Dvc rental...what's your experience

[jriveiro724]

 

[_auroraborealis_]

May is DVC low season. December is the highest.

 

[Pkltm]

We have booked nine nights through David's in an Animal Kingdom Value studio. We wish to add the dining plan would you recommend that buy a gift card or just pass our credit card info through Davids to the member?

 

[Marionnette]

We have booked nine nights through David's in an Animal Kingdom Value studio. We wish to add the dining plan would you recommend that buy a gift card or just pass our credit card info through Davids to the member?

Are you sure that you have a Value Studio and not a Standard View? David's doesn't even take requests for Value Studios. And if the owner was lucky enough to snag the first 7 nights for you right at 11 months, they would have had to call back to add the additional nights because owners can only book 7 consecutive nights right at 11 months.

As for the GC vs. giving David's your CC #, that would be up to David's. If they offer you a choice, just be aware that they will forward that info to the owner. It's the owner who makes the arrangements for the dining plan. You're already trusting that owner with your reservation. Do you also trust them with your CC info?

 

[Pkltm]

Are you sure that you have a Value Studio and not a Standard View? David's doesn't even take requests for Value Studios. And if the owner was lucky enough to snag the first 7 nights for you right at 11 months, they would have had to call back to add the additional nights because owners can only book 7 consecutive nights right at 11 months.

As for the GC vs. giving David's your CC #, that would be up to David's. If they offer you a choice, just be aware that they will forward that info to the owner. It's the owner who makes the arrangements for the dining plan. You're already trusting that owner with your reservation. Do you also trust them with your CC info?

Yes I am sure, I am actually currently looking at MDE on my phone, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge-Jambo House- Studio-Value Oct 2-11

We requested it about a week before the 11 month date, David's secured the reservation two days after the 11 months opened for the second, got all nine nights together. We realize that we are very lucky to have secured this, we were flexible and would of taken other options if this one was not available.

David's does offer to add the dining plan, we just have to call them and provide them with a credit card or gift card number. As we are not members I am not sure what would be easier or allowed, if we have two gift cards as the total is $1668. We clearly trust this owner with the reservation and we have a contract with David's and them, but I think it is natural to be concerned about giving someone our credit card number, plus we live in Canada so Disney gift cards aren't as easy to come by.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Hmmm, it's been several years so I'm sure the rates have increased and I don't remember exactly what time of year we stayed but I want to say we were in the mid to high $200 range per day for a one bedroom at SSR. I'm fairly certain in wasn't summer, we only recently started scheduling trips in summer. Is a 50% discount fairly standard when renting points? If so that does seem better than the typical seasonal or AP discount rates. Thanks! I'll have to look into this - especially since we are moving not far from WDW property, we would still like to do some on-property trips but those will be hard to justify unless we can get a really amazing rate!

We once rented a one bedroom at Saratoga Springs through WDW directly. We ended up getting upgraded to a 2 bedroom due to lack of one bedrooms being available. I have heard that you absolutely will not get upgraded if you are staying on points. We got an excellent deal for our one bedroom. It was only slightly more expensive (I think only around $100 more for the entire 9 day day trip) than the POR Royal Guest Room we had originally booked and we decided to go with the extra room. So yes, we got a pretty excellent deal, much like what it sounds like you are talking about.

We have also rented points through David's and absolutely recommend it to anyone. We were able to stay in a 2 bedroom preferred studio in December for 5 days for $2,488. It was a pretty sweet deal.

If you look on their website, you can see what different rooms cost and compare that to booking through Disney directly. If you book a 2 bedroom for SSR for December 6-10 through Disney, it will cost $3,294 (turnkey). Through David's, that same room is $2,048. For those same dates, A standard studio at Boardwalk Villas through Disney would cost $1,971. Through David's it would run you $736. To compare, a standard room at Pop Century would run you $582.76. None of the moderates are available for me to price compare, but for less than $200 more than the cheapest of value rooms, you would get deluxe accommodations. Pretty sweet deal.

 

[EdmondD]

I've rented points (or reservations or whatever) four separate times, each time in the dangerous, wild west of random message boards. I post what I'm looking for and I get responses. I email with the owners, get references, check their name against the property records, come to an agreement, press the PayPal button, and close my eyes and hope for the best. Never had a problem.

Typically have paid about $230 a night for a studio, at Beach Club and Boardwalk.

One person asked for full payment within 30 days, another asked for 50 percent and then two installments for the remainder. It varies.

NR (Not Retired)

 

[sbbobe]

We once rented a one bedroom at Saratoga Springs through WDW directly. We ended up getting upgraded to a 2 bedroom due to lack of one bedrooms being available. I have heard that you absolutely will not get upgraded if you are staying on points. We got an excellent deal for our one bedroom. It was only slightly more expensive (I think only around $100 more for the entire 9 day day trip) than the POR Royal Guest Room we had originally booked and we decided to go with the extra room. So yes, we got a pretty excellent deal, much like what it sounds like you are talking about.

We have also rented points through David's and absolutely recommend it to anyone. We were able to stay in a 2 bedroom preferred studio in December for 5 days for $2,488. It was a pretty sweet deal.

If you look on their website, you can see what different rooms cost and compare that to booking through Disney directly. If you book a 2 bedroom for SSR for December 6-10 through Disney, it will cost $3,294 (turnkey). Through David's, that same room is $2,048. For those same dates, A standard studio at Boardwalk Villas through Disney would cost $1,971. Through David's it would run you $736. To compare, a standard room at Pop Century would run you $582.76. None of the moderates are available for me to price compare, but for less than $200 more than the cheapest of value rooms, you would get deluxe accommodations. Pretty sweet deal.

Incorrect information you have received concerning not getting an upgrade if staying on points. Twice we have had a studio rented and have been upgraded to a one bedroom. Neither time we requested the upgrade but received a little pixie dust upon check in.

 

[Miffy]

OP, If you're still reading . . . I think the main difference between renting points and booking directly through Disney is the set-in-stone nature of renting. It's something I never really considered, but a couple of years ago, I had to change my WDW reservations three times in a row since we were prevented from traveling during a blizzard. Had I rented points, I would not have been able to change the dates. Perhaps if I had trip insurance this would have covered this eventuality (I've never had to use trip insurance for something like this, so I don't know), but, as it was, we were able to rebook the trip through Disney. It was easy and it worked. And we got to go. If we'd rented points, we wouldn't've gone, since 3 or 4 nights of the original booking were spent at home waiting for the snowstorm to end. And even if we had gotten some kind of refund from trip insurance, if that's possible, it would have been money but not a trip.

Another factor to consider is: What happens if you have to cut your vacation short? This has also happened to me before, when I got sick at WDW and wanted nothing more than to be at home instead. Yeah, I felt that bad! At any rate, we were able to check out several days early and we did not have to pay for the room (we had a RO reservation) for the nights we didn't use.

Of course, these are unusual circumstances. But unusual circumstances do happen. Because of my experiences, I no longer book with Orbitz, despite the ability to stack discounts, since you have little flexibility there as well, and I would never rent points, even though I'm often attracted to the great savings.

When you book direct and have a RO reservation, you can cancel up to 5 days before for a full refund, or, at worst, be charged for only 1 night if you end up having to cancel at the last minute. And you won't get charged for unused nights if you have an emergency and have to check out early. I prefer it this way, but I totally understand the allure of renting points.

There are other advantages to booking through WDW, like daily housekeeping (although many people don't care about this), and something that I rarely see discussed on the boards, which is that if you check in and you're unhappy with your room for some (or any) reason, when you book through WDW, you're free to speak to the front desk--it's your reservation not someone else's--and try to get things satisfied/changed/rearranged/rectified, etc. Let's say I check into Resort X and I've never stayed there before and I'm unhappy with it (for whatever reason). If I booked through WDW, I can at least attempt to change things, move to another resort, another room, another something. Yes, it might not work out, but at least I can try. If one has rented points, this couldn't be done. Just some things to consider.

I'm not advocating booking directly through WDW. I'm just describing why I personally prefer it this way.