Usage statistics that may help inform purchase decisions

[happythoughts & pixiedust]

I like to keep data on my DVC point usage and thought I'd share some numbers that might help inform potential purchase decisions.

With 2,010 points used over three years from 2020-2022:

111 nights stayed
Average cost of 18.11 points per night (stayed exclusively in studios)
Average cash cost per night (including tax) for those 111 nights stayed = $763.77/nt.
Average cash cost per point used = $42.17
Total outlay if paying cash = $84,778.47

When making my DVC reservations I check the cash price at the time (and use the lower price if there is a difference between the hotel and DVC sides - IE Wilderness Lodge room vs. Copper Creek Studio)

I estimate that depending on resale vs. direct pricing and the specific home resort, owning DVC saves around 65-70% off the cash rates that I would have paid.

These stays all occurred between Oct. - May. No stays June-Sept.
These stays occurred at the following resorts: Copper Creek (home), Aulani, Riviera, Animal Kingdom, Polynesian (home), Saratoga Springs, Grand Floridian (home), and Old Key West.

No stays at Beach Club, Boardwalk, Bay Lake Tower, Boulder Ridge, VB, HHI, or Grand Californian.

If you're thinking about buying, my advice is to think about realistic usage vs. one specific unit type during one specific window of the year. Odds are you'll stay at many different resorts, during different times of the year. My first contract was Copper Creek and I thought I'd probably go a week every December, and that my total points per night would be just over 15. My actual usage has been 20% higher (at 18.11 pts. per night) because I've gone during more expensive times and stayed at a variety of resorts, some of which charge more per night. Stave off add-on-itis by buying enough to start!

For those looking for real numbers to run break-even analyses, I think my numbers are very fair and represent actual pricing for the dates I stayed and cover roughly 10% of all the days during those three years. From year to year these numbers have stayed remarkably consistent.

I could have probably saved around $50/night if I stayed exclusively at the All Stars Resorts, but owning DVC has made every night I've stayed cheaper than any other on-property alternative for the dates I stayed.

If you're on the fence, go for it! DVC is great and you won't regret it. Even at today's direct pricing levels, based on a present-value analysis with reasonable assumptions, a contract held to expiration that uses an average of 18.11 points per night is roughly equivalent to $290/nt. Even bigger savings can be had with resale contracts.

 

[RichVIII]

This is great. I have a spreadsheet I track some of this stuff so I will have to update mine and also share! Thanks!

 

[Dyefrog]

I like to keep data on my DVC point usage and thought I'd share some numbers that might help inform potential purchase decisions.

With 2,010 points used over three years from 2020-2022:

111 nights stayed
Average cost of 18.11 points per night (stayed exclusively in studios)
Average cash cost per night (including tax) for those 111 nights stayed = $763.77/nt.
Average cash cost per point used = $42.17
Total outlay if paying cash = $84,778.47

When making my DVC reservations I check the cash price at the time (and use the lower price if there is a difference between the hotel and DVC sides - IE Wilderness Lodge room vs. Copper Creek Studio)

I estimate that depending on resale vs. direct pricing and the specific home resort, owning DVC saves around 65-70% off the cash rates that I would have paid.

These stays all occurred between Oct. - May. No stays June-Sept.
These stays occurred at the following resorts: Copper Creek (home), Aulani, Riviera, Animal Kingdom, Polynesian (home), Saratoga Springs, Grand Floridian (home), and Old Key West.

No stays at Beach Club, Boardwalk, Bay Lake Tower, Boulder Ridge, VB, HHI, or Grand Californian.

If you're thinking about buying, my advice is to think about realistic usage vs. one specific unit type during one specific window of the year. Odds are you'll stay at many different resorts, during different times of the year. My first contract was Copper Creek and I thought I'd probably go a week every December, and that my total points per night would be just over 15. My actual usage has been 20% higher (at 18.11 pts. per night) because I've gone during more expensive times and stayed at a variety of resorts, some of which charge more per night. Stave off add-on-itis by buying enough to start!

For those looking for real numbers to run break-even analyses, I think my numbers are very fair and represent actual pricing for the dates I stayed and cover roughly 10% of all the days during those three years. From year to year these numbers have stayed remarkably consistent.

I could have probably saved around $50/night if I stayed exclusively at the All Stars Resorts, but owning DVC has made every night I've stayed cheaper than any other on-property alternative for the dates I stayed.

If you're on the fence, go for it! DVC is great and you won't regret it. Even at today's direct pricing levels, based on a present-value analysis with reasonable assumptions, a contract held to expiration that uses an average of 18.11 points per night is roughly equivalent to $290/nt. Even bigger savings can be had with resale contracts.

Have you looked at what the numbers would be if you sold your contracts today? I would suspect you may only have the cost of the maintenance fees which if you split your 3 home resorts equally would be ~$15k for the 2,010 points used. This would cut the price per night to less than half of your $290, ~$132. As someone on another thread pointed out, one huge differentiator between DVC and traditional timeshares is the ease of exit and price stability or even increased value.
That was the tipping point for me when looking at buying a timeshare. If conditions remain as they historically have been, it's not unreasonable to expect after 10 years to have the increased value exceed the fees so that you could effectively have stayed for free, less the time value of the money. And as an anecdotal example, I sold 32 shares of TSLA in April to fund my purchase when it was around $1,100. My DVC has performed better than the best performing stock of the last 10 years.

 

[happythoughts & pixiedust]

Have you looked at what the numbers would be if you sold your contracts today? I would suspect you may only have the cost of the maintenance fees which if you split your 3 home resorts equally would be ~$15k for the 2,010 points used. This would cut the price per night to less than half of your $290, ~$132. As someone on another thread pointed out, one huge differentiator between DVC and traditional timeshares is the ease of exit and price stability or even increased value.
That was the tipping point for me when looking at buying a timeshare. If conditions remain as they historically have been, it's not unreasonable to expect after 10 years to have the increased value exceed the fees so that you could effectively have stayed for free, less the time value of the money. And as an anecdotal example, I sold 32 shares of TSLA in April to fund my purchase when it was around $1,100. My DVC has performed better than the best performing stock of the last 10 years.

Yes, you are 100% correct. If I sold all my contracts today my net cost for the 111 nights would be approximately what I've paid in dues on the points used - ~$132/night - as you mention. The $290 figure is a conservative estimate based on holding the contract to expiration, and thus watching the equity value of the contract fall to zero. As long as equity remains in the contract and it continues to appreciate (as most DVC contracts have done), selling and recovering the equity will make the per room-night cost considerably lower.

Those who have owned Beach Club and Boardwalk for a long time have made out like bandits, as the contract values still continue to climb with less than 20 years left. Original Boardwalk owners could sell for more than double what they paid. Indeed the most economical way to buy and use DVC is to buy a resale on a long-dated, in demand home resort, use it for 30 years, and sell before the contract values start to fall due to limited years remaining.

Good call and great timing on the TSLA trade!