Renting DVC Points Thoughts and Feedback

[Pluto1976]

If anyone has rented DVC points from members on the Rent/Trade section of the DISBOARD site, I would be interested to hear your experiences and how the whole process works.

Were planning to go over the Thanksgiving holiday November 20th-30th and it will be 5 adults and 1 child right now, but we might add another adult. Right now it's going to cost us around $6500 for all of our rooms so I am thinking renting DVC points and getting a 2-bedroom villa would be cheaper for all of us. We also want to stay at AKL-Jambo house.

The cost to rent a villa thru Disney is way expensive so I am thinking renting would be the way to go, but I'm just unsure of the process so all feedback and experiences are welcome.

 

[kaitlyn0616]

I would be interested to know too!!!

 

[mef78]

I rented several times and had a great experience--it really does depend on your relationship with the member.

I found a fantastic couple on the DisBoards rent/trade board who were truly great folks and we've become good friends. I rented back before the "escrow services" were available online, so we did everything based on a whole lot of trust.

How it worked was:
The member would three-way conference call with himself, me, and DVC, to make the reservation. 6 months prior to the trip, I'd send half the payment. One month prior to the trip, I'd send the other half of the payment. He would call to confirm reservations, requests, etc. the week before the check-in date.

It all worked very well. I highly recommend finding a renter whom you're comfortable with and for whom you've checked references.

If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[Disney grandma]

We rented points last Thanksgiving from someone on the rent/trade board and had excellent results. She called me within a short time of emailing, made the reservation as soon as it was available to make, sent me the confirmation and I mailed her one-half of the cost. She was very easy to work with and went out of her way to help us. She really didn't request the other half until almost time to leave. We stayed in a two bedroom value at Jambo and absolutely loved it. It was a one bedroom with a studio lock off and a living room and dining kitchen. There were four adults and two children and we were upgraded to a savannah view. The entire cost was about the same as one room without a discount at AKL. I was a little nervous because I had no control of the reservation but once we had checked in I fully enjoyed and appreciated the wonderful deal we got. I did have her phone number and address and checked on the Orange County real estate list to insure that she did in fact have the ownership. I felt a little guilty checking on her but I went by the rules that were posted on the DVC board of details you should do before renting points. Our experience was wonderful,

 

[Slakk]

If anyone has rented DVC points from members on the Rent/Trade section of the DISBOARD site, I would be interested to hear your experiences and how the whole process works.

Were planning to go over the Thanksgiving holiday November 20th-30th and it will be 5 adults and 1 child right now, but we might add another adult. Right now it's going to cost us around $6500 for all of our rooms so I am thinking renting DVC points and getting a 2-bedroom villa would be cheaper for all of us. We also want to stay at AKL-Jambo house.

The cost to rent a villa thru Disney is way expensive so I am thinking renting would be the way to go, but I'm just unsure of the process so all feedback and experiences are welcome.

I am a DVC owner and don't rent (use them all up for ME!) but will tell you that your biggest obstacle will be length of stay and time of year. DVC members book their trips for the busiest times 11 months in advance. Thanksgiving is one of those times so the chances of a 2BR available for those dates is slim. You would need to find someone who has decided not to go and booked already with those exact same dates.

Not impossible but highly unlikely.

I did a quick look and the 22-26 in ALL 2BRs Jambo and Kidani are booked full - not sure of the other dates. Your best bet would be to try and buy an existing reservation then have the other dates reserved and hope that DVC would let you stay in the same room. That would not be guaranteed.

DVC is great for DVC members and for people who want to rent 11 months out or are VERY flexible. Hope this helped.

 

[natnelliesmom]

We just rented points for our 4th time this past week. We'll be going down in October.
I wouldn't book a trip any other way! Each time I was able to find a wonderful family to rent points from. They have to take care of the details, so I recommend having them 3-way the call, or let you listen in while they make the reservation on another phone. They will give you a reservation number, but you really can't do anything to check that until pretty close to the trip. They will also mail you a copy of their reservation paperwork when it comes about 1-2 weeks after booking it for you. If you want magic express service, they have to book that as well, so have your flight information to give them. Your ME book and luggage tags will be shipped directly to your home address.

I have yet to hear a horror story about points rental. I think most people honestly want to rent their points. The DIS boards moderates DVC posts, so if someone was scamming others, it would get noticed pretty quickly!

I will second the pp's comments about availability. November books up fast. Especially since you have such exact wants as far as rooms go. You may have some difficulty with this. My advice is to be flexible. SSR or OKW may be the only resorts with availability this late.

-Sarah

 

[kaffinito]

It would be best to advertise that you are looking for a rental on the Rent/Trade board and to be very specific as to party size, dates, and your travel dates.

You might have to wait a while, but you could get a rental unit for that time period. It might not be a bad idea to have a second and third choice as well. There is a good section on the DVC boards that will give you some pointers on renting from a DVC member. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1442533

Good luck and Happy Planning!

 

[sharadoc]

Hi. We've considered renting DVC points, but decided it was better to get a AAA discount on the villa and go through Disney directly. We found the price was really comparable. You get 20% off the villa, and have direct control over your reservation - you can set up all the details, add the DDP, whatever you want and not have to go through anyone else.

BUT - that decision was based on going in value season, going for over a week.

The points totals really go up over a weekend, so if you're going to stay Sunday - Thursday, you'd probably make out better going with renting points.

The really popular DVC villas are less likely to be available with the AAA discount, especially something like Beach Club 1BR villas. Most were available when we called a few months ago.

Here's our comparison:

August 16-25, 1 BR Villa 275 Points vs. AAA room discount
- Generally points cost $10 a point, so cost is $2,750 to rent
- AAA room is $312 a night x 9 nights $2,808 direct thru Disney

Neglible difference, so having control over my reservation means everything to me - I'd pick the AAA discount.

Good luck!

 

[THE GRIND]

the only way to go, you may want to check on 2 studios that will be the cheap way to go. we always rent from dvc, the guy we rent from always has points, all I do is call him up and we go, love it''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

 

[Pluto1976]

Thanks to all for the valuable input!

Slakk, thanks for taking the time to checkout actual availability.

It sounds like this idea is not going to work for us for a few different reasons (busy time of year, being picky about our resort, and etc) At least we know now though. Maybe I can convince the DW that we just need to become DVC members now.

 

[Slakk]

Thanks to all for the valuable input!

Slakk, thanks for taking the time to checkout actual availability.

It sounds like this idea is not going to work for us for a few different reasons (busy time of year, being picky about our resort, and etc) At least we know now though. Maybe I can convince the DW that we just need to become DVC members now.

Well I think you should take a tour when you visit. We have been DVC members for 4 years and do NOT regret it. I will say this, unlike most TS you really don't lose value when you buy and it is so much nicer to know you can stay in a villa versus a regular room. We started out as studio dwellers and now *cannot live without* a 1 BR.

It is a sickness LL!

I am partial to AKV too...lovely resort for sure!

 

[Dawn68PA]

We rented points for a 2BR Jambo lock off last year for the beginning of November. We booked 10 months out.

If you can't book for this trip, keep in mind to plan 10-11 months out for the next one and rent points. It saved us thousands. We rented from a great guy here on the DIS. You may still be able to rent for this trip but not stay at that particular resort.

 

[chalee94]

general FYI for those that don't know:

if you rent a reservation from a DVC member, you will not get daily mousekeeping. (every 4th day, you will get either trash removed/towels (etc) replaced, or full cleaning. it depends on how long you are staying.)

if you rent a DVC resort directly from disney, you will get daily mousekeeping.

renting DVC is a great idea for saving money to stay at a nice resort onsite, but make sure you do some research over on the DVC boards to understand what you are getting.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

We're thinking of renting as well. I know every renter is different but what are usual the terms. How much of a deposit, etc.?

 

[Figment2]

One more thing which I think is important to point out. As a renter, you have no control over the reservation and there is no way to confirm (except 3-5 days before check in where you can call the resort). As far as a 3-way call, a crook could stage a 3 way call easily. You'd never know the difference. The DVC member could cancel the reservaton at any time without you knowing.

Cancellation policies are different with each DVC member who rents. Changing or cancelling a DVC reservation is sometimes not as easy as it is with CRO. There might be problems if the points are expiring or borrowed (borrowing is a final transaction...). Some might give a refund, many do not. If you cancel, you may lose whatever you have paid. It all depends on what your contract says.

JJ&JsMom - I am not sure there is anything like "usual" terms.

Cyn

 

[lizondro7]

I've rented points for several vacations the past few years....never had any problems with any of the DVC owners.

Huge savings for Sunday thru Friday stays!

Go for it!

 

[ElizabethB]

The post immediately above says it all -- great savings IF you arrive on Sunday and leave on Friday. Weekends can cost more by renting points than if you book directly with Disney.

Disney is discounting like crazy this year -- though probably not for Thanksgiving. But, most of Thanksgiving is the weekend anyway meaning you'll be paying a high price for enough points for the weekend.

I recommend really pricing it out before you rent. As another poster showed, it may not cost that much more to book through Disney -- especially if you're staying for the weekend. Disney is discounting like crazy this year so look for discounts. Don't forget to calculate in the cost of daily maid service and turndown service, which you get with a Disney reservation and don't with a points rental -- unless you pay something like $40 per day extra.

Personally, I don't like the idea of sending a stranger several thousand dollars. And, my one-bedroom villa reservation with CRO can be cancelled up to five days in advance, unlike points rentals where you are completely locked in months in advance.

 

[elizflynn]

I am currently renting points from a wonderful family for September 2009. I was very skeptical about this process at first and then I saw that if I hunted around for the right person first, it would make the whole process better. So i posted a message saying that I was looking for points and I gave a range of what I needed because I wasn't sure where I wanted to stay at that point. Then I got som PM's of people who didn't seem like they were the right ones, and finally one day I got a message from a wonderful woman named Jen and I knew that SHE was the one to help me plan me trip! Well it turns out that she enjoyed helping me so much that she is now helping a bunch of people plan their disney vacation, she's great! She's making our dining reservations for us, ME reservations, etc. She really has helped me figure out the whole disney vacation for my boyfriend and myself. I would suggest her help to anyone!!! If you want her info, you can PM me. Her and her husband are so kind, they are very accomodating to helping us out with a payment plan, and working out a schedule that works well for both them and I. I would highly recommend her for any questions you might have, she's perfect!

 

[lunapnp]

general FYI for those that don't know:

if you rent a reservation from a DVC member, you will not get daily mousekeeping. (every 4th day, you will get either trash removed/towels (etc) replaced, or full cleaning. it depends on how long you are staying.)

if you rent a DVC resort directly from disney, you will get daily mousekeeping.

renting DVC is a great idea for saving money to stay at a nice resort onsite, but make sure you do some research over on the DVC boards to understand what you are getting.

I asked this question a few weeks ago on another post and never got a response. I'll ask again. We are staying on rented points in Oct. I am aware that we will not get daily mousekeeping. However, what about items like shampoo? Can you call and ask for toiletries? Just needing to know what/how much to pack. TIA!

 

[chalee94]

I asked this question a few weeks ago on another post and never got a response. I'll ask again. We are staying on rented points in Oct. I am aware that we will not get daily mousekeeping. However, what about items like shampoo? Can you call and ask for toiletries? Just needing to know what/how much to pack. TIA!

you'll be provided with items like shampoo free of charge at the start of your stay. they will be replaced every 4th day.

if you need more than that, you may purchase more for a fee. here are the complete details:

Housekeeping

Trash & Towel Service
For stays of seven or less nights, Trash & Towel Service is provided on day four, regardless of whether you're using Member-discounted cash, Vacation Points or a combination of both.

With Trash & Towel service, Housekeeping will:
Empty trash and replace liners in trash bins.
Provide fresh bathroom linens.
Replace shampoo, facial soap and bath soap.
Replenish facial tissues, paper towels and toilet paper.
Replenish coffee, sugar, cream and sweeteners.
Replenish dishwashing liquid, dishwashing detergent, sponges and laundry detergent as needed in one-, two- and three-bedroom Vacation Homes.
Full Cleaning Service
For stays of eight or more nights, Full Cleaning Service is provided on day four and Trash & Towel Service is provided on day eight. After that, the cycle begins again on day 12, regardless of whether you're using Member-discounted cash, Vacation Points or a combination of both.

With Full Cleaning service, Housekeeping will provide everything included with the Trash & Towel Service, plus:
Change the bed linens.
Vacuum and dust the Vacation Home.
Clean the bathroom(s).
Clean the kitchen/kitchenette and wash the dishes.

Pay As You Play

With Pay As You Play service, you'll be provided with the following amenities free of charge at the start of your stay. After that, you may purchase more for the following fees:
Toiletries Package, $5.00 - 1 facial soap, 1 bath soap, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 shower gel
Coffee Package, $3.00 - 1 package of coffee, 8 sugars, 8 creamers, 8 artificial sweeteners
Towel Package, $6.00 - 4 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 4 washcloths, 1 bath mat
Laundry Detergent (only in One-, Two-, and Three-bedroom Vacation Homes), $1.00 - 1 box

Additional Full Cleaning Rates:
Studio/Inn Room - $30.00 per day requested
One-Bedroom - $45.00 per day requested
Two-Bedroom - $60.00 per day requested
Three-Bedroom - $75.00 per day requested

Additional Trash & Towel Rates:
Studio/Inn Room - $15.00 per day requested
One-Bedroom - $20.00 per day requested
Two-Bedroom - $25.00 per day requested
Three-Bedroom - $35.00 per day requested

Note: Rates are subject to change