Why should I not buy Hilton Head?

[mattnkatsmum]

Ok....so now my head is spinning. I've decided, finally, that I'm definitely going to buy into DVC - just have to decide where and how many points.

I'm a bit unusual for a Brit in that due to work commitments, I take 2 or 3 week-long trips a year. I am therefore thinking about no more than 150 points (possibly less if I go the re-sale route) and using my points to fund two separate week holidays, whilst paying OOP for the Friday / Saturday nights. (Are you with me so far?).

One thing I haven't mentioned, is that I can't see me ever booking more than 7 months out. In my circumstances is the case that all DVC properties are created equal? In other words, is it worth my buying points at HH at $71 per point? I know that the annual dues are higher than SS, but not so much that it makes a significant difference.

Sorry I've waffled before I got to the point, but I thought it better if I gave you a bit of background.

 

[mark&sue]

You might want to try posting this on the main DVC board. There are a lot of DISers out there who think it is best to buy where you want to stay.

Good luck


Susan

 

[Hilary]

I can see your logic here as, if you won't be able to take advantage of the 11 month window for your Home Resort, does it matter where you HR is?

The only reason against that argument that I can see is the very long-term scenario where there are so many DVCers all looking for rooms at the same time that it will become possible for any member to get a room only by booking at the 11-month threshold. How likely it is that will ever be the case, I really don't know, but I'm sure someone on the main DVC baord will be able to give a better guess than me!

I've never transferred points, but that could also be something worth looking into as a possible way to ensure a WDW resort in the above scenario - but still of use to you only if you could make use of the 11-month advantage.

Good luck

 

[Halo]

Your logic is sound - if you are only ever going to book at the 7-month window or later it does not matter what your home resort is, so just buy the cheapest. I would ignore SSR's current low maintenance fee as this is likely to be subsidised by Disney whilst SSR is still being sold (i.e. it is artificially low at the moment). In resale terms I believe that on-site resorts will continue to outpace non-WDW resorts - so you might wish to consider this too. Whilst you do not want to book holidays at the 11-month window by buying hilton Head rather than say OKW you are effectively limiting yourself to ever selling to people with a similar restriction. That is to say that IMHO anyone able to book at the 11-month window would always choose a WDW resort in preference to Hilton Head to enable them to do this.

 

[Pootle]

I also think your logic is good and apart from the points made by others, the only thing I can think of is that every now and again on the US boards, someone throws in the idea that Disney may eventually sell off the non-WDW resorts.

It's a widely held belief that the offsite resorts weren't as successful as Disney had hoped - both VB and HH took a long time to sell out and VB was scaled back. Now I own a few VB points myself so I normally read these posts with interest. Probably an unlikely scenario, but one which apparently, the small print would allow. I believe Marriott, for instance, has got rid of a few of its resorts so that sort of thing does happen in the Timeshare world.

I stress, I would imagine it's highly unlikely. On the plus side, HH during the peak summer months, is hard to book for non-owners, so that should give some trading/selling possibilities should the need arise.

I've just seen your post on the US boards. Let us know what you decide and good luck with it.