# So tired of seeing Diamond direct rentals for less than m. fees!



## richardm (Mar 17, 2014)

It's always frustrating when I price rentals on sites like Expedia and see the developer rentals being offered for less than an owner's m. fees for the same unit.

I just got a notice from Groupon that Diamond is now renting Grande Villas in Orlando with all inclusive prices that range from $69. to $109. per night. Pulled the same reservation with points- and m. fee cost to the owner was just over $1,000.


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## Rent_Share (Mar 17, 2014)

And if I remember what I read, that revenue goes entirely to DRI's management company and does not get returned to the resort to lower potential maintenance fee costs  . . . .  Go Cloobeck Go


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## csxjohn (Mar 17, 2014)

I feel you pain and so do many others!

This is very common these days, not just DRI resorts.


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## presley (Mar 17, 2014)

csxjohn said:


> I feel you pain and so do many others!
> 
> This is very common these days, not just DRI resorts.



This is true.  It seems pretty industry standard at this point.


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## artringwald (Mar 17, 2014)

Are these last minute deals to fill rooms that would otherwise go empty?


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## Bunk (Mar 17, 2014)

Rent_Share said:


> And if I remember what I read, that revenue goes entirely to DRI's management company and does not get returned to the resort to lower potential maintenance fee costs  . . . .  Go Cloobeck Go



I'm confused by this statement.
Doesn't the developer have to pay the same amount of maintenance on the weeks it controls as everyone else.  And if a unit owner pays the maintenance and doesn't use the week, how does the developer and not the resort  have the right to that money.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 17, 2014)

Rent_Share said:


> And if I remember what I read, that revenue goes entirely to DRI's management company and does not get returned to the resort to lower potential maintenance fee costs  . . . .  Go Cloobeck Go



You understand incorrectly.

The money goes to DRI, not to the management company.  The units that show up on Groupon, Expedia, and such, are owned by DRI, and for which DRI has paid the maintenance fees.  DRI is taking a loss on the sales in order to feed traffic into the sales room.  Or in the case of last minute inventory, they are minimizing their losses.


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## csalter2 (Mar 17, 2014)

*Common Complaint*

Yes. This is a common complaint and I am not sure if there is anything we can do about it.  However, we can and we do the same thing when we try to recover our maintenance fees as owners. We will take whatever we can as opposed to nothing at all. 

I will say in high demand areas like Hawaii, our maintenance fees are a much better deal.


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## pedro47 (Mar 18, 2014)

presley said:


> This is true.  It seems pretty industry standard at this point.



This is an industry standard to fill as many vacant rooms as possible.  This also applies to hotels.


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## SMHarman (Mar 18, 2014)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> You understand incorrectly.
> 
> The money goes to DRI, not to the management company.  The units that show up on Groupon, Expedia, and such, are owned by DRI, and for which DRI has paid the maintenance fees.  DRI is taking a loss on the sales in order to feed traffic into the sales room.  Or in the case of last minute inventory, they are minimizing their losses.



It also drives more traffic to food and beverage. 

And any week owner is better with a rental for $1 covering MF of $2 than no income at all. 

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk


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## tschwa2 (Mar 18, 2014)

If it is the case where it is DRI's owned weeks (MF's fully paid for by DRI) up for rent it is a better deal than what you see with Starwood.  They make sure that their weeks go for top dollar fairly early on.  Then at 60 days any unreserved time they get.  They can use it for those promotional 5 day trips with car rental and other perks thrown in, or for a single night rental.  They keep their 30% of what was paid and then deduct any additional housekeeping fees and the cost of the other perks and whatever is left goes to the HOA which could be 50% of a single nights rental cost taking a full week out of the hands of owners or HOA weeks (paid for by owners) who paid the MF's but did not reserve the week.


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## VegasBella (Mar 18, 2014)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> DRI is taking a loss on the sales in order to feed traffic into the sales room.  Or in the case of last minute inventory, they are minimizing their losses.



Likely.

Also, read the fine print: people who buy the Groupon have to pay an extra 12.5% tax I'm betting owners don't have to pay. 

And these are only 2-3 night stays, not weeklong stays. So price per night may be lower than what you pay per night in MF but you get it for a week (I'm assuming). 

Lastly, these Groupon deals are always "Subject to availability" and I've experienced this personally. It's a PITA! They will black-out all the good dates. And the chances of a Groupon buyer getting a good view are slim to none.


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## RuralEngineer (Apr 3, 2014)

*cheap stay*

i just stayed at grand beach 2 nights for $90 by renting points.  Can't beat that.

stephen


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## dougp26364 (Apr 3, 2014)

Let's not forget about the points used for car rentals, airfare, hotel stays, used to pay MF's et.....DRI needs to re over as much of that money as possible.


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## hvsteve1 (Apr 4, 2014)

Groupon, etc. is just another way of selling getaways.  In addition to the low rates, DRI is paying Groupon for the reservation.  Also, compare the DRI sales to weeks being offered for rent on TUG where the owner is just covering MF or losing a few bucks to just get something for the unused week.  There are similar deals with the Getaways on II, and those are available for a full week.

I also agree with pedro47 who points out hotels also do it.  I get some ridiculous deals on Priceline from hotels who are trying to fill empty rooms.  However, Priceline keeps the hotel name secret so as not to impact perceived value for those paying full freight.  That may be a better option for DRI so as not to show them giving away rooms.  I can imagine the salesman trying to squeeze 40 or 50 thousand from a mark and being told, "But I rented the place for $49 per night".


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## d2r4s (Apr 14, 2014)

seems someone actually new the answer.  all units and or points available owned or un owned by a member have maintenance fees and the money has to be paid by the member or company.  people get the wrong impression often of what the developer is doing.  also there are a lot of developer weeks in II and RCI rental pool for the same reason.  

Points inventory is always more than what is owned and the company has a right to use it.  they cannot use points or weeks that are owned as they have to be available to only the owners.

Good response


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## pedro47 (Apr 14, 2014)

hvsteve1 said:


> Groupon, etc. is just another way of selling getaways.  In addition to the low rates, DRI is paying Groupon for the reservation.  Also, compare the DRI sales to weeks being offered for rent on TUG where the owner is just covering MF or losing a few bucks to just get something for the unused week.  There are similar deals with the Getaways on II, and those are available for a full week.
> 
> I also agree with pedro47 who points out hotels also do it.  I get some ridiculous deals on Priceline from hotels who are trying to fill empty rooms.  However, Priceline keeps the hotel name secret so as not to impact perceived value for those paying full freight.  That may be a better option for DRI so as not to show them giving away rooms.  I can imagine the salesman trying to squeeze 40 or 50 thousand from a mark and being told, "But I rented the place for $49 per night".



We always use Priceline to book our hotel cruise stays in Miami. One year after a cruise for Thanksgiving we were able to book  the Inter Continental Hotel in Miami for only $99.00 pet night.


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## johnrsrq (Jun 11, 2014)

*not if you were points and less than 60, and/or midweek*



richardm said:


> It's always frustrating when I price rentals on sites like Expedia and see the developer rentals being offered for less than an owner's m. fees for the same unit.
> 
> I just got a notice from Groupon that Diamond is now renting Grande Villas in Orlando with all inclusive prices that range from $69. to $109. per night. Pulled the same reservation with points- and m. fee cost to the owner was just over $1,000.



I've stayed there a few times there and it cost me less than what that groupon dri was advertising.  just my experience.

And, after seeing this thread, inspected Groupon deals Wyndham, Sheraton, Hilton, Westin, Hyatt,  all deals some hotels  some resorts


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