# Member Update Meeting - UVC - Villa del Arco



## beach.bar.bob (Mar 3, 2011)

Attended the UVC "member update" presentation during my visit to Villa del Arco last week. 

Didn't intend to attend...cut a deal withe pre-visit concierge that if she got me penthouse upgrade I would attend.  On check-in we had been assigned a penthouse, but "somehow" the room had been allocated to someone else...go figure...it's Mexico after all.  When the onsite concierge sat down with us and wanted to confirm our update meeting I of course said no way...cancel it.  No penthouse, no meeting.  She thought I was kidding...I wasn't. That pissed her off  Told her the deal.  She said she'd work on it.  Lo and behold on Friday we get a message from the front desk.  Sure enough we moved for our second week to a great sixth floor two bedroom ocean front penthouse.  Great unit, great view - doesn't get much better than that.  

Of course, then fair is fair, so we arranged to attend the member update meeting.  It's pitched as 60 minutes.  I think we actually got out of there in 75 minutes which is pretty good.  No tour...Sales rep wanted to show us a penthouse...but not necessary.  

Here's what they're pitching:
1) If you are Gold or Premier they want to move you to the VPA (Villa Preferred Access) aka the points system. For a two bedroom winter gold week they want $9,990 for the conversion.  This gets you pretty much what you already own but converted to the points program.  Hard for me to see the value in that conversion.  FWIW, 2 Bedroom Winter Gold is equivalent to 2900 points...two years ago these were selling from developer for approximately $12.5 per point or about $36,000.  
2) If you have a VPA aka points membership they want to convert you to an Elite Membership.  There are three levels of Elite membership:
- Four Star - 5,100 or more points (6,000 if you are not an existing member)
- Five Star - 10,000 or more points
- Residence Club - 15,000 or more points 
They only pitched me the Four Star so I don't know the full benefits of all levels.  Four Star Elite gives you an extra month (for 25 months) lead time on making reservations, half price airport transfers, room upgrades 60 days prior to check-in (rather than on day of check-in).  The sales rep alluded to this being essentially a guaranteed upgrade, but clearly this is subject to availability and my guess is that during the peak season there's little likelihood of upgrades being available. Five Star clearly has more benefits and Residence Club even more.  At some level Elite's gain use of the La Estancia facilities and at another level one free week at La Estancia as a perk.  

They've also monetized points...you can use points to buy the all-inclusive meal plan (which is currently $84 per person per day - Includes Arco and Villa del Palmar restaurants) or spa visits, etc. 

During the discussion in order to build their case, they showed me the "List Prices" for 2900 points (two bedroom winter) = $56,000+ and for 7100 points (two bedroom penthouse winter) = $136,000.  HA!  Of course, this is not what anyone is paying, but it's all printed up and looks very official  

Then we got to the "Let me check how low the developer is willing to go for you to get you to sign up for the Elite level."  Bottom line is they wanted $22,650 for 2200 points, $16,990 for 1700 points or $9,990 for 1000 points.  Or in the end, as many points as we can get you to sign up for at $10 per point.  

FWIW, I acquired 2200 points on eBay in December for $1,200 including all closing costs.  

BTW - They really focused on selling the Loretto resort.  The sales room was filled with pictures, models etc.  But, not a word or picture about Cancun.  Seems they think Cancun will sell itself.  Have also noticed some verbiage in Q&A about VPA Cancun owners having certain "home resort" advantages...it seems there may be differences in VPA memberships depending on where they are purchased...Not really sure about what that's all about yet...

FWIW

Safe travels. 

bbb


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## ShinjukuBaby (Mar 3, 2011)

Thanks bbb, that was a very informative recap!


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## trophytime (Nov 6, 2012)

*Elite points*

I am a little confused-if you have 5000 or more points accured in the VPA program does that qualify you for elite status with no more money?


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## beach.bar.bob (Nov 6, 2012)

trophytime said:


> I am a little confused-if you have 5000 or more points accured in the VPA program does that qualify you for elite status with no more money?



I'm not sure...
At 5100 points and above, an existing member should qualify for one of the elite levels as best as I understand the program. I've seen nothing that says you must make some sort of qualifying purchase. But, I do know that there are contracts that must be signed in order to be part of the elite program that spell out the qualifying memberships (for example - must be developer purchased), qualifying members and other nonsense.  I'm not home so I can't look up the particulars.  If you have over 5100 points I would think it would be worth your while to call UVC and find out how to become part of the program.  I would NOT wait until I get to the resort and let one of the timeshare sharks help you figure it out  Plus, some of the best benefits  such as free upgrade eligibility two weeks prior to arrival, free private airport transfer (once per year) and others are most valuable before you arrive at the resort. 

Just my 2 cents...

Safe travels.

bbb


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## beach.bar.bob (Nov 7, 2012)

beach.bar.bob said:


> I'm not sure...
> I'm not home so I can't look up the particulars.



Okay...so the particulars:
1) There is a "Villa Group Elite Program Enrollment Agreement" that must be completed for enrollment into the Elite program. 
2) This agreement also incorporates an addendum with other Terms and Conditions
3) Elite levels are:
     - Over 5,000 points = Four Star Elite (I was told 5100 points in a presentation, but the agreement is clear that it is 5000 points)
     - Over 10,000 points = Five Star Elite
     - over 15,000 points = Residence Club
4) The enrollment agreement specifies each purchase contract to be included in the elite membership
5) The enrollment agreement specifies each member that is included in the Elite program. 
6) The Addendum describes "Eligibility" (among other things)
     - Only Developer purchased inventory is eligible for the Elite program
     - "This is a loyalty program based on Multiple Week purchases from the Developer. "

Plus lots of other caveats, BS, subject to change at developers whim, no long term guarantee, may not exist in future...and on and on

Thus in response to 


> "Originally Posted by trophytime View Post
> I am a little confused-if you have 5000 or more points accrued in the VPA program does that qualify you for elite status with no more money?



In the end, if you own over 5000 points you should be eligible for the Elite program as long as your points total results from the purchase of "multiple weeks" from the developer.  Unfortunately, I interpret this to mean that if you forked out the bucks for a 7100 point penthouse unit (only one week), you would not be eligible.  But, what do I know?  The sales sharks will find a way if you let them  

I'll be at Arco Thanksgiving week.  One condition of obtaining the Elite benefits is attending an Owner Update ... Lucky me.  If I learn anything new and interesting I'll post it here.  Last update in February was less than enlightening - In fact, it was quite contentious...but fun in a perverted way  ... as I was providing the contention... 

FWIW 

bbb


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## easyrider (Nov 7, 2012)

Thanks for the update Bob.

Bill


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## kb-austin (Feb 8, 2013)

*Point System Question*

We were at Arco in October, and own 1 week in a 7100 point penthouse; At the "owners update" they tried to sell us another unit so we would qualify to become a 10,000 point Elite member.  Very frustrating experience with the timeshare sales people.  BTW - we are usually given the fourstar Elite benefits when we show up.  

One of the issues we've had is trying to exchange our week (Bisbee Tournament) for another time of the year.  Not that we don't love being there in October (it's awesome!) but it would be nice to visit at different times.   Do you know any forums where you can swap with other suite owners?

Thanks!
KB


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## beach.bar.bob (Feb 8, 2013)

kb-austin said:


> ...
> 
> One of the issues we've had is trying to exchange our week (Bisbee Tournament) for another time of the year.  Not that we don't love being there in October (it's awesome!) but it would be nice to visit at different times.   Do you know any forums where you can swap with other suite owners?
> 
> ...



I assume you own a fixed week penthouse that is enrolled as a 7100 point VPA membership.  If you want to visit any UVC property you can already do that. That's the "magic" of the points program. Just call and cancel your fixed week reservation which will result in 7100 points in your account and use the points to make a reservation at any other time of the year.  I own a fixed week 7100 point penthouse in Flamingos that I do that with every year (we've never stayed in the fixed week unit we own). 

The challenges are:
1) If you want to visit Arco in high season you'll need to be planning at least 12 months in advance to really get what you want. 
2) If you insist on having a penthouse unit your options will be more limited. Most of the penthouses during high season were sold as fixed weeks so there are few if any penthouses in the floating point inventory. You need to hope a penthouse owner is not using their unit at that time so there is some availability. 

Our strategy has been to use the 7100 points to get into two weeks of a two bedroom unit and then try to leverage the elite upgrade option - so far less than 50% effective in ending up in a penthouse. 

We're leaving to Arco tomorrow am. Looking forward to it. 

FWIW

bbb


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## dosomething0 (Jul 13, 2014)

*What happens if I don't do the members update at Villa Del Arco?*

I have heard that the concierge will insist on members attending the members update when you arrive at Villa Del Arco.We just bought a resale at Villa Del Arco. I do not plan on wasting any of my vacation time on a sales pitch that I have no intention of purchasing. As this will be our first visit I'm sure they will want us to upgrade our membership considering we have the lowest level. My only concern is the room location/view. I do not expect to get an ocean front penthouse but I would want some sort of view (not facing a wall of air conditioning units) I'm afraid that if I don't go to the presentation we will be stuck in the worst room. Does anyone have any advise on how we should handle this at check in?
Thanks for any input


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## Barbeque (Jul 13, 2014)

a discreet tip of handing a $ 20 bill to the person at check in works wonders in most cases along with a comment nicely said something like:
I would like the nicest room you can give me with the best view possible. 
Have not stayed at Villa del Arco but this has worked well for us in the past at other resorts in Mexico.


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## nazclk (Jul 15, 2014)

*Sales pitch*

Just tell them to upgrade your room and you will go after they have given you your room. Don't agree to nothing before you are in your room.


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