There’s an interesting question that arises with the current struggles Disney is experiencing with Aulani, one of Disney’s first attempts to see if they can build a Disney resort experience without a Disney park nearby. Will it work?
A lot is riding on this project and the screw up that resulted in 3 high level executives being fired is not moving the project toward success. Rick Munarriz at the Motely Fool performs his usual insightful analysis.
With the timeshare business in the middle of a shakeup and companies like AirBNB and Homeaway threatening to disrupt the hotel industry is now the time for Disney to be exploring an expansion of their resort and DVC business lines? It’s one thing to capture the retiring baby-boomers with what is essentially a 40 year contract to return to Walt Disney World with their family on a regular basis. That’s a built in audience. Hawaii already has that and no one I’ve talked to is quite sure exactly what Disney’s Aulani brings to the table to attraction members.
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This might be my own misinformation here but is Aulani a resort that they think people are going to buy into? I’ve always been of the impression that it was just a resort they were building in hopes of DVC members using their points to visit somewhere besides Walt Disney World. The idea is probably to diversify so you can get people who may want to visit Florida every couple years but also want to mix in visits to Hawaii, Hilton Head, Vero Beach, and wherever other destinations they choose to build.
If this works just like, say, Bay Lake Tower, where you buy into it as your “home resort” then I have no idea who Disney thinks they’re targeting with it.
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I was under the understanding that it would have some DVC rooms (similar to the Grand Californian at DLR), but it is simply a Disney hotel destination in Hawaii, the goal being that if you want to go to Hawaii for whatever reason, and if you like/enjoy/love Disney, this gives you a chance to combine the 2
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I have no desire to travel around the world and see new things. But I would make an exception to visit Hawaii now because Disney has a resort there. That would be my only reason to visit Hawaii… So I hope its successful!
Word has it that 75% of guests staying at Aulani on opening day were from Japan. That’s probably going to be Aulani’s biggest market in the long run.
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