Yikes! Worlds Passport Collection is switching from II to RCI!

[CarolA]

Well, considering that I can't ever trade for anything I am actually not to torn up over this. I am planning to sell some points at some point to buy a better trader. DVC is NOT the "trader' they want you to think it is!

 

[wendyinoc]

I thought its not good to trade DVC anyways? Its better to have another timeshare if you plan to trade alot.

 

[msabol01]

Well, considering that I can't ever trade for anything I am actually not to torn up over this. I am planning to sell some points at some point to buy a better trader. DVC is NOT the "trader' they want you to think it is!

I thought its not good to trade DVC anyways? Its better to have another timeshare if you plan to trade alot.

I think these to quotes sum it up best for me. I know I've read on here numerous times that the best value of DVC is staying at WDW DVC resorts. All option facets of DVC are subject to change without notice....this part has never been truer.

Hopefully, this will be a better move in that more members will either get to trade into an RCI resort and the increase in options. It is unfortunate that some of the nicer resorts will be lost.

 

[Dean]

is this an accurate statement? I was told this today by an RCI Phone rep
when a person is successful at trading for a DVC Property thru RCI with their
property. They will then be ineligible for (4) years to have access to a DVC
Proprety thru RCI. Did anyone find this to be true, when DVC was allied with RCI years ago??

This is likely the case. I don't know that I'd say most have it but some do. The problem is that it's the more agressive and difficult ones that tend to have it like the Mayan resorts which are not 1 in 5 and if you get in one, you're blocked from ALL of their resorts for those 5 years. There are ways around it such as trading through another company of from a separate account.

I thought its not good to trade DVC anyways? Its better to have another timeshare if you plan to trade alot.

There are some options that are worth it, most of those go away with II (Marriott, Westin, Hyatt's, and Royals) for the most part. As usual the devil is in the details. IF it's less points with RCI or one can match a full year out, those may be well worth the trade off's.

 

[shellbelle1971]

There can't be inventory in 2011, DVC doesn't deposit that far out. The II rep was obviously misinformed.

You're right, as usual, Dean. That rep must have been wrong.

 

[GrayFal]

Press Release:

Similarly, RCI's more than 3.6 million members will now also enjoy the opportunity to exchange into Disney Vacation Club resorts
and may rent at Disney Vacation Club resorts throughout the year.

Emphasis is mine - but unfortunately, over on the TUG Board - RCI stands for "Rent Condos Instead" - I fear most DVC weeks will end up right on RCI rental sites and not available to other RCI exchangers.

 

[nickspace]

Can DVC member just rent in RCI instead of trading? How does that work? Is renting RCI a good value? I am green when it comes to timeshares. That is a big reason I went with DVC. DVC is easy to use and high quality. The risk factor of getting bad accomodations is minimized with DVC.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

Can DVC member just rent in RCI instead of trading? How does that work? Is renting RCI a good value? I am green when it comes to timeshares. That is a big reason I went with DVC. DVC is easy to use and high quality. The risk factor of getting bad accomodations is minimized with DVC.

I'm in the same boat as you (know very little to nothing about other timeshares), but a friend of mine logged in and showed me her RCI rental options a few months ago. I was amazed. She could rent weeks at various locations (studio, 1 and 2-BR) for DIRT cheap. In fact, she just got back from a stay in Myrtle over Thanksgiving, and said she rented a 2-BR for a week for under $300. She said the weather was incredible, and they played golf the entire time they were there.

We have never traded out, so it's hard for me to have an opinion, but if we have the opportunity to rent as well as trade, that would make this change a little more appealing to me. As stated by several others...time will tell.

 

[JudyS]

I'm in the same boat as you (know very little to nothing about other timeshares), but a friend of mine logged in and showed me her RCI rental options a few months ago. I was amazed. She could rent weeks at various locations (studio, 1 and 2-BR) for DIRT cheap. In fact, she just got back from a stay in Myrtle over Thanksgiving, and said she rented a 2-BR for a week for under $300. She said the weather was incredible, and they played golf the entire time they were there.

We have never traded out, so it's hard for me to have an opinion, but if we have the opportunity to rent as well as trade, that would make this change a little more appealing to me. As stated by several others...time will tell.

There are some good rentals available in RCI, yes. However, it remains to be seen whether they will be available to DVC members or not. II actually has fabulous rentals, much better than the ones in RCI. But, DVC owners never had access to these II rentals, because DVC members didn't have full II accounts. Instead, it is actually Disney that has the II account (this is what is known as a "corporate II account"), rather than DVC members each having their own account.

To explain the difference -- I own both DVC, and other, non-DVC timeshares. Some of my timeshares trade in II, and some trade in RCI. With my non-DVC II timeshares, I can sign on to II, and see what exchanges and rentals are being offered. With my DVC contract, though, I don't really have a full II account -- I have to call Disney and ask them to check II exchanges for me. Only my non-DVC II contracts have access to the II rentals; if I just owned DVC, I wouldn't be able to rent through II.

Will DVC members have access to RCI's rentals? We don't know yet. However, it is possible for the general public to access many of the same rentals, using carious websites run by RCI, although the prices may be a bit higher, and the inventory may not be quite as good.

 

[NHLFAN]

Press Release:
Effective January 1, 2009, RCI will become the exclusive third-party exchange provider for Disney Vacation Club, enrolling Disney Vacation Club's more than 135,000 member families into RCI's global exchange network.

Hmmmm...

When I first read it I thought "Oh No" 135K more families looking to get my ressies at Wyndham Resorts...

 

[JudyS]

Sorry, I didn't see where it said that this was a switch OR that II was being dropped. Just that RCI was being added. So far I have not heard that II is being dropped nor understand why that would be assumed.

Even before I saw the press release, the announcement on the DVC member site made me quite convinced that II was being dropped. As I said in my first post here, that announcement ends with, "To ensure a smooth transition to RCI, Members may continue to confirm available exchanges through the current World Passport Collection through Dec. 31, 2008, and all exchanges booked by that deadline will be honored." There would be no point in saying that unless II were being dropped entirely.

There are plenty of resorts that are dual-affiliated, so DVC certainly could have just added RCI. But, they decided to go entirely with II instead, it seems.

 

[icydog]

I know why they are doing this. From Jim Lewis's annoucement he states a marketing opportunity for Disney. That's it, a MARKETING OPPORTUNITY.

IF DISNEY GETS A NEW POOL OF EXCHANGERS IN HERE THEY'LL HAVE A LARGER POOL TO WHICH TO SELL THEIR RESORTS . BOTTOM LINE IS, THE HECK WITH MEMBERS THE BOTTOM LINE IS SELL MORE POINTS..

 

[Tiger926]

I am trying to keep up with threads, but I am a bit confused due to info overload. I just read the Orlando Sentinel article, as quoted above in post #66. I am concerned about RCI exchangers getting our ressies, so here are questions:

1. Will our 11 month home advantage still be applicable?

2. Does this mean that I now have to compete with RCI exchangers for other DVC resorts at 7 month window?

*** I am very concerned with question #2 ***

Thanks for the discussion, Tiger

 

[Brian Noble]

I am concerned about RCI exchangers getting our ressies

RCI will not have any Member-owned inventory unless a Member decides to exchange out. That's just as it is today with Interval.

 

[Tiger926]

RCI will not have any Member-owned inventory unless a Member decides to exchange out. That's just as it is today with Interval.

Ok, so the only way for an RCI exchanger to get a DVC ressie is for a DVC member to exchange? Please explain this statement then from the article:

"At the same time, RCI's more than 3.6 million members will now be able to trade into DVC timeshares."

I'm sorry for the questions, but we have never exchanged before and so we are trying to wrap our heads around it for future ressies.

Thanks, Tiger

 

[Brian Noble]

The key word from your highlighted sentence is "trade". For someone to be able to trade in, someone else has to be willing to trade out.

The timeshare exchanges are basically barter systems. There's a big pool of weeks called the "space bank". In order for you to take a week's lodging out of the space bank, you first have to put some other, comparable week in. So, any member-owned weeks are one in, one out.

Some developers also choose to put weeks that they own (something that hasn't been sold yet) into the space bank for a variety of reasons. This helps "seed the pool", and the developer doesn't necessarily get a week out in return, but might receive some other consideration.

No one who doesn't own DVC can get a DVC week unless one is put in the space bank. The only way that can happen is if a DVC member wants something else in exchange, or Disney deposits weeks they own. In either case, no Member-owned weeks can be in the bank unless a Member put them there.

Edited to add: the other confusing part is the phrase "will now be able". That would be better put, "will have the opportunity". Everyone has the opportunity, but most will not be able to take advantage of that opportunity.

 

[littlestar]

RCI will not have any Member-owned inventory unless a Member decides to exchange out. That's just as it is today with Interval.

What do you think about the rental part in the announcement? That's the scary part to me when it comes to RCI.

 

[Brian Noble]

In the context of this discussion, it doesn't matter. Member-owned inventory can't go into the pool unless a Member puts it there. If RCI chooses to rent the Member-owned inventory, rather than make it available for exchange, that is their right by the terms of the standard agreement. The Member will still get a week in return. As to developer-owned inventory, well, the developer can do whatever it wants to with it.

But, I also think that unless Disney has rocks for brains, they negotiated for control over pricing, regardless. There is no way they want RCI undercutting their CRO/WDTC rental business. Interval also had some SSR weeks available as Getaways---almost certainly developer inventory, and priced a bit higher than AP rates (and in some cases, comparable to rack.) Those prices were astronomically higher than II's usual Getaway pricing, and so it is reasonable to conclude that Disney set the prices.

(They also took forever to rent. Timeshare owners are a cheap bunch.)

 

[utahkennedys]

I am glad I only own a small package of OKW points. In the last few years DVC has made very negative decisions regarding owners, and the dropping of II is further proof DVC doesn't care about owners. We are losing trades into Marriotts, Westin & Hyatt -- all the luxury timeshare brands. The only "gain" is Hilton in RCI, but Hilton is so limited in resorts that even our friends who own tons of HGVC complain about that. I do think there may be some truth in the statement of another poster that maybe DVC was realizing by allowing trades into the other luxury brands they were shooting themselves in the foot. We love the DVC resorts, but nothing compares to the Westin Heavenly beds and quality of some of the luxury timeshares like Marriott & Westin.

I constantly get angry when I see Disney promotions like free dining, buy 4 nights get 3 free, etc. I wonder what effect this will have on current members and resale.

 

[icydog]

I am glad I only own a small package of OKW points. In the last few years DVC has made very negative decisions regarding owners, and the dropping of II is further proof DVC doesn't care about owners. We are losing trades into Marriotts, Westin & Hyatt -- all the luxury timeshare brands. The only "gain" is Hilton in RCI, but Hilton is so limited in resorts that even our friends who own tons of HGVC complain about that. I do think there may be some truth in the statement of another poster that maybe DVC was realizing by allowing trades into the other luxury brands they were shooting themselves in the foot. We love the DVC resorts, but nothing compares to the Westin Heavenly beds and quality of some of the luxury timeshares like Marriott & Westin.

I constantly get angry when I see Disney promotions like free dining, buy 4 nights get 3 free, etc. I wonder what effect this will have on current members and resale.

I hate to appear to be a snob but when it comes to my money then I am snobbish. I hate to pay big bucks to Disney only to have them offer me non-parity resorts in exchange. One of the things I don't like about RCI is the class of people I meet in their resorts. It takes a lot of money to own some of the II resorts, just as it does to own DVC, and I appreciate that. By allowing folks who only have a tiny fraction invested to use our resorts opens up a Pandora's Box of calamities. If someone buys a Wnydham Resort for .01 on eBay will they respect my property---probably not-- but that's indeed what they sell for. Also Wnydham is owned by Cendant the company that owns RCI. Since they are in bed together Wyndham folks stand to get more out of this deal than others. Wyndham notoriously does not protect their owners, therefore, after the sale their timeshares are often worthless. How will a company like RCI who owns a timeshare company that routinely devalues its worth be a good business partner for DVC??