Has Anyone booked through David's Vacation Club Rentals?

[ranthony]

When renting directly through Disney rooms are taxed at 12.5% (at least this was the rate I when I was looking into all of this). However, when renting points you will not be charged tax. When rooms are several thousand $ a week through Disney taxes can really add up.

That is usually a savings that people forget to figure.

 

[ellone]

We booked our upcoming May trip through David's. I wanted to stay at BLT and that hotel didn't seem to always get the big discounts directly from Disney.
We made our request 7 months out. It took him 2 weeks to get the points for our stay.

 

[crabbygal902]

Is full payment due when the reservation is confirmed? We are looking at a 1 bedroom villa at Bay Lake Towers for next January, and the booking suggestion is well...NOW. Paying in full almost an entire year ahead of time really isn't something I can do. Maybe I'll have to stick to regular reservations, but the prices at David's site are fantastic!

 

[ellone]

Is full payment due when the reservation is confirmed? We are looking at a 1 bedroom villa at Bay Lake Towers for next January, and the booking suggestion is well...NOW. Paying in full almost an entire year ahead of time really isn't something I can do. Maybe I'll have to stick to regular reservations, but the prices at David's site are fantastic!

Yes, full payment is required when the reservation is confirmed.

If you aren't looking for a BLT room with a view you can probably wait until 7 months out.

 

[nikkistevej]

I just used them to rent out my DVC points, we wanted to stay at grand Californian for our first trip to Disneyland, but nothing available. So we rented our points out through them, got our money and are paying with cash to stay there.

 

[foreUT]

He has a minimum, i think , of 44 points to purchase. Right?

so for people going for just one or two nights, is it a good or bad idea?

(assuming 44 points costs $10 a point at the very least, is $440--- )

If you just want only a few points for those one or two nights, a better plan, imo, would be to look for a DVC owner who has a few points they forgot to bank and are willing to rent inexpensively.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Yes, full payment is required when the reservation is confirmed.

If you aren't looking for a BLT room with a view you can probably wait until 7 months out.

The easiest view to get at the BLT is supposedly the lakeview (there are more of this category than any other). But yeah, MK view can be hard to get, depending on when you're going.

 

[kiki02]

If you just want only a few points for those one or two nights, a better plan, imo, would be to look for a DVC owner who has a few points they forgot to bank and are willing to rent inexpensively.

Great idea, is there a place owners want to be rid of a few points?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Is full payment due when the reservation is confirmed? We are looking at a 1 bedroom villa at Bay Lake Towers for next January, and the booking suggestion is well...NOW. Paying in full almost an entire year ahead of time really isn't something I can do. Maybe I'll have to stick to regular reservations, but the prices at David's site are fantastic!

When in January are you going? That will make a difference as per what you can get and when you can get it. If you rent through a DVC owner, they may have a different payment scheme. The last time I rented points, she wanted half on booking and half at 31 days out. (30 days is the latest you can cancel a DVC reservation without penalty.) The DVC owner was a long-time DIS poster and sent me letters of recommendation from other DIS posters, so I felt confident about the transaction.

If you want to go through David's or the Timeshare Store, you could also purchase trip insurance - if you're willing to pay for it, there are many policies that cover almost every contingency that might arise, and you would likely still come out ahead.

 

[foreUT]

Great idea, is there a place owners want to be rid of a few points?

There is a DVC Rent Board here, on the disboards, and there are also DVC Owners who rent on other sites, too.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you just want only a few points for those one or two nights, a better plan, imo, would be to look for a DVC owner who has a few points they forgot to bank and are willing to rent inexpensively.

The problem with waiting for distressed points is that while the points may be cheap, what you want to book might not be available and those points would have to be used within the next three or so months to book anything. You can't use unbanked points to book at seven months out. Members have to bank their points no less than four months before those points expire to be able to use them during the next year.

Most members book their home resort at 11 months out and a non-home resort at seven months out to get what they want. And sometimes at seven months out, a specific non-home resort might not even be available

 

[BeachLove]

Davids is great! I use his company to rent out my points and actually plan on giving him about 200 more to rent out! Love his service for when I just can't use the whole lot of points.

 

[DCbride]

We booked last March for AKL in Nov. I have not 1 complaint! It was great, except paying ahead of time.

 

[foreUT]

The problem with waiting for distressed points is that while the points may be cheap, what you want to book might not be available and those points would have to be used within the next three or so months to book anything. You can't use unbanked points to book at seven months out. Members have to bank their points no less than four months before those points expire to be able to use them during the next year.

Most members book their home resort at 11 months out and a non-home resort at seven months out to get what they want. And sometimes at seven months out, a specific non-home resort might not even be available

Probably stated that wrong, since there are several reasons for listing points, other than not having remembered to bank. The poster wanted to only book one or two nights and did not know if the minimum points/cost would be worth the expense. I just wanted to inform the poster of other options. Over the last year, I have seen several owners offer less than 40 points for a reasonable price ($10-11 per point) that would not be considered distressed, just more points than they can use.

I have been an owner since 7/92 and it is one of the best purchases I have ever made, but making sure you have used all your banked points and/or remembered to bank your current points can be a job (which, sometimes, is a bonus for others.)

 

[crabbygal902]

When in January are you going? That will make a difference as per what you can get and when you can get it. If you rent through a DVC owner, they may have a different payment scheme. The last time I rented points, she wanted half on booking and half at 31 days out. (30 days is the latest you can cancel a DVC reservation without penalty.) The DVC owner was a long-time DIS poster and sent me letters of recommendation from other DIS posters, so I felt confident about the transaction.

If you want to go through David's or the Timeshare Store, you could also purchase trip insurance - if you're willing to pay for it, there are many policies that cover almost every contingency that might arise, and you would likely still come out ahead.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I am glad to have all of the helpful advice. We are going the week of Martin Luther King Day, arriving on the Tuesday after and leaving on Saturday. We will spend a few days before MLK at that *other* theme park!

I will start seriously saving so that we might pull together the money in time to book something at BLT through David. I trust that company with all of the positive reviews and would be a little nervous renting from individuals. We don't care much about the view, would be happy with about anything. The only requirement is a 1 bedroom.

Great idea about the trip insurance!