Why is Disney Vacation Club Availability So Limited?
When it comes to booking DVC resorts at Walt Disney World, members are asking two questions more and more: “why can’t I find any availability at the 7-month mark?” and “why can’t I use my points when the same room has availability with cash?” In this post, we’ll answer both questions, and explain some recent Disney Vacation Club trends.
We’ll start with the second of those common questions, the issue of points versus cash. Frequently, there is no availability when attempting to book via DVCMember.com, but ample availability on DisneyWorld.com, or when calling Walt Disney World and attempting to book a reservation.
Contrary to what some members think, this is not a “scam” or shady attempt by Disney in attempting to make more money off of the “same” room from cash-paying guests. While we never put it past Disney to find new and inventive ways to get people to pay more, that’s not what’s happening here. Rather, it comes down to the way room inventory is allocated by Disney…
Think of each Disney Vacation Club resort as two resorts. One is the timeshare resort and the other is the Deluxe Villa Resort. These pull from separate inventories, with timeshare members pulling from the points side of the inventory and the Deluxe Villa pulling from the cash side.
Rooms enter the Deluxe Villa side of the inventory in a number of ways. Some of these rooms are retained by the developer, some “undeclared inventory” that represents points that have not been sold, some are exchanges used for cruises, RCI, etc., some are points reclaimed by Disney via ROFR, and some are breakage–unused points inside the 60 day window.
Each and every way points end up in the Deluxe Villa inventory is on the up and up (and a couple of these are good for the membership as a whole since they keep dues down). There are a number of reasons for Walt Disney World wanting to rent out these points, but the simplest is guest demand.
As Disney Vacation Club demonstrates, there’s a huge market for villa style rooms, and many guests paying cash are willing to pay a premium for such accommodations.
In the past, this was never really an issue among members–at least not as big of an issue as today. That’s because bookings used to be a lot easier at the 7-month mark, so members tended to notice this less. However, as we’ll discuss below, non-home resort availability is becoming increasingly scarce.
This has led to members noticing the cash availability for their resort of choice even when it’s “fully booked” on DVCMember.com, leading them to believe Disney is running some sort of racket.
That should explain the why of there being cash availability when Disney Vacation Club doesn’t have rooms, but it doesn’t totally answer the questions some DVC members have had. Namely, why booking at the 7 month mark has become so much more difficult in the last few years. Our answer, in a word, is competition.
This competition has occurred in a few ways. The first and most noteworthy is Aulani. Originally, I had this further down the list…until I found some numbers about the total number of points at each Disney Vacation Club Resort. To my surprise, Aulani is the second-largest DVC resort, behind only Saratoga Springs. Aulani has a total of over 11 million points, which is more than Beach Club, Bay Lake Tower, and Grand Floridian combined.
Unlike Saratoga Springs, there are a huge number of Aulani points that are not being used consistently at Aulani. As with the other resorts built outside of Walt Disney World (except for the Grand Californian), owners are far less likely to stay at their home resort year after year.
Aulani has created a large pool of points that are infrequently used at Aulani, and the utilization rate of points from Walt Disney World DVC resorts at Aulani is likely lower than Aulani points utilized at Walt Disney World DVC resorts. This is a huge imbalance that means more competition for DVC resorts at Walt Disney World.
Unfortunately, this imbalance will only get worse, as Aulani still is not sold out, so we can expect its owners to increase over the course of the next couple of years, making bookings difficult elsewhere. (I remember the ‘good ole days’ when members complained that Saratoga was having same impact, but within Walt Disney World–now those days seem quaint!)
There are likely a number of other explanations, from refurbishments taking rooms–but not points–out of inventory to a more robust resale market with faster sales than ever before. All of those things play a role in the increased competition at the 7 month mark (and beyond), but I don’t think they are as significant of factors as rentals, the bungalows, and Aulani.
Then there’s the growth of renting out points. Renting Disney Vacation Club points has become increasingly popular, and word has gotten out about it. This is particularly noteworthy when it comes to Disney Vacation Club owners.
That’s something that’s not often considered, but more owners are now aware of Disney Vacation Club point rental options, and these points are less likely to be used at the last minute–or not at all. Likewise, Disney’s promotion of the RCI exchange, Member Cruises, and other ways to utilize points (remember “converted” points don’t just disappear–they become Disney’s to use for cash bookings), fewer points are going to waste.
All of this means more competition for bookings even before the 7-month mark, using points that previously might’ve gone to waste or been used on last-minute bookings, there’s more competition. The rental market has become increasingly sophisticated and savvy from its nascent message board days.
Next, the points allocated to the Polynesian Bora Bora Bungalows. Depending upon the season and view, the Bungalows account for 6 to 7 times the number of points of each Deluxe Studio at the Polynesian. Even though there aren’t nearly as many Bungalows (comparatively speaking) as Deluxe Studios at the Poly, in terms of points, there’s just over double the amount allocated to the Deluxe Studios as the Bungalows.
Unfortunately, we don’t have insight into the point utilization rate of the Bora Bora Bungalows (or even the occupancy rate, for that matter), but last we heard, it was pretty far below the resort-wide average. When we stayed in the Polynesian Bora Bora Bungalow, I’d hazard a guess that over half were sitting empty.
As of last year, the Polynesian was regularly offering tours of the Bungalows, meaning there were consistently empty Bungalows available for that purpose. While we’re not sure whether these tours are still offered, it doesn’t bode well for occupancy/utilization numbers.
Irrespective of whether the Bungalow is booked for a night, those points have been sold and can be used elsewhere. Each one of those that sits empty potentially represents ~7 studios that are filled elsewhere. Even with a supply of only 20 Bungalows, that’s a huge number of studios being filled with points allocated from the Bungalows.
The Cascade Cabins at Wilderness Lodge could have similar consequences, although the adjusted point chart there will hopefully mitigate that. Anecdotally, we’ve heard that the occupancy rate is already much better at the Cascade Cabins, but we’re not sure what that means in terms of point utilization.
Ironically, the best overall solution to all of this is the opposite of what many members assume–building more Disney Vacation Club resorts. Actually, it’s a bit more nuanced than that, as Disney needs to build more DVC resorts at Walt Disney World, with a focus on studios since those are the most in-demand units. In order for this to be effective, Walt Disney World needs another Saratoga Springs-sized resort, as offsetting those ~11 million Aulani points requires more than just add-ons at existing Magic Kingdom or Epcot area resorts (or even the standalone Riviera; it’s a start, but not nearly enough.)
One unintended side effect will be making fall bookings at Epcot resorts even more impossible, but that ship sailed long ago. Not building high-point units that are more likely to sit empty is another component to the solution, as is not building stand-alone properties outside of Walt Disney World. Obviously, Disneyland is the exception to this, and thankfully, it’ll be getting another Disney Vacation Club resort in 2021. Disney should have learned its lesson with Vero Beach and Hilton Head, or at least should’ve allocated more of Aulani to the hotel side, as it’s way too big and few Disney fans–even those who own at Aulani–want to vacation to Hawaii year after year.
With that said, the dearth of availability at the 7-month window really underscores the conventional wisdom to “buy where you want to stay.” I’ll be honest, this is advice we resisted when we first bought into Disney Vacation Club, and it’s why we ended up owning at Saratoga Springs, a resort we didn’t exactly love (although our opinion of it has improved with time–and Disney Springs upping its game). We still don’t fully embrace this wisdom, but disagreeing with it would require ignoring reality. This is why we’ve been saying for the last couple of the years that we’d buy Bay Lake Tower (which also isn’t my favorite resort) if we had to do it over again. For us, that’s a compromise decision and is not pure “buy where you want to stay.” Your mileage may vary if you’re considering buying into Disney Vacation Club and are currently debating a home resort.
If you’re thinking about joining DVC, be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Disney Vacation Club. This covers the pros & cons, resale v. direct, how much money you’ll save, and other important things to know before taking the plunge. If you still can’t decide whether membership is right for you, “try before you buy” with the recommendations in How to Save BIG on Deluxe Disney Accommodations Renting DVC Points.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you had more difficulty in finding DVC availability in the last couple of years? Have you noticed certain resorts or times of the year getting more competitive? Any firsthand experiences you care to share? Any other thoughts or tips to share? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Tom…great article. We bought in 2006 at SSR because of the lower dues and the sales pitch of stay anywhere. AK was pre-selling and if we had to do it all over again….would have paid the higher dues and bought AK. We were told at the time…that if a contract was being abused “for profit” that Disney has the right to revoke the contract. I wonder if they are really enforcing that policy. I see lots of rentals on ebay and other resale sites. The sad thing is that non-dvc members have better odds of getting a room then a member does at the 7 month window. Non-members get an 11 month widow at any resort (if rental availability exists). You would think that there is something DVC could do to give members better odds then non-members in securing a reservation at the 7 month window.
It’s just members using their contract the way they see fit. Renting is allowed by DVC, just not “commercial” renting, and DVC has decided that means 20 reservations a year. There has been a few members who are no longer members when DVC caught them renting ten’s of reservations a year. In fact there was a family that owned thousands of points under several contracts with different titles on the deeds so they could get around the maximum number of points to own. That led to the “20 reservations per year” note. And since the brokers aren’t typically members or renting out their own points, they don’t get caught breaking commercial renting rules. I’m sure DVC lawyers are looking into ways of shutting down the brokers some way.
DVC does give members an opportunity to book a non-home resort at 11 months out. They try to sell you more points at that favorite non-home resort. That’s why so many members say to buy where you won’t mind staying or you like staying the best when you buy if you can’t change at seven months out.
Great article. But are you certain another DVC resort is going to be built at Disneyland? So far they have been denying that any DVC units are going into the new hotel.
Everything I have heard points to no DVC at the new hotel because of the limitation on timeshare units by the City of Anaheim.
Thanks for the article. Are you certain Disneyland is getting a 2nd DVC resort in 2021? They have been officially denying that the new hotel will have any DVC units.
We just booked a two bedroom at Bay Lake Tower for our Feb. vacation at the 7 month mark, and all the resorts were wide open. So much depends on when you want to vacation. October through January? Forget it. Race weekends? No way. So, the bottom line is to buy where you want to stay, or at least where you don’t mind staying. Our home resort is Old Key West, and we love it there. If we’re “forced” to stay there because there no other resorts are available at the 7 month mark, we’re not mad.
Thanks Tom, for the explanation. I understand it, but for someone that fell in love with Disney 50 years ago, and is trying to instill the same “magic” to my children and grandchildren, it’s frustrating. I’m a DVC owner from Hawaii, I paid my $25K to have Disney vacations for 40 years, but as was mentioned, it is getting very difficult to score rooms in non-home resorts.
This year, after banked and borrowed points, we planned on an extended vacation at WDW – for 22 days arriving on December 2! We are leaving on Christmas Eve to avoid the masses of people – been there, done that. No problem getting rooms at our home resort, Saratoga Springs 11 months out. But getting any of the other 10 resorts, at the 7 month opening was difficult. In fact for the last 15 days at the 10 non-home resorts, I was only able to reserve a studio for 5 nights. This is out of a possible 150 resort nights, during a non-peak time. And this does not take into account the number of studio rooms at each resort.
The ultimate annoyance is the Disney direction of nickel and diming — or should I say, “Show me the Benjamins.” Everything seems to have an upscale price – dessert, better seats, firework viewing, late night admission, Halloween party, Xmas party, resort parking, etc.– all during the regular park times. I’m sure there are already discussions on how much to charge for Fast Passes, Disney Magical Express, and bus service.
The first two weeks of December are the most requested weeks of the year for DVC members. Getting a non-home resort during those two weeks is extremely difficult.
Here here…to that
I am a DVC member (SSR). In past years we have never had a problem booking non-home resort 7 months out, but this year I tried to book a long weekend the 2nd week of November…nothing, not even SSR. Last week I tried to book non-home for7 months out, mid-January and the only studio could get was SSR. My grandson may never get to stay close to MK with this current trend.
Your problem with the second week of Nov is Jersey Week, the last week of Food & Wine and the Wine and Dine Half marathon on the Saturday before. Plus I think they are starting the Christmas parties around that time. The second week of January is the Disney Marathon (Jan 9-13). The next weekend is MLK holiday.
Wow Tom, Great info…… I would like a little more insight about DVC’s relationship with RCI….. How do they decide what DVC should give them… Again I’ve seen no availability at DVC but sometimes ( Not often) a similar week might be available on RCI…… Always wondered about that…
MZ
[email protected]
Thanks Tom for the info. I purchased about 8 years ago at Saratoga as that was all that was available at that time. I was sold as I was told as you know you are not limited to your home resort. Now I feel Disney is not living up to what was promised you can almost never book anything outside your home redoes at 7 months. Are they at least looking at ways to correct the problem and live up to what was sold to us.
Thanks , John
In some ways once they have you, you are stuck. We originally purchased in 2004 through resale and saved a bundle. We were at Saratoga. It just seems as the years pass, the value can be questioned. They starting tiering points for this view and that view, in essence reducing your value as originally purchased. We generally go in July and August and if booking 6-7 months out, we can get what we want. The problem is we are up in Canada and it can be hard to book out this far in terms of flights and what not. We are teachers, so the flexibility is there. But not for everyone. The points per night at the newer resorts can be out of touch. Those Poly bungalows are a joke as can some of the cabins at Boulder Ridge etc.
I think the conversation here should include when people are trying to book. We are going for the first time (and probably the last!) over the Christmas break this year. Home resort no problem but when we wanted to try and break up 14 nights among 3 DVC properties it became a gong show. Surprisingly, we were able to get 4 nights at Boulder Ridge, 5 nights at Poly and the remaining 5 at Saratoga. We really want 4-5 at either Boardwalk or Beach Club, not a chance as at the 7 month marker you could see it on the website but by the time you called, waited, it was gone. And now as June 21, we can modify ourselves. Next, the dining reservations at 6 months out. So far so good but who the heck knows. A Disney vacation now has zero spur of the moment decisions. It is so contrived. The only saving grace with DVC is knowing you can come back whenever you want so there is no need to try and fit it all in.
Anyway, DVC needs to fix this situation. They have inadvertently created it, so they need to fix it.
I don’t understand what you want DVC to fix.
Availability of units to members
Availability of unit to members? They all are available at 11 months out. You just have to book your home resort first and then see if anything else is available at seven months out. All DVC can do is change the booking dates to something less than seven months out. Not sure they can even do that. It comes down to you snooze, you lose.
You asked what he wanted…. just tell’in ya….. I get what described to me………
I am an Old, OLD Disney fan and have seen changes in the parks and their operation that are very distressing. I do not own a time share but have stayed in them several times. Planning a vacation should not resemble planning the invasion of Normandy. Of COURSE this is about the money, and in recent years the extreme growth of time shares has led to overcrowding in EVERY aspect of the park. ( Lets add a massive timeshare at the Grand Floridian, but NOT expand monorail capacity. Thats a good idea!!!! NOT.) Not to mention the despoiling of the views in the Disney World lake area. You like the look of downtown Miami? You got it!! Forget about going on a ride or eating when and where the mood strikes you. Long, long lines. By all means, plan how hungry you think you will be at 5pm in about 10 months from now. ALL OF THIS NOW NEEDS TO BE DONE WEARING A STRAIGHT JACKET. Very sad. I love the place but can hardly enjoy it anymore. When you are at capacity levels all the time, that might seem a good idea to corporate who are running the numbers, but its deadly for repeat business prospects. You get little to nothing, including enjoyment, for the money spent. Walt must be turning in his grave.
The GFV is the smallest DVC resort at WDW and it is only one building. It’s not massive by any means with only 147 villas maximum available. That’s 47 studios, 47 one bedrooms (to make 47 two bedroom lockoffs), 47 dedicated two bedroom villas and 6 grand villas. Plus there is a big difference between ten months and six months when you can start making dining reservations. True, it’s hard to figure out where you want to eat at six months out, but you are really exaggerating.
Actually Walt would love all the money his company was making. He was a capitalist at heart.
Walt was about the fun, about the kids and family, but most of all about the MAGIC. Money was a necessity but certainly not his only motivator. The Vacation club at the Grand Floridian is built right on the water line. Standing on the dock at Magic Kingdom and looking at it from there, it is as huge and ugly as it gets. The building would house likely a couple of thousand people. Even adding 500 people at ONE stop to the always packed monorail system is unconscionable. Let alone more. Yes darling, we are aware the time shares are NOT condos. Its my opinion that people should wait on line and wait their turn for rides, or reservations for dinner. We have been robbed of that option. Rushing around the parks from one reservation to another may appeal to the lemmings , but not to all of us.
Anybody who makes the statement that Walt is “turning in his grave” or “spinning in his grave” immediately loses all credibility with me.
It’s overused, idiotic, and a pathetic way of complaining about Disney.
Yawn
So is getting nasty and name-calling your fellow commenters on a Disney Blog. Let’s drop the hate and ugliness and keep the comments that do not add to the discussion to yourself, please.
It’s apparent from reading the comments that many of the posters don’t understand the concept of timeshares. These are not condos, individually owned, but shared ownership. Space is expensive so that is why nothing is the size of OKW any more. Convertible beds, also standard in timeshares, function as seating and as a sleeping surface. Most timeshares limit studios to two persons (and not additional extra one under the age of three), one bedrooms to four, two bedrooms to six. Since Disney wants to bring dollars to the theme parks, they increased the limits to four, four and eight. When prices had to go up on new resorts, they increased it to five, five and nine in most cases (Copper Creek is the exception to that now). Timeshares require that you book as soon as your window opens or you lose out. If you can’t book your home resort at 11 months out, DVC might not work well for you. If you can’t book until 4 to 6 months out, you might as well forget it. Early Dec is the most popular time of the year for DVC members and you need to book your home resort at 11 months out. If your home resort isn’t at WDW, you are out of luck. Renting is allowed per the Public Offering Statement, so there is no point complaining to DVC about rentals. Commercial renting is not permitted, but it isn’t defined in the POS. Until the brokers arrived on the scene, points were usually rented for about $10. Now with the brokers competing for points, they keep raising the amount they give to the owner, thus, raising the price per point.
Personally, I don’t know how young families can even afford WDW any more, let alone buying into DVC at current prices. At some points, DVC is going to raise the price too high and just not make the sale. We bought direct from Disney in 1997 for $50 a point at OKW. Later on around $68 and $72 a point at BCV and VWL. When points reached $100 a point, I thought it was crazy. Now they are nearing $200 a point and some points are reselling for more than $200 a points (GCV, GFV). This is part of the reason DVC had to increase the limits on studios to five with the addition of the murphy bed. Squeeze in a pack and play and you have six in your studio. When we bought DVC, the space and comforts of home were played up with the one bedrooms, washers and dryers, full kitchens. We seldom stay in studios (only OKW studios with two real beds) and usually stay in one bedrooms or larger if we bring family along. I just can’t imagine paying the price for DVC points and squeezing in five persons in one room.
The only thing that bothers me now is the removal of the theming in the original resorts as they are refurbished. OKW no longer looks like KW on the inside. They look like Hampton Inns. Since member fees pay for all renovations, it should be expected that the villas don’t get renovated as often as hotel rooms because you can raise the price of the hotel room. You can’t raise the member fees without justification. Salaries are justification. Taxes are justification. Renovations should have been considered when considering the annual fees.
Good analysis, Deb.
I have had trouble the last few years getting Disney grand California. I will go on at 5 a.m. on the 7th month Mark and there is nothing available not a three bedroom two bedroom one-bedroom Studio nothing. I will call at 6 a.m. and they cannot find anything either. I will even look past the seven-month Mark and there’s nothing available. So literally if it is not your home base there is no availability at any time of the year at Grand California. I do not like my waitlist options due to the fact I cannot book an actual hotel room with them and keep my waitlist options open in case of villa comes up. when trading in my points for a hotel room at Disneyland hotel or Paradise Pier it is so much more points compared to an actual Villa. I’ve been very disappointed when trying to book the last few years and when trying to resell our vacation club back we are upside down on the loan because the points outside or not going for as much as Disney and selling them for.
There are only 23 studios and 23 one bedrooms and they connect to make lockoff two bedroom villas. There are 23 dedicated two bedroom villas and two grand villas. If you really want to stay there, you really need to own there. Rent out your points and pay cash for something else if you can’t change your dates. But you could try waitlisting.
Sorry off topic a little bit.
I have a split stay booked in September 5 days POP with Free Dining and 3 Days at AKL using DVC through David VacationClub. I now need to stay another day at Disney because of itinerary changes.
My question is this: Will Disney try to give me incentives to stay again t a reduced rate when I arrive or should I book now?
Thanks
You need to find something now. Disney will book you at rack rate if anything is available when you arrive.
Thanks,
Actually for what it is worth might stay late at Disney and get a hotel at the airport as we will leave early next morning.
Tom has been quite the Debbie Downer lately. Eroding goodwill, upcharges, increased ticket prices, parking fees… when will these “negative” articles end? Oh the humanity! This latest downer article, limited DVC availability, actually hits me pretty close to home. Six of my last seven family vacations at WDW have been through DVC rentals, all at Saratoga Springs, the red-headed stepchild of the DVC world. Wonderful place to stay, so people keep avoiding it! The only time we were shut out was in 2017, but that was due to extremely late planning on my part and we were forced to rough it POFQ. Another great vacation!
With all this talk of limited availability, I did some research on a website I frequently visit to check DVC studio availability. Since I am not a DVC member and don’t have access to Disney’s DVC website, I can’t verify how accurate the information on this non-Disney website is. That being said, here are my findings. The weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve are all sold out. Then I checked out one week mid month for Jan, Feb, Mar. All had availability. Then I checked out the week leading up to Easter (4/21/19) and the week following Easter. I imagine this is spring break for a lot of people. According to this website, which again, I cannot verify the accuracy of it, there is Studio availability at all DVC resorts. None are sold out.
Can a DVC member confirm or contradict my findings? Are studios currently available 11 months out from now???
I’m not a member, but have access to the tool. For a 7 night stay mid-January, I see only SSR as having availability. In February, everything opens up except the lower point-value rooms at Boardwalk, Bay Lake, and AKL.
Kevin,
Thanks for the follow up. I think the key is flexibility, both in timing and where you want to stay. If you want to stay at the Poly or Beach Club, you better start looking 11 months out. Don’t expect to find studios only three months from your arrival date. At that point, you had better be comfortable with Saratoga Springs or Old Key West.
Last year we missed out due to late planning and had to stay at POFQ. The price difference between renting points at SSR and rack rate at POFQ was negligible. If money is the same, I would choose SSR over any moderate every day of the week!
At 11 months from now, everything should be available except for what has been booked in the last seven days by guests arriving seven days before 11 months out and they have booked seven nights. If you wait until two to three months out, you will be lucky to find anything at all. DVC members have access to a link on the member website that shows availability 60 days or less out. Usually it’s only a night or two here and there. With so many members competing for the popular times, you need to book at least at seven months out or forget it.
Everything is currently available for the max 11 month window which is May 27th to June 2nd. Every resort has a studio available.
Owner since 2011 with no trouble booking at 7-month window. Flexibility helps. I’ve always been able to get ‘something’ and have often waitlisted for what I really wanted, and the waitlist has come through most of the time.
We have bought Boardwalk, Hilton Head and California and have loved every moment of our DVC membership. We have been on 8 Disney Cruises and have enjoyed our stay at a Hilton Head and Vero Beach. It’s worth the investment and time. We have celebrated many summers and family vacations together. Disney does it right!
It seems like the principal tradeoff with DVC (whether owning or renting) is money versus flexibility–you pay less, but have to book earlier, have limited options, and cannot easily change or cancel. I’m glad I learned this now because I had been thinking about it but it wouldn’t work for us.
We bought originally at Grand Flo and the first time we tried to use our points at the 11 month mark we had to be waitlisted that came thru at almost the last minute. So there seems to be a problem with availability all around in my opinion. And now we wanted to add on at our home resort but got told there were no more points available at anywhere but Aulani or Copper Creek. Neither are what we wanted but we needed the additiinal points so we went with Aulani. I am still feeling scammed all the way around, regardless of your article.
“I am still feeling scammed all the way around, regardless of your article.”
To be clear, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be upset. I’m saying there are no nefarious intentions or motives on the part of Disney to cheat people. If I bought at Grand Floridian–where this probably is particularly pronounced–direct from Disney, I’d be frustrated, irrespective of motives.
If Disney could go back in time and not build Aulani or the Poly bungalows, I think they would. Both properties have been headaches and money pits. Unfortunately, now that both exist, I’m not really sure what can be done to fix things, short of building another 14 million point Saratoga-sized property at Walt Disney World, and that brings with it other problems.
It can be fixed by getting rid of rci and ici timeshare from booking Disney property with their cheap points
That’s where the problem lies
RCI only rents out the units that DVC trades into RCI. There was a time when DVC turned over SSR to RCI to make money, but I don’t think they are doing that. If a member wants to stay outside of DVC in an RCI timeshare, they trade their points (likely a week) for one week in RCI. They could easily end RCI trading, but DVC has made it a sales point to be able to trade into resorts all over the world.
we bought in at Saratoga and Old Key West just last year and this year and got the same rates that they orginally sold for and it was done thru Disney not a scondary market. Our agent told us after we told them we we not interested in what was being sold at the time. We were put on a waitlist the first time and was called 3 days later..then the last points they had them available and we only had to buy 50 points at a time which was great for us since there are only 2 of us and we are 45 minutes way and retired with really no restraints on when we can go..so far no problems getting any resort even Grand Californian in May.
You paid $50 a point at OKW?
We are thinking of going to Aulani soon. If they have empty rooms out there, can you call and Will they negotiate the amount of points it costs?
Nope, they cost what they cost. It’s no different than any of the DVC resorts.
You could rent out your points and book the hotel side for cash.