Ever been a "gap filler" off site to save $?

[clintswifeymomof4]

I also posted in Disney Families but I thought this may be a better place for it...

We're planning our first trip and I have the crazy idea that I may be able to pull off our stay cheaper (I prefer off site due to the amenities of home I prefer w/ having such a large family) if we serve as gap fillers... like stay 3 nights in 1 property then move a couple of nights to another property. Has anyone ever done this with success? Is it more trouble than it's worth?

I am trying to accomplish this with Windsor Hills properties so at least we'll be in the same vicinity- just in a different house. Thoughts? Am I crazy?

 

[TnTWalter]

I would recommend sending out a lowball offer to many owners [you can save your message in homeaway and vrbo so just keep sending it]. I did this for a WDW trip and Mexico with great success.

IMHO the gap filling idea is still going to cost you something and it will cost VALUABLE TIME.

Trish

 

[MinnieForMe]

I don't think it will save you money at Windsor Hills as most owners charge a $75 cleaning fee if you stay less than a week. Not to mention, if you have a large family, it's a pain in the neck to repack once you are settled.

I would just send a variety of owners the amount you want to pay and the length of time you want to stay and see if they bite.

We just returned from Windsor Hills and it's lovely!

I

 

[powellrj]

I agree that unless they waive the cleaning fee, you really won't save anything.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

On a first trip with 5 kids, I wouldn't do it. I'm assuming you'd have a lot of "kid gear" with kids those ages, and moving would be tedious and time consuming. It would also probably be met with resistance from all when you have to take time away from the fun at WDW to pack up and move yet again.

 

[brymolmom]

I wouldn't do it....I personally think that it would be difficult to acheive (have to find exact dates all around) - plus just for your time involved in packing up a whole house (plus all the kitchen stuff, getting ice for it to make the transition to the new place, plus the gas, etc.) would likely offset any savings you might get. And if they make you pay a cleaning fee, you'd have to pay that twice, etc.

Personally, if it was me, I would just go about 5 - 10 more minutes away from WDW and find a condo/home. If you go just 5 more minutes away you can get a huge savings a lot of the time. Depending on time of year....I would guess you could get a place for $500 - $1000 for a week.

 

[clintswifeymomof4]

Thanks for all of the replies! I am definitely going to try sending out the emails and see what I can accomplish that way. I only thought of this idea when I viewed an owner's site and they were offering such a low price with no cleaning, no extra pool heat cost, etc. for being the gap filler... and the 2 properties they had available were for our week and the houses were amazing. I'm not dead set on this idea as the time spent packing would be a pain... just trying to explore options since I'm such a newb! Thanks again!

 

[mrsklamc]

If you already have properties that are available for your dates for an amazing deal, it might be worth looking into.

When is your trip? We go during low seasons and can usually get a great deal just because there are lots of open homes.

 

[clintswifeymomof4]

We'll be going on Feb 18 through Feb 26, 2012... give or take a day or so within that time frame.

 

[Vowelmommy]

I have a friend with a large (6 kids) family, and they tried it for Disney. She hated it. they spent so much time packing and unpacking and making sure no one forgot anything that she could never relax.

 

[winniedapooh]

As the mom of 5 not so little cherubs any longer...we have done this and I can say wholeheartedly...DON'T!!! You do waste way too much time and effort doing it this way...not to mention, they get cranky and you get crankier!! I can joke about it now, but when we did it, it was not fun at all! It is not a great way to do things with a large family, especially of little ones!

Forget this idea, do as others have told you, relax, and have fun!!!

 

[MoonFaerie]

I wouldn't do it. In fact, I'm a little stressed thinking about switching from the BWI to Dolphin, and it will only be DH & I & only 1 night at BWI. But I fully admit that on vacation, I pay for convenience.

 

[mrsklamc]

In February you should be able to get a deal without moving around.

 

[humalexis]

We will be staying at Windsor Hills in June and we need to be out of the townhouse by 10am. We can't get in to the townhouse until 4pm. So if you try to do this swap you will have a large time gap to figure out what to do with all your gear. So I think you would be better off just finding one place rather than switching mid trip.

Many of the houses have better rates during the low season. Hope you can find something that works in your budget.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

We'll be going on Feb 18 through Feb 26, 2012... give or take a day or so within that time frame.

In February you should be able to get a deal without moving around.

President's Day in 2012 is February 20th.
Mardi Gras Day in 2012 is February 21st.

I'm not sure how many deals can be found that week. A LOT of schools will have that week off since both holidays fall the same week next year.

 

[clintswifeymomof4]

President's Day in 2012 is February 20th.
Mardi Gras Day in 2012 is February 21st.

I'm not sure how many deals can be found that week. A LOT of schools will have that week off since both holidays fall the same week next year.

Hence the reason we are going this week!

I'm a teacher and my husband is an Asst principal... and we have some school aged kids (and younger)... so we couldn't beat the timing... we will all be out of school for the entire week!

I've scrapped the idea of trying to hop around and just sent out a billion emails through vrbo and hoping for the best! Thanks for the input. I must have had temporary insanity... when I had my entire crew in the grocery store and almost flipped my lid today, I realized just how bad of an idea this was!

 

[JennSaint]

Hence the reason we are going this week!

I'm a teacher and my husband is an Asst principal... and we have some school aged kids (and younger)... so we couldn't beat the timing... we will all be out of school for the entire week!

I've scrapped the idea of trying to hop around and just sent out a billion emails through vrbo and hoping for the best! Thanks for the input. I must have had temporary insanity... when I had my entire crew in the grocery store and almost flipped my lid today, I realized just how bad of an idea this was!

Glad you came to your senses! lol
You will be happy with that decision! Plus with groceries to be moved etc it would have been way more work than it's worth!

 

[DawnM]

I wouldn't want to do it. It would waste precious vacation time.

Most places require a check out of 10am. Most places have a check in time of 4pm. So, you would have quite a gap of time with a full car packed up.

Also, we get better deals when we book for an entire week.

Dawn