Pros & cons of DVC rentals

[Jennifer124]

We have a trip booked for fall break at CSR, which I am not going to alter. I'm just daydreaming about future trips. I was looking at David's DVC rentals, and I could book 7 nights at the Bay Lake Tower comparable to what we'll pay at CSR this fall (I looked at the same dates just to compare). We were hoping to book a bounceback offer for 2014 during our stay in October, but I'd like to know what y'all think about point rentals from Davids, particularly the pros and cons. Also, if you're going to rent DVC points, where would you stay? I just looked at Bay Lake Tower since one of our dreams is to stay at a resort on the monorail line.

 

[Tropics]

Getting into BLT through points can be very tough since David's currently has a shortage of BLT points available for rent. If you are going at a slower time then you might be able to get BLT at the 7 month window using points based on another home resort. One big downside is that you pay upfront for the entire stay and there are no refunds or cancellations available so you need trip insurance and you need to be fairly sure that you will be there. Another thing is that you have no real control over your reservation since the reservation is made by the DVC owner whose points you are renting and all changes must be made by the owner (and they have the freedom to change whenever they want). Because of this we went through a broker (David's) for renting points for our stay in December since we want the relative security of a middle man.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have given some points to David to use in the past. I found him very easy to work with.
The biggest con is that you can't back out. You have to be sure that you're going to go. The DVC points owner will make the reservation in your name. There can be situations (more often than not) where the owner will lose the use of those points if the 'renter' backs out. We have certain timing issues that we need to work within.
I really think there are a lot more pros than cons with renting points through a third party. You get a lot more resort than at a non-DVC resort. You get to stay at a deluxe resort for the cost of a moderate..usually. You still get to book the dining plan. You don't get daily housekeeping, but for me that's a plus. You get that kitchenette...big plus. You don't get two 'beds', you get a queen bed and a double sleep sofa. But, we have always found the sleep sofa to be comfortable.

I have told a lot of people about David's company. I feel very comfortable recommending him, and those that work with him.

 

[Missyrose]

We have a trip booked for fall break at CSR, which I am not going to alter. I'm just daydreaming about future trips. I was looking at David's DVC rentals, and I could book 7 nights at the Bay Lake Tower comparable to what we'll pay at CSR this fall (I looked at the same dates just to compare). We were hoping to book a bounceback offer for 2014 during our stay in October, but I'd like to know what y'all think about point rentals from Davids, particularly the pros and cons. Also, if you're going to rent DVC points, where would you stay? I just looked at Bay Lake Tower since one of our dreams is to stay at a resort on the monorail line.

Pros: Price break on deluxe villa locations

Cons:
*Have to book early (11 months out is sometimes necessary for fall trips if you want the resorts within walking/boating distance to the parks).

*Having to pay for the room upfront. It's a lot of money to pay for a vacation 11 months before you take it.

*Typically there are no refunds or changes allowed to DVC reservations that are rented. Availability dwindles every day you get closer to arrival, so the person you rent from likely wouldn't have the chance to re-rent those points.

*No daily housekeeping (though you can pay for extra housekeeping if you'd like)

*Person you're renting from has complete control of the reservation until you check in (the owner has to make DME arrangements for you, add any requests and if you want the dining plan, the owner has to add it and it has to be paid for in its entirety when it's added).

This will seem like a lot of "cons" but you're really getting a good deal price-wise. I rented points for an AKV stay that was almost half the price of an AP-discounted AKL room last year. But if you're looking at BLT, budget for lake view. There are very few standard view villas and they usually go very quickly at the 11-month mark. So if that's what you want, find a BLT owner well before that 11-month window opens and be willing to accept lake view if all the SV villas are gone.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

We are going to rent points for our November trip and we are going to try for a studio (Hospitality House booking) at Old Key West.

The nightly weekday points requirement for OKW is only 10 points a night and 14 points on weekends. SO if you use a broker like David's who charges $13 a point, that weeknight room will only cost you $130. About the same cost of a value room rack rate.

There is no other way to get such a good price at a deluxe resort.

If you are going to rent points through an individual you can get them for $1 or $2 a point cheaper. A lot of the private points for rent I have seen lately are charging $12 per point, just one dollar cheaper than using a broker. So in that case I am using the broker. The broker assumes some of the risk involved for the renter.

The only benefit to renting through an individual is if you make a reservation in January for a trip in November and come April you realize you really need to go in December, depending on that person's user year, they may be able to change that reservation for you depending on availability. Some owners will work with you if they can so that you can still take your vacation. Nobody wants to cheat anybody in these transactions.

However I think using a broker like David's you are told right from the beginning that you cannot change or cancel your reservation AT ALL, period. SO if you need to make a change the person who you are renting from can say NO to the change, and keep your money and still get to keep the points you paid for but can't use.

We are going to try renting this once and see how it goes for us. We are sure about our dates but I still want to wait until closer to time for our trip and try to book at about 6 or 7 months out. If something happens and we can't get what we want we will just book CSR or POR with free dining if it is offered and stay moderate.

 

[chalee94]

We have a trip booked for fall break at CSR...I just looked at Bay Lake Tower since one of our dreams is to stay at a resort on the monorail line.

a small point, but CSR has 2 queen beds and a BLT studio has 1 queen plus 1 pullout sofabed (BLT studios might also seem a bit small). works fine for couples but for 4 adult-sized people, a BLT studio would be really tight IMO.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We ...are going to try for a studio (Hospitality House booking) at Old Key West.

The nightly weekday points requirement for OKW is only 10 points a night and 14 points on weekends. SO if you use a broker like David's who charges $13 a point, that weeknight room will only cost you $130. About the same cost of a value room rack rate.
...We are going to try renting this once and see how it goes for us. We are sure about our dates but I still want to wait until closer to time for our trip and try to book at about 6 or 7 months out. If something happens and we can't get what we want we will just book CSR or POR with free dining if it is offered and stay moderate.

If you wait too long, you are not going to get that villa. You need to be booking that now. It is a very popular time with DVC members.

 

[Heather1979]

We rented from David's on this trip to BLT. When we called initially at the 11 month mark he had no points, and asked if we wanted to be put on a waitlist. We declined, and at the 7 month mark had no problem getting BLT 1 bedroom villa. We are going in May though, no idea how that compares to the fall. But it can be done. IMHO, for the price, I would've been happy staying at any of my top 5 places- it's real money you are saving. (You aren't going through all this just to save $50. Our room was 40% off what Disney was charging and BLT is hardly ever/never discounted).

Something I hardly ever see anyone say on here is that once you rent the points, you can log into the Disney system and see your reservation. It isn't a total "Hail Mary is it going to be there when I check in" type of thing. You can see your reservation in your name on the site. We did not opt for the DDP, but all of our meal ressies are also linked to our reservation and the points landlord does not have access to those. (Now if we did DDP I think they may). But at the end of the day, renting from Davids-- the papers we signed indicated that David's holds our $ until we check in, so if the landlord of the points did anything weird they wouldn't get their money.

I'm a born cynic and I was reassured after combing through the fine print.

 

[Jennifer124]

a small point, but CSR has 2 queen beds and a BLT studio has 1 queen plus 1 pullout sofabed (BLT studios might also seem a bit small). works fine for couples but for 4 adult-sized people, a BLT studio would be really tight IMO.

Good point. Even a year and a half from now our kids would still be relatively small, but still. This sounds ideal for the adults-only trip I want to take but can't talk my husband into (too much guilt over going to Disney without the kids).

 

[Deb & Bill]

...But at the end of the day, renting from Davids-- the papers we signed indicated that David's holds our $ until we check in, so if the landlord of the points did anything weird they wouldn't get their money.

I'm a born cynic and I was reassured after combing through the fine print.

The owner gets half when they make the reservation, the other half after the vacation starts.

 

[nkereina]

Pros: Price break on deluxe villa locations

Cons:
*Have to book early (11 months out is sometimes necessary for fall trips if you want the resorts within walking/boating distance to the parks).

*Having to pay for the room upfront. It's a lot of money to pay for a vacation 11 months before you take it.

*Typically there are no refunds or changes allowed to DVC reservations that are rented. Availability dwindles every day you get closer to arrival, so the person you rent from likely wouldn't have the chance to re-rent those points.

*No daily housekeeping (though you can pay for extra housekeeping if you'd like)

*Person you're renting from has complete control of the reservation until you check in (the owner has to make DME arrangements for you, add any requests and if you want the dining plan, the owner has to add it and it has to be paid for in its entirety when it's added).

This will seem like a lot of "cons" but you're really getting a good deal price-wise. I rented points for an AKV stay that was almost half the price of an AP-discounted AKL room last year. But if you're looking at BLT, budget for lake view. There are very few standard view villas and they usually go very quickly at the 11-month mark. So if that's what you want, find a BLT owner well before that 11-month window opens and be willing to accept lake view if all the SV villas are gone.

This is a good summary. Additionally, if you want the dining plan, you have to rely on the owner to add that for you and you have to pay for that up front as well when they add it.

 

[Sparkly]

We found a studio at Kidani to be very cramped for three adults. Not much space when the sofa bed was out. At least we had the balcony. We couldn't have managed more then a night or two.

But I would recommend renting DVC points anyway- you get to stay at awesome resorts for moderate pricing.

 

[wdwfan757]

Just did a split stay (WLV and BWV) off two david's reservations and it went without a hitch. It was only two of us, so the space of a studio wasn't a problem. We went in January though, so it wasn't too hard to get what we wanted.


Pros:
PRICE!/LOCATION! Staying at a deluxe location for the price of a moderate was the big deal-maker for us. With the exception of our day at animal kingdom (which was also the day we switched lodging), we didn't end up taking a single bus. We picked WLV over BLT because I'd always wanted to stay there when I was a kid and my mom couldn't stand the rustic theming . We're going to do a 1BR at BLT next year. It's the only DVC on the monorail and walking to the MK is the ultimate perk. So, if you're an MK junkie who also wants a convenient way to get to epcot, I'd pick it. Obviously if you're more into Epcot/HS, I'd stay at BWV or BC. So much easier to walk back after illuminations/fantasmic than to fight crowds on transit.

The people at david's are really helpful. We gave them our top 3 choices, told us we wanted to a split stay, and they showed us pretty much anything that they thought we'd be interested in. A few months later we had flights, shot them an email, and they got our DME reservations and sent the packet. They respond really quickly, which is reassuring.



Cons:
Not being able to cancel the reservation is really awkward feeling when you have to book so far out. I think it was April when we booked for January. We always go in January and we don't have kids, so we were pretty confident there wouldn't be any situations to prevent us from going, but it's still a big commitment


I'm 2/2 with them so far, and I plan to keep using them year in and year out.

 

[mmmears]

The DVC rental looks like a good deal. I just can't get past having to plan so far in advance with a no-cancellation policy and having to pay in full before our vacation starts. I understand the reasoning behind it, but that's what has prevented me from renting points.

 

[blakrose9999]

we used David's when we went in Oct 2011. We booked it the end feb/ begin march and were able to get a BCV studio during food & wine. For us it worked great we always plan our vacations far in advance and once we have our dates there is no changing due to our jobs. Having to pay it all up front wasn't that bad for us, we booked the room through David's and paid for it. Then a month or so later when we got airfare I called up David's and the easily added DME. We were also able to add the dining plan a couple months after we originally booked the stay. David's worked very well with us and were always prompt responding to calls or e-mails. I went through them and payed the couple extra dollars than going through an individual as I felt more secure with a middle man.
Anyone who is thinking about doing it I would highly recommend as we were able to stay deluxe at BCV for a couple hundred dollars less than it was gonna cost us to stay at POFQ. I would use them again except we bought into DVC ourselves and will be going with our own points.