Talk to me about David’s DVC rental

[Daniela Rose]

Not sure if this is the right board, please move if not.

How does David’s dvc rental work? Looking ahead for our May 2019 trip. What are the pros? Cons?

We spent a week this past September in a TPV at the Contemporary. Would love to save money on our next trip and look at Bay Lake or somewhere else. Family of 4. Next trip our girls will be almost 6 and almost 4.

I’m completely clueless about dvc and even more clueless about dvc rentals.

Thank you in advance

 

[Dentam]

Have you looked at their website? It answers a lot of questions there. We rented for a previous trip at the BC and I've already rented at the Boardwalk for my Sept trip. They have a list that tells you how many months in advance you will likely need to book based on which resort you want to stay at. Time of year will also come into play. The only downside I know of is that you pay at the time that you book and it is not refundable.

 

[brennicksmom]

Have you looked at their website? It answers a lot of questions there. We rented for a previous trip at the BC and I've already rented at the Boardwalk for my Sept trip. They have a list that tells you how many months in advance you will likely need to book based on which resort you want to stay at. Time of year will also come into play. The only downside I know of is that you pay at the time that you book and it is not refundable.

So how does vacation insurance work when you rent points? We have only rented from a friend once and paid him directly. We are looking into either the DVC Rental Store or Dave's for our next vacation. I read somewhere that we can buy vacation ins for it.

 

[Dentam]

So how does vacation insurance work when you rent points? We have only rented from a friend once and paid him directly. We are looking into either the DVC Rental Store or Dave's for our next vacation. I read somewhere that we can buy vacation ins for it.

David's has a company they recommend listed on their website. I haven't purchased trip insurance in the past, so don't have any experience with it to share. Might not be a bad idea though.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Definitely get trip insurance if you rent with them. They are not like renting with Disney, if absolutely anything happens and you can't go, doesn't matter what it is, you are out the money.

 

[bbak30]

I rented through the DVC rental store and they offered a protection plan that I purchased. It allows me to get some of my money back should I need to cancel.

 

[Dentam]

Yes, as I mentioned in my first post, the rental is nonrefundable. Trip insurance is a good idea and I'll probably look into it myself since I'll be traveling during prime hurricane season.

 

[BLLB]

I own DVC, and have rented my points through Dave’s. Great way to save money, but, like the others have said, you are locked in for the reservation.

 

[crisi]

One of the cons is that there are more people looking to rent points than their are members who want to rent their points out. Plan ahead, be flexible, and have another plan - like a cash room. This is especially true for the near park resorts, like BWV or BLT.

Another con is that DVC studios do not have two beds (except at OKW). You have a queen bed and a pullout couch (most studios also now have a fold out Murphy bed - though pulling out the couch and using the Murphy bed can leave very little room to walk). There is no daily housekeeping - so if you are a fan of fresh towels every day, you pay extra or if you want the beds made every day you pay extra.

There are some other minor difference. DVC does not offer late checkout and checkin is after 4 (you may get in earlier, but don't count on it - and after 4 might mean 6pm).

The non-refundability is the other big one. Its generally a final transaction. Trip insurance is a good idea.

 

[twoolle]

You should compare insurance options with other vendors as well. Dave's is pretty limited.

 

[GPC0321]

I just rented through David's for the first time for an upcoming stay. I really wasn't even planning to, just kind of poking around the site and then decided to see what was available for certain dates in June. They came back with what they had, so I snagged a savanna view studio at Kidani. I've always wanted to stay there.

It really couldn't have been any easier. Then when a friend said she wanted to come along, I contacted David's and they contacted the owner and now my friend is added to the reservation.

I just reserved Magical Express via the form on the site too, so that should be added to the reservation soon.

I didn't get insurance because it's only 5 months away and I feel pretty sure I'll be going. This will be my second time renting DVC, my first was VGF directly through an owner. I signed that contract about 18 months ahead of the stay, she booked at the 11-month mark, and it was a marvelous experience from beginning to end.

I've already arranged to rent again from that same owner for June 2019. I wouldn't hesitate to rent through David's again though.

 

[georgina]

My credit card that I used to pay for the DVC rental has good trip insurance. Might be worth looking into.

Our BWV studio in Oct wasn't ready until about 5:30 PM. The manger gave us a $100 credit on our hotel charges for it!

 

[Minniemoo15]

They have been really awesome helping us with our upcoming trip in March. We are doing a split stay AKL/BCV. They've answered all of my questions (some of which I'm sure seemed pretty dense because I knew nothing about the process when we started).

My credit card has great trip cancellation insurance so I did not get the Davids insurance.

We are really excited... Beach Club is my dream and we never would have been able to afford it without renting points !

 

[catmegs]

We had such a good experience with Davids, rented for the first time last month. We were after a ton of points- two bedroom for 6 nights at the GC at Disneyland- and initially they said they didn't have any matches. They have an option to be waitlisted, or refunded the $112 partial payment. I asked to be waitlisted and they found a match within a few days. The savings is so huge I can't imagine not using them for future Disney trips. All communication was very quick and professional.

 

[Pesky]

Yep, David's is one of the bigger ones for DVC point rental. Agree the website can walk you through how many points you would need for when, where, and what. That helps you calculate the price. As people noted, you pretty much are paying all up front so just make sure you have some kind of cancellation insurance coverage if something comes up so you aren't out the cash. Also, one thing to note is that David's is in Canada so be sure you use a credit card or payment method that isn't going to charge a foreign payment fee. I've rented from them before and was pleased.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I just rented through David's for the first time for an upcoming stay. I really wasn't even planning to, just kind of poking around the site and then decided to see what was available for certain dates in June. They came back with what they had, so I snagged a savanna view studio at Kidani. I've always wanted to stay there.

It really couldn't have been any easier. Then when a friend said she wanted to come along, I contacted David's and they contacted the owner and now my friend is added to the reservation.

I just reserved Magical Express via the form on the site too, so that should be added to the reservation soon.

I didn't get insurance because it's only 5 months away and I feel pretty sure I'll be going. This will be my second time renting DVC, my first was VGF directly through an owner. I signed that contract about 18 months ahead of the stay, she booked at the 11-month mark, and it was a marvelous experience from beginning to end.

I've already arranged to rent again from that same owner for June 2019. I wouldn't hesitate to rent through David's again though.

I'd definitely consider trip insurance. Anything can happen and they will not refund you or allow you to move your dates. My friend was out 2k after an unexpected family medical issue came up.

 

[GPC0321]

I'd definitely consider trip insurance. Anything can happen and they will not refund you or allow you to move your dates. My friend was out 2k after an unexpected family medical issue came up.

Thankfully, the credit card I used has a really good trip cancellation policy.

 

[Marionnette]

Make sure that your CC travel insurance covers timeshare rentals because that's what you're doing when you rent thru David's. It's no different than renting thru VRBO or AirBnB. You're renting from an individual and using David's as the middleman.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I had a fabulous experience renting through davids. I won't do it again without insurance, and many coverages do not cover this type of transaction. Anyone renting from davids and relying on credit card trip coverage should call the cc company and make sure it will cover. Mine would not. Also call your cc before booking to confirm no foreign transaction fees as pp said.

We will rent with davids again.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Most DVC members book their home resort at 11 months out and try to change at seven months out. If you are hoping for any of the newer resorts, you might not be able to find points through David until seven months out and then you might be too late. May isn't too busy for DVC (Not like Fall Frenzy from mid-Sept through early January).