Booking for a large group - Question for more experienced DVC'ers than myself

[RamblinWreck]

As a primer, here is how much of a newbie I am when it comes to DVC.

I purchased a 50 point Grand Floridian contract last year, and the only way that I have used it thus far is renting out the points that it came loaded with to other people. I haven't even used it for myself yet!

So here's the situation:

My wife and I are planning on a trip for summer of 2021 with our children.

Our extended families have both accepted our invitation to join for a few days of that trip, and would like to stay at VGF.

This obviously will require a lot more points than I have. I'm going to need a couple of studios, as well as a 2 bedroom suite.

If you were me would you:

1. Find a user on this site to book the reservation for you and pay them for it

2. Find a user on this site who has a ton of extra points who can transfer them to me (obviously I will need VGF specific points especially for the studios)

3. Use a site like David's Vacation Club Rentals and pay essentially the extra $1 per point to have them hunt down owners for me to rent from.

4. Something I haven't even thought of yet.


3 seems like the easiest. 2 would make me feel the most comfortable because I would know I had the power to log in 11 months in advance and just book the thing myself.

Do any of you more experienced DVC'ers have advice?

 

[Sandisw]

It could end up being a combination of renting reservations and taking a transfer,

The rule is one transfer in or out of your UY but, it is possible to get two as long as you have them done for different UY. The key is to make sure they are valid for your trip.

You don’t mention your own UY or how many days you may need which will play a role in what you need to do,

Here is the thing, though, about transfers, You can’t use the points to book online so you’d have to wait an hour to book using them.

Studios at VGF go fast, even in the summer, One benefit of renting from David’s, is they may have more than one VGF owner who can book for your right at 8 am.

It would seem, you will have the points from your own 50 points, with banking and borrowing, to secure one of the studios?

 

[zavandor]

I think a transfer of VGF points would be the best option: this way you'd be in control of the reservation. Have you explained to your extended family what are the cancellation policies? They might think this is "free" for you and think they can change plan without much consequences. I've read many horror stories here on the DISboards about extended familie cancelling at the last minute.
If you have transfered points you'll be able to rebook or bank the points for the following UY or even re-rent the reservation to recover most of the money. If you rent you'd probably lose everything.

 

[Dizzydizney]

That’s very generous of you. Do they plan on paying anything towards the accommodations? And do they realize they need to purchase park tickets? You’d be surprised at the amount of non DVCers that think DVC comes with free park passes (a long time ago, OKW got 10 years of passes, that benefit went away). I’m planning a big family trip also, but have more than enough points to cover it (lots of careful planning and budgeting points for our own trips in between).

My first recommendation would be to print out copies of the new 2021 points charts. Figure out which weeks during summer would work for all. August 16 or so is usually the time when points are slightly reduced until September. If you can avoid a Friday or Saturday night, that would save lots of points too. Then see how many points you will need.

How many people will be coming total? Do the others HAVE to stay at Grand Floridian? It’s a beautiful resort but also very pointy to stay there. Would the others be willing to stay at a less pointy place? Kidani one and 2 bedrooms are quite spacious and easier on the points. As is old key west. I’ve never done transfers or rentals so can’t help you there (although I understand it can cost $20/point to stay at the better DVCs). I think the important thing to do first is to get the trip down on paper and weigh your options.

I ended up eliminating a Saturday night for our big trip...I figured 6 days with each other was probably plenty!

Good luck and happy planning.

 

[RamblinWreck]

That’s very generous of you. Do they plan on paying anything towards the accommodations? And do they realize they need to purchase park tickets? You’d be surprised at the amount of non DVCers that think DVC comes with free park passes (a long time ago, OKW got 10 years of passes, that benefit went away). I’m planning a big family trip also, but have more than enough points to cover it (lots of careful planning and budgeting points for our own trips in between).

My first recommendation would be to print out copies of the new 2021 points charts. Figure out which weeks during summer would work for all. August 16 or so is usually the time when points are slightly reduced until September. If you can avoid a Friday or Saturday night, that would save lots of points too. Then see how many points you will need.

How many people will be coming total? Do the others HAVE to stay at Grand Floridian? It’s a beautiful resort but also very pointy to stay there. Would the others be willing to stay at a less pointy place? Kidani one and 2 bedrooms are quite spacious and easier on the points. As is old key west. I’ve never done transfers or rentals so can’t help you there (although I understand it can cost $20/point to stay at the better DVCs). I think the important thing to do first is to get the trip down on paper and weigh your options.

I ended up eliminating a Saturday night for our big trip...I figured 6 days with each other was probably plenty!

Good luck and happy planning.

Thanks for the advice!

They're actually very experienced Disney travelers. My Father-In-Law is the kind of guy that's so stupidly rich that he used to take my wife and all of her siblings to Disney every 2 years and stay at the Grand Floridian every time.

My wife and I buying our little mini VGF contract on the secondary market was our way of telling ourselves that every 3 years we'll be able to take our kids and stay in a similar place that she grew up going to, even if it means we'll all be sharing a studio villa (or maybe one day a 1-bedroom! haha)

We have all the details surrounding the dates and such in place. My wife's father is actually paying for everyone in the family during the days they will be there. Trying to book them through the DVC accommodations (and buying tickets through undercover tourist) was just going to be my way of saying "thank you" for the generous offer by saving him a boatload of cash. He usually just books room/ticket packages directly through the Disney site where you pay like $750 per night for a room.

 

[Dizzydizney]

Okay that changes everything!!! Ignore everything I said. Sounds like you will have a great time. How about a grand villa? That could either be very awesome or very stressful. I’d love to try one someday.

 

[Deb & Bill]

When are you going? That could be the difference between getting one studio and multiple studios.

 

[RamblinWreck]

When are you going? That could be the difference between getting one studio and multiple studios.

June of 2021

I figure if I get the points I need in hand, between lake view and standard view I should be able to nab at least 2 studios if I book right at 11 months right?

 

[Sandisw]

June of 2021

I figure if I get the points I need in hand, between lake view and standard view I should be able to nab at least 2 studios if I book right at 11 months right?

Yes, that should be doable. I got a SV studio at 7 months for June 2020 and most dates were still available for all of June 8 months out,

So, if you have VGF points and can book at 11 months, you should be set!

 

[RamblinWreck]

It could end up being a combination of renting reservations and taking a transfer,

The rule is one transfer in or out of your UY but, it is possible to get two as long as you have them done for different UY. The key is to make sure they are valid for your trip.

You don’t mention your own UY or how many days you may need which will play a role in what you need to do,

Here is the thing, though, about transfers, You can’t use the points to book online so you’d have to wait an hour to book using them.

Studios at VGF go fast, even in the summer, One benefit of renting from David’s, is they may have more than one VGF owner who can book for your right at 8 am.

It would seem, you will have the points from your own 50 points, with banking and borrowing, to secure one of the studios?

Thanks for the info!

Can you elaborate a little bit on the "not being able to use the points to book online" aspect, or maybe share a link that elaborates on this?

How exactly does the process work? I have to call someone up and say "Hey, I have this many points from this contract, and this many points transferred to me, and I want to make a reservation" and it's all done over the phone?

 

[Sandisw]

Because the transferred points are not part of your contract, they are kept in a virtual one in your membership.

That means, you can’t see or use them online. So, a call to MS is what you will have to do, The reservation will show up in your account if you use the transferred points to book.

So, yes, to use your points and the transferred points, you call up MS to get the rooms booked. The benefit of points being transferred is that you now control the reservation. The drawback is that you can’t use them to secure a reservation online at the 8 am window, and have to wait until 9 am.

 

[CarolynFH]

How exactly does the process work? I have to call someone up and say "Hey, I have this many points from this contract, and this many points transferred to me, and I want to make a reservation" and it's all done over the phone?

The drawback is that you can’t use them to secure a reservation online at the 8 am window, and have to wait until 9 am.

And for @RamblinWreck, having to wait until 9 AM to book can make the difference between getting a reservation and not.

Fortunately, for June you have a good chance of getting what you want, if you can assemble the needed points!

 

[papertraveller]

I think your biggest risk here is the need to find someone to transfer you the points, and you need quite a lot to cover the reservation.
I'd use David's because then he could essentially aggregate the points you need from a few owners as necessary. You don't entirely control the reservation, but there is a contract you can rely on in the event an owner tries to bail on you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you get a transfer, you are limited to one transfer in or out per UY. One transfer is not going to get you the points you need unless you find an owner with thousands of points. This might be the time to suggest everyone books their own stay and you might be able to help them pay for the reservation. After all your work to compile the points to make the reservations and book all the rooms you need, wouldn't it just be lovely if someone backed out two weeks before the trip? Then you are stuck with points in holding or a reservation you don't need. That's always the issue with booking all the rooms and paying for family members who do not understand you can't just change or cancel the trip at the last minute.

 

[bookwormde]

I have done this several times even at beach club,though I had more base points but they were OKW,

My preference was always to transfer in since it gave me full control. If you have April or June UY you will be able to do 2 transfers before the 11 month window. You really only need the studio points, LF 2brms should be available at 7 months

If you can do in July after the 4th instead you should not need to book right at 8am at 11 months, June is only slightly more difficult.. At the point drop in August it is much more challenging for studios

While I know it is more points, worst case is that you have to book 2-2br which are currently available for 2020 even at 5 or many times 4 months out if you move away from the first point drop week 1br substitutions are typically available either time

There are a lot of rental companies now so while Davids was the original and well respected, the market is much larger than when I last did this so finding GF points should be relatively easy

You mention a "few" days so if that is 3-5 days and you are not locked into specific dates that also makes putting it together.

It is also important to be realistic that you can end up scattered across multiple floors, though I was always lucky and everyone ended up close on the same floor or in the same building(OKW)

While I know a GV would likely be another 2K but if your group will fit the experience of everyone in a GV is really special