To rent or not to rent? Help me understand renting dvc points?

[Brenda Wood]

We are a family of 4 and go to WDW every 2-3 years. We always book direct with Disney and usually buy a package including hopper tickets, magical express and sometimes a meal plan. Being on a budget, we usually end up at a value resort. But now we would like to upgrade our experience and stay at nicer disney resorts. I have heard the best way to do this on a budget is to rent dvc points, but I know absolutely nothing about it. Can you all help me figure out the pros and cons? And the best place to find people 'renting' points?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

When you "rent points" you are actually renting a reservation at a DVC resort made for you by a DVC member.

• A member can book at the resort they own 11 months in advance, or 7 months in advance at any resort with availability. Availability at each window can vary, even at a resort they own. There is no guarantee to owners they can book where they own when they want.
• The member will control the reservation until you check in.
• Your booking is generally non-refundable and cannot be cancelled for refund due to the restrictions of a timeshare booking by the owner.
• You will often need to pay in full up front, versus the $200/first night's stay deposit on a booking with Disney.
• Any changes, special room requests or adding the dining plan have to be done through the owner. Dining plans must be paid in full at the time that they are added to the reservation because that's the way that DVC works.
• Tickets, FP+ and ADRs are your own responsibility.
• DVC units are not the same as staying in a hotel room. Aside from not getting daily housekeeping, you will not get 2 beds in a studio unless you're staying at OKW. What you get in a studio is a queen bed and a full sleeper sofa. Some studios will also have a Murphy bed that is smaller than a twin bed that will accommodate a 5th person. Most 2BR units are a 1BR+a studio, so if you're looking at a bigger unit for a larger group, know the bed set up.
• You will have all of the advantages that any Disney resort guest gets (like EMH, access to the resort's theme pool, ADRs at 180+10, FP+ at 60 days prior to arrival, MBs) but none of the benefits that DVC members have (such as member discounts or events or Top of the World Lounge).
• You will not qualify for any additional Disney discounts, like Free Dining. You also are unlikely to get any kind of upgrade (and should not ask for one, as the owner who made the reservation for you may be charged for it).
• Demand for DVC rental far exceeds the number of available units and owners willing to use their points for a rental. DVC is designed to be at or near 100% occupancy all year long.
• Your chances of getting exactly what you want are much greater if you have lined up someone, who owns at the resort that you are interested in booking, at least 11 months in advance of the day you wish to arrive. The probability of success goes down from there.
• A broker is a go-between between a renter and an owner. To meet your reservation request, they need an owner, with the right number of points, in the right use year, at the right resort -- AND the unit needs to be available. This can be a challenge to get alignment on.
• In general, as a renter do not expect to book Boardwalk Standard Studios or 2BR, BLT Standard Studios or 2BR units, Grand Floridian studios, or Animal Kingdom Value or Club Level units. You can ask, but have backup plans (and budget, in the case of the Standard/Value units).
• DVC "busy season" does not align to what people think of as high season at Disney, and starts in late September and runs through marathon. Epcot resorts and near-park can be hard for owners to book during Food & Wine.
• Renting from a DVC owner can get you staying at a deluxe resort, in a villa-type room, for less than a standard room at that resort would cost from Disney. But it is non-refundable.
• If there is any issue, Disney will not be a part of any fix, as your transaction is not with them.

David's DVC Rentals is a sponsor of the DIS and a reputable broker. They have a nice calculator on their site to show how many points are needed for any given booking; this calculator does NOT indicate availability of the unit or of points. The DVC Rent/Trade Board here on DIS has private owners offering their points for rent.

 

[Ben E N]

Our family was in a very similar position to you just this past year. We had always stayed in moderate or value resorts and were looking for something different. We decided to go with David's rentals.
When looking to see if the resort and nights that we wanted were available, we had to put down a non-refundable deposit just to see if the room was available (we would have gotten our money back only if we could not get the dates and location that we were inquiring about). Once it was confirmed that our resort and dates were available for rental, the entire cost of the reservation was due up front. This was certainly different from a normal hotel reservation. On one hand, it was nice to have a large portion of our vacation be prepaid, but on the other hand, it made me really nervous if one of my kids got the sniffles or something a week or so before the trip, knowing I would not be able to cancel it if anything unforeseen came up.
Everything made it into MDE just like a normal hotel reservation. I was able to book dining at 180 days, and fastpasses at 60 days as normal, all under my own account. Checking into the hotel was easy, and everyone treated us as normal guests. It is important to note that housekeeping only comes by once or twice a week. This was not a problem for me, but know that you may have to walk a garbage bag or two down the hall during your trip.
To me renting the vacation club points was a great deal. You really do get a lot more at the vacation club resorts then you would at a value or moderate, and for not that much more money. Having a kitchenette in the studio was also a money saver, as we were able to prep a larger variety of in-room meals than we would have been able to in a hotel room.
In my mind, the biggest thing for you to consider if you are comfortable committing to paying for the entire resort stay before going. If so, I say give it a shot.

 

[CarolMN]

You'll find answers to many of your questions in this thread:

Renting Points


It's from the our DVC Resource Center.

 

[Deb & Bill]

With housekeeping, like both the other posters noted, it is not daily. If you stay seven nights or less, on day four (with day one as check in day), you will get your towels replaced, trash removed and incidentals like shampoo replaced. For stays of eight nights or more, you get a full cleaning on day four then trash and towels service on day eight. Then the cycle repeats for longer stays. If you need more towels that what you get in the room, you pay for them. If you like fresh towels every day, you launder them yourself or pay for new towels. A towel pack (four bath towels, two hand towels, four face cloths and a tub mat) will cost you $6. If you get it when you check in, you'll need to buy another one on day four, day eight, etc. if you want the extra towels. Lots of people will tell you just to swipe towels from the pool. DVC says no because pool towels cost more to launder (with all the sunscreen, etc). Just get a towel pack or pay for additional cleaning. You only get a single tiny bottle of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion each time your unit is serviced. If that isn't enough, you can purchase additional or bring some from home.

You'll have a broom and vacuum in your villa to clean up if you make a mess between room servicing.

Here's the scoop from DVC website:

Housekeeping
Trash & Towel Service
For stays of seven or less nights, Trash & Towel Service is provided on day four, regardless of whether you're using Member-discounted cash, Vacation Points or a combination of both.

With Trash & Towel service, Housekeeping will:

•Empty trash and replace liners in trash bins.
•Provide fresh bathroom linens.
•Replace shampoo, facial soap and bath soap.
•Replenish facial tissues, paper towels and toilet paper.
•Replenish coffee, sugar, cream and sweeteners.
•Replenish dishwashing liquid, dishwashing detergent, sponges and laundry detergent as needed in one-, two- and three-bedroom Vacation Homes.

Full Cleaning Service
For stays of eight or more nights, Full Cleaning Service is provided on day four and Trash & Towel Service is provided on day eight. After that, the cycle begins again on day 12, regardless of whether you're using Member-discounted cash, Vacation Points or a combination of both.

With Full Cleaning service, Housekeeping will provide everything included with the Trash & Towel Service, plus:

•Change the bed linens.
•Vacuum and dust the Vacation Home.
•Clean the bathroom(s).
•Clean the kitchen/kitchenette and wash the dishes.

Pay As You Play
With Pay As You Play service, you'll be provided with the following amenities free of charge at the start of your stay. After that, you may purchase more for the following fees:

•Toiletries Package, $5.00 - 1 facial soap, 1 bath soap, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 shower gel
•Coffee Package, $3.00 - 1 package of coffee, 8 sugars, 8 creamers, 8 artificial sweeteners
•Towel Package, $6.00 - 4 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 4 washcloths, 1 bath mat
•Laundry Detergent (only in One-, Two-, and Three-bedroom Vacation Homes), $1.00 - 1 box

Additional Full Cleaning Rates:

•Studio/Inn Room - $30.00 per day requested
•One-Bedroom - $45.00 per day requested
•Two-Bedroom - $60.00 per day requested
•Three-Bedroom - $75.00 per day requested

Additional Trash & Towel Rates:

•Studio/Inn Room - $15.00 per day requested
•One-Bedroom - $20.00 per day requested
•Two-Bedroom - $25.00 per day requested
•Three-Bedroom - $35.00 per day requested

Room Change Fees:
Room change fee will apply for Member requested room changes after check-in for a different view or room location.

•Deluxe Studio - $30
•One-Bedroom Villa - $45
•Two-Bedroom Villa - $60
•Three-Bedroom Grand Villa - $75

Note: Rates are subject to change

 

[Disneypapa]

As previously mentioned, The Rent/Trade forum, is another place to rent points from members who have extra points they are not using. As with any transaction like this, insist on a rental contract. I have rented my extra points several times successfully.

 

[Brenda Wood]

Thank you everyone for the info! It is a lot to think about. Keep the comments/advice coming if you have any. I like to hear what others have experienced renting.

 

[skippytx]

We rented last year before we decided to buy and the process was pretty painless with David's. It was a great experience and confirmed that we wanted to purchase DVC ourselves.

The pluses for us were:

Nicer location and accommodation for roughly the same price. For about the same price as the AoA family suite, we rented a 1 bedroom at Bay Lake Tower. In room kitchen and laundry was fantastic, and with BLT it's all about location location location. We felt like we spent 1/3 of our trip at AoA either walking to/from or riding the bus. Being a 10 minute walk from MK was awesome for us.

Just understand the reservation is different than booking direct with the mouse.

 

[kboo]

We now have 3 points rentals under our belts - all through the rent/trade board with private owners. The biggest issue, and it takes a certain amount of trust on both sides, is paying upfront for all the lodging. It is cheaper than using a broker as you don't have to put down a deposit just to look for availability, and the cost per point is less as well. We have nothing but good things to report from our experiences, and it's confirmed for us that buying DVC was a good choice for us.

On housekeeping every 4 days - if you just take care of your towels, laundry, personal space as you would at home, there really isn't a need for daily housekeeping. If you're in a 1BR or larger, you can easily launder your own towels and sheets if need be. We have always stayed with a baby or toddler, and the only issue for us was taking the diapers to the trash room every 2 days because of the smell. Our last 2 stays have been in studios and we've had no problems doing laundry when we needed to.

 

[MouseOfCards]

We also successfully rented points for a number of trips over the years before finally purchasing DVC. Then we discovered we were part one of the largest DVC groups here; the "waited too long to buy" club.

 

[kboo]

We also successfully rented points for a number of trips over the years before finally purchasing DVC. Then we discovered we were part one of the largest DVC groups here; the "waited too long to buy" club.

In 20-20 hindsight, we should have bought in 2014. Before resale lost its perks. We started coming annually (or more often) in 2013.