What to do 🤔

[VandVsmama]

The prices of DVC rooms don't generally increase in price though.

Lets look at Pop Century
1/1/2018 a standard room was $226
1/1/2025 a standard room went to $324

1/8/2018 a standard room was $126
1/8/2025 a standard room went to $183


Poly Standard Studio
1/1/2018 a standard room was 16 points
1/1/2025 a standard room went to 17 points

1/8/2018 a standard room was 16 points
1/8/2025 a standard room went to 17 points

https://c.touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/hotels/disneys-pop-century-resort/rates/2018#gsc.tab=0

https://c.touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/hotels/disneys-pop-century-resort/rates/2025#gsc.tab=0

https://secure.cdn5.wdpromedia.com/media/dvc/catalog/resorts/adventures/2018 DVC PVB Pt Chart 122616.pdf

https://dvcfan.com/polynesian-villas-2025-dvc-points-chart/

In my family’s decision making process, we were considering what the cost would be to stay at a Deluxe resort if paying cash.

There was ONE night 6 1/2 yr ago that we stayed at AKL in a Savannah view concierge level hotel room for $325 incl. tax. No way could I get that room for that price now paying cash (not using DVC points).

 

[eticketplease]

DVC rooms can’t increase in costs, aside from small adjustments up in some seasons and correspondingly down in others. But I think there’s an argument to be made that Disney raises hotel pricing to drive more DVC sales as it looks to be “such a good deal” compared to rising hotel rates. But then DVC has to build more and more to have something new to sell. Weird unending cycle.

Yup and then they also profit from renting the majority of the rooms as they are not all declared into the DVC inventory for owners to book with points.

 

[Brian Noble]

DVC rooms can't increase in points. They do increase in cost, because Dues go up. They increase more slowly than hotel rooms do, because the cost basis for the increase is only operating expenses--that's part of the value proposition of any timeshare, but they do increase.

Disney is not setting hotel prices to make DVC look good. They are setting hotel prices to maximize their revenue per available room-night. That happens to make DVC look okay.

 

[eticketplease]

DVC rooms can't increase in points. They do increase in cost, because Dues go up. They increase more slowly than hotel rooms do, because the cost basis for the increase is only operating expenses--that's part of the value proposition of any timeshare, but they do increase.

Disney is not setting hotel prices to make DVC look good. They are setting hotel prices to maximize their revenue per available room-night. That happens to make DVC look okay.

Did you see my example? DVC Rooms CAN increase in points. Yes it is very rare but it is possible. What can't change is the total number of points per the resort.

The example was 2018 PVB Standard Studio on the same day vs 2025.

Obviously dues go up but I was not factoring that in as a cost as I believe the person was just comparing buy in costs, similar to buying a car I am not factoring in insurance, maintenance and gas costs on my car payment as those are separate line items are expected to fluctuate somewhat year to year.

 

[Brian Noble]

Yes, I did, and you are entirely correct. I just didn't want any casual reader to think "this is what I pay forever."

 

[eticketplease]

Yes, I did, and you are entirely correct. I just didn't want any casual reader to think "this is what I pay forever."

Sorry you are much more knowledgable then me when it comes to these things and wasn't sure if you saw everything.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I'm not sure that I'd say Disney is for sure not setting room rates to make DVC look more attractive. Obviously they want to maximize profit. But in my view there is a real incentive for them to push people toward DVC purchases when setting their regular hotel room rates. The captive audience that is a DVC owner is likely more valuable than the one time visitor willing to pay $900/night for a hotel room.

 

[Brian Noble]

The captive audience that is a DVC owner is likely more valuable than the one time visitor willing to pay $900/night for a hotel room.

Where do you think those DVC owners come from?

 

[lilsonicfan]

Where do you think those DVC owners come from?

Well that's exactly the point I'm making. Price the rooms high to inspire people to buy into DVC.

 

[Brian Noble]

But they paid the price for that room in the first place. Sure, maybe there was a prevailing discount, but still.

 

[AstroBlasters]

But they paid the price for that room in the first place. Sure, maybe there was a prevailing discount, but still.

Basically, the team that is in charge of making sure the rooms are at an optimal price to maximize profit and utilization is NOT the same team in charge of selling and marketing DVC.

 

[lilsonicfan]

To be clear, I wasn't suggesting that a person who looks at high rack rate pricing says, okay, instead of buying a room at the Grand Floridian for $900/night, let me look into DVC. Instead, I think it's far more likely that that person either has stayed at the Grand Flo before and wants to stay again but can't stomach the high prices, or stays once and looks for ways to save, compared to the ever increasing rack rate, and chooses DVC. That's my point. Disney as a whole strongly benefits from high hotel pricing driving people to DVC. In my view, and maybe I'm wrong, that must be at least one factor in how they price the hotels.

 

[AstroBlasters]

To be clear, I wasn't suggesting that a person who looks at high rack rate pricing says, okay, instead of buying a room at the Grand Floridian for $900/night, let me look into DVC. Instead, I think it's far more likely that that person either has stayed at the Grand Flo before and wants to stay again but can't stomach the high prices, or stays once and looks for ways to save, compared to the ever increasing rack rate, and chooses DVC. That's my point. Disney as a whole strongly benefits from high hotel pricing driving people to DVC. In my view, and maybe I'm wrong, that must be at least one factor in how they price the hotels.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the managers on the hotel side have their bonus based solely on hotel optimization and can’t stand DVC….

 

[Genie+]

I know people complain how expensive onsite prices are but it comes down to the alternatives and what you get for the price difference. Personal details matter too. The math doesn’t work for everybody, it does work for plenty. Once you factor in resort fees, resort parking fees, theme park parking, the price gap starts closing and differences in experience come into question. It’s still not slam dunk. Sure there are alternatives, and depending on party size and goals onsite might not win. It does win for enough people to keep those rooms selling.

Over-pricing onsite rooms just for DVC’s sake would backfire. DVC needs people to see the value in onsite and enjoy that experience enough to wanna come back. Maybe for Deluxe a little bit, but they’re also playing with the discount psychology there, regardless of DVC. For values and moderates I think pricing strategy is based on what guests value and will tolerate - that’s it.