THV Point guarantee?

[Dean]

SSR isn't within walking distance or quick transportation to a park. So when it was being initially sold, they emphasized the ability to "book anywhere" at 7 months. Since SSR was the only WDW resort DVC was selling at the time, alot of people bought with that plan. There was a post a couple of years ago where a SSR member was furious that she could not get into Beach Club Villas in October. She said her guide told her she could book anywhere at 7 months. She waitlisted at 7 months and it didn't come through.

IMO there are a number of factors leading up to the issue why SSR owners are less likely to stay there AND more likely to try somewhere else. These include price, ending date, what was actively being sold at the time, and inherent demand of the resort. VB & HH are even more skewed but they are smaller resorts and were already in the equation. OKW is less so simply due to the points schedule differences.

It is widely believed (with some evidence) that more SSR owners want to "stay out" than non-SSR owners want to "stay in". This increases the 7-month pressure on other resorts.

IMO the affects are far more reaching than at the 7 month window because many owners were routinely booking their home resort at or after 7 months and when they became less successful doing so, the domino affect reached all the way back to the 11 month booking window.

Personally I'm not complaining as it's simply how the system works and I own in such a way that I can always have a high degree of success.

 

[TisBit]

IMO there are a number of factors leading up to the issue why SSR owners are less likely to stay there AND more likely to try somewhere else. These include price, ending date, what was actively being sold at the time, and inherent demand of the resort. VB & HH are even more skewed but they are smaller resorts and were already in the equation. OKW is less so simply due to the points schedule differences.

IMO the affects are far more reaching than at the 7 month window because many owners were routinely booking their home resort at or after 7 months and when they became less successful doing so, the domino affect reached all the way back to the 11 month booking window.

Personally I'm not complaining as it's simply how the system works and I own in such a way that I can always have a high degree of success.

I think there is also the fact that regardless of the resort a member chooses, new members will always want to try out other resorts and not just stay at their "home" resort initially. The fact that there are many SSR members does put that initial demand on the system, but could also easily fall off after people have stayed elsewhere and no longer feel the need to "show around". You already see the exact same thing happening with AKV and even BLT where the new members are trying to book elsewhere just to test out all the resorts.

We are in that boat and I will continue to test out the other resorts until I try them all, but quite honestly, I feel at home at SSR and so far we are more then pleased to stay there, but I also don't want to overlook other resorts in the meantime.

 

[Dean]

I think there is also the fact that regardless of the resort a member chooses, new members will always want to try out other resorts and not just stay at their "home" resort initially. The fact that there are many SSR members does put that initial demand on the system, but could also easily fall off after people have stayed elsewhere and no longer feel the need to "show around". You already see the exact same thing happening with AKV and even BLT where the new members are trying to book elsewhere just to test out all the resorts.

We are in that boat and I will continue to test out the other resorts until I try them all, but quite honestly, I feel at home at SSR and so far we are more then pleased to stay there, but I also don't want to overlook other resorts in the meantime.

No doubt many new members will want to try other resorts, esp after a couple of stays at their home resort. This is one of the main reasons why I believe the maximum negatives affects of SSR on this issue have not yet been felt. It's the percentage of people doing so that is the key compared to the other resorts. I don't believe SSR has the higher % of points of any resort looking at the 7 month window (VB and HH do) but I believe it does have the highest % looking (by a significant margin) of the WDW resorts. Plus it was a change to the status quo, one with a lot of points thus a significant shift. As I tried to points out above, not worded as well as I'd like, there are more reasons and more compelling reasons that members have bought there over the years when they might have preferred another home resort had the factors (price, retail and resale availability, ending date) been different.

 

[palaemon]

Thanks for the info/opinions on SSR.

I agree that there were a lot of people that bought SSR, and still do (resale,) but want to stay elsewhere. Especially since the resale is so cheap.

I think that SSR is where I'd want to stay anyway, so it's a win-win for me.

I would love to try out other resorts out of curiosity, and may like some of the amenities (SAB, B&C, park proximity, etc.) However, we always drive and really like parking near where we stay, so SSR & OKW would be the main ones for that. Add in the decor of SSR (which I love, although the updates OKW are nice), the 2054 end date, and now the THV, and I think it's clear.

SSR is where I'd want to stay.

 

[treehugnmama]

we bought ssr without staying first. we went on the dvc tour and saw the model of the tree house.

6 months later we bought resale..price was a factor as well as the treehouses. We based the purchase on the 1 hr we spemt on tour. I have to say we went for a "visit" on our last trip and spent the day at the pool etc. I didn't like it. I love OKW and probably should have bought there.....that beeing said if I was "stuck" at ssr I would still be happy. We are still trying out all the different dvc's. I would love to stay in a treehouse but with a family of 4 it seems a waste.