DVC considering new resorts off property?

[FCivish3]

I have no idea about the US ski resorts, I’ll have to take your word for them.

But many ski resorts in Europe are very popular in the summer months. There are thousands of people who enjoy hiking and summer activities in the mountains. Both in the Alps and Scandinavia, and I’m betting in the Pyrenees too.

Many people in the U.S. love the outdoors. I once worked for the forest service and in the summer I would stay in a ski lodge in Alta, 5 days a week, and come down to the valley on weekends. I have also worked with people who moved to Salt Lake just for the skiing, and hiking, and mountain biking. But frankly, they are in the minority. There are ALWAYS people in the mountains in the summer, but most of the ski resorts and resort hotels look like ghost towns. The town of Park City is large enough that it is pretty popular in the summer, but I still just can't see people buying DVC for that. In fact, as long as we are on the topic of Park City and Timeshare, I should probably tell you that long ago, in another life, I worked in Park City, and sold Timeshare. Mostly there is just a Resale market.

 

[Indy_UK]

They really need to stick DVC in the international parks. I'm obviously going to vouch for cheaper DVC in Paris as the current point levels are stupid.

 

[pdude81]

Now that they own Disneyland Paris I could see an addition there for sure, and I would welcome that as an owner for trade. This could also play well for international travelers who like to come to Florida every few years but not spend that kind of money regularly. I just worry that the 7 month window is really ugly now and it could be tough to find the rooms desired. I'm selfishly hoping this is a legitimate rumor because I will eventually get to Tokyo and Paris, so a DVC resort at either location would open up some options.

 

[Lensman]

Aulani was a mistake probably because it’s so far away. I know we considered it as a week’s relaxation after DL, but it’s a heck of a long flight from LA. I hadn’t really appreciated it until I looked at return flights to the U.K. We would have to over-night at LA on the way back.

I wonder if the mistake was in the lack of a marketing machine for the appropriate demographic for a resort in Hawaii?

It seems possible that DVC might have a marketing machine primarily for selling to WDW/Florida vacationers. I know VGC sold out and was very popular, but it is very small. At any rate, I'd think the market for Aulani would be similar to the market for VGC.

I also wonder how successful they've been marketing in the far east. Does anyone remember seeing DVC booths in TDL/TDS or Shanghai? Even if those are natural markets, it's possible that they might be difficult sales because of the relative unfamiliarity of those potential buyers with the timeshare concept.

 

[nickys]

I wonder if the mistake was in the lack of a marketing machine for the appropriate demographic for a resort in Hawaii?

It seems possible that DVC might have a marketing machine primarily for selling to WDW/Florida vacationers. I know VGC sold out and was very popular, but it is very small. At any rate, I'd think the market for Aulani would be similar to the market for VGC.

I also wonder how successful they've been marketing in the far east. Does anyone remember seeing DVC booths in TDL/TDS or Shanghai? Even if those are natural markets, it's possible that they might be difficult sales because of the relative unfamiliarity of those potential buyers with the timeshare concept.

Someone, somewhere, said that the Japan tsunami is what really killed the marketing of Aulani in Japan. But you would think by now they would be pushing sales over there again.

 

[pdude81]

Someone, somewhere, said that the Japan tsunami is what really killed the marketing of Aulani in Japan. But you would think by now they would be pushing sales over there again.

Aulani opened at $114 per point for 50 years. Now it's roughly 40 years and $188 a point and the value really isn't there. Also they dreamed up this resort and broke ground before the big recession in 2008, so that put a huge damper on interest up front. Typically these resorts sell out in their first few years and then have few looking to buy direct later on for convenience. So I definitely buy the tsunamai and US downturn contributing to gut demand for this resort when new.

Now I assume they still do pretty well with cash reservations for the available rooms, but they'd rather the dependability of MFs and points that are either used or abandoned.

 

[Phonedave]

I wonder if the mistake was in the lack of a marketing machine for the appropriate demographic for a resort in Hawaii?

It seems possible that DVC might have a marketing machine primarily for selling to WDW/Florida vacationers. I know VGC sold out and was very popular, but it is very small. At any rate, I'd think the market for Aulani would be similar to the market for VGC.

I also wonder how successful they've been marketing in the far east. Does anyone remember seeing DVC booths in TDL/TDS or Shanghai? Even if those are natural markets, it's possible that they might be difficult sales because of the relative unfamiliarity of those potential buyers with the timeshare concept.

I know at one point the top 5 States with the most DVC owners were

New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Florida
Pennsylvania

I believe that now Alabama has taken a spot on the list.

Whatever the case may be, the fact is the largest concentration of DVC owners live along the Eastern Seaboard of the US. For those owners, WDW is either a do-able drive or a somewhat cheap (and short) flight. However for that very same demographic, Hawaii is a long expensive haul.

We go to WDW on a fairly regular basis, and the reason we don't go more is because of the money grubbing and degradation in quality (but that is for an other thread). The travel has nothing to do with the.

Hawaii on the other hand .... We do plan on going, but not because of Aluani, but because we want to see Hawaii. Aluani just happens to be there. I have no desire to own at Aluani, not because of the price, but because of the travel logistics. Unless Hawaii turns out to be some amazing place like no other on earth, I suspect we will enjoy it when we go, but call it a one and done due to the travel distance.

-dave

 

[Lensman]

Hawaii on the other hand .... We do plan on going, but not because of Aluani, but because we want to see Hawaii. Aluani just happens to be there. I have no desire to own at Aluani, not because of the price, but because of the travel logistics. Unless Hawaii turns out to be some amazing place like no other on earth, I suspect we will enjoy it when we go, but call it a one and done due to the travel distance.

The distance is a real problem for folks from the East Coast, but many people do say that Hawaii is like no other place on Earth.

But as you said, even if you love it, there's a difference between loving a place and returning every year or even every other year due to DVC, though I could see peeps wanting to do every three years using the banking/borrowing strategy. OTOH, I could see wanting to get some variety by visiting other islands or staying at different places.

I think the other thing that happened is that the seven month window at WDW just became less attractive, so maybe more people are buying in at a WDW DVC and just using those points for Aulani? I'm not sure how availability is at Aulani at the seven month window.

I'd also guess that Aulani is getting harder to sell as time goes on. There's fewer years of ownership yet the direct price goes up year after year. Still, I wonder if this might mean that Disney is going to rake in more in sales revenue from Aulani than if they had sold out in the first few years?