Travel agent - will they help with renting DVC??

[Planner49]

We have begun preliminary planning for a group family trip to Disney World. Our party will likely consist of 8 adults and 3 small children. A monorail resort is a requirement, loading kids into carseats and driving each day is not gonna happen. We have always stayed at the Polynesian or Grand Floridian, but the Contemporary is fine if they have the best room structure.
In my early research, I realized immediately that we would have a real problem with Disney resorts - failure to guarantee connecting rooms. This is a complete nonstarter, as the 3 kids can all be in one room, but it MUST connect to an adult room (and the kids can NOT go in an adult room or a living space.) Likewise, most of the adult rooms (5 adults in 2 minimum, 3 preferred rooms) need to be on the same floor, at the very least, and not scattered throughout the resort. That means we need 3, preferably 4, rooms adjoining/connecting. The remaining 3 adults could share 1 room and, while preferably near, it is not a requirement.
This narrowed our search to suites and the possibility of renting DVC points for a villa.

I realized quickly that this planning (beyond simply the hotel, there is SO much to consider!) is way beyond my abilities, and wish to hire a travel agent to handle it. But it seems that travel agents typically earn their money through commissions made from resort bookings. So I wonder at their ability to give us some unbiased feedback on the possibility of renting DVC points instead. From my early research, it really seemed like DVC villas would ultimately provide the best rooms at the best price, as the suites were still typically limited to 2 bedrooms and were priced higher. My preference actually remains a hotel suite, as I prefer daily housekeeping. But the home-like amenities of DVC villas are also a big draw, as we will need to bring some of our own food (the kids really do not like Disney food and this was a struggle in the past).

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations on travel agents? I really want a full service travel agent. But I want to ensure I get the best possible room structure at the best price for our group

 

[ArwenMarie]

You can book a DVC villa direct through WDW. And if you wanted to use a TA, I assume if you did the booking through them they would get a commission as it is considered a regular resort booking. I would also keep your eye out for room-only discounts direct through Disney. If you book direct through WDW or a TA through WDW, you get daily housekeeping in the DVC units.

 

[mslhb]

You can book a DVC rental through a broker. Don't think I am allowed to say the one I used but it wasn't David's. They were super helpful and offer a cancellation option for an additional fee. This is our 1st time renting points so I was more comfortable getting the extra protection. They took care of everything like a TA. You can add daily mousekeeping for an additional fee. The savings for us renting points was substantial vs booking direct with Disney. Your confirmation number links with your MDE account just as if you booked direct with Disney.

 

[patty57]

If you mean that you would like to use a travel agent to book a private rental through a DVC owner, I don't know how that could work. There is an element of risk involved in a private rental that I can't imagine a travel agent would want to assume. Also, how would they get their commission? I think using a broker would probably be your best option.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Travel agents won't be a part of renting DVC via a broker, but some brokers offer certain travel agent services. It depends on what services you were hoping for via an agent.

 

[Planner49]

Yes, to be clear - I want a FULL SERVICE travel agent. One who keeps on top of everything, from dining reservations to fast passes. I want to do very minimal planning.

A broker does seem like a viable option... if I was definitely using a DVC. But I'm not certain that is what I want. That's kind of the point. I want the travel agent who does the legwork on figuring out the best option, be it a suite or a DVC. It seems like through a broker, I will have already ruled out a suite. And I'm not ready to do that.

I was not, however, aware that DVC's were available to book through Disney itself, as you traditionally book rooms. So you don't have to go through a DVC owner to get a DVC room? Why would anyone go through the owners then??

And yes, if anyone has specific recommendations, and we are not allowed to post them here (? I am clearly new, lol), please do PM me.

Thanks so much for the help!

 

[patty57]

I was not, however, aware that DVC's were available to book through Disney itself, as you traditionally book rooms. So you don't have to go through a DVC owner to get a DVC room? Why would anyone go through the owners then??

It is usually much less expensive to rent through owners than to book directly with WDW.

Edited to add that I can't help you with a travel agent, because I never use them.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There are multiple reasons people don't book DVC units via Disney.

1. Cost. DVC units are generally cheaper via points rental, with some rare exceptions.

2. Inventory. The inventory of DVC villas released to Dusney cash booking is very limited. You cannot always book a DVc unit on cash, because most units are never made available to non-point bookings.

It is extraordinarily rare to get a Grand Villa (3BR) DVC unit via a Disney cash booking.

No agent can guarantee connecting rooms, rooms on the same floor, or even rooms near to one another.

Frankly, you might be candidates to stay off-site if you really must all be together, andwant to use an agent rather than a DVC broker.

 

[Planner49]

Thank you all for your further assistance!

2. Inventory. The inventory of DVC villas released to Dusney cash booking is very limited. You cannot always book a DVc unit on cash, because most units are never made available to non-point bookings.

It is extraordinarily rare to get a Grand Villa (3BR) DVC unit via a Disney cash booking.

Frankly, you might be candidates to stay off-site if you really must all be together, andwant to use an agent rather than a DVC broker.

Yes, it was the 3 bedroom villas that drew me to the DVC, so it appears this is not a likely option through a travel agent booking traditionally through Disney.

There is zero chance of us staying off site. That point is not flexible - it must be on site at a monorail resort. And I do think it is possible to achieve what we want on property.

It's not that I am OPPOSED to using a broker. It just seems that I have to do all the legwork on hotels, availabilities, rates, deals etc. in order to determine the best fit for us, be it a suite or a DVC villa, in order to then make the decision to go with a travel agent (to book the suite) or a broker (to book the DVC villa). Thus leading me to my original question - is there any form of disney travel agent, broker, whatever who can guide me in making the best choice between BOTH those options, as well as the rest of my trip planning?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you are looking for someone who can investigate both options for you, you'll need to go through a TA. Just know, a TA will only be able to investigate cash bookings through Disney and not DVC rentals. It will cost more to do a cash reservation, but you will get daily housekeeping and more flexible change and cancellation terms.

I would highly suggest contacting an EarMarked, Authorized Disney Vacation Planner agency. These agencies are vetted by Disney and must meet certain standards to maintain their EarMarked status. Most of their agents specialize in Disney travel. The sponsor of these boards (Dreams Unlimited) is an EarMarked agency. You can also find a list here: http://www.authorizeddisneyvacationplanners.com . When contacting the agency, I would let them know you would like to work with a very experienced agent who is comfortable with large group bookings and is willing to do your ADR's and FP+ for you. Some agents will not do FP+ as Disney has actually asked TA's not to go into guests MDE accounts for a variety of reasons, one being, they want you to be able to navigate the system once you are onsite.

You don't mention your dates, but given your criteria on what you need in terms of resort location and room configuration, I would contact an agency NOW. For suites at CR, GF and Poly and villas at BLT (VGF is highly unlikely), you will need to book as soon as those rooms are available and if it's for 2017, you need to book ASAP.

 

[terri33inne]

DVC rental will deeply discount the cost, however the rest of the reservation is handled by you. If you are ok paying Disney prices (with a probable discount) then book via a travel agent for the DVC locations. A GOOD travel agent will handle your dining, FP's, etc in addition to the resort if that's what you want. Some agents will really only do the resort so shop around, and ask before you book with them how full service they are. There are many travel agents that advertise 'concierge services' these would be your full service ones.

I am a bit confused by

(and the kids can NOT go in an adult room or a living space.)

Do you mean if you got a 2 bedroom villa they can't sleep in the other bedroom, but you also wouldn't want them on a pull out couch in a living area?

 

[Hopefully]

We have begun preliminary planning for a group family trip to Disney World. Our party will likely consist of 8 adults and 3 small children. A monorail resort is a requirement, loading kids into carseats and driving each day is not gonna happen. We have always stayed at the Polynesian or Grand Floridian, but the Contemporary is fine if they have the best room structure.
In my early research, I realized immediately that we would have a real problem with Disney resorts - failure to guarantee connecting rooms. This is a complete nonstarter, as the 3 kids can all be in one room, but it MUST connect to an adult room (and the kids can NOT go in an adult room or a living space.) Likewise, most of the adult rooms (5 adults in 2 minimum, 3 preferred rooms) need to be on the same floor, at the very least, and not scattered throughout the resort. That means we need 3, preferably 4, rooms adjoining/connecting. The remaining 3 adults could share 1 room and, while preferably near, it is not a requirement.
This narrowed our search to suites and the possibility of renting DVC points for a villa.

I realized quickly that this planning (beyond simply the hotel, there is SO much to consider!) is way beyond my abilities, and wish to hire a travel agent to handle it. But it seems that travel agents typically earn their money through commissions made from resort bookings. So I wonder at their ability to give us some unbiased feedback on the possibility of renting DVC points instead. From my early research, it really seemed like DVC villas would ultimately provide the best rooms at the best price, as the suites were still typically limited to 2 bedrooms and were priced higher. My preference actually remains a hotel suite, as I prefer daily housekeeping. But the home-like amenities of DVC villas are also a big draw, as we will need to bring some of our own food (the kids really do not like Disney food and this was a struggle in the past).

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations on travel agents? I really want a full service travel agent. But I want to ensure I get the best possible room structure at the best price for our group

You are correct. The bolded sentence severely limits your choices, as no matter what Disney tells you they do not guarantee connecting rooms. Long time posters here can tell you their personal horror stories. As PP have said, it may be difficult to secure a 3 BR DVC on the monorail from either Disney or a broker. You best bet is to be sure to be ready to line up a DVC rental prior to 11 months in advance. Using a DVC broker they will only help with the Villa booking, not FP+ or ADR's.
I have used, and been very happy with, 2 travel agencies who did help. The board sponsor, Dreams Unlimited Travel and Instant Impressions. Both are certified Disney agencies. I would recommend both.
Good Luck

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think with your number of non-starters, you will end up unhappy.

• DVC villa occupancy is partly based on an assumption of sleeping 2-3 bodies in the living space.
• Disney will never guarantee connecting rooms. Not ever. Doesn't matter if it is a monorail resort.
• You would end up needing multiple 2BR villas to ensure no one sleeps in a "living space," and even then some people would be on sofa beds at monorail resort 2BRs. There are no monorail resorts with 3+ real beds in 2BRs.
• Getting multiple villas near each other is also never guaranteed.

At some point, you are going to have to rank what you deal breakers and must-haves truly are. You won't get everything you have listed as must-haves on-site, and no TA will be able to make them happen for you. So if on-site is the #1, you need to figure out what compromises you are willing to make on possibly not being together, sleeping in living spaces, sofa beds, etc.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

The Poly doesn't have anything that meets your requirements, except maybe the bungalows. You don't say what your budget is, but they are very high priced, even renting points. That leaves BLT and GF. Grand Villas are extremely limited and often book up exactly at 11 months out. Renting points is the only way you stand a chance of getting one, and even then I don't know that a broker could get one for you.

Your travel party needs a reality check on this one. You all need to decide what you can live with during the vacation given the parameters of Disney hotel practices. The busses aren't that bad, and are much more reliable than the monorail these days. Consider a different hotel.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The Poly doesn't have anything that meets your requirements, except maybe the bungalows.

And, actually, the Poly Bungalow assumes you sleep 3 in the living space (2 on a sofa bed, 1 on a murphy bed). The bedrooms have a King, a queen, and a pull-down, to sleep a total of 8.

There are suites in the Tonga longhouse. They max out at sleeping 8, but only 2 people are on sofa beds. If you have a lot of money, I believe the King Kamehameha can be expanded to 5 bedrooms. I believe the total cost to do that resembles at least a year of private college tuition, however.

 

[Lynne M]

Honestly, if I were you, I would contact Dreams Unlimited and see how many of your requirements they can fulfill.

As for the renting points vs booking a villa through Disney decision, there are really only two reasons anyone would rent points, so I don't think you need a travel agent to help you with that decision.

1. Renting from a member or through a brokerage is generally significantly cheaper than booking the same villa through Disney.

2. There are some villa types in some resorts that don't usually become available for cash bookings through Disney. If you end up wanting one of those, you may have no choice but to rent points.

If neither of those apply to your situation, and cost is not that big a factor, then I'd just drop the idea of renting points. I don't know of any travel agencies that would do the amount of work you'd be asking for if they're not getting the commission on the booking. It may be that there are some trip planning services out there, that you could pay to do all the dining reservations, fast passes, etc, but I can't think of any offhand.

 

[Planner49]

Thanks everyone for their help!

To clear up a few things - no, the kids cannot go in a living room. They go to bed at a very early hour, and wake up when people go through their room. So this would have all the adults in bed early, which is not the plan for this sort of family reunion. An adult, however, can go in the living area. Which is why the 3 bedroom setup does work very well. Bed 1 - couple. Bed 2 - couple. Bed 3 - kids. Couch - single adult. A 2 bedroom villa forces one of the couples onto the couch (so the kids can remain in a bedroom), and the single adult into a separate room which can not be guaranteed as nearby. Which would be so so very far from ideal, but would also be the compromise we would make before staying at a non-monorail resort. Again, that is a non-starter.

The trip is likely to be Feb 2018. I am aware of the limited availability of specific room types, so I am trying to figure out the best way to proceed with planning when the time comes, i.e. having the travel agent lined up. And yes, I am also aware that these tend to be extremely expensive rooms. I would like to get the best deal possible, of course, but we are financially equipped for the pricier accommodations.

I feel like we are going a little off track, though. Again, I am focused on a primary question here - is there an agent/broker I can hire who will research and make the best selection between regular booking and renting points? I know they typically make their money through the room booking commissions. But perhaps there are WDW travel agents out there who charge a fee instead, and will then give me unbiased feedback and recommendations??

2. There are some villa types in some resorts that don't usually become available for cash bookings through Disney. If you end up wanting one of those, you may have no choice but to rent points.

It is primarily the 3 bedroom villas we are interested in. Another poster mentioned that they tend not to become available through regular room rental. Do you agree this is also the case?
This remains my holdout in simply hiring a travel agent. A travel agent might tell me, sure, you can rent any room at Disney through us. Then, whoops, nope, that room never comes available through regular booking, so we end up in a 2 bedroom (not ideal). When meanwhile we could have gotten that 3 bedroom through a points broker. But not the full scale travel agent service I am looking for. Or vice versa - we could have gotten the room through an agent, and not the broker. By them being limited to only one form on booking, I am limited. I am hoping to find someone who is NOT limited.

 

[cvjw]

If you want a grand villa (three bedroom dvc property) on the monorail loop, you need to book thru a dvc rental company as those are not readily available to reserve thru Disney. The only exception are the poly bungalows. Disney still owns quite a few of those and will let you book one thru them directly. They only have two bedrooms though

You need to research how much you want to spend for a grand villa. Renting one they a broker will cost between $10,000 and $15,000 for a week in February. It will be more than that thru Disney.

High dollars for premium Disney lodging. If that is in the budget, I would rent thru a broker. You will have to do all your dining and fast passes yourself.

 

[patty57]

I feel like we are going a little off track, though. Again, I am focused on a primary question here - is there an agent/broker I can hire who will research and make the best selection between regular booking and renting points? I know they typically make their money through the room booking commissions. But perhaps there are WDW travel agents out there who charge a fee instead, and will then give me unbiased feedback and recommendations??



It is primarily the 3 bedroom villas we are interested in. Another poster mentioned that they tend not to become available through regular room rental. Do you agree this is also the case?
This remains my holdout in simply hiring a travel agent. A travel agent might tell me, sure, you can rent any room at Disney through us. Then, whoops, nope, that room never comes available through regular booking, so we end up in a 2 bedroom (not ideal). When meanwhile we could have gotten that 3 bedroom through a points broker. But not the full scale travel agent service I am looking for. Or vice versa - we could have gotten the room through an agent, and not the broker. By them being limited to only one form on booking, I am limited. I am hoping to find someone who is NOT limited.

As far as going a little off track...As I mentioned previously, I don't use travel agents, so if one exists that would look at renting points for you...I wouldn't know. More importantly, so far it seems as though the posters here who do use travel agents don't know of such a service either. Who knows...maybe someone will come along who does know of such a person.
Yes, this is the case. There may be an extremely tiny chance that a grand villa does not get taken by DVC owners, and it ends up in the regular Disney inventory, but I wouldn't count on that...ever. If you are interested in a DVC Grand Villa, you will have to rent privately, or through a broker.

 

[bumbershoot]

and the kids can NOT go in an adult room or a living space.

thanks for the explanation. You mean they can't sleep in there. I thought you literally meant "go" as in they can't enter a living space.

I realized quickly that this planning (beyond simply the hotel, there is SO much to consider!) is way beyond my abilities, and wish to hire a travel agent to handle it.

Dining and FPs. That's the other stuff. That's it.

I want to do very minimal planning.

You still have to tell a TA what you want. What sorts of food you want, what kind of rides you like. Unless you're literally going to say "I don't care, just choose", you are still *doing the thinking*. The only thing you aren't doing when you hand it over to a TA is putting your hands on a keyboard or a phone and *making* the arranagements.

Why would anyone go through the owners then??

It's so much more expensive to go through Disney.

Thus leading me to my original question - is there any form of disney travel agent, broker, whatever who can guide me in making the best choice between BOTH those options, as well as the rest of my trip planning?

I doubt it. TAs get paid by the hotel.

You could research and find if there is a TA who would charge by the hour of work, but why not just read here? You're here already asking questions. Just ask different ones.

Your username is killing me since you say you don't want to plan.

People here have laid out the spaces you might want. Read deeper in the threads about each dvc on the monorail and see if any of them work for you. If you find a villa that would work, find an owner of that resort and get them lined up to book for you in March 2017 the moment bookings are available.

It can *feel* like there are a ton of decisions to be made, but handing it over to a TA doesn't magically take those decisions away from you. Where do you want to eat, where do you want to stay (and don't you only have three options at all?), and what do you want to do?


By the way, are you not planning to go to Animal Kingdom at all???