Small direct add on at VGC

[tx911]

I guess they are not reassigning UY at VGC currently. I was lucky that the ones I bought were in the UY I needed. I saw @AstroBlasters post about them and that they were my UY when at was in line for Storybook Canals and I called my guide right away.

Oh now that I think about it, the form I filled out probably asked me my UY, so they did have that information.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Wow, I never even brought up UY

They told me they only had June available when I bought (which was fine bc I have June but was hoping for December). Maybe that fluctuates

 

[Genie+]

Nothing is never certain but as I’ve written before I’ve been able to piece together hard to get rooms before so why not at VGC.

Yes persistence goes a long way, and probably even more important - flexibility.

It’s much easier to find any 2 dates together than 2 specific dates together.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

If direct wouldn't it be whatever use year have currently? Mine matched my Feb UY and I assumed that was automatic for direct points.

Sigh.

In Mar, my guide tried to sell my Feb (I have 4 UYs, none of them are Feb), I explained I did not want a random 60 point contract in a 5th UY. In June, they called to tell me they could sell me Jun UY (which is one of my UY but not my VGC UY and the last thing I want is to have 2 < 150 contracts split across 2 UY, especially with the strict restrictions on transfers back and forth). I actually was shocked because they tried to tell me there was no disadvantage to having my points split across 2 UYs and it would work just the same.

My VGC UY is Oct, I'm guessing I'll probably get a call early Oct...

 

[tx911]

Sigh.

In Mar, my guide tried to sell my Feb (I have 4 UYs, none of them are Feb), I explained I did not want a random 60 point contract in a 5th UY. In June, they called to tell me they could sell me Jun UY (which is one of my UY but not my VGC UY and the last thing I want is to have 2 < 150 contracts split across 2 UY, especially with the strict restrictions on transfers back and forth). I actually was shocked because they tried to tell me there was no disadvantage to having my points split across 2 UYs and it would work just the same.

My VGC UY is Oct, I'm guessing I'll probably get a call early Oct...

Maybe Feb is just more available so they were able to accommodate me pretty quickly.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I'm not surprised. Owning there (at current direct prices) is more an issue of convenience rather than value.

The idea may seem nice at first, but between upfront cost for a 35-year contract and the annual dues it comes out to about $19/pt/year so, once someone actually does the math, the value is highly questionable relative to point rental costs. It needs to be a well thought out decision with the understanding that the payback period is very far into the future, or may never come. Other factors (like convenience or current stock market levels) may balance or outweigh that financial aspect.

I definitely think long term, I won't come out ahead financially. I own there because I want to own there. For several years, I wouldn't buy there because I felt the break even point was too far away. Once the hotel rates were consistently about $1k night when factoring in taxes and parking fees, I decided to just buy there and be fully committed.

If direct wouldn't it be whatever use year have currently? Mine matched my Feb UY and I assumed that was automatic for direct points.

It's more about inventory that gets released to sell. They would rather sell you a different membership than try to line up the use year.

I was offered a 50 point Feb or March use year that my guide ended up not being able to sell to me. I think that was in April. In June (my use year), she found 100 points with my June use year, which I bought.

If I add on in the future, I will probably take any use year. The small contracts are hard to come by and I am very impatient.

 

[tx911]

I definitely think long term, I won't come out ahead financially. I own there because I want to own there. For several years, I wouldn't buy there because I felt the break even point was too far away. Once the hotel rates were consistently about $1k night when factoring in taxes and parking fees, I decided to just buy there and be fully committed.


It's more about inventory that gets released to sell. They would rather sell you a different membership than try to line up the use year.

I was offered a 50 point Feb or March use year that my guide ended up not being able to sell to me. I think that was in April. In June (my use year), she found 100 points with my June use year, which I bought.

If I add on in the future, I will probably take any use year. The small contracts are hard to come by and I am very impatient.

I was actually offered 2 larger point amounts, or both together. I said I really just want 50 and she said no problem.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Curious - for those of you who wanted a small contract initially, did you end up buying more down the road?

While I’d love to visit annually, it’s just not realistic given the other traveling we do so for now (at least) 65 points will get us a week give or take in a studio.

 

[Mouseforward]

This is one of the reasons i think my subconscious is preventing me from going to see DL. I think I know I will love it and buy points. My stays would be shorter and a 75-100 point VGC contract would be sufficient for a every 2-3 year trip. Use year would not matter then.

I notice getting studios is not as bad as I thought if you go in the highest point months like March.

 

[Sandisw]

I just bought 50 points direct there.

I have a FL guide and had mentioned a few times I was looking for VGC direct resulting in crickets.

I spoke to a CA guide when I was staying at VGC and filled out a little information form. I received an email shortly after returning home with direct points available.

In short, I think it's very helpful to connect with a CA guide.

Don’t guides need to be registered to sell in CA? And not all are?

Or is it the reverse? Or am I imagining that?

 

[tx911]

Curious - for those of you who wanted a small contract initially, did you end up buying more down the road?

While I’d love to visit annually, it’s just not realistic given the other traveling we do so for now (at least) 65 points will get us a week give or take in a studio.

I started with 2 50 point resale contracts. I wanted to be able to get into a studio four nights at least every other year.

Then I found myself wanting to be able to get into a one bedroom villa because of greater availability and more space, so I added on another 50 points. That should get me four nights in a one bedroom at least every other year.

 

[Mouseforward]

Don’t guides need to be registered to sell in CA? And not all are?

Or is it the reverse? Or am I imagining that?

You need to be a licensed realtor in the state to sell in some states, Lucky for me, my state just requires that you have a license in the state where the timeshare is located.

 

[tx911]

Don’t guides need to be registered to sell in CA? And not all are?

Or is it the reverse? Or am I imagining that?

No idea tbh

 

[Sandisw]

You need to be a licensed realtor in the state to sell in some states, Lucky for me, my state just requires that you have a license in the state where the timeshare is located.

I know to sell travel in CA we need to be licensed and same is true for FL…so I wondered if timeshare was the same!!

 

[DanCali]

This is one of the reasons i think my subconscious is preventing me from going to see DL. I think I know I will love it and buy points. My stays would be shorter and a 75-100 point VGC contract would be sufficient for a every 2-3 year trip. Use year would not matter then.

I notice getting studios is not as bad as I thought if you go in the highest point months like March.

When I booked our stay for late June (7 month window), they also had studios at VDH that were available to book. I wanted a 1BR though and was able to get it at VGC. Studios at VGC for our dates were long goner though.

For those not aware, the resorts do have different "seasons" for the points charts with substantial differences. For example, VDH has one (relatively pricy) "season" from June 1 to August 15, and gets about 25% less expensive from mid-August to mid-September. On the other hand, VGC has a relatively cheap points chart from mid-April through late June and gets about 30%(!) pricier from June 29 until after Labor Day. So those wanting to travel in late August or Labor day pay a huge premium at VGC relative to VDH.

See for example below rates for late August through Labor Day:

VDH:


GCAL:

 

[Mouseforward]

When I booked our stay for late June (7 month window), they also had studios at VDH that were available to book. I wanted a 1BR though and was able to get it at VGC. Studios at VGC for our dates were long goner though.

For those not aware, the resorts do have different "seasons" for the points charts with substantial differences. For example, VDH has one (relatively pricy) "season from June 1 to August 15, and gets about 25% less expensive from mid-August to mid-September. On the other hand, VGC has a cheaper points chart from mid-April through late June and gets about 30% pricier(!) from June 29 until after Labor Day. So those wanting to travel in late August or Labor day pay a huge premium at VGC relative to VDH.

See for example below rates for late August through Labor Day:

VDH:

View attachment 988836
GCAL:

View attachment 988832

Ok that is just weird that they have different "seasons" and you can walk between them before finishing your coffee.

 

[juliebee]

I was offered a 50 point Feb or March use year that my guide ended up not being able to sell to me. I think that was in April. In June (my use year), she found 100 points with my June use year, which I bought.

If I add on in the future, I will probably take any use year. The small contracts are hard to come by and I am very impatient.

If you wanted a small direct contract doesn't it have to be in your current use year? I thought it was a 100 point minimum for a new use year. Then direct add-ons to a current use year can be 25 or more points.

 

[cruisehopeful]

If you wanted a small direct contract doesn't it have to be in your current use year? I thought it was a 100 point minimum for a new use year. Then direct add-ons to a current use year can be 25 or more points.

That's what I thought, too. Another Disboarder said they were offered and purchased a smaller than 100 points in a different use year. That was confusing to me since I was told what you posted above.

 

[juliebee]

That's what I thought, too. Another Disboarder said they were offered and purchased a smaller than 100 points in a different use year. That was confusing to me since I was told what you posted above.

wow, nice if that changed! Gives me some hope as I don't love my current use year.

 

[DanCali]

I truly detest spec renting…. there is no way it cannot be considered “commercial” because you are specifically taking a room to maximize profit….

Leaving the spec renting argument aside, that logic basically says "profit is ok, but too much profit is bad". But saying that it's "commercial" just because they make a bit more more profit per point doesn't make sense to me. How is renting 5000 points "a-la-carte" ok, but one confirmed reservation for a hard to get room at BWV or AKV is a "commercial" endeavor?

In my view, if you ban spec renting just because "too much profit is bad", the logical next step is to say "profit is bad" in general because that's also "commercial" - so would you be ok with a restriction of no renting for anything above dues (we can just say the upfront cost is a sunk cost and nobody should expect to recoup that, so ignore it)? How about some entity (e.g., DVC) just takes the points you want to "rent", reimburses your dues, and then they get $40/pt because they are actually in the business of maximizing profit? Is that a better final outcome for owners?

All I'm saying is, be careful what you wish for because that argument is a slippery slope...