Ownership Demand for Hawaii DVC Resort?

[Granny]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that they might have some issues with selling the DVC resort ownership in Hawaii?

I for one would love to visit Hawaii by using my DVC, but I can't see it being very often.

If we go with the Buy Where You Want to Stay the Most theory....how many people would really want to make MOST of their vacations to the Hawaii DVC location?

If people are still buying DVC primarily to go to WDW, is Hawaii a bad choice as there are no "fall back" plans that can be made at the 11 month window?

I suppose if I lived on the West Coast then an annual trip to Hawaii might be pretty feasible. But for most, wouldn't Hawaii be more of a "every once in a while" trip vs an annual or every other year trip?

Don't get me wrong....I think it's very exciting to have options other than Orlando, Vero Beach and Hilton Head with DVC and not messing with trade outs. I'm just wondering whether owning at Hawaii will really make sense for a lot of people unless they aren't planning on going to WDW all that often?

Am I missing something?

 

[WDWLVR]

I think for many on the West Coast it would be easier and cheaper to go to Hawaii then to WDW in FL. As for us we loved the Ko Olina area and would most likely do an add on that with banking and borrowing could be used to book a trip every 3 years.

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

I thought the same things and agree completely Granny. I do not see this as a viable option as a home resort for anyone other than west coast, usa residents or international owners. Nor do I see existing owners (other than the above mentioned) frequenting DVC Hawaii on a regular basis either.

 

[DebbieB]

It will be interesting to see how many of the 800 rooms will be DVC. I can't imagine them being able to sell points for even half of that number.

 

[salmoneous]

I'm doubtful as well. While I'm sure there are lots of people for whom a timeshare on Hawaii makes sense - wouldn't most of those people already own one? There are tons of really nice timeshares on Hawaii. What is Disney bringing to the table in an un-themed resort that the others don't have?

DebbieB may have the answer: Disney doesn't have to make that many of the units DVC. Perhaps the main job isn't to sell members in Hawaii, but to make the DVC system as whole more appealing.

 

[wildernessDad]

I'd like to go there every once in a while, but I do not want to make it my home. I do wonder if it will be available at the 7-month timeframe.

 

[Dman67]

You know, this is an interesting post becasue I've been doing a lot of resale research on Marriott Vacation Club properties and one of the critical things that you have to look for in an MVCI property is it's tradability. For MCVI a Hawaii property is about the best trader you can get. If you own at one of their Hawaii resorts you can pretty much get in anywhere you want with a trade. Now, with DVC the only thing that will have relavance in whether you own the Hawaii resort is the 11-month window. It will probably be real difficult to get a room there at the 7-month window for a couple of years once it opens because everyone is going to want to go check out this new resort. I'm not sure if this warrants purchasing points there or not. If that's the only factor then it may not be a great idea to purchase there, especially for us East Coasters. I will bet also that the Annual Maintenance Fees will be high since this is a beach resort so that's also a consideration that's potentially negative.

Now don't get me wrong I am totally excited about this announcement and am hoping to either be one of the first to visit the resort when it opens or at least be in line to get a stay there just as soon as I can.

 

[Tinkerdreams]

I agree with Granny, if you are on the west coast, then a buy in for this resort is probably a good idea. But for the individuals on the east coast and Europe, this would probably just be an every once in a while visit (airfare would be the prohibitive factor for me)

 

[squidmo]

If people are still buying DVC primarily to go to WDW, is Hawaii a bad choice as there are no "fall back" plans that can be made at the 11 month window?

Am I missing something?

I think the key here is that DVC is looking to expand beyond their current market. 'Tis true that they won't be able to sell out just by selling to existing members- like any large new property, they will need new members to buy in. And with the new expanded offerings, I think they have opened up a MUCH broader market for themselves. Like me, for example- I do have a small OKW contract I purchased resale, but I was NEVER going to buy a full-sized contract when the properties were limited to WDW. Now that they've got some West Coast properties coming down the pipe, however, I'm planning on "adding on", and will have a full-sized contract as soon as they let my buy my GCV.

 

[Tigger031266]

I think Disney realized it is a smaller more targeted buyer so they are selling 2 years before it opens.

I agree is will take 2-3 years to sell out but I think Hawaii is a pretty cool location.

 

[epicureangirl]

Yes, a lot of West Coasters take vacations EACH AND EVERY YEAR to Hawaii. Usually for 1 or 2 weeks. Because the weather is great, it is not really as seasonally dependent, so I can imagine the resort being full almost all year. It might not attract as many add-ons by those of you on the East Coast and current DVC'rs living out East, but I can imagine this resort would attract a lot of NEW DVC sales to people who have never even heard of DVC. Their take would be, "Wow, I can still go to Hawaii every year AND I could go see what all this fuss is about Disney World".

 

[PamOKW]

It seems that Disney is making a commitment to move into the travel/resort business. To be successful, they are going to have to expand to reach a different market than the Disney crowd. They are still stressing "family" which can be a disconnect for some people. For example, to me Vero could easily be a world class, Florida resort.....except the catering to children gives the place a whole different ambience that probably doesn't always appeal to the adult travelers. I still love it but I see how it doesn't have the same appeal as say a Breakers.

Does buying into Hawaii make sense for folks who mostly go to WDW? Probably not. Does buying into Hawaii make sense to someone who sees the WDW resorts as only one component of the program? Yes. I wouldn't discount the appeal of this resort to not only West Coast folks but also to visitors from Asia who love both Disney and Hawaii.

It may also not be coincidental that they announced a West Coast DL DVC at roughly the same time they announced the Hawaii option.

 

[nuts]

Couple comments:
1. This will be a mixed use resort...so people will come and stay at the hotel, visit DVC sales center...and will buy. This model is different than VB and HHI.

2. Timeshare market in Hawaii is hot, so someone is buying

 

[BCV23]

Airfare from the Midwest is not pretty either.

We have a vacation at the JW in a few months and will evaluate after that. My husband is the only one of us who has stayed on Oahu and that was for business. We have no desire to ever stay in the Waikiki area. We'll have to see if Ko'olina appeals to us in general. We love the Wailea area on Maui but don't care for Kaanapali. Which of those areas is more like Ko'olina?

If we do decide to buy, we would most likely go every 2 or 3 years I think. Borrowing and banking would help of course but trading out won't work as well with DVC as it does with more traditional time shares... I think?????

 

[sjdisneywedding]

I thought the same things and agree completely Granny. I do not see this as a viable option as a home resort for anyone other than west coast, usa residents or international owners. Nor do I see existing owners (other than the above mentioned) frequenting DVC Hawaii on a regular basis either.

west coast and international owners would be more than enough for this to be successful. Hawaii is a pretty popular place its not like they are not getting their tourism because its too far away from everyone

 

[sjdisneywedding]

I really would not have any fear making this my home resort with thoughts of traveling to WDW on a consistant basis.

if you are just looking to go to WDW and dont care which DVC resort then there will be tons of options available

 

[BCV23]

if you are just looking to go to WDW and dont care which DVC resort then there will be tons of options available

But therein lies the rub for those who do care. And despite owning at what will probably be a high demand resort, one will lose any advantage when booking at WDW.

 

[lovinthemouse]

I think for many on the West Coast it would be easier and cheaper to go to Hawaii then to WDW in FL. As for us we loved the Ko Olina area and would most likely do an add on that with banking and borrowing could be used to book a trip every 3 years.

That is our plan too. I think once every 3 years would be what we would make for a fantastic trip.

 

[Granny]

Does buying into Hawaii make sense for folks who mostly go to WDW? Probably not. Does buying into Hawaii make sense to someone who sees the WDW resorts as only one component of the program? Yes. I wouldn't discount the appeal of this resort to not only West Coast folks but also to visitors from Asia who love both Disney and Hawaii.

Pam...I think we are thinking along the same lines. This is really a departure from reliance on theme parks to sell resorts. As I stated on another post, making DVC part of it is smart as it guarantees a minimum level of occupancy and more important a certain percentage of the operating costs don't have to be borne by Disney. So it reduces their risk considerably.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

But therein lies the rub for those who do care. And despite owning at what will probably be a high demand resort, one will lose any advantage when booking at WDW.

why would you buy Hawaii DVC if you had ONE place in WDW you really wanted to stay? doesnt make much sense.

one wouldnt lose ANY advantage for booking at WDW, they would only lose an advantage at 1 particular resort.

Its really the same arguement as with any other dvc, if you really want to stay at BCV why would you buy SSR or why would you buy AKL, or BWV or Hawaii in this case