Have time to help a DVC point renting newb?

momlificient

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
38
Hello,
I am thinking I would like to try to rent DVC points for a trip next May and I have some questions

1.) How do you find reputable honest people to rent from and what precautions do you take that they don't off with your cash?

2.) Do you have to pay for the whole thing up front?

3.) I would like to get a 3 br villa AKL in May of 2009, am I nuts to think that is possible? It seems like it is going to be a very popular destination. Are there any 3 br villas in existence now or only when the new building opens?

4.) Can you still use the Magical Express?

Thanks for your help in advance!
 
Some DVC owners do require payment up front, some work out payments.

I suggest checking references to see how past rentals have worked for the renter. This will tell you if the DVC owner is honest. There are numerous DVC owners that rent on the Dis.

Kidani has the 3 bedroom villas. It will be open next May. If you wanted to stay at Jambo house you would need a 2 bedroom and a studio. It is open now.

You are able to Use Magical Express. The DVC owner has to turn in your flight information.
You are able to purchase the Disney Dining Plan too, if you desire, it is paid for at check in. The DVC owner has to set this up for you.
 
How do you check references? On other boards they have little rating systems for people who buy/sell/trade. Is there such a thing here?
 
Some of yor questions are addressed in the [thread=1669863]Considering Renting from a DVC Member?[/thread] thread.

 

1.) How do you find reputable honest people to rent from and what precautions do you take that they don't off with your cash?

That becomes the trust factor......but look at the quantity of posts and try to get refferances if you can.

2.) Do you have to pay for the whole thing up front?

Some members may some may not. When we rent our points we do a 50% down at time of booking and the balance due 90 days prior to departure.

3.) I would like to get a 3 br villa AKL in May of 2009, am I nuts to think that is possible? It seems like it is going to be a very popular destination. Are there any 3 br villas in existence now or only when the new building opens?

There are grand villas available at some resorts not sure about AKV. I do know that there tends to be less of this room type so finding a member that owns at the resort you want and book before the 7 month window opens.


4.) Can you still use the Magical Express?

Most definetly......ME and DDP

Your last question there is no rating system on this forum. As I stated above a trust and comfort level has to be there on both parts. Since I've been scanning this forum there has been only a couple of instances but those are very very rare.
 
I think it will be very difficult to find an AKV owner with enough points they are willing to rent out for a GV at the 11 month booking window. Since we are already past the first 11 month booking window for next May, it will be tough to find them available too. No harm in trying though. If you can't get a GV, try for a 2 bedroom plus a studio. My suggestion would be to get all on Savanna view.
 
There will be 22 Grand Villas between Jambo and Kidani. I believe 6 of them are currently open in AKV. I would be looking to contact an AKV owner quickly as reservations should open in August for AKV owners to book Kidani.
 
Okay so another question came up when I read in the link DVC Mike posted (btw thanks!). We have small children so this means (even being mindful) we use a lot of towels and we generate a lot of garbage. Can you get extra towels if you need them? Do they really only empty the garbage only 4 days? Can you request housekeeping to retrieve it earlier?

What about pool towels? Are those another deal all together? Just get as many as you need from the pool?

Also other than a teensy kitchenette what is the difference b/t a studio and a regular room at AKL? You can rent just standard ol' rooms with DVC points right?

Thank you!
 
Okay so another question came up when I read in the link DVC Mike posted (btw thanks!). We have small children so this means (even being mindful) we use a lot of towels and we generate a lot of garbage. Can you get extra towels if you need them? Do they really only empty the garbage only 4 days? Can you request housekeeping to retrieve it earlier?
You may "rent" extra towels for $6 per pack (4 bath, 4 face, 2 hand & 1 bath mat). There is a washer and a dryer in the unit, so you may choose to wash the towels yourselves when yo need fresh ones.

You may also choose to empty your garbage yourselves in between the scheduled times. There will be places near your unit to do so.

If you want housekeeping services beyond what is provided with your stay, you may choose to pay for them. If you just want fresh towels and the trash emptied, the daily cost is $35/day requested. If you want full daily housekeeping, that's $75/day requested. Prices listed are for the Grand Villas. It's less for the smaller units. Arrange for the extra services by contacting housekeeping after you check in.

What about pool towels? Are those another deal all together? Just get as many as you need from the pool?
Pool towels are provided for use at the pools. The resort asks that you not supplement your unit towel needs by taking pool towels. Pool towels require special laundering.

Also other than a teensy kitchenette what is the difference b/t a studio and a regular room at AKL? You can rent just standard ol' rooms with DVC points right?

Thank you!
DVC points cannot be used to rent AKL hotel rooms. (They also cannot be used for hotel rooms at the WL, the BC or the BWI, etiher).

Yes the kitchenette is the major difference between the villa studios and the hotel rooms. The studios will have a sleep sofa in lieu of a second bed (like the hotel room).

Have fun planning.
 
Holy Canoli! $75 a day for maid service? That would totally wipe the savings off of renting DVC points. Plus $75 bucks?? To make a bed and wipe down the bathroom counter? Would much rather use that cash-ola for a disney dining experience!

It is good to know about renting towels. Do the studio units also have a washer/dryer? Does Disney provide detergent?
 
Holy Canoli! $75 a day for maid service? That would totally wipe the savings off of renting DVC points. Plus $75 bucks?? To make a bed and wipe down the bathroom counter?

It's not $75 a day for a studio.

Full Cleaning Rates:

Studio/Inn Room - $30.00 per day requested
One-Bedroom - $45.00 per day requested
Two-Bedroom - $60.00 per day requested
Three-Bedroom - $75.00 per day requested
 
Holy Canoli! $75 a day for maid service? That would totally wipe the savings off of renting DVC points. Plus $75 bucks?? To make a bed and wipe down the bathroom counter? Would much rather use that cash-ola for a disney dining experience!
Most members prefer to take care of their own units. Personally, I do not like housekeeping in my room at all. As a member, I agree that those who want the extra housekeeping services should pay for it.

It is good to know about renting towels. Do the studio units also have a washer/dryer? Does Disney provide detergent?
No, the studios do not have a washer & dryer in the unit. (Only the one bedroom and larger units do). No detergent or softening agents are provided for the studio units. The larger units get a "starter pack" that includes a one load box of Tide. If you need more, you are on your own. You're also entirely on your own if you use softening agents.

There are resort laundry rooms available for those in the studio units who wish to do laundry. There is no charge to use the machines in the DVC laundry rooms, but of course, you do need to provide your own detergent & softening agents. The laundry rooms have vending machines that have single load boxes, but I think most people bring their own laundry supplies or they buy them somewhere else after they arrive.
 
Momlificient - You've had LOTS of questions on this. I know it can be hard to wrap your hands around it. I hope I can give you help you out on getting a handle on this. :)

I've rented points three times from three different members on this board. One had many posts and the two others didn't. I went to Mousesavers to read up on how to verify owner name through county records. I did verify the two low point posters. They provided their name upfront. I had a contract for two out of three. It's very seldom you hear about being burned on this board from the rent/trade section. Not to say that it doesn't happen at all, but rarely. The odds are in your favor.

If you're looking for specific accommodations (like 3 bdrm) it's best to be very flexible with where you stay instead of being set on one resort. If there is one night that's not available then do give the owner permission to book you a cash reservation for that night (be ready to pay up front for it) and see if they would be willing to put the points on a waitlist for you. I'm not saying they will do this when they have so many people wanting to rent but it's worth a shot.

Having maid service isn't required, really. You don't have maid service at home daily, right? I promise, you won't miss having someone make your bed for you or doing quick clean ups. It's something I thought would matter to me a lot when I stayed DVC accommodations for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised. If you really can't live without it then just book one day full service housekeeping service mid-week and get the towel package.

Studios do not have washer/dryers there is a laundry room to use at no cost to you. I tote the travel size Tide and fill it up with Tide w/Downy that I get it from Target. :thumbsup2

You can find the points chart on the link below. You can't just use the back button to recalculate so do hit "calculate a new whatever yada yada" button. Calculate the points for the dates and resorts that you'd be interested in so you know what you need.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resort/dvcpoint.cfm

The best thing you can do is respond on a thread on the Rent/Trade board right now before availability is gone. You need to find someone with a large amount of points. Trying to rent between multiple owners to complete your entire stay should only be used as a last resort. But if you do have to do this then have each owner note the other reservation so you won't have to move rooms.

Be complete in your request. Give the owner at least three resort options. Have your dates spelled out for them. If you're flexible on dates then give the alternate days also. The reason to give them so much information is because they have to call MS to check availaibility. They are on hold, going through the different options w/the reservation agent, etc. This isn't online and can be time consuming.

When they do come back with availability then you should let them know right away if you're interested or not. Not getting back with them for several days may result in you losing your spot. No response to them = you've moved on. You may even want to consider giving them your phone number via e-mail so when they have something you can confirm it and get it booked.

Be ready to pay via Paypal. It's the payment of choice.

Keep in mind there are stricter cancellation policies unlike booking direct with Disney. You'll typically have a 30-90 day window. I think cancellation policies with DVC have changed recently so that's why the window has such a large swing. The owner will let you know when you can cancel for a refund. It's the point of no return so to speak.

Yes, even with all of these quirks it's still a good value to rent points.
 















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