Questions about your annual fees

[ShellyLynn3630]

How much do you pay each year in your annual fees? I know each resort is different so I thought I would ask? Do they go up each year and what exactly are these annual fees for? Just curious a little about DVC.

 

[DebbieB]

Owning a timeshare is just the same as owning a house. You have a mortgage for the original cost. Then you also have taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, services to pay for each year. That is equivalent to the DVC dues. You are paying to maintain & service the building and the operations. Just like your home, they also change (usually increase) each year.

Dues history:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21793879&postcount=3

 

[Deb & Bill]

You will probably spend more on annual fees than the initial buy-in once you are a member for a length of time. The member fees was just one reason why we have sold two of our five contracts. I didn't like spending nearly $2500 a year on fees.

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

Thats interesting. Thanks! That chart is great. Are the DVC resorts that profitable for Disney? I am guessing yes. I wonder if it is very cheap for them to run the properties with the annual dues being paid each year?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Ultimately, the DVC resorts are 95% sold out at all times. So there aren't empty rooms sitting around when times are tough (unless a member has used their points to trade out to another Disney vacation, like DL, DCL or a WDW resort). They don't have to discount the rooms and throw in freebies like dining and tickets just to get the rooms filled.

 

[drusba]

Thats interesting. Thanks! That chart is great. Are the DVC resorts that profitable for Disney? I am guessing yes. I wonder if it is very cheap for them to run the properties with the annual dues being paid each year?

DVC is hugely profitable for Disney but it is not because of dues (except to some extent, see below). It makes a huge amount selling the units; for example, sales revenues from BLT when it finally sells out will likely total somewhere near $900 million. A second avenue of profit is captured audience -- DVC members are going to go to WDW on a regular basis and they will spend huge amounts annually while visiting Disney, and Disney does not have to spend large amounts on special deals or advertising to get those members to come and spend at Disney. They have somewhere around 125,000 members now (but that is really 450,000 or more people because joint owners are counted as one, i.e., a family of four is one member count).

Your dues pay for all operations and maintenance of the resort, transportation costs (allocated amounts for boats and busses), housekeeping, insurance, and all DVC member operations (in other words, you see or walk up and talk to a CM working at the resort and your dues are paying for that employee; all those nicely trimmed trees and flowers are your dues at work, call the front desk and your dues are paying for the call). They also pay for reserves for long-term repairs (such as normal replacement of roofs after many years of use) and for property taxes.

By law, dues must be set at estimated cost for the services, not cost plus profit (and you can just look around at a Disney resort and understand that those costs are a lot). However, there are built in "profit" areas. One is that DVD gets to rent any rooms still available at 60 days out. Amounts it receives go first to offsetting any dues but only up to 2% of the annual budgeted dues, i.e., everything over that 2% goes to Disney. Another is that every resort has a "management fee" equaling 12% of the other annual dues (less certain prescribed categories, such as property taxes). The percent never changes but the amount does as dues increase annually. The 60 day rental amounts and the management fee go to paying for the central member services operations and overall management of DVC, but there is a large amount that just ends up being profit to Disney.

In other words, yes, DVC is hugely profitable to Disney but it is all above board (they are not "sneaking" profits in somewhere) and though your dues are high you are not being overcharged for the services provided.

 

[LisaS]

This chart shows the dues increases each year (dollar amount and percentages):

                      [SIZE="3"][B]DVC Dues History[/B][/SIZE]

[B][U]Year[/U]   [U]OKW[/U]   [U]BWV[/U]   [U]VB[/U]  [U]VB/sub[/U]  [U]HH[/U]    [U]VWL[/U]   [U]BCV[/U]   [U]SSR[/U]   [U]AKV[/U][/B]
2008  4.56  5.04  6.04  4.71  5.16  4.87  4.80  4.21  4.71
2007  4.40  4.85  5.63  4.39  4.98  4.73  4.63  4.12  4.62
2006  4.24  4.69  5.27  4.12  4.34  4.61  4.48  3.98
2005  3.86  4.41  4.87  3.84  3.86  4.35  4.27  3.83
2004  3.68  4.25  4.67  3.67  3.70  4.22  4.18  3.80
2003  3.49  4.11  4.37  4.37  3.69  4.05  3.97
2002  3.22  3.92  4.17  3.33  3.49  3.80  3.77
2001  3.13  3.83  3.98  2.70  3.32  3.63
2000  3.16  3.94  4.07  2.87  3.25  3.62
1999  3.16  4.02  3.99  2.82  3.18
1998  3.17  3.94        2.76  3.20
1997  3.14  3.84        2.90  3.16
1996  2.99  3.70        2.82  3.16
1995  2.84
1994  2.70
1993  2.63
1992  2.56
1991  2.51

                 [SIZE="3"][B]DVC Dues -- Annual Increase[/B][/SIZE]

[B][U]Year[/U]   [U]OKW[/U]    [U]BWV[/U]    [U]VB[/U]   [U]VB/sub[/U]   [U]HH[/U]    [U]VWL[/U]   [U]BCV[/U]   [U]SSR[/U]   [U]AKV[/U][/B]
2008  0.16   0.19   0.41   0.32   0.18  0.14  0.17  0.09  0.09
2007  0.16   0.16   0.36   0.27   0.64  0.12  0.15  0.14
2006  0.38   0.28   0.40   0.28   0.30  0.26  0.21  0.15
2005  0.18   0.16   0.20   0.17   0.18  0.13  0.09  0.03
2004  0.19   0.14   0.31   0.22   0.16  0.17  0.21  3.80
2003  0.27   0.19   0.19   0.12   0.22  0.25  0.20
2002  0.09   0.10   0.20   0.63   0.16  0.17  3.77
2001 -0.03  -0.12  -0.11  -0.17   0.07  0.01
2000  0.00  -0.08   0.09   0.05   0.07  3.62
1999 -0.01   0.08   3.99   0.06  -0.02
1998  0.03   0.10         -0.14   0.04
1997  0.15   0.14          0.08   0.00
1996  0.15   3.70          2.82   3.16
1995  0.14
1994  0.07
1993  0.07
1992  0.05

             [SIZE="3"][B]DVC Dues -- Percentage Increase[/B][/SIZE]

[B][U]Year[/U]  [U]OKW[/U]   [U]BWV[/U]    [U]VB[/U]   [U]VB/sub[/U]   [U]HH[/U]   [U]VWL[/U]   [U]BCV[/U]   [U]SSR[/U]   [U]AKV[/U][/B]  
2008  3.7%  3.9%  7.3%   7.4%   3.7%  2.9%  3.6%  2.2%  2.0%
2007  3.8%  3.4%  6.8%   6.6%  14.7%  2.6%  3.3%  3.5%
2006  9.8%  6.3%  8.2%   7.3%   7.4%  6.0%  4.9%  3.9%
2005  4.9%  3.8%  4.3%   4.6%   4.7%  3.1%  2.2%  0.8%
2004  5.4%  3.4%  7.1%   6.4%   4.3%  4.2%  5.3%
2003  8.4%  4.8%  4.6%   3.6%   6.3%  6.6%  5.3%
2002  2.9%  2.6%  5.0%  23.3%   4.8%  4.7%
2001 -0.9% -3.0% -2.7%  -5.9%   2.2%  0.3%
2000  0.0% -2.0%  2.3%   1.8%   2.2%
1999 -0.3%  2.0%         2.2%  -0.6%
1998  1.0%  2.6%        -4.8%   1.3%
1997  5.0%  3.8%         2.8%   0.0%
1996  5.3%
1995  5.2%
1994  2.7%
1993  2.7%
1992  2.0%

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

Wow. Thanks for the interesting info.

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

I do think though we will be better off learning how to just rent those points!

 

[Teachckg]

We recently bought and know that our dues are due in January, but do they send a bill? What date are they exactly due?

TIA

 

[DebbieB]

We recently bought and know that our dues are due in January, but do they send a bill? What date are they exactly due?

TIA

The bill comes in late December and is due January 15 with a grace period to February 15. You can also have a monthly debit from a bank account with no fee. I do the monthly debit, for 250 points at BWV it's $103 a month.