Will DVC remove the Riveria resale restrictions due to Covid-19 /economy?

[Drewferin]

Simple poll: Will DVC remove the Riveria resale restrictions due to Covid-19 /economy?

Buying direct might not make as much sense as it used to due to covids new rules and or environment:

Thoughts
1) AP discount still applies but no park hopping
2) No more moonlight magic
3) Discounts still apply but not in the mobile app or magic band (Contactless buying)
4) DVC tours don't have fast passes to hand out.
5) Top of the World Lounge isn't open without fireworks
6) Pool hopping is closed
7) Removing restrictions might increase sales without spending any money at all.
8) Reflections has been canceled or put on hold.

 

[Sandisw]

I would be surprised to see it. Now that it looks like Reflections is on hold..or canceled..they don’t need to get RiV sold as fast as nothing else is on tap for WDW.


I know PH is on hold, but APs can still make It a good deal of savings without it...I will be getting over 25 days with mine this year.

They can certainly add things to the incentives even though some of those are gone for 2020.

 

[sethschroeder]

Thoughts
1) AP discount still applies but no park hopping
2) No more moonlight magic
3) Discounts still apply but not in the mobile app or magic band (Contactless buying)
4) DVC tours don't have fast passes to hand out.
5) Top of the World Lounge isn't open without fireworks
6) Pool hopping is closed
7) Removing restrictions might increase sales without spending any money at all.
8) Reflections has been canceled or put on hold.

1) They are already selling park hoppers for 2021 (meaning they expect park hopping to be back early next year)
2) Moonlight will be one of the first special events to come back as its low crowds
3) There are discounts so why does it matter how the purchase is done
4) True so possibly they lose some people but I suspect they can just do gift cards instead which is better than FP+ anyways
5) Is the lounge really a seller? Do people even tour it? Seems like sales can say it will be open in the next 1-2 years.
6) Again is pool hopping really a seller when BC isn't even included?

As far as the last two Disney can still sell CCV (for now) and can sell sold out resorts. It would seem if they don't have Reflections to sell and its been cancelled they might be okay with a slightly slower sell-out at Riviera.

Also removing restrictions will cost Disney a ton of money in the future. The whole goal is take their lumps now so in 2042 the restrictions are "just the way it is" when they start selling all the resorts over.

Who knows maybe they remove them but I think Reflections being canceled is actually a huge hit to any hope. They don't need to sell out so fast now to avoid 3 resorts all being on the market at once.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Top of the World is available with all resale and will reopen.

 

[Brian Noble]

Will DVC remove the Riveria resale restrictions due to Covid-19 /economy?

No. Disney does not panic or play the short game. They will play with incentives, but they won't structurally weaken their ability to sell the product.

 

[CastAStone]

Simple poll: Will DVC remove the Riveria resale restrictions due to Covid-19 /economy?

Buying direct might not make as much sense as it used to due to covids new rules and or environment:

Thoughts
1) AP discount still applies but no park hopping
2) No more moonlight magic
3) Discounts still apply but not in the mobile app or magic band (Contactless buying)
4) DVC tours don't have fast passes to hand out.
5) Top of the World Lounge isn't open without fireworks
6) Pool hopping is closed
7) Removing restrictions might increase sales without spending any money at all.
8) Reflections has been canceled or put on hold.

I don’t understand what one has to do with the other. Disney isn’t selling these things based on how well they hold resale value; I’m sure some people use that as a “reason why” when they’re talking themselves into it but people buy to own a vacation package at Disney.

 

[Drewferin]

Current environment is unforseen. DVC may do things they woukd have planned on like drop restrictions. Just a poll to see what the boards think.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

hey don’t need to get RiV sold as fast as nothing else is on tap for WDW.

While true, the longer it is not sold the longer Disney is on the hook for Dues themselves. Also the longer they hold on to the Debt they took out to build this resort. I can't imagine Disney is happy with how long its taking to sell out Aulani but thats a whole other extreme.

 

[jarestel]

As long as the DisneyLand Hotel DVC project moves forward, resale restrictions will probably remain in place. People are excited enough over another potential DL DVC to overlook resale restrictions and buy anyway.

Riviera will sell out in time and in the interim whatever rooms aren't declared into member inventory will simply be rented out for cash by Disney. They'll get their money one way or another.

I expect direct perks will resume (and probably increase) once the current situation abates so I expect the elimination of member parties will be temporary.

 

[EYL]

Even if they remove it, I'm not sure that I trust that it will stay removed. If I remember correctly, the terms for Riviera gives Disney the right to amend restrictions at anytime, which means that they can add back on any restrictions they took off...even after it has "sold out". Not sure if these terms are in other properties though.

 

[tjkraz]

The resale restriction was designed to help direct sales. Has there been any indication that it backfired?

I realize that some of the more informed shoppers will refuse to buy if the restriction risks harming resale value. But DVC's goal is to sway less informed buyers by promoting the direct purchase as the only way to use points freely thoughout the system. It's worth considering the possibility that their approach will actually work.

 

[Sandisw]

While true, the longer it is not sold the longer Disney is on the hook for Dues themselves. Also the longer they hold on to the Debt they took out to build this resort. I can't imagine Disney is happy with how long its taking to sell out Aulani but thats a whole other extreme.

I thought they are only on the hook for dues for those units declared into inventory..

 

[CastAStone]

I thought they are only on the hook for dues for those units declared into inventory..

Whether it's this arm of Disney or that arm of Disney, in some way Disney is paying the operating costs and taxes for the rest of the property.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

Whether it's this arm of Disney or that arm of Disney, in some way Disney is paying the operating costs and taxes for the rest of the property.

exactly.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

Even if they remove it, I'm not sure that I trust that it will stay removed. If I remember correctly, the terms for Riviera gives Disney the right to amend restrictions at anytime, which means that they can add back on any restrictions they took off...even after it has "sold out". Not sure if these terms are in other properties though.

I don't think they'd ever remove them and put them back. That would be a disaster. I think the terms are stated that way so if the restrictions affected availability too much or other reasons that they could remove them.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

The resale restriction was designed to help direct sales. Has there been any indication that it backfired?

I realize that some of the more informed shoppers will refuse to buy if the restriction risks harming resale value. But DVC's goal is to sway less informed buyers by promoting the direct purchase as the only way to use points freely thoughout the system. It's worth considering the possibility that their approach will actually work.

They only reason I could see them remove the restrictions are the same reasons they mentioned on the new DVC Show video. A lot of member benefits are gone with COVID-19. Who knows if disney will want to fund the moonlight magic nights that are completely free to members. That has to be costly to pay cast members and keep the rides running and free food for such a small crowd. So if they stop some benefits direct looks less appealing vs resale. Plus with less people in the parks that means slower sales for direct sales.

 

[EM Lawrence]

I think a lot depends on the economy. Disney put those resale restrictions in place when the economy was flying high and the economic outlook was optimistic. The parks were raking in cash and consumer confidence was strong. People were willing to pay for expensive vacations and get pixie dusted into $50K contracts while they were on that expensive vacation. Disney took a gamble that fundamentally changing their DVC model would not hurt them. If the economy staggers significantly, and sales at RIV are weak, I think its possible that they lift the resale restrictions in order to appeal to current DVC owners. But if they do, they will undoubtedly add them back to the next property they develop.

 

[tjkraz]

They only reason I could see them remove the restrictions are the same reasons they mentioned on the new DVC Show video. A lot of member benefits are gone with COVID-19. Who knows if disney will want to fund the moonlight magic nights that are completely free to members. That has to be costly to pay cast members and keep the rides running and free food for such a small crowd. So if they stop some benefits direct looks less appealing vs resale. Plus with less people in the parks that means slower sales for direct sales.

But again, you're assuming that the vast majority of prospects view the resale restrictions as a bad thing. And I doubt that is the case. Strictly from a sales perspective, the negative repercussions of the Rivera resale policies are a very niche concern. And they're designed to be something that can be spun in a favorable manner by trained sales agents.

As a marketable program benefit, removal of resale restrictions for one resort is =/= Moonlight Magic in any way, shape or form.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

As a marketable program benefit, removal of resale restrictions for one resort is =/= Moonlight Magic in any way, shape or form.

I disagree. If your a potential new DVC member and your weighing the benefit of direct vs resale, Moonlight magic or other benefits are the only reason to buy direct. And if someone if buying direct they likely are interested or are being sold by the sales staff towards Riviera.

 

[tjkraz]

I disagree. If your a potential new DVC member and your weighing the benefit of direct vs resale, Moonlight magic or other benefits are the only reason to buy direct. And if someone if buying direct they likely are interested or are being sold by the sales staff towards Riviera.

The vast majority of timeshare buyers have no idea about the existence of a resale market. People book a sales presentation on a whim, perhaps because of some modest financial enticement. And they are presented with a product that suddenly has reasonable monthly payments, the ability to return to a favored destination over and over again, a sense of ownership and a modest number of promotable benefits. In this case, the ability to buy Riviera and stay elsewhere is promoted as a benefit, not as the negative you portray it to be.

Even with a product like DVC which may cost $30,000 - 40,000, many buyers do not perform endless research. For 40+ years, direct sales of timeshares has thrived on uninformed consumers making spur-of-the-moment decisions.