Best way to rent DVC villas?

[BC]

I know there is a DVC rental discussion, but am not sure about how it all works. Our family of 8 are thinking of renting at the Contemporary next December in a 2 or 3 bedroom and had been told it is a much less expensive way to go. I see there are "points" available, but how do you know how many points you need. I have also heard to avoid any 3rd party transactions, so that makes us a bit concerned.

Have any of you rented through a DVC owner and if so, which site did you go through? Please explain the process. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[Robber Baron]

I have rented points probably a half dozen times.

A few times were done privately. You just have to go as far when doing your due diligence as it takes you to feel comfortable.

The last few times I used a rental company for the points.

David's DVC is easy to deal with, but, I prefer DVC Shop Rentals because they keep a very extensive list of confirmed reservations on their site.

 

[MrWonderful]

Contemporary does not have DVC Villas. Perhaps you are thinking of Bay Lake Tower?

 

[AstroBlasters]

My first venture into a DVC villa was renting a 2BD Lake View stay at Bay Lake Tower through a popular 3rd party broker. We put in a request with our preference for resort and room type(s) and then they matched us with a seller who made the reservation for us. We paid for everything upfront, although different sites have different policies. It was a really nice overall experience.

I have since learned that there are many people in the DVC forums on this site that will rent their points out as well.

 

[BC]

Contemporary does not have DVC Villas. Perhaps you are thinking of Bay Lake Tower?

Yes, it is Bay Lake Tower. Thanks for clarifying for me.

 

[stevelle]

When you choose your dates and location both one of the websites or the private owner will tell you how many points you need and then make the booking for you. I have just rented for the first time using the rental board and my stay is not until August but the owner sends you the confirmation number and I am able to see my booking in MDE. I researched quite a bit about where to stay and what to look for, and chose an owner that had rented previously and had lots of great recommendations. The rental board has all the information of things you should look for to protect yourself and I feel fairly confident that my booking is good.

 

[stevelle]

I just read over my own post and laughed. "fairly confident". Honestly I feel much more confident than that.

 

[sam_gordon]

I know there is a DVC rental discussion, but am not sure about how it all works. Our family of 8 are thinking of renting at the Contemporary next December in a 2 or 3 bedroom and had been told it is a much less expensive way to go. I see there are "points" available, but how do you know how many points you need. I have also heard to avoid any 3rd party transactions, so that makes us a bit concerned.

Have any of you rented through a DVC owner and if so, which site did you go through? Please explain the process. Thanks so much for your help.

It's been a long time since we've done that, but we were VERY happy with the result. We rented a 1BR at BLT that overlooked the parking lot (but got lucky and could see all of MK).

Here's the steps we took...
* Google "DVC Points Calculator" (there are a bunch available) or just go to Davids https://dvcrequest.com/dvc-guests/cost-calculator. You can look for resort, size, and time to figure out how many points you need.
* Davids is currently $21-23 per point. That's my baseline.
* Start looking at the DVC rental boards here. Find someone that has enough points for what you want to do at a price you're willing to pay. Then start doing your due diligence... do they have a history of good rentals?
* The seller will probably have a contract, make sure you get everything in writing (what they'll do, how many points, dates, resort, etc).

OR, the last time we went, we used VRBO. Not a good option if you want to stay in "the bubble", but you could have your own pool, separate bedrooms, and possibly a game room. Don't forget transportation (family of 8 might be a little tough).

 

[Mle8308]

Do your homework, too. I was able to get a 1BR villa using the Disney+ discount last year for less than what it would have cost me to rent the points (one bedrooms are not the best point value for DVC). And I had the Disney cancellation policy, not a non refundable rate. It can be a decent savings, if you rent points at about $20, average cost right now, a 2BR will be about $750 per night. Definitely less than a non discounted Disney rate.

 

[Mle8308]

Do your homework, too. I was able to get a 1BR villa using the Disney+ discount last year for less than what it would have cost me to rent the points (one bedrooms are not the best point value for DVC). And I had the Disney cancellation policy, not a non refundable rate. It can be a decent savings, if you rent points at about $20, average cost right now, a 2BR will be about $750 per night. Definitely less than a non discounted Disney rate.

Let me revise that, I looked at the points chart on the Disney DVC site for December 2023 and it varies from 42 to 66 points per night, depending on the view and if it is a weekend or not. So that could cost between $840 to $1320 per night. For a 2BR.

 

[DLgal]

The best way is through Disney directly using a discount.

 

[longboard55]

I had to do a last minute cancel so had a lot of points that would expire. I went through one of the big resale sites and we made reservations that were picked up in days.