# DRI questions for newbie



## jchuillier (Aug 20, 2011)

Hello all,

Following a DRI presentation last week in the US I wanted to know a bit more about the system so I thought you could help me understand how it works.

Basically we were "offered" 15000 points for 48k, then 37k, at this point we decided not to buy anything because an 11k rebate in 10 minutes makes you want to wait for 10 minutes more 

In the end we did not buy anything and now I am doing my homework because I'm still interested by the system.

In France we have 5 weeks holidays so I think we would use DRI/Interval for probably 4 weeks per year, skiing 1 week and beach 3 weeks.

The skiing would probably be in Europe and the beach elsewhere

I have seen some free points offers on Ebay (17k for 39$) but I wanted to know more about this, I have read here that to access Interval (which is the interesting part of DRI because of the number of resorts) you have to be a the club member, apparently if I buy points from Ebay or elsewhere I am not a the club member, is that correct ? If so how can I get a the club membership ? Can I do it afterwards (like buy some DRI points dirt cheap, use their resorts for 2 years and then get into the club to access interval for example ?)

Also the fees seem to be a big problem with DRI because they are "out of control", I have met a person having a disney TS (DVC) and in his contract it is written black on white that the fees cannot increase more than 5% per year, is it possible to get such a thing in DRI ?

Please excuse me in advance for the silly questions but as a total begginer I need to know some insider's stuff before committing.

Thanks a lot


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## dougp26364 (Aug 20, 2011)

jchuillier said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Following a DRI presentation last week in the US I wanted to know a bit more about the system so I thought you could help me understand how it works.
> 
> ...




The fee's are a big problem with any quality timeshare system. It's just that DRI took over Sunterra, which IMHO wasn't up to quality of other timeshare systems and, as such, they had their MF's low. Sunterra also went bankrupt, which is how DRI came into the picture. 

Still, having your previously unrealisticly low MF's suddenly jump upset a lot of Sunterra owners. Owners who may have been accustomed to exchanging out of Sunterra (no DRI) into other resorts of higher quality (buy cheap and trade into higher fee resorts). Buying South African timeshares was all the rage a few years ago with many owners bragging about their low fee's and great exchanges. You don't see that so much anymore as the sands have shifted. 

DRI is a quality outfit and, is going to charge the price for that quality. I can't say I'm overly thrilled with the size of our MF's but, I can say that we own with Hilton and Marriott and see similar MF's through those systems. We also own two additional resort weeks with a developer who leans towards the cheaper side and, the quality in those resorts shows. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad resorts. They're just not nearly as nice as DRI, Marriott or Hilton. Quality costs money. 

Now, as far as how things work in Europe, I honestly can't tell you. I can say that DRI discourages resale owners in the U.S. by limiting their options/flexiblity of what can/can't be done with their ownership. We own deeded weeks that are in THE Club and enjoy the flexablity of that program. We elected not to give up our deeds and take an interest in one of the DRI trusts for a few personal reasons. 

There is a Yahoo group for DRI owners that charges a yearly fee to be a member that has a lot of information about the European resorts. I'm not certain if anyone can join or if they require you already own with DRI to join. You could do an internet search to locate the group and inquire about joining. That group is a very large group and has a great deal of information about the European arm of DRI. They would be the ones to answer questions about usage and availabiliy. This forum seems to have more USA owners than European owners. 

There are also a group of DRI owners who are more active over at timeshareforums.com . You might want to post you questions over there as well.


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## jchuillier (Aug 21, 2011)

Hello Doug,

I tend to think globally like you, quality costs and the most people I see complaining are in the UK where they also had a raise in their MF because "the pound has lost some of its value towards the $" and THIS is VERY unfair from DRI, because when 1 year earlier the pound was higher than the $ they didn't get a rebate on their MF, a bit like petrol prices going up when the crude oil rises but never going down when the barrel goes down if you see what I mean.

I have made some good progress with my research and I now only have 2 questions left 

1) Since we are locked in a never expiring contract with DRI, that they have finished the upgrade of the older Sunterra resorts and so on, why can't they offer a guarantee that their MF won't raise by more than x% per year  ? I know that a fiixed % might be bad because if inflation goes up ore than the fixed rate you're in trouble but something like "not more than 1% above the US inflation rate" should be possible, is there ANY chance to talk to DRI about this ?

2) I'm planning to get some us collection points and then transfer into the club, I have read many different theories such as "ask them and they'll do it for free", "you have to buy some points of a developper and then ask DRI to include your collection points into your club points" and "you have to pay a 1 time fee of 3000$", or the last one I got was "get a member that wants to get out, buy his points and pay his fees and then add your collection points" but is there a CLEAR, OFFICIAL policy from DRI about this ? Can a US owner resell his club points (and fees) to me ? Can a UK owner do this ? Would DRI include my collection points in a new club membership (and for how much)....

Personally the lack of CLEAR indications and a "user manual" are the things which are bothering me the most, it's a very sizable chunk of money to invest and the "yeah yeah don't worry we'll take care of it" which i got from the sales rep is not making me feel sure AT ALL 

Thanks for the help


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## dougp26364 (Aug 21, 2011)

jchuillier said:


> Hello Doug,
> 
> I tend to think globally like you, quality costs and the most people I see complaining are in the UK where they also had a raise in their MF because "the pound has lost some of its value towards the $" and THIS is VERY unfair from DRI, because when 1 year earlier the pound was higher than the $ they didn't get a rebate on their MF, a bit like petrol prices going up when the crude oil rises but never going down when the barrel goes down if you see what I mean.
> 
> ...



They could, but then when something goes wrong or there's a big unexpected bill, they'll ask owners for a special assessment in addition to the MF's. It would be that or things wouldn't get fixed as quickly and owners would still complain. Owners will pay one way or another. Keep in mind that DVC has very few locations and there owners don't have near the choices DRI owners enjoy. 

I'm unfamiliar with all of DVC's charges. Each system does things differently. With DRI, most services are included in the management fee and MF's. Some tag on extra charges that aren't as apparent when you look at up the up front fee's. For instance, with Hilton, there are extra fee's for just about everything other than reserving you full unit at your home resort. Hilton's system more or less charges ala carte fee's for services where DRI leans more towards all inclusive fee's. 



> 2) I'm planning to get some us collection points and then transfer into the club, I have read many different theories such as "ask them and they'll do it for free", "you have to buy some points of a developper and then ask DRI to include your collection points into your club points" and "you have to pay a 1 time fee of 3000$", or the last one I got was "get a member that wants to get out, buy his points and pay his fees and then add your collection points" but is there a CLEAR, OFFICIAL policy from DRI about this ? Can a US owner resell his club points (and fees) to me ? Can a UK owner do this ? Would DRI include my collection points in a new club membership (and for how much)....
> 
> Personally the lack of CLEAR indications and a "user manual" are the things which are bothering me the most, it's a very sizable chunk of money to invest and the "yeah yeah don't worry we'll take care of it" which i got from the sales rep is not making me feel sure AT ALL
> 
> Thanks for the help



The $2,999 joiner fee appears to have been taken off the table sometime back. 

DRI doesn't do anything for free that I'm aware of. They certainly won't let you buy resale at a fraction of developer pricing, then enjoy all the benefits they offer those who buy direct. This is DRI's way of making developer purchases more valuable than buying resale or, it's there way of discouraging people from buying resale weeks. This has a negative effect on owners as they soon find that if they need to sell, they're selling something of less value than they purchased. Essentially, it protects DRI but undercuts owners resale value. 

Right now the best offer I've seen was posted here recently when another TUGGER was told they would need to buy an additional 2,000 points direct for a price of $9,000. How many points are required seems to be a moving target from what I've seen over the years and is dependent upon the resorts sales managers. While one person has reported the 2,000 point minimum, when did our last update, they were selling a minimum of 5,000 points. So the points required to purchase to get any resale points in could vary from day to day. 

I suspect that the minimum developer purchase to get resale points into THE Club is dependant upon how many resale points you want to get in. Basically some sort of sliding scale that's not public knowledge. It could be something as a simple percentage of resale to developer purchase. If someone owns 5,000 trust points purchased resale, it might take a 2,000 developer purchase. If you own 10,000 resale points the buy in could jump to 4,000 developer purchase points. 

Basically, it's a moving target that can change from day to day, hour to hour. DRI doesn't have to allow resale points in at all if that's what they want to do. 

When you buy resale with the plans to get them into THE Club, you could find out DRI has stopped allowing them in. If you buy resale, my advice is to be prepared to use those resale points as is and/or have an exit plan should things not work out the way you plan.


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## jchuillier (Aug 21, 2011)

Ok thanks for the infos

Do you think they would let me buy a club membership from a member that wants out ?

If you are already a club member and you buy points outside of DRI from a us collection for example can you add them to you "club" account or would you have 2 sets of DRI points ?

Basically I want to try the system and I know that since many people want out now there should be the possibility to get in (the club) at very good prices, for sure I'm not going to pay the ridiculous price but s they gave me in the presentation (48k$ for 15k points which came down to 37k$ for the same 15k points in 10 minutes)

In the age of internet and global knowledge DRI cannot expect to sell 47k$ something that you can buy on ebay for 39$ (yes, without the k)

Perhaps I should get in touch with them and lay my cards on the table telling them that I agree to pay the fees which make sens because it's to maintain the resorts but since the points are worthless with so many people wanting to get out i will not pay a fortune for them.


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## dougp26364 (Aug 21, 2011)

jchuillier said:


> Ok thanks for the infos
> 
> Do you think they would let me buy a club membership from a member that wants out ?



No. THE Club memberships can not be sold or transfered on the resale market. 



> If you are already a club member and you buy points outside of DRI from a us collection for example can you add them to you "club" account or would you have 2 sets of DRI points ?
> 
> Basically I want to try the system and I know that since many people want out now there should be the possibility to get in (the club) at very good prices, for sure I'm not going to pay the ridiculous price but s they gave me in the presentation (48k$ for 15k points which came down to 37k$ for the same 15k points in 10 minutes)
> 
> ...



Let me try to simplify this for you. DRI does will not allow resale points into THE Club under any circumstances without their permission and, that permission generally includes buying additional points direct from DRI. It is the weapon they use to get people to buy direct from them and not on the resale market. It's a tool that improves their sales but destroys the resale value for their owners as it makes resale weeks worth considerably less than retail purchased weeks. DRI has no interest in allowing resale weeks into THE Club unless they can turn a profit from the transaction. 

There is nothing in writing that says DRI has to allow a resale buyer a method of getting those points into THE Club that I'm aware of. If they decide to stop allowing resale points access, then there will be no way in. If they decide that all resale buyers must buy 15,000 points at $4.50 per point, then that's what you'll have to do. 

A couple of years ago, I was allowed to put our two weeks, which had originally been purchased from DRI and not on the resale market, into THE Club for a joiner fee of $2,995. At this point in time that offer appears to be completely off the table. If i had not joined then but wanted to join today, I would most likely have to purchase additional points at whatever level DRI decided on that particluar day. 

DRI doesn't care that there are people who want out. Your trying to interject your logic into the situation and that's not going to work. Just because people want to sell their ownership doesn't mean DRI will be more or less willing to allow resale buyers access to THE Club. 

In fact, I'd venture to say it would work just the opposite. DRI is in the business of selling expensive retail weeks. If they make it to easy to buy resale weeks at 1/20th of the cost their selling weeks, who would buy direct from DRI? What would that do to their business model? How many salesman do you think they'd keep if anyone could buy a 15,000 point package on the resale market for $1,000, pay $2,995 as a joiner fee when DRI is selling the same package of points for $65,000?

There is very little profit for DRI to allow people to buy what they want resale, then purchase a token amount of points retail only to get the same access to benefits of someone who purchased everything retail. The only time this might become attractive would be if they were having trouble providing inventory to members. Even then, it would be cheaper and easier for DRI to reaquire unwanted weekd either directly from owners under a buyback program, which DRI has had in the past, buy direct off the resale market as you're thinking about doing or allowing owners to deed back unwanted weeks, which is something they do now through their loss mitigation unit.

DO NOT BUY RESALE IN THE HOPES THAT DRI IS GOING TO LET THOSE POINTS INTO THE CLUB! Right now, the only access I've read about is to buy addtional retail points. That may or may/not be the case as I'm typing this. There is no written rule that says DRI has to allow resale weeks into THE Club. The door can close anytime they choose or, the rules to allow resale buyers into THE Club can change anytime DRI chooses. 

You can call them and tell them whatever you want but, maybe you should do an actual count of how many people your hearing from that want out. Often times is a small minority that speaks loudest. In reality, DRI can take those points from those who want out cheaply, then turn around and resell those points as if they were new on the retail market. DRI doesn't have to build new resorts to create inventory to sell. All they have to do is take back or buy back off the resale market any inventory they might need to keep enough weeks available for the sales staff to sell.


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## ctscribe (Aug 21, 2011)

I have one question, why would  you buy points resale if you can't use them..or how would you use them? Since there is no underlying property attached.


Thanks, Dave


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 21, 2011)

*There IS Underlying Property.  Whether It's Worth Anything Is Another Question.*




ctscribe said:


> I have one question, why would  you buy points resale if you can't use them..or how would you use them? Since there is no underlying property attached.


We formerly owned a regular 3BR lock-off unit at a DRI-affiliated timeshare where ownership came not only in the form of deeded 1- & 2- & 3BR units, but also in the form of deeded UDIs -- undivided interests, denominated as points. 

Owners who belonged to DRI's club could use their UDIs, or the points-equivalents of their deeded units, whichever they happened to own, for points-based exchanges within the club system. 

Regular unit owners like us could use our own units at the resort, or rent'm out, or exchange'm in I-I or RCI, with no DRI involvement whatever.  (We bought our unit resale via eBay & never belonged to the DRI club or its forerunner, Club SunTerra.)

UDI owners who did not belong to the DRI club could make points-based reservations at that resort only.  Owners of lots of points could stay in big units for a week or so.  One guy I know owned UDI points there that worked out to the equivalent of 2½ weeks in a 3BR unit.  

Owners of just a few UDI points could, as the former resort manager expressed it, get approximately 1 afternoon in the pool.  That was an exaggeration, of course, but it vividly expressed the idea that the some of the low-value underlying deeded UDI points aren't worth much when separated from the former owners' club memberships. 

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


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## dougp26364 (Aug 21, 2011)

ctscribe said:


> I have one question, why would  you buy points resale if you can't use them..or how would you use them? Since there is no underlying property attached.
> 
> 
> Thanks, Dave



IMHO, that's a good question. DRI has a built in poison pill that almost eliminates any resale value or any real value for a resale buyer. It's not the system I'd buy into on the resale market. Don't take this as me saying it's a good idea to buy retail either. I'm only saying that, if you want to buy something on the resale market, DRI isn't resale buyer friendly.

The only reasons for buying DRI resale is if you want x number of points but don't want to pay full freight for all the points. You have to understand that, in order to get full value, you're going to have to pay retail price on whatever package of points DRI chooses at the time you want to join. You also have to keep in mind the DRI can refuse to let you join THE Club at any price.

You can also buy resale cheap if you're only interested in going to the resorts listed for that particular trust. For instance, if you want to go to Hawaii every year, then you could buy points in the Hawaiian trust. If you prefer to go to the resorts in the U.S. Collection, then you could buy into that trust.

You just have to go in with the understanding that your usage will be exclusive to those resorts. There is no way I'm aware of to exchange trust points through any of the exchange companies. The only you might be able to exchange would be to reserve a week in one of the trust resorts, then deposit that week with one of the exchange companies. Since I'm not a trust owner, I'm not 100% certain that's a possibility. In fact, I lean more towards the thought that you're simply stuck with the resorts in the trust and there is no mechanism to exchange outside that group of resorts. 

I'm not saying it's a sound financial decision to buy retail. I am saying the DRI does it's best to discourage resale purchases.

One of the reasons I refused to put our deeded weeks into a trust was based on the fact trust points were almost worthless on the resale market. At least with a deeded week, there is some value to a buyer.


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 21, 2011)

*You Typed A Mouthful.*




dougp26364 said:


> DRI has a built in poison pill that almost eliminates any resale value or any real value for a resale buyer. It's not the system I'd buy into on the resale market. Don't take this as me saying it's a good idea to buy retail either. I'm only saying that, if you want to buy something on the resale market, DRI isn't resale buyer friendly.


You are correct, sir. 

I 1 time mentioned to a timeshare seller with SunTerra (timeshare company later bought out by DRI) that to me Club SunTerra looks like something they came up with to fight back against resales. 

The timeshare seller said, "That's about the size of it."  (Or words to that effect.) 

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


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## jchuillier (Aug 22, 2011)

Ok, let's move AROUND the problem.

Can I use some "US COLLECTION" points on Interval without going through DRI ?

If so I buy the points on ebay and use them on interval ?

Thanks


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## dougp26364 (Aug 22, 2011)

jchuillier said:


> Ok, let's move AROUND the problem.
> 
> Can I use some "US COLLECTION" points on Interval without going through DRI ?
> 
> ...



As I understand it (keeping in mind I don't own trust points), no, there is no trading of trust points through Interval if you're a resale trust owner. 

This is what I keep trying to say to you. If you buy resale, from everything I've read, you're stuck with the resorts in the collection you buy. DRI has done a great job of keeping you from going around them. 

The only possible work around might be to reserve a week in the trust using your points, then try to deposit that week with Interval. But, here's the problem. You'll need to have a personal account with Interval to work with and, Interval won't give you a personal account unless you own a timeshare. With a DRI trust, you WON'T own a timeshare. You'll own an interest in the trust. Thus, you might not be able to get a personal account with Interval. Even if you are able to get a personal account with Interval, it's very likely DRI will deny your deposit anyway. It's their club, it's their rules and it's their way.......period. With a trust based ownership, you don't own anything other than the right to use the resorts in that trust. 

As I've said before, DRI makes it as hard on resale buyers as any company I know. IMHO, they are NOT the company to do business with if you're interested in buying resale. They have a great program but, access is limited to those who buy direct. They protect their teritory very well.

So, now I have a question. What is it about DRI over all other companies, which typically are much friendlier to resale buyers, that makes you want to buy something you'll likely have trouble using? I don't want you to take this the wrong way but, you seem to be pounding your head against the wall on this one. While all timeshare developers do something to try to entice buyers to buy direct, DRI is possibly the best at being anti resale owner out of the bunch. Why try to fight them when they hold all the cards?

I'll try and toss you a bone. Stop looking at trust points and look for deeded DRI resort weeks. This way you'll actually have a deed and can do with that deeded week whatever you please. You then have control to either use it or exchange it through Interval becuse you OWN the week, not an interest in a trust controlled by DRI. If you're still interested in getting that week into a trust and into THE Club, then you can negotiate to your hearts content with DRI. They'll tell you one of three things. 

#1. No
#2. You'll have to buy a certain number of points to convert the deeded week into a trust based ownership
#3. They'll offer you a joiner fee to get the deeded weeks into THE Club.

Of those options, #2 is most likely. 

DRI may actually consider this as it gives them another week at whatever resort you purchase, which gives them more control since they control the trust and the trust will vote however DRI wants it to vote. If I were to do this, I'd be looking at weeks at either Kanapalie Beach Club or The Point at Poipu. Both are resorts DRI appears to be interested in expanding trust based ownership. 

Polo Towers in Vegas would be another good choice if you're wanting something in the U.S. Collection rather than the Hawaiian Collection. From the one presentation I've been to it appears you can go either Hawaiian Trust or U.S. Collection trust with Polo Towers and, Polo Towers units are selling cheap and they have relatively high points totals of 12,000 to 14,500 for two bedroom units depending on if you buy a Suite's or Villa's week. 

There is no guarentee this would work but, at least you'd have something you could exchange using Interval International.


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 22, 2011)

*You Typed A Mouthful.*




dougp26364 said:


> DRI is possibly the best at being anti resale owner out of the bunch. Why try to fight them when they hold all the cards?


We not only don't fight'm, we don't have anything to do with'm -- would not touch DRI with a 10-foot pole, for all the reasons you laid out. 

Shux upon'm. 

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


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## dougp26364 (Aug 22, 2011)

AwayWeGo said:


> We not only don't fight'm, we don't have anything to do with'm -- would not touch DRI with a 10-foot pole, for all the reasons you laid out.
> 
> Shux upon'm.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



The funny thing is, DRI's THE Club and their trust based ownerships are possibly the best points based system offering the best variety of resorts there is. The problem, of course, is you're going to have to pay the piper at some point to get those benefits. DRI is going to force resale buyers to buy retail if they want to enjoy all the benefits they offer. 

For some, that price is to high. On the other hand, $9,000 isn't to bad compared to the benefits one recieves through DRI when you compare it to the experience some had trying to get into RCI points when that program fired up.

Interval is also rumored to be getting into a points based exchange system ala RCI style and allow developers to charge whatever they feel they can get out of owners to join. Another pure profit maker for developers if there ever was one. 

Owning in a program such as DRI's provides good shelter from whatever games RCI or I.I. might decide to play.


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