when to rent???

[leahjade]

How far ahead is best to rent a unit from a DVC member for a July reservation? I'm not sure yet of how many people are going but I don't want to wait too long and have everything all booked.

 

[ChelleinNC]

A lot depends on where you want to stay and what size villa you will need.

You will want/need to know how many people are going so that you can rent the right size villa and the reservation will need to have the names and ages of everyone staying.

If you want to stay at BCV or BWV (smaller properties, very popular) you'll probably want to find someone who owns there and can make the ressie before the 7 month window for other dvc owners.

Hope this helps a little

 

[crisi]

You will also want to make sure you have firm plans. DVC reservations don't tend to cancel well even for owners who have control over their own points. So the game to play as a renter is "early enough to get the unit you want, late enough that there will be no chance you need to cancel."

When you start talking about "I don't know how many people are going yet" it sets off those "oh-oh" alarm bells. That means you are not planning a trip for just your immediately family.

 

[leahjade]

I'm not sure what you mean about "uh oh alarms" - when you have college age kids, you are never quite sure who will be going along on vacation. But they are definitely our immediate family. And I read on these boards about grandparents going along as well - are you saying that is against the rules?

 

[Lynne M]

I think Crisi meant 'uh-oh' in the sense that if your plans aren't firm, and may change as your trip approaches, renting may not be a good idea for you.

DVC villas get booked up quickly, especially certain room types or certain times of the year. It can very difficult to change resorts or change to another size of villa - impossible, in some situations.

Also, if you need to cancel or downsize your trip, the owner may end up losing their points, depending on the timing.

For this reason, many owners have a "no changes, no cancellations, no refunds policy".

Here's a possible scenario: You book a two-bedroom villa and a studio for a week, because you figure your kids and the grandparents are all coming. Two months before your trip, you find that one of your kids isn't coming because of school commitments. A month later, one of the grandparents develops a health problem, and both grandparents decide not to come. Now you no longer need the studio, and could get by with just a one-bedroom.

As a renter, in this situation, you probably wouldn't be able to make any changes, and would be stuck with a studio that you can't use, and a 2-BR villa that you don't need, and no way to get any of your money back.

In short, if you need flexibility in your travel plans, renting may not be for you.

 

[crisi]

Thanks Lynne, that was definately the sort of scenario I was imagining.

You can put anyone (human) in a DVC room (some restrictions on not having a room full of teenagers - there does have to be an adult - and of course, occupancy rules). So you don't need to all be related.

But when people post "we aren't sure who is going yet" it often means a family reunion or a couple of unrelated families traveling. And, when you own your own points and someone who said in November "sure, we can go the second week in July" suddenly discovers they can't get off work or wants to spend the money going to Mexico or just flakes out, that can lead to hard feelings, lost points, misunderstandings. When you are renting points, all that can multiply. CRO is the safest bet if your plans aren't firm.

But as they are your own college age kids, you probably have more control than I was imagining.

(Do understand the bed situation - I'm not sure how many kids you are talking about - but four in a studio will usually mean one Queen bed and one pullout (OKW has two queens in a studio). In a one bedroom its a King bed and a pullout in the living room. In a two bedroom it could be a King bed and a pullout in the livingroom, plus a queen and pullout in the second bedroom or two queens in the second bedroom - I can never remember which pullout is which sized - but they are nice pullouts)

 

[JimMIA]

When you start talking about "I don't know how many people are going yet" it sets off those "oh-oh" alarm bells.

You know, I know this sounds harsh to a newbie...but it really isn't. Crisi is just gently suggesting that maybe renting isn't for you -- or at the very least, that you are not ready to start negotiating a rental yet.

You have to know three things to be a good prospective renter.

You have to know the size of your party, with relative certainty. It doesn't have to be absolutely precise, but you need to know what accommodations you need.

You also have to know the dates of your trip with absolute certainty. If you make arrangements to rent -- and your plans change -- there may be nothing the DVC owner can do to help you, and you may lose whatever deposit you have made. There are many situations where a "change of plans" 90 days out could mean a huge problem. And changes of plans happen. We see about one "change of plans" angst thread a month here, where someone tried to do their family/friends a big favor and took it in the neck.

And, if you're smart, you'll also know all of the little troublesome nuances of how DVC accounts work, and which of those might cause you problems. Like: "I know there are problems if I cancel within 30 days of arrival, but what happens if I cancel 54 days from arrival, and there's no availability, and the owner is past their banking deadlines...which means they are at the end of their Use Year?"

If you can get your plans firmly set, renting MAY (or may not) save you some money. But if your plans are not set, you are WAY ahead of the game making a normal ressie through CRO at the going room rates.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Excellent post, Jim. Words of wisdom.

 

[leahjade]

Well, sorry I asked questions - silly me, I thought that's how you learned! Contrary to everyone's opinion, I have rented timeshares for our vacations many times in the past and was smart enough to figure it all out. I never changed my plans or screwed a renter - I figured once you paid the rental fee that if you changed your plans than you lost your money. I would never expect someone to refund money because of my circumstances. However, I have never rented a Disney unit hence my questions. Sounds like some of these members have been burned in the past. But for someone to make assumptions about me taking more than my immediate family (or "immediately family" as the poster said) and to jump down my throat and insinuate I am stupid was rude and unnecessary.

 

[bobbiwoz]

An owner at the particular resort can book 11 months out. Other owners can rent a resort at 7 months out. So, if you really have your heart set on a particular resort and a particular kind of room, like BCV with 2 Q's in the second bedroom, I think you should try to rent within the 8-11 time frame at a particular resort. If you only want a 2 bedroom anywhere, you could rent at the 7 month mark.

Bobbi

 

[WITiggerFan]

Well, sorry I asked questions - silly me, I thought that's how you learned! Contrary to everyone's opinion, I have rented timeshares for our vacations many times in the past and was smart enough to figure it all out. I never changed my plans or screwed a renter - I figured once you paid the rental fee that if you changed your plans than you lost your money. I would never expect someone to refund money because of my circumstances. However, I have never rented a Disney unit hence my questions. Sounds like some of these members have been burned in the past. But for someone to make assumptions about me taking more than my immediate family (or "immediately family" as the poster said) and to jump down my throat and insinuate I am stupid was rude and unnecessary.

Hold up here. Where was anyone jumping down your throat or insinuating that you are stupid? People were trying to help you out and explain how the process works so you don't lose your money. No one was suggesting any of the things that you say.

 

[leahjade]

Thanks, Bobbiwoz, for the information. Are there any villas that fill up quicker than others?

 

[TTFN!]

How far ahead is best to rent a unit from a DVC member for a July reservation? I'm not sure yet of how many people are going but I don't want to wait too long and have everything all booked.

As others have said, it really depends on your choice of resort.

A loose rule of thumb is that VWL, BCV and BWV tend to sell out fastest, but Grand Villas at OKW may go sooner do to the low point costs for those very large rooms.

Another general rule of thumb is that Grand Villa often go first, followed by 2 Bedrooms, and then studios at most resorts with 1 Bedrooms usually being the last available. But there are subtle exceptions, Standard View Rooms at BWV often go first, across room size.

Add AKV to the mix, it is new, it has limited rooms right now, so it may be the first resort to sell out, or it may be the 4th, there just isn't enough data to be sure yet.

Now we haven't even considered dates. Are you talking July 4th? That is much different than July 17th. Special weekend program? etc.

So it is a hard question to explicitly answer.

My advice, start as soon as possible. Search around for an Owner that you are comfortable with to rent from. Figure out what resort (and at least one alternate). Booking can begin as early as 11 months before your arrival.

Good luck, and no matter how you may have read crisi's post she was not attacking or flaming you. Remember, so much non-verbal communication is absent in posting to a forum, that assumptions, nuances and intent can be easily and honestly missed/messed up/misunderstood, by the nicest of people.

 

[crisi]

Well, sorry I asked questions - silly me, I thought that's how you learned! Contrary to everyone's opinion, I have rented timeshares for our vacations many times in the past and was smart enough to figure it all out. I never changed my plans or screwed a renter - I figured once you paid the rental fee that if you changed your plans than you lost your money. I would never expect someone to refund money because of my circumstances. However, I have never rented a Disney unit hence my questions. Sounds like some of these members have been burned in the past. But for someone to make assumptions about me taking more than my immediate family (or "immediately family" as the poster said) and to jump down my throat and insinuate I am stupid was rude and unnecessary.

I'm sorry I said anything. I hate to see the threads where someone is out a lot of money or a lot of points because their plans aren't firm. I HATE those angst threads Jim referred to. It sounded like in your first post that your plans weren't firm. And I would have hated to see you lose money. I certainly don't think you are stupid, I have no way to know that you have rented timeshares before - many people find this board and are under the impression that this is like renting a hotel room. In fact, my assumption was that you were a kindhearted Disney fan planning a family reunion deserving of the best advice I could give you.

(And I'm a lousy typist and a less than great speller).

I think perhaps you need to figure out who was rude and jumping down throats.