DVC Explanation Re Valet Parking About This Page:

[jenjen1127]

DVCNews.com just posted an explanation apparently made by Disney regarding withdrawing "complimentary" valet parking stating it really wasn't complimentary it was part of the dues paid. I do not like how they compared the valet parking to the free internet and Magical Express. I hope they are not considering taking away these "complimentary" perks in the future. They gave an email address where people can write with their concerns regarding this change. Take a look at the website and see what you think they are getting at.

[aliceinwdw]

Wait, so they're saying it wasn't free as it came out of the dues members paid? Well members are still paying dues, right? Then how can they eliminate something that members are still technically paying for? Oh, the powers that be need to get a grip on how they perceive their members; i.e. we're not morons. Thanks for the link!!

[Simba's Mom]

Since it's been coming out of our dues, and was eliminated mid-year, when will we receive our rebate?

[nurse_mom]

Originally Posted by Simba's Mom

Since it's been coming out of our dues, and was eliminated mid-year, when will we receive our rebate?

That would be sweet. But we all know that will never happen.

[lukeandbrookesmom]

That explanation makes no sense to me at all

[rescuesk]

Originally Posted by Simba's Mom

Since it's been coming out of our dues, and was eliminated mid-year, when will we receive our rebate?

Good question! And if you don't valet, then your dues should have been less!

[tjkraz]

Originally Posted by aliceinwdw

Wait, so they're saying it wasn't free as it came out of the dues members paid? Well members are still paying dues, right? Then how can they eliminate something that members are still technically paying for? Oh, the powers that be need to get a grip on how they perceive their members; i.e. we're not morons. Thanks for the link!!

Bear with me for a moment and I'll try to elaborate.

From what I'm hearing, it's entirely possible that member dues were being charged NOTHING for the valet parking while the perk was in effect. That's what I'm hearing from one source.

Valet parking services were outsourced to a third-party vendor about 3 years ago and it's entirely possible that agreement basically allowed for DVCers to park at no charge.

Regardless of what was happening before 10/11/09, the only certainty is that if "free" parking was going to continue, it would definitely be a charge against member dues going forward. Could be the contract with the valet parking company was up for renewal and suddenly DVC parking became an issue.

Officially DVC won't discuss contractual issues with such vendors so we may never get a crystal clear picture. But the two things which are apparent are that 1) if the "free" parking were to continue we would actually be paying for it, and 2) the increase in dues would be substantially more than the $2 price increase which just hit valet services.

Originally Posted by Simba's Mom

Since it's been coming out of our dues, and was eliminated mid-year, when will we receive our rebate?

Any surplus in annual dues is deposited into the interest-bearing reserve fund for future needs. There wouldn't be any actual refund.

Originally Posted by rescuesk

Good question! And if you don't valet, then your dues should have been less!

That's really the crux of this entire issue--when should DVC subsidize services via members dues and when should things be pay-for-play. DVC can't charge different dues amounts for valet users vs. non-valet users. Either everyone shares in the cost or they make it completely pay-for-play. DVC chose the latter.

As I illustrated in my write-up, current "perks" like DME and Internet service are actually paid for out of member dues. Whether any individual member uses those services or not is irrelevant--we are all cumulatively paying for them. Other things like pool operating costs, Community Hall costs and bell services are paid for from dues as well, regardless of who chooses to use them.

Then you've got things like extra housekeeping services, daily towel replacement, resort video arcades and bike/boat rentals which are fee-based services.

It's always going to be a judgment call when it comes to deciding which services/perks to subsidize with dues and which to make pay-for-play. Ideally we should be getting volume discounts or other fee reductions when paying for services in bulk. For instance, there's no way dues are being charged $9.95 per room, per day for "free" Internet. While there is a fee, it's certainly much lower due to the thousands of guest rooms being supplied. Volume discounts combined with widespread use of laptops, iPhones and other Internet-enabled devices almost certainly justifies putting that one in our dues.

Free valet parking has been around since well before DME came into existence. My guess is that between the loss of valet traffic due to DME and the potential dues increases, it didn't make sense to have everyone contributing to the expense. If only 15-20% of members were valet parking cars (purely hypothetical), it doesn't seem responsible to ask 100% of us to share in the cost.

You could argue that members should be entitled to some form of discount. But again since the service is outsourced, that's most likely in the hands of the valet company. If they don't want to offer a discount, we don't get a discount.

Best thing to do is keep sending feedback to DVC. If the numbers don't favor subsidizing the valet perk, I don't think there's much chance of it coming back. But perhaps they can work out a separate deal with the company or find some other means to save us a few bucks.

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Very interesting - thanks Tim!

[fluttercat]

I guess I'm just dense. I don't understand why everyone is so upset. DVC itself will save most people a fortune over the life of the contract. And I do mean a real fortune. With that in mind, do perks like free valet parking or even some of the dining perks really make that much difference? I mean, sure, they are nice. But would they have influenced whether or not you bought in? I've looked at DVC for the last couple of years and unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to wait at least a couple more and to be honest, the perks are something that I haven't even bothered to look at.

I'm not trying to be rude, I just don't get all the anger and outrage.

[Humbug]

Originally Posted by fluttercat

I guess I'm just dense. I don't understand why everyone is so upset. DVC itself will save most people a fortune over the life of the contract. And I do mean a real fortune. With that in mind, do perks like free valet parking or even some of the dining perks really make that much difference? I mean, sure, they are nice. But would they have influenced whether or not you bought in? I've looked at DVC for the last couple of years and unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to wait at least a couple more and to be honest, the perks are something that I haven't even bothered to look at.

I'm not trying to be rude, I just don't get all the anger and outrage.

I think that the anger/outrage has more to do with the lack of/short notice that Valet parking was no longer free. I think everyone knows the perks are fluid and are never guaranteed but this has been a perk for a while that most people were surprised when it was taken away.

I know I was also a little confused about whether this was included in the price of our dues or not and still being called a "perk". To me a "perk" should be free, not something I pay for. It really doesn't bother me either way if I pay for it and don't use it, I know others do. I just don't want to be misled into thinking that I am getting something for free when I am actually paying for it.

And since I am a new member and haven't actually used this "perk" yet I'm sure I won't miss it that much . I do however, feel there could have been some kind of notice from DVC.

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Originally Posted by Humbug

I think that the anger/outrage has more to do with the lack of/short notice that Valet parking was no longer free. I think everyone knows the perks are fluid and are never guaranteed but this has been a perk for a while that most people were surprised when it was taken away.

I agree We became members on Sunday, we were told about all the perks by our rep (including the valet parking perk-in detail), and in less than a week it was no longer a perk. I would hope that in th future they at least give the sales reps a heads up on things like this.

[fluttercat]

I'm wondering how much notice Disney had about the change. Contracts aren't always set before they expire. Look at the restaurants on the dining plan list. There are a lot of them that wait until the absolute last minute to sign on. It is conceivable that the same type of case is going on here. They just may not have had the notice to give to anyone else. I can understand the irritation about being told that it was being paid for from the dues though. Do you all get quarterly or yearly statements that can give any clue as to the breakdown of spending with the dues?

[tjkraz]

Originally Posted by fluttercat

I'm wondering how much notice Disney had about the change. Contracts aren't always set before they expire. Look at the restaurants on the dining plan list. There are a lot of them that wait until the absolute last minute to sign on. It is conceivable that the same type of case is going on here. They just may not have had the notice to give to anyone else.

I agree...that is very possible. Particularly if the negotiations were handled by a different department at WDW and DVC was only informed of the impact on their operations after-the-fact.

Member Services started telling people about this on Saturday so there was a conscious decision made to inform members at some level. It's not like they just waited for the shoe to drop on Sunday morning.

DVC could have at least posted a note on the website or sent an email notice out on Saturday....Monday at the absolute latest.

I can understand the irritation about being told that it was being paid for from the dues though. Do you all get quarterly or yearly statements that can give any clue as to the breakdown of spending with the dues?

Just to clarify, DVC never described free valet parking as a "perk." I've used the term myself but it is not very accurate. It's more of a resort service which, in the past, was included with certain resort stays. It's not much different than saying DVC stays include use of DME, free parking at the theme parks, access to Extra Magic Hours, certain housekeeping services, etc.

Our annual resort budgets segregate the dues into about 15-20 separate categories (housekeeping, maintenance, transportation, etc), but there is no detailed explanation of exactly what is and is not included in each one.

Example here: DVCNews.com - The essential Vacation Club resource! - 2009 Resort Budgets

[angiek1024]

The thing for me is I have not received any notice at all from DVC about this change. I have had to read it on the different boards. Sure, some say it is minor because they didn't use it and they shouldn't send out anything but it is something we used alot and I feel that I should have received some type of notice. We leave tonight for WDW so I think that added to my frustration over it since our trip was within days of the free valet being cut.

I got an email wanting me to add on this week so it is not like it is impossible to just let members know of a big change like this. If it is a last minute thing then fine just send me an email explaning it and I would be fine. Lack of communication. That is the whole issue for me.

[fluttercat]

Thank you Tim. That breakdown was what I was wondering about. Too bad it doesn't give any insight into this one, but it does give an idea about where the money goes.