Weekend Points Question ?

[Onthebay]

I have been on the boards a lot , just got back from a week in BVC . Great time and am still trying to talk DW into buying DVC .
But here is the question ?? I am sure its been talked about before but I have not seen it. Why would a Fri or Sat night go for as many as 60 Pts. for a 1 bedroom. That is crazy and there are other ways to get it for much less $$.
Any thoughts ??
Thans for any help.

 

[spiceycat]

DVC has always done this - they say that if they didn't the florida residents would get all the weekends....

I think it is because they can rent them for cash easier than Sun-Thurs.

My opinion doesn't mean anything.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I look at it differently since we usually have to fly to get to WDW. I look at the total points for a week, not just the Friday and Saturday nights. That makes it easier to swallow. I also look at it as a great excuse to spend a couple of days at Universal from time to time. On our last trip we spent one of our weekends at the Hard Rock and it was great.

I also agree with SC in that all of the locals would soak up all of the weekend nights if they were the same number of points as weekdays.

HBC

 

[disworldnum1]

Disney has done there homework and know exactly what days are there most profitable just as what times of the year have a higher demand and adjust points accordingly.It's just bussiness.Thats why I never check in on fri nites.

 

[Dean]

Many of us have speculated why the points are higher, I don't think DVC has ever said anything about it. Maybe the guides but they are not an official source anyway. Still, it's likely to prevent mostly weekend usage which covers far more than just FL residents. Every points system I know of has far higher weekend points compared to weekday, some are 5 times weekday. Some have times when the points are the same but usually ONLY when they require a full weeks stay anyway, like Club Intrawest Whistler for Xmas and Easter. The cheapest options and best value is Sunday to Friday usage of DVC. After that doing points for weekdays and cash for weekends gives the best value. The one problem with trying to do a combo of points and cash comes if you don't want to move units. Usually it works out but it can be more work and can be a risk. If you book cash rates through MS you can link to your points reservation and guarantee you don't have to move. There's no way to guarantee you won't have to move if you book a cash unit through CRO and points through DVC.

 

[Onthebay]

Thanks for you quick answers. I did not think of the people close by . If I lived near by and the points were not that high I would spend every free weekend there.

 

[Granny]

I guess it's already been answered, but the reason for any point structure at DVC is that they are trying to "load balance" the resorts. They want full occupancy during each day of the week as well as all times of the year. So the goal was to ensure that people nearby (within 150 miles or so) didn't just take a lot of long weekends at WDW making it tough for the people staying full weeks to get those weekends.

We tend to look at it the same was as HBC, as a weekly point cost vs a daily one.

 

[CarolMN]

...(snip)....My opinion doesn't mean anything.

Nonsense! Of course it does - especially since I agree with it, LOL.

Best wishes -

 

[tjkraz]

We tend to look at it the same was as HBC, as a weekly point cost vs a daily one.

Good perspective. Speaking for those of us who choose not to spend an entire week at the resort, I've always viewed it as receiving a discount for booking just Sunday to Thursday. If the daily point costs were consistent throughout the week, it would certainly end up costing us more for the type of trip we like to take (6 nights is about our max.)

 

[pumpkinboy]

...Why would a Fri or Sat night go for as many as 60 Pts. for a 1 bedroom. That is crazy and there are other ways to get it for much less $$.
Any thoughts ??...

Well. there are ways to get it cheaper , like paying rack rate. Think about it: a 1BR going for 60 pts for a 1BR weekend night goes for $525 pre-tax at rack rate ($585 after tax). Assuming $10 a point rental value (just bcs the math is easy and that is the most commonly quoted rate on rent/trade board) that puts point cost at $600. Now if you are able to snag a DVC disocunt for that weekend night, the pre-tax cost goes down to $394 (after tax: $439) for big savings.

As to why it would be more, theories abound. I'd go with the supply/ demand argument, since weekend demand is so much higher, why not charge more points. Plus it keeps the local members from monopolizing the weekend nights. I am sure it has to do with demand smoothing. And it works! Look at how many of us stay 5 nights Sun-Thurs.