Renting at DVCRS VS Davids

[Girlstar30]

For future posts, I just wanted this thread to stick to comparing the two big companies and not an anti renting thread or who is/what constitutes commercial renting or not...

I have read my contracts and renting for your own purposes (ie going on different vacations, events) and not having the sole purpose of buying your contract to make a bunch of money off dvc is perfectly allowed so I will leave that subject at that.

 

[VGCgroupie]

For future posts, I just wanted this thread to stick to comparing the two big companies and not an anti renting thread or who is commercial renting or not...

I have read my contracts and renting for your own purposes (ie going on different vacations, events) and not having the sole purpose of buying your contract to make a bunch of money off dvc is perfectly allowed so I will leave that subject at that.

Threads always go off topic.

 

[atthebeachclub]

I prefer David’s for their customer service, which has been impeccable in my experience. I don’t really have enough points now that I anticipate needing their services, but I’d probably use David’s again if I needed.

 

[Girlstar30]

I prefer David’s for their customer service, which has been impeccable in my experience. I don’t really have enough points now that I anticipate needing their services, but I’d probably use David’s again if I needed.

Yes their customer service is great, im just irritated with them right now because I feel like my points are being held hostage for more than 72 hours which they said is unusual because renters are usually eager to secure the process and they've been sent reminders twice so strong chance they bail and i could have already secured a sale with DVCRS right now.

At this point I just want to cancel and cough up the cash for D23 because the only reason im doing this is because my wife said we spend too much money on Disney and if I want to do more Disney experiences I need to use the money we put into it already and i agree, its not fair for me to always be about Disney and spend more money when I can sell some points and use it for more Disney. At least I can show her I did make a good effort!

Disney has a tendency to drop their ticket sales to things with hardly any advanced notice (Member cruise did this too) making it impossible to preplan especially for expensive things like these.

 

[RivGirl]

I only have experience as a renter. I have rented from both companies and all experiences have been seamless. Three extended family GV stays (different resorts) through David’s, booked more than 7 months in advance; and two immediate family trips (studios or 1BR) through DVCRS, booked less than 7 months in advance.

I think at under 7 months, DVCRS was easier/quicker. Something about their system made it easier to navigate limited availability. I also took advantage of a decent little discount at Poly for an under 7mo reservation.

I will say that David’s website seems to have improved over the past several years. And in general that company gives me a touch more “warm fuzzies.” They are really great on the phone. But my interactions with customer reps at DVCRS were also pleasant, and they were always very quick to respond to e-mail.

So as a renter, my inclination is to check David’s first, but I wouldn’t hesitate to use DVCRS again. I won’t be renting for immediate family trips again now that I own, but we do still rent the GV extended family stays.

 

[Girlstar30]

I only have experience as a renter. I have rented from both companies and all experiences have been seamless. Three extended family GV stays (different resorts) through David’s, booked more than 7 months in advance; and two immediate family trips (studios or 1BR) through DVCRS, booked less than 7 months in advance.

I think at under 7 months, DVCRS was easier/quicker. Something about their system made it easier to navigate limited availability. I also took advantage of a decent little discount at Poly for an under 7mo reservation.

I will say that David’s website seems to have improved over the past several years. And in general that company gives me a touch more “warm fuzzies.” They are really great on the phone. But my interactions with customer reps at DVCRS were also pleasant, and they were always very quick to respond to e-mail.

So as a renter, my inclination is to check David’s first, but I wouldn’t hesitate to use DVCRS again. I won’t be renting for immediate family trips again now that I own, but we do still rent the GV extended family stays.

Yes I experienced both as a renter as well and I agree, Davids gave me more of the warm and fuzzies and I would look them again as a renter!

I was talking to them on the phone and they were really trying to contact the owners and secure the reservations for me on the spot because this is when I was serious about possibly becoming a DVC member and I wanted to stay at vgf, blt, ccv and akv to narrow down what I thought would be my favorites!

I was right about one of them but wish I would have chosen poly instead of vgf! Oh well! How was I to know i would love it, cant stay everywhere So thanks to David's and them getting me into everything and the positive experience, we became dvc members at akv and blt

DVCRS was more hands off although as you said always friendly and did get me a riv reservation which we ended up cancelling but used at vdh after and guess what became an owner there after too

They did get the lead guest wrong though which did cause some issues at check in and I couldn't get a hold of them so I do have a preference for David's as a renter based on that experience.

Now im not sure if David's offers refunds at a higher cost like DVCRS does, but if they dont I may prefer to go with DVCRS if I was still in the renter game because stuff happens and I wished I had gotten a full refund when we cancelled riv (ehich actually was thru dvcrs and i didnt choose the refund option as i shluld have), but I guess it all worked out because buying vdh was the best move we made!

 

[cruisehopeful]

I know people say paying taxes or getting a 1099 is undesirable (I haven't seen anyone say that in this thread, but I have elsewhere), but wouldn't people deduct their MFs? Rent at $20/pp minus MFs at $10/pp, so paying tax on $10/pp?
I just think it's less dramatic than what people make it sound. I don't rent and God willing, I'll never need to rent out my points. I'm just always fascinated by people making it sound like paying taxes on income is a negative. You are in fact, liable to pay tax on ALL your income, not just what the IRS knows about.

 

[Girlstar30]

I know people say paying taxes or getting a 1099 is undesirable (I haven't seen anyone say that in this thread, but I have elsewhere), but wouldn't people deduct their MFs? Rent at $20/pp minus MFs at $10/pp, so paying tax on $10/pp?
I just think it's less dramatic than what people make it sound. I don't rent and God willing, I'll never need to rent out my points. I'm just always fascinated by people making it sound like paying taxes on income is a negative. You are in fact, liable to pay tax on ALL your income, not just what the IRS knows about.

I fully agree with this! You can deduct MF and mortgage if you have one and there are some instances, depending on how many days you rented i believe but dont quote me on the exact rule, where you wouldnt be liable for taxes at all! Ofc everyone's situation is different, but whether they report or not I could care less

 

[pkrieger2287]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to chime in real quick and say thank you for all the feedback here. I think it’s incredibly important to always understand how things are being perceived from your side and how the services we provide actually translate in the real world.

From my perspective, one thing I personally strive for and am always looking to improve is customer service. At the end of the day, our goal is simple: we want to provide the best possible experience for both our Members and our Guests. We truly hope that our team, who are very knowledgeable and experienced in DVC, can help in any situation, even if that doesn’t ultimately result in you booking or renting through us.

On the pricing side, there’s always going to be a bit of give and take in this space. As a DVC Member myself, I completely understand the desire to get the highest possible payout for your points. But there are really two sides to that equation. We also have to consider what a Guest is willing to pay for their vacation compared to booking directly through Disney. The value of DVC points is ultimately tied to that savings component. If there’s no meaningful savings for the Guest, there’s no reason for them not to just book direct.

While it’s absolutely true that dues and ownership costs continue to rise each year, those increases alone don’t dictate rental value. If pricing were based only on rising costs, it would quickly outpace Disney cash rates, which would make rentals much harder to fulfill.

That said, I do believe we’ve made meaningful improvements recently in how we evaluate pricing. We’re looking at things much more closely at the resort level and adjusting where it makes sense to better reward Members when demand supports it. This is something we review constantly, and it’s actively being evaluated even now for potential adjustments.

Another factor to keep in mind is the current booking environment, especially in that 0-7 month window. Disney has been offering a lot of promotions during that timeframe, which directly impacts what Guests expect to pay and, in turn, affects rental pricing. Long story short, when not a lot of new things are happening at Walt Disney World (as is the current climate), bookings slow down, and we see more and more downward pressure on that pricing.

All that said, I really do take the customer service feedback to heart. That’s something we’re going to continue sharing internally and working on, whether that’s response times, communication clarity, or overall experience. Our goal is to meet and exceed the level of service you’d expect from Disney when you choose to work with us.

Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences, both positive and constructive. It genuinely helps us get better!

 

[Brian Noble]

just wanted this thread to stick to

 

[Girlstar30]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to chime in real quick and say thank you for all the feedback here. I think it’s incredibly important to always understand how things are being perceived from your side and how the services we provide actually translate in the real world.

From my perspective, one thing I personally strive for and am always looking to improve is customer service. At the end of the day, our goal is simple: we want to provide the best possible experience for both our Members and our Guests. We truly hope that our team, who are very knowledgeable and experienced in DVC, can help in any situation, even if that doesn’t ultimately result in you booking or renting through us.

On the pricing side, there’s always going to be a bit of give and take in this space. As a DVC Member myself, I completely understand the desire to get the highest possible payout for your points. But there are really two sides to that equation. We also have to consider what a Guest is willing to pay for their vacation compared to booking directly through Disney. The value of DVC points is ultimately tied to that savings component. If there’s no meaningful savings for the Guest, there’s no reason for them not to just book direct.

While it’s absolutely true that dues and ownership costs continue to rise each year, those increases alone don’t dictate rental value. If pricing were based only on rising costs, it would quickly outpace Disney cash rates, which would make rentals much harder to fulfill.

That said, I do believe we’ve made meaningful improvements recently in how we evaluate pricing. We’re looking at things much more closely at the resort level and adjusting where it makes sense to better reward Members when demand supports it. This is something we review constantly, and it’s actively being evaluated even now for potential adjustments.

Another factor to keep in mind is the current booking environment, especially in that 0-7 month window. Disney has been offering a lot of promotions during that timeframe, which directly impacts what Guests expect to pay and, in turn, affects rental pricing. Long story short, when not a lot of new things are happening at Walt Disney World (as is the current climate), bookings slow down, and we see more and more downward pressure on that pricing.

All that said, I really do take the customer service feedback to heart. That’s something we’re going to continue sharing internally and working on, whether that’s response times, communication clarity, or overall experience. Our goal is to meet and exceed the level of service you’d expect from Disney when you choose to work with us.

Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences, both positive and constructive. It genuinely helps us get better!

Hey! Are you the owner of DVCRS? I recognize the last name. If so, im glad I crowned you the winner I am very honest and transparent so I hope I didnt say anything that came across as rude because i truly believe DVCRS is great, I reread after you posted and dont think I did

Well first off, I would like to thank you tremendously. I know theres a lot of negativity on the boards about renting, but for us personally, without these services we would not feel comfortable having so many points without any offramp and so I hope Disney takes that into consideration as well!

To my delight, I did notice that pricing was reevaluated and I believe that at the 7-11 month mark it is fair. I do wish my ssr points commanded more (Dont we all, $17 pretty please ), but I also understand why they are priced lower than the more "desirable" resorts to book)

I didnt know that the disney promotions at 0-7 months is the reason for the lower price, so thats good to know. I havent compared pricing, but my akv points are golden to me no matter when theyre being sold so I wouldnt let them go at the pricing given for instant claims there and well, like most my direct vdh points are sacred. I think blt at the 7-11 months is fair, not that you asked my opinion but in case you were wanting feedback on a repeat customer's views

I would be lying if I said I wasnt frustrated by the response time or unanswered phone calls at times, but patience also isnt my strong suit and usually if im renting its because something came up that I want to use the $$ for fairly quickly!

Anyways thank you again, for me your business adds value and flexibility to my membership experience and the ability to rent easily is the only reason we would ever find ourselves this deep in a timeshare!

 

[Mle8308]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to chime in real quick and say thank you for all the feedback here. I think it’s incredibly important to always understand how things are being perceived from your side and how the services we provide actually translate in the real world.

From my perspective, one thing I personally strive for and am always looking to improve is customer service. At the end of the day, our goal is simple: we want to provide the best possible experience for both our Members and our Guests. We truly hope that our team, who are very knowledgeable and experienced in DVC, can help in any situation, even if that doesn’t ultimately result in you booking or renting through us.

On the pricing side, there’s always going to be a bit of give and take in this space. As a DVC Member myself, I completely understand the desire to get the highest possible payout for your points. But there are really two sides to that equation. We also have to consider what a Guest is willing to pay for their vacation compared to booking directly through Disney. The value of DVC points is ultimately tied to that savings component. If there’s no meaningful savings for the Guest, there’s no reason for them not to just book direct.

While it’s absolutely true that dues and ownership costs continue to rise each year, those increases alone don’t dictate rental value. If pricing were based only on rising costs, it would quickly outpace Disney cash rates, which would make rentals much harder to fulfill.

That said, I do believe we’ve made meaningful improvements recently in how we evaluate pricing. We’re looking at things much more closely at the resort level and adjusting where it makes sense to better reward Members when demand supports it. This is something we review constantly, and it’s actively being evaluated even now for potential adjustments.

Another factor to keep in mind is the current booking environment, especially in that 0-7 month window. Disney has been offering a lot of promotions during that timeframe, which directly impacts what Guests expect to pay and, in turn, affects rental pricing. Long story short, when not a lot of new things are happening at Walt Disney World (as is the current climate), bookings slow down, and we see more and more downward pressure on that pricing.

All that said, I really do take the customer service feedback to heart. That’s something we’re going to continue sharing internally and working on, whether that’s response times, communication clarity, or overall experience. Our goal is to meet and exceed the level of service you’d expect from Disney when you choose to work with us.

Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences, both positive and constructive. It genuinely helps us get better!

Nice to know that you do read and consider feedback. From a renters perspective, I have rented through DVCRS a few times and all went well and I do/have recommended them. I did not use DVCRS this year because I was able to rent privately for about $7 less per point, and over 10 nights, that adds up. I understand that DVCRS needs to make a profit, too, but at $28 per point for the Poly, it was high. It's not as much of a cost saving to rent through an agency as it used to be. Like you say, with either BB offers or AP discounts, it is sometimes comparable or even less, to book through Disney, and for maybe a few dollars more, worth it to have a free cancellation policy and daily housekeeping. That said, if I were to look to rent through an agency again (and I most likely will), I will look to DVCRS first.

 

[davper]

I will never rent through David's again. After the pandemic, they demanded the money they paid me and to provide them with the points that they lost, and I lost, as compensation. They sent letters from their attorney's telling me they will sue me if I don't comply.

I did not comply and sent them my attorney's contact info. They backed off.

 

[Girlstar30]

I will never rent through David's again. After the pandemic, they demanded the money they paid me and to provide them with the points that they lost, and I lost, as compensation. They sent letters from their attorney's telling me they will sue me if I don't comply.

I did not comply and sent them my attorney's contact info. They backed off.

Well that makes two of us, they've been stringing me along for four days now, the renters have not paid and its time to move on and they still want me to hold off cancelling until this afternoon even though I waited an extra day that I could have been looking elsewhere.

By this time, I could have found someone else but now we will not be able to receive money on time for the whole point of the sale which was to purchase d23 tickets. It is okay, I have the money and were going hopefully we get tickets, I just want my points back in my dash off already for me to plan something. Its not a losing situation because I never want to sell my points but it is obvious to me that the renters bailed and id like to move on myself.

So they wanted money and double points??? That is insane and I wouldnt have done that either. The whole point of using them is not to have to take on risk and a good way to lose customers for the future is to threaten to sue them!

 

[Anal Annie]

I contacted DVCRS a couple of months ago RE: doing a cruise swap. The girl who was the contact sent me the required number of points for the cruise and it was much higher than I anticipated based on what I had read as examples for required points. When I compared the number of points they wanted it was much higher than what the cash price of the cruise would have been so I was confused why they were so high. When I questioned her in another email she stopped responding. So I sort of wrote them off as being a business I wanted to deal with. Communication is important to me and this girl didn't have it.

I have a confirmed reservation in May at the Poly tower (about 42 days or something from now) that I was considering putting on David's as an alternative to the DVCRS as we're not going to be able to use it now but I wasn't thrilled with their offer of $16 pp. I know they all treat SSR points like a stepchild but I was hoping that this would be a more sought after reservation being at the Poly and thought it would be worth a little more so I didn't move forward on it because I thought it was worth more. My DH is concerned about the tax implications and thinks it could mess us up and not worth it for $16 pp. David's said they pay thru PayPal and PayPal will report the transaction to the IRS (my state has a $600 threshold for reporting transactions). I don't know enough about our taxes to know how much a few thousand would "throw us off" and make us owe (more). DH doesn't seem to think it's worth it for the return.

Having not actually completed any transactions with either company I'm not sure I'm that impressed with either after just brief interactions. I like knowing we have some rental options but it seems like both have room for improvement. Just my observations.

 

[PoppyJ]

I contacted DVCRS a couple of months ago RE: doing a cruise swap. The girl who was the contact sent me the required number of points for the cruise and it was much higher than I anticipated based on what I had read as examples for required points. When I compared the number of points they wanted it was much higher than what the cash price of the cruise would have been so I was confused why they were so high. When I questioned her in another email she stopped responding. So I sort of wrote them off as being a business I wanted to deal with. Communication is important to me and this girl didn't have it.

I have a confirmed reservation in May at the Poly tower (about 42 days or something from now) that I was considering putting on David's as an alternative to the DVCRS as we're not going to be able to use it now but I wasn't thrilled with their offer of $16 pp. I know they all treat SSR points like a stepchild but I was hoping that this would be a more sought after reservation being at the Poly and thought it would be worth a little more so I didn't move forward on it because I thought it was worth more. My DH is concerned about the tax implications and thinks it could mess us up and not worth it for $16 pp. David's said they pay thru PayPal and PayPal will report the transaction to the IRS (my state has a $600 threshold for reporting transactions). I don't know enough about our taxes to know how much a few thousand would "throw us off" and make us owe (more). DH doesn't seem to think it's worth it for the return.

Having not actually completed any transactions with either company I'm not sure I'm that impressed with either after just brief interactions. I like knowing we have some rental options but it seems like both have room for improvement. Just my observations.

I had a confirmed reservation I could not use once a couple years ago. I had a good experience renting it through:

https://rentals.*******.com/confirmed-reservations/

edit: looks like the website is blocked...

 

[Girlstar30]

I contacted DVCRS a couple of months ago RE: doing a cruise swap. The girl who was the contact sent me the required number of points for the cruise and it was much higher than I anticipated based on what I had read as examples for required points. When I compared the number of points they wanted it was much higher than what the cash price of the cruise would have been so I was confused why they were so high. When I questioned her in another email she stopped responding. So I sort of wrote them off as being a business I wanted to deal with. Communication is important to me and this girl didn't have it.

I have a confirmed reservation in May at the Poly tower (about 42 days or something from now) that I was considering putting on David's as an alternative to the DVCRS as we're not going to be able to use it now but I wasn't thrilled with their offer of $16 pp. I know they all treat SSR points like a stepchild but I was hoping that this would be a more sought after reservation being at the Poly and thought it would be worth a little more so I didn't move forward on it because I thought it was worth more. My DH is concerned about the tax implications and thinks it could mess us up and not worth it for $16 pp. David's said they pay thru PayPal and PayPal will report the transaction to the IRS (my state has a $600 threshold for reporting transactions). I don't know enough about our taxes to know how much a few thousand would "throw us off" and make us owe (more). DH doesn't seem to think it's worth it for the return.

Having not actually completed any transactions with either company I'm not sure I'm that impressed with either after just brief interactions. I like knowing we have some rental options but it seems like both have room for improvement. Just my observations.

I agree with your first paragraph because the same thing happened to me as far as expecting the price to be way lower based on what was being advertised. This was for a hotel swap and I was going during a very dead travel time of the year and it was much higher than what was listed as a possibility. I did point this out and received a lackluster response, which I forgot what it was, but I remember feeling like I wouldnt do this with them based on that interaction and the very low price listed as a possibility when I have no idea when this low price could possibly be offered.

Universal does use dynamic pricing but even still I have never seen Portofino that low and I stalk it often. I would be very apprehensive with the response time taking possibly days to use them as my TA (this is just constructive criticism of how I truly felt and another owner i speak to also expressed their regret to me after booking that they were not getting response times fast enough and regretted using a TA. I still am a fan of the rental store but I definitely would sell my points with them seperately and book my own cruise rather than do a swap.

On the David's end, well im already not happy at all about waiting for days, signing a contract, pretty much wasting my time and a rental not going though and too bad so sad. I wont say I wont ever use them again but based on my experience DVCRS would be first on my list for renting. I also inquired about cruise swap with Davids and they like to quote $16 pp even though their website says $18 pp. I pointed this out to them and they said they dont like to guarantee the highest price just in case and well then I dont want to guarantee that I will be willing to rent out either for that rate. So that ended that.

I'll also point out that I was irritated with Davids because I claimed a reservation before and I didnt know if it was going to me or not because their way of doing things is to email and let you know later (something else I dont like). The reservation was for the next day so I booked today's date and would switch it over tomorrow. I told them that I did that to guarantee that the renter, who was probably very excited, would get it and they lectured me about walking! Wow! That definetely surprised me because I was trying to ensure their customer would get their reservation and this is not anything against any rules, although discouraged. So I was like okay then, never mind! Come to think of it, no i dont think I will use them again like I said before

I didnt even consider that Paypal reports to the IRS and yes they do here for transactions over $600 so I will cross that out altogether, which I did pause when posting it because it really is irrelevant no matter what people think, taxes need to be reported regardless