Coronavirus impact on DVC

[Club Cooloholic]

If they extend it would have to be for everyone, whether affected or not. And you would be “rewarded” by having to pay maintenance fees for an extra year.

Rebating some of the MFs could be possible. But non-DVC timeshares are dealing with this in a simple way. If you lost your week, you’re SOL. Isn’t it part of the ownership that you deal with it, like if you own a beach condo and cannot get there currently.

As was said before though, there isn't an end date on those. When you buy into DVC there is so much up front cost that you can literally calculate (give or take maintenance costs) how much each point each year is costing you for the life of the contract.
Edit: I never read through the whole contract for all things but there has to be a mention or clause of what would happen if a dvc resort was destroyed by a hurricane or fire, right? Obviously that would effect bookings for a long time too, and should be applicable to this situation.

 

[nickys]

As was said before though, there isn't an end date on those. When you buy into DVC there is so much up front cost that you can literally calculate (give or take maintenance costs) how much each point each year is costing you for the life of the contract.
Edit: I never read through the whole contract for all things but there has to be a mention or clause of what would happen if a dvc resort was destroyed by a hurricane or fire, right? Obviously that would effect bookings for a long time too, and should be applicable to this situation.

I posted the answer to that earlier. If a resort is destroyed then everyone who owns a share in it shares in the insurance payout. I don’t think that helps here because there won’t be an insurance payout.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I posted the answer to that earlier. If a resort is destroyed then everyone who owns a share in it shares in the insurance payout. I don’t think that helps here because there won’t be an insurance payout.

So it seems some might just be SOL. I am hoping my Thanksgiving trip is safe...but would be lying if I said I want nervous.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

My personal opinion, but I think the only thing DVC might be able to do is to refund the maintenance fees for the lost points. And that’s only if the state timeshare laws allow it.
Allowing people that were affected and that were past their banking window to bank their points, would create a situation where we would all pretty much have to reserve our home resort right at 11 months, with probably zero possibility of swapping to anything at 7 months, as there would be a lot more points available than rooms to reserve. And it might take years for it to equalize depending on how long the closures last.

 

[nickys]

So it seems some might just be SOL. I am hoping my Thanksgiving trip is safe...but would be lying if I said I want nervous.

Well I hope the trip comes off for you.

Don’t get me wrong, it would be great if they can help people out. I just don’t believe there will be much they can do if the resorts stay shut beyond June.

I’ll be losing around 60 points for sure this year, another 50 if the parks stay closed I‘ll refund my rental in that case). My bigger worry is that my points for next year will also be lost unless I rent them out. We have a December use year and a Christmas / New Year Reservation. That won’t be happening (I doubt international travel will be possible by then), and we’re unlikely to be back before Christmas 2021. And any ban on banking &/or borrowing next year will put that trip in jeopardy too. It’s looking bleak at the moment.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Well I hope the trip comes off for you.

Don’t get me wrong, it would be great if they can help people out. I just don’t believe there will be much they can do if the resorts stay shut beyond June.

I’ll be losing around 60 points for sure this year, another 50 if the parks stay closed I‘ll refund my rental in that case). My bigger worry is that my points for next year will also be lost unless I rent them out. We have a December use year and a Christmas / New Year Reservation. That won’t be happening (I doubt international travel will be possible by then), and we’re unlikely to be back before Christmas 2021. And any ban on banking &/or borrowing next year will put that trip in jeopardy too. It’s looking bleak at the moment.

Is there a ban in place yet? I am planning on trying to book at a different resort at the 7 month mark but would have to borrow a few points from next year.

 

[nickys]

Is there a ban in place yet? I am planning on trying to book at a different resort at the 7 month mark but would have to borrow a few points from next year.

No. But with the potential problems next year with borrowed points being returned, it is an option they can use. They can suspend all banking or borrowing of points or both if they need to.

 

[Longshore_noah]

You can cancel online.

I couldnt cancel two of my reservations. Tried for three days until i finally called.

 

[Longshore_noah]

What are you talking about? The weather has nothing to do with this, that is the flu. This is not the flu. That is not accurate at all, it was a "wish" and a "hope" but not accurate. Tropical climates are having massive issues. Ecuador has bodies being left on the streets there are so many, the pacific islands and southern hemisphere is also getting hit - where it is hot, humid and middle of summer.

I wouldnt be so hot to completely deny this possible effect of warm weather on the virus. I definitley think we need to wait for more evidence.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I wouldnt be so hot to completely deny this possible effect of warm weather on the virus. I definitley think we need to wait for more evidence.

Coronavirus: Ecuador sees massive surge in deaths in April

Guayas province, home to the city of Guayaquil, sees nearly 6,000 extra deaths in a two-week period.

www.bbc.com

Huh?

 

[Longshore_noah]

Thanks! I agree that numbers in some places I think would be worse if climates would be different. Some locations are worse off they think due to the climate being favorable as well. There is a lot to study with viruses as a whole and it's kind of interesting to me to read and understand.

Yes I am glad there's actually been quite a few different tacts different states are taking around the world. It will help to have all the different data to look at later.

 

[Kobe!!]

Can someone explain to me how DVC works and all that? Thanks in advance.

 

[Longshore_noah]

Can someone explain to me how DVC works and all that? Thanks in advance.

Come on Kobe. Google that question, read an article and then come back. There's a bunch of them. Basically it's a Disney timeshare

 

[nickys]

Can someone explain to me how DVC works and all that? Thanks in advance.

Here’s the official information page:

Explore Membership | Disney Vacation Club

Explore Disney Vacation Club and learn about the many benefits of Membership, which includes access to outstanding Disney Vacation Club Resorts and thousands of other vacation options in destinations around the world. Plus, enjoy Member discounts, special events, Disney experiences and more.

disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com

You know how a timeshare works?

Briefly:

Instead of buying a fixed week, you buy a number of points at your Home Resort. These points become available to you each year on the 1st of a particular month.

Each night in a DVC villa, be it a studio, 1-bed, 2-bed or 3-bed ”costs” a certain number of points depending on season.

11 months before your check-in date you can book a week at your Home Resort. You can add more days later.

7 months before, you can use your points to book at a different resort.

You can Bank points into the following year, and/ or Borrow points from the future year. Therefore at any one time you can use up to three year’s worth of points at a time.

Every year in January you pay maintenance fees per point.

DVC will encourage you to buy points at the latest Resort(s) that they are actively marketing - currently Riviera and Copper Creek. But can also sell you points at any of the Resorts. Buying direct from DVC is called Buying Direct and gives you certain perks - which are not guaranteed. The main perk is the discount on annual passes.

Or you can buy a contract on the Resale Market through a broker. This will be a lot cheaper but doesn’t confer perks.

With the newest Resort (Riviera) there are stringent restrictions on buying Resale. If you buy resale elsewhere you cannot use your points at Riviera, if you buy Resale at Riviera you can only use your points at Riviera. No trading in or out of Riviera for any resale buyer.

Sites like Mouseowners or the DIS have very good guides to DVC.

 

[correcaminos]

Can someone explain to me how DVC works and all that? Thanks in advance.

@nickys has a great reply. To add about perks, they can come and go. Please ask questions if you have them!

 

[Kobe!!]

@nickys has a great reply. To add about perks, they can come and go. Please ask questions if you have them!

Thanks, that was a big help.

So why the harsh rules on the Riviera resort?

 

[nickys]

Thanks, that was a big help.

So why the harsh rules on the Riviera resort?

Presumably to try and curb the resale market as direct prices edge ever closer to $200 per point, which by the way It already is for the older resorts.

 

[correcaminos]

Presumably to try and curb the resale market as direct prices edge ever closer to $200 per point, which by the way It already is for the older resorts.

This!

Disney will get money through maintenance fees, but nothing else on a resale. They are trying to make direct sales more appealing to some.

 

[mrerk]

This is where the set-end-date of the DVC points model falls short. If it were an open-ended timeframe, you could (in theory) extend points into the future more easily, since there's future capacity to absorb that. But DVC has a more rigid structure where each set of points is only good for a maximum of 3 years (actual use-year plus bank/borrow before and after). If you override that set structure you create a wave of banked points rippling forward through time that will eventually crash into the wall at the end of the DVC contract, creating shortages and unusable points in that final year or two of the contract where supply of points outweighs available room inventory and people lose out.

The only two solutions I see are 1) those who lose points are SOL, sorry life isn't always fair; or 2) DVC explores their options to extend the end date of all contracts by an equal number of days that the resorts are unavailable, thereby creating the available inventory in the system for all owners to be able to use their points.

Obviously option 1 is the worse choice both from a guest standpoint and a PR optics standpoint. Option 2 would be the preferable option, but not knowing the timeshare laws of Florida I don't know how difficult, or even if, such a plan is doable. The contracts that all DVC owners signed may not allow the flexibility to do so. Or it would be something that owners would have to vote on. (Not being a DVC owner, how do owners get a say in how DVC is run, changes and bylaws and stuff? I only have experience with my family's traditional week-based timeshare)

-Rob

Basically, we don't get any say. DVC can change anything at any time. All they need to do is post it on the website. From the "Home Resort Rules and Regulations":

1. Amendments. DVC Operator reserves the right to amend these Rules and Regulations, in its discretion. These changes may affect a Club Member’s right to use, exchange, or rent the Club Member’s Ownership Interest and may impose obligations upon the use and enjoyment of the Club Member’s Ownership Interest and the appurtenant Club Membership. Club Members will be notified of any such changes through Member Services publications, including posting on a Club website. Current publications supersede prior publications with respect to the terms and conditions of these Rules and Regulations.

I'm holding out hope that they do the right thing, whatever that is.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Presumably to try and curb the resale market as direct prices edge ever closer to $200 per point, which by the way It already is for the older resorts.

Actually, when I talked with a person at DVC, they are restricting the use of points bought through resale at Riviera due to so many complaints they receive about not being able to book at 7 months. Adding in thousands of Riviera resales would make it even harder to get that 7 month resort. He said that, in all likelihood, that restriction will be in place for all future DVC resorts.