VDH - Renting Points for Fall 2024 via David's....How good are my odds?

[meeshy1342]

I'm trying to rent points for 4 nights in a Premier View Studio at VDH for the end of September 2024. I'm in the queue with David's but I'm guessing I might be waiting until the 7-month mark when bookings open up to all DVC Members (outside of those with VDH as their home resort). On the one hand, there are a huge number of Studios, so that's in my favor, but on the other hand, I'm sure it will be insanely popular since they are so new. It's certainly got me stressed and I'm kicking myself for not being on the ball and putting in my request when they first opened up a few weeks ago (although no way to tell whether that would have mattered). I am still new to the DVC rental game, this past fall was our first time renting via David's and it went great (our rental request was approved within a day), but I also booked as soon as the booking window opened for the resort. I'm hoping more experienced users might have an idea of how good my chances are at snagging the reservation I want for next September. Our backup plan is to book directly with Disney or via Costco for a hotel package at DLH, but we would really prefer the VC room (and booking at the hotel would be significantly more expensive).

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Not great, honestly. VDH is brand shiny new, and most buyers of the newest hottest direct don't rent the first year because they want to try their purchase. Those that do tend to offer as private rentals at a much higher rate/take home than they get via an agency.

At 7 months, competition tends to be pretty high. DL competition has always been a challenge, and while VDH provides more options demand still exceeds the number of units available to people booking with points. The "huge number of studios" doesn't apply here, because only those studios declared to the condo association may be booked by DVC members. Only about 20% of VDH is declared, meaning "bookable with member points."

Stealing straight from DVC News:

The initial declaration for The Villas at Disneyland Hotel includes a total of 61 rooms of the following types:

• Duo Studio: 8
• Dedicated Studio: 48
• Dedicated One Bedroom: 1
• Lockoff Two Bedroom: 1
• Dedicated Two Bedroom: 2
• Grand Villa: 1

In simpler terms, presently DVC is only accepting reservations for 8 Duo Studio rooms--on any given Use Day--using points. There are only 2 One Bedroom villas available to members each night--one of which is a dedicated room and the other part of a lockoff which can be booked as either a Two Bedroom or One Bedroom.

This limited availability means that even new owners of Disneyland Hotel may encounter difficulties with room availability.

There will likely be another declaration in advance of your 7 month date, but I'd not expect more than 50% of the resort to be available on points by your 7 month date. Right now, only 48 studios are bookable to points.

 

[DaveNan]

Are you a member? Do you know a member who does not own at VDH and is willing to rent? On most mornings there have been a limited number of rooms available to book, but they are gone withing seconds to minutes. The confirmation and booking process with David's will not allow 7 months to the day booking unless the rooms are available for hours, if not a couple of days into the 7 month window. Even owning points, since rooms are filling so quickly at the 7 month mark, "walking" a reservation will give you a booking chance on multiple mornings, but still not guarantee getting a room or being able to advance your "walk". Being the owner or having a friendly owner willing to try a "walk" would give you your best chance.

 

[meeshy1342]

I figured it would be a good idea to ask the experts, and clearly it was! I'm disappointed but absolutely not surprised, this is kind of what I anticipated. Originally, we were in the queue for a 1-bedroom at VGC through David's, but I was thinking since inventory is lower there, our chances might be slightly better at VDL. I wasn't aware they release the units in "waves" for rental via points.

In pricing it all out, a room at DLH would run about the same as the 1-bedroom at VGC - Does anyone have any thoughts on the odds of us getting a room there? We could have David's switch us back to the queue for that (I feel so bad for them, we've really flip-flopped lol, but they've been pretty patient with us).

Unfortunately, we are not Members and the only Members I know have bought points at VDL and plan to use them for their own trip

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Odds for a VGC 1BR are slightly better but still not great.

 

[CarolMN]

Keep an eye on the DIS Rent/Transfer Board. I've noticed VDH points for rent pop up every now and then.

Good luck!

 

[meeshy1342]

Thanks everyone for the tips. We had David's switch us back to the list for a 1-bedroom at VGC. If all else fails, we'll book a room at DLH. Either outcome would be fine, but I appreciate the additional info/context regarding how these releases work especially with newer units!

 

[DaveNan]

Keep an eye on the DIS Rent/Transfer Board. I've noticed VDH points for rent pop up every now and then.

Good luck!

Also, when you get 1-2 weeks out from the booking window, go to the rental board. Find some members with non VDH resort points looking to rent. If you offer them a premium, closer to the Dave's rate for VDH rather than the 7 month rate for any resort, you might find one willing to book for you at 8AM sharp or even walk a reservation. You might get a room and they will get compensated for the effort.

 

[meeshy1342]

Oh, I would happily pay someone the David's rate today if they could book my room lol. The booking window for our dates is open for people who are owners at VDL, but I'll keep this in mind as we get closer to the 7-month mark when dates will open for non-VDL people.

Can someone explain the concept of "walking" to me, or point me to a thread on the forum that describes what that is? I'm 100% a newbie when it comes to all this.

Also, am I allowed to post my request on the Rent/Transfer Board, or is that board strictly for those with points/bookings available? It seems like the majority of the posts I see are for people with points available, so I wanted to check so I don't violate any rules if I post there.

 

[Disfamwa]

Also, keep in mind that Disneyland usually runs hotel discounts for September. I’ve noticed that owners on Facebook sometimes ask almost as much as what it would cost to book a room directly through Disney (people really charge a premium for Disneyland properties).

Edit: I would book a back-up room separate from tickets so you could take advantage of any direct hotel sales or if a DVC rental comes through.

 

[CarolMN]

Also, am I allowed to post my request on the Rent/Transfer Board, or is that board strictly for those with points/bookings available? It seems like the majority of the posts I see are for people with points available, so I wanted to check so I don't violate any rules if I post there.

The R/T Board does not accept 'Wanted' posts.* Instead, you are invited to post a reply to an existing thread that offers points for rent or to a thread offering to rent a confirmed reservation if your dates happen to match. Personal details cn be exchanged using the Conversation System (aka DM or PM).

* This is to minimize the opportunity for scammers to use the DIS R/T Board to contact posters looking to rent reservations. They are known to troll the internet looking for victims and the DIS does not want to make it easy for them to scam our Community members in that manner.

 

[superlarz]

Oh, I would happily pay someone the David's rate today if they could book my room lol. The booking window for our dates is open for people who are owners at VDL, but I'll keep this in mind as we get closer to the 7-month mark when dates will open for non-VDL people.

Can someone explain the concept of "walking" to me, or point me to a thread on the forum that describes what that is? I'm 100% a newbie when it comes to all this.

Also, am I allowed to post my request on the Rent/Transfer Board, or is that board strictly for those with points/bookings available? It seems like the majority of the posts I see are for people with points available, so I wanted to check so I don't violate any rules if I post there.

Unfortunately I don't receive any new points until Oct next year or I would take you up on this offer.

 

[sndral]

…
Can someone explain the concept of "walking" to me, or point me to a thread on the forum that describes what that is? I'm 100% a newbie when it comes to all this.
…

Some DVC villas are so popular at certain times of year that there aren’t enough to meet the demand, thus at exactly 8 a.m. 11 months out the folks with the fastest internet connection grab the villas & they’re already booked by the time the folks w/ slower internet connections try. So, to get a head start some folks book the villa they want several months earlier than 11 months. Then every couple of days they move their reservation forward a couple of days. Their existing booking blocks anyone from getting the villa & they ‘walk’ the reservation forward until they get the days they really want. Note only owners of a resort can book that resort at 11 months. Folks who own at other resorts can’t book until 7 months before their arrival date.
Some folks try to walk a 7 month reservation for a resort they don’t own, but it’s a lot of effort & since a person who does own there can block a 7 month walker it’s less likely to be successful. I would not rent points based on an owner’s promise to try to do a walk at a resort they didn’t own - too risky IMO, especially at a new resort in active sales like VDH, too many new buyers using their just purchased points to book stays at their new resort.
What does happen with new DVC resorts is that as they sell more they’ll declare more inventory into DVC, right after they declare more inventory a lot more villas are suddenly available to book - so you might get lucky if they do a declaration w/in 7 months. I’d book my room for cash (which can be cancelled) & keep my request w/ David’s, or watch for an owner at VDH wanting to rent their points & if you find a rental you can just cancel the cash reservation.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

NGL, if I had brand new direct purchase VDH points, I wouldn't accept anything as low as the David's rate for them. I'd want at least $26-27.

 

[meeshy1342]

NGL, if I had brand new direct purchase VDH points, I wouldn't accept anything as low as the David's rate for them. I'd want at least $26-27.

Fair point, and I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for asking for a higher price for a newer, very in-demand product lol. Even at the price range per point that you list above, it would still be a saving vs. booking directly in the Disneyland hotel, especially if you want any sort of pool view (assuming I'm understanding the point calendar for VDH, which I might not be).

 

[starry_solo]

I think the chances are good.

my regular owner that I rent from got me reservations in November 2023 (so this month) and January 2024 (so in two months) using his WDW points when reservations opened up for non owners in September.

we got a standard studio for November and a premium view studio for January. I wasn’t picky with the view, I said get whatever you can get as long as it can sleep 4 (so no duo). There was a waitlist for November because one day he got a standard and the other was premium view but he wait listed and got both standards and then combined the reservations so we only have one reservation number for November.

 

[Genie+]

I'm trying to rent points for 4 nights in a Premier View Studio at VDH for the end of September 2024. I'm in the queue with David's but I'm guessing I might be waiting until the 7-month mark when bookings open up to all DVC Members (outside of those with VDH as their home resort). On the one hand, there are a huge number of Studios, so that's in my favor, but on the other hand, I'm sure it will be insanely popular since they are so new. It's certainly got me stressed and I'm kicking myself for not being on the ball and putting in my request when they first opened up a few weeks ago (although no way to tell whether that would have mattered). I am still new to the DVC rental game, this past fall was our first time renting via David's and it went great (our rental request was approved within a day), but I also booked as soon as the booking window opened for the resort. I'm hoping more experienced users might have an idea of how good my chances are at snagging the reservation I want for next September. Our backup plan is to book directly with Disney or via Costco for a hotel package at DLH, but we would really prefer the VC room (and booking at the hotel would be significantly more expensive).

When we starting renting DVC we learned that if a certain popular room/resort is important, the best route is renting through a resort specific owner. The further in the home resort priority window the better.

What we’d do (before become members ourselves) is take a look at an online DVC availability tool to get an idea of what was possibly still open, then try to match owner ASAP. IMO it’s also worth the extra couple dollars per point for home priority at certain resorts. May be a bit higher than other private rentals but usually still lower than brokers premium point prices.

 

[meeshy1342]

I think the chances are good.

my regular owner that I rent from got me reservations in November 2023 (so this month) and January 2024 (so in two months) using his WDW points when reservations opened up for non owners in September.

we got a standard studio for November and a premium view studio for January. I wasn’t picky with the view, I said get whatever you can get as long as it can sleep 4 (so no duo). There was a waitlist for November because one day he got a standard and the other was premium view but he wait listed and got both standards and then combined the reservations so we only have one reservation number for November.

My husband is coordinating the request through David's and I think it would push him over the edge of I told him to have David's switch our request back to VDH haha (we've switched back and forth a few times now). If we don't have luck with our VGC request by early Feb I might have David's switch us back to VDH since that would be closer to the 7-month mark from our trip But it's helpful to hear real-world experience from someone in regards to renting at VDH!

 

[starry_solo]

My husband is coordinating the request through David's and I think it would push him over the edge of I told him to have David's switch our request back to VDH haha (we've switched back and forth a few times now). If we don't have luck with our VGC request by early Feb I might have David's switch us back to VDH since that would be closer to the 7-month mark from our trip But it's helpful to hear real-world experience from someone in regards to renting at VDH!

I think your chances of getting VDH are better than VGC.

There are 61 declared units in VDH right now, per this thread:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/t...ry-tower-owners-and-fans-info-thread.3923658/

There are only 47 total for VGC, as I recall.

 

[Sunnyore]

There's quite a few facebook dvc rental groups out there that you can look into as well. The rules for renting in this forum were too confusing for me so that's why I ventured elsewhere to rent my points eventually. I do recall seeing some owners post renting for VDH so that might be another option for you. Just please be careful because there are a lot of scammers out there. Look for tips that people suggest before sending any money. And there is the most rooms available right now for deluxe studio preferred view so choosing that category should give you the best chance at scoring a reservation.