DVC to affiliate with RCI beginning January 2009?!

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

Unfortunately, I think that DVC is switching, not just adding RICI. If they were continuing with II, I don't think that they would claim all exchanges will be honored through 12/31/08......12/31/08, seems to be a cut-off date for all exchanges through II.

Sadly, that's how I read the newsletter's last sentence, too , but I can be in denial for another day. You'd think that there would be a major uprising amongst DVC members, but maybe very few trade out (I don't) because most either rent their points out or use them.

I just wanted to trade in for the first time! Now I have 29 days to grab something if I can....nothing like pressure !

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

II members have class. If you pay you are at the bottom.

This is really bad news to me given everything I know about RCI...like don't they skim all of the good trades off the top and sell them instead of letting them be exchanged? My resorts both trade in II and RCI, but I haven't really wanted to use RCI but now I may be forced to...

Sounds like you don't "know RCI" at all if you haven't tried to USE them! I also have resorts in both and spent nearly 10 years doing comparisons of resorts I WANTED (not always the top10 in the world as I normally don't set foot outside the 50 states & Canada) - we like top resorts (Gold / Silver Crown - the rankings in II mean nothing so you can't say a 5*/Pineapple is a quality resort), always have traveled at peak holiday/no school times and obviously used the same resorts (the ones we own) to deposit to both systems. Without exception over that decade RCI came through (and still do) while II wanted us to take smaller units, off times, other resorts - it was a nightmare dealing with them! More than once we had to settle for something we really didn't want so we wouldn't lose a deposit. We finally saw the light in 2003 and dropped II as a paying member. Don't miss 'em that's for sure. We still get II trades though as our Diamond points actually work quite well in II - we don't pay, we use the same week(s) that II failed miserably on for a decade by utilizing Diamond Club points and get great resorts/times AND don't even use all our points value for the week(s) to do it! So being a paying member of II is beyond a waste - you are penalized as the corporate accounts get all the good stuff first. RCi - points and weeks - just works. Overall if I had to choose only one it would be RCI. But being a corporate member of II has been OK too - I'd just never again pay them to be a third class, steerage member.

[jmatias Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmatias]

This press release was posted on the Disboards:

Group RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange, and Disney Vacation Club, one of the world's most innovative and fastest-growing brands in the vacation-ownership industry, announced today a new multi-year affiliation relationship. This new agreement allows subscribing members access to a broad array of exciting vacation opportunities.

Effective January 1, 2009, RCI will become the exclusive third-party exchange provider for Disney Vacation Club, enrolling Disney Vacation Club's more than 135,000 member families into RCI's global exchange network. RCI has one of the most expansive portfolios of high-end affiliated vacation resorts, as well as more choices in more countries than any other exchange network.

Disney Vacation Club Members will be able to enjoy vacations at a variety of destinations across six continents and 25 countries and will have access to a significantly broader range of resort experiences, including more all-inclusive options, more nightly exchanges than ever before and even a selection of luxurious, high-end fractional properties.

Similarly, RCI's more than 3.6 million members will now also enjoy the opportunity to exchange into Disney Vacation Club resorts and may rent at Disney Vacation Club resorts throughout the year.

"Group RCI has the management depth, technology resources and global marketing infrastructure to align with Disney Vacation Club's strategic growth plan," said DVC President Jim Lewis. "This relationship will provide our member families with the most diverse experiences possible beyond our signature Disney Vacation Club resorts."

Geoff Ballotti, President and CEO of Group RCI, notes that the company is looking forward to working with Disney Vacation Club and its member families in the coming years.

"It's an honor for all of us at Group RCI to have been selected by one of the most internationally recognized and revered brands on the planet," commented Geoff Ballotti, President and CEO of Group RCI. "For more than 50 years, Disney has been offering unique family vacation experiences with legendary service, superb accommodations and magical touches at every turn. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Disney Vacation Club members into the world's largest vacation network and we look forward to working closely with Disney Vacation Club to continue to build new and innovative programs that will provide even more member benefits and opportunities."

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

Sounds like you don't "know RCI" at all if you haven't tried to USE them! I also have resorts in both and spent nearly 10 years doing comparisons of resorts I WANTED (not always the top10 in the world as I normally don't set foot outside the 50 states & Canada) - we like top resorts (Gold / Silver Crown - the rankings in II mean nothing so you can't say a 5*/Pineapple is a quality resort), always have traveled at peak holiday/no school times and obviously used the same resorts (the ones we own) to deposit to both systems. Without exception over that decade RCI came through (and still do) while II wanted us to take smaller units, off times, other resorts - it was a nightmare dealing with them! More than once we had to settle for something we really didn't want so we wouldn't lose a deposit. We finally saw the light in 2003 and dropped II as a paying member. Don't miss 'em that's for sure. We still get II trades though as our Diamond points actually work quite well in II - we don't pay, we use the same week(s) that II failed miserably on for a decade by utilizing Diamond Club points and get great resorts/times AND don't even use all our points value for the week(s) to do it! So being a paying member of II is beyond a waste - you are penalized as the corporate accounts get all the good stuff first. RCi - points and weeks - just works. Overall if I had to choose only one it would be RCI. But being a corporate member of II has been OK too - I'd just never again pay them to be a third class, steerage member.

My experience in II sounds the opposite of your experience. I trade 1 bedrooms consistently for 2 bedrooms at Marriott Newport Coast, DVCs, 2 bedrooms at Westin Kierland (in high season), etc. all easily. I have loved II...RCI does not appear to have high value resorts as far as what I consider the nice timeshare brands like Westin & Marriott. We will certainly join RCI as our resorts our affiliated with both, but I doubt I am going to have the trading success I have had with II. I am amazed at the trades we get even using ACs in II. I hope I am pleasantly surprised. I just booked a trade into SSR 1 BR today for Sept. 09.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

My experience in II sounds the opposite of your experience. I trade 1 bedrooms consistently for 2 bedrooms at Marriott Newport Coast, DVCs, 2 bedrooms at Westin Kierland (in high season), etc. all easily. I have loved II...RCI does not appear to have high value resorts as far as what I consider the nice timeshare brands like Westin & Marriott. We will certainly join RCI as our resorts our affiliated with both, but I doubt I am going to have the trading success I have had with II. I am amazed at the trades we get even using ACs in II. I hope I am pleasantly surprised. I just booked a trade into SSR 1 BR today for Sept. 09.

I agree....I've had the same type of experiences as you, and also love II.

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

Actually, with RCI, the best way to get DVC will be to rent it from an RCI rental outlet as a member of the general public.

I just checked my RCI travel agent sources and they only got the annoucement today. Basically it's the same as their press release. Nothing is available yet until January, even from a viewing inventory standpoint. When inventory and pricing does become available through travel agent sources, I'll post.

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

After reading some of the comments on the DisBoards it sounds like the overwhelming consensus is negative.

I don't own disney and have never been all that impressed with their product. The $95 exchange surcharge certainly doesn't improve my attitude towards them. As an outsider, it seems to me that disney tends to strong-arm their owners with a "here it is--take it or leave it" attitude. So I will hardly lose any sleep over the fact that I will no longer have access to disney. I never attempted to trade into them when I was able to.

I used to be a dual citizenship member (member of both II and RCI). However, with my strong affiliation with Marriott(most of my weeks are Marriott), I saw no reason keep RCI, as practically all of the high end hotel brands are all but exclusive to II (Hilton being the one notable exception) and because of the special II Marriott to Marriott exchange rate and priority. From what I remember of RCI, they are about 3 or 4 times bigger than II but all that really means is they have about 3 or 4 times as many inferior resorts. They both have their customer relations problems, but IMO, II still has the clear advantage over RCI when it comes to top shelf resorts.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

My experience in II sounds the opposite of your experience. I trade 1 bedrooms consistently for 2 bedrooms at Marriott Newport Coast, DVCs, 2 bedrooms at Westin Kierland (in high season), etc. all easily. I have loved II...RCI does not appear to have high value resorts as far as what I consider the nice timeshare brands like Westin & Marriott. We will certainly join RCI as our resorts our affiliated with both, but I doubt I am going to have the trading success I have had with II. I am amazed at the trades we get even using ACs in II. I hope I am pleasantly surprised. I just booked a trade into SSR 1 BR today for Sept. 09.

I'd say that John is the exception rather than the rule. If you polled 100 owners who know both II and RCI and use both regularly, I'd say that 80 would prefer II. John is in the 20, especially when it comes to quality resorts due to the hotel brands.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

It sure sounds like they are switching, doesn't it?

That's pretty big news...

I wonder if they are doing this because of the Marriott internal trading system happening soon. After that, what will II have to offer if the biggies abandon them?

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

So does anyone think that it will be worth it to join RCI for a chance at a DVC exchange? I think I got some offer in the mail the other day to join RCI for a fairly low price (maybe comparable to II's $84/2 year deal). I think that Sheraton Desert Oasis (SDI) can exchange with both II and RCI, but I'm not sure about Sheraton Broadway Plantation. Would I be stupid to even think that these resorts would pull DVC in RCI? I know that they can pull it in II....

I really don't want to try and learn another exchange system ! I'm still learning II !

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

As someone who only owns Hilton, it will be nice to get a chance at exchanging into DVC now. And if Marriott switches as well, it is a whole new ballgame.

Personally I would have preferred Hilton switching to II, but this is very interesting.

Kurt

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

because of the Marriott internal trading system happening soon.

We've been hearing this long enough that I put it in the "Real Soon Now" category. I could be wrong (and hope I am), but still...

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

We've been hearing this long enough that I put it in the "Real Soon Now" category. I could be wrong (and hope I am), but still...

I hope there's no Marriott news "soon" - I've had all I can take here lately with this DVC "enhancement" and my 401K losses. Every time a business enhances something for me it usually means they're taking something away and lining their pockets in the process.

Well, this has changed our decision to add on more DVC points. Makes me wonder if DVC wants to prevent their members from seeing the other top brand competition. We did buy a Marriott after staying at a Marriott Vacation Club resort instead of purchasing more DVC points. Maybe a lot of members after staying at the other top brands were buying those brands instead of more DVC points.

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

Sorry, I wasn't clear: "Real Soon Now" means "no time in the forseeable future."

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

Sorry, I wasn't clear: "Real Soon Now" means "no time in the forseeable future."

Got ya. Sorry I misunderstood.