NO MORE free valet parking for DVC members.

[Chuck S]

I put in a suggestion to member services that instead of a discount on AP's, discounts at certain restaurants, free movie rentals, magical express, free internet and other perks, just give DVC members a credit of $50-100.00 and let people spend it on whatever perk they want, including valet parking. Still no answer yet.

Once again, it seems people do not understand discount perks. Discounts on APs and dining are NOT member funded, so where would the money for this credit come from to "give" to members? They are granted by the business to DVC members to encourage us to buy a product.

Just like an early bird senior dinner special at a restaurant is designed to create business during a slow time of day. A discount is designed with specific results in mind. If the valet parking contractor thinks they need more business, they are free to give a discounted rate to DVC Members, not funded by dues. If the contractor is happy with the current level of parking income, there is no reason for them to give a discount, and certainly no reason for dues to fund a full price perk from dues.

 

[Tara]

once again, it seems people do not understand discount perks. Discounts on aps and dining are not member funded, so where would the money for this credit come from "give" to members? They are granted by the business to dvc members to encourage us to buy a product.

Just like an early bird senior dinner special at a restaurant is designed to create business during a slow time of day. A discount is designed with specific results in mind. If the valet parking contractor thinks they need more business, they are free to give a discounted rate to dvc members, not funded by dues. If the contractor is happy with the current level of parking income, there is no reason for them to give a discount, and certainly no reason for dues to fund a full price perk from dues.

exactly!

 

[Glamis]

This is not an issue of which perk one uses but one of reasonable and cost.

Magical Express costs a ton more than free valet parking. If this issue is cost, then ME would have been one of the first to go.

This is an issue of DVC/Disney knowing what they can get away with to grind out more profit for themselves, and making us bear the burden. That's what I don't like. Frankly, its something I have seen erode Disney World in general over the last 10 years. It is something that worries and concerns me greatly.

It would be unreasonable to spread the cost of such a program across the membership at a given resort given the current specifics (full price, limited overall usage, easy to define who & easy to convey those charges). And it is unreasonable to expect others to pay for one's personal usage of ANY type, for anything, unless one can also make the case that there is a sufficient benefit to the group at large, significant cost to enforcement that outweighs pay to pay, significant difficulty in defining those who use it or a sufficient economy of scale such as occurs with the internet option.

So again, get rid of the Magical Express then. Make people pay for it. I never use it. Why should my dues subsidize people who use it? A small percentage of DVC owners use it and yet it costs a lot.

Disney created this problem with the way they handle valet parking. They should have negotiated the perk in whenever they outsourced it. Its not like they don't have any leverage.

And as I already noted: some resorts have HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE parking. This was ameliorated by the fact that at least valet parking was free.

NOTE: I am not actually advocating the removal of the ME perk. I mention that because it is monstrously expensive, it is used by a tiny percentage of DVC owners, and I imagine those who use it sure as heck wouldn't be "just fine with it" were it removed.

 

[Chuck S]

Magical Express costs a ton more than free valet parking.



So again, get rid of the Magical Express then. Make people pay for it. I never use it. Why should my dues subsidize people who use it? A small percentage of DVC owners use it and yet it costs a lot.

Disney created this problem with the way they handle valet parking. They should have negotiated the perk in whenever they outsourced it. Its not like they don't have any leverage.

And as I already noted: some resorts have HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE parking. This was ameliorated by the fact that at least valet parking was free.

NOTE: I am not actually advocating the removal of the ME perk. I mention that because it is monstrously expensive, it is used by a tiny percentage of DVC owners, and I imagine those who use it sure as heck wouldn't be "just fine with it" were it removed.

While I drive to WDW, and have never used Magical Express, I think a much higher percentage of overall membership uses ME than ever used free valet.

We also do not know exactly how ME is funded. If it is resort funded, the the cost is split at the shared resorts, like BWV/BWI, so overall, probably less of an impact on dues than funding valet. At least I didn't notice a huge increase in dues at OKW for ME, and it is a large, freestanding, fully sold DCV resort that doesn't split transportation costs with a cash resort. So I do wonder how ME is funded, and where it is reflected in the budget.

 

[Glamis]

I think you're making the incorrect assumption that those perks cost DVC, they don't. The discounts cost nothing, the internet almost nothing, the movies have a small cost but more in terms of personnel than anything else. If you did away with ALL current perks you'd likely have no more than $15-20 per member savings. It certainly wouldn't compensate for the costs of the valet parking at $12 per car per day. Also, only the members who owned at a given resort would pay for it rather than the membership as a whole.

Well said.

And don't get me started on the internet. The fact that they ripped people off on that for so long is something I am still quite bitter about.

 

[Glamis]

While I drive to WDW, and have never used Magical Express, I think a much higher percentage of overall membership uses ME than ever used free valet.

We also do not know exactly how ME is funded. If it is resort funded, the the cost is split at the shared resorts, like BWV/BWI, so overall, probably less of an impact on dues than funding valet.

Just to be clear, I said a lot less people use ME than those who use it, which means the majority is paying for something expensive for the benefit of a small minority. I did not say more people used valet than ME.

Furthermore, I'd find it almost impossible to believe that ME is less expensive of a perk than free valet. Furthermore, I must again stress that Disney could have easily negotiated it in if the company wanted to win the contract. Whoever wins the contract gets to charge that absolutely asinine rip off price of $12 to everyone else on top of tips.

 

[Chuck S]

Just to be clear, I said a lot less people use ME than those who use it, which means the majority is paying for something expensive for the benefit of a small minority. I did not say more people used valet than ME.

Furthermore, I'd find it almost impossible to believe that ME is less expensive of a perk than free valet. Furthermore, I must again stress that Disney could have easily negotiated it in if the company wanted to win the contract. Whoever wins the contract gets to charge that absolutely asinine rip off price of $12 to everyone else on top of tips.

I'd hardly estimate a small minority of guests use ME. I think it is a relativly large percentage of guests, still a minority, but not a small minority. And again, we don't know exactly how it is funded.

If 3 out of 4 cars at BWV/BWI that were valet parked were DVCers, then that means the contractor made $3 per car, and would need additional employees to cover the the extra cars. Tips don't go into the employers pocket, they need to pay a set wage per hour of $4.23. Plus accounting costs, taxes, benefits and insurance. I can see why the contractor wanted to discontinue the free perk.

 

[Sammie]

You have to remember though that Disney and DVC are not one and the same. Considering concierge guests pay for valet I am surprised DVC got it for free as long as they did.

 

[Tara]

Whoever wins the contract gets to charge that absolutely asinine rip off price of $12 to everyone else on top of tips.

Now I've agreed with your other post here fully, but on this bit, we differ. Valet parking at Disney is one of the great deals of travel in general.

 

[Glamis]

Now I've agreed with your other post here fully, but on this bit, we differ. Valet parking at Disney is one of the great deals of travel in general.

$12 per day plus tips for valet parking on property we own? That's the worst deal ever.

And again, I must stress, some resorts were clearly designed with the perk in mind as parking is really far from the resort.

If 3 out of 4 cars at BWV/BWI that were valet parked were DVCers, then that means the contractor made $3 per car, and would need additional employees to cover the the extra cars. Tips don't go into the employers pocket, they need to pay a set wage per hour of $4.23. Plus accounting costs, taxes, benefits and insurance. I can see why the contractor wanted to discontinue the free perk.

Then go with a contractor who wanted the easy business more.

Plenty of valet companies make money on a lot less than $3 per car.

 

[Dean]

Magical Express costs a ton more than free valet parking. If this issue is cost, then ME would have been one of the first to go.

This is an issue of DVC/Disney knowing what they can get away with to grind out more profit for themselves, and making us bear the burden. That's what I don't like. Frankly, its something I have seen erode Disney World in general over the last 10 years. It is something that worries and concerns me greatly.

We don't know what ME costs are passed on to DVC, the cost of the program itself are irrelevant to this discussion, only what it costs DVC and only then as a point of reference. ME, like any other option, needs to be evaluated on it's own merit and a decision made somewhat independent of the valet question. It could be that both could be evaluated and not make the cut or only one or the other would continue in such a consideration. This is not Disney getting away with anything but rather DVCMC making a decision about a specific issue that went from free to $12 per day per car. The choices they had was to either raise dues so others would directly pay for the usage of those that did use it OR to do pay to play. Given those choices, there really is only ONE choice IMO.

So again, get rid of the Magical Express then. Make people pay for it. I never use it. Why should my dues subsidize people who use it? A small percentage of DVC owners use it and yet it costs a lot.

Disney created this problem with the way they handle valet parking. They should have negotiated the perk in whenever they outsourced it. Its not like they don't have any leverage.

And as I already noted: some resorts have HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE parking. This was ameliorated by the fact that at least valet parking was free.

NOTE: I am not actually advocating the removal of the ME perk. I mention that because it is monstrously expensive, it is used by a tiny percentage of DVC owners, and I imagine those who use it sure as heck wouldn't be "just fine with it" were it removed.

Again, it's an independent issue and it appears that only a relatively small percentage of the costs may be passed on to DVC. It's certainly fair to advocate evaluation of the option on the same terms one would use for the free valet parking. The other big difference with ME is there is a significant economy of scale that is not seen with valet parking. Now if DVC could negotiate a great rate that was predicated on the perk being open to everyone, a different decision might be appropriate. Something like $12 per day pay to play or the equivalent of say $3 per car per day if it were open to all. But even at $1 a day, it would be inappropriate to spread those costs to everyone UNLESS the agreement required the universal availability to get a discount.

The bottom line in this case is simply who's going to pay for something that only a small percent of people use, where each group can be easily identified, and where enforcement is simple. IMO, it is as simple as whether those that use it pay or they ask everyone to pay for their usage. There is not a single situation when it's appropriate for one member to ask another member to pay for their usage. There are certainly many situations where it's appropriate for the system to spread costs among all members.

 

[Dean]

$12 per day plus tips for valet parking on property we own? That's the worst deal ever.

And again, I must stress, some resorts were clearly designed with the perk in mind as parking is really far from the resort.

Comparatively speaking, valet parking at Disney is cheaper than most. Heck a lot of places that are somewhat comparable and allow self parking charge $12 or more to do so. It's not that $12 a day is cheap but it's not bad taken in context.

 

[linney94]

Just a thought! What if....... whenever points are bought the member receives the "perks" that are current ALWAYS!!!!!!!This way there would be no unhappy members as the supposedly level playing field would be just that!That member would receive the usual membership card with appropiate "perks" attached and would just need to have it swiped whenever! Hey presto-I'm a 16 year along the line member-and deeply regret "ALL" of the MANY "PERKS!!!" we have said goodbye to-which were part of the buying decision at the time.We love owning, BUT are also VERY SAD that IMHO the product we purchased and the ethos of 1994 is a completly different animal now!!

 

[Dean]

Just a thought! What if....... whenever points are bought the member receives the "perks" that are current ALWAYS!!!!!!!This way there would be no unhappy members as the supposedly level playing field would be just that!That member would receive the usual membership card with appropiate "perks" attached and would just need to have it swiped whenever! Hey presto-I'm a 16 year along the line member-and deeply regret "ALL" of the MANY "PERKS!!!" we have said goodbye to-which were part of the buying decision at the time.We love owning, BUT are also VERY SAD that IMHO the product we purchased and the ethos of 1994 is a completly different animal now!!

Actually every member gets the perks that were guaranteed at the time of purchase subject to the legal rules that apply. Perks cannot be guaranteed going forward, there's really no way other than to give no perks at all. Even many of the things in the POS and related info will change over time and for many it will be for the negative. Banking/borrowing may go away at some point for example. We too have been members for 16 years and excluding the free passes (which weren't perks in the true sense), I'd say the body of benefits now is as good as it's ever been overall.

 

[linney94]

Actually every member gets the perks that were guaranteed at the time of purchase subject to the legal rules that apply. Perks cannot be guaranteed going forward, there's really no way other than to give no perks at all. Even many of the things in the POS and related info will change over time and for many it will be for the negative. Banking/borrowing may go away at some point for example. We too have been members for 16 years and excluding the free passes (which weren't perks in the true sense), I'd say the body of benefits now is as good as it's ever been overall.

It's always good to share opinions. We will have to agree to disagree. I will miss valet parking without any doubt.We use it every single day of our stay,and will continue to do so and part with the $12.

 

[tgropp]

?? Is this a joke? I sure hope so!

I agree............. we save a LOT more on AP's than the OP's idea......... I don't get it?

Yes. Sorry, but my comedy routine must be a bit rusty.

 

[Dean]

It's always good to share opinions. We will have to agree to disagree. I will miss valet parking without any doubt.We use it every single day of our stay,and will continue to do so and part with the $12.

That things should not change for the buyer from the minute they purchase even including perks that are not legally based? We definitely disagree on that one, even the ones that are legally based can change.

 

[Chuck S]

Just a thought! What if....... whenever points are bought the member receives the "perks" that are current ALWAYS!!!!!!!This way there would be no unhappy members as the supposedly level playing field would be just that!That member would receive the usual membership card with appropiate "perks" attached and would just need to have it swiped whenever! Hey presto-I'm a 16 year along the line member-and deeply regret "ALL" of the MANY "PERKS!!!" we have said goodbye to-which were part of the buying decision at the time.We love owning, BUT are also VERY SAD that IMHO the product we purchased and the ethos of 1994 is a completly different animal now!!

Many of the discount perks are offered by a non-Disney operated business. For instance, Fulton's occasionally offers a 30% discount to members. Are you actually saying, that in order for Fulton's to offer that perk, it should need to be a PERMANENT perk for members that purchase during the time period that they offer it? If that is what you are saying, perks would disappear completely before any business would commit to a permanent discount.

Are you saying that if you purchased DVC during the time that the DDP included tip and appetizer for $38, that the price should never increase and it should always include tip and appetizer. If that were true, DDP would never have been made available to DVC at all.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We didn't use the free valet parking often, but it was helpful at VWL (we have only stayed at BWV once and won't stay there again). I was just in New Orleans last week - stayed at a hotel in the French Quarter on business. Valet parking was $30 a day and there was no self parking anywhere close by. If you did find self parking it was about $24 a day.

I'll be going to Atlanta next week, again on business. This time no car, but if I did have a car, valet parking would again be $30 a night.

So while I hate to pay for valet parking unless my employer is reimbursing me, $12 isn't really all that bad.

 

[DebbieB]

That things should not change for the buyer from the minute they purchase even including perks that are not legally based? We definitely disagree on that one, even the ones that are legally based can change.

That idea could also work against the member. My favorite perk is the $100 AP discount. That was not there when I bought. So if perks had to remain the same as the time purchased, I would not have that.

Valet was free for everyone when I bought, so it was not listed as a DVC perk.