When do the dues increases end?

[DISNEY FIX]

Just looking for a healthy discussion of when or how to get the dues to stop increasing? They can't just keep going up, could they?
This is my first and only timeshare, what have you veterans experienced? Is that reasonable? At what point does it become more expensive to own points rather than calling CRO?

 

[CarolAnnC]

Dues will always go up just as the price of everything goes up. As the costs rise for all the items associated with our dues in the budgets, so will our dues continue to rise.

 

[Dean]

Likely about 2-3 years before the expirtion of the resort in question. DVC while very high, has generally been reasonable in their yearly increases.

 

[Deb & Bill]

When you sell your contracts.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

When does anything go down?

Next time you check in tell the person checking you in that you want to cut their pay! See what room they'll put you in.

Next, go out to the bus stop and tell people that the DVC buses will only be coming every 30 minutes instead of every 20 minutes because you want your dues to go down. Then don't forget to tell everyone in line at the parks closing that it may be faster to walk home than take the bus.

And don't forget your paint brush, heck in our spare time, after we toured the parks all day and night, we will be expected to paint the exterior of the building from 2-5 am. (this is all in good fun)

But seriously, For $937 for 2009 I get to stay in a 1 bedroom at the BW. That room would cost me $4500 from CRO. If you look at the history of the dues, the increases have been very reasonable. At least with the Timeshare you know what your cost will be, If you own a home you are always facing broken appliances, water tank busting (Cost me $1500 last January), cost of snow removal (in my case A sore back) etc etc.

 

[logan115]

One of the things that I'm thinking of as a plus to buying into DVC is using this as somewhat of a hedge against inflation (eventually prices for all asset classes will start increasing again). Without running any numbers I think it's still fair to assume that the increase in dues over the next 40 years will be much smaller than the increase in rack rates (or even discounted rates).

I know DVC is not really a "money-maker" and shouldn't be viewed as such, it is a pre-paid vacation, however when I view our family's total financial picture it doesn't mean that I can't see additional benefits (other than the obvious - I GET TO GO TO WDW !!) from taking the plunge and buying DVC.

Chris

 

[Lynne M]

Dues cover the cost of maintaining the resort, housekeeping, property taxes, etc. As long as the cost of that stuff goes up, dues will go up. Which means, essentially, that dues will go up until the contract ends.

Resort rates go up every year, too, because at the non-DVC resorts, Disney pays for all that stuff, and their costs go up as well. The difference is, they're building profit into their rate increases.

So far, resort rates have gone up at faster rate than dues. I expect that will continue.

 

[Sammie]

Just looking for a healthy discussion of when or how to get the dues to stop increasing? They can't just keep going up, could they?
This is my first and only timeshare, what have you veterans experienced? Is that reasonable? At what point does it become more expensive to own points rather than calling CRO?

I feel your pain. As to your last question it is getting close for us. Due to jobs, ages of our family, desire to try new locations to vacation, issues with maintenance and housekeeping at DVC resorts, we are not going as much as we used to. Our dues are fast approaching being more expensive than a stay at Disney would be for us.

I would say we would sell off some of our contracts, but seems that now is not a good time for that either. For the first time in 10 years, I had to bank points, and if I don't use them by use year will lose them.

Heaven forbid, I might be forced to, you know, that word I can't say, rent

 

[kimberh]

I feel your pain.

Heaven forbid, I might be forced to, you know, that word I can't say, rent

See when I first looked at DVC years back...It was the dues that held me off. Then when I bought resale, Renting was promoted to me...this is what helps DVC not break your budget. Renting pays the dues. Set the price right and deal with the right people. JMHO.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

This might sound silly but is there anything for us (members) to do to keep them from increasing faster? Maybe even stay stagnant every once in a while?

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Heaven forbid, I might be forced to, you know, that word I can't say, rent

SAMMIE!!!!! Bite your tongue!

 

[dandave]

On any vacation home, there are going to be taxes and required maintenance. In my opinion, I prefer knowing what the general dues are in advance. I'm never going to show up for my vacation at the rental house and find that a pipe has busted, or the basement is flooded. I'm never going to have to plunck down a huge chunk for a new roof. If the fridge goes, it will be replaced "magically". So, I guess I see the dues as peace of mind concerning major maintenace issues and taxes that are a simple fact of life. Sure the dues are going to go up, just as the prices for new appliances or flooring or a new roof will go up. That's the way I explained it to DH, anyway.

And, by the way,...ummm, hmmmm, uhhmm... I may need to purchase transferred points in the near future, and would like to go ahead and vouch for myself now that I'm both trustworthy and an overall good egg.

 

[kimberh]

This might sound silly but is there anything for us (members) to do to keep them from increasing faster? Maybe even stay stagnant every once in a while?

One thing I did, I get free long distance so I quit calling the 800 number for MS. I had that one memorized, I had to find the 407 number but I figured that would have to save some. I only call MS when I really need to. I don't call them to make Dining reservations. I call disney dining.
Anyone else have any ideas to cut dues, I'm open for suggestions.

 

[Dean]

This might sound silly but is there anything for us (members) to do to keep them from increasing faster? Maybe even stay stagnant every once in a while?

It certainly isn't silly and there are lots of things DVC can do to decrease costs but the membership doesn't want to hear about anything that might be a sacrifice to some. Things like min stays, pay as you play fees for things like cancelations or multiple reservations, stopping the midweek T&T, decreased Disney transportation, and many more. The question then becomes what's reasonable. Something that's low cost and a fair % of people want and things that most everyone wants like pool and internet are reasonable to share across everyone. The issue then becomes where to draw the line.

 

[tjkraz]

This might sound silly but is there anything for us (members) to do to keep them from increasing faster? Maybe even stay stagnant every once in a while?

Doubt it. With the exception of our current economic situation, we tend to live in an inflationary economy. That means prices keep going up.

Look at all of the things our budgets cover:

Salaries AND BENEFITS for ALL of the resort staff including front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, etc. Wages go up (Are you making the same salary you were 10 years ago? 20 years ago? I hope not!) Benefits cost more. Health insurance costs have risen 5-10% annually for a decade now for most of the country.

We pay the premiums on insurance for the resort itself (P&C, hurricane damage, etc.)

We pay for the theme park buses / boats / monorails along with fuel expenses and more wages.

We pay property taxes to Orange County.

We pay to replace the roof on the building and to pave the parking lot.

We pay to replace broken refrigerators and door handles and blown-out lightbulbs.

All of those things are going to go up in cost every year. Not much that can be done about it. The good news is that wages (yours and mine) also increase so hopefully the dues will remain about the same portion of our budgets. A job that pays $60,000 today (and probably paid $25K a couple decades ago) will pay $150,000 by 2030. At least we all hope so.

Honestly the only portion of our dues I can think of that is really in our control would be maintenance. If members collectively beat the crap out of furniture, appliances, fixtures, put gouges in the walls, crack the bathroom tile, etc.--those are all things that cost money to repair. But I'm not sure that one member can make a difference in that area.

Unless we want to see Disney cut back on staffing, take a harder stance on wages in union negotiations or buy inferior quality furnishings, I wouldn't hold out hope of dues going down.

 

[tjkraz]

One thing I did, I get free long distance so I quit calling the 800 number for MS. I had that one memorized, I had to find the 407 number but I figured that would have to save some. I only call MS when I really need to. I don't call them to make Dining reservations. I call disney dining.

I don't think that really saves members any money--just Disney.

There is a line item in our budget called the Management Fee. That's essentially Disney's fee for operating the program. That particular item isn't budgeted at the cost of providing a service--instead it is a fixed 12% of all other dues expenses (less transportation and taxes.)

The description of the Management Fee indicates that it is the fee paid to DVCMC for providing management services "including home office expenses." I have always understood that to mean that the cost of operating "Member Services" including salaries, phones, computers, etc. is covered by the Management Fee.

And since the Management Fee is a fixed 12% of our dues, a reduction of the phone bill simply saves Disney money. Our dues remain at the 12% regardless.

 

[Brian Noble]

Renting pays the dues. Set the price right and deal with the right people. JMHO.

Except that you need to buy more points than you personally use. Disney rentals generally have pretty poor return on invested capital compared to other resale timeshares, so while this is a pretty good deal for cash flow, it's actually a poor deal on the full-blown balance sheet.

 

[Sammie]

SAMMIE!!!!! Bite your tongue!

Actually I would probably sell some of the smaller contracts first. I just don't think I deal with the hassle, unless it was a close friend or family.

 

[Sammie]

Honestly the only portion of our dues I can think of that is really in our control would be maintenance. If members collectively beat the crap out of furniture, appliances, fixtures, put gouges in the walls, crack the bathroom tile, etc.--those are all things that cost money to repair. But I'm not sure that one member can make a difference in that area.

I really wish DVC would go to making damages payable to the member doing the damage instead of spreading that cost to everyone.

I have no problem with the increase of dues if I am getting my money's worth, lately though with maintenance issues and sloppy housekeeping, I am not sure the money is going where it should and more into management's pockets.

 

[kimberh]

I don't think that really saves members any money--just Disney.

There is a line item in our budget called the Management Fee. That's essentially Disney's fee for operating the program. That particular item isn't budgeted at the cost of providing a service--instead it is a fixed 12% of all other dues expenses (less transportation and taxes.)

The description of the Management Fee indicates that it is the fee paid to DVCMC for providing management services "including home office expenses." I have always understood that to mean that the cost of operating "Member Services" including salaries, phones, computers, etc. is covered by the Management Fee.

And since the Management Fee is a fixed 12% of our dues, a reduction of the phone bill simply saves Disney money. Our dues remain at the 12% regardless.

Interesting, I know we had a 800 number for a while at our office. They are not cheap. That is why Disney does not offer one for Cash guests to use for making reservations, DDP etc. Anyway, it doesn't cost me anything to dial the 407 number so I will continue to do so.