AKL Value Studio through Dave's DVC Rentals

[lauris87]

Thinking about renting DVC points for the first time. Trip will be next June, so we are 12 months out right now. Going to put in a request with Dave's for 3-5 value studio rooms at AKL (haven't decided yet how many rooms are needed, need to find out how many family members are going).
I have heard that the value studios are very popular and book very fast. Is there even a chance you think that we would get these rooms? Or, no chance? Just wondering what to expect.....

 

[Hopefully]

Very little to no chance to get 3 - 5 Value studios. You need to budget up

 

[cvjw]

Maybe 1, and that is a big maybe. No chance on 3-5. There are very few of the value studios to begin with.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Zero chance of anything more than 1, and getting 1 is a minor miracle.

There are 18 total Value studios. 10 are part of 2BR lock-offs. You are looking to book nearly a third of them. No owner can book more than one at a time, and would have to book sequentially. Not every unit is available on any given check-in date, because people check in every day for multi-day trips. And, as owners, we can't see how many are available, so if someone booked one, they could discover it had been the only unit available that morning.

This is an unrealistic plan. You need to budget for at least AKV Standard at Kidani. If everyone cannot afford that, you need to backtrack and look at POP or All Stars and hope for discounts.

In addition, even with AKV Kidani Standard units, everyone has to pay up front for the unit, and it is non-refundable. With multiple family members, DVC rental can be fraught with drama when people change their mind, want different dates, or just plain out flake. I rarely recommend rental with a large family trip unless you are willing to eat it if any of that happens.

 

[Marionnette]

Thinking about renting DVC points for the first time. Trip will be next June, so we are 12 months out right now. Going to put in a request with Dave's for 3-5 value studio rooms at AKL (haven't decided yet how many rooms are needed, need to find out how many family members are going).
I have heard that the value studios are very popular and book very fast. Is there even a chance you think that we would get these rooms? Or, no chance? Just wondering what to expect.....

Let me put it this way, from an owner's perspective. David's will pay the owner the same rate for their points whether they book a Value studio or a savanna view. Now, I could go thru the extreme effort of trying to snag a Value studio for a renter for less compensation (fewer points = less money in my pocket) or I can relax and book one of the less-demanded villas at my leisure for more money. Guess what I would opt to do?

And with the limited number of Value studios in inventory, the only way to realistically get more than one would be to find an owner (not an agency) who is willing to attempt multiple bookings over an extended period and walk those reservations into June. Unfortunately, you are probably already too late for that strategy.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And with the limited number of Value studios in inventory, the only way to realistically get more than one would be to find an owner (not an agency) who is willing to attempt multiple bookings over an extended period and walk those reservations into June. Unfortunately, you are probably already too late for that strategy.

And, frankly, most owners would charge more than $16pp for that service, at which point paying agency rate for a Standard might end up cheaper anyway.

 

[crisi]

In addition, even with AKV Kidani Standard units, everyone has to pay up front for the unit, and it is non-refundable. With multiple family members, DVC rental can be fraught with drama when people change their mind, want different dates, or just plain out flake. I rarely recommend rental with a large family trip unless you are willing to eat it if any of that happens.

Read this again. Then read it a third time. Then realistically think about your family.

I'm an owner, so I have some flexibility in my own points and cancellations. But we had to change one trip around when my sister got pregnant, then changed that same trip around when she got breast cancer. When the trip finally happened, we ended up short the other sister - who was having personal issues - including financial - and just didn't want to go. She'd also gotten rid of the fiance that we'd originally planned on. So a trip that was planned for eight adults and three children happened four years after it was planned with six adults and four children.

Then there was the four people in a grand villa - we'd intended to have eight people in a grand villa (they'll sleep twelve), but my brother in law passed away and somehow the rest of the family wasn't up to Disney - I felt fortunate to get my husband - for half the trip it was three of us.

Those are great excuses - you can't fault someone for not going because they are getting chemo or dead. But there are stories on this board of people just flaking out - usually about the time they need to commit with money. Twelve months is a long time - jobs get lost, babies get made, people get sick, marriages fall apart. Make absolutely sure that you can afford to lose all the money you put into the rental if your vacation falls apart.

And there is zero chance of getting any value studios through a broker.

 

[lawboy2001]

Getting a high demand reservation, that needs to be booked at the opening of the 11 month window, is not a realistic plan for a renter. As Marrionnette points out, it takes the owner you are renting from being on the system at 8am and scrambling to get the rooms. Why would anyone do that, when the owner priority period is 4 months, and the owner can get the same $$ for the points by booking ANYTHING during the priority period.

Plus, I believe David's may not take your request. Anytime I've rented with them, they ask me to make a reservation that they have already confirmed is available. They don't want to annoy their owners with getting them online at 8am to make a reservation that may not be available given how high demand it is...

 

[drusba]

As to getting 3-5 value studios, weigh your chances this way: Members who own at AKV can reserve online beginning exactly at 8 a.m. eastern, 11-months from date of arrival. The AKV value studios very often fill within less than one second after 8 a.m. at 11 months out; the winners are simply those whose computers communicate fastest with Disney's computers.

Thus, to book even one value studio, you need to find an AKV owner who is (a) willing to rent, (b) willing to try to reserve at exactly 8 a.m. eastern 11-months out, and (c) willing to do that work and give you your money back if the effort fails, which it likely will.

 

[kniquy]

Sorry - no way in hell are you getting 3-5 value studios. You would be lucky to get one. If you are traveling with that many people then why don't you consider getting a 2BR or 3BR GV -- this would give you amazing space, full kitchen and laundry -- these are such a treat to have when traveling.

Really look at the cost of what those 3-5 studios would cost and you might need to pay a little more to get a larger villa.

If you really need 3-5 studios, plan on standard rooms and you will likely have to break it up into 3-5 different reservations with a different lead name on each one. You can't have the same lead name on two different rooms. This would be more realistic than the value rooms.