Renting points-- Question???

[r3ngels]

We are going to WDW in April and have our trip booked (we are going with my parents and they are using their DVC points). The flights for the night before are 400 dollars cheaper so I was thinking about renting points at BWV for 1 night, so we don't have to change resorts.

I went to the rent/trade board and it seemed a little overwhelming. So I came here first.

How does the whole process work? Are points about 9-11 dollars a point? How do you know if you can trust the person? Are the reservations in your name? And if you are renting someone's points can you add dining to it?

Anything else that I am missing?

Thanks...

 

[crisi]

There probably won't be anything available for April for BWV at this late date.

You can add dining to it

You have to trust

Reservations are in your name but controlled by the owner - they can cancel at any time and you won't be notified.

Points are generally around that price.

Post a "points needed" post over on the rent trade board, someone will respond. Or respond to someone else's points available post. However, don't be surprised if you get few responses to your post, a lot of people don't bother responding to "low chance" sorts of requests like yours.

 

[Sammie]

Crisi, Gave you some good info. DVC members book regularly especially for peak travel times 11 months out and then again at 7 months out.

You really need to plan much further ahead to rent. Point prices are determined by the member but most seem to fall between 10 and 15 dollars.

The member will have to add dining and you pay for that at check in.

Trust, well that is the hard one and the reason you get a bargain. This is not a fail safe situation. It is a private agreement between two people and trust is all you will have. The member is in control of the reservation and will determine payment and cancellation. Most will not offer cancellation, consider it to be similar to Priceline. You might be able to rebook if the member is willing to do that.

You will not be able to contact anyone about the reservation until 3 days before you arrive, when you can all the resort.

If you are going to consider it, read all the FAQs on the Rent/trade board for valuable info.

 

[mikesmom]

April is way booked up with Spring Break travelers. I suspect even the regular resort rooms may be few and far between.

You might have luck if someone over on the Rent/Trade board has had a crisis and is selling an already confirmed reservation, but the odds of that for one night only are very low. And I agree with Crisi, most people won't go through the hassle of calling MS when there is so little chance and when it's just for one night - they won't get much "return on investment".

For that much difference in the air fare I would try and find an inexpensive offsite room for one night and then switch over to your regular reservation the next day.

 

[r3ngels]

Thank you guys... you are so quick. The date I need is April 27th so it is a little past spring break (hopefully). I called the regular reservation number last night... not DVC and they do have rooms available. So hopefully I can get one.

Is it against "DIS" rules to start your own wanted reservation thread and post on someone elses rent thread and see what comes first?

ETA: we did look into off property but we are trying not to rent a car until we go to Vero and if we stay off property we will need transportation the next day to get to BWV, either Taxi or renting a Car... we are a family of 5 so normal Taxi's are to small. We will do that if it's our only option.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you make a reservation through CRO, you may still have to move on the next day. You cannot link a points reservation with a CRO reservation. Also, inventory at CRO is totally different from DVC inventory.

Post your own thread and respond to someone who has points for rent.

 

[r3ngels]

If you make a reservation through CRO, you may still have to move on the next day. You cannot link a points reservation with a CRO reservation. Also, inventory at CRO is totally different from DVC inventory.

Post your own thread and respond to someone who has points for rent.

I wondered if the room inventory was the same... Thanks.

I know we will have to move rooms but we can have the bellmen take them and bring them to the new room we won't have to carry them from one resort to the other. I don't travel light....

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Instead of renting points for the one night have you thought of contacting your parents and seeing if they can get a cash reservation through Member Services ? You can then reimburse them for it , if available. Though there may not be availability it never hurts to try. This way if you reserve a cash room through MS they will be able to link the reservations.

I don't know what room size/type yout parents have booked on points but there might be availability of same for cash - you never know till you try. In addition members can (sometimes) get a %25 discount on the cash price, subject to availability. You may be surprised - we were able to get the discount for the weekend between Christmas and New Years at 11 months out when we made our holiday reservations earlier this year.

 

[JimMIA]

If the night you're trying to get is a Friday or Saturday night, it may well be cheaper to pay cash than rent from a DVC owner anyway. DVC point costs are roughly double on Friday/Saturday nights and even rack rates through CRO might be less expensive.

 

[DebbieB]

The tricky thing about BWV is the 3 different views. You usually can only get a preferred pool/garden with cash. What view do your parents have booked?

One time we decided to go a day early to get frequent flyer tickets, I booked an AP rate at Boardwalk Inn. That way the transfer was easy, the bellman picked up our bags in the morning and put them into storage and we moved into the villas in the afternoon.