Not selling Aulani? What's going on?

[BeccaG]

Based on another poster, who tried to buy Aulani at the Aulani event and then ended up with documents for AKV, I started doing some research. According to a nameless inside source and several other accounts, they are not selling Aulani here in California. The first day of the Aulani events in Pasadena (which was basically D23 members) they could, but by day 2, they couldn't.

I have also been told they can't (or usually don't) sell Aulani on the cruises because of the notary process. This may or may not be a recent change.

Additionally, they cannot selling Aulani in Japan, again this may or may not be a new change. I am guessing this is a big concern because, it seems like Japan was a large part of the target market.

So what is so stringent about Hawaii timeshare laws that caused this change? Was a new law passed?

Did some DVC person forget to file for some license?

Can anyone confirm that they are selling Aulani in Florida or sending add on documents to other states?

Is it possible that the only way to buy Aulani is in Hawaii right now?

This really has no impact on me, I am just kinda fascinated by the apparent debacle.

 

[toocherie]

This really has no impact on me, I am just kinda fascinated by the apparent debacle.

Doesn't impact me either, but am subbing to hear what others may have to say--it is fascinating that there could be such a giant mis-step.

 

[DenLo]

Interesting. I know that our CM thought he might need to have a permit or license to sell Aulani which he wasn't interested in obtaining since he lives in Florida. Later he said he could sell Aulani to members that were not residing in Hawaii without any special permits. But he could not sell to anyone residing in Hawaii.

Now I'm wondering if someone misunderstood Hawaiian law.

 

[Breyean]

We added on at Aulani on a cruise in May. Have they stopped offering that now?

In fact, after we got home (to AZ) the web cast offer was better than what we had gotten on the cruise, so DVC had to redo the contract for us with the better incentives.

So we had two contracts written, one on a cruise to Alaska and one while we were in AZ. There was a spot on the contract for a Hawaiian notary to sign, but we were told by QA that was for DVC use.

 

[Chuck S]

I wonder if perhaps there has been a delay in finishing out some of the units, and maybe the HI laws say that the resort has to be X% finished in order to sell?

 

[Longhairbear]

Becca, are they not selling Aulani at DLR anymore?

 

[Rob S.]

I have 2 Aulani contracts. One was purchased on a cruise and the other over the phone. My first contract was purchased on the transatlantic cruise last September and recall that they mentioned something about not being able to finalize the paperwork until we arrived back in the US.

 

[BeccaG]

Becca, are they not selling Aulani at DLR anymore?

From what I understand, that is the current situation as of two or so weeks ago when they were doing the Aulani preview special events in Pasadena.

 

[MamaDrama]

I was the one who had the issue at the Pasadena event and apparently (according to the sales manager I spoke to) that had to stop selling Aulani in the middle of the event because of some issue with paperwork and the state of HI that had to go back through legal and regulatory. As soon as it clears they will start selling again.

 

[kikiq]

I wonder if perhaps there has been a delay in finishing out some of the units, and maybe the HI laws say that the resort has to be X% finished in order to sell?

I was also at the Pasadena event on Saturday. According to my guide, the DVC staff was informed late Friday afternoon that the state of Hawaii wanted some paperwork rewritten. She gave us the impression that it had to with the number of timeshare units/hotel units. Other than that she gave no other details. I know from an inside source that was there Friday night, that they had to revamp the incentive presentation from Aulani to AKV. My guide was really clear to tell us that she would be glad to take our order for Aulani and would notify us as soon as it was a go to collect our money. It is a recent development as of July 8.

From personal experience, it is not a clear path when you "own" property on Hawaii. When you buy a condo, you can buy "lease hold" or "fee simple". My father has been trying to maneuver his way through the system to put his "fee simple" condo into his trust for almost 6 months now. And there's some different paperwork if the trust is not in Hawaii, my dad's trust is in California. So when our guide told us that there was a paperwork issue, we totally understood.

 

[BeccaG]

Well I got some new information. It seems, as many of you suggested, that they sold out of the declared inventory in phase one and phase two had not been approved yet. Whether that is because phase 1 sold out soooo fast, someone dropped the ball on completing paper work, the process is slower in Hawaii or a combination of those and other reasons we will probably never know.

 

[Longhairbear]

Good work Becca!

 

[IandGsmom]

Wow resort is not open and phase I is sold out. I am proud to be an Aulani owner..and I am thrilled to be making my reservation for next July soon!!

 

[disneynutz]

Well I got some new information. It seems, as many of you suggested, that they sold out of the declared inventory in phase one and phase two had not been approved yet. Whether that is because phase 1 sold out soooo fast, someone dropped the ball on completing paper work, the process is slower in Hawaii or a combination of those and other reasons we will probably never know.

Everything is slower in Hawaii!

Bill

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Let's see.. who is most likely to be able to use this regularly? Those of us on the East Coast or those on the West?

This is a major screw up by Disney LOL!

 

[wdrl]

Well I got some new information. It seems, as many of you suggested, that they sold out of the declared inventory in phase one and phase two had not been approved yet. Whether that is because phase 1 sold out soooo fast, someone dropped the ball on completing paper work, the process is slower in Hawaii or a combination of those and other reasons we will probably never know.

I hope you are right, but the numbers for Aulani would not suggest that Phase 1 is sold out.

The Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances no longer displays the number of points in each deed, nor does it update its website very timely. Through April 30, 2011, HBC shows 3.212 deeds have been recorded for Aulani, an average of 357 deeds a month. If the rate of monthly deeds has remained constant since April, then Aulani will have had about 4,300 deeds sold by now.

Aulani's Phase 1 has 1,753,533 points allotted to it. If DVD has sold 4,300 Aulani deeds, then the average Aulani deed would contain about 408 points. Even if Aulani had a surge in sales since April and now has 5,000 deeds sold, then the average Aulani deed would have to average about 350 points.

Is it possible that Aulani's deeds are averaging about 350 points, if not over 400 points? Its possible, especially since DVD is selling fixed week options at Aulani, which may encourage larger point purchases. In addition, the Japanese market may have different buying patterns than the U.S. market. For BLT and AKV, the deeds have averaged only 161.7 points and 163.8 points, respectively. Thus, for Aulani to average 350 points per deed, much less over 400 points per deed, it must be a radical departure from the purchasing patterns exhibited at over DVC resorts.

 

[BeccaG]

I hope you are right, but the numbers for Aulani would not suggest that Phase 1 is sold out.

The Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances no longer displays the number of points in each deed, nor does it update its website very timely. Through April 30, 2011, HBC shows 3.212 deeds have been recorded for Aulani, an average of 357 deeds a month. If the rate of monthly deeds has remained constant since April, then Aulani will have had about 4,300 deeds sold by now.

Aulani's Phase 1 has 1,753,533 points allotted to it. If DVD has sold 4,300 Aulani deeds, then the average Aulani deed would contain about 408 points. Even if Aulani had a surge in sales since April and now has 5,000 deeds sold, then the average Aulani deed would have to average about 350 points.

Is it possible that Aulani's deeds are averaging about 350 points, if not over 400 points? Its possible, especially since DVD is selling fixed week options at Aulani, which may encourage larger point purchases. In addition, the Japanese market may have different buying patterns than the U.S. market. For BLT and AKV, the deeds have averaged only 161.7 points and 163.8 points, respectively. Thus, for Aulani to average 350 points per deed, much less over 400 points per deed, it must be a radical departure from the purchasing patterns exhibited at over DVC resorts.

Well...

Everything is slower in Hawaii!

Bill

plus, my guess is DVDs phase 1 may not be in line with the filing paperwork's phase 1. Probably, in an effort to get selling on Aulani, DVD and sub phases to declare into inventory as soon as Hawaii law would let them....at least, that makes sense to me.....but what do I know!!!?? I am definitely no lawyer or timeshare expert!! So this is all conjecture on my part for sure!!

 

[wdrl]

So this is all conjecture on my part for sure!!

And on my part, too!

 

[tjkraz]

For BLT and AKV, the deeds have averaged only 161.7 points and 163.8 points, respectively. Thus, for Aulani to average 350 points per deed, much less over 400 points per deed, it must be a radical departure from the purchasing patterns exhibited at over DVC resorts.

Agree. But the one comment I'll make on that is I doubt we will see many 25, 50 or even 100 point contracts for Aulani. The target market for Aulani is a pretty new group of owners, IMO, so most are probably not privy to the "I want to split my 250 points into ten 25-point contracts" approach. And between the high nightly costs and remote location of Aulani, I can't see nearly as many people doing small add-ons for a short stay every 1-2 years.

Could Aulani have a 400-point average? I don't know if it could be that big. But without the tiny contracts dragging down the average, I wouldn't be surprised if it were 250-300.

 

[Brian Noble]

Tim, I think you are over-generalizing from your own context. Take a look at those averages for the existing resorts again. They are *just barely* above the minimum purchase for new owners. That's most simply explained by the following hypothesis: Most purchasers are new buyers, and most buy the minimum. A few people buy more, because they can. The number of savvy add-on owners looking to break contracts up into small bits is almost certainly in the noise.

That said, I do think that Hawaii purchasers are likely to "buy up" a little bit, because it is so hard to get there.