dvc rental (purchasing points) vs dvc booking thru disney

[disneedee]

what is the benefit of trying to rent points vs booking on line thru disney? ......(edited by mod to remove dates)........disney has the 2 bdrm available during my time period. not sure if i could get either dvc location but maybe if i get on someones wait list this far out.

 

[Sandisw]

Renting is a private transaction between you and the owner. There are pros and cons and the biggest one is that there is not a lot of flexibility.

Cancellation is much different too and in the end, it’s all about the contract and terms you agree on.

With Disney, you are dealing with them directly, and if you need to cancel or change, you have more generous terms.

You are also eligible for any of the deals that Disney has where as you are not with a rental because you are not booking with Disney.

If you are interested in renting, using a broker can give a bit of piece of mind.

 

[Chuck S]

As Sandi said, the biggest disadvantage would be the cancellation policy. DVC availability is a seperate inventory in the computer than the cash inventory, so what you see as available for cash, may or may not be available for DVC.

Renting points CAN save you money over a cash reservation, and you'd need to consider the owners use year, and so forth, as to whether they could even work with you at all on a cancellation, if needed. But if you're willing to give up some flexibility, and this is your first foray into trying out a DVC Rental, I'd recommend going through a broker on your first rental so you can kind of see how it works, then for future trips, yo can try renting directly from a DVC Owner.

For a bit more info about the process of renting directly from an owner, you may want to read through the REQUIRED READING thread on the REntal board. It is written mostly for DVC Owners, but as a potential renter, there may be som euseful info on how the DVC System works.

 

[BarlowFamily]

Agree with the posts above. After a few trips to WDW, we really wanted to try out DVC and decided to rent points/a stay through a broker, one of those point rental companies. It was a pretty easy process. We gave them our desired dates and resorts, with backup choices. The booking process was pretty simple and the communication with the company was fast. We had a great experience and realized we could save a little more money by renting directly from a DVC owner. We've rented from owners here on the boards a few times and each one has been wonderful. You can ask for references, most owners have a contract, and there are really good deals on here sometimes! The flexibility to cancel or modify your direct from Disney reservation is nice, but not a "perk" our family has ever used. I guess once we finally nail down our vacation its set in stone. If we had changed dates or canceled trips to WDW in the past, I may not feel comfortable renting points.

 

[DebbieB]

Booking through Disney gives you daily housekeeping.

 

[foodiddiedoo]

You can use discounted gift cards to pay for a room booked directly through Disney as well on top of potential Disney discounts. When I used to pay cash for DVC room rentals, I would often average 20-30% off with a discount on some nights from Disney and discounted cards from Target/Sam’s Club etc.