Red Headed Step Child!

[sleepydog25]

I truly get what everyone is saying. In my frustration, I would not trade my DVC. I love Disney. I guess what I was trying to get at is I would like for Disney to "love" us almost as we love Disney. Stop taking away our perks and appreciate the fan base. Disney knows I won't sell my DVC (if I don't have to), I just want them to appreciate it. I think it is the exact opposite. They know they have us so we matter less. I usually buy annual passes but give me a discount on per day park tickets. Thanks for all of the great feedback and for the title, I am a red head lol, hence the red headed step child reference.

Agree. And thanks for not taking offense at what I think were mostly meant to be our own experiences with DVC. See you in the World!

 

[Dean]

I truly get what everyone is saying. In my frustration, I would not trade my DVC. I love Disney. I guess what I was trying to get at is I would like for Disney to "love" us almost as we love Disney. Stop taking away our perks and appreciate the fan base. Disney knows I won't sell my DVC (if I don't have to), I just want them to appreciate it. I think it is the exact opposite. They know they have us so we matter less. I usually buy annual passes but give me a discount on per day park tickets. Thanks for all of the great feedback and for the title, I am a red head lol, hence the red headed step child reference.

That's unrealistic to expect them to continue to court current owners other than for additional sales. Think of it like the phone company when the deal is only for new customers or a restaurant that won't double up on discounts.

 

[crisi]

One of the most important things I learned in business schools - a publicly traded company has a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders to try and maximize return. They have to try their best to make money (in a legal and ethical manner). Once you understand that, you understand business a lot better.

Granted, sometimes you can maximize profits by giving discounts. And sometimes people who run companies make poor decisions. But it would be hard to maximize Disney profits by giving away too much to DVC members. Their fiduciary responsibility to me as a timeshare owner is quite different than their responsibility to me as a shareholder, though they have responsibilities there as well - however, it doesn't include discounts.

 

[wulfekamp]

Ok let me start off saying I love Disney and DVC. I also enjoy staying at BCV BUT I would not consider BCV deluxe. I travel for a living and have stayed in holiday inns that were cleaner and better maintained. The beds are some of the worst I have EVER slept on. I have refused rooms that were better than the last 2 bedroom we stayed in. A list of broken stuff in the room tiles missing in the bathroom stains on the carpet and bed. Deluxe not even close.

 

[Hollymom1229]

As I have posted in the past DVC works well for many families. The benefit for Disney and the airlines is that you are planning 3 trips and will pay the associated expenses to take advantage of the AP's.

If that is your normal vacation pattern then great, but many owners find themselves going to Disney more often and spending more money compared to pre-DVC vacations.

Bill

Disney is definitely getting the benefit on that third trip. We would have normally just planned one trip a year, but thanks to the PAP, we are doing the trip this December, June 2014, and December 2014, so we get three trips on the one pass. It will come in the end to 36 days at Disney, when previously they would have gotten us for 18 in that same timespan.

 

[Greysword]

Ok let me start off saying I love Disney and DVC. I also enjoy staying at BCV BUT I would not consider BCV deluxe. I travel for a living and have stayed in holiday inns that were cleaner and better maintained. The beds are some of the worst I have EVER slept on. I have refused rooms that were better than the last 2 bedroom we stayed in. A list of broken stuff in the room tiles missing in the bathroom stains on the carpet and bed. Deluxe not even close.

Agreed, but BCV is a timeshare and not a hotel room. Things are repaired on a schedule instead of as they break, since it is our dues that pay for it and our representatives are attempting to keep costs low. In addition, hotel rooms can be taken out of service to make the repairs more easily than the timeshare.

However to your point, Disney hotels are not deluxe compared to Park Hyatt, Westin/Sheraton, or some Hiltons/Marriotts. It is only deluxe compared to other Disney hotels, and mainly based on amenities (like restaurants, location, balconies, etc). Unfortunately, the Disney properties can not be compared to the real world .

As for the red headed step child.I meant no disrespect and I'm sorry you took it that way. It's a common term and as a red head I find it humorous. But thanks for your distention it only adds to the conversation and helps us see a different perspective. . I can only hope you got the point I was trying to make.

Wow, there sure are a lot of "you" statements in this reply.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I truly get what everyone is saying. In my frustration, I would not trade my DVC. I love Disney. I guess what I was trying to get at is I would like for Disney to "love" us almost as we love Disney. Stop taking away our perks and appreciate the fan base. Disney knows I won't sell my DVC (if I don't have to), I just want them to appreciate it. I think it is the exact opposite. They know they have us so we matter less. I usually buy annual passes but give me a discount on per day park tickets. Thanks for all of the great feedback and for the title, I am a red head lol, hence the red headed step child reference.

Disney will only give us stuff that doesn't cost them anything or they get something from it. They already have us. They don't need to entice us any more. Even if we try to "show them something" and sell our points, they still have the new member who bought our points.

My guess is that they offered the discounted PAP to keep us at WDW. They don't have to sell our points to pay for a cruise, to pay for ABD and we will spend a little while we are there. Easier bookkeeping for them.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Heres the thing I have been thinking about lately, I love the IDEA of DVC, the reality of it not so much.
I currently have DVC reservations for 6 people 2 adults and 4 "Disney Adult" kids over 10 and I priced Dining and tickets for our stay there and compared it to, Booking 2 value rooms with free dining (upgrade from quick included in price), the same tickets, and it is $366 cheaper And includes 2 ROOMS!! And A Moderate resort saves you $163. I haven't seen any "Perks" that equal that savings per trip!! Throw some Free Fast Passes in for each trip those are invaluable, they save us time, and allow us to do more. I say 2 per person per day of the trip. Its free to DVC!! And would make our Membership more valuable.
Has Anyone else priced DVC and the same DVC room with free dining? Yep non DVC is cheaper when you figure in dues and points cost!! How did we not see this before? They say " how much do you spend on an average vacation" and we all tell them what we spend for room, dining, and tickets, when DVC only offers us a room and we pay Full price for dining plans and tickets unless we buy annual passes, but how many days do you get off per year, or how many plane tickets can you afford for multiple trips, and better yet how many points do you have to make these trips long enough or comfy enough to justify the annual pass?
Over all I say give us free dining too, or don't offer it to anyone. Its not fair to us to pay more and receive less.

I will take a washer and dryer, full kitchen and having a living room instead of just a bedroom over those savings and a plain jane room any day of the week (especially if it is at the values--I would rather not go at all).

Spent a few nights at the WL after purchasing DVC, and I missed my DVC every second I was crammed into the tiny room.

 

[bocaj1431]

While it's not Disney's job to do so and I bought into knowing what I know, I'm not simple. I do wish that Disney put more thought to us and appreciated our fan base.

As for the red headed step child.I meant no disrespect and I'm sorry you took it that way. It's a common term and as a red head I find it humorous. But thanks for your distention it only adds to the conversation and helps us see a different perspective. . I can only hope you got the point I was trying to make.

As I said in my OP, I know you meant no disrespect and I did give a (ha ha) because it definitely is not a serious issue. Definitely got your point; but, I think there are better phrases to get your point across. Not because it hurts me, just thinking of all the teasing towards little red heads. .

 

[Sur]

Disney is definitely getting the benefit on that third trip. We would have normally just planned one trip a year, but thanks to the PAP, we are doing the trip this December, June 2014, and December 2014, so we get three trips on the one pass. It will come in the end to 36 days at Disney, when previously they would have gotten us for 18 in that same timespan.

You're not kidding!! I just know that if this were a regular offering, I'd be purchasing more points! But, hey, I love being at Disney that much!

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

here's my observations with some of the general input generated
by the op's feeling.

oh, my point of view came from never having the disney parks
being a "rite of passage" ( from the old travel channel program)
and /or any family tradition ,or even something on my " to do"
list. so with that said,

when i read about some of the disappointments and dis~
a`illusions ....i see where some problems solving could really help.

from our experiences, and reading how dvc is not being managed
.....those in power, need to remember what the structure they
built their success on. after a refresher course, then the higher
levels need to look @ all the corrective measures they can do..
that are effecting the quality they can give vs current reality.

when i read some of the over the top damages and them being
left for the next visitor is a good example.

then there should be others monitoring the abuses...from stuffing
family/friends into studios, to the locals taking away parking
spaces- on & on , giving the run down look & feelings.

i like to sit down with an quality assurance, dvc person &
show them some of the threads from here.

then-
i wonder if renters could only rent out their home resorts,
would reduced some of the damages. tweaking the
system and enforcing the rules already on the books,
i think would open up many more rooms for the owners too.
i wonder why dvc does not monitor who renting out
the most? direct vs resales? then what should dvc
do to correct the problems? it like the problem with resort
parking....& towl ...are they stopping those from driving
where those staying @ blt must park far away?

i don't have any insider knowledge, but just on principle alone-
no dvc rep ./worker should have ties to any other time sales.

the tread about making dvc profits -- i think has little interests
for the average dvc owners. that is, most didn't ever considered
making a living off it. instead most believe they were
making an cost saving investment for future disney vacations.
& when i read how the posters were working dvc, can't understand
why their implications are being ignored by dvc management.

i remember what they gave us- one of blt rooms. the previous
renters lift one of those scooters & burnt rubber across the floor.
some kids took metal cars & ruint the picture hanging over the
table. the list goes on & on. one worker told me about the
table was ruint by "guests/vandals" dumping nail polish that
destroyed the table finish. why is this tolerated? then why are
renters given any rooms over owners-resales included.

the thing i noticed here, there are some very smart & insightful
posters on this site , that could make dvc meet their goals
and reach much greater profits, but are not sought by dvc.
that is why i think there are so many dvc failures.

 

[DebbieB]

here's my observations with some of the general input generated
by the op's feeling.

oh, my point of view came from never having the disney parks
being a "rite of passage" ( from the old travel channel program)
and /or any family tradition ,or even something on my " to do"
list. so with that said,

when i read about some of the disappointments and dis~
a`illusions ....i see where some problems solving could really help.

from our experiences, and reading how dvc is not being managed
.....those in power, need to remember what the structure they
built their success on. after a refresher course, then the higher
levels need to look @ all the corrective measures they can do..
that are effecting the quality they can give vs current reality.

when i read some of the over the top damages and them being
left for the next visitor is a good example.

then there should be others monitoring the abuses...from stuffing
family/friends into studios, to the locals taking away parking
spaces- on & on , giving the run down look & feelings.

i like to sit down with an quality assurance, dvc person &
show them some of the threads from here.

then-
i wonder if renters could only rent out their home resorts,
would reduced some of the damages. tweaking the
system and enforcing the rules already on the books,
i think would open up many more rooms for the owners too.
i wonder why dvc does not monitor who renting out
the most? direct vs resales? then what should dvc
do to correct the problems? it like the problem with resort
parking....& towl ...are they stopping those from driving
where those staying @ blt must park far away?

i don't have any insider knowledge, but just on principle alone-
no dvc rep ./worker should have ties to any other time sales.

the tread about making dvc profits -- i think has little interests
for the average dvc owners. that is, most didn't ever considered
making a living off it. instead most believe they were
making an cost saving investment for future disney vacations.
& when i read how the posters were working dvc, can't understand
why their implications are being ignored by dvc management.

i remember what they gave us- one of blt rooms. the previous
renters lift one of those scooters & burnt rubber across the floor.
some kids took metal cars & ruint the picture hanging over the
table. the list goes on & on. one worker told me about the
table was ruint by "guests/vandals" dumping nail polish that
destroyed the table finish. why is this tolerated? then why are
renters given any rooms over owners-resales included.

the thing i noticed here, there are some very smart & insightful
posters on this site , that could make dvc meet their goals
and reach much greater profits, but are not sought by dvc.
that is why i think there are so many dvc failures.

How do you know it was a renter, a member or a CRO guest? If it was a renter, then the member should be billed for the damages and the damages fixed.

 

[hakepb]

How do you know it was a renter, a member or a CRO guest? If it was a renter, then the member should be billed for the damages and the damages fixed.

Exactly, I think there are enough owners that approach every DVC trip with the "We paid Disney $20,000+ for this DVC trip, so we can do whatever we want (to the room)"
(No they didn't, they only paid $20,000/50= $400+ dues, but people think they are entitled because of the big number.

 

[Dean]

How do you know it was a renter, a member or a CRO guest? If it was a renter, then the member should be billed for the damages and the damages fixed.

My info suggests that there is no difference or that renters are more reverent of the villas than are DVC owners. Even for owners, DVC is still a rental car mentality. Those that take care of things do, those that don't still don't. The idea that DVC owners take better care simply because they're "owners" is ludicrous.

 

[Chuck S]

i wonder if renters could only rent out their home resorts,
would reduced some of the damages. tweaking the
system and enforcing the rules already on the books,
i think would open up many more rooms for the owners too.
i wonder why dvc does not monitor who renting out
the most? direct vs resales? then what should dvc
do to correct the problems? it like the problem with resort
parking....& towl ...are they stopping those from driving
where those staying @ blt must park far away?

i don't have any insider knowledge, but just on principle alone-
no dvc rep ./worker should have ties to any other time sales.

i remember what they gave us- one of blt rooms. the previous
renters lift one of those scooters & burnt rubber across the floor.
some kids took metal cars & ruint the picture hanging over the
table. the list goes on & on. one worker told me about the
table was ruint by "guests/vandals" dumping nail polish that
destroyed the table finish. why is this tolerated? then why are
renters given any rooms over owners-resales included.

the thing i noticed here, there are some very smart & insightful
posters on this site , that could make dvc meet their goals
and reach much greater profits, but are not sought by dvc.
that is why i think there are so many dvc failures.

Even IF renters cause more damage (and I don't think we can assume so) they are technically staying on an owners points...and that owner has the right to make reservations for whomever they wish, we all have the right to rent out our points in the POS, and it may even be FL timeshare law.

I have gifted (not rented) points to friends and family over the years. Most of the time I travel with them, but not always. And how in the world would DVC know whether these people are or are not related to the owner? Especially in my case, where no one else in my surviving family shares my surname. My closest relatives are 2nd cousins. Now I do think that DVC could/should limit the number of times per year that an owner can rent or gift their points, but then you also have the added complication that some owners are not flesh and blood people but are instead corporations or trusts, so there would be NO common surname at all to even try to verify.

Now there may be occasional instances of damage to rooms, but does the cost of repair on those occasions warrant what would be an ongoing cost for several additional employees to monitor and inspect each and every unit between guests? And how do we know that DVC doesn't try to recoup the loss either through a CC on file or suspending the owners usage until the repairs are paid.

Using your instance of spilled nail polish, that could easily be an accident, and considered normal wear and tear, just like the occasional broken glass or plate.

As far as parking, the MK area resorts routinely have a maximum of 3 hours parking for those not staying at that resort, and they often require a dining confirmation number before they'll let you park there during a busy season. As far as rule breakers, business find that most people do obey the rules, and often the overall cost of enforcement is greater than the benefit received. You have to justify the cost to the membership of additional parking attendants and security guards.

I think what we are seeing here on the boards are rare instances of extreme damages, but there are those fairly minor incidents that have also been sensationalized by some posters. Remember there are those on some DIS Boards that dramatically claim their entire trip was ruined, and that they are devastated if they receive no towel animals.

 

[DebbieB]

People talk about perks being taken away, the only perk I know of that was taken away was valet parking and that was out of DVC's hands. When Disney discontinued length of stay tickets, DVC replaced the 10% LOS discount with an AP discount. We're getting the same discounts as Florida Residents on AP's, something that was only a dream 10 years ago. This board was full of complaints then that we should get a 10% discount on AP's, we're now getting over 25% off! The discount was increased last June. The $399 PAP promo was a great deal. My concern is DVC is going to say why bother, they keep whining no matter what we give. They are not obligated to give any perks, just provide a room at your home resort.

 

[hakepb]

People talk about perks being taken away, the only perk I know of that was taken away was valet parking and that was out of DVC's hands. When Disney discontinued length of stay tickets, DVC replaced the 10% LOS discount with an AP discount. We're getting the same discounts as Florida Residents on AP's, something that was only a dream 10 years ago. This board was full of complaints then that we should get a 10% discount on AP's, we're now getting over 25% off! The discount was increased last June. The $399 PAP promo was a great deal. My concern is DVC is going to say why bother, they keep whining no matter what we give. They are not obligated to give any perks, just provide a room at your home resort.

My concern is Disney realized that Claire was actually treating DVC owners like Guests (due to the perks you mentioned) so they brought in someone else

 

[Breyean]

My concern is Disney realized that Claire was actually treating DVC owners like Guests (due to the perks you mentioned) so they brought in someone else

Regular WDW DVCers don't know how well off they are with the ticket discounts.

Those of us on the West Coast who frequent DLR can look forward to a $50 (I think that's what it was last year) discount on an AP, and remember, the Aps out here were increased a lot more than WDW in last year's price increase.

I had an interesting conversation with a CM from Member Satisfaction over this. He said DVc has to negotiate any discounts with the other parts of Disney responsible for those areas. I understand that.

Then he said they can get better discounts on things like APs at WDW because there are so many more DVCers visiting there than DLR. Makes sense, since there are 48 DVC rooms at DLR, and even if you multiply that by 10 for DVC visitors staying in other non-DVC rooms, that is obviously true.

Finally, he said in order to get a better discount at DLR, more DVC people would have to go there. I then said, great, when are you adding DVC rooms to DLR so we can make that happen.

He said they are still studying whether VGC has been a successful experiment. Then, when they get enough data, they'd decide whether to expand DVC at DLR.

Seems like circular logic here. I'm not holding my breath for either more DVC rooms or a better discount.

 

[myxdvz]

People talk about perks being taken away, the only perk I know of that was taken away was valet parking and that was out of DVC's hands. When Disney discontinued length of stay tickets, DVC replaced the 10% LOS discount with an AP discount. We're getting the same discounts as Florida Residents on AP's, something that was only a dream 10 years ago. This board was full of complaints then that we should get a 10% discount on AP's, we're now getting over 25% off! The discount was increased last June. The $399 PAP promo was a great deal. My concern is DVC is going to say why bother, they keep whining no matter what we give. They are not obligated to give any perks, just provide a room at your home resort.

I think I agree here. We have a lot of really good perks. I just think some people will never be happy unless DVC members also get offers given to paying/cash reservations - which to me doesn't make sense.

It's not enough that we get discounted rooms (which is all we bought), people want FREE dining as well. Never mind that FREE dining is not really free, they want it!

 

[Chuck S]

Never mind that FREE dining is not really free, they want it!

That can never be re-stated enough. Free dining is NOT available on any discounted rooms, whether it be an AP discounts, FL resident discount, CM discount...anything. Though thee have been a few few reports of free dining being available with other discounts to UK travelers...those travelers often spend two weeks or more at Disney room in an onsite resort paying cash.

Free dining, at least for US residents, requires a full price rack rate room. If DVC offered no room discount over cash, there would be no reason to have purchased DVC in the first place, would there?