# DRI Negativism



## dlferree

Hi all,

I have been reading this site for a few years and officially joined the site 2 years ago so I could read reviews of resorts from people who are timeshare owners, which I think would give better reviews then people who are not ts owners. My opinion only.

As a happy DRI owner I wonder why their is so much negativism towards DRI. I agree with the comments regarding the high maintenance fees and high pressure sales tactics. I have been in some relatively pleasant owner updates, but have also been in some very high pressure and what I would consider unprofessional presentations.

That said, the resorts we stayed in have been nice and we really enjoy our membership. I also initially bought resale, so may not have as much invested as someone would bought at developer prices.

Not trying to start a war, but just wondering if I am in the minority as to being a happy DRI owner.

Thanks,
Dave


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## AwayWeGo

If you like it, that's all that matters. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## harveyhaddixfan

The biggest negative for me is all the “corporate” costs they add to HOAs where smaller independent resorts don’t have these. Ex: the $500k almost $600k “Corporate overhead allocation” & doubled management fee of over $500k at Beachwoods. That’s money out of our pockets straight into an investors (or other corporate employee’s) pocket.


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## davidvel

dlferree said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I have been reading this site for a few years and officially joined the site 2 years ago so I could read reviews of resorts from people who are timeshare owners, which I think would give better reviews then people who are not ts owners. My opinion only.
> 
> As a happy DRI owner I wonder why their is so much negativism towards DRI. I agree with the comments regarding the *high maintenance fees* and *high pressure sales tactics*. I have been in some relatively pleasant owner updates, but have also been in some very high pressure and what I would consider unprofessional presentations.
> 
> That said, the resorts we stayed in have been nice and we really enjoy our membership. I also initially bought resale, so may not have as much invested as someone would bought at developer prices.
> 
> Not trying to start a war, but just wondering if I am in the minority as to being a happy DRI owner.
> 
> Thanks,
> Dave


My bet (from your post) is that the negativity comes from:

the high maintenance fees,
the high pressure sales tactics,

unprofessional presentations 
As noted above, if you are still happy, then that's great.


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## pedro47

Good news about DRI / Greenspring Vacation Resort, Williamsburg,VA next year 2018 M/F have been reduced by $100.00. I will confirm this information by 10/27/2017.


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## dlferree

davidvel said:


> My bet (from your post) is that the negativity comes from:
> 
> the high maintenance fees,
> the high pressure sales tactics,
> 
> unprofessional presentations
> As noted above, if you are still happy, then that's great.


Thanks, I agree that the most important thing is that I like it and feel that I get a benefit from it. We have taken some nice vacations that we wouldn't have taken if we didn't have the ts.


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## dlferree

pedro47 said:


> Good news about DRI / Greenspring Vacation Resort, Williamsburg,VA next year 2018 M/F have been reduced by $100.00. I will confirm this information by 10/27/2017.


That's great news. I'm a points only member, so I don't know if my M/F we decrease or increase. I won't get my notice until the latter part of November, if I remember correctly.


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## DeniseM

This is the deal:  Most regulars on TUG love/like their timeshare property - but many times we dislike/despise the management company.  They are 2 completely different things.


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## geist1223

We bought into DRI 2.5 years ago. We bought in the Hawaiian Collect. We primarily bought in for the easy access to Europe, Asia, and of course Hawaii. We have spent 2 weeks in France and 2 weeks at the Point at Poipu. We are happy. We bought from DRI so that we have direct access to all of their Resorts. We also have Club Select/Club Combination. One of the down sides of buying DRI resell is that you are likely limited to you Home Collection. We have toured Cabo Azul when we were staying next door at Royal Solaris. It is a beautiful Resort. When we go to Cabo we like to stay for 3 or 4 weeks at 2 to 4 different Resorts. This gives us another option for Cabo. Next year we hope to stay in New Orleans for 3 weeks in October.


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## dlferree

DeniseM said:


> This is the deal:  Most regulars on TUG love/like their timeshare property - but many times we dislike/despise the management company.  They are 2 completely different things.


Hi Denise,

I have read many of your comments and you are always very informative. I really appreciate you and all the other posters who share you wisdom with others. I agree that the timeshare property and management company are two different things.

Thanks,
Dave


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## clifffaith

We had a one hour group presentation with a great lunch and lots of good information today at DRI at Villa Mirage in Scottsdale. During the one on one, saleswoman #1 was low key and pleasant, we were done with her in  30 minutes. I sent the Sampler guy on his way in 5 minutes. I thought we were done, but no chance.

The presentation drew to a close with me repeatedly telling salesman #3 that we were happy having given 27,000 US points back, were ok with "paying maintenance fees at gold levels while being silver in the Hawaii Collection (??)" and that we were happy. After he tried repeatedly to show me the error of our ways I stood up and said we were done at the two hour mark of our 55 minute sit down. He turned to Cliff and said "She doesn't let you talk much, does she?". We trailed behind him to the gift counter. He turns to me and says "Go with God, BUT JUST GO!" To which I replied FU,AH. He about tripped over Cliff who was busy crawling under the rug and in a shocked voice said 'What?!" I said "you said go with God but just go to me, and I say again FUAH". My voice was raised and I hope his boss asked him what he had done to cause a customer to react that way.

THAT is why there are so many negative comments about DRI. Can't wait for January's annual Deluxe Ocean View room at KBC!


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## dlferree

geist1223 said:


> We bought into DRI 2.5 years ago. We bought in the Hawaiian Collect. We primarily bought in for the easy access to Europe, Asia, and of course Hawaii. We have spent 2 weeks in France and 2 weeks at the Point at Poipu. We are happy. We bought from DRI so that we have direct access to all of their Resorts. We also have Club Select/Club Combination. One of the down sides of buying DRI resell is that you are likely limited to you Home Collection. We have toured Cabo Azul when we were staying next door at Royal Solaris. It is a beautiful Resort. When we go to Cabo we like to stay for 3 or 4 weeks at 2 to 4 different Resorts. This gives us another option for Cabo. Next year we hope to stay in New Orleans for 3 weeks in October.


Hi geist1223,

I originally bought resale and had a fixed week in Sedona. Living in Arizona, I didn't want to vacation every year in Sedona. At the time of my purchase DRI was using RCI and I traded one year and was unsuccessful at trading the second year. Base on reading here, I didn't start looking for a trade early enough. I didn't like the trading so upgraded to the point system, so now I have access to all the sites you have. I also have club select and have used it to purchase additional vacation weeks. I recently used it to purchase a March 30, 2018 week in Mississippi. Thanks for your review of Cabo Azul. We want to take a trip there and will probably stay at Cabo Azul.

Thanks,
Dave


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## dlferree

clifffaith said:


> We had a one hour group presentation with a great lunch and lots of good information today at DRI at Villa Mirage in Scottsdale. During the one on one, saleswoman #1 was low key and pleasant, we were done with her in  30 minutes. I sent the Sampler guy on his way in 5 minutes. I thought we were done, but no chance.
> 
> The presentation drew to a close with me repeatedly telling salesman #3 that we were happy having given 27,000 US points back, were ok with "paying maintenance fees at gold levels while being silver in the Hawaii Collection (??)" and that we were happy. After he tried repeatedly to show me the error of our ways I stood up and said we were done at the two hour mark of our 55 minute sit down. He turned to Cliff and said "She doesn't let you talk much, does she?". We trailed behind him to the gift counter. He turns to me and says "Go with God, BUT JUST GO!" To which I replied FU,AH. He about tripped over Cliff who was busy crawling under the rug and in a shocked voice said 'What?!" I said "you said go with God but just go to me, and I say again FUAH". My voice was raised and I hope his boss asked him what he had done to cause a customer to react that way.
> 
> THAT is why there are so many negative comments about DRI. Can't wait for January's annual Deluxe Ocean View room at KBC!


The closest we had to your experience was at Lake Tahoe. After the Salesperson was unable to convince us to buy more points to reach the silver level, her comment was "have a good life", which my wife immediately responded with "you have a good life too". It wasn't necessary what she said, but the tone that she said it in. I personally and in agreement we the many comments I have read in these posts that the best solution is to never attend another presentation again.


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## geist1223

Oh I forgot we also spent a week at Sea Mountain Resort near Black Sand Beach and a week at Paniolo Greens Resort. This second on was through Club Select. So 3 good trips of 2 weeks each in 2.5 years. If you go to Cabo Azul do not get a 1 bedroom even if there are only 2 of you. The view from most of the 1 bedrooms is of an alley and a parking lot.


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## geist1223

Two lessons I have learned with DRI. You can roll your Points over 1 year. I do this is January. You can still use those Points in the current year but it is better to be safe than sorry. You have until June 30 to roll over all your Points. After that you are only allowed to roll over part of your Points. I also tend to deposit my 2 WM Weeks (costs me 14,000 WM Points for 15,000 DRI Points) with Club with Select/Club Combination very early in the year. Unless they have fixed the Computer System in the past 4 months you have to call to roll over DRI Points you get through Club Select/Club Combination.


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## artringwald

We're not fond of DRI the company, and have heard many horror stories about their sales people, but we love several of their resorts. When we bought at the Point at Poipu from DRI in 2004 (which was then Sunterra), they were selling deeded weeks with membership in The Club. We use the Club points from that sale to stay at several of the other DRI properties, and later bought 2 more deeded weeks at the Point at Poipu, since we want to go there every year. I suppose if we wanted to spend more time at other DRI properties than our current Club points allow, we'd buy collection points on the resale market, even though that limits bookings to the collection properties. Buying points from DRI does have other benefits, but hardly seems worth their highly inflated sales prices.


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## nuwermj

davidvel said:


> My bet (from your post) is that the negativity comes from:
> 
> the high maintenance fees,
> the high pressure sales tactics,
> 
> unprofessional presentations



I'm a member of DRI and Bluegreen, and I actively follow various internet forums for members of both system. From the many many stories of sales presentations by these two companies, I have a very hard time finding a difference. As bad as DRI's tactics might be, Bluegreen's sale force does the same. Nevertheless, there is a very noticeable difference in the two memberships. Bluegreen members are a lot more satisfied with their memberships than DRI members. I don't fully understand why this is the case. But here are a few possibilities.

Bluegreen recently released data that one-third of it's club members own only resale points. From what I read in the DRI member forums, literally no one in DRI is a resale only member. In the Bluegreen system resale point owners have access to all the resorts in the points system (about 66 of them). DRI has about 100 resorts but maintains seven different pools or collections. DRI resale points can be used only in their home collection. (The US Collection is the largest with about 45 resorts, other collections range from 1 to 15 resorts). It seems like resale points are attractive in Bluegreen but not DRI and that might affect member satisfaction.

A member who owns both developer and resale points: Bluegreen holds both in one account and the points can be combined for reservations. DRI holds the points in separate accounts and they cannot be combined.

Both DRI and Bluegreen offer loyalty (or tier) benefits like travel services and proprietary exchange programs. In both cases resale points do not qualify. No difference there.

The two developers have very different marketing strategies. DRI buys new members. It acquires a small system like Gold Key, and focuses on "converting" those owners to DRI points. Rules and benefits are structured so as to create incentives to convert. Only 20% of DRI sales are made to new members, that is, a family that does not already have a points or deeded relationship with DRI. Bluegreen makes about 50% of its sales to new members. Additionally, the average transaction is noticeably different. DRI=26K; BG=13K. Perhaps DRI's overwhelming focus on converting existing owners generates a history and pattern of bad taste from the start.


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## pedro47

Confirmed: 2018 MF for a 4bedroom villa will be reduced by $101.36 at Greensprings Vacation Resort, Williamsburg,VA.
Now lets wait and see on their maintenance fee statement for 2018.


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## Almond123

I own a resale week in Maui and got a letter from BOD that they were pleased to announce the reduction of my annual maintenance fee by $108 to $137 dollars depending on type of unit owned.  I own a I bedroom and the MF was reduced by a little over a hundred dollars. I thought that was pretty good for a Hawaii week. There is also beach erosion where we own and the letter stated that the cost of shoreline repair is substantial but funds have been set aside in the capital reserve account to cover the current temporary repair and future long term repair.

We were there last month and did do a "owner update" and of course we were told that the MF would go up and there would be a SA to pay for the erosion problem. Of course if we upgraded we wouldn't have either increase to be passed on to us. I didn't believe a word of it but didn't argue because I was glad to say we were not interested and get out of there.  We at least got a dinner cruise for our trouble but wont do another update again.


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## harveyhaddixfan

Almond123 said:


> I own a resale week in Maui and got a letter from BOD that they were pleased to announce the reduction of my annual maintenance fee by $108 to $137 dollars depending on type of unit owned.  I own a I bedroom and the MF was reduced by a little over a hundred dollars. I thought that was pretty good for a Hawaii week. There is also beach erosion where we own and the letter stated that the cost of shoreline repair is substantial but funds have been set aside in the capital reserve account to cover the current temporary repair and future long term repair.
> 
> We were there last month and did do a "owner update" and of course we were told that the MF would go up and there would be a SA to pay for the erosion problem. Of course if we upgraded we wouldn't have either increase to be passed on to us. I didn't believe a word of it but didn't argue because I was glad to say we were not interested and get out of there.  We at least got a dinner cruise for our trouble but wont do another update again.



They pulled similar crap on me last year. Went on and on about how only the deeded weeks owners would be responsible for special assessments and increases in maintenance fees. DRI is responsible for the same costs for the weeks they own and they try to make it sound like these costs are spit only with deeded owners.

One thing that kills me is all the default owners at my resort. The bad debt allocation this year is almost 20% of the budget. As a management company, DRI doesn’t seem to be doing enough to rent out the weeks where owners haven’t paid the MF and nor are they doing enough to get people to pay. I’m guessing a lot of those weeks are off season so they don’t even want them for the Club.


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## Almond123

harveyhaddixfan said:


> They pulled similar crap on me last year. Went on and on about how only the deeded weeks owners would be responsible for special assessments and increases in maintenance fees. DRI is responsible for the same costs for the weeks they own and they try to make it sound like these costs are spit only with deeded owners.
> 
> One thing that kills me is all the default owners at my resort. The bad debt allocation this year is almost 20% of the budget. As a management company, DRI doesn’t seem to be doing enough to rent out the weeks where owners haven’t paid the MF and nor are they doing enough to get people to pay. I’m guessing a lot of those weeks are off season so they don’t even want them for the Club.



That's what we were told as well and I knew they were lying of course. They said that if we had points we would be immune from increases and special assessments. We were then told that "this is what all the smart people were doing...."  That's when we were done and out of there.  I think they will do or say anything to sell points. I am not interested.


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## tperez

We love our DRI ownership and now that my wife and I are both retired, we get great value from booking within the last 60/30 days.  Each year we purchase the cancellation insurance so after we make a reservation, we're almost always able to cancel and re-book for lower points later, which makes our ownership stretch even further.  Also, we really like the properties and like all the different locations.

With all that said, we find the sales practices to be the worst by far of the three different timeshare systems we own.  In Sedona, we had some 20-something just about yelling at us trying to give us a lecture about how we needed to discuss the offer she just gave us.  It was pretty bad and I was so surprised, I almost started laughing.

So now, we rarely attend a presentation which makes the ownership much better.  The only time we experience the bad part of DRI ownership is only during the VIP check-in after the "concierge" gives us all the discount coupons and then tries to get us to go to an update.  That only lasts a few minutes and we know its coming so its not too bad.


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## AwayWeGo

harveyhaddixfan said:


> DRI doesn’t seem to be doing enough to rent out the weeks where owners haven’t paid the MF and nor are they doing enough to get people to pay. I’m guessing a lot of those weeks are off season so they don’t even want them for the Club.


If they rent out orphan weeks for peanuts, preferring to get at least a little something for them rather than have them go to waste, the owners & club members will be unhappy at seeing last-minute renters get big bargains while the owners pay in full for the same thing. It's a lose-lose proposition. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## 2turners

dlferree said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I have been reading this site for a few years and officially joined the site 2 years ago so I could read reviews of resorts from people who are timeshare owners, which I think would give better reviews then people who are not ts owners. My opinion only.
> 
> As a happy DRI owner I wonder why their is so much negativism towards DRI. I agree with the comments regarding the high maintenance fees and high pressure sales tactics. I have been in some relatively pleasant owner updates, but have also been in some very high pressure and what I would consider unprofessional presentations.
> 
> That said, the resorts we stayed in have been nice and we really enjoy our membership. I also initially bought resale, so may not have as much invested as someone would bought at developer prices.
> 
> Not trying to start a war, but just wondering if I am in the minority as to being a happy DRI owner.
> 
> Thanks,
> Dave


We have been owners of the Flamingo Beach Resort in St Maartan for over 20 years. After Diamond Resorts bought the Flaming we have seen our maintenance fees go thru the roof, a total change in the attitude of the staff and a downturn in the day to day upkeep. Not happy with DRI.


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## wilma

We were turned off by the $8000 special assessment at the Point at Poipu and the high maintenance fees.  The sales people at the Point are especially obnoxious once telling my spouse and me that if we were smarter we would realize what a great deal they were offering, and when we refused they claimed we were banned for life from future presentations! At check-in we tell the concierge that we are banned from owner updates.


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## AwayWeGo

We bailed out of Cypress Pointe Resort At Lake Buena Vista (Orlando FL) shortly after DRI asserted itself by out-lawyering the owner-controlled independent HOA-BOD & taking over control at the corporate level.  

We deeded our prime-season floating biennial 3BR lock-off unit over to DRI & that was that.  

Was great while it lasted.

So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## awa

We like the resorts a lot and pretty much all of the staff outside of sales.  I count some owner's updates and sales presentations by Diamond as some of the worst times in my life.  Feeling physically trapped and getting berated and threatened is not a fun experience for me.  We had a couple of them that were just informative and so we thought things had changed.  But the last one we attended was the worst ever.  We will never go again!  We always end up having sympathy for the "poor" concierge who depends on booking updates to make a living wage.  And it's only 55 minutes and we get $150 or whatever.  But we're not falling for that again.


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## caryjoe

davidvel said:


> My bet (from your post) is that the negativity comes from:
> 
> the high maintenance fees,
> the high pressure sales tactics,
> 
> unprofessional presentations
> As noted above, if you are still happy, then that's great.



All of the above, plus the fact that DRI paid members can make reservations 13 months out, while traditional owners (owners at DRI timeshares without being a member of DRI) can only make reservations approximately 12 months in advance.  I am a traditional owner, way before DRI appeared on the scene. When they took over the resort (The Point at Poipu) they changed the rules which favor those who signed up with DRI.  Unfair scenario.


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## clifffaith

wilma said:


> We were turned off by the $8000 special assessment at the Point at Poipu and the high maintenance fees.  The sales people at the Point are especially obnoxious once telling my spouse and i that if we were smarter we would realize what a great deal they were offering, and when we refused they claimed we were banned for life from future presentations! At check-in we tell the concierge that we are banned from owner updates.



I suppose it is a forlorn hope that they'll ban me for cursing at them!


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## pedro47

To Wilma, you have  been banned from owner updates for life by DRI. You are bless and I know you are glad. no more hard sales and lies.


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## mbinpa

First, I would like to confirm that the MF for Greensprings did indeed drop by about $100 - very nice surprise!

We bought into Greensprings retail back when it was Sunterra - our first and so far only timeshare purchase.  We then converted to points and became Club members when DRI took over.  We retained our deed and did not join the Trust.  This was all before I knew about TUG.

We are VERY happy with the DRI system.  Yes, their sales tactics are somewhat heavy handed, but no more so then some of the other horror stories from other companies.  Their selection of properties is great and is only getting better as they acquire other companies.  My daughters have been to Paris, London, Japan and Bulgaria - booking all without hassle.  (It was nice to see the DRI affiliated resort in Bulgaria is the HIGHEST rated resort in the entire country!)  We are able to get into Williamsburg, Orlando, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and Arizona first time every time we make a request.

Once we learned how to use it, their points system seems to work well for us.  Fortunately we are very flexible in our scheduling and we have been able to turn a one week 2 unit lockout into as many as 14 weeks of timeshare a year.  We take advantage of their 1/2 and 3/4 off points 'specials' as often as possible and can sometimes get an off season week at a respectable resort for as low as 700 points.  (We get 15,500 per year).

I will often got to the "owner update" but I go there for the cash they pay us and always take the salespeople with a sense of humor.  

It took several years of learning how to timeshare but now I do indeed like DRI and my travels with them.


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## eggmansr71

I find most of the people that hate DRI are owners of a different system that was purchased by DRI.  At that point the resorts fees increase as they should have been (maybe a bit too much) but weren’t in the past which lead to the position of needing to be purchased.  Now no one wants to pay more in fees but you shouldn’t blame DRI if you haven’t had an increase with yours for 10 plus years.  They should be going up related to inflation.  

Others like DRI but hate the sales pres.  I’m in that camp and didn’t realize how much they would lie for a sale.  If I ever go to another presentation I will ask for all lies in writing.  Still won’t buy but will enjoy them squirming around their answer.  

Very disappointed that they get away with so many restrictions on resale points.  I think the gov. should step in on that industry practice.  Best thing about them is they don’t allow you to rent out reservations.  Means there is almost always good choices in the system for when you want to go.


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## dandjane1

*We've been DRI owners since 2010, when we bought points at Los Abrigados in Sedona (a BEAUTIFUL place!) We don't like the high maintenance fees, but the folks at the resorts are so much nicer than those at Wyndham. The folks on the phone when you have a problem are very helpful, and will bend the rules on saving points when convinced it's necessary due to health reasons etc. Our favorite resort in Daytona Beach Regency, a small 62-unit oceanfront resort with the friendliest staff you'll ever meet. Even the sales weasels are decent, though high-pressure is the by-word. BTW, don't EVER pay full price (around $8.44 or more) for Developer points! We've averaged less than $3.00, some @ $2.00. Aftermarket points are 25 cents or less, but we like the Platinum Level features, which aftermarket doesn't get you. Mark us down as (relatively) happy owners.*


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## T_R_Oglodyte

eggmansr71 said:


> Very disappointed that they get away with so many restrictions on resale points.  I think the gov. should step in on that industry practice.  Best thing about them is they don’t allow you to rent out reservations.  Means there is almost always good choices in the system for when you want to go.


Just to chime in with a bit of information/clarification.

Each resort (or in the case of a collection, each Trust) has it's own individual reservation rights, set forth in the ownership documents.  Everyone who owns in the resort (or collection), is entitled to those reservation rights, be they new owner or resale buyer.  

The difference occurs with the Club membership.  When someone is a member of the Club, they surrender the reservation rights of their ownership to the Club, and in exchange receive Club reservation rights using their points.  (They also pay Club operating fees).  The Club membership does not transfer with resale.  The underlying reservation rights for the ownership do transfer.


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## youppi

caryjoe said:


> All of the above, plus the fact that DRI paid members can make reservations 13 months out, while traditional owners (owners at DRI timeshares without being a member of DRI) can only make reservations approximately 12 months in advance.  I am a traditional owner, way before DRI appeared on the scene. When they took over the resort (The Point at Poipu) they changed the rules which favor those who signed up with DRI.  Unfair scenario.


I think that it's not the same pot. The trust points own 58.65% of units/weeks at Point at Poipu. So, 13 or 12 months should not be a problem.
I don't think that DRI has changed that rule. Sunterra created most rules. I don't remember for the 12/13 months rule when we were Sunterra.
A little bit of history at Pointe at Poipu:
-In 1994, Osamu Kaneko, Steven C. Kenninger and Andrew J. Gessow acquired a portion of Point at Poipu in Kauai, Hawaii.
-In 1996, Kaneko, Kenninger, and Gessow incorporated the company, KGK Resorts Inc
-In August of 1996, they changed the company name to Signature Resorts and completed its IPO.
-In 1998, Signature Resorts has been renamed to Sunterra Corporation.
-In 1998, Club Sunterra, the point based system based on LSI's Grand Vacation Club points system, has been launched by Sunterra with the complete rollout to all facilities in 1999. Club Sunterra currency points were called SunOptions.
-In 2005, Sunterra bought the remaining 69% they didn't own at Point at Poipu in Kauai, Hawaii.
-In 2007, DRI bought Sunterra for 700 Millions USD.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WXE5rnFgWaPKJdByFs6kAUjkXWLhpwmq4pB8OuepK30/pubhtml#


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## Arusso

harveyhaddixfan said:


> The biggest negative for me is all the “corporate” costs they add to HOAs where smaller independent resorts don’t have these. Ex: the $500k almost $600k “Corporate overhead allocation” & doubled management fee of over $500k at Beachwoods. That’s money out of our pockets straight into an investors (or other corporate employee’s) pocket.


Agree.  While it is good business to allocate enough funds for general maintenance, refurbishment, and reserve, DRI (much like an insurance company) builds there "corporate" fees (aka guaranteed profit) into their management fees which are independent of the business performance of each property.  Regrettably, with DRI controlling many, if not most HOAs, this practice is not likely to change.  I would love to operate a business like that!


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## Arusso

DeniseM said:


> This is the deal:  Most regulars on TUG love/like their timeshare property - but many times we dislike/despise the management company.  They are 2 completely different things.


Still remains to be seen if the how the new owner group is interested more on improving the product versus just positioning it for a sale to another entity.


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## Arusso

2turners said:


> We have been owners of the Flamingo Beach Resort in St Maartan for over 20 years. After Diamond Resorts bought the Flaming we have seen our maintenance fees go thru the roof, a total change in the attitude of the staff and a downturn in the day to day upkeep. Not happy with DRI.


Part of the significant increase was due to improvements made to the resort after it was taken over by DRI and a couple of storms over the past 5 years or so.  Would be interesting to see what the cost of the recent hurricane activity is and if the reserve funds is sufficient to handle it without a special assessment......Hoping for the best


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## Arusso

geist1223 said:


> Oh I forgot we also spent a week at Sea Mountain Resort near Black Sand Beach and a week at Paniolo Greens Resort. This second on was through Club Select. So 3 good trips of 2 weeks each in 2.5 years. If you go to Cabo Azul do not get a 1 bedroom even if there are only 2 of you. The view from most of the 1 bedrooms is of an alley and a parking lot.


Expect to go stay at CA soon.  Would you say the studios are a better value then the 1 BR units?  Any additional info on the resort would be most appreciated.


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## geist1223

It depends on what you want. Because of location, view, etc we will probably splurge and get a 2 bedroom. There are allegedly a couple 1 bedroom Condo with Ocean Views. A 1 Bedroom with an Ocean view costs the same Points as a 2 Bedroom Condo with Pool/Partial Ocean View. We like the extra space and the option to invite friends.


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## VegasBella

I'm a legacy week owner at a DRI resort and I'm happy with DRI management thus far. They have made booking easier for me. MF have gone up significantly but the property has been greatly improved as well. And now I have different, better exchange options than I had in the past. 

The only things I really don't like are:
- Hearing people complain about DRI at the pool
- Seeing all the sales people and all the suckers in the sales offices
- So many people dislike DRI that I worry I won't be able to resell my ownership when I'm done with it


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## Egret1986

Arusso said:


> Agree.  While it is good business to allocate enough funds for general maintenance, refurbishment, and reserve, DRI (much like an insurance company) builds there "corporate" fees (aka guaranteed profit) into their management fees which are independent of the business performance of each property.  Regrettably, with DRI controlling many, if not most HOAs, this practice is not likely to change.  I would love to operate a business like that!



Agreed.  DRI has control of the HOAs.  No incentive to change the "built in" corporate fees that are independent of business performance of the properties.  



VegasBella said:


> I'm a legacy week owner at a DRI resort and I'm happy with DRI management thus far. They have made booking easier for me. MF have gone up significantly but the property has been greatly improved as well. And now I have different, better exchange options than I had in the past.
> 
> The only things I really don't like are:
> - Hearing people complain about DRI at the pool
> - Seeing all the sales people and all the suckers in the sales offices
> - So many people dislike DRI that I worry I won't be able to resell my ownership when I'm done with it



Five of my resorts were acquired by DRI in October 2015, unexpectedly.  Prior to the acquisition, I had read the "negativism" regarding DRI.  When the announcement was made about the acquisition of Gold Key Resorts by DRI, it was very unwelcome news for me. I've been a timeshare owner since 1984.  My DRI experiences over the past two years have negatively impacted my "timeshare life."  I'm making dramatic changes based, in great part, on my DRI experiences thus far.

I can personally attest that the resale value of my former Gold Key Resorts has deteriorated since the DRI acquisition.  I'm not talking off-season/shoulder season float weeks or points.  I'm not talking low demand locations.  These are prime Summer fixed weeks in high demand locations.  I have seen dramatically lower pricing in listings on RedWeek and MyResortNetwork for these resorts.  

I'm now contributing to the "DRI Negativism."  I probably shouldn't be belly-aching about DRI if I'm trying to sell off my DRI inventory.  

Perhaps I just haven't given it enough time to get to the "Stay Vacationed" mindset.  

Dealing with many departments of DRI has been frustrating and time-consuming.  I've been told that some of the issue is due to the number of contracts that I have in my account and because one of the acquired resorts is in RCI Points.  I'm unsure why number of contracts owned would cause the errors and issues created by DRI.  Remember DRI......YOU acquired me and my stuff.  I didn't volunteer or sign-up with YOU.  Doesn't matter; I'm currently a DRI owner whether I like it or not.  My mind is not closed though and an about-face on my current opinion of DRI would most certainly be welcome.

VegasBella, since you are enjoying your DRI ownership; wring out every drop of vacation value that you can from it so that you won't have to worry about reselling it.  In the end, give it away or maybe DRI will still have a  "take back" program.  Enjoy!


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## clifffaith

VegasBella said:


> - So many people dislike DRI that I worry I won't be able to resell my ownership when I'm done with it



Chances are slim you can sell it. When folks come to the various DRI Facebook pages asking what is a fair price/how do they go about selling they are always given the sad news that there is NO resale market. The poor folks in the European Club have to pony up two years of maintenance fees to get out if they are younger than early 70's; at least US (and presumably Hawaii) can give points back for $250 per contract.


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## geist1223

The last DRI Hawaiian Collection I picked up was $1.00 and they paid all Transfer Costs.


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## artringwald

One of my pet peeves with DRI is that they try and trick you into paying for things you don't want or need. If you make a reservation, by default, travel insurance and SkyMed options are checked. The annual MF statement always includes the "ARDA-ROC Voluntary Contribution". ARDA-ROC is a lobbying organization for the interests of timeshare developers, not timeshare owners. It is voluntary, but to avoid paying it, you have to call and ask that the $7 be removed from your balance. It may take them a couple of weeks to remove it. It's hard to trust them when they try to fool the people that don't read the details.


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## avad88

I agree with Arusso in that we are unhappy with DRI. We saw a huge assessment as soon as DRI bought our resort a few years ago and we have had large increases in the maintenance each year. We are RCI points members at the resort and DRI calls us a couple of times a month wanting us to attend lunch to convert to DRI points. No way! We have a prime summer week, but will try to sell in the next couple of years just to get out from under the high maintenance. We like the resort, but usually use the Points for other resorts and our number of points to maintenance fees are getting too expensive. We bought resale and didn't pay much, but will have a loss due to the assessment, etc. We like independent resorts!


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## refslady

Almond123 said:


> That's what we were told as well and I knew they were lying of course. They said that if we had points we would be immune from increases and special assessments. We were then told that "this is what all the smart people were doing...."  That's when we were done and out of there.  I think they will do or say anything to sell points. IWe  am not interested.



We own deeds at Poipu on Kauai.  During our annual high-pressure presentation where the focus is on getting us to swap our deeds for points we were called "dinosaurs" by the sales rep for refusing to give up our deeds.  You know how they love to pull out the catalog of the worldwide locations, flip the pages and say that you can go anywhere in the book? Where would you like to go? I always tell them I only want to go to Poipu and it would be foolish to change to points since the points are never enough to get back to Poipu.  Usually they give up on us early, let us get our gift and leave.

To the OP's question, a lot of the unhappy owners a few years ago were Poipu owners.  We had a HUGE assessment for water damage: large enough that the payments were spread over five years.  Also, there has been an issue with the VOA and HOA boards being overtaken by relatives of DRI executives, so the owners have practically no representation on the boards anymore. Quite a few owners wanted to get rid of their units after the assessment was made: they said they couldn't afford maintenance and the assessment.  DRI was incredibly generous: they offered to take the units off the owners' hands as long as the owners continued to pay the maintenance.  Crazy, ehh?


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## refslady

geist1223 said:


> The last DRI Hawaiian Collection I picked up was $1.00 and they paid all Transfer Costs.



That is the same price we paid for our latest deed at Poipu.


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## ccwu

nuwermj said:


> I'm a member of DRI and Bluegreen, and I actively follow various internet forums for members of both system. From the many many stories of sales presentations by these two companies, I have a very hard time finding a difference. As bad as DRI's tactics might be, Bluegreen's sale force does the same. Nevertheless, there is a very noticeable difference in the two memberships. Bluegreen members are a lot more satisfied with their memberships than DRI members. I don't fully understand why this is the case. But here are a few possibilities.
> 
> Bluegreen recently released data that one-third of it's club members own only resale points. From what I read in the DRI member forums, literally no one in DRI is a resale only member. In the Bluegreen system resale point owners have access to all the resorts in the points system (about 66 of them). DRI has about 100 resorts but maintains seven different pools or collections. DRI resale points can be used only in their home collection. (The US Collection is the largest with about 45 resorts, other collections range from 1 to 15 resorts). It seems like resale points are attractive in Bluegreen but not DRI and that might affect member satisfaction.
> 
> A member who owns both developer and resale points: Bluegreen holds both in one account and the points can be combined for reservations. DRI holds the points in separate accounts and they cannot be combined.
> 
> Both DRI and Bluegreen offer loyalty (or tier) benefits like travel services and proprietary exchange programs. In both cases resale points do not qualify. No difference there.
> 
> The two developers have very different marketing strategies. DRI buys new members. It acquires a small system like Gold Key, and focuses on "converting" those owners to DRI points. Rules and benefits are structured so as to create incentives to convert. Only 20% of DRI sales are made to new members, that is, a family that does not already have a points or deeded relationship with DRI. Bluegreen makes about 50% of its sales to new members. Additionally, the average transaction is noticeably different. DRI=26K; BG=13K. Perhaps DRI's overwhelming focus on converting existing owners generates a history and pattern of bad taste from the start.



Totally agree with you. I do think DRI Resorts are better than Bluegreen. 
We are member of BlueGreen(gold), DRI (platinum), HGVC (elite premier) and VI plus some other fraction ski resorts. Comparing the points membership, DRI used more points than HGVC. HGVC can get a peak season 2 bedroom in Waikiki Hawaii Village while DRI with 7000 points may only get a one bedroom somewhere in peak season. The MF per point I pay about $0.19 per point while 0.16 per point for HGVC. HGVC has better quality of Resorts in my opinion plus the usage of worldwide Hilton brand hotels with Hhoner points. The resale and direct purchase treated the same other than resale can not used the points toward elite level. Same as blue green. But all points of resale and direct purchase is in one account and resale points treated the same per owner’s level. All my points in HGVC resal are treated as elite premier level. Majority of the owner in HGVC are happy with the Resorts and ownership. A few complained about MF and sales pressure but not as much as DRI and bluegreen. Most HGVC owner’s enjoyed Travel with Hilton brands hotel home and abroad and taking pride to be owner.


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## tashamen

Embarc (formerly Club Intrawest) dues went down a bit for 2018.  Count me among the happy campers so far since the DRI takeover.


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## dlferree

I'd like to thank everyone for your responses. Since I only own DRI, I am not able to make direct comparisons to other timeshare companies. Your responses have improved my understanding of the many complaints I hear about DRI and at the same time confirmed that there are other DRI owners who enjoy their timeshares similar to our enjoyment. The response I will always remember if and when I hear/read someone complaining about DRI is that there is a difference between DRI resorts and DRI management. 

Your wiliness to share your personal experiences and opinions regarding my question is much appreciated.


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## mjm1

We just returned from a week at Sedona Summit where we attended a sales presentation. We were pleasantly surprised by the sales rep and Manager with whom we spoke. I even mentioned it to the sales rep, who is a young man who has only been with them for several months.

With regard to the resort, we enjoyed it. The unit needs to be updated, but the staff were helpful. The area in Sedona speaks for itself. They are remodeling the units in the Sunset section of the resort and the new units look great.

We would happily return.

Best regards.

Mike


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## youppi

mjm1 said:


> We just returned from a week at Sedona Summit where we attended a sales presentation. We were pleasantly surprised by the sales rep and Manager with whom we spoke. I even mentioned it to the sales rep, who is a young man who has only been with them for several months.
> 
> With regard to the resort, we enjoyed it. The unit needs to be updated, but the staff were helpful. The area in Sedona speaks for itself. They are remodeling the units in the Sunset section of the resort and the new units look great.
> 
> We would happily return.
> 
> Best regards.
> 
> Mike


As per the annual meeting, *Sunset* and *Mesa* sections have been updated with new furniture. *Summit *section refurbishment is planned for 2018 (no pictures). Pool deck resurfacing and RFID door lock conversion phase II is also planned for 2018 at Sedona Summit.


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## caryjoe

youppi said:


> I think that it's not the same pot. The trust points own 58.65% of units/weeks at Point at Poipu. So, 13 or 12 months should not be a problem.
> I don't think that DRI has changed that rule. Sunterra created most rules. I don't remember for the 12/13 months rule when we were Sunterra.
> A little bit of history at Pointe at Poipu:
> -In 1994, Osamu Kaneko, Steven C. Kenninger and Andrew J. Gessow acquired a portion of Point at Poipu in Kauai, Hawaii.
> -In 1996, Kaneko, Kenninger, and Gessow incorporated the company, KGK Resorts Inc
> -In August of 1996, they changed the company name to Signature Resorts and completed its IPO.
> -In 1998, Signature Resorts has been renamed to Sunterra Corporation.
> -In 1998, Club Sunterra, the point based system based on LSI's Grand Vacation Club points system, has been launched by Sunterra with the complete rollout to all facilities in 1999. Club Sunterra currency points were called SunOptions.
> -In 2005, Sunterra bought the remaining 69% they didn't own at Point at Poipu in Kauai, Hawaii.
> -In 2007, DRI bought Sunterra for 700 Millions USD.
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WXE5rnFgWaPKJdByFs6kAUjkXWLhpwmq4pB8OuepK30/pubhtml#


Diamond Resorts International is in fact the owners of The Point at Poipu who did change the rules.  Nobody before they showed up, changed that rule.  They have admitted to it and state that they have the right to do so, no matter what it was before (everybody operated on an equal basis for reservations).  I have been a traditional owner at The Point at Poipu for almost 20 years.  I make my reservations as early as allowed.  I know the rules as  I have stated them.  It is unequal timing (13 months versus 12 months) for reservations.  Unfair.  The pot should be the same inventory across the reservation scenario.  If it is not, then they changed that also.  
Are you an owner at The Point at Poipu?


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## youppi

caryjoe said:


> Diamond Resorts International is in fact the owners of The Point at Poipu who did change the rules.  Nobody before they showed up, changed that rule.  They have admitted to it and state that they have the right to do so, no matter what it was before (everybody operated on an equal basis for reservations).  I have been a traditional owner at The Point at Poipu for almost 20 years.  I make my reservations as early as allowed.  I know the rules as  I have stated them.  It is unequal timing (13 months versus 12 months) for reservations.  Unfair.  The pot should be the same inventory across the reservation scenario.  If it is not, then they changed that also.
> Are you an owner at The Point at Poipu?



Not a direct owner at P@P. I'm a member of Hawaii Collection since Sunterra. 

The pot can't be the same. DRI must guaranteed that every deeded week owner has a week at P@P. If they open 100% of the inventory to points members then some deeded weeks owners could be not able to get a week. 

I don't know how they split the inventory (weeks and views). I don't know if there is many deeded weeks owners with fix week and fix view or if all deeded weeks owners are floating week and floating view. But one thing I know is a couple years ago there was nothing available for February at KBC at 13 nor 12 months for Hawaii Collection members but deeded weeks owners were seeing full of inventory for February. We, Hawaii Collection members, complain and the year after there was a lot of inventory at KBC for February for us. So, DRI can move the inventory from one pot to the other pot every year for all floating weeks as they want but they can't do it for fix week.

Another thing that affect the inventory of deeded weeks owners at P@P is the percentage at P@P that is owned by the Hawaii Collection :
2007 -> 4.5%
2008 -> 10.5%
2009 -> 21.2%
2010 -> 28.3%
2011 -> 35.4%
2012 -> 35.8%
2013 -> 47.8%
2014 -> 53.5%
2015 -> 55.2%
2016 -> 58.7%
2017 -> 58.7%

As you can see, 10 years ago, deeded weeks owners had 95.5% of the inventory but now they have only 41.3% and we don't know the distribution of that 41.3% (how many are ocean front, ocean view, peak season Jan to mid-March, summer, ...). Also, from the 41.3%, what is the % owned by DRI due to the deeded back program ?


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## youppi

I read on Facebook today that deeded weeks owners with deeded not assigned in THE Club like you but own some points in the Hawaii Collection can book their deeded week at 13 months like points members. 1 month ahead of you. This is unfair because it is in the same pot as you. This is similar to Marriott's with multi weeks owners vs single week owners where multi weeks owners can book 1 month ahead (13 months vs 12 months).


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## artringwald

We have 3 deeded weeks at P@P, with one in the Club. The 2 not in the Club are both float/float. We have always been able to book oceanfront in Jan-Feb. We used to book no more than 360 days out, but when they moved booking from Poipu to Las Vegas, now it's one year out. Since they moved the booking to Vegas, it seems harder to get the unit numbers we request. I wish DRI would give us better information about how they handle room requests. I miss the days of staying up until 12:01 AM Hawaii time to email the room requests 360 days before our arrival.


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## pedro47

I have two (2) Questions. Is the month of April a hard time to book an ocean front villa and question #2 to avoid attending a DRI sales presentation can you say this is a all guys or ladies vacation to avoid their  sales presentation?


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## youppi

artringwald said:


> We have 3 deeded weeks at P@P, with one in the Club. The 2 not in the Club are both float/float. We have always been able to book oceanfront in Jan-Feb. We used to book no more than 360 days out, but when they moved booking from Poipu to Las Vegas, now it's one year out. Since they moved the booking to Vegas, it seems harder to get the unit numbers we request. I wish DRI would give us better information about how they handle room requests. I miss the days of staying up until 12:01 AM Hawaii time to email the room requests 360 days before our arrival.


Can you book your 3 weeks simultaneously at 12 months of the first week like we do with our points or you must wait 12 months for each weeks ?


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## artringwald

pedro47 said:


> I have two (2) Questions. Is the month of April a hard time to book an ocean front villa and question #2 to avoid attending a DRI sales presentation can you say this is a all guys or ladies vacation to avoid their  sales presentation?


If you lie to avoid a presentation, aren't you dropping yourself to the same level as the sales people? At P@P, when you check in at the front desk, they won't ask about a presentation. You won't get asked unless you want the free box of waxy mac nut candies and the shell leis, in which case you have to go to the concierge desk. DW usually waits in the car, and I've never had much trouble telling them no, with a smile. The concierge people are nice, and it's their job to ask about attending, but they won't push you very hard.


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## artringwald

youppi said:


> Can you book your 3 weeks simultaneously at 12 months of the first week like we do with our points or you must wait 12 months for each weeks ?


If you have multiple weeks, and want to book them sequentially, you can book them all 12 months from the check in date. Oddly enough, they send multiple confirmation letters, each with a different confirm # for each one. I make sure I request to be assigned the same unit for all the reservations.


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## youppi

pedro47 said:


> I have two (2) Questions. Is the month of April a hard time to book an ocean front villa and question #2 to avoid attending a DRI sales presentation can you say this is a all guys or ladies vacation to avoid their  sales presentation?


You didn't specify if it's weeks or points and if it's points, which collection (Hawaii at 13 months or others collections at 10 months). So,
For HI Collection at 13 months: very easy. 
I never looked at 10 months. So, I don't know.
I don't own weeks at P@P. So, I don't know.


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## Dollie

artringwald said:


> If you have multiple weeks, and want to book them sequentially, you can book them all 12 months from the check in date. Oddly enough, they send multiple confirmation letters, each with a different confirm # for each one. I make sure I request to be assigned the same unit for all the reservations.



This was not my experience when I booked our 21-day request for this January.  We are deeded owners using points in The Club to book these weeks.  Since we own 2 weeks, this request was a combination of our weekly points and points rolled over from the previous year.  Only one confirmation letter came for the entire stay.

How are you requesting your suites with the change in suite assignments being handled by Diamond in Las Vegas?  I sent my list to PoipuVIP@DiamondResorts.com as I have done before.


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## artringwald

Dollie said:


> This was not my experience when I booked our 21-day request for this January. We are deeded owners using points in The Club to book these weeks. Since we own 2 weeks, this request was a combination of our weekly points and points rolled over from the previous year. Only one confirmation letter came for the entire stay.



That's my experience also when I book with points belonging to the deeded week that's in the Club. Two of the weeks are not in the Club, and they gave me separate confirmations, even though they were booked sequentially.



Dollie said:


> How are you requesting your suites with the change in suite assignments being handled by Diamond in Las Vegas? I sent my list to PoipuVIP@DiamondResorts.com as I have done before.



Wow! That's good to know. Did they confirm receiving your room request? Did you make the request as soon as your booking was confirmed? After you check in, please let us know if the room request was honored.


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## Dollie

artringwald said:


> Wow! That's good to know. Did they confirm receiving your room request? Did you make the request as soon as your booking was confirmed? After you check in, please let us know if the room request was honored.



I always make my suite request as soon as I have the confirmation number, usually within minutes of making the reservation.  I used to get a response in the past but did not this last time.  I will call Poipu (not Diamond) a few weeks before the reservation to see if they have my list.  I expect to get a better response from Poipu even if they have to refer me to Diamond.


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## caryjoe

dlferree said:


> I'd like to thank everyone for your responses. Since I only own DRI, I am not able to make direct comparisons to other timeshare companies. Your responses have improved my understanding of the many complaints I hear about DRI and at the same time confirmed that there are other DRI owners who enjoy their timeshares similar to our enjoyment. The response I will always remember if and when I hear/read someone complaining about DRI is that there is a difference between DRI resorts and DRI management.
> 
> Your wiliness to share your personal experiences and opinions regarding my question is much appreciated.[/QUOTE
> 
> 
> youppi said:
> 
> 
> 
> Not a direct owner at P@P. I'm a member of Hawaii Collection since Sunterra.
> 
> The pot can't be the same. DRI must guaranteed that every deeded week owner has a week at P@P. If they open 100% of the inventory to points members then some deeded weeks owners could be not able to get a week.
> 
> I don't know how they split the inventory (weeks and views). I don't know if there is many deeded weeks owners with fix week and fix view or if all deeded weeks owners are floating week and floating view. But one thing I know is a couple years ago there was nothing available for February at KBC at 13 nor 12 months for Hawaii Collection members but deeded weeks owners were seeing full of inventory for February. We, Hawaii Collection members, complain and the year after there was a lot of inventory at KBC for February for us. So, DRI can move the inventory from one pot to the other pot every year for all floating weeks as they want but they can't do it for fix week.
> 
> Another thing that affect the inventory of deeded weeks owners at P@P is the percentage at P@P that is owned by the Hawaii Collection :
> 2007 -> 4.5%
> 2008 -> 10.5%
> 2009 -> 21.2%
> 2010 -> 28.3%
> 2011 -> 35.4%
> 2012 -> 35.8%
> 2013 -> 47.8%
> 2014 -> 53.5%
> 2015 -> 55.2%
> 2016 -> 58.7%
> 2017 -> 58.7%
> 
> As you can see, 10 years ago, deeded weeks owners had 95.5% of the inventory but now they have only 41.3% and we don't know the distribution of that 41.3% (how many are ocean front, ocean view, peak season Jan to mid-March, summer, ...). Also, from the 41.3%, what is the % owned by DRI due to the deeded back program ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Noticing other posts, that some may feel that timeshare ownership and management are separate, think again, especially at The Point at Poipu.  DRI has both management and ownership (percentage, based on your data). When they did not have the percentage of ownership they still had management, which I objected to.
> 
> As to the percentage of ownership, they changed the rules for reservations as managers before they had ownership majority.  Even with obvious majority ownership, there should not be a difference of a month to make reservations.  There is a variety of different deeded ownerships at The Point at Poipu, so I cannot believe that there is a different pot of inventory for traditional owners versus DRI owners.  Even at making reservations at 12 months out, with my 2 floating weeks, I should always get ocean front reservations, but in 10 years based on the data that I see, I will probably be allocated to garden view (which by the way is still very good).  All I ask is that everyone be able to make reservations at the same point in time.  By the way fixed weeks are preset until January of the year of usage, at which point they need to confirm that usage.
Click to expand...


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## Poobah

We are deeded owners with four weeks and we request our weeks, like Art does, all at once for four sequential weeks. Making the reservation now through Diamond, I do request a suite number and have been successful getting the unit we want. We own Ocean Front, but our favorite unit is an Ocean View, so we are essentially "downgrading' ourselves but we like the location of the unit. Like Art, I call The Point and confirm that the request is in my reservation record. It is my understanding that the actual assignment of suites is still handled by The Point, but I have heard some things that make be believe it may just for the deeded owners. I know the inventory control is managed by Diamond. 

I have heard complaints around the hot tub that a certain class of owner could get a specific week, when other classes were able to. It all goes back to the inventories and inventories are something that the sales people neglect to talk about.


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## Dollie

Dollie said:


> This was not my experience when I booked our 21-day request for this January.  We are deeded owners using points in The Club to book these weeks.  Since we own 2 weeks, this request was a combination of our weekly points and points rolled over from the previous year.  Only one confirmation letter came for the entire stay.
> 
> How are you requesting your suites with the change in suite assignments being handled by Diamond in Las Vegas?  I sent my list to PoipuVIP@DiamondResorts.com as I have done before.




*Update on unit request at The Point:*

I have a list of all the ocean view units, ranked from 1st to 51st, based on our preference.  I’ve been using the list for many years and when I have occasionally spoken to the people at the Point, I was told they liked my list and it was very helpful when it came time to assign our unit.  We usually got one of the first 10 units on the list.

·     When I made this reservation 12 months in advance, I sent the list to PoipuVIP@diamondresorts.com as usual, however, I got no response this time.

·     About 4 weeks before our arrival, we received a form “Your Upcoming Diamond Resorts International(R) Reservation” email from PoipuFrontDesk@diamondresorts.com.  In response, I sent the list again and received no acknowledgement.

·     About 2 weeks before our arrival, I called the Point (not Diamond) asking if they received the list.  I was told I needed to send the list to Owner Services OwnerServices@diamondresorts.com.  This time I received a response.

When we arrived on Saturday night and after being ushered into the new VIP check in area, we were told we had 4-206 the 32nd / 51 unit on my list.  Of course, we complained.  We weren’t the only ones in there complaining.  The most they could do is move us up one or two spots the following day.  After more complaining we were told there would be a manager on duty Sunday that we could talk too.  I didn’t unpack.  I went down Sunday morning at 8:30 to talk to the manager.  The manager wouldn’t be in until 9:00, they left a message.  The Front Desk Manager didn’t call until after 10:00 but it was obvious she had done her homework.  She said if we could wait until Monday, they could move us to 2-303, 21st /51.  Still not quite what we wanted but better than we had.  We took it.

What I’ve learned:

·     No one is responding to PoipuVIP emails.  This is “dead” even though the email address is still active.

·     Owner services only added the first 4 picks to the message they sent to whoever does the unit assignments.  Not enough room in the message for more.  None of these were available.

·     The Front Desk Manager has added the full list to our owner information.  Hopefully this means it will be used.  When we next make a reservation, I will be persistent in checking that the list will be used for unit assignment.

PS - At this time, there is no house construction going on next door.  There is a new path along the coast, running next to the wall, making it easier to walk to the point.  You have to walk around the walled in area, no more cutting across the field back to the resort.


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## pedro47

To Dollie
Can you share with us all the ocean view units ranked from 1st to 51st based on your preference???.
Thanks for your update on the house construction next door to the resort.


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## itjoemac

We inherited, and to be honest have had nothing but good experiences with their phone reps, but their sales people are horrible. We inherited a deeded week with a pretty low maintenance fee (~$850), and were able to set up an exchange through their internal exchange to Ireland this year (our resort is closed from hurricane damage). After we had the deed from the estate lawyer, we dealt with almost everything over the phone, and they were all very helpful. They also gave us a free extra year of Destination Exchange because our resort is closed. Our week is a tier 2 and our Ireland cottage is a tier 2, so far so good.

We went to an "owner's update" and it was atrocious. I would honestly rather work with used car salesmen. They had _somehow_ never even heard of their own internal exchange program, and we spent 2 hours at an awkward dinner with a young dude (and I'm only 31) trying to sell us an upgrade to a points system. For $75,000. Paid off at 19.99% a year interest. I said we owned our week free and clear from the inheritance and that in no universe were their numbers working out, and they just kept pushing like they weren't even hearing me. It really soured me on them. I said if they wanted our week in their trust so much that _they _could pay _us _for 2/3 of what they deemed our week to be worth in points and the sales manager literally looked at me like I murdered his mom and stormed away. My wife is a lawyer and wasn't having it either, though was much more diplomatic about it.

I know to be very skeptical when a sales conversation consists entirely of you constantly being "talked at" by someone, and the entire ordeal was beyond unprofessional.


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## chemteach

With the new Destination Exchange program, diamond is actually great for me.  No reason to convert my week to points because I can get into their resorts with their internal exchange system.  Their sales people are horrible!  They don't have a clue about destination exchange.


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## PamMo

I was more than happy to pay the $250 to be rid of my Diamond-converted-timeshare at Los Abrigados. We love Sedona, but hated dealing with Diamond. We own Hilton, Marriott, Vistana, and some independents. Diamond always seemed the slimiest. From the wall posters of the Diamond CEO touting "The Power Of YES!" while we're told @ 5PM that, "No, your room isn't ready, but we'll call you when it is" (which took another hour+), to the hard sell for a sales presentation ("No, thank you" was incomprehensible to them), to always getting a less than desirable room assignment - Diamond vacations were a bit challenging for us.

On the other hand, my brother-in-law hated his Diamond membership (owned pre-Diamond at Ka'anapali and Poipu resorts) and went to an owner update to complain, and ended up spending tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade to the highest level of Diamond membership - and now he's happy! Go figure.

It's great to find a timeshare or timeshare system that works for you. Diamond just wasn't a good match for us.


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## R.J.C.

davidvel said:


> My bet (from your post) is that the negativity comes from:
> 
> the high maintenance fees,
> the high pressure sales tactics,
> 
> unprofessional presentations
> As noted above, if you are still happy, then that's great.



2 of those 3 things can be ignored if one chooses to.


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## R.J.C.

geist1223 said:


> Two lessons I have learned with DRI. You can roll your Points over 1 year. I do this is January. You can still use those Points in the current year but it is better to be safe than sorry. You have until June 30 to roll over all your Points. After that you are only allowed to roll over part of your Points.



The only problem with doing this is that when you roll your points forward and then bring them back to make a reservation, if you cancel that reservation you cannot reroll them forward again. They become use/lose points.

One can roll 50% of their points to the next year by 31 August and 25% by 31 October. After 31 October points become use/lose for that year.


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## Arusso

R.J.C. said:


> The only problem with doing this is that when you roll your points forward and then bring them back to make a reservation, if you cancel that reservation you cannot reroll them forward again. They become use/lose points.
> 
> One can roll 50% of their points to the next year by 31 August and 25% by 31 October. After 31 October points become use/lose for that year.



thank you for pointing this our to the TUGGERS interested in this forum.  A case in point - When I cancelled my Flamingo Beach Villas reservation after hurricane Irma, I lost points precisely due to the "rule" explained in your first sentence.  In this instance, points insurance is useless concluding that points, unlike currency, can become worthless.  Which raises an interesting question.  MFs are paid with cash and a points allocation is deposited into one's account.  To be able to do this, Club members pay significant yearly dues.  Clearly, there should never be an expiration.  But then again, it certainly seems that these "value added" programs benefit DR (the recent corporate restructuring discarded the "International" moniker) more than the owners.


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## nuwermj

Arusso said:


> Which raises an interesting question.  MFs are paid with cash and a points allocation is deposited into one's account.  To be able to do this, Club members pay significant yearly dues.  *Clearly, there should never be an expiration*.



I don't think it is clear that points should never expire. Timeshare points represent accommodations within a specific time frame. A bit like a Southwest Airline ticket represents a flight, but not a seat. Timeshare points need to be used within the specific time frame because the underling accommodation (e.g. week 20 in 2018 at the Acme Resort) cannot be transferred into the future. Timeshare points are a bit more like seasons tickets than money. Moreover, saving points is actually an exchange system, not a system for storing or transferring value. If I save my points, I am exchanging this year's use rights for use rights next year. Because exchanges must be reciprocal, my saved points must be balanced against someone else's borrowed points: that is, someone exchanging their future use rights for use rights this year.


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## WBP

Back to the Original Poster's query about the cause(s) for "DRI's Negativism," I wouldn't know where to begin, chronicling all of the negativity that DRI has rightfully earned. It seems to me, that the cancer of Diamond Resorts International is spread all over the www, the challenge is to separate fact from fiction; however, very clear patterns emerge, which more than explain why so many people have such a rancid view of DRI. 

Here's a recent "first person experience," spoken by DRI customers, again, part of a very consistent pattern:


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## DanZale2000

davidvel said:


> My bet (from your post) is that the negativity comes from:
> 
> the high maintenance fees,
> the high pressure sales tactics,
> 
> unprofessional presentations
> As noted above, if you are still happy, then that's great.





R.J.C. said:


> 2 of those 3 things can be ignored if one chooses to.



Diamond's high pressure sales force hound us with phone calls at home before a visit; they hound us in the lobby at check in; they hound us at the concierge's desk through out the visit; they hound us with calls in our unit during the visit, they even come knocking at the door of the unit. Very hard to ignore these behaviors.


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## DRIless

Arusso said:


> thank you for pointing this our to the TUGGERS interested in this forum.  A case in point - When I cancelled my Flamingo Beach Villas reservation after hurricane Irma, I lost points precisely due to the "rule" explained in your first sentence.  In this instance, points insurance is useless concluding that points, unlike currency, can become worthless.  Which raises an interesting question.  MFs are paid with cash and a points allocation is deposited into one's account.  To be able to do this, Club members pay significant yearly dues.  *Clearly, there should never be an expiration*.  But then again, it certainly seems that these "value added" programs benefit DR (the recent corporate restructuring discarded the "International" moniker) more than the owners.



"Clearly, there should never be an expiration"
There is no way to sustain that in any viable system.  In doing that, people will procrastinate and delay, leaving empty condos then a rash when everyone wants to use their points at some time and there's only a finite inventory where you've now allowed people to have an infinite amount of points over time.


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## DRIless

WJS said:


> Back to the Original Poster's query about the cause(s) for "DRI's Negativism," I wouldn't know where to begin, chronicling all of the negativity that DRI has rightfully earned. It seems to me, that the cancer of Diamond Resorts International is spread all over the www, the challenge is to separate fact from fiction; however, very clear patterns emerge, which more than explain why so many people have such a rancid view of DRI.
> *Here's a recent "first person experience," spoken by DRI customers*, again, part of a very consistent pattern:


I think this couple did a great job of documenting their experience.  That CSR/Salesperson was way out of line and Diamond was wrong in letting that salesperson operate.  Apollo bought Diamond as an investment but it's Diamond that still runs it and for salespeople to insinuate changes because of that purchase is ludicrous.

.50/pt rental buy back when thy "about to expire"  when MFs are closing in on .30/pt is not believable
I had all my deeds and collections in one account ???
5000 pts gets you Platinum, also not believable


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## DanZale2000

DRIless said:


> Apollo bought Diamond as an investment but it's Diamond that still runs it and for salespeople to insinuate changes because of that purchase is ludicrous.




But Apollo promoted Michael Flaskey to the CEO jobs. Flaskey had been the Executive VP for Sales and Marketing between 2011 and 2017. He is the one responsible for the current sales division. Flaskey then promoted other senior sale managers into company wide jobs. It's the wolfs guarding the hen house. It would be a trivial management initiative to weed-out these and other behaviors within the sales force; if there was a desire to do so.


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## DRIless

DanZale2000 said:


> But Apollo promoted Michael Flaskey to the CEO jobs. Flaskey had been the Executive VP for Sales and Marketing between 2011 and 2017. He is the one responsible for the current sales division. Flaskey then promoted other senior sale managers into company wide jobs. It's the wolfs guarding the hen house. It would be a trivial management initiative to weed-out these and other behaviors within the sales force; if there was a desire to do so.


 If it's as widespread as everyone says, then it's not quite a trivial matter.  The last time I went for an update (post Apollo) they tried to scare me into buying more to convert my fixed weeks pledged to THE Club for points every year saying "What happens when your resort isn't in THE Club any longer?"  I said you can't scare me enough to double my MFs from X to 2X, which is what would happen if I converted them to US Collection.  Then they sent in a guy with a man bun who tried to sell me some sort of program that gave me up to 52 bonus weeks in II for $199/week and I could rent them !!!


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## WBP

It's too bad that Diamond does not have a greater, on or off site sales and marketing presence in New York State. If they did, I'm sure this guy would have them for dinner:

https://ag.ny.gov/


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## WBP

DRIless said:


> ......Then they sent in a guy with a man bun who tried to sell me some sort of program that gave me up to 52 bonus weeks in II for $199/week and I could rent them !!!



I don't think there's enough room in hell to accommodate Diamond's sales force. Renting II Bonus Weeks; that's funny.

In this sheltered life of mine, I had to look up "Man Bun.". Now I know what that thing is. Do you think those II Bonus Weeks are conceived in or under that Man Bun?


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## DanZale2000

DRIless said:


> If it's as widespread as everyone says, then it's not quite a trivial matter.



The managerial fix is trivial. It's easy to do.


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