Renting DVC points?

[Deb & Bill]

We are staying at a split stay in December at OKW/BCV. We did it through a rental company and we are very happy with the process. We have been planning this trip for 8 for about a year and a half and had looked at various discounts (renting points for a 2 BDR villa, bounceback offer and AP rates for 3 rooms at a moderate, possible cast member discounts) We were going to get 8 nights at OKW, but were happy when our request for 4 nights at the BCV opened up and we could do a split stay. When we calculated the price compared to Disney rack rates, we got these for a little over 45% discount. This, along with the free resort parking we will have for two vehicles, convinced us to go with the points. We had to put money up front and make a final payment earlier than a Disney package, but the substantial savings and the extra room we think are worth it. I think that if you can commit to booking a little less than a year in advance, renting points is the way to go.

You were lucky you didn't have to pay the full rental price when you made the reservation. Many owners and brokers require full payment at the front end.

 

[sndral]

Hoping for early December thinking that we could go for all of the Christmas decorations/events and avoid the mass crowds, but now opening to going sometime in 2020 if we rent DVC. Haven't done DVC before and it's been five years since I last went to WDW so trying to figure things out.

It’s probably too late for early Dec., which is a very popular time for DVC bookings for the reasons you list as well as the fact that it’s the lowest cost point season. I just looked at DVC resort availability for studios on the member site and while studios for the first of January are pretty booked, things open up from mid January - most likely because the 7 month non home resort booking window has not yet opened up. Availability is a fluid thing as people book, so what I’ve seen this morning could be very different tomorrow.

1BR villas take almost twice as many points as a studio but Disney cash rates for studios vs. 1BRs are not double. So the savings isn’t there when compared to getting a studio. However, the 2nd bathroom at Kidani, in-room w/d and the full kitchen can be worth the extra cost.

One thing to keep in mind is that Disney often rolls out steep discounts for summer (as much as 35% off rack rates for villas) but DVC point requirements are fixed and the brokers rarely discount their $/pt rates. July is one of the higher cost DVC seasons. You might want to get out a calculator and compare costs.

ETA: I just checked a random week in July 2019 at AKV- Kidani, 1BR with savanna view.

Rental thru David’s = $4896​

Disney cash reservation with current summer discount = $4465​

Several years ago, before I bought DVC, I stayed in a 1 br. savanna view at AKL on cash w/ a discount and found that the cash price for that 1 br. was about the same as the cost of renting points. So much depends on the discounts Disney offers versus the points required for a particular villa in the same view category. These days if you are driving you need to add the parking fee to your cash price as well. The advantage of renting points v. cash is Disney doesn’t release their discounts until fairly late and there’s no knowing what the discount will be and whether where you want to stay will have a discount, so if you want to lock in savings early and not gamble that Disney will discount the villa you want, it makes sense to go the rental route, one risk being renting is non refundable and if Disney offers good discounts you may end up paying more via rental for larger villas like the 1 br.s.

 

[jrm11697]

With everyone saying that it's too late for DVC in December, might have to stay in a "normal" Disney resort. Maybe another time.... But thanks for the responses

 

[Deb & Bill]

With everyone saying that it's too late for DVC in December, might have to stay in a "normal" Disney resort. Maybe another time.... But thanks for the responses

I booked a studio for three nights at OKW for the second week of Dec at 11 months out. I had to cancel it about a month later because we though we might need to use the points for another reservation. In late March we realized we wouldn't need to use them, so I tried to reserve the same three nights in a studio at OKW. I could only get one of the three nights and had to waitlist the first and third night. Luckily, I got both of them in late May. But if I had tried to waitlist them as a group of three, it might have taken longer or not have happened at all. Even OKW and SSR get booked up before seven months out. You can't just expect them to be there if you wait too long.

 

[Shoshana]

I rented an AK Jambo House Savannah View Studio for 12/20-12/30 for my daughter and I. Even if it's not more space, we'll enjoy having the mini kitchen. I highly recommend David's DVC. They were friendly, professional and very helpful throughout multiple emails and questions as I was deciding whether and how to move forward with my first DVC rental.

 

[TWINKLETWINKLE]

1BR villas take almost twice as many points as a studio but Disney cash rates for studios vs. 1BRs are not double. So the savings isn’t there when compared to getting a studio. However, the 2nd bathroom at Kidani, in-room w/d and the full kitchen can be worth the extra cost.

One thing to keep in mind is that Disney often rolls out steep discounts for summer (as much as 35% off rack rates for villas) but DVC point requirements are fixed and the brokers rarely discount their $/pt rates. July is one of the higher cost DVC seasons. You might want to get out a calculator and compare costs.

ETA: I just checked a random week in July 2019 at AKV- Kidani, 1BR with savanna view.

Rental thru David’s = $4896​

Disney cash reservation with current summer discount = $4465​

Thank you!