DVC Maintenance Fees for 2015

[Phonedave]

The large increase at AKV was also driven primarily by tax increases. I'm assuming that OKW and SSR also had big tax increases. My guess is that these are part of some tax re-assessment and that the other DVC resorts may get hit next year with something similar. I thought maybe BLT had a bump in assessed value due to GFV and Poly coming online soon, but that wouldn't explain why AKV is up or why VWL is not.

I have to dig out last year's tax assessment for SSR, but I am thinking that you are correct.

I looked at the breakdown of costs for this year and thought "that's not bad" then I flipped the page and saw the tax portion and went "wow". I don't recall it being that much, but that is working from memory. I wish they would put last years numbers along side this year.

EDIT: the member website had them from last year, so here they are. I am too lazy to compute percentages for everything right now, but opex are up %4.2 and ad valorem taxes are up %13.1


2015 per point for SSR is

Admin/Front Desk 0.4790 0.5304
Annual Audit 0.0010 0.0010
DVC Resevation 0.0060 0.0060
Fees to Division 0.0065 0.0065
Housekeeping 0.7364 0.7695
Income Taxes 0.0208 0.0214
Insurance 0.0578 0.0612
Legal 0.0001 0.0001
Maintenance 0.4430 0.4601
Mgmt Fee 0.3568 0.3691
Member Activities 0.1566 0.1464
Security 0.0545 0.0536
Transportation 0.5738 0.5851
Utilities 0.2501 0.2591
OPERATING EXPENSE 3.1424 3.2695

Int Income (0.0011) (0.0011)
Late Fees (0.0514) (0.0490)
Breakage Income (0.1001) (0.1033)


MEMBER OPERATING ASSESSMENT 2.9898 3.1161 (%4.2)

Capital Reserves 0.9140 0.9141
Ad Valorem Taxes 1.0110 1.1447 (13.2%)

TOTAL DUES 4.9148 5.1749

-dave

 

[GoofGoof]

Not too much change in price at WDW hotels. Disney has to compete with other hotels and Disney already is pushing beyond what the market will bear.

It was one thing when offsite options tended to cluster at the lower end of the market. Now with the Four Seasons and the Waldorf Astoria both on-property coupled with Disney's weak occupancy at Deluxe and Moderate Resorts due to already sky-high prices, and Disney's hotels simply don't have room to maneuver on price.

I did a quick calculation. CR rooms are up on average about 4.5% this year. Not quite as much as DVC dues at BLT. This of course is based on rack rates so if discounts or convention rates go up or down it would impact the total profitability of the hotel.

 

[GoofGoof]

I have to dig out last year's tax assessment for SSR, but I am thinking that you are correct.

I looked at the breakdown of costs for this year and thought "that's not bad" then I flipped the page and saw the tax portion and went "wow". I don't recall it being that much, but that is working from memory. I wish they would put last years numbers along side this year.

EDIT: the member website had them from last year, so here they are. I am too lazy to compute percentages for everything right now, but opex are up %4.2 and ad valorem taxes are up %13.1


2015 per point for SSR is

Admin/Front Desk 0.4790 0.5304
Annual Audit 0.0010 0.0010
DVC Resevation 0.0060 0.0060
Fees to Division 0.0065 0.0065
Housekeeping 0.7364 0.7695
Income Taxes 0.0208 0.0214
Insurance 0.0578 0.0612
Legal 0.0001 0.0001
Maintenance 0.4430 0.4601
Mgmt Fee 0.3568 0.3691
Member Activities 0.1566 0.1464
Security 0.0545 0.0536
Transportation 0.5738 0.5851
Utilities 0.2501 0.2591
OPERATING EXPENSE 3.1424 3.2695

Int Income (0.0011) (0.0011)
Late Fees (0.0514) (0.0490)
Breakage Income (0.1001) (0.1033)


MEMBER OPERATING ASSESSMENT 2.9898 3.1161 (%4.2)

Capital Reserves 0.9140 0.9141
Ad Valorem Taxes 1.0110 1.1447 (13.2%)

TOTAL DUES 4.9148 5.1749

-dave

That's confirmation that at least 2 resorts had major tax increases and I believe AKV was also hit with a tax bump so that would make 3. It's strange that it wasn't all of the resorts at the same time if they were doing a re-assessment. I have to think they will address this at the annual meeting. If anyone is going and they don't, please ask. I'm always curious to know where my money goes

 

[MKCP 1985]

My maintenance fee for SSR is now over $800 a year (160 points). A 5.3% increase is big. I guess it's for the room renovations going on now. Might be time to sell...

This was a major factor in my reluctant decline to buy into Bay Lake Tower or otherwise. Assuming I had the cash to purchase my 160-170 points at the time, I realized I'd still be paying $500 - up per year for the room. And guess what, I can get a pretty nice room for $800 for the 4-5 nights my points would have bought and keep my principal investment.

IMHO, Disney DVC is a luxury.

 

[GoofGoof]

This was a major factor in my reluctant decline to buy into Bay Lake Tower or otherwise. Assuming I had the cash to purchase my 160-170 points at the time, I realized I'd still be paying $500 - up per year for the room. And guess what, I can get a pretty nice room for $800 for the 4-5 nights my points would have bought and keep my principal investment.

IMHO, Disney DVC is a luxury.

Resort prices go up too. As I posted above, the average CR room went up 4.5% for 2015. Even if you are getting a 30% discount off rack, your room price still went up 4.5%. Not sure what type of room you were looking at, but 160-170 points will get you a lot more than 4-5 nights. At most resorts/times of year you could get double that number of days in a studio.

I agree that DVC is a luxury. Any Disney vacation is a luxury.

 

[CSUFSteve]

Fascinating analysis, GoofGoof! (Lemme guess, your 2nd favorite character is "GusGus"?? ) Makes me want to check GCH...

As I was telling some friends: with the maintenance fees I paid, I got to take a friend to Tokyo Disney, her first international Disney resort, where we stayed at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. I took my family to Walt Disney World over Spring Break, at Beach Club Villas, so they could experience Stormalong Bay, and the joy of being within walking distance to EPCOT. Also with the family, we spent a long weekend at Grand Californian. I also took a solo "emergency trip" to see Maelstrom for the last time ever. And, next week, I'll be staying at Bay Lake Tower for the first time, as part of Destination D!

There'd be no way I could've afforded all that had I had to pay cash for each trip, especially when Tokyo Disneyland Hotel alone, on a cash basis, was about 70% of what my annual dues will be in 2015. Plus, with the family, we'd need to pay for 2 rooms at a regular hotel.

For me, DVC has been one of the best "investments" I've ever made!