Resale Disadvantage

[monte4623]

I see Disney has placed a disadvantage on resale purchasers by not allowing booking with Cruises and some other resort collections. Is it possible they restrict future use of DVC resorts such as the new resort in Hawaii or soon to be built Grand Floridian and only allow booking at Home resort?

 

[tjkraz]

There are a lot of things they COULD do. Hard to even debate such topics in a meaningful way because many things we thought Disney wouldn't or couldn't do...they ended up doing.

I don't think they could completely block trades into non-Home resorts unless they remove a resort from the DVC program. In other words, DVC could not block all owners from accessing Aulani unless they remove Aulani entirely. And there's no practical reason to do that. Much of the appeal to DVC lay in owners' ability to book 11 or 12 different resorts rather than just one.

That said, I suspect there would be ways for DVC to alter the 11/7 month booking windows to the disadvantage of resale owners. The POS which governs DVC only guarantees us a one month Home resort booking advantage. Seems to me they could create a system in which Direct buyers have the 11/7 month booking rights while resale buyers have 11/5 booking windows.

Could they do it? I'm no legal expert but yes, I think they could.

Would they do it? Your guess is as good as mine.

IMO, it's more likely that we will see perks and another ancillary benefits limited to direct buyers. Someday we may find that only direct buyers have access to things like the Annual Pass discount or ability to purchase Tables in Wonderland card.

Strictly my opinion, though.

 

[Granny]

Actually, Disney can do those restrictions even for those who purchase directly through them. It is possible though I think unlikely. The bottom line is that the ownership documents indicate that owners are guaranteed the right to book at their resort with a lead-time advantage over other resort owners. I think they have to keep that advantage at least a month long though it is now 4 months.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. As long as Disney is building and selling DVC resorts, they want to be able to sell the flexibility.

I'm not sure they could make the restrictions you describe just for resale owners. My guess is that they would have to make those types of restrictions system-wide.

 

[Granny]

I was typing at the same time as Tim...glad we agree on the response!

I also agree that Disney will probably strip perks from the resale buyers rather than something as dramatic as home resort restriction on booking.

But it is good to know what Disney can do, even if it is unlikely. The scenario mentioned by the OP is one that some people include in reasons to only buy into a DVC resort that you really want to stay at the most.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

That said, I suspect there would be ways for DVC to alter the 11/7 month booking windows to the disadvantage of resale owners. The POS which governs DVC only guarantees us a one month Home resort booking advantage. Seems to me they could create a system in which Direct buyers have the 11/7 month booking rights while resale buyers have 11/5 booking windows.

This might look like a disadvantage, but what it really does is take the points out of the system. Resale buyers are generally more sophisticated buyers, and have more practical/economical plans for their intended use. If something like this restriction were to happen, the resale buyers would just be booking sooner at their home resort...leaving direct with fewer choices...and diminishing the value of a direct owners' points when/if that owner needs to sell.

IMO, it's more likely that we will see perks and another ancillary benefits limited to direct buyers. Someday we may find that only direct buyers have access to things like the Annual Pass discount or ability to purchase Tables in Wonderland card.

This would be in-line with DVC competitors (at least like Starwood). Starwood resale buyers don't have the option of turning their week into Starwood hotel points, for example.