Wanting Riviera but not its resale restrictions

[scoobdoo]

So, if I purchase a resale contract that’s not Riviera — i.e. to retain my ability to stay at other resorts — but foresee that being my de facto “home resort” just not in name, would it be tough to stay at Riveria outside the 11-month window? How difficult is it to get a room there right now within the window that other resort holders have?

 

[T-i-double-guh-er]

So, if I purchase a resale contract that’s not Riveria — i.e. to retain my ability to stay at other resorts — but foresee that being my de facto “home resort” just not in name, would it be tough to stay at Riveria outside the 11-month window? How difficult is it to get a room there right now within the window that other resort holders have?

If you buy a resale contract for any resort besides Riviera, you can’t use it to stay at Riviera. That’s part of the resale restrictions.

 

[Marionnette]

So, if I purchase a resale contract that’s not Riveria — i.e. to retain my ability to stay at other resorts — but foresee that being my de facto “home resort” just not in name, would it be tough to stay at Riveria outside the 11-month window? How difficult is it to get a room there right now within the window that other resort holders have?

Resale contracts purchased after January 19, 2019 cannot be used to stay at Riviera, nor any future DVC resorts.

 

[scoobdoo]

Resale contracts purchased after January 19, 2019 cannot be used to stay at Riviera, nor any future DVC resorts.

Oh wow! I didn’t realize that…I guess that makes this decision pretty straightforward then!

 

[Fantasia79]

We stayed and loved it. Totally would buy a contract resale if price dips.but seems to be staying high

 

[Sandisw]

There are only three ways to use points to stay at RIV. You have grandfathered points purchased resale prior to January 2019. You own direct points at any resort, including RIV. You buy resale points at RIV.

Buying resale at any other resort now, locks you out of RIV. Buying RIV resale locks you out of everything else. So, if you want both options, you have to buy direct, or buy an L14 resort and then add on more points either direct or buy a RIV resale.

Of course, if you just want to stay there on occasion, you simply can rent your points and pay cash but not as easy as using ones own points. We love the resort and decided it was worth it to buy resale points, even with the restriction of only using them there. We also own direct RIV points as well as grandfathered SSR points that are good there as well, so we have the best of all worlds!

 

[scoobdoo]

[

There are only three ways to use points to stay at RIV. You have grandfathered points purchased resale prior to January 2019. You own direct points at any resort, including RIV. You buy resale points at RIV.

So buying Aulani direct (which seems to be a little cheaper per point?) would get you into Riveria but not within the 11-month booking window — is it tough to get into Riveria if you don’t have that 11-month home resort window?

 

[Sandisw]

[


So buying Aulani direct (which seems to be a little cheaper per point?) would get you into Riveria but not within the 11-month booking window — is it tough to get into Riviera if you don’t have that 11-month home resort window?

Yes, any direct points allow you to book all current and future resorts at the 7 month window. SV rooms go fast, especially if you are wanting a studio. It also depends on when you are going to travel.

I just used my SSR points in the last month to book 1 bedroom SV at RIV for January. Today, I tried to get a SV 1 bedroom for the end of January using SSR points and got shut out. Studios were not an option. PV was there and for the most part, getting that view at 7 months is pretty good except during the typical fall time when most things are booked at home resorts quickly.

This is why I didn't have a problem buying resale RIV. I want to be there for all of my trips for at least a few nights. Some trips will be just there if we don't plan to do MK that trip. But, to be honest, if you want to stay at RIV alot, IMO, buy direct and give you the best of both worlds.

IMO, the resale restrictions are overrated and so far, people are buying at a decent price, even with them. Just be sure to do your homework on what would happen if you had to sell unexpectedly and how much you might lose in the process. Decide if that is in a range you are comfortable. We personally have never looked at the resale value as part of the equation, but I know people do.

One thing I would think hard about is buying AUL when the reason is to visit WDW. It is getting harder to get things at 7 months and with the pandemic, things are even harder right now with lots of extra points. If WDW is your goal, choose something there so you can book at least at 11 months and change at 7 if things are open!

 

[Evita_W]

Be sure to compare direct price with all incentives factored in compared to resale, when we added on at Riviera, it was only a $1,000 difference at best compared to resale at even other resorts. Didn't seem with the restrictions to us, so we went direct. Resale prices have skyrocketed lately.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

That said if you do decide to do Riviera direct you might consider a guaranteed/fixed week as part of your points if you tend to go at the same time of the year and/or like standard view studio.

 

[mustinjourney]

[


So buying Aulani direct (which seems to be a little cheaper per point?) would get you into Riveria but not within the 11-month booking window — is it tough to get into Riveria if you don’t have that 11-month home resort window?

If you’re looking to buy aulani bc you are worried about resale restrictions killing your resale price, I would highly suggest thinking otherwise.

the market has already spoken about the resale value of both resorts, and the delta between direct and resale for each shows that one should never really buy aulani direct unless you are planning on staying at aulani.

In short, you are more likely to lose more money selling your direct aulani points than your direct riviera points.

 

[sethschroeder]

Do we know for sure what will happen in the future? No

AUL, SSR, OKW, and AKV are all roughly in the same area for resale pricing. I would never expect Riviera to be "below" this group so while it might be a couple dollars less per point its also likely to be above this group. RIVs trade off is staying only at RIV but you then are attached to 2 parks via Skyliner (possibly to DS in the future).

Just think this through for contract length as well:

• Today no one has issues with contract length of SSR (32 years) or OKW/AKV (35 years).
• People have serious reservations about BWV or BCV (20 years)

In 12 years Rivera will be like BLT where as SSR/OKW/AKV will be like the 2042 resorts.
In 20 years Rivera will be like SSR/OKW/AKV where as VGF/BLT/POLY will be like the 2042 resorts
In 30 years Riviera will be like the 2042 resorts where as SSR/OKW/AKV will be about to expire

AUL is likely to follow SSR/OKW/AKV through time for resale pricing as people buy it as a cheap alternative to the WDW property resorts raising the price for those who do want to buy only to stay there. RIV currently is above this group but just based on time left on contract and how various people do like RIV I don't think it will fall below this group much if at all.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

[


So buying Aulani direct (which seems to be a little cheaper per point?) would get you into Riveria but not within the 11-month booking window — is it tough to get into Riveria if you don’t have that 11-month home resort window?

I am curious to see how this plays out with the new resale restrictions, which are RIV resale can Only book RIV; all other resale resorts including CCV can only book legacy 14 resorts but cannot book RIV.
I see anyone of the following possible outcomes:

1. RIV is difficult to book for RIV owners because direct and resale are competing for similar dates - and near impossible for non RIV owners
2. RIV has good availability in 7 month window because direct are staying in other resorts. Resale RIV can only book there, but still if a lot of direct buyers are staying at other resorts then there may be decent 7 month availability there.
3. Legacy 14 resorts 7 month window will be very tight because the RIV direct owners will be able to use their points to stay there, while legacy 14 resale owners, post 2019 cannot use their points at RIV, thus closing the 7 month window. Also remember legacy resorts have CCV cabins and PVB bungalows that are huge point hogs and in my opinion, unethical to use in the point chart.
4. Last possible outcome- restrictions have no effect (i doubt -but could happen) in which case everything is the same

I think RIV is a gorgeous resort, but am waiting on the sidelines to see how this plays out.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I would add that not only has the market spoken about AUL resale value, pretty clearly, even the direct value is questionable given that it has been on sale 10 years and is not considered sold out.

It's also a bit more work to sell if needed, due to Hawaii requirements. It ends up under Hawaii timeshare rules as well, which are considerably more involved than those of Florida.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

So, if I purchase a resale contract that’s not Riveria — i.e. to retain my ability to stay at other resorts — but foresee that being my de facto “home resort” just not in name, would it be tough to stay at Riveria outside the 11-month window? How difficult is it to get a room there right now within the window that other resort holders have?

just did a quick scan on the DVC page for 7 month availability - RIV currently is the same as the other resorts. if you book right in 7 month mark - day - you should be able to get something. 1 bedroom standard and preferred was available, studio std. had would need waitlist, but it looks like there was a walker (this was for january 28)

 

[ArmyChaplain Matt]

I would love to buy Riviera resale but my issue is planning...i'm military so planning 7-11 months is sometimes easy and sometimes hard, so if i got within my 7 month window then those points become useless if nothing is available, something to think about!!!

 

[Fantasia79]

The quality of the resort is exceptional, and I think they designed taking some of the best from older resorts (even plussing some). restaurants are really remarkable. views and ambiance rival the grand.

Restrictions are too bad, they'd be selling a lot of contracts. If avability gets tougher, they might sell anyway.
Once Disney starts announcing a plan for 2042 resorts, there will be a lot of scrambling for contracting every direction.

 

[Orsino]

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression that right now is not a good reflection of Riviera at 7 months. On one side you have "new" so that might entice added interest in Riviera. On the other side you have "not sold out" which means more inventory available than owners. DVC manages this to some degree with "units declared," however even within the subset of declared units, they are not yet sold out (otherwise they would declare more units).

BTW, it looks like the Skyliner is having maintenance 23 Jan through 28 Jan, so that could mess with people wanting to stay at Riviera over those dates. I certainly wouldn't bother.

 

[sethschroeder]

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression that right now is not a good reflection of Riviera at 7 months. On one side you have "new" so that might entice added interest in Riviera. On the other side you have "not sold out" which means more inventory available than owners. DVC manages this to some degree with "units declared," however even within the subset of declared units, they are not yet sold out (otherwise they would declare more units).

BTW, it looks like the Skyliner is having maintenance 23 Jan through 28 Jan, so that could mess with people wanting to stay at Riviera over those dates. I certainly wouldn't bother.

Yup all correct.

With the skyliner piece the hope is this finally puts to bed some of the short term downtime they have randomly and makes everything run more smoothly.

 

[mustinjourney]

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression that right now is not a good reflection of Riviera at 7 months. On one side you have "new" so that might entice added interest in Riviera. On the other side you have "not sold out" which means more inventory available than owners. DVC manages this to some degree with "units declared," however even within the subset of declared units, they are not yet sold out (otherwise they would declare more units).

BTW, it looks like the Skyliner is having maintenance 23 Jan through 28 Jan, so that could mess with people wanting to stay at Riviera over those dates. I certainly wouldn't bother.

I changed the dates of my vacation so that I wasn't staying at RIV during that time. Unfortunately, I couldn't push the vacation forward, so I had to move it back into February...which meant more expensive in point costs per night.