DVC Home Resort Priority vs. Years Left on a DVC Contract

When considering a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Resale purchase, we often see buyers trying to decide between the resort they want to stay at versus the resort that provides them the most years of vacationing.   This is an understandable quandary as one contract can provide the buyer with Home Resort Priority (7-11 month booking window) at the resort they most want to stay at, while the other contract can provide them more years of Disney vacations.  The graph below shows the years remaining at different DVC Resorts:

yearsleft-dvc-contract

Although there can be exceptions, my advice in the vast majority of cases is to choose the resort you most want to vacation at when joining Disney Vacation Club for four main reasons:

1.  Maximizing your Disney Fun!

If you are going to the “happiest place on Earth” don’t you want to go to the resort that makes you the happiest?  Why go all the way to Disney just to stop a couple miles short of your favorite vacation spot.

beach-club-pool-12

2. Home Resort Booking Priority can be critical.

Depending on the resort, having that 7-11 month window to book may be critical to getting the resort you want.  For those unfamiliar with Home Resort Priority it is an 11 month maximum booking window you get with the resort you purchase your points into, commonly referred to as your DVC Home Resort. If the DVC resort is not your home resort the maximum booking window is 7 months. You can have multiple Home Resorts if you purchase into multiple DVC properties.  As a Member you will have Home Resort priority with the amount of points you own at each particular resort.

Also, the time of year you want to book your favorite resort may play a part as well.  For example, if you want to travel to Disney’s Hilton Head in January, there isn’t much of a need have booking priority at Hilton Head due to the low demand for that location that time of year.  However, if you want to travel to Hilton Head in the Summer season on a consistent basis you will want to own points at Hilton Head as it is a highly seasonal resort that books up far in advance for the Summer.  Another example is while Disney’s Beach Club and Disney’s Boardwalk stay busy all year, the Fall Season during the Food & Wine Festival can be very challenging to get the stay you want if you do not book in the 7-11 month window.

hh-waterslide

Moreover, home resort priority is likely to become even more critical as more Members join.   For example, if you owned Disney’s Beach Club in 2004 after it was sold out by Disney and you own Disney’s Beach Club Villas today in 2016 you are still competing against the same number of Members to book a room at the 11 month window. However, if you were trying to book the Beach Club Villas in 2004 inside the 7 month booking window (booking window if not your home resort) you were competing against less than 100,000 members whereas today you are competing against roughly 200,000 members and that is where the impact of growth can be felt.

3.  Buy and Sell Option.

Keep in mind that you do not have to keep a contract until its deed expires.  That would be like buying a house and feeling like you could never move.  In fact, buying and selling DVC is much easier as there is no need to get out the big boxes and order the moving trucks.  Lets say you really want priority at the Boardwalk resort, and you also want a contract that goes into the 2060’s.  You can buy the Boardwalk contract now, vacation on it for the next 10-15 years and then have the option to sell the remaining years of Boardwalk at that time and buy something with a longer deed.  Who knows, in 10-15 years your resort vacation preference may change anyway.  This option may costs more money in the long run, but there really is no certainty that it will, as no one knows the future values of DVC contracts.  For example, very few would have thought Beach Club would sell for more money today on the resale market carrying 13 less years, than it did originally when purchased directly from Disney Vacation Club. Or, you could keep the Boardwalk contract until its deed expires in 2042 and then purchase another contract at that time.   Additionally, there may be an extension option much like Old Key West, prior to the expiration date.

boardwalk-walkway

4.  Extension Possibility.

In 2007, Disney Vacation Development offered a 15 year extension to those Members of Old Key West.  This extension was originally offered at $15/pt. and was later raised to $25/pt. The Old Key West extension provided Members with an additional 15 years of ownership, extending their Old Key West deed from 2042 to 2057.  While there is no guarantee of extensions being offered for Members owning other resorts, the fact that it was done for the original Disney Vacation Club resort, Old Key West, is promising.  The rate of Members who extended was low, however, offering the extension 35 years prior to the expiration date may have greatly impacted the low rate.  If there are to be any future extensions they would likely come much closer to the deed expiration dates in hopes of increasing the percentage of Members extending.  With this a possibility, it does provide an additional reason to purchase where you want to stay as you just might get the resort you want with an option for more years too.

okw-waterway2

As mentioned in the beginning, there are exceptions to joining Disney Vacation Club with a resort  with additional years versus the resort you most want to stay at.  The most common exception would include if there is a resort you prefer, but not strongly enough to stay at consistently.  In this case, you may be better off joining the resort that can provide you with the best overall economic benefit, and that is likely to include resorts like Disney’s Saratoga Springs and Disney’s Bay Lake Tower that both have nearly 40+ years or more on left on their deeds along with low annual dues.  However, if there is that resort that is your favorite vacation spot at Disney, and you want the ability to stay there on a consistent basis, my recommendation is to join with that Disney Vacation Club resort.

Comments

  • Katie
    June 13, 2018

    Hi Nick,
    Is DVC still offering the OKW extension?

    • Nick Cotton
      June 13, 2018

      Katie, yes, you can still extend an OKW contract. Last time I checked the price was $25/pt.

  • Ray
    July 29, 2017

    Nick, what’s your take on adding on to existing contracts vs adding points at a different Dvc resort but with the same use Year Thanks

    • Nick Cotton
      July 29, 2017

      Ray, thank you for your question. I think it really depends on what your needs are. For example, if there is a resort that you are wanting to stay at and are struggling to get into at the 7 month window, then that should be a top consideration for adding on at that different resort. However, if your need is to book a bigger room such as a two-bedroom or Grand Villa at your current home resort and you are always lacking the points then you may want to stick with the same resort so you can ensure you get that bigger room at the 11 month home resort priority window. Sometimes, these solutions are better to customize in a phone call discussion as well, as there is rarely a one size fits all answer to which resort to add-on with. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you like at 407-473-4007. Thanks, Nick

  • Juanita Eisnnicher
    July 26, 2017

    Would you please email me the information on selling DVC membership too please.

    • Nick Cotton
      July 26, 2017

      Juanita, I just e-mailed you the information you requested.

      • Carmen
        January 18, 2018

        can you please email me dvc info!

        • Nick Cotton
          January 18, 2018

          Carmen, just sent you an e-mail.

  • Ernst
    July 14, 2017

    Nick, would appreciate your commentary and opinion on managing multiple Use Years. I own 150 Sept UY points direct through Disney. After educating myself, will go resale next time probably at a place like Animal Kingdom as that has more years on deed and value for points for a 2 bedroom for younger kids and grand kids down the road. I’ve seen more downside then upside to multiple use years. I’m thinking only one other Use Year – like Feb. Thoughts?

    • Nick Cotton
      July 14, 2017

      Ernst, thank you for reaching out. Certainly, if you can get all your points in one Use Year, you do eliminate the extra step of transferring points from one membership to another membership when wanting to make a reservation that would involve the points from both contracts. Not that transferring is that big of a deal as it’s just a call to Member Services, but it is an extra step.

      The downside of sticking with the same use year is that when shopping for the contract, you are only looking at 1/8 of the market as there are 8 different Use Years. So, if you are wanting to keep the same Use Year to have all your points in the same Membership that is understandable, but I would recommend to start shopping early in that case to give you more time to search, since your selection will be much more limited.

  • Jacquelyn
    May 26, 2017

    Even though BCV is still a favotite, I feel like we were gyped! We only got 40 years total, not the 50 years that all other resorts were and are offered from the start!

  • Mike
    March 11, 2017

    Any chance of Old Key West contracts being offered another extension opportunity in the future?

    • Nick Cotton
      March 11, 2017

      Mike, we have not heard of any opportunity for that, but we still have many years to go so who knows.

  • Carol Ann
    March 4, 2017

    I would first trip to a Disney deluxe resort, we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, fell in love with the animals/artwork/resort & purchased our first contract, direct.
    With our DVC points, we stayed at Vero Beach, loved the beauty and tranquility of the cottages/ocean/resort/community and purchased resale, to have the 11 month booking option for Spring break.
    Booked a Summer vacation at Hilton Head, loved the slow country refreshing marshes/oceans/history/artisan community and purchased resale, for peak season is untouchable without an 11 month option.
    Yes, paying some of the highest dues for these resorts, but so happy with the ability to book the vacations when & where my big family and I enjoy.
    Side note: Resale is a perfect option for purchasing DVC properties. When comparing direct vs. resale, the $ you save is worth the sacrifice of a few member perks.

  • Dana Feigenbutz
    March 4, 2017

    This is something we have really considered over the past few years but I have talked to so many owners that say they can never book at there home resort for instance I know someone who owns at the Grand Floridian and has never been able to book there since they have owned it, so this kind of concerns me when I have considered buying into to Disney seems you can always get into Saratoga Springs but not The Grand Floridian

    • DebC
      July 9, 2017

      With the limited number of studios at GFV, you need to be on line at 11 months out when on line booking opens. Even then, it can be difficult and may require “walking the reservation”. Lots of GFV owners bought for the studios, so the competition is great for those. The same goes for AKV Concierge villas at Jambo House since there are only five two bedroom lockoffs on the sixth floor. You really have to own there to reserve those and you really need to walk the reservation.

    • Nick Cotton
      March 4, 2017

      Dana, it would be strange if they could never book at their home resort and they were using their 11 month, home resort booking window. Now, if they are trying to book within 7 months the home resort window would have passed and that would make it harder to get into their home resort, especially a popular home resort such as Grand Floridian.

      • Darius
        March 19, 2017

        There’s no such thing as being able to book prior to 11 months right? As long as you are online at the time the system opens (8am Eastern Time at the 11 month mark?) you should be guaranteed availability right? At any and all DVC resorts?

        • Nick Cotton
          March 19, 2017

          Darius, the only reservations technically made prior to your 11 month booking window would be guaranteed weeks sold at Aulani, Grand Floridian and Polynesian (typically less than 10% of inventory).

  • Tim Porter
    February 5, 2017

    My family have gone back and forth about purchasing a DVC property. My question is what happens to the points when the time expires, do you lose yours points?

    • Nick Cotton
      February 5, 2017

      Tim, when a DVC contract expires the points are gone. You no longer pay annual dues and you no longer receive points. Keep in mind DVC offered a deed extension to their first property, Old Key West. In 2007, DVC offered a 15 year extension to Old Key West, taking the deed expiration from 2042 to 2057. The initial cost was $15/pt. and was later $25/pt. Given DVC did this once, there is the possibility of future extension offers, but we will have to wait and see for now.

  • Terri
    January 6, 2017

    How do you go about selling a DVC membership

    • Nick Cotton
      January 6, 2017

      Terri, I will e-mail you some information about getting the process started. Thank you, Nick.

      • Sheila
        July 8, 2017

        Nick could you please email me some information about selling our DVC membership as well. We own at the Beach Club Villas.

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