Vidanta Fees (merged--post all info about fee increases here)

[Eric B]

Ok, they've started posting the resort fees on the Registry Collection listing in the B2B RCI interface they use. They appear to be the same as the RCI ones, though RCI only goes up to 2 BR in resort ID RB71. They are as follows:

• Resort amenities fee is 630.00 U.S. dollars. Only Credit Cards accepted.
  • Mandatory resort fee per 1B unit, per week.
• Resort amenities fee is 1050.00 U.S. dollars. Only Credit Cards accepted.
  • Mandatory resort fee per 2B unit, per week.
• Resort amenities fee is 1050.00 U.S. dollars. Only Credit Cards accepted.
  • Mandatory resort fee per 3B unit, per week.
• Resort amenities fee is 1050.00 U.S. dollars. Only Credit Cards accepted.
  • Mandatory resort fee per 4B unit, per week.
• Resort amenities fee is 420.00 U.S. dollars. Only Credit Cards accepted.
  • Mandatory resort fee per Hotel unit, per week.

* Resort Fees are Mandatory. Members should pre-pay the Resort Fee 14 days prior to the check-in date
* To prepay from the US or Canada please call 844-909-4799, from the UK call 808-234-0488, or contact us via email at prepayment@vidantarf.com
* You will receive a Resort Credit for 25% of the Resort Fee at the time of check-in to use during you stay!
* For further details about Resort Fee benefits please visit www.premiumresortbenefits.com
***Resort Fee does not cover local taxes***

 

[Eric B]

Looks like the same fees have been applied to the Grand Luxxe resorts in RCI Platinum Priority Access. That's pretty much what I expected would happen since they appear to be overflow from the Registry ones.

 

[Eric B]

May be they could charge the difference between their MF and the MF of what people used to get GL in place of not permitted the trade as you suggest. Like that, everybody would pay the GL MF whatever they use to exchange.
Ex: if GL 2 bdrm MF = $2000 and somebody get it with a unit at $300 then the resort fees would be $1700. A unit used with a MF of $1500 would pay $500 as resort fees.

Interesting thought, but what would be in it for them? They don't really care what your home resort gets as MF, just that they can cover their own costs and make the profit they seek.

 

[Eric B]

If you're reading these posts, Vidanta, what is the point in retaining the limitation in RCI Platinum against Vidanta owners? There's no longer a benefit through no resort fee being applied to those resort IDs. Might be worth reconsidering the limitation....

 

[mikenk]

May be they could charge the difference between their MF and the MF of what people used to get GL in place of not permitted the trade as you suggest. Like that, everybody would pay the GL MF whatever they use to exchange.
Ex: if GL 2 bdrm MF = $2000 and somebody get it with a unit at $300 then the resort fees would be $1700. A unit used with a MF of $1500 would pay $500 as resort fees.

I agree with Eric; good idea but very difficult to implement in practice and with unacceptable admin costs.

Vidanta and exchange company policies have brought all this on to themselves. I upgraded in 2010 to GL well before any GL was built. I was told that the GL would only exchange through a single high end exchange company; we owners would get equal exchanges. I don't think there was actually a specific company named but they had a book with equivalent and better properties. I actually think they meant it at the time - but of course we know what happened. Vidanta began dumping GL inventory everywhere in order to get butts in the sales rooms; for me, this was the first betrayal of trust but has not been the last.

Vidanta management needs to pull their heads out of their exteriors and start making well thought out decisions that are fair to owners and exchangers. Profitability without genuine care for customers has never been a long range winning strategy in any business.

Mike

 

[RLS50]

Well, this makes it a guarantee we won't be visiting a Vidanta property. A 1BR fee is now more expensive for a couple than the $30 per person per day fee. A 1BR with a mini fridge and no washer / dryer in the unit.

Wow.

 

[Eric B]

I agree with Eric; good idea but very difficult to implement in practice and with unacceptable admin costs....

Vidanta management needs to pull their heads out of their exteriors and start making well thought out decisions that are fair to owners and exchangers. Profitability without genuine care for customers has never been a long range winning strategy in any business.

Mike

Gotta agree with all except the “exteriors.” I’d have said “posteriors.”

 

[youppi]

Interesting thought, but what would be in it for them? They don't really care what your home resort gets as MF, just that they can cover their own costs and make the profit they seek.

It was not a suggestion to replace the actual resort fees. it was a reply to mikenk suggestion (only high MF deposit can exchange in an high MF unit). So, I will answer your question in the continuity of my reply to mikenk suggestion.
My answer to your question "what would be in it for them?"
Much more $$$ than if exchange network would implement mikenk suggestion. If exchange network would implement mikenk suggestion then Vidanta would get 0$ because nobody would exchange to GL (nobody with high MF deposit will exchange to GL and pay $1000 in resort fee and low MF would not be allowed to exchange to GL). So, 0 + 0 = 0

 

[mikenk]

Gotta agree with all except the “exteriors.” I’d have said “posteriors.”

Yes, LOL, that would be the proper body part

 

[Eric B]

Best news I had on this today was that the fee for a 3 BR or 4 BR is the same as a 2 BR through Registry. That’d make an efficient exchange for me at least for the 4 BR one. TUG does direct exchanges; I wonder if it’s ok to solicit sharing one....

 

[Eric B]

Well, I guess they do read this; the restrictions against Vidanta owners using the RCI platinum priority method to book is now removed from the units listed there. Thank you for leveling the playing field, Vidanta! Much appreciated; just didn't seem right to make us second class citizens.

 

[Karen G]

TUG does direct exchanges; I wonder if it’s ok to solicit sharing one....

It's okay if you post it in the Tug Marketplace in the "exchanges" category. You list what you have to exchange and what you'd like to exchange it for. But, please don't post it in the discussion forums as that would be considered advertising.

 

[TheHappyWanderer]

"You will receive a Resort Credit for 25% of the Resort Fee at the time of check-in to use during you stay!" I just want to clarify what this means. Does this mean that if the resort fee is $1050 for instance, you will get the full $262.50 resort credit as long as you spend at least $262.50 on covered items during your stay at the resort (that's what it appears to mean), or do you have to spend at least $1,050 at the resort to get the whole $262.50 resort credit?

 

[Eric B]

The first; you get a $262.50 credit.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

"You will receive a Resort Credit for 25% of the Resort Fee at the time of check-in to use during you stay!" I just want to clarify what this means. Does this mean that if the resort fee is $1050 for instance, you will get the full $262.50 resort credit as long as you spend at least $262.50. ....?

I assume the new structure is:
1) you pay the resort fee 14 days in advance ( $ 1050 )
2) at check in 25% of your prepayment ( $ 262.50) is applied to your room number / charge account .
since Vidanta uses your room”key” / chip bracelet for all restaurant etc charges .
3 ) at check out - you pay any additional dollars owed above the $ 262.50 .

This is all “ hotel” side transactions .


******

The person who you get the room assignment from - works for the TS sales ( Vida) and will try to book you to go to a presentation .
TUG posters have said they have negotiated with this person to get 50% off the ( prior structure / $ 30 pp- pd resort fee) . I would assume this remains an option you can negotiate , and that the % off / tranlatd into dollars, would be applied at check out .

The (additional) 10 % off restaurant etc that has always been offered to presentation attendees - is IMO a credit that is charged back to the “hotel”side - and seems to be non negotiable to a higher percentage amount .

Taxi fare back to the airport etc is part the sales budget and therefore can be negotiated .
.

 

[Eric B]

I’ve gotten the 50% off the resort fee on prior exchanges, but it’s been either the old $11 pppd or the flat $75 SFX one. I’m interested to see how it works either the $1050 flat fee paid in advance; we typically don’t charge enough to the room for 25% credit plus half of that.

 

[dioxide45]

Now, if that was including AI fees, then it'd be a diff. story.

This seems to be the case. While you certainly won't get a 2BR staying at an All Inclusive, you can often get AI including roundtrip direct air to the Riviera Maya for about the same price as an all in trip to Vidanta (including resort food and beverage spending). The problem with the new fee structure is that they don't have it setup on a peak/off season structure. You pay the same fee if you go in February vs traveling in September. I can see six night AI packages for next may in the RM for $2200 for two people including air. This is a moderate level property, not top of the line but not budget property either. While there was a time we considered Vidanta in RM, we ended up buying Vistana instead and are so happy that we did. We can go there with no AI. The difference is that Vidanta is as close to an AI experience without the AI benefit since you are somewhat trapped to their onsite restaurants where with Lagunamar in Cancun, I have so many choices. If we ever decide to go to RM, it would probably be AI, but we would be more likely to go AI in Jamaica or DR instead since we can go to Cancun with our Vistana ownership.

 

[richontug]

Where do you see AI packages to Vidanta at Riviera Maya?

 

[dioxide45]

Where do you see AI packages to Vidanta at Riviera Maya?

There aren't any, that I am aware of. I am looking at AI packages to other non timeshare resorts in Riviera Maya.

 

[tschwa2]

I believe they do have prepaid meal plans.

 

[dioxide45]

I believe they do have prepaid meal plans.

Some type of coupon/voucher book you buy, isn't it?

 

[Eric B]

I believe that you can buy meal tickets in NV, but don't know if you can elsewhere. Never did it myself, but seem to recall set numbers of breakfast tickets and lunch/dinner tickets. Some stuff on the menus cost more than one ticket.

 

[richontug]

There aren't any, that I am aware of. I am looking at AI packages to other non timeshare resorts in Riviera Maya.

I agree. I mis-read your post.

 

[Eric B]

Well, I guess they do read this; the restrictions against Vidanta owners using the RCI platinum priority method to book is now removed from the units listed there. Thank you for leveling the playing field, Vidanta! Much appreciated; just didn't seem right to make us second class citizens.

Spoke too soon; we Vidanta owners are indeed second class citizens. They've now restored the note restricting RCI Platinum priority access exchanges, which include the upper tiers of Grand Luxxe, to non-owners of Vidanta. It's a mystery to me why they believe this to be a good thing for customer relations. Either that or they don't like RCI, which I can see to a certain extent. Love the resorts and how they treat you when you're there, but it seems like they've grown to the point of not having a unified vision of how they interface with their customers at every level. As in any relationship, communications with your customers is key and what they are communicating here, without any explanation anywhere else, is that it's ok to exchange into Vidanta at the lower levels but since you bought a membership already we don't want to give you the option to exchange into the nicest ones. With the imposition of the resort fees on these ones they've removed the once per year exchange that existed before, so now a non-owner at Vidanta can book several months of exchanges into an upper tier Grand Luxxe unit more than a year in advance while an owner cannot. It doesn't seem to be a fair or even playing field; given the cost of a Vidanta membership I would actually expect it to be tipped the other way.

 

[pittle]

"Spoke too soon; we Vidanta owners are indeed second class citizens."

We were treated that way the last two visits when we exchanged in - once to GMNV and then at GBRM. We had purchased extra vacations from RCI and did a SFX exchange for the other. In 2016, we also had an extra vacation from II at GMNV and were treated great! Things changed significantly sometime in 2017 and continue to go downhill.

Even owners using their week who do not take the update, are sometimes punished with less desirable room locations.