Question: Less Resale Benefits = More Direct Sales ?

[dvcdream4fld]

It's been a few months now, since DVD created two classes of DVC members and purchasers. I honestly don't know the answer to the following questions, but I would like to know, or least have DVC member opinions/comments.

Has DVC direct sales increased?

Has DVC resale sales decreased?

Has DVC resale prices gone down?

I think DVC members/purchasers are long time Disney World Fans, and generally spend a lot of money at Disney World.

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, has your opinion toward DVC ownership changed?

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, what do you think about the value of DVC ownership?

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, has or will your spending at WDW change?

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, would you recommend resale or direct?

 

[chalee94]

I still think 2011 was the big shift. That's when DVC admitted that they were just another timeshare and would take steps to damage resale values for current owners.

I don't think we have seen the full impact from the 2016 changes yet. I do expect that taking away the AP discount will put a small dent in resale prices.

I still recommend resale but am more cautious than ever about recommending DVC to prospective buyers. You really do have to understand that if you need to sell, you will be competing with the Mouse and Disney will fight you.

The value of any timeshare ownership is in the use of it - and that continues to be true. The perks should be seen as secondary and these changes emphasize that.

As long as WDW is a good vacation value, DVC changes probably won't have much impact on me. (Boma moving to $60 would probably have more impact in pushing me to go to Vegas or somewhere instead.)

 

[_auroraborealis_]

April sales figures were some of the highest for direct, but that also correlates to the direct purchase incentives they put out for Poly, plus a lot of spring break cruises.

Resale takes longer, so I don't know that we can say "resale is up!" or "resale is down," as the measurement for that is filings with the OC Comptroller, and bids in April only left ROFR in May, and then there's estoppel and closing before filing. Resale is not a two-week cycle.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I agree with PP I am more concerned about the prices of tickets and food going up like crazy than DVC changes. That is just madness. $60 for buffet come on!

 

[supersnoop]

It's been a few months now,

It's been two months. I doubt any of the folks who made offers after the announcement have actually closed yet.

 

[dvcdream4fld]

True. Those who bought resale in April, probably have not closed yet. I guess we will know more after new resale "purchasers" make reservations and visit WDW.

I'm still wondering if others have opinions on my questions above.

Has the "Magic" changed recently?

 

[bwvBound]

I think DVC members/purchasers are long time Disney World Fans, and generally spend a lot of money at Disney World.

Not just WDW. From the west coast, I prefer DL and even Aulani.

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, has your opinion toward DVC ownership changed?

Yes, it has sharply increased my perception of DVD as "just another timeshare developer." It reminded me that timeshare owners have little influence and no control over the thing they "own." Again, this feeling isn't new to me -- but the reminder was pretty sharp and unpleasant.

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, what do you think about the value of DVC ownership?

Value, in my opinion has diminished -- but, on the other hand, it helps me more clearly delineate that owning DVC is all about "location, location, location" and little other benefit as compared to other timeshares.

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, has or will your spending at WDW change?

I doubt my WDW spending will change by much, although we've recently curtailed our WDW travel for other reasons. When at WDW we generally cook in our room, rarely visit a park and spend very little on souvenirs unless shopping for a specific gift.

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, would you recommend resale or direct?

Personally, I'll be recommending abstinence? Or, more realistically, I'd be advising other timeshare over DVC if one doesn't fully require being "onsite."

 

[disneynutz]

It seems to me that Disney has done their numbers and has decided that new guests spend more than repeat guests and that new DVC buyers spend more that old owners. So they don't care what repeat guests and DVC owners think.

Bill

 

[dvcdream4fld]

It seems to me that Disney has done their numbers and has decided that new guests spend more than repeat guests and that new DVC buyers spend more that old owners. So they don't care what repeat guests and DVC owners think.

Bill

It seems Disney would be short sighted if they didn't think that long time DVC owners are not spending more money than new DVC buyers. Maybe, it's more like Disney feels old DVC owners don't need the attention that new buyers need. In others words, old DVC owners will continue to spend whether or not Disney provides the same value and "magic". Also, in terms of new resale purchasers, Disney is providing less. If it is a calculated position, my opinion is that it may help their numbers in the short-term, but in the long term, it seems miscalculated.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

My DH and I are in a quandry about buying the final 50 points we need to be able to split our points between DS and DD when we are gone. We own at SSR and have bought all 3 of our contracts from DVC (150+50+50). In order to keep them equal in benefits we will need to buy the final 50 through DVC, but the price difference is frustrating.

 

[disneynutz]

My DH and I are in a quandry about buying the final 50 points we need to be able to split our points between DS and DD when we are gone. We own at SSR and have bought all 3 of our contracts from DVC (150+50+50). In order to keep them equal in benefits we will need to buy the final 50 through DVC, but the price difference is frustrating.

We had contracts lined up for our adult kids, turns out they don't want them, they both said that just because we love Disney, (the old Disney), that doesn't mean that they do.

Bill

 

[disneyeveryyear]

We had contracts lined up for our adult kids, turns out they don't want them, they both said that just because we love Disney, (the old Disney), that doesn't mean that they do.

Bill

We have tried speaking with both of them to determine if they would both like points, and I think they do. If not, if one wants them, we can work the inheritance to include something else for the non DVC child.

 

[disneynutz]

It seems Disney would be short sighted if they didn't think that long time DVC owners are not spending more money than new DVC buyers. Maybe, it's more like Disney feels old DVC owners don't need the attention that new buyers need. In others words, old DVC owners will continue to spend whether or not Disney provides the same value and "magic". Also, in terms of new resale purchasers, Disney is providing less. If it is a calculated position, my opinion is that it may help their numbers in the short-term, but in the long term, it seems miscalculated.

IMO new buyers go nuts for a few years, do add-ons, maybe multiple vacations, buy DVC merchandise, APs. Then it's the same old thing and you are required to use your points or lose them. Renting has really picked up and the demand now supports several companies. People still love Disney parks and they enjoy a discount on their accommodations with DVC but again IMO, the majority don't spend like they first did.

I know that we don't, maybe spend a few park days over a 10 day vacation, don't eat out as often, don't buy Disney and DVC stuff.

Bill

 

[disneynutz]

We have tried speaking with both of them to determine if they would both like points, and I think they do. If not, if one wants them, we can work the inheritance to include something else for the non DVC child.

Who knows what they will like and what Disney will be like down the road. We ended up investing the money for each child and in the end the accounts will be worth may more that the DVC.

Bill

 

[Minniesgal]

I don't see it I really don't see it unless we are talking about really uneducated buyers who probably would never have bought resale anyway.

To me the major perk now lost is the annual pass discount. You could buy a lot of annual passes with the savings on resale over direct so i think the sums will still work out in favour of resale.

What I think they will see an increase of is 25 point direct contracts. I kinda think that was deliberate. If every resale buyer now also buys a 25 point contract at Poly maybe sales will catch up to where they wanted them

 

[Dean]

It's been a few months now, since DVD created two classes of DVC members and purchasers. I honestly don't know the answer to the following questions, but I would like to know, or least have DVC member opinions/comments.

Has DVC direct sales increased?

Has DVC resale sales decreased?

Has DVC resale prices gone down?

I think DVC members/purchasers are long time Disney World Fans, and generally spend a lot of money at Disney World.

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, has your opinion toward DVC ownership changed?

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, what do you think about the value of DVC ownership?

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, has or will your spending at WDW change?

With all the recent changes by DVD and Disney, would you recommend resale or direct?

I think it's too early to make a determination on sales or prices for either side. Clearly retail will go up over what it would have been and resale will go down, the question is how much. Prices are even more variable but resale prices will likely take a minor hit. DVC members are often big Disney fans but I think they're just as often, if not more so, caught up in the emotions and get a little manic often with insufficient info and/or experience. In addition many who would like to go routinely will have financial issues both at the time of the purchase and later and in some cases, the purchase will be the straw that broke the camel's back. No change in opinion, it's always been just another good timeshare that happens to be on property and is fairly flexible. DVC is and only has been a value buying to stay at DVC resorts when one could afford to pay cash. There seems to be a subset where recent changes, increases, etc have pushed them over the edge but Disney has always been expensive and there have been no changes over the years that change that fact. Put another way, there have been no financial changes with Disney or DVC that should alter whether Disney trips are financially reasonable for a given group, there may be personal changes that do. Perks are gravy, if DVC doesn't make sense without them it doesn't make sense with them with extremely few and very specific exceptions which are more theoretical than real. Assuming value matters, I'd always recommended resale where there was sufficient savings for that item and retail where there wasn't, esp for a new buyer. There are ZERO situations were buying a full sized contract resale makes sense because of the changes and this has been true since there were resales available.

 

[dvcdream4fld]

Yeah. I think the consensus from the response to this post is that resale still is the best value even without the member perks.

However, I still get the feeling overall that there seems to be disappointment towards Disney for all the recent changes.

However, it seems that longtime members care about the fact Disney is raising prices and reducing benefits, but it doesn't really affect their overall opinion of the mouse, which seems to be raising prices and excluding benefits is just business as usual.

It doesn't seem that longtime members spending habits will change either, because they don't necessarily participate in the higher priced restaurants and special events.

Ok, so let me ask a different question because it came up in a few posts.

With all the recent changes, would you still recommend resale or direct DVC to friends and family?

 

[disneynutz]

We were avid DVC lovers for several years but in the last 5 or so, things changed. DVC used to seem more club like, you got to know the CM's, management, more of a personal touch, gift baskets. As time went on the DVC rooms started showing wear, we had missing kitchen drawers, appliances that didn't work and the new projects had issues from the start. We were embarrassed by the room conditions so we stopped taking guests and extended family and stopped making buyer referrals, since then DVC canceled their referral program. We started to see behind the curtain and CM's started verifying certain assumptions as they became more upset with the direction and changes at Disney and the DVC.

To us DVC is nothing more than a room discount, we sold several contracts and we will probably be selling more. Disney is more interested in getting industry awards and making a profit than investing money to make DVC something special like it could be.

Bill

 

[Murron]

Yeah. I think the consensus from the response to this post is that resale still is the best value even without the member perks.

However, I still get the feeling overall that there seems to be disappointment towards Disney for all the recent changes.

However, it seems that longtime members care about the fact Disney is raising prices and reducing benefits, but it doesn't really affect their overall opinion of the mouse, which seems to be raising prices and excluding benefits is just business as usual.

It doesn't seem that longtime members spending habits will change either, because they don't necessarily participate in the higher priced restaurants and special events.

Ok, so let me ask a different question because it came up in a few posts.

With all the recent changes, would you still recommend resale or direct DVC to friends and family?

I absolutely will not recommend resale or direct DVC to anyone. My reasoning is not because of the conditions of DVC timeshares, but rather the difficulty in planning a vacation at WDW. Telling people they need to get ADRs a180 days in advance or reserve their rides 60 days in advance....well, you can imagine. The quizical looks I get say it all. It's all been said before on these boards, but no recommendation from me. In addition, the consensus is to pay cash (not points) for cruises and the other Disney Adventures are really very expensive. So again, sadly, no.

 

[FreeTime]

We were avid DVC lovers for several years but in the last 5 or so, things changed. DVC used to seem more club like, you got to know the CM's, management, more of a personal touch, gift baskets. As time went on the DVC rooms started showing wear, we had missing kitchen drawers, appliances that didn't work and the new projects had issues from the start. We were embarrassed by the room conditions so we stopped taking guests and extended family and stopped making buyer referrals, since then DVC canceled their referral program. We started to see behind the curtain and CM's started verifying certain assumptions as they became more upset with the direction and changes at Disney and the DVC.

To us DVC is nothing more than a room discount, we sold several contracts and we will probably be selling more. Disney is more interested in getting industry awards and making a profit than investing money to make DVC something special like it could be.

Bill

This is how we are starting to feel however I think our expectations are a bit higher than our guests. Last week we rented points to some acquaintances to stay at SSR and we stayed there at the same time. Our villa was horrible! Drawers that would not open, some weird feet print in front of our door, moldy grout in the kitchen, filthy shower, disgusting ring around the bathtub. On the outside you could see multiple layers of paint on the hallways that were different colors, cobwebs everywhere, trash that stayed around for days. The other family was in the same building. However, they must not have noticed as they sent me a message asking how they could buy in. I was getting ready to offer them a refund as I was so embarrassed!

To avoid a ROFR we are considering an agreement with this family where they will pay our dues for the next X years while we wait a bit longer for improvement before we decide to sell.