ROFR question

[Mimi151]

Can someone explain to me the actual process and why it takes as long as it does? I understand Disney can step into the deal and take it instead… but it seems like a situation where they’d just look at a list of sold properties and say Yes or No. What is happening behind the scenes that causes it to take weeks? Thanks!

 

[chalee94]

ROFR is fundamentally a process that is designed to annoy you.

If you find ROFR frustrating, Disney will tell you that you can avoid the frustration and quickly obtain access to DVC by purchasing direct. Just pay a bit more...

Secondarily, it is designed to give them the option to purchase contracts in situations where they can turn around and quickly resell and turn it into cash.

 

[Mimi151]

LOL… I can agree with the “just to annoy you part!” I’m just envisioning a file on someone’s computer that they just only open occasionally. Because like I said, seems pretty straightforward. They either want the property (seldom) or don’t (most of the time).

 

[davidhr]

They have no incentive to give a quick decision. The "correct" business decision is to wait as much as possible in case they need that contract.

 

[chazas]

They have no incentive to give a quick decision. The "correct" business decision is to wait as much as possible in case they need that contract.

If that’s what they were doing they’d stick to the 30 days rather than clearing earlier. I suspect they know what they want or don’t but it’s a completely manual process with multiple layers of approvals required.

 

[Sandisw]

I think with the volume of contracts they get, it just takes time to review all of them and move them through each stage of the process.

From what I have gotten over the years, goals change regularly and so the review process and how many times it gets looked at also change.

Which could mean why some come back sooner than others.

 

[Instagramhusband]

Why would Disney dedicate more than one person to a task like this? In the past Disney was flush with cash, so it was worth it for them to assign many folks to this. Obviously with the green light to buyers that has been given, why not make the process burdensome?

 

[CastAStone]

They have no incentive to give a quick decision. The "correct" business decision is to wait as much as possible in case they need that contract.

I don’t think they actively try to do this most of the time. I think they just staff to as many people as it takes to avoid taking longer than 30 days, which they’re contractually obligated to provide an answer by.

Now, there have definitely been situations where they’re very tight on a specific resort and that resort’s ROFRs mysteriously take longer than the others, most recently at VGF. But that’s definitely the exception.

 

[davidhr]

I’m not saying they delay every decision. I’m saying they don’t gain anything by giving a quick one, so it’s not a priority for them to put more resources there.

But in occasions they do it on purpose. I bet they’re waiting as much as possible for PVB contracts now

 

[CarolMN]

Why would Disney dedicate more than one person to a task like this? In the past Disney was flush with cash, so it was worth it for them to assign many folks to this. Obviously with the green light to buyers that has been given, why not make the process burdensome?

I don’t think they actively try to do this most of the time. I think they just staff to as many people as it takes to avoid taking longer than 30 days, which they’re contractually obligated to provide an answer by.

Now, there have definitely been situations where they’re very tight on a specific resort and that resort’s ROFRs mysteriously take longer than the others, most recently at VGF. But that’s definitely the exception.

I'm quite sure that there is more than one person who reviews ROFR requests. I'm also quite sure that those employees have more than just ROFR responsibilities. There's most likely a group of people who review ROFR along with other duties. Speed probably depends on the priority assigned to each of those duties as well as personnel availability for the day.

 

[aammtt20]

I'm quite sure that there is more than one person who reviews ROFR requests. I'm also quite sure that those employees have more than just ROFR responsibilities. There's most likely a group of people who review ROFR along with other duties. Speed probably depends on the priority assigned to each of those duties as well as personnel availability for the day.

I’m not sure how reliable of a source this is, but on the board sponsor’s DVC podcast they discussed that it is 1 woman who is making all of the decisions. Some of them made it sound like they had met her once or twice. They also made it sound like she has higher ups she consults with about the decisions, but that she is the only person on the ground making all the rofr calls.

 

[CarolMN]

I’m not sure how reliable of a source this is, but on the board sponsor’s DVC podcast they discussed that it is 1 woman who is making all of the decisions. Some of them made it sound like they had met her once or twice. They also made it sound like she has higher ups she consults with about the decisions, but that she is the only person on the ground making all the rofr calls.

Certainly possible, but it doesn't make good business sense to concentrate a responsibility in one person. Perhaps she is primary and makes most of the decisions when she is there, but I do not think she is the only one who is authorized to do so.

 

[Massachusetts]

There has to be some intentionality for the length of time it takes to pass ROFR. At least 25% of ROFR reviews have to be obvious declines. The rest only require reviewing 5-6 data points. Use year, banked points, current points, future points, resort and price. It seems they could easily automate the process while maintaining their ability to change parameters strategically.

 

[Instagramhusband]

Certainly possible, but it doesn't make good business sense to concentrate a responsibility in one person. Perhaps she is primary and makes most of the decisions when she is there, but I do not think she is the only one who is authorized to do so.

If you ask me this explains the time line perfectly. As I said there is not any incentive to make this happen quickly or dedicate employee(s) to it.

 

[CVG]

I’m not sure how reliable of a source this is, but on the board sponsor’s DVC podcast they discussed that it is 1 woman who is making all of the decisions. Some of them made it sound like they had met her once or twice. They also made it sound like she has higher ups she consults with about the decisions, but that she is the only person on the ground making all the rofr calls.

There was also some scuralous commentary from an ex-YouTuber said in jest I trusted.

The decision making process isn't complicated or onerous once given direction from the department's goals. I feel that it would be entirely possible to make all decisions within a day if they wished. I do believe that the delay is simply to make direct purchases look more attractive.

 

[chazas]

There was also some scuralous commentary from an ex-YouTuber said in jest I trusted.

The decision making process isn't complicated or onerous once given direction from the department's goals. I feel that it would be entirely possible to make all decisions within a day if they wished. I do believe that the delay is simply to make direct purchases look more attractive.

If that were the case they'd wait the full 30 days, but they aren't. I suspect that's a secondary consideration, the primary one is probably just no incentive to automate it. Someone is taking care of it, and they don't care to expend any resources in streamlining it because it doesn't benefit them. Just my guesswork.

 

[CVG]

If that were the case they'd wait the full 30 days, but they aren't. I suspect that's a secondary consideration, the primary one is probably just no incentive to automate it. Someone is taking care of it, and they don't care to expend any resources in streamlining it because it doesn't benefit them. Just my guesswork.

It's really no difficult than deciding whether to buy a can of beans at a given price. Plug the data into to an algorithm that a half-wit could write and get the answer out.

 

[CarolynFH]

Use year, banked points, current points, future points, resort and price.

Sometimes the Residential Unit the points come from plays a part, too, because all the points in a given contract have to come from the same RU. At times DVD has a purchase request for a certain number of points to fill and may not have enough in inventory until they can capture them via ROFR.

 

[Massachusetts]

Sometimes the Residential Unit the points come from plays a part, too, because all the points in a given contract have to come from the same RU. At times DVD has a purchase request for a certain number of points to fill and may not have enough in inventory until they can capture them via ROFR.

Great point! @CarolynFH

 

[CarolynFH]

Great point! @CarolynFH

Yes, and that might be a difficult algorithm to write - unless DVD kept a very detailed database of purchase requests.