What happened to Aulani?

[Mr_Potts]

Is it it just me, or has the pace of posts about buying at Aulani died down to barely a trickle?

Anyone else surprised not to get a splashy brochure or mailing from DVC about the new Hawaiian resort? I remember getting a gorgeous brochure about BLT just before it went on sale. The excitement of thumbing through that on the plane down to the member cruise was one of the reasons why I ended up adding on during the cruise.

Combine this with Bob Iger's remark that he is "reasonably encouraged" by sales at Aulani. Why such a restrained rollout?

 

[Chuck S]

I think there are several factors. One is the economy, while Disney, like all businesses, needs to "spend $ to make $," those flashy brouchers and mailings are very expensive. And likely those of us in the Eastern and Central USA are not their target sales group. Aulani will concentrate more on sales to those on the West Coast and Asia.

 

[Mr_Potts]

What you say makes sense, but if West Coasters' response to the Grand Cal is any indication (50 units still not sold out after all this time) they better expand the marketing push to the East Coast. Plenty of us can get to Hawaii every other year. Part of the reasons I ask this is becuase I have been thinking of adding on at Aulani, but have also been watching all the weeks at nice resorts in Hawaii selling for $1 on Ebay. I am wondering if the incentives are going to get a whole lot better as time goes on....

 

[bobbiwoz]

We went to the TOTW Member presentation on Sunday. I was all prepared to seriously give thought to an Aulani add on, but the presentation wasn't really about Aulani. It was more about why members should add on to the existing places they are selling on site. Add on to SSR for the treehouses, add on to AKV for the concierge, add on to BLT because they have these wonderful GV's that fact the Magic Kingdom, and there was one available for a tour. That just goes to show just how many members are willing able to pay the price of a MK GV, even on a non-weekend night! It was stated that BLT is expected to sell out in about a year. All I have to say about the GV is that it was a gorgeous villa and we both would love to stay there some day. I'll take my chances at 7 months, but we would need about 100-200 more points than what we already have before we could commit to such a high price per night stay!

Aulani was mentioned, but nothing new compared to what's available on the website. Nothing really showing the resort right now. OK, there was a video talking about the naming of the resort, but they didn't even have the point chart for Aulani in the packet so DH and I could discuss just how many we would need. This information would be available if we wanted to talk to a guide after the main presentation/tour, but I wasn't willing to do that.

I think it was a delightful general presentation, and much much more to my and DH's taste than the Welcome Home Wednesdays. But it did not sell us on Aulani, and I was so close!!!!

Bobbi

 

[Coach81]

We are hoping to be there in a few years to celebrate our 20th!!!

 

[quirty30]

I agree with Chuck. I don't think they're going to waste lot of money marketing to Midwesterners or East Coast members. We'll take our chances on 7 month booking. Would love to go more often but the airfare costs are prohibitive for us. My guide did send a postcard, but that was it - no big flashy brochure.

 

[Mr_Potts]

That's fascinating that they didn't even have the points chart there, Bobbi. Maybe there are some bigger economic forces going on here having to do with the market for mortgage backed securities? Or maybe there is no rush to sell Aulani since it will be easier to sell when all its phases are open for people to look at and enjoy. But you would think they would capitalize on people like us who are excited and on the edge of buying Hawaii, who might want to be founding members.

 

[gkrykewy]

I would not dream about adding-on direct for Aulani without some amazing incentives. I'm pretty sure it's going to follow the other off-site properties down to a very low resale price floor. Not nearly $1 on ebay low, but low.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

We sat down and talked with a guide after the presentation and viewing the BLT 2 bedroom. (No GV available the day we were there!)
She gave us a point chart, but when I asked about photos she said they didn't have any available and was under the impression they hadn't decided on furnishings for the units.
Therefore, they didn't want to present any renderings or mock up and then have people who buy upset when the decor is a little different than what was presented.

 

[BeesKnees]

I think there are several factors. One is the economy, while Disney, like all businesses, needs to "spend $ to make $," those flashy brouchers and mailings are very expensive. And likely those of us in the Eastern and Central USA are not their target sales group. Aulani will concentrate more on sales to those on the West Coast and Asia.

We got a nice brochure and promptly threw it in the trash. As an east coaster I have no desire whatsoever to own at a place that takes such a long plane flight. Talk about the caribbean and you will have a captive audience.

From the various threads about where disney should build next it looks like many people are like us and would like to have more locations for short-stay options. Hawaii is the opposite of that.

 

[FCCA]

I agree with others in that the primary target market for Aulani is Asia (more specifically Japan) and the west coast. This is evidenced by the fact that the only model units currently open are in Tokyo.

As a side note, during our recent trip to WDW, we spoke with a DVC CM who recently returned from Tokyo. He was in Tokyo to help train the Japanese in the marketing of DVC. He noted that the idea of vacation timeshares are somewhat foreign to the Japanese. He said once they get the feel for it, they will embrace it "big time", which will probably translate to higher sales at Aulani.

I think there are several reasons why VGC has not sold.

I think a large part of that has to do with the size of DL and DCA, and their proximity to each other. Because the parks sit right next to each other, and are relatively small when compared to what's at WDW, most guests only need a couple of days to take in the major attractions at both parks. This translates into shorter stays. Our visits to DL/DCA are normally only 2-3 nights, versus 14 days at WDW. When we first bought into DVC, we considered putting the bulk of our points into VGC because it was closer to home, but then we realized that we almost never plan our visits 11 months in advance. Our trips are normally planned 2-3 months in advanced. So instead we only opted for a 50 pt. contract. I'm willing to guess a lot of other west coast members have also opted for smaller contracts, which would mean it will take a little longer for the resort to sellout.

Another possible reason is because DVC is primarily marketed to the midwest and east coast. This makes sense because right now all but one of their resorts is in FL or SC. If you take a look at where most of the members of this board reside, you'll find most live in the MW or EC. Any new DVC member from the MW ror EC will probably look to put most of their points into a FL resort because WDW has more to offer, and it's a shorter plane ride.

 

[gkrykewy]

My impression is that VGC is practically sold out anyway.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Well, I forgot. The reason to buy VGC was that it was on the way to Aulani. The idea was to go to DL, for a few nights and then on to Hawaii. No mention of the trip home.

Bobbi

 

[wdrl]

We sat down and talked with a guide after the presentation and viewing the BLT 2 bedroom.
She gave us a point chart, but when I asked about photos she said they didn't have any available and was under the impression they hadn't decided on furnishings for the units.
Therefore, they didn't want to present any renderings or mock up and then have people who buy upset when the decor is a little different than what was presented.

I'm disappointed to hear the Guide told you that because the Aulani website has had several photos of the interiors of the DVC villas for several weeks. Even if the Guides didn't have any printed brochures to share with you, I would have thought they could have accessed the website and shown you photos of Aulani.

Back on July 24, I asked my Guide for a copy of Aulani's POS. He responded right away and said I should receive it in 4-5 business days. Well, as of today, I'm still waiting for it. I've followed up twice with my Guide, and each time he's tried to find out the delay. It turns out that the Fulfillment Service they use for material like the POS is out of stock, so my Guide is trying to see if Quality Assurance has a copy they can send me. I joked with my Guide that maybe the demand for Aulani is so great that they can't keep the POS in stock.

I, too, am a little amazed about the lack of buzz about Aulani. It might be that Disney hasn't geared up for selling and is waiting to be closer to the August 2011 opening date before it gets serious about marketing it.

I estimate that Aulani will have about 11.6 million points based on the number of villas, view categories, and the 2011 point chart. That should make Aulani the second largest DVC resort behind SSR in terms of points. With such a huge number of points, I think Disney needs to tap all potential customer bases. The DVC has always been a flexible points based system but Aulani has a Guaranteed Week option in addition to the traditional points system. But how many people even know that Aulani offers that option? If I look at the official DVC website or at the Aulani website, I can't find any mention of the GW option.

 

[Mr_Potts]

I'm disappointed to hear the Guide told you that because the Aulani website has had several photos of the interiors of the DVC villas for several weeks. Even if the Guides didn't have any printed brochures to share with you, I would have thought they could have accessed the website and shown you photos of Aulani.

Back on July 24, I asked my Guide for a copy of Aulani's POS. He responded right away and said I should receive it in 4-5 business days. Well, as of today, I'm still waiting for it. I've followed up twice with my Guide, and each time he's tried to find out the delay. It turns out that the Fulfillment Service they use for material like the POS is out of stock, so my Guide is trying to see if Quality Assurance has a copy they can send me. I joked with my Guide that maybe the demand for Aulani is so great that they can't keep the POS in stock.

I, too, am a little amazed about the lack of buzz about Aulani. It might be that Disney hasn't geared up for selling and is waiting to be closer to the August 2011 opening date before it gets serious about marketing it.

I estimate that Aulani will have about 11.6 million points based on the number of villas, view categories, and the 2011 point chart. That should make Aulani the second largest DVC resort behind SSR in terms of points. With such a huge number of points, I think Disney needs to tap all potential customer bases. The DVC has always been a flexible points based system but Aulani has a Guaranteed Week option in addition to the traditional points system. But how many people even know that Aulani offers that option? If I look at the official DVC website or at the Aulani website, I can't find any mention of the GW option.

I'm surprised too to hear that the guide had no photos to show you. Speaking as a shareholder more than a DVC Member, I am kind of shocked that such a big ticket investment is not being more vigorously marketed from the start. Let's not forget that DVC hasn't had a brand new product to roll out in a quite awhile now, and Aulani was announced as far back as September 2008 (I remember it being discussed at the member cruise that year) so it's not like they haven't had time to ramp up.

I know it seems funny to complain that a timeshare company is too low pressure but I'm so used to the DVDs, brochures, etc. that we usually get that this lack of fanfare seems unusual for, let's face it, the superstar of DVC resorts.

 

[Peggy Sue]

We received a call from DVC about a month ago ..They asked if I wanted to talk with our rep about Hawaii ...I advised being on the east coast I didn't think we would be interested in purchasing as we believe we already have enough points ..but we did ask for the point charts, which we received a couple of days ago.

What is the guaranteed week option?


I did note on the point charts that there is no difference between weekend and weekday points. (I wonder if this is where they are headed with the point charts for the WDW resorts ..still letting members book less than a week, but point values the same every day of the week)

I believe they will market heavily in Japan etc. For us, (Boston, MA area) it's too long of a trip to consider thinking heading to hawaii yearly or even every two or three years.

I was surpirsed to see the deals for hawaii, as well as the point requirements ... I was expecting both to be much higher ..perhaps that's another sign from our current economy.

 

[wdrl]

We received a call from DVC about a month ago ..They asked if I wanted to talk with our rep about Hawaii ...I advised being on the east coast I didn't think we would be interested in purchasing as we believe we already have enough points ..but we did ask for the point charts, which we received a couple of days ago.

What is the guaranteed week option?

Dvcnews.com has an article about Aulani's prices, dues, and taxes, including a brief discussion of the Guaranteed Week option. See http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/hawaii--ko-olina-resorts-175/1292-aulani-pricing-dues-taxes

 

[living20057]

We just purchased

 

[Jaaron2]

We are already planning a two week trip in 2012 but will take our chances booking at 7 months. We are not going to WDW in 2011 to save our points for our Hawaii trip in 2012.

Being on the east coast it would be hard for us to buy in to Aluni....although we do plan on making multiple trips there

It will be our first trip to Hawaii and we cant wait!!!!!There are 10 of us going so we will need at least two rooms..... Maybe I need more points????

 

[living20057]

We live in Delaware, so I won't be visiting that often but we are planning two weeks in Aug 2012