Villas versus hotels

[ww52]

Like many questions, I'm quite sure the answer is within the boards - but spending about 10-15 minutes I'm still a bit confused.

"Bullet point" style, I'd like to know:

- A "villa" is a Disney Vacation Club location, correct?
- ANYONE can rent a room at a villa (you don't have to be a vacation club member) correct?
- Do you need to acquire "points" first? Either direct from a member or a third party site?
- If so, can you get them from Disney themselves - and in effect by calling to reserve the room just like doing it for one of their resorts?
- The only differences from a practical point of view between say BCV and BC are housekeeping and room service, correct?

As my son's family begins to grow, I think it's worth them looking into this for their next stay. We always thought of vacation club sites as being for vacation club members and never considered staying there.

Thanks in advance.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

A "villa" is a Disney Vacation Club location, correct?

More specifically, it is a DVC UNIT.

ANYONE can rent a room at a villa (you don't have to be a vacation club member) correct?

Correct. Disney have a number of them that can be booked via their site, with cash. You can also rent a reservation from a DVC member.

Do you need to acquire "points" first? Either direct from a member or a third party site?

You actually rent a reservation. You can't acquire points, or do anything with them as a non-member. All points come via members. Agencies are just go-betweens between you and a member.

If so, can you get them from Disney themselves - and in effect by calling to reserve the room just like doing it for one of their resorts?

You can book a villa for cash if available via Disney. It will generally cost more than an equivalent points-rental booking, but will have different rules for cancellation and housekeeping.

The only differences from a practical point of view between say BCV and BC are housekeeping and room service, correct?

No. A BCV studio unit will be a queen bed, a pull out sofa, and a murphy bed. A BC unit will be two queens, and sometimes a day bed. The BCV studio unit will have a kitchenette. Larger BCV units have a different configuration, including a kitchen.

It is, frankly, easier to get a booking at BC than at BCV, either via Disney or via points rental booking. BCV is small and insanely popularly amongst DVC members, and Disney own only about 2% of the points.

 

[ww52]

Thanks for the quick response. Sorry on the last point - I knew the rooms were vastly different. I was talking more about services.

And I used BCV vs BC as an example. There are a LOT of "villas" these days; I used to think in terms of onsite resorts vs off site. Even when they started building "villas" I never even considered them. Figured they were "members only".

While I realize as you say they are probably tougher to get (and cash only? No credit card at all?) it's still worth thinking about.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Booking directly with Disney for cash gets you daily full cleaning. Booking through DVC gets your room serviced every four days and if you stay less than eight nights you get no full cleaning at all. If you want clean towels, you pay for them. If you want more coffee, you pay for it. DVC is a timeshare and members pay all the costs for the resort, not Disney (except for the points they own).

When we say cash, that means instead of points. So cash means checks, cards, bills, coins.

 

[Smilelea]

By cash, she just means as opposed to points. Disney will take your money however you like
It is definitely worth looking at if you're OK with the compromises of staying in a DVC room.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The difficulty of getting various DVC units varies, on both points and via Disney Reservations. Inventory varies by DVC resort, unit type, view type. Disney Reservations will hold a very small number of anything compared to the units bookable on points, but even on points, some units are unicorns.

On points, members can book the resort they own at starting 11 months from check in, and at anything available at 7. If you rent a reservation made for you by an owner, your best chances to get what you want are at 11 months out, and even then, some of the least expensive units may still be out of reach due to availability.

The busy season for DVC bookings doesn't align to what most people think of busy season at Disney, either. So that becomes a factor.

 

[tjmw2727]

DVC units are also often referred to as a vila and you can book them through MDE, (or call) just like a traditional resort room or rent from an owner on a rental site. We often rent a studio vila right through Disney (aka cash) as I have two "adult" daughters and the vila's don't charge for the extra adult over 2 per room.

Anyone can rent a DVC vila through Disney using MDE - no membership required, in fact we are Annual Passholders and we often get a discount on the vila just like we would a traditional room. If you want to rent from an owner using their points there are websites that connect you with renters.

When you book through Disney (cash reservation) you do get daily housekeeping and access to room service, all the amenities you would get with a traditional room. When you rent via an owner (on points) you get trash service daily and housekeeping every few days, you also get access to room service and all the other amenities.

You can price out the vila's right alongside the other options by using the website. Other options for families are the family suites at AOA and ASM as well as the cabins.

Like many questions, I'm quite sure the answer is within the boards - but spending about 10-15 minutes I'm still a bit confused.

"Bullet point" style, I'd like to know:

- A "villa" is a Disney Vacation Club location, correct?
- ANYONE can rent a room at a villa (you don't have to be a vacation club member) correct?
- Do you need to acquire "points" first? Either direct from a member or a third party site?
- If so, can you get them from Disney themselves - and in effect by calling to reserve the room just like doing it for one of their resorts?
- The only differences from a practical point of view between say BCV and BC are housekeeping and room service, correct?

As my son's family begins to grow, I think it's worth them looking into this for their next stay. We always thought of vacation club sites as being for vacation club members and never considered staying there.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tjmw2727]

By cash, she just means as opposed to points. Disney will take your money however you like
It is definitely worth looking at if you're OK with the compromises of staying in a DVC room.

Just wondering what compromises?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Just wondering what compromises?

If you book on points, via a member "renting" to you, it is generally non-refundable. You will probably pay the bulk, if not 100%, up front. You need to plan at least 7 but closer to 11 months in advance. You will not be eligible for any discounts from disney on your lodging cost. You will not get daily housekeeping. The bed arrangements are different.

 

[Hopefully]

E

Just wondering what compromises?

If you book on points, via a member "renting" to you, it is generally non-refundable. You will probably pay the bulk, if not 100%, up front. You need to plan at least 7 but closer to 11 months in advance. You will not be eligible for any discounts from disney on your lodging cost. You will not get daily housekeeping. The bed arrangements are different.

Nice summary. Other things are no clean towels daily, no coffee/ tea replenishment daily. And no daily toiletries replenished daily

 

[tjmw2727]

If you book on points, via a member "renting" to you, it is generally non-refundable. You will probably pay the bulk, if not 100%, up front. You need to plan at least 7 but closer to 11 months in advance. You will not be eligible for any discounts from disney on your lodging cost. You will not get daily housekeeping. The bed arrangements are different.

Agree! - I was just confused as you talked about booking cash

We book DVC Vila all the time via "cash" reservations through MDE. We book a studio when its just myself and my 2 "adult" dd's, one bedroom when my mil joins us and 2 bedroom when the rest of the family comes. I have always been able to choose from a variety of resorts and found great AP discounts as well. One night deposit up front and refundable up to 7 days in advance, daily housekeeping (extra coffee when requested), the bed options are actually better for us and no charge for more than 2 adults per room.

I would never book on points though for exactly the reasons you stated!

 

[tjmw2727]

E



Nice summary. Other things are no clean towels daily, no coffee/ tea replenishment daily. And no daily toiletries replenished daily

Agree - again I read the post wrong and though she was responding to the question about cash reservations!

 

[Hopefully]

Agree! - I was just confused as you talked about booking cash

We book DVC Vila all the time via "cash" reservations through MDE. We book a studio when its just myself and my 2 "adult" dd's, one bedroom when my mil joins us and 2 bedroom when the rest of the family comes. I have always been able to choose from a variety of resorts and found great AP discounts as well. One night deposit up front and refundable up to 7 days in advance, daily housekeeping (extra coffee when requested), the bed options are actually better for us and no charge for more than 2 adults per room.

I would never book on points though for exactly the reasons you stated!

But cash reservations through Disney are very expensive

 

[_auroraborealis_]

But cash reservations through Disney are very expensive

That's a compromise, too, really.

 

[tjmw2727]

But cash reservations through Disney are very expensive

Not always -

We usually get a studio for about the same price as a traditional room at that same resort! Even less when AP discounts are available and then when you deduct the extra cost for a 3rd adult its often more affordable for me. I have gotten a 1 bedroom at OKW for less than I would have paid for a traditional room at WL for the same dates.

For my August dates a studio at Kidani is less than a traditional room at AKL even without the extra $25 per night for my 19 year old dd.

They certainly can be more expensive especially if you need a larger unit - but then again if you need a larger unit you would need more than one room anyway so you would compare the cost of more than one room to the larger unit.

 

[EdmondD]

I would never book on points though for exactly the reasons you stated!

Well, we always rent points and I'm always very happy with how it goes, regardless of the trade offs listed. We typically rent at the Beach Club and it usually comes out to about $245 a night. Sure beats the rack rate.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

DVC units are also often referred to as a vila and you can book them through MDE, (or call) just like a traditional resort room or rent from an owner on a rental site. We often rent a studio vila right through Disney (aka cash) as I have two "adult" daughters and the vila's don't charge for the extra adult over 2 per room.

Anyone can rent a DVC vila through Disney using MDE - no membership required, in fact we are Annual Passholders and we often get a discount on the vila just like we would a traditional room. If you want to rent from an owner using their points there are websites that connect you with renters.

When you book through Disney (cash reservation) you do get daily housekeeping and access to room service, all the amenities you would get with a traditional room. When you rent via an owner (on points) you get trash service daily and housekeeping every few days, you also get access to room service and all the other amenities.

You can price out the vila's right alongside the other options by using the website. Other options for families are the family suites at AOA and ASM as well as the cabins.

Just an FYI, starting in 2019, WDW will be charging the extra adult fee when booking studios through WDW

OP, we've stayed in many villas - studios, 1-bedrooms and 2-bedrooms - we always book direct through WDW just like we would book a regular resort room. As others have said, if you book through WDW, you get the same booking terms and conditions as you would if booking a regular resort room, daily housekeeping, etc. Yes, it's more expensive to book through WDW than to rent points, but we like the flexibility of the change and cancellation terms and we also like daily housekeeping!

 

[cutigerlady]

We found a villa was very convenient when our kids were little. Having a washer/dryer in the room was huge! Also having a kitchen helps us save money by having food for breakfast/lunch, so it was worth the extra cost. We also get tired of eating out, so eating dinner in the villa occasionally was nice too.

You just need to know that DVC popular times are a bit different. Getting a BVC or BWV during Food & Wine is very hard. Any room in January or February during Run Disney races is very hard.

 

[Marionnette]

Not always -

We usually get a studio for about the same price as a traditional room at that same resort! Even less when AP discounts are available and then when you deduct the extra cost for a 3rd adult its often more affordable for me. I have gotten a 1 bedroom at OKW for less than I would have paid for a traditional room at WL for the same dates.

For my August dates a studio at Kidani is less than a traditional room at AKL even without the extra $25 per night for my 19 year old dd.

They certainly can be more expensive especially if you need a larger unit - but then again if you need a larger unit you would need more than one room anyway so you would compare the cost of more than one room to the larger unit.

You're referring to the cost of a cash reservation for a studio vs. a cash reservation of a hotel room. I believe the PP was referring to the cost of a cash reservation for a villa vs. the cost of renting from a DVC member.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

We found a villa was very convenient when our kids were little. Having a washer/dryer in the room was huge! Also having a kitchen helps us save money by having food for breakfast/lunch, so it was worth the extra cost.

These items apply with units that are at least 1BR. (This is added for the benefit of the OP, not the quoted poster.) 1BR tend to be more expensive than most "hotel rooms," even on points. So if the cost savings is the goal, it has to be calculated based on the kitchen and W/D rather than the unit cost.