Just starting my DVC research

[disneynutz]

Home resort advantage and booking at 11 months is why many of us own several resorts.

Bill

 

[JasonMak2000]

For one time use points - is there a minimum or maximum amount you can purchase? Is it literally just 'one time'? Is there a strategy on how best to use it? Thanks

 

[_auroraborealis_]

For one time use points - is there a minimum or maximum amount you can purchase? Is it literally just 'one time'? Is there a strategy on how best to use it? Thanks

Minimum is 1, max is 24 per year. OTU is per year, not "forever."

 

[JasonMak2000]

About how much do they cost per point to use?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

About how much do they cost per point to use?

$19 these days, I think?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Minimum is 1, max is 24 per year. OTU is per year, not "forever."

And only able to be used at the 7 month window. They can't supplement home resort bookings.

 

[JasonMak2000]

So if you go to book at 11 months but are 20 pts short you cant use OTU points? What's the point then? Also, Ive seen the term 'walking' in reference to a reservation used in other posts. Any idea what that is referring to? One more question if anybody feels like tackling it- what determines the desirability and thus point resale amount for resorts? AKV seems to be really reasonable on the resale markets and I was curious why that was. I've always thought AK was a really nice resort with pretty good amenities, great restaurants and good theming.

 

[sndral]

So if you go to book at 11 months but are 20 pts short you cant use OTU points? What's the point then? Also, Ive seen the term 'walking' in reference to a reservation used in other posts. Any idea what that is referring to? One more question if anybody feels like tackling it- what determines the desirability and thus point resale amount for resorts? AKV seems to be really reasonable on the resale markets and I was curious why that was. I've always thought AK was a really nice resort with pretty good amenities, great restaurants and good theming.

Focusing on WDW resorts generally, IMO, the smaller the resort the harder it is to book, thus it’s basic supply and demand economics. VGF is very small and thus it’s resale points are priced quite high, for example. If you want to routinely stay there, especially in studios, you pretty much need to own there. Beach Club is smaller than Boardwalk, generally Beach Club’s resale price per point is higher than Boardwalk’s.
SSR is the largest DVC resort and it’s points are cheaper. AKV is a larger resort, so it’s resale price per point is lower than smaller DVC resorts. AKV also tends to have higher dues. I own at AKV and like the flexibility of villa choices you have. It is a lovely resort. To get a value or concierge villa at AKV you pretty much have to own there (and even then may not get what you want at 11 months) to get Jambo is harder than Kidani, but it’s relatively easy to get a Kidani villa at or beyond 7 months at non peak times.
Another thing to consider is how many years are left on the contracts for various resorts, the early DVC resorts’ contracts are already halfway into their 50 year lifespan.
Finally take a look at how many points it will cost you to stay at your resort because different resorts cost more or less points for the same size villa, for example to stay 1 night in a standard view studio villa at AKV right now would cost 11 points v. a standard view studio villa at VGF would cost 17 points, so the number of points you’d need for your anticipated normal visit may be more or less depending on your preferred resort.

 

[skippytx]

Going to break this up into chunks. I'm up late tonight, so here goes

So if you go to book at 11 months but are 20 pts short you cant use OTU points? What's the point then?

I bought a few for my next trip. We decided 4 months out to take an adults only trip for our 10 year anniversary and so I bought 10 OTU points so I didn't have to borrow from my 2020 UY. I was just a few points shy, and that's what they're there for. The 11 month booking advantage is a cornerstone of DVC ownership, so the OTU points are limited to 7 month bookings. There may also be some behind the scenes account issues regarding the OTU points. There's probably a pool of usable points from folks that have traded theirs in for cruises, hotel nights, etc, and they probably can't sort them out by home resort, or they don't want to anyway. On the back end accounting side the 10 points I bought to use at SSR in Feb could have come from any resort.

Also, Ive seen the term 'walking' in reference to a reservation used in other posts. Any idea what that is referring to?

That's a touchy subject around here, and for the record I'm not a fan of it, but it is within the rules of DVC. Walking a reservation involves booking a room you want for a much later date earlier in the year, and then modifying the reservation over and over and over until you land on the dates you need. For example if I wanted a dedicated 2 bedroom standard view at BLT for Thanksgiving week, that would be a really hard room to reserve. Almost impossible as that's a super busy time, and there are only a few standard BLT dedicated 2 bedrooms. What I do is book that room at a not peak time, say the 3rd week of September where it's likely to be available and then go in every 3 days or so and change the dates as the 11 month + 7 day booking window moves down the calendar. This is a lot easier to do now that you can modify your reservation online. People used to have to call to walk a reservation so only the hardcore people that were willing to call member services every 3 days or so would do it, so this is going to be a lot more common for better or worse.

One more question if anybody feels like tackling it- what determines the desirability and thus point resale amount for resorts? AKV seems to be really reasonable on the resale markets and I was curious why that was. I've always thought AK was a really nice resort with pretty good amenities, great restaurants and good theming.

2 main reasons. Location, and whatever the resale market will bear.

The major factor seems to be location. The Monorail resorts command the highest resale prices due to their location. The Grand Floridian is the flagship property, so it's highest, and then Poly and BLT. Same for EPCOT and Bowardwalk and Beach Club. Walking distance to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT is a big draw there. I know I bought at BLT due to location.

Boardwalk and Beach Club have seen a huge pop in resale pricing the last couple of years due to their location and the popularity of EPCOT events like Food and Wine, and Flower and Garden with DVC owners. I think there's a little pop from folks wanting walking distance to HS when Star Wars opens as well. 2 years ago I would have laughed at anyone saying Beach Club would be selling for 140's resale right now. Those contracts expire in 2042, and the price keeps going up, not down.


AK is a beautiful resort, and pretty good value per point, it's a very attractive DVC property, but it's not really close to anything. You're riding the bus if you stay at AK. I haven't been to SSR or OKW, but same thing, not really close to much. (Staying at SSR prefered in Feb though, hopefully the DisSprings walk isn't too bad).

The market is up across the board the last couple of years. The main reason in my opinion is Disney raising hotel room rates across the board by quite a bit and making DVC resale more attractive as a purchase. Our first WDW trip in Mar 2015, we had an Art of Animation family suite at about 350 a night. March 2016 the price had gone up significantly and we rented DVC points at BLT for the same price the AoA suite was going to cost. That same room is now around 500 to 550 dollars a night depending on when you travel. The economy also improved to the point where I think more people are/were comfortable making a large discretionary purchase like DVC ownership.

Try looking at some of the old ROFR threads from 2015 and 2016 and look how much lower the resale prices were. Q1 2015 AKV was selling full contracts for 75 bucks a point. 110 is common now. BLT was in the 100 range, now in the 140's. Beach club mid 90's.

 

[bwvBound]

Last question (for now). I've read a lot about people advising to buy at the resort they like staying at the most. <snip>. My question is then how do you ever get to stay at/experience the other dvc resorts?

Some ideas:

a) Start on paper.
Make a list of the Disney Vacation Club resorts. Use the web to find photos, reports and video tours of each resort. Document your earliest impressions of each along with your pros/cons for each location. Perhaps this exercise will begin to separate the herd a bit ... resulting in a short list of properties requiring further investigation.

b) Try 'resort hopping' on your next trip to WDW through those remaining on your short list. Walk around the properties, visit a model (if available), test out the transportation offered from that location, look at the pools, etc.

c) Once you own your first set of points, consider booking split stays across other locations remaining on your ever-shorter interest list.

d) Review the dues history for those remaining on your list.

e) Review the unit types offered at each property. Will a given resort offer sufficient options to you? (Poly never made it our review as we generally book 1BR units.)

f) Consider which resorts, of those you are considering, might be easier/harder to book without home resort advantage.

I'm sure you'll find other ways to get to know the properties! It may seem daunting at first ... but you'll likely adapt after a couple visits.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So if you go to book at 11 months but are 20 pts short you cant use OTU points? What's the point then? Also, Ive seen the term 'walking' in reference to a reservation used in other posts. Any idea what that is referring to? One more question if anybody feels like tackling it- what determines the desirability and thus point resale amount for resorts? AKV seems to be really reasonable on the resale markets and I was curious why that was. I've always thought AK was a really nice resort with pretty good amenities, great restaurants and good theming.

Regarding OTU points they likely want you to add on for home resort. But the largest driving factor is that allowing only at 7 months means DVC can pull from their entire pool without concern.

To be very general it's a lot about supply. AKV is very large resort compared to many of the other resorts. SSR is by far the largest. More owners means that if the same percentage of people sell from every resort that AKV will have more contracts on the market vs some place much smaller like BRV. People will talk about locations etc but I think supply (ie, number of points sold at a resort) has the biggest affect. Then it starts getting down to preferences of people.

 

[bwvBound]

One more question if anybody feels like tackling it- what determines the desirability and thus point resale amount for resorts? AKV seems to be really reasonable on the resale markets and I was curious why that was. I've always thought AK was a really nice resort with pretty good amenities, great restaurants and good theming.

So many factors! ;-)

a) Location, location, location. This translates to Walkability and Transportation options. Can you walk from that resort to a theme park? Two theme parks? Do you have a choice of using boats, monorail or gondolas to reach a theme park over busses?
b) # of units at a resort (supply). Smaller resorts (fewer units) often hold a higher resale price than larger resorts.
c) Amenities such as swimming pools, restaurants, bars, animals, community centers, onsite gathering spaces, etc.
d) Theming (does it fit your personal preference)?
e) Length of contract (number of years remaining)
f) Dues history/projections and more ...

 

[JasonMak2000]

I know you cant predict what the next 5-10 years will look like at WDW and specifically with DVC, but with Star Wars coming and if the economy stays on solid footing I can only imagine crowds and reservations increasing. With that in mind, do you think 1 and 2 bedrooms will still be easier to find at 7 months out as long as you aren't planning trips at peak times? Our trips tend to be more about quality than quantity which is why we are even considering dvc. We have never stayed more than 6 nights in the past and we like to have space so we book suites or rent a house off property. As of right now, my top 3 would be BLT, AKV or CCV. But there are pros and cons to each. If I knew we could find availability at other resorts from time to time it sure would make things a lot easier.

 

[Lauren in NC]

I know you cant predict what the next 5-10 years will look like at WDW and specifically with DVC, but with Star Wars coming and if the economy stays on solid footing I can only imagine crowds and reservations increasing. With that in mind, do you think 1 and 2 bedrooms will still be easier to find at 7 months out as long as you aren't planning trips at peak times? Our trips tend to be more about quality than quantity which is why we are even considering dvc. We have never stayed more than 6 nights in the past and we like to have space so we book suites or rent a house off property. As of right now, my top 3 would be BLT, AKV or CCV. But there are pros and cons to each. If I knew we could find availability at other resorts from time to time it sure would make things a lot easier.

They're also opening up new resorts, as well. It seems they always have one resort under construction and another down the pipeline these days. If you want to do your best to future-proof yourself, I would buy enough points for a 1-bedroom for the length of stay/time of year you think you'll visit at your favorite resort. Then, except for the very busiest times of year, you'll be able to book at 11 months for your home resort. Once you're an owner, I'd also make sure you're familiar with using waitlists so that you can switch resorts at 7 months. It's always going to be harder to get into the smaller resorts, but plenty of people here have reported getting pixie dust with their waitlists, even for busy times of year.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I know you cant predict what the next 5-10 years will look like at WDW and specifically with DVC, but with Star Wars coming and if the economy stays on solid footing I can only imagine crowds and reservations increasing. With that in mind, do you think 1 and 2 bedrooms will still be easier to find at 7 months out as long as you aren't planning trips at peak times? Our trips tend to be more about quality than quantity which is why we are even considering dvc. We have never stayed more than 6 nights in the past and we like to have space so we book suites or rent a house off property. As of right now, my top 3 would be BLT, AKV or CCV. But there are pros and cons to each. If I knew we could find availability at other resorts from time to time it sure would make things a lot easier.

My advice is still to buy someplace that you don't mind staying and then if you want to try other places see what's available at 7 months. I do think 1 and 2Br's will continue to have the best availability at 7 months. Flexibility in your dates of travel has long been one of the best ways to be able to stay at other resorts. If you can adjust your days because there's availability some place you'd like to stay but it's 2 weeks later or early for example than when you planned and you can change dates then you'll definitely get into other locations. One thing is that I'm not certain you are actually planning your travel during less busy DVC times? That varies from park busy times.

DVC was always sold to be booked 100% year round with each resort and that hasn't and doesn't change. People are getting more aware of needing to book in their home priority window but still, not everyone will. And people might be saving points and planning on catching the Star Wars opening or else bigger IMO may be the 50th Anniversary but then just plan on an 11 month booking. In a year or two neither of those will be factors anymore.

 

[JasonMak2000]

Thank you both. Good points for sure.

 

[JasonMak2000]

One other question for now is - how easy/hard is it to rent your points of you dont need them? I assume it's easier if you own at a resort that people want. Could you in theory purchase 200 points at BLT, rent 100 of them at $13-14 per point to cover your maintenance fees for the year and then use the other 100 for "free". I probably wouldn't have the discipline to do that and would just bank them and get a nicer/bigger place the next year. But still curious if the rental market is strong and if it's easy to get your points rented if you want.

 

[Jerry5788]

One other question for now is - how easy/hard is it to rent your points of you dont need them? I assume it's easier if you own at a resort that people want. Could you in theory purchase 200 points at BLT, rent 100 of them at $13-14 per point to cover your maintenance fees for the year and then use the other 100 for "free". I probably wouldn't have the discipline to do that and would just bank them and get a nicer/bigger place the next year. But still curious if the rental market is strong and if it's easy to get your points rented if you want.

People would always say buy what you can afford and plan to use and not rely on rental income to cover the maintenance. This does not seem to be an issue for you though. Renting for $13 to $14 at BLT would be quite easy I think - the rental companies will gladly pay that if you don't want to do the work.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

One other question for now is - how easy/hard is it to rent your points of you dont need them? I assume it's easier if you own at a resort that people want. Could you in theory purchase 200 points at BLT, rent 100 of them at $13-14 per point to cover your maintenance fees for the year and then use the other 100 for "free". I probably wouldn't have the discipline to do that and would just bank them and get a nicer/bigger place the next year. But still curious if the rental market is strong and if it's easy to get your points rented if you want.

All DVC points rent pretty easily. The buy in is so expensive now though that it's tough to justify owning to rent but it's a nice option if you aren't going to use them one year. Those prices you mention are what you'd get going thru a broker.

 

[JasonMak2000]

Is there a site which lists the contract end dates for each resort? I would at least like the option to sell my contract in the future if I need to but I'm guessing once some of these contracts get under 20 years remaining they might be hard to unload.