Do you have to be a DVC member to rent points?

[Kluhxrenay]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are interested in joining DVC but I've been seeing people mention renting DVC points. How does this work and how do you book a stay with someone else's points? How does a contract get started and do you use the amount it would cost for a hotel room per night as the amount of points? So confused.Please help!

Thanks!

 

[Lorajo]

Yes, anyone can rent points and its a great way to get an idea of how DVC works. We rented 4-5 times over 7 years before deciding DVC was for us.

I would read all the FAQ info on David's DVC Request website. He is a broker who help facilitate renting points. Even if you don't rent through him, reading through his site will answer some of your questions.

 

[MAO]

You're basically renting someone else's "home" - even though they themselves share it with other people. So think of it that way and I think it makes it easier to understand.

You can deal directly with the "home" owner -- there's a sub board here on Disboards, under the Disney Vacation Club board, that is specifically for renting. Be sure to check out the stickies at the top where they talk about contracts and rules, etc.

You can deal with a middleman, like David's, who will then talk directly with the "home" owner. It's up to you.

My understanding is that there is going to be a subset of "owners" who, for whatever reason, don't want to stay in their "home" at the time you want to go. Some of them will be amenable to dealing with you directly; some of them will go through David's to help them; and some of them will ultimately just let those points expire. I doubt there's much overlap between the categories, so you might want to investigate both the board here on Disboards and contact a broker like David's to see where your best opportunities are.

As far as the price, no, generally the price you'll pay is far less than rack rates for the room. Which is a big reason there's a market for renting DVC points. I'm not sure what the going rate is -- again, a perusal of the rent/trade board here on Disboards as well as a quick scan of a site such as David's will give you an idea of prices. Be aware that DVC has several qualifiers that affect the price (in points) of a room -- there are about 5 different seasons throughout the year, the size of the room will change the cost, the view of the room (parking lot, theme park, pool, etc.) is reflected in the cost, the actual resort you want, and the days of the week you stay (Friday and Saturday nights cost more than the other days of the week) are all factors to consider when trying to compare costs. So if you see a listing for "$9 a point" from one person and "$150 a night" from another person, you'd need to know if they were for the same resort, size room, time of year, view, and days of the week to see how they compared. Even if you're told that both are 15 points a night, that might be because one is a studio while the other is a one-bedroom, or one is during Christmas while the other is in January, etc. So, when you start comparing, keep in mind resort, dates, room size, days of week, and view.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC is a timeshare. Just like other timeshares, non-owners can rent an owner's reservation. That's what you are doing when you "rent points". The points are worthless to a non-owner, but the reservation is priceless.

 

[crisi]

Do understand its a timeshare room you are renting, not a hotel room. There are differences - some in logistics (for example, expect a DVC rental to be final from the moment you pay) and some having to do with your stay (almost all DVC studios - i.e. hotel room sized rooms - are a queen bed and a full pullout, there is no daily housekeeping).

So while its a significant savings over a Disney hotel room, it isn't quite an apples to apples comparison and you should understand what you are getting before you make the commitment.

 

[paigemitchell859]

All the "rentals" are deluxe category, correct?

 

[chalee94]

My husband and I are interested in joining DVC but I've been seeing people mention renting DVC points. How does this work and how do you book a stay with someone else's points?

you don't. you contact an owner who books the reservation and you pay for that reservation based on the number of pts they used. DVC stays tend to book up earlier than hotel stays and some room types at some resorts during certain times of the year book up immediately at 11 months out.

the pts wouldn't do you any good as a non-owner, since the DVC reservation center ("member services") will not speak to a non-owner. the DVC owner will still own the reservation until you check in.

How does a contract get started and do you use the amount it would cost for a hotel room per night as the amount of points?

you buy a DVC contract by paying upfront (say $90 per pt for a resale contract plus around $500 in closing costs). then you also pay annual dues of $6-ish per point per year (depends on the resort and usually increases a bit each year).

you can then use the points to book a DVC villa at 11 months out at your home resort or 7 months out at another resort (if there is availability).

there are point charts linked at the top of the screen and there is a DVC resource thread stickied at the top of each DVC forum with info on expiration dates and historical dues per resort.

 

[chalee94]

All the "rentals" are deluxe category, correct?

all the DVC rentals are through individual DVC owners and not with disney directly. (so disney cancellation policies do not apply and if disney is running specials for free dining or 30% off, those do not apply to DVC rentals.)

all the DVC rentals are for the "deluxe villa" category. which means that studios have a kitchenette but only one "real" bed with a pullout sofabed (except for OKW which has 2 queens). and when you rent from a DVC owner, you do not get daily housekeeping, as stated.

you cannot stay at the GF with a DVC rental (well, you can but it would cost a lot more than renting directly with disney). if you rent DVC, you would be staying at the VGF section only.

the locations for the "deluxe villas" can be really nice: walking to epcot from the BWV or BCV, walking to the MK from the BLT... but it's still a very different experience overall than staying in the BWI, BC or contemporary resorts.

 

[crisi]

All the "rentals" are deluxe category, correct?

Disney has a number of different types of units available. The ones you are most familiar with are Value, Moderate and Deluxe. Villas are a different category. They often share space with the Deluxe hotels (e.g. the Villas Grand Floridan shares lobby space and pools with the Grand Floridian), but they are owned and managed by a different subsidiary arm of Disney, the rooms are different, and the terms are different when staying on points.