Purchasing vs. Renting at VGC

[ELMC]

Hey all you left coasters, this question's for you.

The whole rent vs. buy conversation is very interesting and is very applicable to the WDW DVC resorts. However, I am wondering how this conversation changes when it comes to VGC. Has anyone ever seen VGC points for rent? In your experience, do you need to own VGC in order to reliably be able to book a reservation there every other year?

 

[bumbershoot]

I have seen people on the DLR board who have rented. I have also seen people who have rented before but couldn't get another rental later on.

I have no interest in the Grand (it's just not my style, and is very dark to my eyes), so we bought Bay Lake, but if I did want to routinely stay at the Grand, you bet I would buy there. I wouldn't want to leave it up to chance at all. Too few units to assume you'll find someone to rent from time after time.

 

[zavandor]

It's a small resort and I've monitored it for a few months now to see the availability at 7 months for a studio, because I'm planning a vacation in 2014 at DL and I want a general idea on when I can find something.

I've seen availability at 7 months, except for the summer, when it was very few, just a few days here and there. However DL needs less days than WDW to enjoy it, so even 3 or 4 nights can be good.
I also saw availability for the Easter week (not that I want to go there during high season). I don't know for Christmas, yet.
But availability at 7 months disappeared just a few hours, sometimes minutes, after the 8am.
So my conclusions are that it's not impossible to book at 7 months, but needs flexibility and fast reflexes.

If you are not flexible with your dates and you don't want to stress out, you need points at the VGC. I've seen a few times points for rent, but they often go for a premium (the only points I've seen on the rent board at 13$pp are VGC points) and I've read posts about people having to go to a WL with David as well for points there. However I'm not really interested in renting so this can be not completely true.

 

[cel_disney]

I had a trip planned for Sept 2013 and my dates were not THAT flexible. I didnt want to risk not getting in. I had done some monitoring of the 7 month window and it was not pretty... There are no where near the availability as other resorts for rental options, but I found someone who was very easy to work with and I actually managed to do a transfer intead of a rental which was what I really wanted so that I would have the control to make changes. I ended up transferring 2012 points, banking them to 2013 and making my reservation.

I have read stories of others getting rentals thru David's before the 7 month window so he must have some VGC point renters in his system as well...(this was my backup plan if I couldnt find anything myself!)

 

[boiseflyfisher]

Probably more detailed than you want, but here it goes:

If renting right at the 7 month window, you have to find a member to get online right when the booking window opens. If they wait even an hour, you may be shut out on the days you want. The real key is that you have to be flexible. If you are looking at less than 7 months out, it is going to be VERY hit or miss. For example, just for grins I looked at February. There are only two nights available and they are not consecutive. We booked our 1br for June at 8 months. I looked 15 minutes after the window opened at 7 months and it was totally booked.

I have seen VGC points for rent, but like PP said, they go for a higher amount if you are looking to use their advanced booking window. Once you are in the 7 month timeframe, all points are equal and they should be market price. Under 7 months it doesn't matter who you rent from as anyone can book VGC for you.

We own there and it has been interesting to watch how the demand has gone up over the years. We used to be able to book last minute getaways fairly often. Now it is almost impossible to get two nights together in any months. You said that you wanted to "reliably" book every other year. My advice is to buy there if that is your need. Then you can "reliably" book as long as you are booking in advance of the 7 month window.

We have never rented out points, but do use them at other resorts. Next time we trade out to WDW, I might consider selling or transferring my points for $13 per point and turn around and buy points for $10 as our WDW vacations are usually booked less than 7 months out.

Not sure if that helps, but thought I would give you perspective from my experience at owning VGC.

I thought of something else. It also depends on what type of unit you want. There are only 23 studio and one bedroom units. Studios are always the first to go as they are the cheapest point requirement. In comparison to most WDW studios VGC cheap isn't cheap.

 

[bwvBound]

Hey all you left coasters, this question's for you.

The whole rent vs. buy conversation is very interesting and is very applicable to the WDW DVC resorts. However, I am wondering how this conversation changes when it comes to VGC. Has anyone ever seen VGC points for rent? In your experience, do you need to own VGC in order to reliably be able to book a reservation there every other year?

I haven't been watching the VGC rental space but in general, I'd say, "Yes, you need to own VGC points in order to reliably book reservations."

The key in that requirement is your definition of 'reliably.' I'm assuming you intend to choose your dates ahead of the 7 mos window, will stay at least three nights, and are seeking reasonable assurance of getting those exact dates in a unit size not more than 1 category higher than your request.

FWIW, we enjoy annual-or-better success using our SSR points at VGC. However, being left coasters, we don't plan the trip more than 8 weeks from travel and typically stay only 2 nights over a weekend. We don't choose the dates, but will stalk inventory to find 'anything available.' This technique offers 2BR units more often than studio or 1BR units. More than once, the GV is the only unit available. (Ouch! too many points for my taste!) We've also had success via the waitlist but that doesn't support the 'reliable' criteria.

As left coasters, we determined that our travel pattern of near-term booking negated any benefit of owning at VGC. It will be interesting to see if others made a similar decision?

 

[moose615]

It really depends on who you find, I am a DVC member and not at VGC, I had set dates in Oct and lucked out and found a member renting VGC points at 11pp , so I rented out my points for the same amount and rented his, of course, I wish I had control over my reservation but I didn't want to risk not getting my set dates, so it's really up to your choice and comfort level, if I was planning on going on more then just this trip in Oct I would look into buying VGC but we are mainly WDWers so wasn't right for us

 

[utahkennedys]

We bought at GCV because we knew it would be tough, if not impossible, to book what we wanted there at the 7 month window. So far this has proved correct. We are always able to book at OKW (our other home resort) at 7 months if we want to using GCV points, but there are so few rooms available at GCV.

 

[Magic3forme]

we stayed there last Nov. ( Sun-Tues ) before Thanksgiving. I did book right at 7 mos, but it wasnt a problem.

We loved the hotel and our room had a view of Cali Adventure.. 6th floor.

 

[DebbieB]

I've been able to get in at 7 months three times. Studios in early May and late September, 1 bedroom for this August before D23.

 

[cwdefouw]

Not an owner there, but we were able to book a stay there for two nights in May following the West Bound Panama Canal cruise. I monitored inventory for several days before the 7 month window opened and then jumped online right at 8:00 AM on the day. There was a lot of availability still, and I was able to get the studio that I wanted without a waitlist. However, I went in knowing that I might not get what I wanted and was willing to go up to a 1BR or use points for the DLH, if necessary, as the dates were not flexible at all.

All that being said, I think that the key is traveling in off season and being flexible with dates or unit size, plus using online booking right at 8:00 AM on the day the 7 month window opens. Being able to monitor inventory with the website is also helpful in knowing if what you want has a good chance of being available or not.

 

[hjgaus]

I haven't been watching the VGC rental space but in general, I'd say, "Yes, you need to own VGC points in order to reliably book reservations."

The key in that requirement is your definition of 'reliably.' I'm assuming you intend to choose your dates ahead of the 7 mos window, will stay at least three nights, and are seeking reasonable assurance of getting those exact dates in a unit size not more than 1 category higher than your request.

FWIW, we enjoy annual-or-better success using our SSR points at VGC. However, being left coasters, we don't plan the trip more than 8 weeks from travel and typically stay only 2 nights over a weekend. We don't choose the dates, but will stalk inventory to find 'anything available.' This technique offers 2BR units more often than studio or 1BR units. More than once, the GV is the only unit available. (Ouch! too many points for my taste!) We've also had success via the waitlist but that doesn't support the 'reliable' criteria.

As left coasters, we determined that our travel pattern of near-term booking negated any benefit of owning at VGC. It will be interesting to see if others made a similar decision?

We are also local VGC owners as well as BCV so we do a lot of combining for 7 month reservations and have not had any problems yet. We only need either weekend or 4 days & have never stayed in a studio but use the other Disney hotels on points if villas aren't available. We HAVE enjoyed the Grand Villa 3 times in the 3 years! I think it IS an advantage to owning @ VGC but even better when you live 20 minutes away! At this time I don't believe we could ever rent out points to anyone cuz we're having too much fun with DVC!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I was able to book a Friday and Saturday night in March 2 months out in a studio. This was for my son and wife as they live in LA and can get away at last minute.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I've been able to get in at 7 months three times. Studios in early May and late September, 1 bedroom for this August before D23.

I was able to book a studio in early September 2012, only about 6 weeks out, for 2 nights (mid week). But it was tough, I took the first night and wait listed the second. I had little hope, so I kept checking myself, and the 2nd night popped up! I was so excited, and snagged it before the match was made with the wait list.

It is not easy, but not impossible to get VGC at 7 months. Worst case, have a back up plan, and wait list. If you see a few consecutive nights, at the beginning or end of your stay, I would take them, and wait list the other nights. Worst case, you end up with a split stay.

 

[marlouwrig]

We had no success usung our BCV points at 7 months out for early Oct last year. We were looking for a studio or 1 bed but had to settle for a 2 bed which was way too expensive ponts wise.

We bought a small contract direct from Disney shortly after our return so we can have the advantage of the 11 month window in future. It came with 2012 points which we had no trouble in renting out

 

[cel_disney]

I had a trip planned for Sept 2013 and my dates were not THAT flexible. I didnt want to risk not getting in. I had done some monitoring of the 7 month window and it was not pretty... There are no where near the availability as other resorts for rental options, but I found someone who was very easy to work with and I actually managed to do a transfer intead of a rental which was what I really wanted so that I would have the control to make changes. I ended up transferring 2012 points, banking them to 2013 and making my reservation.

I have read stories of others getting rentals thru David's before the 7 month window so he must have some VGC point renters in his system as well...(this was my backup plan if I couldnt find anything myself!)

I realized today was my 7 month window so I logged in to see what was available....at 8:46 pm, I could have booked the 1 bedroom ( which I what I have) for the entire stay...I have no regrets about the transfer, but I would have been able to do it at the 7 month mark!