extend the life of our points one extra year if we are unable to find a suitable trade before expiration. We are also denied the opportunity to pay a fee to upgrade to premium services, which would give us a better chance to book the most-desireable spots. Finally, DVC denies us the opportunity to participate in the extra perks available to other RCI members: extra vacation offers at deeply discounted rates, last call opportunities for significantly less points, and exchanging points for travel services (air fare, rental cars, etc.). Bottom line, we're providing one of the most desireable destinations to the RCI program, and we're not getting the best in return... and I have to wonder if it's because Disney wants to be able to claim they are giving us flexibility and premium value at the time we purchase, but then wants to ensure we continue spending all of our travel money at Disney by making it very difficult to receive full value for our trade. This strategy will backfire in the long run. When members realize they receive very little extra value in the "perks" awarded to those who purchase DVC directly from Disney, they will see very little reason to purchase add-ons through Disney rather than resale.

 

[Sammie]

I have looked at DVC available exchanges in Europe and they are very limited and not where I personally would want to stay, I was very disappointed.

As Brian said, if you are wanting France you are out of luck. I can understand maybe nothing near Paris due to Euro Disneyland but gee France is a large country.

Personally I would rent my points before I would use them to exchange.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

dwats , my first response post got stamped out, &
it was pretty good...now must used my poor /worn
out memory.

.....thanks for the education. it is the best i have seen.
i even made copies for a reference because i think
it reflected dvc needs. in fact,
i wish all members would take time to read and realize
your observations toward quality improvement. great
writing-should be mandatory for dvc mangers.

and i "see" your "audience" here, are the best experienced
owners. it just liked sammie pointed out. time & time
again , i been hoping someone posting some/anything really
good about dvc/rci. i think sammie gave the best/std. that
any member can "hope" for. and when you "think" about
what he is suggesting, it is very sad what is (not) available.
it doesn't even include all the obstacles in processing.

so are there any real dvc supervisors reading/aware of this?!
if so , then they must know that sammie response "is" the best
& most frequent answer. now let's here you defend this relationship
"benefiting" members & keep a straight face.

however, in no way do i think it's all dvc fault. shocking , are owners
that have no clue. that is what we learn when we went on the 2110
member cruise. i think the majority of that group brought in for a status
symbol not for the functional tools. i agree with those posting, if
buy dvc , why wouldn't you take the time to learn it instead of
depending on disney to do everything for you? ( yes, i read on the
other thread about the towl comment- debating if even worth it.
dvc isn't like the issues are life & death.
but
whenever someone/anyone make an argument with an inaccurate
statement, you know they are "sporting" a secret agenda- fyi, i
have to redirect/set limits of professional drug seekers q-day.
there are 2 types-for using and selling, & the group we most
concern "stopping" are the sellers--they are dangerous to others.)

...here is just showing someone up for attention. @ work,
a beautiful , little 6 - year old girl lost her 25 y/o mother to an
overdosed. what wrong with system, those in charge do not
have the insights of the workers that on the front lines--and the
system listen to who? . these things can/should be prevented!


the most important thing i got from here, owners need their
own committee that can do a little "checking & balancing"
and corrective measures. professionals & real experts like
yourself, dean & sammie would /could make a "world" of
difference. toward the positive.

oh, when i stated a specific/strong concern ...it was never based
on a single experience/sample. instead based on a series or
several encounters. for ex., even without our guide, we knew the
basics. several mangers told us...you never have to worry about
making a revs. @ the 11mos. period. they should have been
right. & this was prior to online revs. not only we called 11mos
but got thru @ 9am. none. then placed on a high priority
wait list. but when new rooms were released, we were over-
looked. if the dvc was being managed correctly, they should
have given us our monies back right then. so when i read
how many "little" things are being done wrong, i am not
surprised. when i added all the above together, makes me
feel dvc is a "monster".


ahhh yes, parie', my paris adventures. "trains" are the best method
of travel. oh, don't tell my wife but i did met "some french" babes
while in paris, . having a pocket translator, in~deeds
helped. as for trains, take time to learn the "how-to" use
the train maps. ( you don't want to be in a car that switched
off into another direction in the middle of the night. ). speaking
of, a "couple" from california taught me you can pull the
"facing" seats together to form a bed. now i didn't, but many
backpackers kept a journal. go to the churches-that where
the best art works can be seen. i had been backing packing over
24 hrs...when i arrived in paris..so very tired. but that didn't
stopped a street artist seeking my critique of his newest
master work. "the king, the king, the king"...but we don't have
any kings in american! it was elvis. ha/ha! i also collected
post cards & stamps --they took up less space. i still managed
to "get home" 2 beer steins from the october~fest. one frenchie
girl- left little love notes on some of the post cards. glad my wife
don't know french, mon'cherri? take american cigarettes and jeans-
they command high trade values.


dear bvc~bounder, ...your input jolted some old forgotten
memories. i know many don't care for blt theming but what can be
better than waking up & looking out your window & seeing the
magic kindgom coming to life? it just liked the older hotels,
some have the "character" that modern comforts can't hold a
candle to. however, any bed....when you have been backpacking-
sleeping bag -where your hoping for a dry/safe spot, made
me feel liked a king. oh, they had a laundry down there. "hot"
showers. and i wasn't the only one staying with the german
family..other german travelers were doing the same thing.
that made breakfast an experience, & an ! so that
kind of suggested there were a room for a whole family. also
"think" classic german homestead just inside the black forest.

all the buildings in town had murals painted on them. when i
asked, was told to keep their spirits up during the long,
snowy winter.

 

[4Pluto]

Last year i traded into a resort on Madiera, a Portuguese island off the coast of Africa. While not on the continent, it has 15th century churches, beautiful gardens, and this time of year, wine festivals with parades and street fairs full of costumed dancers. Its very much a part of Europe. I spent a day in Amsterdam and a weekend in Lisbon getting there and back. And to your question on resort quality, it was every bit as nice as a disney resort.

I booked a little less than a year in advance and there were several resorts available, though not for less than a week (I stayed less than a week but the trade was for the full week). The Pestana chain also operates in the south of Portugal.

The Azores are another option, with stopovers in Spain.

The downside is that it takes time to get there (thats why i stayed in Lisbon) and the airfare can be expensive (try British flights for discounts).

Good Luck