Riviera Sales Disappointing According to Detailed Analysis

[YorkshireT]

According to Skier Pete who has done some very detailed analysis and graphs over on the DVC Fan website, Riviera sales are not that good.

Whilst DVC sales are good, what he is saying his analysis shows is that when they stopped selling Copper Creek, Riviera did not pick up the numbers, as all other resorts have done when the older ‘new’ resort sold out.

Instead, people have flocked to buying older ‘sold out’ resorts which have kept the numbers up, but of course, DVD doesn’t make anything like the profit from reselling sold out resorts, so Skier Pete is speculating that DVD will be very disappointed.

He speculates reasons- first is that it wasn’t built and people will be holding off buying until they’ve seen it. He wonders what the next lot of figures will show now it is open. Personally I think he may have got the importance of that wrong, because if there is pent up demand and people have been waiting to see it, then sales figures when it opens are bound to be very strong. It’s also just had masses of publicity, much of it free in social media and YouTube, as it opened, which will die away. Thus whilst I’m no expert, I wouldn’t put too much emphasis personally on the immediate next set of figures for long term outlook.

He thinks though the resale restrictions are possibly hurting sales.

He says in his analysis, if it continued selling at this rate, it would take 5 years to sell out.

What are your thoughts? My personal thoughts are I would not buy with the resale restrictions- DVC/ DVD was already a huge cash cow, and I’m not prepared to be the fall guy on my resale value so they can try and make even more money. I personally, and this is a matter of taste, not a fan of Riviera at all, but many seem to be. Another issue for me is I think the points per night are just way too high to justify what is on offer.

Reflections I think could be more my cup of tea, and despite saying ‘never again’ a 100-150 add on could one day be considered- but not with those restrictions.

[BevS97]

The restrictions and the points cost would rule it out completely for me. I love that we can stay at any resort. Why would you buy without that perk?

[YorkshireT]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, whilst all sold out resorts have been more in demand (your point I am sure Bev- people want to be able to sell on something where buyers can sleep around) Saratoga sales have gone off the charts- wonder why that is? Refurb maybe?
Strangely doesn’t seem to have resulted in the resale price shooting up which is what you’d expect in a demand and supply model.

[KarenG]

DVD must be disappointed by that.

I’m trying to think when the last standalone DVC was built? Eagle Pine got binned (arguably the economy though) and SSR had existing infrastructure to reuse.

Personally I’m not keen on much about the Riviera, though the be fair it opened after I’d left WDW it was almost complete. I would absolutely not buy there due to the restrictions and I’ve been surprised people are ok with those.

[scouser]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, whilst all sold out resorts have been more in demand (your point I am sure Bev- people want to be able to sell on something where buyers can sleep around) Saratoga sales have gone off the charts- wonder why that is? Refurb maybe?
Strangely doesn’t seem to have resulted in the resale price shooting up which is what you’d expect in a demand and supply model.

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I think the refurb has a lot to do with it, it's been a very long time coming, but it has been beautifully done and the resort is looking fresh and smart, for the price I think it's a winner.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

I would never even consider buying there for the reasons already given
Expensive, points heavy and too many restrictions regarding the new type of contracts going forward.

But there is one big issue for me that puts me off 'high rise' buildings

I was brought up on US Motels and like to park the car outside a 1 or 2 storey building. I refuse to spend a day sunbathing then have to walk into a 'hotel' and get in a lift up to my floor whilst I am possibly dripping wet from the pool!

Not fair on others and embarrassing for me.

The nail in the coffin for me with Riviera is the location. Too near the road and those god awful gondolas rattling around that Owners I now know have to subsidise.

[Shooby doo]

I'd say that there are more than a few that haven't thought about the Resale aspect, lets face it the Reps aren't going to push that plus "we" all sort of think that we will see it the 50 years!
SD

[YorkshireT]

Mmm many seem to share my thoughts. So I’m not the only one. I’m sure we have some members on here who love it though as on social media it’s had a lot of positive feedback, and I think most of us would agree the rooms are lovely. Does anyone who likes it have a view on here about the restrictions- were they considered and if yes, does it bother you and will it or has it put you off?
I’m interested in whether anyone who loves the resort likes it enough to put the resale restrictions aside or they just don’t care about them anyway.

Will be really interested in seeing where the sales are at next autumn. Wouldn’t actually surprise me if it picks up and does really well.

Many buyers won’t realise there’s even a resale market never mind understand restrictions. One major thing in its favour is it has thousands of potential new customers from Caribbean Beach, the values and even travelling between Epcot and HWS passing straight past it everyday- also with audible announcements in the Gondola that it is the new DVC resort. That is a timeshare salesperson’s dream and must drive lots of queries and custom.

[Guest]

We added on at Riviera in November. I like the style of the resort and I'm really looking forward to staying there later in the year.

I wanted a direct add-on and couldn't get anything else sub $200 with the right use year. I'm not overly concerned about the resale restrictions. We have a VGF contract which would go for more than we paid if we needed to sell some points. My view beyond that is that any decrease in value is part of the cost of having owned, the same as buying a new car. I didn't buy either contract with a view to recouping in full of we ever needed to sell. We have a good amount of flexibility with our points now and can trade up to 1 beds comfortably which should limit impact of resale owners blocking out Riviera studios.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Hollie04

We added on at Riviera in November. I like the style of the resort and I'm really looking forward to staying there later in the year.

I wanted a direct add-on and couldn't get anything else sub $200 with the right use year. I'm not overly concerned about the resale restrictions. We have a VGF contract which would go for more than we paid if we needed to sell some points. My view beyond that is that any decrease in value is part of the cost of having owned, the same as buying a new car. I didn't buy either contract with a view to recouping in full of we ever needed to sell. We have a good amount of flexibility with our points now and can trade up to 1 beds comfortably which should limit impact of resale owners blocking out Riviera studios.

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Sounds like you thought it out well Hollie.