Using Points for a Hotel instead of Villas

[Jenny22]

I am not a DVC member, but I am looking into renting points for a future vacation. I was wondering, is it possible to rent points and reserve a hotel room - like at the Contemporary? The Villas look great, but we were going to stay at the Contemporary this next trip.

Also, what if I only rent 100 points, but I need 130, can I pay the difference in cash?

Thanks for any input.

Jenny22

 

[disneynutz]

I am not a DVC member, but I am looking into renting points for a future vacation. I was wondering, is it possible to rent points and reserve a hotel room - like at the Contemporary? The Villas look great, but we were going to stay at the Contemporary this next trip.

Also, what if I only rent 100 points, but I need 130, can I pay the difference in cash?

Thanks for any input.

Jenny22

It would be cheaper to look for a Disney deal for the regular hotel.

If you like the Contemporary, what about the new DVC resort BLT?

No you can't mix cash and points for your reservation.

 

[hakepb]

I am not sure if you can/will be able to get a "normal" Contemporary room on points (past this year) because once a DVC section is added to a Deluxe resort (i.e. BLT being added to Contemp) they stop allowing DVC members to "trade out" to the cash side..

Even if it is possible, "trading out" to a non-DVC unit is an expensive way to go. 1st, there is a $95 exchange fee (plus your points rental..), 2nd the points needed to stay in a normal deluxe room is usually about the same points you can stay in a much, much larger DVC 1BR with King bedroom, whirlpool tub, full kitchen/dining room. 3rd, "trading out" makes the points used, reallt restriced. changes or cancellations are super restriced and every/any change results in another $95 fee. I am not sure if it is legal for an owner to rent a trade out (inbound RCI exchanges cannot be rented), but if it is legal, I'd imagine an owner would want 100% deposit at booking

Trading out to a non-DVC is an option that might be OK for an owner that really, really wants to stay one time in the GF or Poly, just to check it out, or because you have other family there (and you want to be near) but not reallt a cost effective use of points...

2nd question.
If you need more DVC points for a DVC stay, you can add on additional 100% cash days, but each night needs to be 100% cash or 100% points. The cash rooms should be added through DVC Member services (through the member) as MS can link the points and cash nights together to guarantee you do not have to switch rooms (as might happen if you called CRO to add on cash nights, but CRO sometimes has beter deals...)

FYI, you do not actually rent "points". If you are not a member, you never have control of the points. You can rent a reservation that an owner with points reserved...

 

[Jenny22]

Thanks everyone! that was great information! I would love to stay in the villas, my husband really wants to stay at the hotel. So now I just have to take all the great info I got and decide.

THANKS!

Jenny22

 

[Deb & Bill]

Whenever you make a reservation for something Disney that is not DVC, you have to pay a $95 transfer fee. On top of the large number of points that a non-DVC reservation will require. Plus, you can't reserve on points at any non-DVC hotel connected to a DVC resort - WL, BC, BWI, AKL and now CR.

Like the others said, you don't rent points. You purchase a reservation that a member made with those points. You have zero control over that reservation - meaning adding/subtracting nights, upgrading, confirming, etc. You get a great room at a cheap price - with lots of strings attached.

 

[Sandisw]

Now that BLT will be opening, they have stopped allowing DVC members to book the CR using points (I believe they stopped taking the reservations in March).

If the hotel is what you really want, you won't be able to do with with a DVC member renting you a points reservation.

Good luck!!

 

[RobDoc]

The points needed to stay at non-DVC options are typically considerably higher than the points needed to stay at a DVC resort. For someone looking to rent, that translates into a higher cost than what you could reserve thru Disney directly - especially on weekends.

As noted, after BLT opens in August it is anticipated that DVC points may no longer be used for stays at the CR - just as points cannot be used for stays at BWI, WL, BC or AKL.

Regardless, just be sure to do the math when renting from a member so you are aware what the same accommodation would cost if reserved directly thru Disney.