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I attended the US Collection meeting in Las Vegas last week, and thought that others may be interested in what I learned there. It was the first meeting I have attended. I realize now that I should have taken notes, because I don't remember everything discussed.
Maintenance fees are going up about a penny per point. I don't remember the exact figures, but I think from 10.4 cents to 11.2 cents. In addition, the bogus Operational Fee is going up from $180 to something like $197. The Club fee was not discussed. The increase was announced as good news, "Only a penny!". I, however, did not take an 8% increase as good news when inflation has been minimal. I was hoping that fees would remain relatively flat for this year, especially given the current economic situation and the huge increases in the past 2 years. There were two primary reasons given for the increase: wages and utilities. The did say that upgrades to units had nothing to do with the increases, as the upgrades were already accounted for.
On wages, we were told two things that I found a little contradictory. First is that the minimum wage went up in a few states (so they are paying employees minimum wage...I don't think this is unexpected for the hotel industry). The second reason for increased spending on wages was that they were trying to help employee retention, so I guess they are paying more than minimum wage in order to be competitive? If any DRI rep is reading this I can tell you that you must be treating your employees really terribly in order to have a retention problem when the unemployment rate approaches 10%. If the way DRI treats members is indicative of how DRI treats employees, I can see why there is a retention problem. People just want to be treated with respect, which means: don't lie to them, listen to them when they talk to you, and don't talk to them like they are stupid (for instance, telling them that fees are going up "only a penny").
On utilities, we were told that some places did not have large increases, but other places, such as the "islands" had very large increases. They must be talking about Hilton Head, because last I checked no Hawaiian properties were included in the US Collection.
Other news included an announcement of yet another affiliate in South Africa - I guess that's good news for those who can afford to fly to South Africa. I think a couple other European affiliates were also announced, maybe Turkey & Greece? Next year focus will be on finding additional affiliates in the US.
There will be all new small appliances (coffee makers, irons, toasters, etc) at all of the resorts so that there will be consistency between resorts. I guess some members were getting confused on how to operate the coffee maker at one resort, because it was a different coffee maker than they used at another resort. Also, new fancy pool towels for all resorts. The lobbies will be renovated at Lake Tahoe Resort and at Scottsdale Villa Mirage. I do have to comment that I have been to both resorts in the past couple years, and noticed no defects in the lobbies. Lake Tahoe Resort and The Ridge at Sedona will have rooms renovated as well. We will be getting DRI membership cards, which will allow DRI to more easily negotiate discounts for us...for example, we could show our membership card at a local restaurant to receive a 10% discount.
Like I said, I really wish I had taken notes. I'm sure I remembered more of the negatives than the positives at the meeting. Perhaps someone else who attended can fill in more information, and correct anything I may have remembered incorrectly. I have to say that I was surprised at how few people attended the meeting. There were perhaps 100 people there.
Back when it was Sunterra, this timeshare seemed to be more middle-class. Focus was on things like... you can save money by cooking meals in the kitchen provided in the rooms, or you will save money because hotel prices will go up so much with inflation... With DRI it is all about the luxurious extras like granite countertops, fancy pool towels, and safaris in South Africa. These things are nice, but they will do me no good when I have to give up my points because I can no longer afford the maintenance fees.
Maintenance fees are going up about a penny per point. I don't remember the exact figures, but I think from 10.4 cents to 11.2 cents. In addition, the bogus Operational Fee is going up from $180 to something like $197. The Club fee was not discussed. The increase was announced as good news, "Only a penny!". I, however, did not take an 8% increase as good news when inflation has been minimal. I was hoping that fees would remain relatively flat for this year, especially given the current economic situation and the huge increases in the past 2 years. There were two primary reasons given for the increase: wages and utilities. The did say that upgrades to units had nothing to do with the increases, as the upgrades were already accounted for.
On wages, we were told two things that I found a little contradictory. First is that the minimum wage went up in a few states (so they are paying employees minimum wage...I don't think this is unexpected for the hotel industry). The second reason for increased spending on wages was that they were trying to help employee retention, so I guess they are paying more than minimum wage in order to be competitive? If any DRI rep is reading this I can tell you that you must be treating your employees really terribly in order to have a retention problem when the unemployment rate approaches 10%. If the way DRI treats members is indicative of how DRI treats employees, I can see why there is a retention problem. People just want to be treated with respect, which means: don't lie to them, listen to them when they talk to you, and don't talk to them like they are stupid (for instance, telling them that fees are going up "only a penny").
On utilities, we were told that some places did not have large increases, but other places, such as the "islands" had very large increases. They must be talking about Hilton Head, because last I checked no Hawaiian properties were included in the US Collection.
Other news included an announcement of yet another affiliate in South Africa - I guess that's good news for those who can afford to fly to South Africa. I think a couple other European affiliates were also announced, maybe Turkey & Greece? Next year focus will be on finding additional affiliates in the US.
There will be all new small appliances (coffee makers, irons, toasters, etc) at all of the resorts so that there will be consistency between resorts. I guess some members were getting confused on how to operate the coffee maker at one resort, because it was a different coffee maker than they used at another resort. Also, new fancy pool towels for all resorts. The lobbies will be renovated at Lake Tahoe Resort and at Scottsdale Villa Mirage. I do have to comment that I have been to both resorts in the past couple years, and noticed no defects in the lobbies. Lake Tahoe Resort and The Ridge at Sedona will have rooms renovated as well. We will be getting DRI membership cards, which will allow DRI to more easily negotiate discounts for us...for example, we could show our membership card at a local restaurant to receive a 10% discount.
Like I said, I really wish I had taken notes. I'm sure I remembered more of the negatives than the positives at the meeting. Perhaps someone else who attended can fill in more information, and correct anything I may have remembered incorrectly. I have to say that I was surprised at how few people attended the meeting. There were perhaps 100 people there.
Back when it was Sunterra, this timeshare seemed to be more middle-class. Focus was on things like... you can save money by cooking meals in the kitchen provided in the rooms, or you will save money because hotel prices will go up so much with inflation... With DRI it is all about the luxurious extras like granite countertops, fancy pool towels, and safaris in South Africa. These things are nice, but they will do me no good when I have to give up my points because I can no longer afford the maintenance fees.
), I should at least see the value it has for giving DRI a competitive edge. It makes me hopeful that I will be able to get a few bucks for my points if I am forced to give up them up a couple years. I suppose when the economy turns around we will see if DRI points develop any sort of resale value. I certainly wouldn't expect to get anywhere near what I paid for the points, but it would be nice to not to have to pay DRI $250 to take them back. 
) Overall, though, I have to say that I am extremely satisfied with my TS ownership. We own 13,000 points and are part of the Club. I have gotten very shrewd about getting the most value for our points. We can book 59 days out to get a 2BDRM for half the points and have enough points to get a second, or sometimes even a third, unit for friends and family. Everyone looks forward to our vacations. Our daughters are now adults and I make sure they understand how to use the TS because one day it will be theirs. We don't use our points for airfare, MFs or other extras. IMHO - this is definitely not the best use of the points. I would rather save them or given them to friend to take a vacation.
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