Help me understand (and feel less nervous) about DVC rentals

[emilyclaire]

Hello, everyone. Planning my next trip to the world in 2014. When DH and I went in 2007, we had dinner at Boma and vowed that our next trip would be at AKL. We are going with DS who will be 3 at time of trip, and the grandparents. So 5 adults and 1 child total. Well, our $$$ situation has suffered quite a bit over the past year, so we had resigned ourselves to staying Value again or maybe springing for a mod, but then I ran the numbers on renting DVC for AKL and realized it could still be within reach, being just a little bit more than 2 rooms at our first-choice mod, POFQ.

I guess what makes me nervous is having to wait until the 11-month window rather than booking the day Disney releases 2014 packages. Need some real life stories of those who have rented DVC. We are planning to go with either David's or ************** rather than going through private transaction, because it's our first time and I am not much of a risk taker!

So tell me, realistically, do I have any hope of getting these when the 11-month window opens? Also, how far in advance should I submit the request to the above broker(s)? Any advantage to submitting early?

Would love to hear anyone's experiences on this...the process, how long it took to get booked, realistic chances, etc. Thanks, guys!

 

[Missyrose]

Hello, everyone. Planning my next trip to the world in 2014. When DH and I went in 2007, we had dinner at Boma and vowed that our next trip would be at AKL. We are going with DS who will be 3 at time of trip, and the grandparents. So 5 adults and 1 child total. Well, our $$$ situation has suffered quite a bit over the past year, so we had resigned ourselves to staying Value again or maybe springing for a mod, but then I ran the numbers on renting DVC for AKL and realized it could still be within reach, being just a little bit more than 2 rooms at our first-choice mod, POFQ.

I guess what makes me nervous is having to wait until the 11-month window rather than booking the day Disney releases 2014 packages. Need some real life stories of those who have rented DVC. We are planning to go with either David's or ************** rather than going through private transaction, because it's our first time and I am not much of a risk taker!

So tell me, realistically, do I have any hope of getting these when the 11-month window opens? Also, how far in advance should I submit the request to the above broker(s)? Any advantage to submitting early?

Would love to hear anyone's experiences on this...the process, how long it took to get booked, realistic chances, etc. Thanks, guys!

If you want AKV Standard view or BLT standard view, be prepared to contact the broker a few weeks before the 11-month window opens, these two categories go very quickly.

BCV is very, VERY hard to get during October because of the Food and Wine festival at Epcot, so again talk to the broker a few weeks before and get something set up for the 11-month window opening.

AKV standard should be fairly easy to get, so that can be your fallback plan. For AKV-standard view, make sure you let them know if you want to be at Jambo House (the main lodge for the resort) or Kidani Village (the DVC building). There are a few differences between the two, so holler if you need help with that.

Renting points can be a great way to save money, but there are things you need to know up front. Full payment will typically be due as soon as the reservation is made and is often non-refundable. And dates typically can't be changed, so make sure your dates are firm.

You also won't get daily housekeeping on rent points.

Good luck with the rental!

 

[geraghty]

Hello, everyone. Planning my next trip to the world in 2014. When DH and I went in 2007, we had dinner at Boma and vowed that our next trip would be at AKL. We are going with DS who will be 3 at time of trip, and the grandparents. So 5 adults and 1 child total. Well, our $$$ situation has suffered quite a bit over the past year, so we had resigned ourselves to staying Value again or maybe springing for a mod, but then I ran the numbers on renting DVC for AKL and realized it could still be within reach, being just a little bit more than 2 rooms at our first-choice mod, POFQ.

I guess what makes me nervous is having to wait until the 11-month window rather than booking the day Disney releases 2014 packages. Need some real life stories of those who have rented DVC. We are planning to go with either David's or ************** rather than going through private transaction, because it's our first time and I am not much of a risk taker!

So tell me, realistically, do I have any hope of getting these when the 11-month window opens? Also, how far in advance should I submit the request to the above broker(s)? Any advantage to submitting early?

Would love to hear anyone's experiences on this...the process, how long it took to get booked, realistic chances, etc. Thanks, guys!

I would book a room reservation through Disney and around 12 months prior to your trip contact Davids and put in a request in that order you listed. You can have a reservation through Disney and if Davids can find you an owner, you can cancel you reservation with Disney for free and stay on points. It looks like your pretty flexible, so I don't see any reason to have difficulty renting points. My sister and mother just got there room booked through Davids for March/April 2014. It took a few weeks into the 11 month window, but Davids found them an owner at BLT.

good luck!

 

[emilyclaire]

Thanks for the great advice, everybody. I feel reassured that we have a good chance!

 

[smooreo]

I just wanted to say we stayed in a 2BD at BLT this past October (cash, not points...too risky for us on a first visit!) and it was incredible. We were 4 adults and 2 kids and loved being so close to MK and on the monorail. October was a nice time of year and we just missed Hurricane Sandy! Now we're looking into renting points for a trip in Jan 2015. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[Allisonlc]

We have rented points in the past and it was extremely easy and smooth. The first time, I rented them from a DisBoards member and it could not have gone better, I thought. We stayed at OKW that time and I had no complaints.
We are going to AKL this December and staying in a Grand Villa. We used David's to rent points this time and we had to wait a bit before that many points came open for us to use. But we got an email this week that everything was set so we are booked. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[jtwibih]

We rented for our upcoming November trip. I was very concerned about availability as well, especially since we booked 8 months out. We requested a 2BR Savanna view and got it. A couple of our friends who are going at the same time we are got a Studio at AKV and they booked 7 months out. Again, we are going in November so I'm not sure about availability during other times. We booked through David's and they have been great to work with. It seems every few weeks I have a question about something because this will be our first time. David's has been more than helpful every time. As long as the stay goes well, I can't imagine we'll ever book through Disney again. The savings are too good.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

We've rented points 3 times in the past - with another coming up next month. All have been thru private owners on the DVC Board here on the Dis. Each & every experience has been wonderful and far cheaper than renting from Disney.
We stayed at BCV, AKV, WLV - and we'll be staying at SSR soon.
We had a Savannah view in a 1 Bdrm villa at Kindani - pure heaven! You will love it!!
Have a great trip.

 

[Missyrose]

We rented for our upcoming November trip. I was very concerned about availability as well, especially since we booked 8 months out. We requested a 2BR Savanna view and got it. A couple of our friends who are going at the same time we are got a Studio at AKV and they booked 7 months out. Again, we are going in November so I'm not sure about availability during other times. We booked through David's and they have been great to work with. It seems every few weeks I have a question about something because this will be our first time. David's has been more than helpful every time. As long as the stay goes well, I can't imagine we'll ever book through Disney again. The savings are too good.

It's not necessarily the time of year you went that helped your availability, it was your resort choice. AKV is a gorgeous resort, but it's one of the largest DVC resorts and it doesn't have direct access to any park. So it tends to book up much slower at the smaller/closer resorts. Plus there are more savannah view villas than any other view at the resort.

 

[LoLaRae]

I've rented twice thru another DVC rental forum. First was October 2011 at BWV, and the second will be this September at AKV.

Both times the seller sent me references and a contract. Once the contract was signed and payment received thru Paypal, we 3-way called DVC to change the reservation to my name.

BWV was actually a last minute choice. The seller had a cancellation 5 weeks before and I was able to scoop it up. AKV was booked around 2 weeks ago for September. Neither time I had an issue, but neither was meticulously planned either. They were both more of a spontaneous decision.

 

[khaoskat]

We are new to DVC rental and also 1st time Disney goer.

We went with a private transaction, and we were about 5 months out from our requested time (September), and just booked last week. Had no issue with getting into 1 bedroom at OKW (even checked at AKV for 1 bedroom and had availability).

Our person, while we waited for everything, booked the room in their name, and sent me a confirmation of the reservation. I have family who are DVC members, and they said it was an authentic reservation. I also had a reference she was able to get from one of the two previous times she had rented (this was a person she had no relation to, the other time was a co-worker)..and it came back good.

We took the plunge and after sending us PP invoice, she has already gotten all our information, and has changed the reservation over to us. She has already received the payment.

We will get with her in about 6 weeks (sometime in July) to have her add the Dinning Plan.

So, don't discount private rentals on your first visit. Even going through David's or DVC Store, you could face the same issues, since they do not own the points, they are retained by the DVC owner. The biggest advantage to the broker is that you have a bit of recourse and IF something should happen, they will do what they can to fix things, but not 100% guaranteed they can.

BTW - ************** is about $2/point cheaper than David's.

Also, from what I have been told -- the Value rooms are the quickest to go.

 

[emilyclaire]

Also, from what I have been told -- the Value rooms are the quickest to go.

I have read that as well. Part of what made me a little nervous, as we would really like that extra savings by going the Value route, and love the idea of getting Jambo House guaranteed, because a member of our party has mobility issues. Would like close access to the main facilities!

We are also looking at ***************** in addition to David's. I guess my big reason for not going private transaction is it just seems like SO much effort to watch all the board postings and respond at just the right time before the points get scooped up. I would really rather sit back and let someone else do that!.

Thanks to everyone else who responded with your great stories. I am certain this is the way to go!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Hi Emily Claire,

I thought I'd share my experience in case it's useful in anyway.

I am traveling to WDW for 11 nights in Sep/Oct and have a split stay booked at BWV and AKV (Jambo). The 5 nights at BWV were booked through the **************, the 6 nights at AKV were booked through Davids. Customer service from both companies has been excellent, with the Rental Store taking the slight edge.
As soon as I booked and paid I could see both of my reservations on the WDW website and was able to link them.

I booked at approx 9 1/2 months out. I didn't know about DVC brokers until then, and had been too nervous prior to that to rent privately. I'm not sure how much luck I would have had if I'd booked one and a half months earlier, but the indication I got was that the AKV Values and the BWV Standards were well and truly gone. What I did get, however, was a Boardwalk view at BWV. The woman at the Rental Store was as surprised as I was that, at 9.5 months, there was still a Boardwalk view studio available during the start of the F&W festival. I am so excited, and long past the disappointment that I couldn't get the cheaper studio that I initially wanted.

I have a Standard pool view booked at AKV since the Values were all taken. As much as I would have liked an animal view I just couldn't justify he extra cost. After some thought, I'm actually really excited about a Standard Pool View room. The view looks nice and relaxing, plus the location near the lobby looks great. Also, from what I understand (someone will correct me if I'm wrong) Standard studios were once Deluxe rooms at the AKL. So they are located on one of the higher floors and are slightly bigger than the Value rooms.

One thing worth being prepared for is the fact that neither brokers are guaranteed to have the points immediately available. When I enquired, Davids told me that they couldn't fulfill any of my preferences at that stage as they didn't have enough points holders sharing their points. I think I could have got OKW or SSR, but those are the only places I didn't want. I got back to Davids and enquired with the Rental Store, giving them other preferences, including a split stay, as this lessened the amount of points I needed for each part of the stay. But still no such luck. However a few days later, the rental store got back to me. Points had come through and they offered the whole 11 nights at the BWV. I couldn't really justify the price of all 11 nights there, but grabbed the first 5 nights and waited patiently for some AKV points. They came through with Davids a few days later. I couldn't be more excited about my split stay. It's a great way to trial 2 resorts, plus I am close to two parks during the first half of the stay, and one park during the other.

So what was the point of that big long ramble? To be a bit flexible. You could try to hold out for exactly what you want, or if you can be a bit flexible, you might benefit in other ways (like I did with the BW view room). Also, if cost is an issue, have you considered 2 studios instead of the 2 bedroom? I know it's by no means as ideal with 5 adults, but if there's a sleeping arrangement you're comfortable with, it could save you quite a few $$$.

Anyway, hope this helps. Happy planning.

 

[emilyclaire]

Hi Emily Claire,

I thought I'd share my experience in case it's useful in anyway.

I am traveling to WDW for 11 nights in Sep/Oct and have a split stay booked at BWV and AKV (Jambo). The 5 nights at BWV were booked through the **************, the 6 nights at AKV were booked through Davids. Customer service from both companies has been excellent, with the Rental Store taking the slight edge.
As soon as I booked and paid I could see both of my reservations on the WDW website and was able to link them.

I booked at approx 9 1/2 months out. I didn't know about DVC brokers until then, and had been too nervous prior to that to rent privately. I'm not sure how much luck I would have had if I'd booked one and a half months earlier, but the indication I got was that the AKV Values and the BWV Standards were well and truly gone. What I did get, however, was a Boardwalk view at BWV. The woman at the Rental Store was as surprised as I was that, at 9.5 months, there was still a Boardwalk view studio available during the start of the F&W festival. I am so excited, and long past the disappointment that I couldn't get the cheaper studio that I initially wanted.

I have a Standard pool view booked at AKV since the Values were all taken. As much as I would have liked an animal view I just couldn't justify he extra cost. After some thought, I'm actually really excited about a Standard Pool View room. The view looks nice and relaxing, plus the location near the lobby looks great. Also, from what I understand (someone will correct me if I'm wrong) Standard studios were once Deluxe rooms at the AKL. So they are located on one of the higher floors and are slightly bigger than the Value rooms.

One thing worth being prepared for is the fact that neither brokers are guaranteed to have the points immediately available. When I enquired, Davids told me that they couldn't fulfill any of my preferences at that stage as they didn't have enough points holders sharing their points. I think I could have got OKW or SSR, but those are the only places I didn't want. I got back to Davids and enquired with the Rental Store, giving them other preferences, including a split stay, as this lessened the amount of points I needed for each part of the stay. But still no such luck. However a few days later, the rental store got back to me. Points had come through and they offered the whole 11 nights at the BWV. I couldn't really justify the price of all 11 nights there, but grabbed the first 5 nights and waited patiently for some AKV points. They came through with Davids a few days later. I couldn't be more excited about my split stay. It's a great way to trial 2 resorts, plus I am close to two parks during the first half of the stay, and one park during the other.

So what was the point of that big long ramble? To be a bit flexible. You could try to hold out for exactly what you want, or if you can be a bit flexible, you might benefit in other ways (like I did with the BW view room). Also, if cost is an issue, have you considered 2 studios instead of the 2 bedroom? I know it's by no means as ideal with 5 adults, but if there's a sleeping arrangement you're comfortable with, it could save you quite a few $$$.

Anyway, hope this helps. Happy planning.

Thanks for sharing your story! You are right, I think patience will be the key...a definite challenge for me, but I know the end result will be worth it. I will look into the two studio route as well. Never occurred to me to try for that. We can split 3 adults together (grandparents and aunt) and 2 (parents) with the toddler. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[MrsSilvaStrat]

We couldn't get our first choice at the 11 month window when we booked. We couldn't get our first choice at the 9 month window. We did get our second choice though, after several emails back and forth with the owner of the second site you mentioned ( i assume) We went in 2012 and points were only $12 pp, now they are $14! It's only been 7 months how did that happen?!

We are looking at renting for our 2014 trip. Will prob use same site again, as the whole process was super easy. He was very accommodating and everything was booked/confirmed/ dining added and overall experience was super smooth.

 

[emilyclaire]

We couldn't get our first choice at the 11 month window when we booked. We couldn't get our first choice at the 9 month window. We did get our second choice though, after several emails back and forth with the owner of the second site you mentioned ( i assume) We went in 2012 and points were only $12 pp, now they are $14! It's only been 7 months how did that happen?!

We are looking at renting for our 2014 trip. Will prob use same site again, as the whole process was super easy. He was very accommodating and everything was booked/confirmed/ dining added and overall experience was super smooth.

Good to know you had a good experience with them. I was leaning toward them even if their price IS now the same as the other one, simply because their payment plan better fits my family's financial situation right now. They allow you to make a deposit at just $8/pt and then make payments up until the 45 day window begins. It would be a strain for us to do the whole thing upfront.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We couldn't get our first choice at the 11 month window when we booked. We couldn't get our first choice at the 9 month window. We did get our second choice though, after several emails back and forth with the owner of the second site you mentioned ( i assume) We went in 2012 and points were only $12 pp, now they are $14! It's only been 7 months how did that happen?!

We are looking at renting for our 2014 trip. Will prob use same site again, as the whole process was super easy. He was very accommodating and everything was booked/confirmed/ dining added and overall experience was super smooth.

The owners of the "renting" companies sometimes have a hard time getting members to offer up their points for booking. So they offer more money to the owners and they get more opportunities to book stays. Plus, if the member doesn't mind the work, they can offer their points for rent by themselves using the DIS. And get all the proceeds.

 

[maryj11]

I have been wanting to know about this also. We were thinking of renting points for AKL. I was wanting to know when you rent points can you make a room location request, like request a certain building ?

 

[dansdad]

I have been wanting to know about this also. We were thinking of renting points for AKL. I was wanting to know when you rent points can you make a room location request, like request a certain building ?

Yes. The owner will have to make the request for you though.

 

[smidgy]

Just want to suggest to the OP the possiblility of a family suite at AOA.