# THE Club dues-2015



## winger

Where can I see or download THE Club 2015 statement ?
Does anyone know what THE Club's 2015 dues are ? 

I enrolled my deeded week to make use of THE Club as opposed to having Trust points.  I am unsure if this matters.

I do have two Diamond accounts setup, when I log onto the main account, I can see my deeded week's 2015 annual due/maintenance fee statement.  I thought the second account is the one containing THE Club's statement, but this does not seem to be the case.


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## pedro47

Please check your e mail from DRI. I just received an e mail on this topic on my tablet.


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## winger

pedro47 said:


> Please check your e mail from DRI. I just received an e mail on this topic on my tablet.


Thanks, I just received the email late last night after I had already turned in.

First, it looks like THE Club statement showed up this year on the different account than the past few years.

I just looked at the statement - all I can say is "wow!" (not in a good way)


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## dougp26364

I just called DRI because I thought there was a mistake in my billing. 

My THE Club dues for 2015 are *$587.50*. Last year they were $319. 

Of that fee, $79 is a voluntary Vacation Guard insurance fee of $79, which brings the total down to *$508.50*.  Needless to say, once our 2015 internal reservations have been completed, they can kiss my backsides goodbye as far as THE Club. I'll pay the fee this year and opt out after our final reservation. 

Financially it makes more sense to simply pay the $89 I.I. membership fee plus $170 exchange fee than remain a member of THE Club. For that matter, our reality is that we no longer really need our PoloTower weeks. It may be time to start working on giving them away.


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## Rent_Share

So that's an annual fee, for a single internal exchange within the Diamond Managed Properties ?


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## pedro47

winger said:


> Thanks, I just received the email late last night after I had already turned in.
> 
> First, it looks like THE Club statement showed up this year on the different account than the past few years.
> 
> I just looked at the statement - all I can say is "wow!" (not in a good way)



Wow is an understatement !


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## pedro47

dougp26364 said:


> I just called DRI because I thought there was a mistake in my billing.
> 
> My THE Club dues for 2015 are *$587.50*. Last year they were $319.
> 
> Of that fee, $79 is a voluntary Vacation Guard insurance fee of $79, which brings the total down to *$508.50*.  Needless to say, once our 2015 internal reservations have been completed, they can kiss my backsides goodbye as far as THE Club. I'll pay the fee this year and opt out after our final reservation.
> 
> Financially it makes more sense to simply pay the $89 I.I. membership fee plus $170 exchange fee than remain a member of THE Club. For that matter, our reality is that we no longer really need our PoloTower weeks. It may be time to start working on giving them away.



Doug, we agree and we are looking to unload our timeshare after next year.


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## pedro47

Doug are you a deeded owner and a member The Club as a Silver Elite member with 15,000 points or more?. Looks like we are paying more because we do not belong to DRI Trust. I have call several owners in our area and we all are paying $500 plus for next year's club dues.


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## tripberger

Are we allowed to not pay The Club fees and not use II?  This increase is crazy!


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## dougp26364

Rent_Share said:


> So that's an annual fee, for a single internal exchange within the Diamond Managed Properties ?



Yes. For us it's a 62.7% increase. 

I know there has been an argument from those that own fewer points that the cost average per point was higher if you owned fewer points. I suppose management thought this was a good way to "even the playing field". I wonder how they'll feel if enough elite members pull their deeded weeks from THE Club that it affects their ability to say "YES" when someone wants a club reservation? 

DRI has been nice over the years. Now I feel that it's to expensive in relationship to quality. If I didn't have club reservations that include brining guests with us for 2015 I'd be out now. As it is we'll pay the fee this year. Next year I'll be looking at options. 

I need to see the complete breakdown of charges. My knee jerk reaction is that well pull both our Polo Towers units from THE Club for 2016 and, at the very least, divest ourselves of the Suite's at Polo Towers unit in 2016 and probably do the same with the Villa's at Polo Towers in either 2016 or 2017. My personal I.I. membership, of which these two units have remained in, runs for another 3 years. At the end of 3 years it's my intention to have sold or given away both Polo Towers units. 

Once those units are gone we'll likely look for a timeshare within driving distance that A) we like B) allows pets C) is within driving distance and D) is more affordable than DRI. 

It's been a good run with DRI since 1998. I just can't justify the cost vs benefit at this point in our lives. Yes Polo Towers has possibly the best location on the strip for a property with I.I. but, I have access to the Marriott property and all the HGVC properties in Vegas. Great location or not I just don't need that much access to Vegas and, with the MF's DRI charges, it's to expensive to use as an exchanger into places like Breckenridge or Branson. The need DRI once filled in our vacation plans no longer exists. There are better options at more reasonable costs for us. Heck, I can do a nightly rental at Marriott's Residence Inn in Branson, bring the dogs with us instead of boarding them and STILL have cash left over vs paying DRI's fee's and, we'll have a 1 bedroom hotel room with a small kitchen and table. For the cost difference I can do without the extra sq. footage at the Suites at Fall Creek in Branson.


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## dougp26364

tripberger said:


> Are we allowed to not pay The Club fees and not use II?  This increase is crazy!



Yes, you can opt out of THE Club. Maybe if enough members leave, DRI will get the point.

If you own a deeded week you can keep a personal I.I. account and exchange through I.I. using their weeks exchange program. This is likely how we well do things starting in 2016, assuming we still own our DRI weeks.


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## dougp26364

pedro47 said:


> Doug are you a deeded owner and a member The Club as a Silver Elite member with 15,000 points or more?. Looks like we are paying more because we do not belong to DRI Trust. I have call several owners in our area and we all are paying $500 plus for next year's club dues.



Yes, we are deeded week owners who are Silver Elite members in THE Club.......for 2015. In 2016 we'll just be deeded week owners and, possibly by 2017 we won't even be owners. It just depends on what I decide when I have a chance to run a better analysis of the cost vs benefit. On the surface it doesn't look good at all.


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## tripberger

dougp26364 said:


> Yes, you can opt out of THE Club. Maybe if enough members leave, DRI will get the point.



What does THE Club even do for us?


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## dougp26364

tripberger said:


> What does THE Club even do for us?



THE Club allows for seamless reservations to any DRI managed resort and most affiliated resorts. Inventory at affiliated resorts is sometimes suspect at best. Inventory for reservations at most DRI resorts has been good. 

THE Club does offer other benefits for a fee but, on the whole they're not a good deal. You can use your points to pay for cruises, rental cars or buy FF miles. Typically speaking owners pay somewhere in the neighborhood or 10 cents or more per point PLUS the club fee's. If you use your points for anything other than timeshare reservations, you're probably getting around 5 cents per point value BEFORE you consider THE Club fee's. 

NOTE: I'm estimating these figures based on past experience. I have not taken the time to sit down and exactly calculate the costs.


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## pedro47

Thanks Doug for the break down on The Club dues for 2015. The Club members who are at a real disadvantage are those members who purchase a small numbers of points for exchange purposes. This is my opinion only.


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## Baldwin

pedro47 said:


> Doug are you a deeded owner and a member The Club as a Silver Elite member with 15,000 points or more?. Looks like we are paying more because we do not belong to DRI Trust. I have call several owners in our area and we all are paying $500 plus for next year's club dues.



I'm new and still learning, and don't understand this. Is The Club the same as Club Select? I also thought being a Silver member (anything above Valued member) required you to own some Trust points? I own 2500 US Collection Trust points and my annual fees didn't increase that much after I removed the insurance fee.


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## RuralEngineer

*Club fee*



dougp26364 said:


> My THE Club dues for 2015 are *$587.50*. Last year they were $319.
> 
> Of that fee, $79 is a voluntary Vacation Guard insurance fee of $79, which brings the total down to *$508.50*.





My club fee is $250.  I own both a deeded week and points.  Not sure the difference.


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## dougp26364

It appears trust owners didn't see much increase. They already pay a per point MF + trust management fee + THE Club fee. 

In the past deeded week owners only paid their home resort MF's + THE Club fee. We didn't pay a trust management fee because, well, our deeds were managed by our HOA and the management fee's were included in our MF's. I don't see why all of the sudden I must pay a base fee, which is already higher than either Marriott or HGVC's club fee's, PLUS another fee based on the number of points I own. It's a GREAT way to piss off your elite deeded week owners, who I would think would be some of your best customers. Perhaps DRI is wanting to thin the heard?


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## pedro47

dougp26364 said:


> It appears trust owners didn't see much increase. They already pay a per point MF + trust management fee + THE Club fee.
> 
> In the past deeded week owners only paid their home resort MF's + THE Club fee. We didn't pay a trust management fee because, well, our deeds were managed by our HOA and the management fee's were included in our MF's. I don't see why all of the sudden I must pay a base fee, which is already higher than either Marriott or HGVC's club fee's, PLUS another fee based on the number of points I own. It's a GREAT way to piss off your elite deeded week owners, who I would think would be some of your best customers. Perhaps DRI is wanting to thin the heard?



Your last sentence is their target in my opinion.


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## dougp26364

RuralEngineer said:


> My club fee is $250.  I own both a deeded week and points.  Not sure the difference.



I maybe see where we're talking the same thing but in a different language. My club fee is $270. 

This year they tacked on a SECOND fee based on the number of points I own of $238.50. That per point fee has never been charged to deeded week owners in the past. It appears it's not charged to trust owners but, trust owners pay a trust management fee that deeded week owners do not pay. Thus, anyone who owned even a minimum number of trust points would pay three fee's, trust management fee, THE Club fee and MF's. Deeded week owners in THE Club only paid THE Club fee and MF's associated with their deeded week. There has NEVER been an additional fee based on the number of points given for the deeded week if owners participated in THE Club. It's an additional fee not charged before. 

The combination of THE Club fee of $270 plus the new fee of $238 based on number of points I own has taken what was a bill of $319 last year to a bill that's $508.50 this year. 

So maybe it would be easier if I told you they reduced my THE Club fee from $319 to $270, but then ADDED a mandatory fee of $238.50 based on the total number of points I own.

So it's not so much THE Club fee went up, down or stayed the same. It's the NEW mandatory management fee based on points given for our deeded weeks that's shot my fee to belong to THE Club up 62% in one year.


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## johnrsrq

dougp26364 said:


> I maybe see where we're talking the same thing but in a different language. My club fee is $270.
> 
> This year they tacked on a SECOND fee based on the number of points I own of $238.50. That per point fee has never been charged to deeded week owners in the past. It appears it's not charged to trust owners but, trust owners pay a trust management fee that deeded week owners do not pay. Thus, anyone who owned even a minimum number of trust points would pay three fee's, trust management fee, THE Club fee and MF's. Deeded week owners in THE Club only paid THE Club fee and MF's associated with their deeded week. *There has NEVER been an additional fee based on the number of points given for the deeded week if owners participated in THE Club. It's an additional fee not charged before.*
> 
> The combination of THE Club fee of $270 plus the new fee of $238 based on number of points I own has taken what was a bill of $319 last year to a bill that's $508.50 this year.
> 
> So maybe it would be easier if I told you they reduced my THE Club fee from $319 to $270, but then ADDED a mandatory fee of $238.50 based on the total number of points I own.
> 
> So it's not so much THE Club fee went up, down or stayed the same. It's the NEW mandatory management fee based on points given for our deeded weeks that's shot my fee to belong to THE Club up 62% in one year.



I have paid these fees's every year since I joined and used my 2 deeded weeks. I attached my bills for the 2013 and 2014 for reference.  I could easily retrieve these past bills on the payment section of DRI system. If you haven't had to pay those in the past, I wonder what changed.


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## dougp26364

Your bill shows you paying the US Collection fee. That's a trust based ownership fee. Apparently you either own a few trust points in the US Collection or, DRI believes you own a few points in the US Collection.

The bill clearly shows a US Collections operational fee and a US Collections fee per point. 

Trust members have always paid this fee. It's why I refused to buy trust points or convert our deeded weeks to a trust based ownership.


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## Baldwin

johnrsrq said:


> I have paid these fees's every year since I joined and used my 2 deeded weeks. I attached my bills for the 2013 and 2014 for reference.  I could easily retrieve these past bills on the payment section of DRI system. If you haven't had to pay those in the past, I wonder what changed.



I believe the difference is you and I own Trust points and pay 3 fees while Doug doesn't own Trust points and used to pay 1 fee but now has a second fee showing up on his bill. I bet DRI is getting plenty of calls about this.


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## dougp26364

This is how our THE Club assessment reads:

Balance As Of 11/24/2014 .00 .00 -239.25
2015- THE Club(R) Base Standard Assessment 270.00 
2015- THE Club(R) Point Standard Assessment 238.50  
2015- Vacation Guard Travel Insurance 79.00 .00 

(The Balance as of 11/24/2014 -239 reflects our pre-payment of THE Club fee's to make 2015 reservations)
Note that there is nothing about the US Collection or any other trust collection. We DO NOT own trust points. Deeded week owners who are members of THE Club but do not own any trust interest have not paid a per point fee in the past. Only a base THE Club fee. 

Like I said, it's why I was a member of THE Club and why we've never joined one of DRI's trusts. DRI's trust management fee's (base + per point) + THE Club fee's + maintenance fee's (either deeded week or trust based average) = to many management fee's for me to ever consider DRI vs other brands like HGVC, MVCI, DVC, Bluegreen et... 

You may have been paying this fee all along and feel it's acceptable. That's fine if you get value from your ownership. We haven't been paying this fee all along. For us it's a HUGE increase in a pure management fee. Fortunately, it's optional and one I can eliminate starting in 2016.


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## dougp26364

Baldwin said:


> I believe the difference is you and I own Trust points and pay 3 fees while Doug doesn't own Trust points and used to pay 1 fee but now has a second fee showing up on his bill. I bet DRI is getting plenty of calls about this.



That is EXACTLY the difference. Under their name it shows they own DRI resale POINTS (that's a trust ownership). Deeded week owners have only had to pay THE Club fee, which last year was $319. DRI has decided non-trust owners will now pay an additional management fee for THE Club based on total points in THE Club, making the total fee's go up in our case 62%. 

We're now paying equal fee's to trust owners, which on one hand looks like it evens the playing field BUT, we do not have the 13 month reservation window trust owners enjoy for their home group of resorts nor do we require a trust manager to handle the finances of multiple resorts. Essentially, deeded week non-trust owners don't share the benefits of trust owners OR the expense of managing the trust BUT now we're paying equal fee's. 

I've always felt DRI was sticking it to their trust owners with all the extra fee's. It's why we never bought trust points or enrolled our deeded weeks in one of the trusts. The cost outweighed the benefit. 

After sleeping on it I believe I know what path we'll take for 2016. First, we'll opt out of THE Club and eliminate the $508.50 management fee to belong to THE Club. I'll begin looking to sell or give away our Suite's at Polo Towers. I'll maintain our personal I.I. account and give up the corporate DRI account. For now we'll hold onto our Villa's at Polo Towers week but, chances are we'll divest ourselves of that week in the coming years.

DRI has nice resorts and a good system but, it just became more than I'm willing to pay. I'd rather increase our Hilton ownership thru resale, maybe look for a resale Marriott week, consider something less expensive or, the most likely scenario it taking the $3,000 savings in MF's and management fee's and banking the money, looking at all inclusive resort vacations or taking a yearly cruise vacation.


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## johnrsrq

dougp26364 said:


> That is EXACTLY the difference. Under their name it shows they own DRI resale POINTS (that's a trust ownership). Deeded week owners have only had to pay THE Club fee, which last year was $319. DRI has decided non-trust owners will now pay an additional management fee for THE Club based on total points in THE Club, making the total fee's go up in our case 62%.
> 
> We're now paying equal fee's to trust owners, which on one hand looks like it evens the playing field BUT, we do not have the 13 month reservation window trust owners enjoy for their home group of resorts nor do we require a trust manager to handle the finances of multiple resorts. Essentially, deeded week non-trust owners don't share the benefits of trust owners OR the expense of managing the trust BUT now we're paying equal fee's.
> 
> I've always felt DRI was sticking it to their trust owners with all the extra fee's. It's why we never bought trust points or enrolled our deeded weeks in one of the trusts. The cost outweighed the benefit.
> 
> After sleeping on it I believe I know what path we'll take for 2016. First, we'll opt out of THE Club and eliminate the $508.50 management fee to belong to THE Club. I'll begin looking to sell or give away our Suite's at Polo Towers. I'll maintain our personal I.I. account and give up the corporate DRI account. For now we'll hold onto our Villa's at Polo Towers week but, chances are we'll divest ourselves of that week in the coming years.
> 
> DRI has nice resorts and a good system but, it just became more than I'm willing to pay. I'd rather increase our Hilton ownership thru resale, maybe look for a resale Marriott week, consider something less expensive or, the most likely scenario it taking the $3,000 savings in MF's and management fee's and banking the money, looking at all inclusive resort vacations or taking a yearly cruise vacation.



The only reason I have that fee on my deeded week account is that I had purchased a few thousand trust points to attain silver level. If you have no purchases of any points to raise your level then I would directly question DRI.  Good luck.


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## dougp26364

johnrsrq said:


> The only reason I have that fee on my deeded week account is that I had purchased a few thousand trust points to attain silver level. If you have no purchases of any points to raise your level then I would directly question DRI.  Good luck.



They've already explained it in their billing statement:

_"Your enclosed billing statement reflects a change in calculation for 2015 of which we want to make you aware.  Over the last several years we have continued to expand the benefits and services available to our members of THE Club®. An extensive review was conducted of the operating expenses of THE Club by loyalty level, and the decision was made that the 2015 THE Club fee would be separated into (2) two components; a Base fee and a Per Point fee. This revision was necessary in order to continue to deliver the service and choices that you enjoy with your Silver membership, as a member of THE Club® with a deeded ownership. "_

As I read this, what I'm getting is that deeded week owners are of less value so, as we must increase fee's, it's better to stick it to those who refuse to join a trust by increasing their fee's rather than an across the board smaller increase for all members. 

I get it. Deeded week owners appeared to be getting a "deal" by not paying the per-point costs trust owners paid. OTOH, deeded week owners don't enjoy the same benefits as trust owners like the 13 month reservation window, cost averaged MF's of all the resorts in the trust or protection from a large SA such as the one that was levied on deeded week owners at the Point at Poipu in Kaui.


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## dude-luv

*Bailing Out*

I am a deeded owner only at KBC and have always despised DRI's domination of the strata and its attitude toward maintenance fees.  I believe that a large component of maintenance fees go into the pockets of upper management.  Some people defend DRI's efforts to improve their resorts and this I understand.  At the same time, I have encountered a number of DRI salespeople (one in particular at Williamsburg) who believe that boutique resorts that are run by the owners are being managed 'unprofessionally.'  The best timeshares that I have experienced are ones where maintenance fees are justified and decisions are made by owners.  For this reason, after my final visit to KBC in November next year, I am going to put my unit on the market.  I will eventually be looking for something different such as Lawai Beach Resort.
I really like KBC and the Pointe at Poipu but I cannot tolerate DRI's attitude.  I don't envy members of The Club or of any of the Trusts.   These are just my opinions.


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## dougp26364

dude-luv said:


> I am a deeded owner only at KBC and have always despised DRI's domination of the strata and its attitude toward maintenance fees.  I believe that a large component of maintenance fees go into the pockets of upper management.  Some people defend DRI's efforts to improve their resorts and this I understand.  At the same time, I have encountered a number of DRI salespeople (one in particular at Williamsburg) who believe that boutique resorts that are run by the owners are being managed 'unprofessionally.'  The best timeshares that I have experienced are ones where maintenance fees are justified and decisions are made by owners.  For this reason, after my final visit to KBC in November next year, I am going to put my unit on the market.  I will eventually be looking for something different such as Lawai Beach Resort.
> I really like KBC and the Pointe at Poipu but I cannot tolerate DRI's attitude.  I don't envy members of The Club or of any of the Trusts.   These are just my opinions.



We're at a similar point with one exception. Other than their club fee's, the MF's are higher than but more inline with higher quality resorts. Not necessarily just well run resorts but higher quality resorts. My issues have been that, even though I'm paying Marriott like MF's, DRI is NOT Marriott quality.

Several years ago I was ready to sell our Polo Towers weeks. We own at Marriott and Hilton in Vegas. DRI has a great location with Polo Towers but, I have more access to Vegas than I need and Polo Towers, even with it's great location, isn't the quality of our Marriott or Hilton ownerships. Thus we'd rather keep those.

When THE Club became an option, we kept those weeks for the flexablity offered. Now, with THE Club membership fee's out of control (a 62.7% increase in that fee IS out of control IMHO), we'll be looking to make some changes. For now it looks like we'll get rid of THE Club and our Suite's at Polo Towers week sometime in 2016. We'll keep the Villa's because it's cheaper to keep that week and exchange for what we'd rather own in Colorado at this time (MF's between the resorts is about equal). Eventually I figure we'll be in the market to get rid of our Villa's week as well. But for now it only makes economic sense to get rid of THE Club and our Suite's week. 

With any luck at all this move will financially bite DRI squarely in the buttocks come 2016. My bet is this late decision will have owners/members paying the fee this year due to reservations and exchanges already made. That's where we are at with three reservations pending and one I.I. exchange. I have to keep our membership active and keep the corporate account open until after we've completed travel. They've timed this move out PERFECTLY so as not to damage their bottom line for 2015 and HOPE that members "see the light" before the 2016 dues are due. Maybe their sales staff can convince enough deeded week owners to buy some trust points this next year and capture enough of those who are now in shell shock, maybe not. With us we own enough other timeshares that we'll be in the NOT group. On a personal note I'd like to see this money grab bite them squarely in the back sides.


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## pedro47

Thanks Dougp for your comments they are well taken. We are a group of 50 plus deeded owners in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland and this thread will be the number One topics on our January 2016 agenda meeting.


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## johnrsrq

pedro47 said:


> Thanks Dougp for your comments they are well taken. We are a group of 50 deeded owners in Virginia and Maryland and this thread will be the number One topics on our January 2016 meeting.



repeat repeat repeat  negativity . Hey, some of deeded weeks have had their weeks allocated with other trust points. We've been been paying these fee's for years- so it's no couple hundred bucks increase 62%.  As far as quality, well, yes however, I have been to Cabo Azul and there are many fine quality resorts. DRI has some geographic reach and is pecking away at resorts who's finances are shaky and brings them into the fold... ie  irking previous owners.

but how to get rid of without credit ding and tug's vast array of experience, the exit door strategies become more visible. 

as far DRII merging with VAC, I feel DRI would perceived as the weak sister  however, using it might be equally beneficial.

It would be nice to get some waiver from mgmt. for commercial purposes. I have no time.


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## pgnewarkboy

dougp26364 said:


> That is EXACTLY the difference. Under their name it shows they own DRI resale POINTS (that's a trust ownership). Deeded week owners have only had to pay THE Club fee, which last year was $319. DRI has decided non-trust owners will now pay an additional management fee for THE Club based on total points in THE Club, making the total fee's go up in our case 62%.
> 
> We're now paying equal fee's to trust owners, which on one hand looks like it evens the playing field BUT, we do not have the 13 month reservation window trust owners enjoy for their home group of resorts nor do we require a trust manager to handle the finances of multiple resorts. Essentially, deeded week non-trust owners don't share the benefits of trust owners OR the expense of managing the trust BUT now we're paying equal fee's.
> 
> I've always felt DRI was sticking it to their trust owners with all the extra fee's. It's why we never bought trust points or enrolled our deeded weeks in one of the trusts. The cost outweighed the benefit.
> 
> After sleeping on it I believe I know what path we'll take for 2016. First, we'll opt out of THE Club and eliminate the $508.50 management fee to belong to THE Club. I'll begin looking to sell or give away our Suite's at Polo Towers. I'll maintain our personal I.I. account and give up the corporate DRI account. For now we'll hold onto our Villa's at Polo Towers week but, chances are we'll divest ourselves of that week in the coming years.
> 
> DRI has nice resorts and a good system but, it just became more than I'm willing to pay. I'd rather increase our Hilton ownership thru resale, maybe look for a resale Marriott week, consider something less expensive or, the most likely scenario it taking the $3,000 savings in MF's and management fee's and banking the money, looking at all inclusive resort vacations or taking a yearly cruise vacation.



Doug,

I agree with you completely.  I can't justify this expense any longer.  I just sent an email to DRI registering my complaint and asking how I can get out of the club and the consequences that would have for the two 2015 reservation I currently have.


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## dougp26364

pgnewarkboy said:


> Doug,
> 
> I agree with you completely.  I can't justify this expense any longer.  I just sent an email to DRI registering my complaint and asking how I can get out of the club and the consequences that would have for the two 2015 reservation I currently have.



To get out of THE Club there is an opt out form. I would suspect simply not paying THE Club dues, as they are voluntary would work as well. Unlike MF's I don't believe there is a contractual obligation to force you to pay THE Club dues. Their recourse is to cancel your membership.

As I understand the rules, when you cancel your THE Club membership, you're reservations will also cancel. It's for that reason I'll pay the 2015 THE Club dues as we have 3 pending reservations and an exchange through the corporate I.I. account that I don't want to risk. After those reservations are completed I'll request to opt out.


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## artringwald

I just got my snail mail billing statement for the 2015 Club Dues. As owners of a deeded week worth 15,500 points, they jumped from $319.00 in 2014 to $488.50 in 2015, and increase of 53%. I do like the flexibility of the Club, but I also agree the dues are getting out of hand. What really miffs me is I have trouble booking the weeks we want at our home resort when I do it through the Club, but never have a problem when I do it for our week that isn't in the Club. I'm also considering quitting the Club, but first I'll have to use up the points I was planning to carry over into 2016.


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## RuralEngineer

*Total Cost Per Point*

$0.145

w/one deeded week and all other contracts consolidated under one account.  DRI just removed duplicated fees.


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## dougp26364

artringwald said:


> I just got my snail mail billing statement for the 2015 Club Dues. As owners of a deeded week worth 15,500 points, they jumped from $319.00 in 2014 to $488.50 in 2015, and increase of 53%. I do like the flexibility of the Club, but I also agree the dues are getting out of hand. What really miffs me is I have trouble booking the weeks we want at our home resort when I do it through the Club, but never have a problem when I do it for our week that isn't in the Club. I'm also considering quitting the Club, but first I'll have to use up the points I was planning to carry over into 2016.



We have a little over 7,000 points remaining for 2015 that we had planned to roll over to 2016. Instead I'll convert as many of them as possible to FF miles and call it a day. We'll be out of THE Club in 2016.

I've taken the time to run the numbers. In our case, THE Club dues are $508.50. Two exchanges through I.I. will cost me $348. Since we already have a personal I.I. account there's no additional cost to us in that regard.


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## artringwald

dougp26364 said:


> We have a little over 7,000 points remaining for 2015 that we had planned to roll over to 2016. Instead I'll convert as many of them as possible to FF miles and call it a day. We'll be out of THE Club in 2016.
> 
> I've taken the time to run the numbers. In our case, THE Club dues are $508.50. Two exchanges through I.I. will cost me $348. Since we already have a personal I.I. account there's no additional cost to us in that regard.



I can't say that I blame you.


----------



## dougp26364

Depending on the number of deeded week owners with elite status and the number of weeks they control that are currently in THE Club, this increase could prove disaterous for DRI by 2016. If there is a significant number of elite club members who opt out of THE Club, it could have a domino effect felt by everyone. 

1. Reduction in available units enrolled in THE Club which reduces available inventory to remaining members

2. Reduction in gross revenue lost by elite members who opt out, which in turn will require layoff's (no longer handling as much internal reservation volume), increases in fee's to remaining members (no as many members sharing the expense and/or lost profits to DRI as an organization (lower gross revenue, lost profits from internal exchange activity and lost profits from rentals when owners use their weeks for services other than timeshare vacations.

3. Overall dissatisfaction by owners, espeically Elite deed week owners who do not own trust point which appear to be taking the brunt of the increase, but also by all owners if the overall availability of weeks is affected.

4. Fewer referals to sales presetations secondary to owner dissatisfaction from Elite deeded week owners. 

5. Increase in the number of weeks owned by people who have purchased on the resale market, making it more difficult to re-obtain those weeks back into THE Club inventory secondary to existing obsticals initiated by DRI to discourage people from obtaining resale weeks.

All of this could be mitigated if the exposure to DRI is minimal, as in there is a very small percentage of deeded week owners participating in THE Club at this time. 

I do not anticipate that there will be any significant impact seen of relt by current members of THE Club as I don't see any significant shift in membership happening prior to 2016. It is my belief that DRI's timing will necessitate current members paying the kings ransom to maintain current reservations and vacation plans for 2015. However, since it's not possible to make 2016 reservations for deeded week THE Club members (non-trust owners only), plans for 2016 can be easily altered to make reservations not using THE Club. 

Since I don't believe a significant shift will happen until 2016 and, since I don't see that shift happening until after DRI has set it's budget, then I don't believe those remaining in THE Club will see much impact on their fee's until the 2017 statement come out. By 2017 THE Club will have fully realized any losses from owners opting out for the 2016 year and DRI will either have to make cuts to it's budget or increase fee's to the remaining members. If things go very badly and a higher than anticipated number of members opt out, it will be reflected in a larger than anticipated fee increase in THE Club dues for the 2017 year.


----------



## pedro47

Doug, again thank you for your observations . All fifty (50) deeded owners in our associations have tentative agreed to pay the fee for 2015.  It's caught everyone by surprise.


----------



## johnrsrq

artringwald said:


> I just got my snail mail billing statement for the 2015 Club Dues. As owners of a deeded week worth 15,500 points, they jumped from $319.00 in 2014 to $488.50 in 2015, and increase of 53%. I do like the flexibility of the Club, but I also agree the dues are getting out of hand. What really miffs me is I have trouble booking the weeks we want at our home resort when I do it through the Club, but never have a problem when I do it for our week that isn't in the Club. I'm also considering quitting the Club, but first I'll have to use up the points I was planning to carry over into 2016.



so basically, if you quit the club, then you'll have to use your entire week- never split it up or leverage it into more than one week, use exchange companies to deposit into their systems (RCI, II  DAE) and hope on their inventory for searches or use it at your own resort with the airfare and regular trip costs.
And you could sell Hawaii deeded weeks in another process but to someone that will want the same system?   for a few hundred bucks?  something I've been paying for all along- dummy me..


----------



## dougp26364

pedro47 said:


> Doug, again thank you for your observations . All fifty (50) deeded owners in our associations have tentative agreed to pay the fee for 2015.  It's caught everyone by surprise.



I think anyone who had plans or reservations is sort of stuck with little to no recourse other than to complain, which likely falls on deaf ears. It won't be until 2016 that any fall out over this business decision will be felt. Hopefully it hits DRI in the pocketbook as hard as they've hit their Elite deeded week owners this Christmas season.


----------



## dougp26364

johnrsrq said:


> so basically, if you quit the club, then you'll have to use your entire week- never split it up or leverage it into more than one week, use exchange companies to deposit into their systems (RCI, II  DAE) and hope on their inventory for searches or use it at your own resort with the airfare and regular trip costs.
> And you could sell Hawaii deeded weeks in another process but to someone that will want the same system?   for a few hundred bucks?  something I've been paying for all along- dummy me..



Spoken almost like a timeshare salesman. Even though you're probably not, it sounds as if you've believed one to many salesmen who have told you a story or two to keep you happy and paying the fee's. I've been told many half truths similar to this at the round table.  

For instance, I can split my 2 bedroom units into 4 seperate units for deposit, therby getting up to 4 weeks exchange (two 1 bedroom units and two studio units). By doing instant exchanges through I.I. I have routinely upgraded from a 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom and from a studio unit to 1 or 2 bedroom units. With points you pay for the size you want, no upgrades without a fee unless your Platinum Elite. 

As to hoping to make an exchange with an exchange company, with THE Club, deeded week owners are required to wait until the 10 month mark and HOPE there are available weeks. Not a lot of difference between exchanging through RCI or I.I. and reserving through THE Club. In fact, I can do online searches with I.I. for instant exchanges, just like THE Club. I can also put in for as many ONGOING exchange request if I don't find what I want online without being limited in number, UNLIKE THE Club. Try this if you will, see if there's good availablity at Ka'anapli Beach Club for this summer? There isn't? Darn, just like with the exchange companies EXCEPT I can easily place an ongoing request and have the opprotunity to get a match. 

There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems. Point based systems have better flexability, usually at a fixed cost with some extra fee's. Exchanging through I.I. or RCI has less flexablity but, it has now become less expensive for many Elite owners than reserving through THE Club. As far as getting what you want, my experience since 1998 tells me there about equal. The main difference I enjoyed was being able to resrve a view, for an increased price, using THE Club. Fortunately I also own in other systems that are more reasonably priced and will still enjoy that option, just not with DRI.  

So, pick your poison. DRI has shown an unnerving habit for arbitrarily adjusting fee's at shockingly high rates. After you get burned enough, you learn to leave the fire alone.


----------



## artringwald

I haven't decided yet whether to leave the Club, but I did just sell all my shares of Diamond Resorts stock.  There's some amount of satisfaction in using the profits to pay the fees.


----------



## dougp26364

I suspect a lot will depend upon what is owned, how many points it's worth and what options are available outside of THE Club.

I can see an arguement for staying in THE Club despite the stratospheric increase in fee's if the deeded week is not a lock off unit, generates a good number of points and those points are used in such a way that you can get more vacations for the points than in a straight exchange system like Interval or RCI. But, my bet is those weeks are somewhat rare as in mostly Hawaiian weeks. In that case, I wonder how many owners in the Hawaiian resorts actually use them to exchange vs personal usage? 

The real damage is more likely to come for mainland timeshares where the points aren't so high, many can be locked off and the MF's are more reasonable compared to Hawaii. That's where we're sitting right now. 

Not to mention is could be more economical for DRI owners to simply dump their DRI weeks on the resale market and buy something else that's more economical to keep, which is a move we're contemplating ourselves. If current owners elect that route, it still removes what was once in THE Club and moves it into a catagory of ownership no longer eligable for THE Club membership, effectively removing that inventory forever. Sure one can buy their way into THE Club if you REALLY want to pay developer prices but, with the fee's DRI is now charging, what are the chances?


----------



## johnrsrq

artringwald said:


> I haven't decided yet whether to leave the Club, but I did just sell all my shares of Diamond Resorts stock.  There's some amount of satisfaction in using the profits to pay the fees.



well , hopefully you got a good price!  I can't really comment on stock prices per licensing/compliance concerns in business although I treaded here in the beginning looking at drii as a potential  short down the road.

good luck all!


----------



## artringwald

johnrsrq said:


> well , hopefully you got a good price!  I can't really comment on stock prices per licensing/compliance concerns in business although I treaded here in the beginning looking at drii as a potential  short down the road.
> 
> good luck all!



I can't complain about the price. It was up 72% since I bought it last year.


----------



## johnrsrq

dougp26364 said:


> Spoken almost like a timeshare salesman. Even though you're probably not, it sounds as if you've believed one to many salesmen who have told you a story or two to keep you happy and paying the fee's. I've been told many half truths similar to this at the round table.
> 
> For instance, I can split my 2 bedroom units into 4 seperate units for deposit, therby getting up to 4 weeks exchange (two 1 bedroom units and two studio units). By doing instant exchanges through I.I. I have routinely upgraded from a 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom and from a studio unit to 1 or 2 bedroom units. With points you pay for the size you want, no upgrades without a fee unless your Platinum Elite.
> 
> As to hoping to make an exchange with an exchange company, with THE Club, deeded week owners are required to wait until the 10 month mark and HOPE there are available weeks. Not a lot of difference between exchanging through RCI or I.I. and reserving through THE Club. In fact, I can do online searches with I.I. for instant exchanges, just like THE Club. I can also put in for as many ONGOING exchange request if I don't find what I want online without being limited in number, UNLIKE THE Club. Try this if you will, see if there's good availablity at Ka'anapli Beach Club for this summer? There isn't? Darn, just like with the exchange companies EXCEPT I can easily place an ongoing request and have the opprotunity to get a match.
> 
> There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems. Point based systems have better flexability, usually at a fixed cost with some extra fee's. Exchanging through I.I. or RCI has less flexablity but, it has now become less expensive for many Elite owners than reserving through THE Club. As far as getting what you want, my experience since 1998 tells me there about equal. The main difference I enjoyed was being able to resrve a view, for an increased price, using THE Club. Fortunately I also own in other systems that are more reasonably priced and will still enjoy that option, just not with DRI.
> 
> So, pick your poison. DRI has shown an unnerving habit for arbitrarily adjusting fee's at shockingly high rates. After you get burned enough, you learn to leave the fire alone.



ok, I'll bite just a little bit . Not now or ever a timeshare salesperson/rep or anything related.

If you are in the club- your reservation window is 13 months within your collection- sometimes this includes affiliates (as I have several weeks oceanfront reserved for next season) in an affiliate of the US collection and made those reservations 13 month out.  The costs of the exchange fee per week is nil within DRI system and whatever $129 or so per week II. There's a few hundred bucks. I also split my weeks up sometimes into 2 to 6 day rentals with no fee and substantial discount - for me convenient ad I can drive there or friends can or maybe other who will share expense burden.

I can do the same exchange request with II gold (platimum currently) and use no point draw from DRI account yet I would have to pay an exchange fee to II.  

While I understand that your rate went up from 300 or so to 500 or so because they imposed that now on all, did you pay a fee of several thousand to get into the Club initially? Did they try to sell you more points initially to go with your deeded weeks or were your weeks allotted points great enough to get you to Elite silver? If so, I don't think you had a bad experience relative to others. 

Also, I suspect each property is different when respect to deeded weeks. My three bedroom/three full bath in "overbuilt?" Orlando, while very nice, spacious on a lake etc, within a mile Disney, comes with a $955 yearly HOA fee which is, I believe, $300-400 less than Marriott's. And that per year , per week. And it's managed by DRI.  And it commands as much in exchange co's.
And it's in the US collection.

Well, while it's all a pain, I am making the most sense of it for me. The deeded weeks are just plain difficult by themselves unless you have a large family and are going there each year. The disposition fee is nil yet the expected sales price is close to nil as well. Unlike Marriott, which have great properties but have higher fees into, ongoing and disposition. Yet they do have value for many.


----------



## dougp26364

johnrsrq said:


> ok, I'll bite just a little bit . Not now or ever a timeshare salesperson/rep or anything related.
> 
> If you are in the club- your reservation window is 13 months within your collection- sometimes this includes affiliates (as I have several weeks oceanfront reserved for next season) in an affiliate of the US collection and made those reservations 13 month out.  The costs of the exchange fee per week is nil within DRI system and whatever $129 or so per week II. There's a few hundred bucks. I also split my weeks up sometimes into 2 to 6 day rentals with no fee and substantial discount - for me convenient ad I can drive there or friends can or maybe other who will share expense burden.
> 
> I can do the same exchange request with II gold (platimum currently) and use no point draw from DRI account yet I would have to pay an exchange fee to II.
> 
> While I understand that your rate went up from 300 or so to 500 or so because they imposed that now on all, did you pay a fee of several thousand to get into the Club initially? Did they try to sell you more points initially to go with your deeded weeks or were your weeks allotted points great enough to get you to Elite silver? If so, I don't think you had a bad experience relative to others.
> 
> Also, I suspect each property is different when respect to deeded weeks. My three bedroom/three full bath in "overbuilt?" Orlando, while very nice, spacious on a lake etc, within a mile Disney, comes with a $955 yearly HOA fee which is, I believe, $300-400 less than Marriott's. And that per year , per week. And it's managed by DRI.  And it commands as much in exchange co's.
> And it's in the US collection.
> 
> Well, while it's all a pain, I am making the most sense of it for me. The deeded weeks are just plain difficult by themselves unless you have a large family and are going there each year. The disposition fee is nil yet the expected sales price is close to nil as well. Unlike Marriott, which have great properties but have higher fees into, ongoing and disposition. Yet they do have value for many.



For some it still works. For us it no longer makes financial sense. 

The 13 month reservation is for trust owners. We don't own in a trust and we don't have a collection we belong too. We're deeded week owners enrolled in THE Club. We own weeks that convert yearly to points, not point associated with a collection. There is a big difference between the two. 

Deeded week owners have, until this year, paid a flat fee for THE CLub membership. It's never been based on the number of points given in exchange for keeping the deeded week in THE Club. 

DRI has at least three types of owners. 

1. Deeded week owners who canon only use their week or exchange through an exchange company. 

2.  Deeded week owners who haves enrolled their week in THE Club. Each year the deed weeks are converted to the equivelent THE Club points but can only be used at the 12 month mak for home resort reservations (1 resort, not a collection) and 10 months for reservations in THE Club. 

3. Trust owners who own trust points. They can reserve at any of the resorts in their collection at 13 months or any THE Club resorts not in their collection at 10 months. 

So you CAN be in THE Club and have a 10 month reservation window for all resorts except the ONE where you have your deed, which is where we are at this time.


----------



## johnrsrq

dougp26364 said:


> For some it still works. For us it no longer makes financial sense.
> 
> The 13 month reservation is for trust owners. We don't own in a trust and we don't have a collection we belong too. We're deeded week owners enrolled in THE Club. We own weeks that convert yearly to points, not point associated with a collection. There is a big difference between the two.
> 
> Deeded week owners have, until this year, paid a flat fee for THE CLub membership. It's never been based on the number of points given in exchange for keeping the deeded week in THE Club.
> 
> DRI has at least three types of owners.
> 
> 1. Deeded week owners who canon only use their week or exchange through an exchange company.
> 
> 2.  Deeded week owners who haves enrolled their week in THE Club. Each year the deed weeks are converted to the equivelent THE Club points but can only be used at the 12 month mak for home resort reservations (1 resort, not a collection) and 10 months for reservations in THE Club.
> 
> 3. Trust owners who own trust points. They can reserve at any of the resorts in their collection at 13 months or any THE Club resorts not in their collection at 10 months.
> 
> So you CAN be in THE Club and have a 10 month reservation window for all resorts except the ONE where you have your deed, which is where we are at this time.



I have one #3 trust account resale. Cost nothing and only usage in us collection.

I have a second account which is like #2 and #3 (lets call it #4) combined for club purposes because I bought a few thousand points a few years ago, cheaper I might add than today,  however, I keep my deed simple title and get 13 true club window. Fwiw

I think the club and its flexibility has only been around since 2008 or so.


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## pedro47

I believe The Club started before 1998.


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## johnrsrq

pedro47 said:


> *I believe The Club started before 1998*.




I guess however, the Club didn't really get going until it began absorbing Sunterra and rolled out Polo Towers. 

looking at TUG 2008-9 posts on DRI reflect the relatively new system of points with inventory and its costs of entry etc.


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## dougp26364

THE Club use to be SunOptions. It was a Sunterra product that existed prior to DRI acquiring Sunterra out of bankruptcy. Any reference to THE Club is post DRI acquiring Sunterra. 

To further complicate things, Sunterra had been in the aquisition buisness before DRI acquired Sunterra. Sunterra absorbed both Embassey and Epic resorts. Ole Embassey resorts are KBC and the Lake Tahoe Resort. One of the old Epic resorts is in Las Vegas. We toured it way back when it was Epic and before Sunterra.


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## johnrsrq

dougp26364 said:


> THE Club use to be SunOptions. It was a Sunterra product that existed prior to DRI acquiring Sunterra out of bankruptcy. Any reference to THE Club is post DRI acquiring Sunterra.
> 
> To further complicate things, Sunterra had been in the aquisition buisness before DRI acquired Sunterra. Sunterra absorbed both Embassey and Epic resorts. Ole Embassey resorts are KBC and the Lake Tahoe Resort. One of the old Epic resorts is in Las Vegas. We toured it way back when it was Epic and before Sunterra.



ok , beating a dead horse here

I was in Embassy in Orlando with KBC and Tahoe and somewhere else (S.C.) and it moved around, was actually managed by Hilton Grand Vacations for a short while. 

good luck. over and out


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## dougp26364

Just saying that the program now known as THE Club has been around for longer than DRI has had it. It was intended as converstation, nothing more, nothing less.


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## tidefan

dude-luv said:


> I am a deeded owner only at KBC and have always despised DRI's domination of the strata and its attitude toward maintenance fees.  I believe that a large component of maintenance fees go into the pockets of upper management.  Some people defend DRI's efforts to improve their resorts and this I understand.  At the same time, I have encountered a number of DRI salespeople (one in particular at Williamsburg) who believe that boutique resorts that are run by the owners are being managed 'unprofessionally.'  The best timeshares that I have experienced are ones where maintenance fees are justified and decisions are made by owners.  For this reason, after my final visit to KBC in November next year, I am going to put my unit on the market.  I will eventually be looking for something different such as Lawai Beach Resort.




Good luck with that. We've had our Unit in the "Bargain Basement" for almost a year and haven't even gotten the first e-mail on it. I'm beginning to think that you can't even give these things away...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## dougp26364

tidefan said:


> Good luck with that. We've had our Unit in the "Bargain Basement" for almost a year and haven't even gotten the first e-mail on it. I'm beginning to think that you can't even give these things away...
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk



They can be difficult to sell or give away. It seems to me that it usually takes listing the unit in more than one place. TUG, Redweek and Ebay are three places I can think of for listing an unwanted timeshare. I'm sure more experienced TUGGERS could help with ideas in the selling forum. 

KBC is a nice resort with a decent location. Someone wanting to go to Hawaii more often than not might be interested. IMHO, Hawaii is to expensive to own if you're plans are to exchange more than use for personal usage.


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## TheWizz

I converted by deeded weeks (Sunterra) into the Club and then again when DRI took over via my Polo Towers deeded weeks.  That got me to Gold Elite level.  The MFs for deeded weeks is fairly stable now.  By the Club Fees are getting out of control.  Mine went from $319 this year to $619 in 2015, a 94% increase!    By comparison, the MFs for my weeks went up 6% (Fall Creek), 3% (Polo Villas), and 0% (Polo Suites).  Overall, a $381 increase, of which, $300 was for the Club Dues increases.  Total fees next year are more than $3600.  

In years past, I could do an almost even swap for cash by booking a cruise, getting the $2700 back, and then cancelling.  That is no longer the case for the past few years.  I think I may bail from DRI next year as well and focus on HGVC going forward...


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## hvsteve1

While I hate the increase and the last thing I want to do is defend DRI, I do have a couple of thoughts that may not be popular.

When quitting the club and simply paying for II, how much does one save off the basic club dues?  Isn't II included in those dues? Don't you avoid exchange fees by using The Club.  If you exchange two weeks with II, isn't it pretty much a wash between the annual dues and 2 exchange fees?  And you've lost some of the advantages of having The Club?

I checked out my invoices and see that, according to what I paid, if I use two full weeks my cost per night works out to $128 for a two bedroom.  As I usually try to do last minute bookings, I often get at least three weeks which makes that $85.  If I'm really lucky with late bookings and get four weeks that's $64.  I used three weeks last year, getting rental income from one, and still have old points about to expire.

Maybe I try to look at the bright side as I bought so long ago I don't even think about the few thousand dollars I paid for a two-over-two lockout in red season.  And the conversion fees to change to points were a pain but the resulting advantage in trading was worth it.


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## dougp26364

hvsteve1 said:


> While I hate the increase and the last thing I want to do is defend DRI, I do have a couple of thoughts that may not be popular.
> 
> When quitting the club and simply paying for II, how much does one save off the basic club dues?  Isn't II included in those dues? Don't you avoid exchange fees by using The Club.  If you exchange two weeks with II, isn't it pretty much a wash between the annual dues and 2 exchange fees?  And you've lost some of the advantages of having The Club?
> 
> I checked out my invoices and see that, according to what I paid, if I use two full weeks my cost per night works out to $128 for a two bedroom.  As I usually try to do last minute bookings, I often get at least three weeks which makes that $85.  If I'm really lucky with late bookings and get four weeks that's $64.  I used three weeks last year, getting rental income from one, and still have old points about to expire.
> 
> Maybe I try to look at the bright side as I bought so long ago I don't even think about the few thousand dollars I paid for a two-over-two lockout in red season.  And the conversion fees to change to points were a pain but the resulting advantage in trading was worth it.




That's what's brilliant about DRI's move they can increase a pure management fee by an astronomical amount and still get away with it. 

On an individual account the breakdown for us would be

$89 for II membership (I see no value in Gold membership)
$174 X 4 = $696 (two lock off units = 4 exchanges) 
Total $785

We don't need to make 4 exchanges so we'll only use the two weeks for two exchanges and, we already have a personal I.I. account so, for us, it's pay DRI $508 or pay I.I. $348. Yea we give up the flexability but, I don't need these weeks and will be looking to unload them next year after we've completed all our reservations/exchanges made using THE Club and the corporate account associated with THE Club. 

My position is different than a lot of owners who will scream but, in the end, stick with it. We've kept DRI for the felxability and affordability. We own enough we don't need them and will be getting rid of our units over the next few years. 

So far DRI has seriously jacked one fee or another every year since taking over Sunterra. Most of us have validated it every year as a necessity to improve quality. I nearly bailed out 5 or 6 years ago. I had a deal with DRI to sell back our units before the real estate bubble burst and they backs out. Things improved, I stuck with them and hoped fees would level out. Instead, they've hit owners in one way or another every year. Since we own in several systems and I've been looking to downsize, DRI will be the second divestment (we've already given one timeshare away).


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## Catkins54

*Steep Increase in Club Dues !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

When we joined Club Sunterra in 2006 the Club was $149 a year.
In 2012 it went up to $277.
The 2015 billing (without the insurance) is $382.50 for our 2 resorts.
There was no accounting or detail as to what expenses are billed to this
account or how they are calculated.   I've written Diamond Resort to
request this detail and complain of the increase.   I invite fellow owners
to do likewise.


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## HitchMontana

After paying my 2015 maintenance fees online, I looked at the statement to see where/why it went up.  On their website hidden under My Benefits >Money Matters, it states this is optional and members have a 21 day free look, so you can cancel it.


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## HitchMontana

I am feeling so taken advantage of by DRI for many of the reasons in this thread and points now expire at midnight 12/31.  Previously, you could make a reservation into the next year to use up any points that couldn't transfer. I'll keep checking TUG to see if I can figure out what to do.


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## Macroy

dougp26364 said:


> For some it still works. For us it no longer makes financial sense.
> 
> The 13 month reservation is for trust owners. We don't own in a trust and we don't have a collection we belong too. We're deeded week owners enrolled in THE Club. We own weeks that convert yearly to points, not point associated with a collection. There is a big difference between the two.
> 
> Deeded week owners have, until this year, paid a flat fee for THE CLub membership. It's never been based on the number of points given in exchange for keeping the deeded week in THE Club.
> 
> DRI has at least three types of owners.
> 
> 1. Deeded week owners who canon only use their week or exchange through an exchange company.
> 
> 2.  Deeded week owners who haves enrolled their week in THE Club. Each year the deed weeks are converted to the equivelent THE Club points but can only be used at the 12 month mak for home resort reservations (1 resort, not a collection) and 10 months for reservations in THE Club.
> 
> 3. Trust owners who own trust points. They can reserve at any of the resorts in their collection at 13 months or any THE Club resorts not in their collection at 10 months.
> 
> So you CAN be in THE Club and have a 10 month reservation window for all resorts except the ONE where you have your deed, which is where we are at this time.



Doug - Thanks for this thread. I actually learned a lot from this. I've been an occasional visitor here. And TheClub fees this year just brought me back. I am in the same boat as you - deeded week with a gold elite membership in the club. My club fees were $646 this year (including the insurance). The two assessments were 270 and 297. Compared to my previous statements, my 2013 fee had one line - "THE Club(R) Fee - $299.

No matter how they want to break it down, it's essentially ~100% increase in two years for me. 

I had no idea one can leave the club easily. Perhaps this will make leaving DRI that much easier. I actually tried some years ago (this may have been when it was still Sunterra/SunOptions), and the company I inquired with simply indicated that dealing with the complication wasn't worth their time. Perhaps they simply weren't experienced with working with Sunterra, but that didn't' exactly leave me feeling warm and fuzzy.

In any case, Hopefully, we can keep this thread alive and folks can pass on any relevant info. 

I guess I'll do some research here and figure out the next steps. I've been just sort of blindingly paying the fees (convincing myself to look at it as a condo fee or property tax). But this new development has really got me motivated to cut my losses. In fact, if it wasn't for my wife, I wouldn't of even seen the insurance that was snuck in there. And these are the little things that really get me (along with the ARDA contribution).


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## ccarr67

I too have deeded weeks in the Club and was shocked to see my club fees go from $319 to $623. I never received any information about this change and I am very upset. Was there anything they send out indicating that this was changing because other than an email for my maintenance fees I never knew of this until I saw the increase in the Club dues?  I can't believe that they can just increase costs and there's nothing we can say or do.  I don't know if there are any lawyers on this board but isn't there anything we can do to fight this legally?  They say there's power in numbers and if we all group together is there anything that can be done because this is getting out of control?  Since Diamond took over we have been nickeled and dimed to death with all kinds of fees.  And now this.  I was an owner with Sunterra and my maintenance fees have more than tripled in 16 years and now the Club dues have skyrocketed. I can't keep up with all these increases. I've enjoyed the places we have traveled to but with my husband retiring next year and once we get on a fixed income, it will be difficult if they keep upping the fees. Any suggestions on how I can get out of this or what I can do?  I'm totally disgusted!  Thanks.


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## dougp26364

ccarr67 said:


> I too have deeded weeks in the Club and was shocked to see my club fees go from $319 to $623. I never received any information about this change and I am very upset. Was there anything they send out indicating that this was changing because other than an email for my maintenance fees I never knew of this until I saw the increase in the Club dues?  I can't believe that they can just increase costs and there's nothing we can say or do.  I don't know if there are any lawyers on this board but isn't there anything we can do to fight this legally?  They say there's power in numbers and if we all group together is there anything that can be done because this is getting out of control?  Since Diamond took over we have been nickeled and dimed to death with all kinds of fees.  And now this.  I was an owner with Sunterra and my maintenance fees have more than tripled in 16 years and now the Club dues have skyrocketed. I can't keep up with all these increases. I've enjoyed the places we have traveled to but with my husband retiring next year and once we get on a fixed income, it will be difficult if they keep upping the fees. Any suggestions on how I can get out of this or what I can do?  I'm totally disgusted!  Thanks.



There was no warning.

Legal action is literally spitting in the wind, THE Club is an optional benefit. Members can opt out by notifying DRI.

I feel for the old Sunterra owners. They purchased into a system that was of decent but not top quality and paid MF's in accordance with that quality. If they'd have wanted to pay Marriott or Disney type MF's I'm sure they'd have purchased into those systems instead. 

DRI has a quality product. The issue is, is that product worth the price of admission. For us, with this latest increase, the answer has become a respounding NO. We also own with Marriott and Hilton, both of which provide similar products, better quality and a more reasonable price. We'll be leaving THE Club in 2016 and will be looking to divest our ownership at Polo Towers in the coming years. 

Polo Towers is still a nice resort with possibly the best location on Las Vegas Blv. The issue for us is we also own with Hilton at their LV Strip location and Marriott, which is directly behind Polo Towers. All three have internal clubs for exchange. All three are of value to us. The thing is we can no longer afford and make good use of all three. Since DRI is the least valuable to us, it's the one which will go.


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## Beefnot

dougp26364 said:


> There was no warning.
> 
> Legal action is literally spitting in the wind, THE Club is an optional benefit. Members can opt out by notifying DRI.
> 
> I feel for the old Sunterra owners. They purchased into a system that was of decent but not top quality and paid MF's in accordance with that quality. If they'd have wanted to pay Marriott or Disney type MF's I'm sure they'd have purchased into those systems instead.
> 
> DRI has a quality product. The issue is, is that product worth the price of admission. For us, with this latest increase, the answer has become a respounding NO. We also own with Marriott and Hilton, both of which provide similar products, better quality and a more reasonable price. We'll be leaving THE Club in 2016 and will be looking to divest our ownership at Polo Towers in the coming years.
> 
> Polo Towers is still a nice resort with possibly the best location on Las Vegas Blv. The issue for us is we also own with Hilton at their LV Strip location and Marriott, which is directly behind Polo Towers. All three have internal clubs for exchange. All three are of value to us. The thing is we can no longer afford and make good use of all three. Since DRI is the least valuable to us, it's the one which will go.



If you are going to opt out of THE Club, I don't know that there is much value to owning Polo Towers for even one day after you leave THE Club, save for the convenience of owning and staying there.  For exchanging, I would venture to guess that it is far cheaper to have a less expensive trader, especially for offseason trips, and use your HGVC and Marriott for peak season and Hawaii travel.


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## ccarr67

So the only option you have is to pay the Club dues or opt out of the program.  Unfortunately just like you, I have reservations already booked for this year so I am forced to pay because if I chose to leave now I will lose my reservations.

If I chose to opt out in 2016, then I can use my week only at my home resort thru Diamond or trade and bank them with II if I want to go somewhere else.  (Just like you did before the points came into play.)  Can you also bank your week with RCI or are you locked into II?  

I also own other timeshares that are in the points system so could I trade my week into their points to use that way.  Since I was already in the points with Diamond (even though it was a deeded week) they told me I couldn't but if I opt out of the Club and go back to a deeded week then would this be possible?  I'm thinking it would but just want to throw this out and see what you all think.

Lastly if I decide to just get out of this completely, what are my choices?  I know it's not easy to dump a timeshare so what other options would I have?  I own at Willamsburg and I met someone this summer who owned there and he told me he called DRI and pleaded financial problems saying he couldn't pay the maintenance fees anymore and eventually he said they took the week back. Anyone hear anything like this before?


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## ccarr67

Pedro - you indicated that you belong to a group of 50 deeded owners in Virginia and other locations.  I own at Greensprings - could you add me to your group and keep me informed on what you all find out and agree to do moving forward?  Just like all of you I too am locked into paying the Club dues for 2015 but am really thinking of opting out in 2016.  Thanks.


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## dougp26364

Beefnot said:


> If you are going to opt out of THE Club, I don't know that there is much value to owning Polo Towers for even one day after you leave THE Club, save for the convenience of owning and staying there.  For exchanging, I would venture to guess that it is far cheaper to have a less expensive trader, especially for offseason trips, and use your HGVC and Marriott for peak season and Hawaii travel.



My plans are to sell or give away both units, starting with our Suites week once we've completed all travel booked through THE Club. We'll probably start looking for a new owner for our Villa's week starting sometime in 2016. 

There's nothing wrong with Polo Towers and the weeks have exchanged well. They are on the more expensive side to own as something we trade and we'd prefer to own something within more reasonable driving distance that's pet friendly.


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## hvsteve1

Well, as we all discuss how high the increases are and what we can do to show DRI how upset we are by dropping out of The Club or getting rid of our weeks altogether, you DO realize what an inconsequential number of owners are here on TUG as compared to the 490,000 owners they have around the world, most of whom will be unhappy, pay up and shut up.


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## Smudge

ccarr67 said:


> If I decide to just get out of this completely, what are my choices?  I know it's not easy to dump a timeshare so what other options would I have?



Yes, it is difficult to unload a timeshare.  The process usually takes 6 months to a year to complete.  Again, you basically have 4 options:

1.  Stop all payments and let DRI foreclose on your timeshare.  The downside is that it will ruin your credit.

2.  Stay current on your payments and try to surrender the deed to DRI in lieu of foreclosure.  This is difficult to do because DRI doesn’t have to take it back.  Retired folks pleading financial hardship seem to have the best success during times when DRI has low sales inventory of their particular timeshare.

3.  Sell it in the TUG Marketplace (a Hawaiian week could be listed with Timeshare Resales Hawaii), or give it away in the Bargain deals section of the TUG Marketplace or TUG Forum.

4.  As a last resort, you could contact donateforacause.org to get a quote on what it would cost you to have them transfer title of the timeshare into their name and take it off your hands.


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## artringwald

Smudge said:


> Yes, it is difficult to unload a timeshare.  The process usually takes 6 months to a year to complete.  Again, you basically have 4 options:
> 
> 1.  Stop all payments and let DRI foreclose on your timeshare.  The downside is that it will ruin your credit.
> 
> 2.  Stay current on your payments and try to surrender the deed to DRI in lieu of foreclosure.  This is difficult to do because DRI doesn’t have to take it back.  Retired folks pleading financial hardship seem to have the best success during times when DRI has low sales inventory of their particular timeshare.
> 
> 3.  Sell it in the TUG Marketplace (a Hawaiian week could be listed with Timeshare Resales Hawaii), or give it away in the Bargain deals section of the TUG Marketplace or TUG Forum.
> 
> 4.  As a last resort, you could contact donateforacause.org to get a quote on what it would cost you to have them transfer title of the timeshare into their name and take it off your hands.



Option 4 won't work with DRI. They now require picture ID of the seller and buyer, and won't transfer the title to an organization. Recording the deed is easy, but until the resort transfers the ownership, the seller is still on the hook for the fees.


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## johnrsrq

Is that legally accurate?

They may manage the property and keep owner lists but if you own deed simple interval property (at least in FL) and you were not subject to limitations of transferrability, then the HOA can sue, foreclose to recoup fees including legal but will they? More likely that after they realize no deal in keeping the owner they accept deed in lieu and simultaneously DRI assists HOA in collecting some revenue. Or selling it.

HOA budgets may not be sufficiently funded to sue, get judgment and transfer deed. Hence, DRI is in the enviable position to handle it in all ownership transfers. The seller, the management and the hoa liaison services and hoa inventory management.

Regarding the points in trusts, if anyone ever had material that came from sales office or DRI directly that refers to it as an "investment",
then they are in serious violation of fundraising unregulated securities (points), harming the public.

Just my opinion.


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## dougp26364

hvsteve1 said:


> Well, as we all discuss how high the increases are and what we can do to show DRI how upset we are by dropping out of The Club or getting rid of our weeks altogether, you DO realize what an inconsequential number of owners are here on TUG as compared to the 490,000 owners they have around the world, most of whom will be unhappy, pay up and shut up.



I look at it this way, regardless of what I do, DRI will continue to move forward. My staying or leaving won't impact them in the least. I doubt DRI will lose as many as 10% of all deeded week owners who participate in THE Club even though a higher number might complain.


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## Smudge

artringwald said:


> Option 4 won't work with DRI. They now require picture ID of the seller and buyer, and won't transfer the title to an organization. Recording the deed is easy, but until the resort transfers the ownership, the seller is still on the hook for the fees.




Actually, I know of three 2014 DRI deed transfers using donateforacause.org.  In all three situations the owners opted to just transfer ownership (not donate).  DFC recorded the transfer of deed within 3 months and then DRI took another 4 months to process the transfer of ownership.  The one problem I do see with DFC is that they are selective about which timeshares they will accept.  They have a list of resorts they will accept, and won't take any timeshares not on the list.


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## RuralEngineer

dougp26364 said:


> ... I see no value in Gold membership ...



Then you are not using many of the benefits.  

As an owner of a vacation home and timeshares the economics of using points for your vacations and week-end getaways are amazing.  Dealing with Orlando management companies is only for the very patient.


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## artringwald

Smudge said:


> Actually, I know of three 2014 DRI deed transfers using donateforacause.org.  In all three situations the owners opted to just transfer ownership (not donate).  DFC recorded the transfer of deed within 3 months and then DRI took another 4 months to process the transfer of ownership.  The one problem I do see with DFC is that they are selective about which timeshares they will accept.  They have a list of resorts they will accept, and won't take any timeshares not on the list.



I could be jumping conclusions. Perhaps it's just at the resort where I have a purchase in progress, the Point at Poipu.


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## TheWizz

*It could be worse...*

I own three deeded weeks converted to The Club some years back.  Those three weeks = 30K points.  My MFs for this year are right at $3600.  I too will probably bail from DRI this year and look elsewhere, perhaps Marriott.

But it could be worse...  I have some friends that have converted all their deeded weeks to trust points over time.  They have 17K points and they told me their MFs for this year are right at $3000.  I couldn't believe it when they told me this.  I have almost twice as many points and our MFs are only $600 apart.


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## dougp26364

TheWizz said:


> I own three deeded weeks converted to The Club some years back.  Those three weeks = 30K points.  My MFs for this year are right at $3600.  I too will probably bail from DRI this year and look elsewhere, perhaps Marriott.
> 
> But it could be worse...  I have some friends that have converted all their deeded weeks to trust points over time.  They have 17K points and they told me their MFs for this year are right at $3000.  I couldn't believe it when they told me this.  I have almost twice as many points and our MFs are only $600 apart.



That's one reason we never converted to trust points. Something about the math never added up. In theory, all trust MF's are pooled, then divided by the number of owners. But it always seems that trust members were paying HIGHER fee's than the individual deeded week owners. 

Then there was the trust management fee that was based on the total number of points owned where the deeded week owners just paid a simple fee, although a higher fee, for THE Club dues.

It seems to me that DRI is trying to even the playing field on THE Club dues between trust and deeded week owners, removing that objection often heard at the round table.


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## connied

*Too late to opt out?*

We paid our 2015 dues and I didn't see any option to decline the travel insurance. I didn't even know about it until we received the policy email. We don't want it, AND I'd like to opt out of the The Club (would get rid of the whole DRI deeded TS if we could figure out how). Do you think I'd have any chance of getting those fees rebated?


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## RuralEngineer

*fees*



connied said:


> Do you think I'd have any chance of getting those fees rebated?



yes just call and ask.

Stephen


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