Not necessarily. True, DVC is a captive audience, but that works both ways. If DVC is full of members taking resort only trips or worse, using their rooms as springboards to Universal, there’s nothing Disney can do but watch those opportunities for more income float away.
They can take away much, and reduce the experience greatly, but what they can not do is reduce the absolute right of members to use the facilities. A DVC membership that doesn’t consume the product would be devastating.
We may be a captive audience, but we also hold captive a large chunk of on-site spending potential.
This is one of the ways DVC has miscalculated on their view of resales, in my opinion. Or rather, it’s silo thinking. DVD believes that because resales make them no money, they are horrible tolerances that detract from their direct sales. Nothing could be further from reality:
DVC resales replace tired (non-spending) owners with new owners eager to throw their dollars at the mouse. That’s a great benefit to Disney if not DVC.
But to the point, Disney can’t just replace disaffected DVC members because we still own the keys to the buildings. The issue isn’t whether we’ll come, it’s whether will spend money at the mouse - and how much - while we’re here.
Catering to the DVC crowd isn’t bad business - it really comes down to whom is holding whom hostage?
