Why are OKW points (for GV) so much less than BWV??

[beattyfamily]

I know this is probably a silly question but I've never stayed at any of the DVC's (I will hopefully stay at my BWV 'home' in a 2-bedroom standard this December).

Why are the points so much less for OKW than BWV? I just happened to notice how it's only 356p for a week in the OKW GV and it's 558p for BWV's GV. That's a significant difference!

Is it that OKW is older? Are the rooms just as nice? Is BWV the only one with a Jacuzzi?

I was thinking of getting a GV next year for 8 of us plus a 2 year old in a crib. Thought it'd be a treat.

Can someone whose stayed at both resorts tell me the differences. Would I be disapointed at OKW after staying at the BWV this year?

Thanks very much!

 

[KANSAS]

I am pretty sure, it is supply and demand
many more grand villa's at OKW THAN at BOARDWALK

plus isn;t board walk a more desirable location

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by KANSAS
plus isn;t board walk a more desirable location

That's what my husband thinks!

 

[RWishbone]

I also think that the BW points are higher because the location is much more closer to the action..and away we go!

 

[dbond]

Why are the points so much less for OKW than BWV? I just happened to notice how it's only 356p for a week in the OKW GV and it's 558p for BWV's GV

[

QUOTE]Is it that OKW is older? Are the rooms just as nice? Is BWV the only one with a Jacuzzi?[/QUOTE]

I think what the poster said above, supply & demand, is the best answer. OKW has more GV's than BWV and location is a major factor. Yes, OKW is older, yes the rooms are just as nice. All 1 br and up at OKW & BWV have jacuzzi tubs, but the OKW rooms are all slightly bigger in sq footage than the BWV. So the comparison always comes down to location and personal preference. We love the quiet and comfort of OKW, the point value is less, we would rather wake up to the ducks on the pond and the golfers than the hustle at BWV, we love parking our car steps from our door, we love the freedom to drive our own car and we don't find it to be much farther or take much longer to drive to Epcot & MGM than to walk there from the resorts. We like the privacy and the spread out feeling of OKW, it feels more like a resort to us rather than a hotel. But this is our opinion and how we like to travel to the World, you'll get a different answer from everyone you ask.
We love to visit the Boardwalk and spend time in the restaurants and shops, but we enjoy going home to OKW at the end of the day and the fact that we spend less points to do it, makes it that much better for us.

 

[beattyfamily]

Thanks for the replies! I hope I didn't open up a whole can of worms! Didn't mean to.

On a similar subject, how does BCV compare to BWV. They are in a similar (lively) location. Is the BCV in as high demand yet as the BWV (standard view anyway) during the month of December? What if you couldn't get a 2 bedroom at BWV and then you try for BCV at the 7 month window, what are your chances? Or is the resort too new to be able to tell.

Thanks again!

 

[SueM in MN]

I think it's all supply and demand plus location. Some people prefer BW because of the ability to walk to Epcot and the MGM. You also have the hotel amenities like room service and several restaurants nearby that some people want. OKW is more like a condo community, surrounded by a golf course. BW and OKW have 2 very differnt types of environments. Some people prefer one, some prefer the other.

All the one bedroom and larger rooms at DVCs have whirlpools. All of them are very nice. OKW villas are just as luxurious and are significantly larger than the same type villas at the other DVC resorts.

 

[spiceycat]

the BCV is already harder to get than the BWV.

but again it may be size - OKW is the largest - then BWV - so there are less rooms at BCV to began with.

there are only 6? GV at BWV vs 27(I though I got told 36) GV at OKW. so again the more you have the easier it is to get.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I don't think it's supply vs demand, or location.
The OKW point structure is less across the board, not just for the GV. As far as the location of being 'at the action', I am not sure about this either, as VWL is the same point structure as BWV.

So, then why is the point structure at OKW less than all the others? Perhaps after OKW, DVC realized they could charge more points for the accommodations. Once the POS for OKW was published, the point toatal was locked in. In essence, it was like a back door price increase.

Have fun........

 

[spiceycat]

no they raised December once at OKW - it use to be 6 points for a studio - those were the days - but I really can't complaint 8 is not too bad.

 

[JohnnyII]

Originally posted by Maistre Gracey
I don't think it's supply vs demand, or location.
The OKW point structure is less across the board, not just for the GV. As far as the location of being 'at the action', I am not sure about this either, as VWL is the same point structure as BWV.

So, then why is the point structure at OKW less than all the others? Perhaps after OKW, DVC realized they could charge more points for the accommodations. Once the POS for OKW was published, the point toatal was locked in. In essence, it was like a back door price increase.

Have fun........

You got it!! Those executive types at DVC are pretty smart. The following is from DVC exec conversations...No names to protect the innocent!


Question....How do we raise the price considerably of new DVC resorts without raising the cost per point significantly? hmmmm...Lets see.....Oh yes....Thats it....We make the rooms smaller reducing the cost to build and then we raise the number of points required by about 40%! Wow!! great idea!! Michael Eisner is really goona love us now!!

Hold on a sec....hmmm....To make it easier for our existing DVC owners to accept...Lets make... say... 18% of the rooms "standard view" and charge 17% less points per night. Yea...That will work....Great idea...we're really smokin now!!

Okay...were thinking of these new resorts... VWL and BCV....Cool!! Stay with me now...Now lets not raise the point chart again...DVCers might get the wrong idea....hmmm...Got it!! Lets cut the standard view rooms!! Great idea....Now we can charge top level points for all rooms!! Great, I bet Eisner gives us a bonus for this!

Okay...The above conversation didn't really happen...But the end result was the same!

John

 

[OKWKirt]

I kept hoping I would see a reply from the real experts (Doc, Dean, Rich - where are you?). The amount of points have nothing to do with location or trying to squeeze more money out of us. The cost of construction is broken down into the number of points required to cover the expenses. The construction cost at OKW was lower per unit because of the considerable number of units. The cost of construction has also increased dramatically since OKW was constructed.

 

[JohnnyII]

Originally posted by OKWKirt
I kept hoping I would see a reply from the real experts (Doc, Dean, Rich - where are you?). The amount of points have nothing to do with location or trying to squeeze more money out of us. The cost of construction is broken down into the number of points required to cover the expenses. The construction cost at OKW was lower per unit because of the considerable number of units. The cost of construction has also increased dramatically since OKW was constructed.

What do you think makes one person more "expert" from another. Unless DVC has publicly stated their reasons for increasing the point charts for newer resorts, anything anyone says is just speculation. And even if DVC did state their reason, I'm sure we all know that they would publicly sanitize what they release.

However, DVC is for profit, they are not looking "just to cover expenses" As far as the cost OKW -vs- the newer resorts. DVC made changes to LOWER the construction costs. Like not building individual buildings as they did for OKW and making the rooms smaller and sharing common areas and facilities with existing hotels, etc... While the cost of construction has increased the last 10 years. Disney already owned the land and since the rate of inflation has been minimum, the costs for building materials probably have NOT increased as much as you might think. My non-expert guess is that the "per room" building cost for say BVC -vs- OKW has increased but because of the chages DVC made, the increase has been fairly minimal and they are making significantly MORE per room on BVC than they ever did on OKW.

Just my humble non-expert view.

John

 

[BillM]

As explained above. The points for villas and studios are much less than the other DVC Disney resorts. So it would only follow that the GV would be much less at OKW than BWV. As to why the point structure is less at OKW I have no idea. Disney Execs would have to explain that one.
But I bet if OKW was being built today the points would be about the same as the other on site DVC. I guess we can wait until Saratoga Springs opens and see what the points are there.
In the last ten years point costs havve increased 50%.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by OKWKirt
The amount of points have nothing to do with location or trying to squeeze more money out of us. The cost of construction is broken down into the number of points required to cover the expenses. The construction cost at OKW was lower per unit because of the considerable number of units. The cost of construction has also increased dramatically since OKW was constructed.

I agree that construction cost has increased, but that is partly why the price per point also increased. The fact that more points are needed is, in essence, another price increase. I am sure that DVC saw BWV, VWL, and BCV as more desirable locations, thus we got the back door increase.
As far as saying that BWV is more points than OKW due to the location on The Boardwalk is not correct, as VWL is proof of that.
I do not have a problem with the point structure, after all, I bought in knowing this.

 

[PamOKW]

When Disney began the Vacation Club, they built one resort with some wording thrown in that they might build additional resorts. They established a point structure as a means for people to use their real estate interest to make reservations.

A total "pool" of points was established to correspond with the real estate interests. This has not and will not change. Once, early on, the points were adjusted and while the cost of a studio in December may have gone up, another time of year it went down. There was no increase without a decrease elsewhere. They could adjust the schedule again but they can never increase the total pool.

When the other resorts were built, another "pool" of points was established to represent the real estate interests. When they divided them up, they came out requiring more points per night.

The only supply and demand issue that Disney saw was that their on-site DVC resorts were hot and could be sold easily. I agree that the increased pool of points was probably done to "raise prices" without having to make it all reflected in the price per point.

There are people who love only their home resort. There are people who love some, like some and really don't care to stay at others. DVC is all about choice and not about being "better". I've spoken to two people recently who have said they don't think they would care to stay at WL or VWL. This resort is beautiful but it's just not their taste. You can find people who will say this about any of the resorts.

 

[yesdisneyfool]

Thanks Pam, things are getting clearer. It all boils down to being in and around Disney for us.

For the record We love our Home and enjoy the others just as much.

 

[PKS44]

Originally posted by JohnnyII
Hold on a sec....hmmm....To make it easier for our existing DVC owners to accept...Lets make... say... 18% of the rooms "standard view" and charge 17% less points per night. Yea...That will work....Great idea...we're really smokin now!!

Okay...were thinking of these new resorts... VWL and BCV....Cool!! Stay with me now...Now lets not raise the point chart again...DVCers might get the wrong idea....hmmm...Got it!! Lets cut the standard view rooms!!

When BWV opened there was no differential between standard and preferred view. That was a change made later after so many complained about the views from the few standard rooms. So that was not a pre-planned strategy.

That the VWL has the same points as the preferred BWV reflects the location of the resort NEAR a park.

Paul

 

[Simba's Mom]

Hey, yesdisneyfool-I see another countdown timer for OKW about the same as mine. See you there! Be sure to wear your green ribbon.

 

[JohnnyII]

Originally posted by PKS44
When BWV opened there was no differential between standard and preferred view. That was a change made later after so many complained about the views from the few standard rooms. So that was not a pre-planned strategy.

That the VWL has the same points as the preferred BWV reflects the location of the resort NEAR a park.

Paul

See there...I didn't know that. I first looked into DVC when there was only OKW and didn't look into it again until I bought at BCV recently. I just assumed that there BWV prefered/Standard splits were intended from the beginning.

Thanx Paul,

John