Many Disney Vacation Club members are receiving a letter addressing Disney Cast Member policies as they relate to usage of Vacation Club points. What is the purpose of this letter and why did some non-Disney employees receive it? Read on for details.
The letter in question originates from the Business Standards & Regulatory Affairs office of Disney Vacation Development. The stated intent of the letter is to "reinforce the Company's policies regarding Cast Member / Employee discounts" related to Disney Vacation Club ownership.
Disney Cast Members and their immediate family are eligible for an added discount on any Disney Vacation Club point purchase. But all individuals taking advantage of this discount are bound by certain constraints which do not apply to the typical member. For example, those buying points with the Cast Member discount may not purchase points with the intention of selling or transferring the contract to another individual.
In other words, Disney does not want to see its employees taking advantage of the Cast discount and then quickly re-selling for personal profit.
Cast Members are also prohibited from renting or transferring points for a profit. The letter states that employees and family purchasing with the discount are prohibited from:
"Using Vacation Points they own to control or reserve DVC accommodations for rental purposes, or transferring their Vacation Points to the membership account of another DVC Member for rental purposes. Rental activity is in direct competition with The Walt Disney Company and therefore constitutes a violation of the Company's Standards of Business Conduct."
Abuse of the Cast Member discount program is apparently a serious matter for Disney executives. The letter concludes by stating that "[v]iolation of the above may result in loss of privileges as well as disciplinary action, up to and including termination."
Disney has an economic motivation for sending these reminders to Cast Members but why are there so many reports of letters going to those who did not purchase with a Cast discount? One group of likely recipients includes those who purchased a resale contract which was originally owned by a Cast Member or immediate relative.
DVCNews.com contacted Disney Vacation Club for clarification on the issuance of these letters. A DVC spokesperson states that "[l]etters were sent to those Disney Vacation Club Members who have contracts or who purchased a contract where the originator was a Cast Member."
Each Disney Vacation Club contract is earmarked with the original purchase date, presence of a Cast discount and other characteristics at the time of its inception. Current owners of resale contracts which were previously in the hands of a Cast Member would have been among those who received the letter.
Beyond that, some reports have emerged from members who purchased all of their points direct from Disney and yet still received the letter. Those reports remain something of a mystery. It could be that one or more of the owner's contracts was re-acquired by Disney Vacation Development via its Right of First Refusal, and that the original points were part of a Cast Member purchase. Or the letters could simply be the result of a careless mail merge error.
Regardless, a DVC representative confirms that "Members who are not Cast Members should disregard the letter."
