Does DVC get the full room rate that the non-DVC customer pays for the room as breakage income? I would guess that there must be a part of that rate that goes to Disney, not DVC as kind of commission for renting out the room?
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The Spirited 8th Wonder (WDW's Future & You!)
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Does DVC get the full room rate that the non-DVC customer pays for the room as breakage income? I would guess that there must be a part of that rate that goes to Disney, not DVC as kind of commission for renting out the room?
NMBC1993
Well-Known Member
Here's an idea....instead of trying to figure out how to fill more rooms, why not think of ways to ATTRACT more people to your parks to fill those empty rooms? You know if they built a new attraction every year like a certain theme park resort across the street, maybe it would entice more people to stay on property??? Just sayin'.
crispy
Well-Known Member
Now your talkin' crazy!
asianway
Well-Known Member
Correct. I do not know that anyone has ever inquired as to the split %
NMBC1993
Well-Known Member
Lee
Adventurer
That's backwards.
In 2014, and for some time prior, the Disney business model is to do just enough in the parks to keep the core business (hotels and timeshares) going.
The parks are meant to feed the DVC and hotel rooms.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
EpcoTim
Well-Known Member
I was just using those as two examples. Don't get me wrong either, I actually enjoy most of the hotels down there, even if just for the fact that they're so unique. But when it comes down to it, compared to the real world, they're really just nicely themed holiday inns. Sure, turn down service is great, but I've gotten that at a Best Western in Northern Michigan or Wisconsin before. Even the deluxes just lack the amenities that true resorts offer. No omelette and mimosa stations? For 450 bucks a night? Towels that could be used to final sand figured maple? Sheets that you can see the mattress cover through? Alarm clocks from the late 80s fake-wood-is-still-popular era? It's the little things like that that make the good hotels good and the great hotels great. What Disney lacks in basic higher end amenities it makes up for with location (bubble for some, perhaps?) and theme/uniqueness, and it's really up to the individual on what that's worth.
flyerjab
Well-Known Member
I could get into a 'civilized' discussion (ha ha) about the merits of the GF and whether or not it is a 3 or 4 or 5 star resort, but I would rather maintain my sanity.
I looked up how star classifications are determined and aside from a basic list of specific expectations, the wording was very open-ended. Forbes was referenced as a company that initiated star rankings for hotels to provide travelers with an easy way to differentiate the different classes if hotels and resorts. After having read them, I also looked at the 4 Seasons website to see what those hotels have to offer as a basis for comparison. I would say that simply from a hotel standpoint, hotels such as 4 Seasons and Gaylord Palms are definitely 5 star without question.
I would still place the GF in the 4 to 4.5 category though. To me, it meets or exceeds the expectations of what places a resort in the 4 to 5 star classification.
Also, I feel that the WDW deluxe resorts are a bit more enigmatic. Personally, I like having the monorail service with direct drop off at the MK in minutes. We also like watching the fireworks from the balcony, beach pool or beach. My youngest enjoys the electric water pageant (for some reason) so we also get to enjoy that from the beach. The lobby at the GF is exceptional, especially at Christmas. We also enjoy riding the Waveracers on the lake. These are experiences specific to staying at the GF that I won't get at a 5 star downtown. For comparative purposes, I have been at the Gaylord Palm in DC at Christmas and what they have in the lobby is incredible. But we enjoy Disney vacations, and the GF (for us) is an incredible resort, from the check-in procedure and personal service, to the rooms, restaurants, and amenities - especially the amenities. As a last example, the 23rd was my wife's 21st birthday again and we were on the 2nd floor balcony near the GF Orchestra. One of the musicians saw my wife's birthday pin and announced to everyone in the lobby that it was her birthday. The orchestra than sang happy birthday to her and everyone applauded. As Spirit would say, it was a truly MAGICal moment.
I looked up how star classifications are determined and aside from a basic list of specific expectations, the wording was very open-ended. Forbes was referenced as a company that initiated star rankings for hotels to provide travelers with an easy way to differentiate the different classes if hotels and resorts. After having read them, I also looked at the 4 Seasons website to see what those hotels have to offer as a basis for comparison. I would say that simply from a hotel standpoint, hotels such as 4 Seasons and Gaylord Palms are definitely 5 star without question.
I would still place the GF in the 4 to 4.5 category though. To me, it meets or exceeds the expectations of what places a resort in the 4 to 5 star classification.
Also, I feel that the WDW deluxe resorts are a bit more enigmatic. Personally, I like having the monorail service with direct drop off at the MK in minutes. We also like watching the fireworks from the balcony, beach pool or beach. My youngest enjoys the electric water pageant (for some reason) so we also get to enjoy that from the beach. The lobby at the GF is exceptional, especially at Christmas. We also enjoy riding the Waveracers on the lake. These are experiences specific to staying at the GF that I won't get at a 5 star downtown. For comparative purposes, I have been at the Gaylord Palm in DC at Christmas and what they have in the lobby is incredible. But we enjoy Disney vacations, and the GF (for us) is an incredible resort, from the check-in procedure and personal service, to the rooms, restaurants, and amenities - especially the amenities. As a last example, the 23rd was my wife's 21st birthday again and we were on the 2nd floor balcony near the GF Orchestra. One of the musicians saw my wife's birthday pin and announced to everyone in the lobby that it was her birthday. The orchestra than sang happy birthday to her and everyone applauded. As Spirit would say, it was a truly MAGICal moment.
mgpan
Well-Known Member
I'm glad you saved and are happy with your deal, even though it makes my head hurt reading about how hard you had to calculate cashing in two years worth of dues, depreciation, buying extra points, etc. to determine you got a deal. The issue I have is that your great savings are based on the assumption that the rack rate cash price of each studio ($531) is a fair starting price on which to base the comparison. I love AKL and am sure the villas are nice as well but to me that is nowhere near a fair price. To me it's not even if i could not only watch wildlife from my balcony, but a free deluxe breakfast was delivered to me each morning on the back of an elephant and served by a trained troup of chimpanzees donning monkey sized tuxedos.
To me DVC is akin to a restaurant having a steak dinner on a menu listed for $49.95, but if you agree to pay upfront to eat it once a year for 30 years, they will sell each dinner to you for only $39.95 (although you also have to pay an additional amount subject to increase yearly to help maintain the restaurant you'll be eating it in).
Sounds like a great deal, but if you can get Surf and Turf of higher quality at a restaurant around the corner for only $29.95, don't have to agree to eat it for 30 years, pay in advance, nor pay an additional restaurant maintenance fee, is your "deal" really a deal?
Opinions vary, and this is just mine, but i have a coworker who owns DVC with OKW as his home resort who is increasingly dissatisfied because of upkeep issues with the resort and state of the parks. I'm all for a great deal but not sure this currently qualifies.
Isn't there another group of people staying in DVC rooms that they get directly from Disney? Specifically, room nights made available due to DVC owners using points to trade out of DVC, such as for DCL, Concierge Collection, etc. These aren't considered breakage are they?
I have no data, but my instincts are that this group is bigger than either breakage or renting from members.
tribbleorlfl
Well-Known Member
Curious if you could provide evidence of of your claims on the level of ammenities at WDW resorts? Granted, as I live in Orlando, I've only stayed at Disney hotels twice in the past couple years (once @ Contemporary, once @ AS Movies) and thus am not an expert on WDW lodging. However, even at the value resort, I didn't "see the matress through the sheets" and found the bath linen to be sufficiently soft. The alarm clock was a new w/ ipod dock, hardly a vinyl "wood" artifact from 25 years ago. Oldest thing in the room was the 720p, 60 hz flatscreen. Got a custom, made-to-order omelette at Chef Mickey's, could get one at the food court at all-star. could have ordered a mimosa if I desired, as well.
tribbleorlfl
Well-Known Member
This isn't confined to DVC, though, it is indicative of the whole time-share scam, I mean industry.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
The plethora of DVC sales kiosks throughout the property are pretty good evidence to any of us that don't have any statistics that DVC has a whole lot of impulse shoppers.If my company had the type of impulse buyers that Disney has with DVC, then I'd not only be living on an island, I'd own it as well by now.
Yep, impulse indeed.
A lot of people still get the impression it is some kind of 'savings club'.
They are attracted to that without even realizing they are being netted into a time share racket.
I remember some years ago when DVC was starting out and really pushing that 'savings club' vibe in it's marketing.
I used to have friends ask me every so often if i 'joined that new club' since at that time i visited WDW a couple of times a year.
Back then it was hard to get straight answers as to what it was really all about...it was a bit vague from what i remember.
I can easily see how someone could be tricked into thinking this is some type of 'frequent shoppers' club, especially back then.
Today it is a little clearer as to what the real deal is, but most Guest Average visitors probably still get roped in and don't realize exactly what they are about to get themselves into.
Now if only Disney REALLY had something like a 'frequent visitors' club with benefits ( AP's don't count, especially in FL )
That would be great!
cw1982
Well-Known Member
This got me thinking (scary, I know).
I wonder how many DVC members are actually likely to spend less time in the parks than other guests? Or, at the very least, maybe they'd be less likely to spend on souvenirs, etc. After all, if they know they have prepaid or are mortgaging their trip(s), they most likely know that they will be back in the next year or two (aside from people who resell or rent out points, obviously). I would *think* they would generally be the guests with more of the attitude of, "if we don't get to do something this trip, there's always next time." Therefore, they might be more likely to forego that extra day on their ticket to go do other things offsite.
I have seen on other threads where DVC'ers have talked about using a DVC room for their trip and not going to the parks at all. I'm not claiming to have any idea how often that happens, but on some level, remarks of that kind only add to the idea that the parks feed the resorts and DVC, as @Lee has said, and not the other way around.
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EpcoTim
Well-Known Member
Sure, next time I'm there I'll steal a towel and a sheet for you. I'm glad you thought they were sufficient, I personally thought they were awful. I also didn't realize that there were Chef Mickey restaurants at all the resorts offering free custom breakfasts and champagne. I wasn't talking about a food court. Malls have food courts, not high end hotels.
mgpan
Well-Known Member
Sigh...Just now found my old "The Disney Club" card. Ironically perhaps, it has an ad for the opening of Walt Disney: One Man 's Dream, 100 years of Walt Disney. I was last able to use this card for discounts over 10 years ago, before they cancelled the program.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
You forgot to add "For Me" to that sentence. You don't think AKL is worth staying at so of course you wouldn't think buying into DVC there would be a good deal. I know people get frustrated when someone says DVC doesn't work for everyone, but it is true. If @DisneyDenis thinks the AKL is worth staying at and wants to stay there anyway then to him he got a good deal by avoiding paying the cash rates. He didn't say he got a good deal compared to the motel 6 on International Drive.
Anyway, there are hundreds of threads already on whether DVC is worth buying into. This one shouldn't be turned into that.
MarkTwain
Well-Known Member
Disney Cruise Line actually has this, it's called the Castaway Club. You automatically become a member of the club if you take a second cruise, and it comes with several benefits, which become larger as you take more cruises. We recently took our 11th cruise, which allowed us perks like gifts left in the stateroom each night, free dinners at the up-charged restaurants, onboard merchandise discounts, and the ability to make excursion reservations extra early — and all we've ever done is go on more cruises. The wonderful treatment caught our attention, since it made us realize how much DCL seems to value their repeat customers, while WDW does little to nothing for them.
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tirian
Well-Known Member
No doubt about it, I enjoy staying at Deluxe resorts. The proximity and old-school Disney charm (meaning no overdone plastic "theming") are great. I'm just saying the rack rates are ridiculous.
GF and Poly are fine if they aren't priced like a Ritz in Paris.
GF and Poly are fine if they aren't priced like a Ritz in Paris.