New DVC/RCI

[hakepb]

I think this is a demographics issue. At some point, DVD will have exhausted pent-up demand in the "Disney fanatic" market. Once you reach that point, you have only replacement growth (as new families enter the market)---a much flatter sales curve.

For better or worse, Parks & Resorts has become quite enamored of DVD's current sales growth, and would like to see that continue. Hence the focus on broadening the market for DVC Membership.

I think the exchanges focus is to dispell the main objection (perhaps by one spouse), "DVC might work well for us, now, but I do not want to be locked into WDW"

Although I think that results in a few DVC owners that buy in for exchanges only...

 

[CarolAnnC]

Disney has recently decided to switch from II (Interval International) to RCI. Why they did this without polling it's memebers is beyond me, but if you compare the quality,locations and number of resorts that are considered the gold and silver crown resorts that RCI offers compared to II you will see that II is far more superior. RCI's resorts for the most part are out dated and have very bad reviews. At least with II you could always stay at a Marriot which we all know has a reputation of quality. Some of the nicer resorts with RCI are their mandatory all-inclusive resorts which charges additional fee's upward of $400 per person. Anyone thinking of buying into DVC is highly advised to do your research first. We bought ours in the summer of 08 and if we knew about the change over prior to purchasing we would have not purchased. Disney is a quality company who has paired up with a 2 star vacation club.

I consider myself a very well informed DVC owner/purchaser. I see nothing here that would have dissuaded me from purchasing the 1,070 points that I currently own.

Nobody should be purchasing DVC based upon other vacationing options available for trade. DVC is best used (as stated by others) as a Disney vacation. That being said, I have frequently used my points on DCL and also at DL which I totally love. I have never traded into II but like having the option to consider RCI in the future, but not necessarily a given for me. The option enhances my ownership, but certainly should not be a reason to purchase.

Perhaps a poll was not even an option for them to consider - I have seen nothing officially announced that this was a voluntary change for DVC....

 

[jodifla]

We used points for the DCL several years ago. And I said I would never use DVC points to trade out. But RCI has three of my favorite resorts listed for week long stays and we just might skip a trip to WDW for a week at one of these instead.

Oooh! Would you share that info, or is it a secret??

I'm not familiar at all with RCI resorts. I've only used the concierge collection once, other than that, we've been all DVC.

In any case, I'm glad the switch will work for you. It's always so hard to know if these changes are good or not so good.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Oooh! Would you share that info, or is it a secret??

I'm not familiar at all with RCI resorts. I've only used the concierge collection once, other than that, we've been all DVC.

In any case, I'm glad the switch will work for you. It's always so hard to know if these changes are good or not so good.

They are all at Marco Island. We love that place.

 

[podsnel]

I think this is a demographics issue. At some point, DVD will have exhausted pent-up demand in the "Disney fanatic" market. Once you reach that point, you have only replacement growth (as new families enter the market)---a much flatter sales curve.

For better or worse, Parks & Resorts has become quite enamored of DVD's current sales growth, and would like to see that continue. Hence the focus on broadening the market for DVC Membership.

I agree- there are just so many of us (although there are, of course MANY!) who are commited and excited by a lifetime of yearly Disney vacations. The broader appeal is to market vacations all over the place-

 

[bwvBound]

I agree- there are just so many of us (although there are, of course MANY!) who are commited and excited by a lifetime of yearly Disney vacations. The broader appeal is to market vacations all over the place-

I think Brian's post was attempting to say they need fresh meat for the tours. By switching from II to RCI they've broadened the market of inbound exchange guests ... new targets for potential DVC sales.

 

[Brian Noble]

No, that wasn't quite what I was getting at---podsnel has the idea.

Until very recently, DVC was marketed as "all Disney all the time." Sure, there were some "other" things you could do, but the DVC resorts were the focus.

The problem is that that only appeals to folks who want all Disney all the time. It becomes a harder sell to folks worried about what happens when the kids get older, or move on, and Disney is no longer on the obvious short-list for the family's vacation.

Starting around the time of the Travel Channel infomercial, this really changed, and the marketing material began to focus a lot more on the non-theme-park options. If you go back and look at threads about that show, you'll find a lot of DVCers unhappy that so little attention was paid to the DVC resorts themselves.

That wasn't an accident---I believe it was a deliberate attempt to change the focus of the product to broaden its sales appeal.

As to sales traffic---we'll see. Unless they negotiated for a 1-in-4 rule, I suspect Disney probably doesn't care too much. They don't really market tours to inbound exchangers, as opposed to just anyone in the parks.

 

[lugnut33]

I purchased DVC based on the quality of their resorts. I havent even considered using those pts for II. Now that RCI is in the picture, I probably still wont consider using those pts for them either.

+1

Besides, I only bought enough points to use at Disney

 

[BWV Dreamin]

No, that wasn't quite what I was getting at---podsnel has the idea.

Until very recently, DVC was marketed as "all Disney all the time." Sure, there were some "other" things you could do, but the DVC resorts were the focus.

The problem is that that only appeals to folks who want all Disney all the time. It becomes a harder sell to folks worried about what happens when the kids get older, or move on, and Disney is no longer on the obvious short-list for the family's vacation.

Starting around the time of the Travel Channel infomercial, this really changed, and the marketing material began to focus a lot more on the non-theme-park options. If you go back and look at threads about that show, you'll find a lot of DVCers unhappy that so little attention was paid to the DVC resorts themselves.

That wasn't an accident---I believe it was a deliberate attempt to change the focus of the product to broaden its sales appeal.

As to sales traffic---we'll see. Unless they negotiated for a 1-in-4 rule, I suspect Disney probably doesn't care too much. They don't really market tours to inbound exchangers, as opposed to just anyone in the parks.

Brian, a little OT but somewhat relevant, I am looking at Mexico for a possible trade for my son's honeymoon. I see a one in Cabos San Lucas. Any thoughts on any of the Mexican resorts thru RCI? Also, they will be departing from LA, CA.

 

[Deb & Bill]

No, that wasn't quite what I was getting at---podsnel has the idea.

Until very recently, DVC was marketed as "all Disney all the time." Sure, there were some "other" things you could do, but the DVC resorts were the focus.

The problem is that that only appeals to folks who want all Disney all the time. It becomes a harder sell to folks worried about what happens when the kids get older, or move on, and Disney is no longer on the obvious short-list for the family's vacation.

Starting around the time of the Travel Channel infomercial, this really changed, and the marketing material began to focus a lot more on the non-theme-park options. If you go back and look at threads about that show, you'll find a lot of DVCers unhappy that so little attention was paid to the DVC resorts themselves.

That wasn't an accident---I believe it was a deliberate attempt to change the focus of the product to broaden its sales appeal.

As to sales traffic---we'll see. Unless they negotiated for a 1-in-4 rule, I suspect Disney probably doesn't care too much. They don't really market tours to inbound exchangers, as opposed to just anyone in the parks.

Brian, there hasn't been any change at all. From the earliest Member Meetings that I attended at OKW, at the BW-Atlantic Dance, at SSR, they were always pushing the 500+ other places you could go using your DVC points. I played the game at Atlantic Dance (at the member meeting) two years ago and most of the questions were about the non-DVC places you could go to.

 

[WDWLVR]

I agree that trading out is something DVC has been pushing for a long time. Back on the 2003 DVC Member Cruise the big push was how many points (160 for a one bedroom, 270 for a two bedroom) it would cost for a weeks trade out.

They have always had an II representative on board the Member Cruises to talk about all the possible trade out options and for at least the last couple of years have given away a couple of week long trades as well. DH won one of those and we used it at Marriott's Ko Olina. Loved it so much we had a search going to see if we could trade out to there again in 2010. I'll be calling after the first to switch that search to the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

I consider the trading out as a perk I'd use every so often, but as others said I wouldn't purchase DVC just to do these trades.

 

[Brian Noble]

I see a one in Cabos San Lucas. Any thoughts on any of the Mexican resorts thru RCI?

I've never tried any of them. My advice: join TUG (it's maybe $15). The reviews are more than worth it.

www.tug2.net

 

[SuzanneSLO]

No, that wasn't quite what I was getting at---podsnel has the idea.

Until very recently, DVC was marketed as "all Disney all the time." Sure, there were some "other" things you could do, but the DVC resorts were the focus.

The problem is that that only appeals to folks who want all Disney all the time. It becomes a harder sell to folks worried about what happens when the kids get older, or move on, and Disney is no longer on the obvious short-list for the family's vacation.

Starting around the time of the Travel Channel infomercial, this really changed, and the marketing material began to focus a lot more on the non-theme-park options. If you go back and look at threads about that show, you'll find a lot of DVCers unhappy that so little attention was paid to the DVC resorts themselves.

That wasn't an accident---I believe it was a deliberate attempt to change the focus of the product to broaden its sales appeal.

As to sales traffic---we'll see. Unless they negotiated for a 1-in-4 rule, I suspect Disney probably doesn't care too much. They don't really market tours to inbound exchangers, as opposed to just anyone in the parks.

We took the DVC tour in 1995, when the only property was called DVC (now, of course, OKW). At the time, RCI was the partner and offered 200 other vacation destinations.

Although the memory is no longer that clear, I do recall hearing a lot about these other vacation options with RCI during our sit down after the tour, including being given a fancy brochure with lots of colored pictures. We ended up not buying, however, because I was concerned that we might buy more points than we could use, so maybe these alternatives were not hyped as much as I recall. I believe that the buy-in minimum was 230 and DL resorts were also not an option on points (which might have mattered to us as we live in CA).

We happily bought 150 points in 2005 with no intention of exchanging out thru any TS company. -- Suzanne

 

[tor]

Do you work for II?

I don't think the OP works for II but I think he may be part of the biggest losers in the change. He must be an owner at an II resort that can no longer trade into DVC.

 

[hakepb]

I don't think the OP works for II but I think he may be part of the biggest losers in the change. He must be an owner at an II resort that can no longer trade into DVC.

So instead of changing to RCI to get more RCI owners as "meat" for more presentations, they changed to get some II owners that were trading in as DVC owners....

 

[Dean]

We used points for the DCL several years ago. And I said I would never use DVC points to trade out. But RCI has three of my favorite resorts listed for week long stays and we just might skip a trip to WDW for a week at one of these instead.

And this is exactly why I said it would vary with the demands. Like a restaurant, if they have what you want the way you like it, the rest doesn't really matter. Just be forewarned about the risks with exchanging such as unit assignments.

They are all at Marco Island. We love that place.

But you've lost out on the best option going forward as a DVC exchange, the new Marriott there. Of course you could look at private exchanges.

I think Brian's post was attempting to say they need fresh meat for the tours. By switching from II to RCI they've broadened the market of inbound exchange guests ... new targets for potential DVC sales.

DVC does not market to this group at all, never have. They don't even extend an offer to tour unless they ask. IMO, they should, but they haven't.

 

[tor]

So instead of changing to RCI to get more RCI owners as "meat" for more presentations, they changed to get some II owners that were trading in as DVC owners....

Not my point at all. Mike suggested the OP worked for II I am suggesting the OP is an owner at an II resort that can now not trade into DVC.

If you are asking my opinion on why DVC made the change, I believe it comes down to money. The cheaper company got the contract. I do not believe it is to sell time shares to people that already own them. Seems a lot like selling ice to eskimos.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...But you've lost out on the best option going forward as a DVC exchange, the new Marriott there. Of course you could look at private exchanges.....

Ah, Crystal Shores, if I remember correctly. Very nice, but it made me feel like I needed a better wardrobe to stay there. Club Regency, Charter Club and Eagles Nest will do nicely for me.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

You know what they say, the best use of your points is at Dvc resorts.

 

[Dean]

Ah, Crystal Shores, if I remember correctly. Very nice, but it made me feel like I needed a better wardrobe to stay there. Club Regency, Charter Club and Eagles Nest will do nicely for me.

If you don't mind slumming, LOL. You didn't buy a 3 BR Platinum plus week for around $140K?