Comparing DVC room vs hotel stay room

[DVCRookie2023]

I have been trying to compare the rates of each. Pretty easy to find out what your “cash value” would be for the DVC room based on your contract value and such.

However when I want to compare it is kind of difficult to find a comparable room on the hotel side of things. This is assuming I am trying to compare to a 1BR DVC room.

We just came back from a hotel stay at Poly and stayed in a standard lake view room. Hard to really compare that truly w the 1BR (even though that room rents for more than the 1BR).

I am essentially trying to find what type of room would best work for my “break even” spreadsheet.

Thanks for any insight!

 

[Huskerpaul]

Since we stay in studios it makes comparison to hotel room prices easier. I do the same thing with a spreadsheet tab I named "DVC ROI".

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

I’d compare it to a 1 bedroom. Www.Mousesavers.com keeps a running list of cash prices for all resorts including villas.

Example:
https://www.mousesavers.com/2023-polynesian-villas-bungalows-room-rates-season-dates/

 

[intamin]

I usually just go onto mousesaverrs like @Epcot Forever Forever posted above and compare it to that if it's not directly available through the website. Sometimes the website offers additional discounts for the rooms so I keep an eye out for those. If there isn't a matching room type, I give the cash stay the benefit of the doubt and use the lower cost/cheaper view room price so that way it doesn't skew towards DVC and its fair.

 

[DVCRookie2023]

I usually just go onto mousesaverrs like @Epcot Forever Forever posted above and compare it to that if it's not directly available through the website. Sometimes the website offers additional discounts for the rooms so I keep an eye out for those. If there isn't a matching room type, I give the cash stay the benefit of the doubt and use the lower cost/cheaper view room price so that way it doesn't skew towards DVC and its fair.

But are you really comparing 1BR hotel rooms? Those prices are quite high so was not sure if you just compare a “studio” hotel room vs the 1BR DVC rooms?

Incidentally even if you do you end up coming out ahead but certainly would be much quicker if you compare to a 1BR hotel room which I suppose would be a more apples to apples comparison.

 

[intamin]

But are you really comparing 1BR hotel rooms? Those prices are quite high so was not sure if you just compare a “studio” hotel room vs the 1BR DVC rooms?

Incidentally even if you do you end up coming out ahead but certainly would be much quicker if you compare to a 1BR hotel room which I suppose would be a more apples to apples comparison.

Which room are you talking about specifically? I do match the room types, I haven't seen one where there's a 1BR available to DVC but only a studio available on the cash side.

Edit: I do compare 1BR to 1BR. I don't compare 1BR to studio. Because the whole point of buying DVC is to be able to stay in the nicer accommodations for less. If you start comparing to rooms that aren't the same type.. then where do you even draw the line? I could compare a 1BR at VGF and be like oh yeah I'm not getting that good of a deal when compared to a regular room at Pop Century but the room types aren't even close in experience.

 

[DVCRookie2023]

Which room are you talking about specifically? I do match the room types, I haven't seen one where there's a 1BR available to DVC but only a studio available on the cash side.

Edit: I do compare 1BR to 1BR. I don't compare 1BR to studio. Because the whole point of buying DVC is to be able to stay in the nicer accommodations for less. If you start comparing to rooms that aren't the same type.. then where do you even draw the line? I could compare a 1BR at VGF and be like oh yeah I'm not getting that good of a deal when compared to a regular room at Pop Century but the room types aren't even close in experience.

That’s a good point. I was even coming out ahead comparing to studio rooms!

You’re very right about what you said though. We are getting DVC to stay at nicer accommodations. Thank you!

 

[CarolMN]

I compared the cost of DVC with the on site room I would book for cash if I didn't have DVC (moderate at PO). The DVC 1 Bedroom is a lot nicer, but no way would I pay that much for a room. DVC still worked out better for us, but we bought in 1999.

 

[DVCRookie2023]

I compared the cost of DVC with the on site room I would book for cash if I didn't have DVC (moderate at PO). The DVC 1 Bedroom is a lot nicer, but no way would I pay that much for a room. DVC still worked out better for us, but we bought in 1999.

Yes that’s what I did originally in my calculations. Still broke even after about 6 trips or so.

Lots of factors and permutations of course!

 

[Golfguy120]

Just closed today on my first two contracts today. Assuming 7 nights per year and average acquisition cost of $130 per point with 4% inflation of comparable room rate and dues my math basically showed the breakeven for a studio was:
Value=21 years
Moderate=8 years
Deluxe=3 years

I have a family of 5, so getting a Cars suite at Art or two value rooms as a comparable made DVC a no brainer.

 

[DVCRookie2023]

Just closed today on my first two contracts today. Assuming 7 nights per year and average acquisition cost of $130 per point with 4% inflation of comparable room rate and dues my math basically showed the breakeven for a studio was:
Value=21 years
Moderate=8 years
Deluxe=3 years

I have a family of 5, so getting a Cars suite at Art or two value rooms as a comparable made DVC a no brainer.

Did you think about a 1BR? We have a family of 4 and I am trying to shoot for a 1BR albeit we will go every other year.

Not sure how a studio would work out for our purposes.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

Did you think about a 1BR? We have a family of 4 and I am trying to shoot for a 1BR albeit we will go every other year.

Not sure how a studio would work out for our purposes.

If you’re really looking for the low baseline comparison for a 1 Bedroom it’s the All Star Music Family Suites. They have 2 rooms, 3 real beds, a dining table, 2 complete bathrooms, and a kitchenette that beats the DVC studio kitchenette (and the AoA one) with a full size fridge/real freezer combo.

I would be surprised if DVC 1 bedrooms pencil out vs the ASMu Family Suite but I haven’t done the math. The DVC 1BRs are 200-300 SQFT larger and have a real kitchen and in room laundry.

 

[Genie+]

Did you think about a 1BR? We have a family of 4 and I am trying to shoot for a 1BR albeit we will go every other year.

Not sure how a studio would work out for our purposes.

An interesting difference between DVC and cash rooms is 1BRs. For DVC generally they are twice the points of a studio and sometimes more, where cash rooms they are often only 30-50% more expensive.

 

[Golfguy120]

Did you think about a 1BR? We have a family of 4 and I am trying to shoot for a 1BR albeit we will go every other year.

Not sure how a studio would work out for our purposes.

The breakeven for a 1BR at AKL is 4 years. The rack rate for the week before Christmas is $8,025.78 which would cost 159 points (less if you can get a value 1BR). I bought 175 AKL points at $112 adding annual fees my cost per point is $12.45. So my DVC cost for the same week is $1,978.76.

A family suite at Art of Animation for the same week is $4,954.50 so the breakeven would be 6 years.

If you plan to go every other year than you should probably double the breakeven numbers. Also keep in mind that going every other year means you will probably buy a smaller contract which means you might have to pay a little more per point.

 

[dez1978]

Well now I want to go back and see what the rack rate would have been for my stays since I bought DVC. Is there somplace you can see historical prices?

 

[RoseGold]

The room I used for this in my spreadsheet was AoA family suite. It went up far more than I expected. The room that didn't was Swolphin.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

The room I used for this in my spreadsheet was AoA family suite. It went up far more than I expected. The room that didn't was Swolphin.

The Skyliner addition completely destroyed the rate structure for Pop and AoA. In any case the All Star Music Family Suite upgrades in the last Reno have made it just a flat out better room than AoA.

 

[Best Aunt]

If I want to compare, I look at the rack rate (non-discounted cost if making a cash reservation through DisneyWorld.com) for the unit I booked. I think that's the only way to compare apples to apples. If I'm booking a 1-bedroom at a particular resort on points, I look at what it would cost to pay cash for that 1-bedroom.

For a studio, you probably could compare the cost of a regular hotel room. Maybe. For example, at Beach Club Resort, would you price out standard view, garden view or water view? (Assuming those are even the views).

 

[Sandisw]

When we bought, we went for 5 nights a year, most of the time....what we realized is that we could buy enough DVC points to stay 5 nights in a 1 bedroom for the same amount as our yearly room budget, given the 35% discount we were averaging for the CR....so, while it would not necessarily save us money if we did this, we were getting a larger room for the same price for our family of 5.

We then looked at how many points we would need to buy to just do 5 nights in a studio and used that as our main comparison for 'break even'....and at that time in 2009, if we could hold until 10 years, we could give itt away for free...we bought BLT...and have spent no more than our cash stays.

If we had to sell before then, and sold at 50% of what we paid, we only had to hold for 5 years....so it made sense because we knew we would be doing WDW for a long time...

 

[crisi]

I don't compare them. DVC doesn't offer housekeeping. Its cancellation policies are far inferior. DVC studios have a pullout couch (usually) rather than two beds. DVC and hotel rooms are comparing oranges to apples.

IF DVC fits your needs (and the cancellation policy is a big deal, as well as availability, as is needing to be on site, as is making Disney resorts a primary travel destination - that's where its really falling down for us currently, but we've owned 20 years and don't really care any longer about maximizing value) and you can be disciplined in your use, DVC studios will save you money over Deluxe and likely moderate hotel rooms. But they have to meet your needs. And if you are baking apple pie - oranges just won't work. On the other hand, if you are looking for your fruit serving, an orange works just as well.