DVC Rental Question

[DidneyWorlLover77]

Hello all! Let me start off by saying, I've been going to Disney World since I was two years old. I'm twenty-four now and have managed to see Disneyland twice, even though I live on the other side of the country. Disney has and will always be a huge aspect of my life, even my tattoos are Disney themed. With all that being said, I didn't start planning my own trips until two years ago. I also just found out about DVC rentals about a month ago, which is crazy to me. I love what I know about it so far, but I was wondering if some of you could tell me how it works? What are the pros of renting DVC points? Should I rent directly through the owner or use a third party website?


Any information will be greatly, greatly appreciated and I look forward to reading your responses!!

 

[RobDoc]

Since the DVC Rent/Trade Board is not a discussion forum, this has been moved to a forum more appropriate for some good answers.

You might also want to review the suggestions in the REQUIRED READING thread pinned at the top of the DVC Rent/Trade board.

 

[zavandor]

Renting DVC points is a great way to save money, but there are drawbacks.
The biggest one is that the reservation is not flexible at all. If you need to cancel or move your vacation you'll loose everything, in most cases.
The second is that you're renting a reservation booked by an owner, he'll remain in control of it. There have been very few cases or scams or problems (like an owner not paying the dues and the reservation being cancelled by MS). You have to be happy with that level of risk. Using a broker decreases the risk a bit, but costs more than renting directly.

 

[mjdis17]

The biggest pro to renting DVC points is simply that it is a way to stay at deluxe resorts for significantly lower prices than if you had gone through Disney, even with a room discount. You also will get free parking at the resort if you have a car (normally $25/day otherwise), and have the ability to book 1, 2 and 3 bedroom villas which is great if you're traveling with a large party. The biggest cons, however, are that your dates are locked in - you cannot change your dates or resort, technically the owner of the points can change the reservation and scam you (though I'd say it's unlikely), and you do not get daily housekeeping.

Whether you go through an owner or a third party website, it works the same way: Each DVC owner has points at a specific resort (some people own contracts at multiple resorts, but that's not really too relevant to this) and can book a room at that specific resort 11 months out. At the 7 month mark, a DVC owner can book a room at any resort. Depending on when you are going and where you are staying this will impact how you do things as some room types sell out before the 7 month mark - for example, a Beach Club studio during food and wine. In that case, you would need to secure the booking via points from a DVC owner at the specific resort so you could reserve it between 11-7 months.

To figure out pricing, you need to look at a point chart (you can google this and find them through Disney, or David's DVC rentals has an easy to use point calculator on their website) and see how many points your stay will cost. Then, depending on where you rent you'll pay a price per point - so number of points X price per point will get you your total.

We are renting DVC points for the first time next spring for a split stay at the Polynesian and Beach Club and personally went through a broker. It's cheaper to rent directly from an owner (though price per point will vary drastically), but there is some more security with a broker. One thing I did not realize though is this: We reached out to 3 different brokers that all had waiting lists for both Polynesian and Beach Club reservations at the 11 month mark because they did not have owners with points to fulfill our requests. This surprised me only because the brokers make it seem like as long as the room is physically available your request will be fulfilled. Obviously once I thought about how rentals work and the logistics it made sense, it's just that it wasn't really "advertised" on their websites that even if a room is available they might not be able to get the points to book it. In the end we found a broker that was slightly more expensive but was able to fulfill both reservations in 3 days and seeing as this is our honeymoon trip I was glad to pay the extra money to sleep better at night knowing they were booked lol! For what it's worth, should we have booked directly though Disney it would have been 2x as much money, and even if a room discount were to come out it still would've been thousands of dollars more.

 

[Marionnette]

1. Hello all! Let me start off by saying, I've been going to Disney World since I was two years old. I'm twenty-four now and have managed to see Disneyland twice, even though I live on the other side of the country. Disney has and will always be a huge aspect of my life, even my tattoos are Disney themed. With all that being said, I didn't start planning my own trips until two years ago. I also just found out about DVC rentals about a month ago, which is crazy to me. I love what I know about it so far, but I was wondering if some of you could tell me how it works? What are the pros of renting DVC points? Should I rent directly through the owner or use a third party website?

Any information will be greatly, greatly appreciated and I look forward to reading your responses!!

How it works:

1. Choose whether to book thru an intermediary (broker) or directly thru a member.
2. Send a request for the dates, resort and type of room you wish to rent.
3. Wait for reply about availability.
4. Supply broker/owner with personal details (names, address, email, phone, ages of kids).
5. Receive confirmation that reservation has been secured.
6. Link reservation in MDE.
7. Send money.
8. Wait for trip.

In some cases, the order can change. A broker or owner may want a deposit before even looking for a rental. This is more common with brokers than owners.

Payment terms vary. Some brokers require full payment from the beginning. Some allow for installment plans. Owners are all over the place with their terms.

Most reservations cannot be canceled without some sort of penalty. One broker builds a cancel for any reason policy into their cost. Another will only allow cancelations under extreme situations like we had last year. Owners themselves can set their own terms and you can negotiate those terms with them.

The cheapest rooms and in-demand rooms are difficult for owners to book. AKV value and club level, BWV standard view studios. Don't expect to be able to rent them, be surprised if you can.

Popular resorts book up during the home resort booking period (11-7 months, especially studios. The period between mid-September and early January is known as Fall Frenzy and is very popular with DVC members, as are race weekends and school holidays. It's important to book during the home resort period if you want to visit during that time.

Brokers tend to cost more per point but offer a little bit more reassurance that you will not lose your money if the owner cancels your reservation (rarely happens). Owners tend to charge less per point and can be more flexible with their terms but booking directly with them requires a level of trust.

In either case, the owner retains complete control of the reservation until the day that you check in.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And if anyone sends you a message offering rental as a result of this post, please report it to admins. We have seen some scammers work that way here.

 

[crisi]

DVC rentals can save you a ton of money, but they work best if
You can plan a year in advance
Your plans are set in stone
You can commit a lot of cash up front
You can afford a non-refundable reservation
You can be a little flexible in your resort/room choice (i.e. you might want Beach Club, but if you are willing to stay at Wilderness Lodge or Boardwalk Villas, you may find points easier - for some resorts, there are more renters looking for points than owners who want to rent out - that isn't to say you shouldn't START with your first choice, just set a point at which you'll open your search)

You should also know that DVC rooms are different than a hotel room. A studio is going to have a queen bed and a pull out couch or murphy bed - and a kitchenette (except at Old Key West which has two queens). You won't get daily housekeeping. You may not get into your room until early evening, and late checkout isn't offered. DVC rooms aren't refreshed as often as hotel rooms - and may seem a little shabbier.

On firm plans, some owners will try and work with you if you need to cancel or move your dates. The problem with DVC points is that the points expire, and the room availability is tight, so even the best intentioned owner may have their hands tied on being able to do anything for you if you need to cancel.

 

[Best Aunt]

Look up the cost of the room you would have booked if you did not know about DVC rentals.

Keep in mind that DVC villas come in different sizes (studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom). The number of points required per night increases as the size of the villa increases. More points means you pay more money.

Also keep in mind that Disney often offers discounts on its hotel rooms. "Rack rate" means what Disney would charge for a room if there were no discount on it.

So if you thinking of renting points to save money, what are you comparing?

Rack rate at Beach Club Resort versus renting points to stay in a Beach Club Villas studio: maybe you will save money if you rent points.

Discount at Beach Club Resort versus renting points to stay in a Beach Club Villas studio: maybe you won't save money if you rent points.

Discount at Beach Club Resort versus renting points to stay in a Beach Club Villas 1-bedroom: you probably won't save money if you rent points.

Also make sure you know the bed situation in the villa you are considering. A Beach Club Villas studio has 1 queen size bed, 1 double size sleeper sofa, and 1 pull-down bed which is smaller than a twin. It sleeps 5, but that means that people are sharing a sleep surface, and only 2 of them get a real bed. Also there is not much storage, and not much room to move around if the sofa bed is pulled out and the small bed is pulled down. For a solo traveller or a couple? It's fine. If you are planning to have 5 adults in there, it's not so fine.

 

[chalee94]

Hello all! Let me start off by saying, I've been going to Disney World since I was two years old. I'm twenty-four now and have managed to see Disneyland twice, even though I live on the other side of the country. Disney has and will always be a huge aspect of my life, even my tattoos are Disney themed. With all that being said, I didn't start planning my own trips until two years ago.

If you are decide to commit to annual/every-other-year trips to WDW and are only interested in staying onsite, you may want to wade into learning about whether owning DVC is a good idea for you.

You may not be ready to purchase at your age, but it might be worth seeing what the possibilities and risks and potential issues are...

 

[DidneyWorlLover77]

And if anyone sends you a message offering rental as a result of this post, please report it to admins. We have seen some scammers work that way here.

Thank you for letting me know about the scammers!!

 

[DidneyWorlLover77]

The biggest pro to renting DVC points is simply that it is a way to stay at deluxe resorts for significantly lower prices than if you had gone through Disney, even with a room discount. You also will get free parking at the resort if you have a car (normally $25/day otherwise), and have the ability to book 1, 2 and 3 bedroom villas which is great if you're traveling with a large party. The biggest cons, however, are that your dates are locked in - you cannot change your dates or resort, technically the owner of the points can change the reservation and scam you (though I'd say it's unlikely), and you do not get daily housekeeping.

Whether you go through an owner or a third party website, it works the same way: Each DVC owner has points at a specific resort (some people own contracts at multiple resorts, but that's not really too relevant to this) and can book a room at that specific resort 11 months out. At the 7 month mark, a DVC owner can book a room at any resort. Depending on when you are going and where you are staying this will impact how you do things as some room types sell out before the 7 month mark - for example, a Beach Club studio during food and wine. In that case, you would need to secure the booking via points from a DVC owner at the specific resort so you could reserve it between 11-7 months.

To figure out pricing, you need to look at a point chart (you can google this and find them through Disney, or David's DVC rentals has an easy to use point calculator on their website) and see how many points your stay will cost. Then, depending on where you rent you'll pay a price per point - so number of points X price per point will get you your total.

We are renting DVC points for the first time next spring for a split stay at the Polynesian and Beach Club and personally went through a broker. It's cheaper to rent directly from an owner (though price per point will vary drastically), but there is some more security with a broker. One thing I did not realize though is this: We reached out to 3 different brokers that all had waiting lists for both Polynesian and Beach Club reservations at the 11 month mark because they did not have owners with points to fulfill our requests. This surprised me only because the brokers make it seem like as long as the room is physically available your request will be fulfilled. Obviously once I thought about how rentals work and the logistics it made sense, it's just that it wasn't really "advertised" on their websites that even if a room is available they might not be able to get the points to book it. In the end we found a broker that was slightly more expensive but was able to fulfill both reservations in 3 days and seeing as this is our honeymoon trip I was glad to pay the extra money to sleep better at night knowing they were booked lol! For what it's worth, should we have booked directly though Disney it would have been 2x as much money, and even if a room discount were to come out it still would've been thousands of dollars more.

Thank you, this was very informational and I'm really thinking I'm going to rent points at some for a trip next year. I would love to stay at any of the DVC resorts and saving money while doing so is a MEGO BONUS.

 

[DidneyWorlLover77]

Renting DVC points is a great way to save money, but there are drawbacks.
The biggest one is that the reservation is not flexible at all. If you need to cancel or move your vacation you'll loose everything, in most cases.
The second is that you're renting a reservation booked by an owner, he'll remain in control of it. There have been very few cases or scams or problems (like an owner not paying the dues and the reservation being cancelled by MS). You have to be happy with that level of risk. Using a broker decreases the risk a bit, but costs more than renting directly.

I've seen some sites offering travel insurance options, like David's. Do you know anything about the DVC Rental Store? They have a cancellation policy that seems to be pretty good and so far, upon researching, I haven't seen any negative reviews.

 

[MMSM]

I've seen some sites offering travel insurance options, like David's. Do you know anything about the DVC Rental Store? They have a cancellation policy that seems to be pretty good and so far, upon researching, I haven't seen any negative reviews.

We loved DVC rental store.

 

[crisi]

I've seen some sites offering travel insurance options, like David's. Do you know anything about the DVC Rental Store? They have a cancellation policy that seems to be pretty good and so far, upon researching, I haven't seen any negative reviews.

They are charging you about $2 a point over David's to be able to get a full or partial credit depending on how far out you cancel - not get your money back. You might want to see how that compares to travel insurance, since some of the reasons to cancel (job loss for instance) mean that you'd rather have the cash, and others (like ending up in the hospital) can mean you cancel your trip less than four days out, and because using a DVC credit can be more difficult than you think it will be.