Are non DVC stays economical?

[mommyto4]

My DH and I are considering buying into DVC. We have stayed with family who own DVC at Boardwalk and just fell in love with it. One of the features of the DVC that appeals to my DH is the fact that we can use the points to stay at numerous other hotels across the nation. We have 4 small children ages 2 and under and know we would stay at WDW for the next 10 or so years, but DH is concerned that when the kids become teenagers they won't want to go to WDW anymore and then our main options would be to stay at HH or Vero Beach if we stay in a DVC. I have not read any posts yet on this board that comment on using points to stay at non DVC hotels (other than hotels on WDW property such as Poly or Contemp where the general consesus seemed to be it's not cost effective to use points at these places). Has anyone checked into the cost effectiveness of using points vs. paying cash at some of these other hotels (such as the Plaza hotel in NY, or the Dude Ranch, or Gatlinburg hotels)?

Your help is appreciated! Thanks.

 

[wdeversole]

Most of the time you could come out ahead by renting your points for $10 a point and paying cash for the room.

(Although the $10 per point might be below rack rate, at most hotels you can find some kind of discount from rack)

That being said, if you really don't want to go through the hassle and uncertainty of finding a renter, making their reservation and collecting money from them - it might be worth it for you!!

 

[imgoingtodisney]

it cost us 186pts to stay 8nights at Port Orleans/French Quarter last Nov. So at $10 per pt that came to 1860 or $232.50 per night.
Im sure thats not what the cash people were paying.

 

[mikesmom]

Don't assume your kids won't want to go when they are teenagers. Disney seems to have something to appeal to every age group. Each time DS goes, it's almost like a new park - something else is attractive each time.

We thought DS wouldn't want to go as a teenager, either. From about 15 on, I kept thinking he would not want to go. He's 20 now (in college), and I've even given him the option of giving him the money that would be his part of the vacation so he could drive cross country with friends or whatever college boys do. He looks at me like I'm crazy! There's always one or more of his fiends MORE than willing to come along and share his room, too.

Magic Kingdom is not the draw it was when he was a child, but Epcot, MGM, the water parks, and even the BWV hotel pool are more than enough to keep them busy.

By the way, they love Vero, too.

 

[Dean]

Using DVC points for the other options will never be a good financial option compared to cash. The best you can hope to do in most instances is to come out even (assuming $10 pp) but that will rarely happen. You will generally be looking at a return of between $5 and $8 pp. In your situation you may want to consider buying less points and then paying cash for the other options. Of course if you're a member and have the points, it's your prerogative to use them.

 

[Disney Doll]

It is not the best use of points, but if it enables you to take a vacation, then there is more to factor in than money.

 

[Cruelladeville]

We bought DVC in 1997 for ourselves because we assumed that the teens wouldn't want to come--hah!! The joke was on us! The oldest is now 25, and the youngest 22, and we have only taken part of one vacation without them! They love BWV because there is so much to do there, and of course there is also Downtown Disney. Your kids' tastes may change, but they will always want to go to Disney. My children have asked on several occasions for the points to take friends down too. They seem to want to prove to their friends that Disney isn't just for babies and their parents, but for everyone. And since we are from Michigan, we spend 5 months under cloud cover, so Florida is a special treat for all of us, because they have lots of sunshine, and they usually are warm enough to swim and get a tan.

 

[dbond]

We bought our DVC membership in 1997 to use for family vacations, not just Disney vacations. We only have so much available time each year to travel and since the points are there, we do use them at non Disney resorts if the opportunity presents itself. We have had the opportunity to stay in accommodations that we could have never afforded to stay in had we been paying cash. Is it the best usage ecomonically for our points, I don't know and really don't care cause it's so much fun. We have stayed in The Plaza in NYC, we've used them at Keystone in a luxury condo, we used them for The Disney Cruise once and then cruised again using cash cause we didn't have enough points, we've used them at the Grand Californian in DL. Our next big non-Disney trip, hopefully, is a week in Hawaii next year. We've also had the opportunity to share WDW with all of our close family members and provided them luxury condo accommodations. What a joy that has been for us. The points are there to use for whatever whim or mood strikes us and if we could afford it right now, we'd buy more cause we're currently borrowed to the max. BTW, we have teens, one just left for college. Do they grumble about going to WDW all the time, they've been at least 9 times each, yes, they grumble so we take a trip somewhere else that year. Then, after they haven't been for 12 mos. or so, they start to ask why haven't we been to WDW lately, go figure!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Disney Doll
It is not the best use of points, but if it enables you to take a vacation, then there is more to factor in than money.

Bingo!

The true measure of what's the best use of point is what's best for your family! If you can stay someplace that you really want to go using the DVC points that you've paid for anyway, go for it! Enjoy a week in a World Passport Collection resort or splurge on a deluxe hotel room through the Concierge Collection. Then go back to WDW next year.

(I do agree that if you go to WDW, you get much better value for your points at DVC resort than at a Disney Collection resort.)

 

[spiceycat]

I have been a member since 93 - multiply trips every year - so sometime either I or mother wants something different - the last time it was the Polyn - she wanted to stay there - so I use the points to stay there - got a great room on the lagoon - saw the MK fireworks and the electric water pagen from our room each night - I can't complaint.

If I was paying cash - we would have gotten a garden view (which I did in the summer for my niece) - while anytime at WDW is better than elsewhere - there is a BIG difference in a garden and lagoon view.

On bye the way - both people (my mother and my niece) say that they like OKW better and will be happy to stay there in the future- HA!

My nephew is a teenager and kept telling me he was sick of WDW. So I brought a timeshare in PCB (his favorite place) and what happens - he wants to know when he is going back to WDW.

 

[Dancind]

I don't have much to add to this discussion, just wanted to note that I'm impressed. Four kids under age 2? Did you have two sets of twins? Diana

 

[sparkspeak]

Who needs theme parks . . . the resorts are great on their own. Seriously, you'll be way ahead in 10 years just by using the kitchen instead of eating out all of the time.

 

[mommyto4]

Diana,
We have triplets who are 2 1/2 yrs old and the "surprise baby" is 1 1/2 yrs old. All 4 of them have been to WDW twice now...the first time when the baby was 3 mos old and we just returned from our 2nd trip. Thankfully, each time we have gone we have had lots of family with us to help, otherwise, we couldn't have done it. On our most recent trip, we went through 120 diapers in 6 days. WDW will be so much more enjoyable for us when the kids are just a little bit older.
Thanks, Robin

 

[erikthewise]

No.

But keep in mind that these resorts are not giving you the room for free. You may pay with points, but DVC has to pay cash(!) on your behalf. DVC is not interested in losing money doing so; they're not real excited about coming out even either. So in nearly all cases you will fare worse than paying cash directly.

But all of this is kind of irrelevant. By the time your kids grow up, your DVC membership will have pretty much paid for itself, and anything else you get out of it is gravy. So go spend a weekend at the Grand Hotel!