Does it get old arguing with the "Onsite Only" crowd?

[disneysteve]

Hmm I have never heard of SkyAuction before but it's nice to see other people who chimed in who have used it because like others mentioned it didn't sound like something I would want to use. Maybe it was more the auction aspect to it

In all the times I've used Skyauction, I've never actually done any sort of auction. I always buy their vacation certificates and just book our stay.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

I was more referring to the airbnb the pp mentioned.

But I am curious. Condos are privately own, right? So if you show up and the unit is trashed or the a/c is broken, or there's a bedbug infestation, you're sol? Because I wouldn't think there's a room you can be moved to?

Hi Westcoastwild! Thankfully, we've never had an issue. But as disneysteve mentioned, you're treated just like any other guest at the resort so if an issue were to arise, contact the front desk like any other customer would do. We've rented all over the place from them, not just the WDW area. There are several different options for renting the units. They have a "Buy it Now" feature, the auctions, and Resort Vacation Certificates. Personally, we've used the vacation certificates and the auction functions. For the auction option, we don't bid if there are other bidders driving up the price, particularly in the WDW area as there is so much inventory. (Bonnet Creek is a good example, seems lots of people bid on that resort!) Generally, we just pay the fees which range anywhere from say $199-$299 plus a $1 bid. And no, you wouldn't be sol, they'd just move you to another unit or fix the issue.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

In all the times I've used Skyauction, I've never actually done any sort of auction. I always buy their vacation certificates and just book our stay.

Good to know thanks

 

[Westcoastwild]

Let me clear up some Skyauction confusion. halfpintpeggy has used the term "condo" but Skyauction is not renting condos. It is renting unused timeshare units. You aren't dealing with private owners. You are dealing with established resorts. If you show up and there is a problem with your unit, it's no different than if you check into a hotel and there is a problem with your room. They just move you to another unit. These places are never full. That's why they're willing to rent them out for such low prices. They'd rather have them in use for $50/night than sitting vacant.

Also good to know is that when you rent through Skyauction, you do NOT have to attend a timeshare sales presentation. You can if you'd like but you aren't required to.

All of that said, we have been renting timeshares, condos, townhouses, and single homes in the Disney area for nearly 30 years. We have NEVER had a bad experience. We've had some places that were nicer than others and we've had some minor issues at times, but that has happened in hotels, too. Just last month, we had a hotel room in NJ that had a broken air conditioner, for example. And most homes are managed by a local property management company. If you have any issue while you're there, you aren't stuck dealing with some far off owner. You usually just call the manager.

Ooooh. Ok. That makes a lot more sense. Didn't realize she was talking about resorts. Good to know I could turn the time share presentation dowm- hate those

 

[Westcoastwild]

Right, exactly. And if it was just me or just me and my husband, *maybe* I'd chance it...but I'm definitely not going to with my young kid with me.

Yep. Definitely on the same page there. The only time I'd rent a condo is with young children and high maintenance elders, so uh uh.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I'd also add that we have rented homes in other places, too, not just at Disney World. We rented a wonderful chalet in Stowe, VT one summer. We rented a condo in Richmond, VA a couple of years ago. And a few others, too. I've also helped friends rent places including a gorgeous condo in Waikiki where one of my coworkers spent her honeymoon. And just last weekend, my cousin rented a house in Ocean City, MD because the hotels had all hiked their prices and there were 10 of them going. It worked out way cheaper, and far nicer, for them to share a house than to get 5 hotel rooms.

I think renting homes is one of those things that seems sketchy but once you've tried it, you will likely never want to go back to staying in a plain hotel room.

I agree with Juliet- it depends on the type of vacation. I would do it in outdoorsy places, especially with a large group. Then a big part of the experience is the lodging and cooking. And also, in those areas, private rentals are probably better located than in a city. (The price hiking is also an big issue).

But everywhere else, I like a hotel. Don't really get the people who turn down mousekeeping or want to cook in their room. After all day rightseeing, all I want to do is come back to a made up room and find a cool restaurant for dinner. To each their own!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I agree with Juliet- it depends on the type of vacation. I would do it in outdoorsy places, especially with a large group. Then a big part of the experience is the lodging and cooking. And also, in those areas, private rentals are probably better located than in a city. (The price hiking is also an big issue).

But everywhere else, I like a hotel. Don't really get the people who turn down mousekeeping or want to cook in their room. After all day rightseeing, all I want to do is come back to a made up room and find a cool restaurant for dinner. To each their own!

Yup just depends. You gotta figure out what you want and weigh pros and cons. Just like onsite/offsite at Disney.

This is from a post I had a few months ago where someone was asking about where to stay in Oahu. The owner provided cookware. She also had a pack n' play if you needed it for children as well as snorkeling gear, 2 beach chairs, boogie boards, etc. Click on the attachments if you want to see just exactly why we picked that condo and decided to do a for rent by owner for that vacation

We stayed in Makaha but that is far from Honolulu in respect to the space of the island. We were actually 12 or so miles north along the coast from Aulani. We stayed in a for rent by owner condo. I'm not sure I would be the most help because our desire was to be away from the hustle and bustle and that included Honolulu and we didn't mind driving. We loved and I mean loved the condo. Ours had a queen-sized murphy bed towards the balcony and a fold out couch (forget the size) towards the front door with a partition that could close off the two spaces. Our place was in the residential part of Oahu may not be your cup of tea (understandable considering the food options and whatnot right near it) but for the privacy and the beach it was worth it.

This was our beach and most times it was under 10 people on the beach:

(The two white buildings were the condo place where we stayed at):
View attachment 228452

(To the left of our condo):
View attachment 228453

Basically directly below our condo-maybe slightly off to the right):
View attachment 228454

To the right of our condo-we mostly stayed on the beach part where our condo buildings and the taller condo building place in the first photo you see):
View attachment 228455

We spent I believe just over $1000 for 7 days there and it came with free parking. The whole complex was gated too and you had to use a key fob to get in and you had to use the key fob to get into the elevators too (so for us it felt safe). Sure a hotel would have had more traditional amenities and whatnot but it would have been extremely expensive to get a nicer hotel and for the most part you would have been in all that hustle and bustle of Honolulu which we didn't want plus parking. We got in 1 day early and spent the night at a hotel in Honolulu/Waikiki because our flight was getting in at like 10pm. The place normally rented for over $200 a night plus $25 in parking fees. We got it for just over $100 but still had to pay $25 in parking fees. We got the deal I believe on Hotwire where you don't know the name of the place but it was a hot hot deal. By the description and whatnot we knew it was the same place we had been looking at. BTW that place also had a nightclub on the floor below us so yeah we could hear music for a while but it was the cheapest we could find (aside from a hostel where you share a room with other strangers). It wasn't bad but not a place I would want to spend more than a night or two even with the close walking distance to right at the heart of Waikiki stuff.

So yeah it really does depend on type of vacation and place.

 

[disneysteve]

I agree with Juliet- it depends on the type of vacation. I would do it in outdoorsy places, especially with a large group. Then a big part of the experience is the lodging and cooking. And also, in those areas, private rentals are probably better located than in a city.

I should clarify my comment. I didn't mean that I'd never stay in a hotel. We stay in hotels all the time. Renting a home is just such a nice way to travel. We do it when it makes sense for the destination. We like to visit city destinations and renting a home often lets you feel more like a local than staying in a hotel.

And we are those people who decline housekeeping when we're in a hotel. As long as they bring us fresh towels, we're good. I don't need someone to make my bed for me. Actually, sometimes Marriott has a deal where if you skip housekeeping, they give you extra reward points. We've done that a couple of times.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Also, last minute just isn't feasible in our lives. It takes 2-3 months advance notice minimum to get vacation time at work and a good 4-6 weeks to set up plans for all my critters.

Skyauction can sometimes offer deep discounts quite far out from your travel date, too.

My son was able to snag a 2 bedroom, 2 bath villa at Sheraton Vistana Resort via Skyauction for September 2017 all the way back in early February. He only paid $320 for the week (which is about 1/3 of what owners pay for maintenance fees......so an INCREDIBLE deal). That same week is now up to more than $700 on Skyauction. I can't imagine that you'll EVER get SVR lower than what he paid. So, its just a reminder that the best deals aren't always last minute.

 

[mckennarose]

This is always a hot topic in my family as we have several members who own DVC and we like to stay offsite. We travel as a bigger group every other year (just came back from another trip to WDW with extended family on Sunday) and I have some observations and experiences made by me and some of my DVC family, who have either stayed with us or visited our resort.

First, we always have way more room in our offsite condos. We like to stay at the Marriott Sabal Palms and you can't beat the size of the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condos with full kitchen, washer and dryer, living room and dining room. This trip, half our family stayed in a lock off in BLT and it was very small in comparison. We initially were going to stay with them as well, but extended our dates and stayed the entire time offsite.

The pools at Disney resorts always seem to be super crowded.

Many of our DVC family like to drive to the parks, rather than rely on Disney transportation. Just this trip alone, some of them got delayed as much as an hour taking the monorail to Epcot (twice!) where we were waiting for them. The exception to this is when they stay at BLT or the Contemporary and can walk easily to MK, which is the most pain to get in and out of. Even if our DVC family flies to FL, they will rent a car because they hate the buses.

Cost: this is a biggie and I don't know how other DVC owners do it, but the dues/fees alone can be a burden. This is a public message board so I won't put too much personal info here, but one of our family members bought in last year and their adult children all help them pay the dues, which is a hefty amount. The downside for them is that they all stay together and some have to resort to sleeping on pull-outs when they go. That may not seem to be a big deal, but for the cost of one of those adult children's share of the dues/fees over the year, they could stay at an offsite resort for two full weeks and sleep in a bed. But...and this goes with that idea of pressure from staunch on-siters... (some of which are our family members), "you can't stay in Disney without staying on-site". So they bought in when they probably shouldn't have. I also have a friend who maxed out a credit card a few years ago to "do Disney" and is still paying her trip off.

I am grateful for options. If people want to stay on-site, go for it. Same if you want to stay off-site. I'm sharing my experience and I don't judge if someone wants to stay on or off site. I just don't like the pressure (which I've seen and experienced first hand) or the other arguments in favor of onsite (transportation, who needs a kitchen?, you're only sleeping in the room so you don't need more than a bed, you won't get any good fastpasses at 30 days). Everyone has their own priorities for vacation and there's no wrong way to do Disney. We had another great Disney vacation staying off-site and are already planning our next one. The amount of money we save allows us to do more, like the Star Wars Dessert Party, ROL dining package, Rose and Crown for Illuminations. That's the way we like to vacation at Disney and we enjoy going back to a quiet, spacious resort to swim in a pool that is never crowded. That relaxing down-time is important to us.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Ooooh. Ok. That makes a lot more sense. Didn't realize she was talking about resorts. Good to know I could turn the time share presentation dowm- hate those

Yes sorry, I was talking about resort condos. And I'm with ya - we have never gone to a time share presentation.

 

[Westcoastwild]

This is always a hot topic in my family as we have several members who own DVC and we like to stay offsite. We travel as a bigger group every other year (just came back from another trip to WDW with extended family on Sunday) and I have some observations and experiences made by me and some of my DVC family, who have either stayed with us or visited our resort.

First, we always have way more room in our offsite condos. We like to stay at the Marriott Sabal Palms and you can't beat the size of the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condos with full kitchen, washer and dryer, living room and dining room. This trip, half our family stayed in a lock off in BLT and it was very small in comparison. We initially were going to stay with them as well, but extended our dates and stayed the entire time offsite.

The pools at Disney resorts always seem to be super crowded.

Many of our DVC family like to drive to the parks, rather than rely on Disney transportation. Just this trip alone, some of them got delayed as much as an hour taking the monorail to Epcot (twice!) where we were waiting for them. The exception to this is when they stay at BLT or the Contemporary and can walk easily to MK, which is the most pain to get in and out of. Even if our DVC family flies to FL, they will rent a car because they hate the buses.

Cost: this is a biggie and I don't know how other DVC owners do it, but the dues/fees alone can be a burden. This is a public message board so I won't put too much personal info here, but one of our family members bought in last year and their adult children all help them pay the dues, which is a hefty amount. The downside for them is that they all stay together and some have to resort to sleeping on pull-outs when they go. That may not seem to be a big deal, but for the cost of one of those adult children's share of the dues/fees over the year, they could stay at an offsite resort for two full weeks and sleep in a bed. But...and this goes with that idea of pressure from staunch on-siters... (some of which are our family members), "you can't stay in Disney without staying on-site". So they bought in when they probably shouldn't have. I also have a friend who maxed out a credit card a few years ago to "do Disney" and is still paying her trip off.

I am grateful for options. If people want to stay on-site, go for it. Same if you want to stay off-site. I'm sharing my experience and I don't judge if someone wants to stay on or off site. I just don't like the pressure (which I've seen and experienced first hand) or the other arguments in favor of onsite (transportation, who needs a kitchen?, you're only sleeping in the room so you don't need more than a bed, you won't get any good fastpasses at 30 days). Everyone has their own priorities for vacation and there's no wrong way to do Disney. We had another great Disney vacation staying off-site and are already planning our next one. The amount of money we save allows us to do more, like the Star Wars Dessert Party, ROL dining package, Rose and Crown for Illuminations. That's the way we like to vacation at Disney and we enjoy going back to a quiet, spacious resort to swim in a pool that is never crowded. That relaxing down-time is important to us.

Re: relatives and dues:

It's been my experience that the people who have time shares don't get their money's worth. The only people I personally know that make it work have both a big family and were given the time shares by grandparents. And they make it work with their interests and tastes. It pays off because they do require a kitchen and they do prefer a certain style of lodging amenities wise. I do not. I love unique boutique hotels, for example, and that's a big part of a holiday for me.

So DVC doesn't really interest me- because it's like a time share that induces you to spend even more that dues. Park tickets, merchandise, dining- at a premium Disney price but not at quality of a vacation you could get at the same price. I also agree that there's no wrong way to do Disney, and depending on who is going with you, your way might vary drastically.

Anyway....I always want to vacation with family but I don't like the pressure and expectations that come with it. So I do it fairly rarely. I feel for your friends!