DonMacGregor
Sub Leader
- Joined
- May 13, 2021
- Messages
- 6,429
My first thoughts:But why so heavily concentrated on AUL? You would think if they were focusing on the hard-to-get confirmed reservations it would be other resorts. Or do the commercial renters focus on cheap SAP at the 7 month mark?
1. Aulani isn't really "Disney" so much as another Hawaii timeshare that can appeal to a broad range of vacationers beyond Disneyphiles. Hawaii timeshares always have broad appeal. Even though AUL isn't in the absolute best location, casual vacationers may not know that.
2. Even the majority of Disneyphiles (particularly East Coasters) know that Aulani will never be their primary resort destination, so better to keep their points in Anaheim or Orlando and simply rent points for the occasional Hawaii vacation. A great many members will always rent points at AUL and will never buy there.
3. I think there are likely 2 groups of commercial renters: those who use Orlando points to snag the hard-to-get WDW reservations, and those who have stockpiles of Aulani points to grab the broader Hawaii tourist trade. You're not buying AUL points with zero home resort advantage in WDW for Orlando reservations. However, knowing that Disney regularly can and does sell out AUL on the cash side means you can still rent out AUL points at a premium, even if you're just grabbing standard rooms in peak (and even off-peak) travel periods (December in Hawaii is still a boatload warmer than Minnesota).
4. The problem might actually be bigger in AUL than WDW, but you just don't hear about it because it doesn't affect those hard-to-get WDW reservations and therefore isn't reflected negatively on social media. "Aulani is just busy all the time". If DVC has begun scanning for the commercial renters, the AUL market may have been their test model, or they may just have been more obvious or egregious in size and volume and hit the radar first. See bullet points 1 and 2. Who knows.
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