Owning Riviera with Restrictions

[perchy]

Does anyone have any feedback on owning Riviera resale?

Is banking and borrowing working out, or do you feel like you’re ending up with points you can’t use or rent out? Since you can only use RIV resale at RIV, I’m wondering if points go to waste…

Can you purchase one time use points at RIV when you don’t have enough?

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

You can can only use one-time-use points once you get to the seven-month mark.

 

[sethschroeder]

Right now you can easily find rooms up until 7 months. Even within 7 months its not going to be that hard as long as you are somewhat flexible.

Heck right now I can find Riviera Studio rooms for June if I wanted for multiple days together.

Also new inventory is being dropped at times as well since once Disney sells so much they put more rooms in to the DVC Point side which also makes availability slightly different than long term.

I honestly don't think it will be that bad as long as you are flexible and can book by 7 months. Inside of 7 months you just start to never know but likely 1BRs will be had if you need to.

 

[Sandisw]

We have not had a problem so far using them and have even banked some every year which had helped not to not lose points.

It is on our Dec UY membership which has direct VGF points so that will help us as well since those can also be used at RIV.

 

[pianomanzano]

We added a RIV resale last year, have yet to officially use those points although we did book some upcoming ones this year. We also have RIV direct points and what I love about having the resale points is "frees up" our direct points to use for other things. Our strategy is to use up the resale contract as much as possible, including borrowing available points from the next year before using our other points. I'd prefer having flexibility in booking the direct points vs worrying about borrowing.

As soon as the resale contract loaded, I was able to switch out the July reservation we made with our direct points with all resale points, and now can bank the direct points to use for an AUL stay next year. We also borrowed from the resale contract to book-end a cruise in the fall with no issues. I will say that MS was perplexed about us wanting to borrow from our resale contract when we still had our direct points in the current UY (probably hadn't dealt with too many RIV resale contracts before).

We love RIV (which is why we added on there resale), so I don't think we'll run into the problem of not using the points. I think the key is even more prudent about planning RIV stays well in advance since you don't have the flexibility to book at other resorts less than 7 months out.

 

[J-Dog]

We added a RIV resale last year, have yet to officially use those points although we did book some upcoming ones this year. We also have RIV direct points and what I love about having the resale points is "frees up" our direct points to use for other things. Our strategy is to use up the resale contract as much as possible, including borrowing available points from the next year before using our other points. I'd prefer having flexibility in booking the direct points vs worrying about borrowing.

As soon as the resale contract loaded, I was able to switch out the July reservation we made with our direct points with all resale points, and now can bank the direct points to use for an AUL stay next year. We also borrowed from the resale contract to book-end a cruise in the fall with no issues. I will say that MS was perplexed about us wanting to borrow from our resale contract when we still had our direct points in the current UY (probably hadn't dealt with too many RIV resale contracts before).

We love RIV (which is why we added on there resale), so I don't think we'll run into the problem of not using the points. I think the key is even more prudent about planning RIV stays well in advance since you don't have the flexibility to book at other resorts less than 7 months out.

I feel just about the same way. We have a fairly large direct contract at RIV and 2 smaller resale contracts. We are staying at AUL this year, so will need to borrow a few points. But then the restricted points can be banked for next year, giving us even more days at RIV next year without having to borrow more points.

 

[perchy]

We have not had a problem so far using them and have even banked some every year which had helped not to not lose points.

It is on our Dec UY membership which has direct VGF points so that will help us as well since those can also be used at RIV.

Good to hear. I do have direct VGF points as well.

 

[Dobermanns]

I bought RIV resale in 2021 after a weeklong stay there, despite owning direct and unrestricted resale already. I fell in love with the resort and wanted to own there
So far I have no problem using the points and booking stays there (weeklong stay last year, weeklong stay coming up in July which was booked well inside 7 months, two ressies for marathon week in Jan). I have 4 other contracts in this UY so I can always use non-RIV points to supplement.

 

[happythoughts & pixiedust]

I bought Riv resale because it was difficult to book the stays I wanted at 7 months with other points. In 3 years I was able to get only a couple short stays at 7 mo. I tend to go during in demand times like fall/early Dec, so decided to get resale points specifically for Riv so I could count on staying there. I’d say plan on booking early. Right at 11 mo doesn’t seem necessary, but don’t wait too long past that.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

As long as you’re willing to plan well in advance & don’t mind being “forced” to stay at the Riviera, you’ll have no problem owning resale there.

For example- I’ve got an upcoming trip in December where I’d like to stay at VGF but I *need* to stay at RIV bc I ended up banking a few points there last year. I’m never going to willingly lose points… so, RIV it is! It’s lovely at Christmas time as well, and it’s going to be great- but it’s my 2nd choice & I own points at both… just something to consider.

I’ve had zero issues with banking & borrowing. I’ve txfr’d some of my unrestricted points from a different membership (to use @7 mo) when I’ve wanted a bigger trip than all of my RIV points would allow. You can buy OTUP or txfr from another member if you want/need more points. I just want to quickly point out that those txfr’d points really should only be used at RIV if RIV is a lone contract in that membership, bc it’s a major pain if you want to book elsewhere- MS has to do absolutely everything for you (from booking to modifying- even simple name changes, or dropping a day from the res). But if you use them strictly to supplement your RIV resale points to stay longer (or bigger) at RIV- it’s easy to use the txfr’d points at booking time by choosing those additional contracts.

 

[Cfabar1]

If you don’t mind staying at Riviera, RIV resale is a great deal…. I wouldn’t mind staying there once or twice, maybe, but for us personally, Riviera doesn’t check any of the boxes. Resale would only make sense to us when priced out compared to our off-property stays, as that is what we would personally be comparing the value against, something like a suite at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress or something along those lines.

 

[havoc315]

Does anyone have any feedback on owning Riviera resale?

Is banking and borrowing working out, or do you feel like you’re ending up with points you can’t use or rent out? Since you can only use RIV resale at RIV, I’m wondering if points go to waste…

Can you purchase one time use points at RIV when you don’t have enough?

The "wasted" points is a potential issue for owning at any resort, with or without restrictions. If you end up with 4 leftover points, nobody is going to rent them, with or without restrictions.

In terms of renting out a regular apportionment of points, it's very easy to rent out points. Stays at Riviera are in demand.

One time use points, for any resort, can only be purchased and used at the 7 month mark.

 

[zavandor]

There are of course nightmare scenarios about the future of resorts with restrictions, like people walking reservations for months in fear of being shut out and lose points. Nothing like this is happening and possibly will never happen.
However, the problem is if you ever have to cancel. Currently, very little availability remains after 7 months. If you book a reservation with banked or borrowed points and then have to cancel, if the rest of the UY is within 7 months, then you may not be able to book anything at all. If you own an unrestricted resort, you can almost always find something at least at SSR or OKW, if not immediately available a waitlist is likely to come through. But with Riviera (or VDH) resale, it's more likely to lose points.
For restricted resorts it's very inportant to book as early as possible in a UY, so that in case of cancellation you have a few months of home priority to re-book, If not for yourself at least to rent it out and recover some money.

 

[Nursemanit]

If you don’t mind staying at Riviera, RIV resale is a great deal…. I wouldn’t mind staying there once or twice, maybe, but for us personally, Riviera doesn’t check any of the boxes. Resale would only make sense to us when priced out compared to our off-property stays, as that is what we would personally be comparing the value against, something like a suite at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress or something along those lines.

Because your off properties stays have a Skyliner with direct access to HS and Epcot? I had not heard of this ? Which hotel?

 

[Sandisw]

There are of course nightmare scenarios about the future of resorts with restrictions, like people walking reservations for months in fear of being shut out and lose points. Nothing like this is happening and possibly will never happen.
However, the problem is if you ever have to cancel. Currently, very little availability remains after 7 months. If you book a reservation with banked or borrowed points and then have to cancel, if the rest of the UY is within 7 months, then you may not be able to book anything at all. If you own an unrestricted resort, you can almost always find something at least at SSR or OKW, if not immediately available a waitlist is likely to come through. But with Riviera (or VDH) resale, it's more likely to lose points.
For restricted resorts it's very inportant to book as early as possible in a UY, so that in case of cancellation you have a few months of home priority to re-book, If not for yourself at least to rent it out and recover some money.

As someone who has RIV resale, one definitely needs to get that a cancel and change might be different or difficult if one doesn’t have other points to supplement.

When I had to cancel my Jan trip when my dad passed, I ended up in a GV for one night in my Feb trip because I had points that I needed to use as they were banked…now, they were a Dec UY, so I had time, and could have rented but we decided to just change up the room for that night.

I think the ideal restricted situation is to pair it with direct unrestricted points so larger units can be had. But, Anyohe buying really does need to understand the pitfalls

 

[take36]

If you don’t mind staying at Riviera, RIV resale is a great deal…. I wouldn’t mind staying there once or twice, maybe, but for us personally, Riviera doesn’t check any of the boxes. Resale would only make sense to us when priced out compared to our off-property stays, as that is what we would personally be comparing the value against, something like a suite at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress or something along those lines.

What boxes didn’t the Rivera check for you? I feel the same way! When it opened I stayed there twice then stayed again last year for a night as I was so ready to buy in but it felt so “normal?” I don’t plan on selling but the restriction still rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it’s because I’m a monorail snob, though I usually walk or take the boat.

 

[Roughians_satchel]

I feel just about the same way. We have a fairly large direct contract at RIV and 2 smaller resale contracts. We are staying at AUL this year, so will need to borrow a few points. But then the restricted points can be banked for next year, giving us even more days at RIV next year without having to borrow more points.

We currently have 2 direct RIV contracts and y'all are making me thing we need a resale one! Love the idea of freeing up our direct points to use elsewhere (we're doing AUL this summer and have depleted the 2023 allotment.)

 

[superdiz]

This thread is serendipitous as we are in the process of potentially signing an offer for Riviera Resale. What did you pay pp and how big was your contract? We just had our offer accepted on a 200pt contract for $118pp. I am nervous that the restrictions will come into play for us sometimes. We own at BWV and SSR as well so we could theoretically roll points over for big stays every other year. I just worry this is too much pp for the value as you can't stay anywhere else?

 

[Sandisw]

This thread is serendipitous as we are in the process of potentially signing an offer for Riviera Resale. What did you pay pp and how big was your contract? We just had our offer accepted on a 200pt contract for $118pp. I am nervous that the restrictions will come into play for us sometimes. We own at BWV and SSR as well so we could theoretically roll points over for big stays every other year. I just worry this is too much pp for the value as you can't stay anywhere else?

As RIV is my top resort I think it’s a wonderful price!!

 

[Dobermanns]

Are RIV resale points eligible for trading into Interval?