One good thing about DRI and THE Club

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Not only wanting to report the bad experiences I've had with DRI I thought I'd post on the good side of my DRI experience.

We are planning a short trip to Branson, like we usually do, for this spring. Normally I'll exchange through I.I. using something I've locked off or one of what I refer to as my "throw away weeks." Normally these trips are only for 3 or 4 nights but never a full week. Thus, we end up with a weeks reservation but only spend a portion of that time at a resort.

I had been searching on I.I. just to check availablity but wanting to wait until the flexchange period to book, thus only having to use 3,000 points vs 6,000 for a 2 bedroom exchange. We almost always take a 2 bedroom unit to eliminate noise from the LO unit and just in case the kids decide to go with us (rarely happens but it could).

So after looking at availablity on Interval I hoped over to the DRI website to see what they might show as available. It turns out that they had a 2 bedroom deluxe unit (we prefer the deluxe accomadations when we can get them) for 3,000 points for 4 nights. Since we only plan on staying either 3 or 4 nights this worked out perfectly and, it saved us paying the I.I. exchange fee.

So, by converting to THE Club and their point system, this year I've been able to shave $700 off our MF's and have now saved at least one exchange fee with I.I. or, $149 more. Savings for this year off what I'd normally have spent amounts to $849. While I haven't completely recouped the money spent to convert to THE Club and the additional membership fee's, I have narrowed the gap considerably these past two years. Hopefully we'll break even next year.

So, contrary to popular belief I do not find everything to be wrong or bad about DRI and I won't just post about bad experiences. It's just that recently, DRI has taken more effort to use than our other ownerships. Perhaps with time DRI will get the bugs worked out and their system will run as smoothly as our other ownerships. At least for this one moment DRI worked out for our needs.

[winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close winger]

Doug, I thought you were just an old grump !

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I only call 'em as I see 'em. While it may appear that I only see the bad, that's not completely true. However, I won't back off when an organization makes promises and then fails miserably to deliver them. DRI has made some BIG promises to it's owners yet has failed on many levels.

To their credit, they do address these problems when they are pointed out and upper management does not seem hesitant to become involved. Unfortunately, many of these problems should never happen in the first place and, when the top brass has to keep busy chasing small problems that should be easily handled by those under them, it takes there attention away from the larger management problems which continue to plague DRI.

I remain hopeful that DRI will right their ship and they will truely achieve their motto of Relaxation Simplified. It's unfortunate that they have not appeared to make much progress on that promise. Perhaps this next year will bring better results.

[winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close winger]

Looks like the DRI ship should consider stabilizing/mending itself before setting sails for the next port destination or stand a better chance of getting sunk by the next ice burg.

[akearsley Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akearsley]

Don't forget that II now has a SHORT STAYS option that allows you to book as little as 2 nights or up to 6 nights for I believe a $75 exchange fee. It's great that you were able to book the 4 nights through DRI, but if it wasn't available through DRI be sure to check II's SHORT STAYS to also save points & $.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Don't forget that II now has a SHORT STAYS option that allows you to book as little as 2 nights or up to 6 nights for I believe a $75 exchange fee. It's great that you were able to book the 4 nights through DRI, but if it wasn't available through DRI be sure to check II's SHORT STAYS to also save points & $.

From what I've seen I.I.'s short stays is a very limited list in both location and availability. Short enough so as not to cause one to hang their hat on that option. It's great if it just happens to work out but it's not something I'd feel comfortable planning on.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

Looking at the whole picture, the benefits of DRI and the Club membership still seem to outweigh the hassles and high MF. I have had very positive experiences at all the resorts I've visited. My family has always had a good time and we've shared our vacations with several friends - who also enjoyed themselves and were thrilled to go places they otherwise couldn't afford. Imagine how great ownership would be if DRI could get their act together!

[winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close winger]

One of the best things owners/members can do is provide feedback to DRI through the various avenues - such as the standard DRI feedback card/pamphlet at the resort, through email survey, etc.

This way at least mgmt has no excuse of not knowing about shortcomings owners/members are experiencing.

As someone told me once - (I am paraphrasing) you have NO RIGHT TO BITCH about something unless you have provided constructive feedback to the person/entity who can correct the issue.
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[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

Done it! And for the most part DRI and resort management have been very responsive to comments. Some things can't be fixed during a stay - like non-working hot tubs. AT Powhatan in VA, this is an ongoing problem. The standard reply is "we are in the process of upgrading. I suggested they eliminate the nonfunctioning hot tubs and put in something else. But, as others have pointed out, so many of these issues shouldn't be a problem in the first place.

[winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close winger]

just to comment on the ability to 'short stay'. we just came back from a weekend getaway ( 3 nights/4 days) from a ltvr resort. for some reason, this was a very very relaxing trip. felt unexpectedly refreshed after getting home. considering we joined another family (we each had booked our own units) and had 4 'wired' young kids between us, it turned out just great. on the drive back home, dw and i both commented how m we enjoyed the ability (with our dri membership) to just get away for less than the standard 7 nights as we would have to do with our Marriotts or std II exchanges. this was one huge reason we had wanted to convert to a points-based vacation system in the first place.
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[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Looking at the whole picture, the benefits of DRI and the Club membership still seem to outweigh the hassles and high MF. I have had very positive experiences at all the resorts I've visited. My family has always had a good time and we've shared our vacations with several friends - who also enjoyed themselves and were thrilled to go places they otherwise couldn't afford. Imagine how great ownership would be if DRI could get their act together!

I could say this about any one of my timeshare ownerships. The exception is that DRI has become to labor intensive, having to constantly keep your eye on them rather than being able to trust that they'll get the job done, every time, and fullfill the promises they make.

Yes, management has been very responsive and, upper management takes an active and visable interest in owner/member complaints when it's brought to their attention. But, should owners have to go through this process so often? I've owner Marriott since 2001 and Hilton since 2002. I can't tell you the last time that I had an issue with either one and I can tell you that I've never had to escalate any problem to get anything fixed. In fact, the one problem I can recall with Marriott, changing a reservation date for deposit with I.I., it took all of one call and the first person I spoke with got the issue fixed while I was on the phone. She knew exactly what she was doing, knew the procedure to go through and how to fix the problem. While I was on the phone she even put me on hold and called I.I. to make sure that the problem was fixed not only on Marriott's end but on I.I.'s end as well. By the time I was off the phone, my I.I. online account reflected the corrected deposit information.

Now, with DRI, I'm going to be put on hold, probably disconnected once or twice before finally receiving someone who tells me there's nothing they can do about it. After 4 or 5 calls, maybe half a dozen E-mails and finally going to S. Cloobeck or Simon Crawford-Welch to get my issue fixed. Sure they fix the problems but at what cost? This is not the most efficient way to run a business, continues to irritate owner/members and is the exact opposite of Relaxation Simplified.

It's been a couple of years and I'm growning tired of the continued incompetence I see in how this organization runs. Simple things like the ARDA fee being voluntary should be a non-issue. That problem has never been posted of that I can recall on TUG or Timeshareforums with any other timeshare company. Not even Westgate has had an issue with the voluntary ARDA contribution that I can recall.

Yes, THE Club system can be a great thing and it's not all bad. There are many benefits to THE Club if DRI can just meet their motto of Relaxation Simplified. Don't make me feel like I have to watch everything they do. Make me feel confident that they'll get the job done the first time. Make this ship run smoothly before embarking on some other folley to further confuse your employee's and screw things up for owners.

I joined THE Club because I saw value. I did not join THE Club for all the hassle's I've had to put up with since becoming a member. There is a point where the aggrivation is not worth the hassle, time or money.