Partnership Speculation

[Mickey'sApprentice]

A DISSER posted a thread back in March stating that they had a source that DVC was looking for a partnership with another timeshare company. 4 Seasons was speculated to be the partner at that time.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1374502&highlight=dvc+partnership

I've thought about this some since then. As great as DVC is, you can't use it to stay in hotels all over the world [like you can with Marriott] and the concierge collection has shrunk to almost nothing. Recent advertising and strategic moves, i.e., Hawaii, California have shown that DVC wants to expand into other markets now and be more than a niche seller of timeshares for people that love Disney parks.

So what do you think? Is a partnership coming? If so, with whom? What company do you think would be a good strategic fit for DVC, and why?

My thoughts are that Hyatt would be a really good fit as 9 of 13 resorts are in the West with none in Orlando, and that Wyndham may be good as well so that Disney could get that Bonnet Creek property back.

 

[Chuck S]

I'm wondering if the 4 Seasons rumor started because of the announced 4 Seasons development that is going into the location that was originally planned Eagle Pines DVC Resort.

I'm sure other timeshare companies would love to partner with DVC for trading, but I really don't see that happening, since DVC now seems to be expanding into non-WDW markets, and shorter stays are now available at select II resorts.

 

[tjkraz]

I would think that Interval gives Disney the only "partnership" it really needs. That relationship allows them to tout program flexibility and hundreds of worldwide destinations.

Beyond that, I don't see an obvious benefit to another "partnership"--that would just add another layer of confusion to the system we already have (i.e. "you can use your points within the DVC system this way, within the Marriott/Wyndham system another way, within the Interval system a third way...)

An acquisition might make some sense, but would have a large price tag. Is it really worth an investment of hundreds-of-millions of dollars just to (potentially) make DVC Hawaii points more attractive?

And the downside to any partnership / acquisition is that you dilute member access to the theme park resorts. If the number of owners with direct booking access to the theme park resorts were to double or triple overnight, DVC risks alienating its core market. 7 month reservations (and non-home reservations) would quickly become a thing of the past.