Anyone a homeowner for AKV & BWV?

[Mle8308]

Thank you everybody for your help. It really is appreciated.




If staying in a value studio, is the ostrich trail side of the resort a request one can put in? I remember a previous commenter saying that a savannah view is pot luck.

As many have said, DO NOT expect to get a value studio when renting points. Maybe a confirmed reservation, but not through a rental agreement.

 

[keishashadow]

From what I’ve read, getting a value room at AKV will be quite difficult even at the 11 month mark. I’ve been told that the standard rooms are easier but haven’t been given any indication what’s it like for BWV. Would you happen to have any idea?

the lower point rooms tend to disappear first at most resorts for studios.

Values @ AKV are quite difficult to get, I am 2 of 3 this year and I work at it.

Actually, added on points at both resorts to cover the extra point costs as it’s been decidedly more competitive since things reopened after covid shutdown. Not sure it will ever normalize with members being a bit more savvy, knowing to book early.

BWV goes quite fast for holiday periods, special events, run disney race weekends & F&W.

Std bwv rooms also tend to go by 8am at 11mo

More often than people who don’t own there would think during popular times.

As a new renter, I’d suggest going thru one of the rental agencies for a smooth experience/peace of mind.

Would also set my expectations realistically as a renter and decide if you are comfortable paying a bit more for the more expensive rooms. Regardless, you are still getting a bargain vs booking thru WDW.

 

[FlynnRiderSwitch]

Getting the value/standard view studios at those resorts would probably require the home resort booking advantage. Outside of convenience you would not need to book both from the same owner

Thank you!
From what I’ve read, getting a value room at AKV will be quite difficult even at the 11 month mark. I’ve been told that the standard rooms are easier but haven’t been given any indication what’s it like for BWV. Would you happen to have any idea?

I’d like to think that maybe it’s slightly easier because we’re going in anxxxxxxx but am not sure how much difference that actually makes

We are BWV owners and we never have been able to book the standard rooms at exactly 11 months out. We did not realize the difficulties in doing this when we bought - we thought our small DVC contract would be plenty to book standard rooms for a week each year but sadly no.

So we are “forced” to book garden/pool and boardwalk (my favorite) rooms, this requires more points so then we decided to buy a second resale contract to cover the increased points.

Not complaining though, now we have more points to play with. BTW, LOVE split stays!

 

[crisi]

Your chances of either a VAKL Value Studio or a BWV Standard View studio are EXTRAORDINARLY low. A lot of owners are not even going to bother to look for you, that's how low the chances are, because its functionally a waste of their time - and if you are dealing with an individual owner - it sets you up as having "unreasonable" expections and being - as Harry from When Harry Met Sally might say "high maintenance."

There are often more people looking to rent points than owners with points to rent. So you don't want to come across as "unreasonable" in your requests or you may never even find someone who will work with you. If you can't commit to getting a VAKL standard view and BWV preferred view out of the gate because of cost, I'd start looking to staying offsite or renting at OKW which also has a low point structure.

The other thing to be aware of, because when cost is a major factor which it often is when people are looking to rent the lowest cost rooms in the system, is that cancellation policies with DVC are not very flexible, which means that whomever you rent points from won't be able to be very flexible. Make sure you understand what the owner(s) you are working with can do and are willing to do for you if you cancel. Me, when I rent points I'm not willing to do a darn thing - its non-refundable when you make the reservation. Other owners are far more flexible, but few are going to have the flexibility to do much of anything if you need to cancel within 30 days. In other words, discover you can't go because your father in law suddenly needs heart surgery, and you can find yourself just out the money.