Renting Points

[jgodbout09]

We are new to the Disney resorts, with the exception of one stay in a value many years ago. On these boards I keep seeing things about renting DVC points for stays, how does one go.about doing this? Can it be trusted? Can you get the DDP with this or is it not included with free dining? We have three adults and a 10 year old child going in November the week before Thanksgiving!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Gracie09]

There is a board where people post points available for rent. Read the information and rules before you so anything! Basically you are trusting them to make and keep the reservation and they are trusting you to pay them. There is also a few outside websites that rent points. They have a slightly higher $per point cost but offer a little more security.
You can pay for the ddp but cannot get it for free. Also you don't get daily housekeeping. Pretty much every thing else is the same as a cash reservation.

 

[vicki_c]

We are new to the Disney resorts, with the exception of one stay in a value many years ago. On these boards I keep seeing things about renting DVC points for stays, how does one go.about doing this? Can it be trusted? Can you get the DDP with this or is it not included with free dining? We have three adults and a 10 year old child going in November the week before Thanksgiving!

Thanks everyone!

Had to the DVC boards. There are a few stickies there. No free dining with DVC reservations. You can have the owner you rent for. Add the DDP to your stay if you pay for it

If you're looking for this year, you are probably too late or close to it, depending on where you want to stay, but you never know.

 

[Gracie09]

If you are looking for this November you should hop to it. Resorts can and will fill up.

 

[Pakey]

As a DVC owner, the points are committed at the time of booking and if you rent, you will have to pay 100% of the rental up front. This is the biggest difference between renting and going through Disney's CRO where you only have to pay a deposit with the balance due 45 days before your trip.

The owner will have control of your reservation. They have to book your dining plan. Depending on when you are going, many of the resorts/room categories are booked up at 11 months in advance.

DVC studios, the size of hotel rooms, will have one bed and one sleeper sofa (except Old Key West) so if you have 3 adults, one of them is stuck on the sleeper!!!!! Even the one bedroom villas will only have one bed in the master and then the sleeper in the living area. Most of my adult family do not find the sleeper sofas comfortable compared to a regular bed that you would get in a hotel room.

 

[jgodbout09]

Ah! Sleeper sofa for a week and trusting a stranger with that much money up front site unseen? I think I will stick to direct reservations and the free DDP where we can.be sure we will actually have a room upon arrival!

That's what I needed to know, thanks for the quick help everyone!

 

[dakcp2001]

We have used Davids site multiple times and never had an issue. I love renting points! You get to stay at a much nicer resort for less money. The only issue is that you can't cancel or get a refund, so once you book you are committed. This has not been a problem for us. Our last stay was at Kidani at Animal Kingdom it was beautiful. We used that site to rent for our honeymoon.

 

[kwdw]

Umm, yes, a studio might stink for three adults and one child, but renting points for a one bedroom DVC villa at AKV with now a kitchen and two baths for the same price as a mod.... That's a huge win for me! There's a reason some of us prefer renting points. It works well for how I like to travel and that includes being cost effective.

Hey, I don't need anymore renters competing for available rental points, so if its not for you, great! However, I'd encourage you to look into what it really means before dismissing the idea for you. I've rented off the boards, through a co worker and through David's, all where great experiences.

Yes, it's based on a trust relationship between the renter and rentee and that makes a lot of folks uncomfortable, but you continue to hear about its popularity because its usually a win win situation for both parties. I get to stay at a place with a kitchen, killing my food costs a lot and that tends to be nicer room, for no more money than the hotel room I could have paid for.

 

[Marionnette]

Umm, yes, a studio might stink for three adults and one child, but renting points for a one bedroom DVC villa at AKV with now a kitchen and two baths for the same price as a mod.... That's a huge win for me! There's a reason some of us prefer renting points. It works well for how I like to travel and that includes being cost effective.

Hey, I don't need anymore renters competing for available rental points, so if its not for you, great! However, I'd encourage you to look into what it really means before dismissing the idea for you. I've rented off the boards, through a co worker and through David's, all where great experiences.

Yes, it's based on a trust relationship between the renter and rentee and that makes a lot of folks uncomfortable, but you continue to hear about its popularity because its usually a win win situation for both parties. I get to stay at a place with a kitchen, killing my food costs a lot and that tends to be nicer room, for no more money than the hotel room I could have paid for.

I think that your price comparisons are a little misleading.

The only way that a DVC 1-bedroom unit is less expensive than a moderate is if you are renting for $11/pt (or less) and comparing it to the rack rate for the moderate resort. AND you're staying in an AKV Value 1-bedroom unit, which are not very numerous.

For instance, a 1-bedroom AKV Value villa would cost 139 points during the first week of Dec. At $11/pt., you would spend $1529 for that room. That same week at POFQ (std. view) would run $1510 at the rack rate. Yes, the 1-bedroom is much nicer in terms of the amenities and the amount of space you get for your dollar. But the moderate resort is going to beat it out on price if any kind of room discount is made available.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I think that your price comparisons are a little misleading.

The only way that a DVC 1-bedroom unit is less expensive than a moderate is if you are renting for $11/pt (or less) and comparing it to the rack rate for the moderate resort. AND you're staying in an AKV Value 1-bedroom unit, which are not very numerous.

For instance, a 1-bedroom AKV Value villa would cost 139 points during the first week of Dec. At $11/pt., you would spend $1529 for that room. That same week at POFQ (std. view) would run $1510 at the rack rate. Yes, the 1-bedroom is much nicer in terms of the amenities and the amount of space you get for your dollar. But the moderate resort is going to beat it out on price if any kind of room discount is made available.

Except, of course, that a 1-bedroom villa is roughly twice the size of a mod room.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Not all one bedrooms at AKV have two bathrooms! The one we stayed just recently only had 1 bathroom.

Not to mention the point for a Nov stay range from 158 for a value room to 183 for a standard room and 223 for a savannah view. So you could spend $1738 to $2453 for a weeks stay in Nov before the Thanksgiving holiday.

But you could rent two studio rooms at AKV and spend the same about of money as a one bedroom and you will have a total of two queen size beds and you would get two bathrooms.

 

[Marionnette]

Except, of course, that a 1-bedroom villa is roughly twice the size of a mod room.

I said that the 1-bedroom provides you with more space. That's pretty much a given.

But it's still misleading to state that it costs the same for a 1-bedroom rental as it does for a Moderate Resort room. The example I gave for the AKV Value 1-bedroom assumes that you could even be lucky enough to be able to book one. They aren't that plentiful and AKV owners compete with each other at the opening of the 11-month window to snag those rooms. You'd be more likely to pay $1780 or more for a 1-bedroom standard view at AKV for that same time period. Whereas you are quite likely to be able to get some sort of discount on the Moderate Resort room, making it much less than the $1510 rack rate for a week in early Dec.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I said that the 1-bedroom provides you with more space. That's pretty much a given.

But it's still misleading to state that it costs the same for a 1-bedroom rental as it does for a Moderate Resort room. The example I gave for the AKV Value 1-bedroom assumes that you could even be lucky enough to be able to book one. They aren't that plentiful and AKV owners compete with each other at the opening of the 11-month window to snag those rooms. You'd be more likely to pay $1780 or more for a 1-bedroom standard view at AKV for that same time period. Whereas you are quite likely to be able to get some sort of discount on the Moderate Resort room, making it much less than the $1510 rack rate for a week in early Dec.

Then just go for a studio, which is much more comprable to a mod than a one bedroom.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We've rented points twice going through Disboards and never had an issue. Both times we had a 1BR (BCV & BWV). We love having a kitchen, not so much for cooking meals but for being able to prepare a quick breakfast, have a real fridge, toaster & coffeemaker. Also we like having a king bed & jacuzzi. The kids don't mind the sofa bed too much. Both of our rental stays were only 2 nights pre cruise so we were buying trip ins anyway and just included the cost of the rental with our total trip cost. It was also nice to have a washer/dryer so I could wash the 2 days worth of clothes and be able to repack clean clothes to bring onboard the ship.

For our 1st rental (Nov 2011), we didn't have to pay 100% up front. It was half at time of booking, then the other half 60 days prior. I still paid a week early so he wouldn't be stressed out at the last minute. With our 2nd rental April 2012, the price pp was conditional on being paid 100% immediately. It was great because we got BWV for $9 pp making an Easter Sunday arrival not as crazy expensive as a room would have been.

We are looking at AKL/AKV for our next stay, probably Sept. I'll be booking a room only res as a back up while I shop for points but even with the 30% off we'd do better renting points. We might even go for a 2 BR this time. Luckily Sept isn't a super busy time of year.

It's funny, I even enjoyed talking on the phone both times with the DVC ownesr we rented from. They love to travel & love Disney. How much more do we need in common? Last time we were on the phone for probably an hour just chatting about Hawaii & Aulani.
Maybe I'm overly trusting but I never felt the least bit like I was being scammed.

 

[jls886]

Like a couple of PP's mentioned, give it a good thought before you just dismiss the idea. We have rented points five times and have had absolutely no problems. Many renters will be happy to give you references that have rented from them before so you can feel a little better about it. In general, renting points means a non-cancellable reservation but for us we understand that and we only rent points when we are certain we are going and set on our dates. You can still purchase the dining plan if you choose, and you are also still able to use Magical Express. In December we stayed in a Boardwalk Villas Studio for less that it would have cost us to stay at POP Century. We are a party of 4 adults that don't find the sleeper sofa to be too bad. To us it is worth the HUGE savings to stay at a deluxe for less than the price of a moderate, and sometimes less than the price of a value. We actually just became DVC members (bought a BWV resale contract) so we don't have to hassle with renting points anymore! The actual process isn't a hassle, but there are so many more rentees these days than renters for the resorts we like to stay at it is becoming harder to find renters.

ETA: also mentioned before, but worth noting again - if you might be interested in renting points for November I would get on it! Resorts start booking up much faster when you're less than 7 months out as any DVC owner can book your stay instead of only owners at the property at which you want to stay.

 

[crisi]

I think the biggest downside is that you will probably end up with a no cancellation policy. For most people, having to pay in full and having no recourse for cancellation will be a big deal. It is possible to get insurance for timeshare rentals, but that increases your price.

This is because for the member, points have a timer on them - cancel your reservation and it may be difficult for them to use those points.

 

[Narnia_girl]

Are there ever last minutes points to be had? Say 1-2 months out?

 

[crisi]

Are there ever last minutes points to be had? Say 1-2 months out?

Yes, but don't count on them - there are a few issues - availability gets really spotty then - you might need to move a few times - you won't have much selection in resorts. Owners with distressed points (points about to expire) might work with you, but owners with non-distressed points are going to prefer to work with someone who has a longer timeframe (basically, they need to make sure the check cashes before the restricted cancellation window closes).

 

[Marionnette]

Are there ever last minutes points to be had? Say 1-2 months out?

Sign up for the newsletter on David's Vacation Club Rentals, He sends emails out whenever he has distressed points available at a discount rate. I just got one today with points available for the month of September 2013 for $8/pt. - OKW and SSR only, which is usually the case since those resorts are much larger than the others.

You can also "like" tDavid's on Facebook and you'll see these deals earlier than you will if you only subscribe to the newsletter.

 

[Narnia_girl]

Yes, but don't count on them - there are a few issues - availability gets really spotty then - you might need to move a few times - you won't have much selection in resorts. Owners with distressed points (points about to expire) might work with you, but owners with non-distressed points are going to prefer to work with someone who has a longer timeframe (basically, they need to make sure the check cashes before the restricted cancellation window closes).

Good to know, thanks!

Sign up for the newsletter on David's Vacation Club Rentals, He sends emails out whenever he has distressed points available at a discount rate. I just got one today with points available for the month of September 2013 for $8/pt. - OKW and SSR only, which is usually the case since those resorts are much larger than the others.

You can also "like" tDavid's on Facebook and you'll see these deals earlier than you will if you only subscribe to the newsletter.

I'll do both, thanks! I checked on points at David's and the example I checked was about $900 for four days. Then I checked the same hotel from DCL's site and it was $1800. I just can't believe that David's would be that much of a discount? So I'm wondering if he doesn't actually have that inventory--it's just a points example chart.