Renting DVC Points

[Networth]

I've always being curious about this whole renting points thing. Now I know for sure I would never do it. Way to much of a hassle than just calling and booking a room plus I enjoy having house keeping daily. I was told on my last DVC tour while staying at the GF that house keeping is once every 3-4 days? Is that correct?

Glad some people like it but I knew buying a timeshare was not for me and it appears renting points is not either.

 

[jco_direwolf]

I was told on my last DVC tour while staying at the GF that house keeping is once every 3-4 days? Is that correct?

Nope that is wrong.

You get full Mousekeeping every 7th day, I think, I could look it up, but I can't remember. Day 4 you get trash and towels only. But you can always pay for Mousekeeping every day.

 

[illinidp]

It really only makes sense if you are going to at least a 1BR. Then you get laundry and a full kitchen in your room.

Of course, if you are going to rent points 7-8 times in 50 years then it makes sense to buy.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I know what DVC is I own. I could charge people Disney Rack Rates for a DVC reservation, and I'd "throw in DDP." But I'd call it Free Dining just like Disney Does it would make people feel good.

My point is when your rent points you are renting from someone that is "Not Disney." The getting "free dining" question has always confused me. Do you go into Walmart and ask them why Amazon has the same product cheaper with free shipping?

With all due respect, I think you're the first DVC owner I've ever heard of trying to spin it this way. Typically, the renter pays $X per point, and then if they want dining, they pay the DVC rate to the owner for that in addition to the rental rate. I also think it confuses the issue for this post, as it's so atypical that it's not going to be generally what the OP runs into when renting points.

OP, I've done three rental transactions, all with an owner I originally found on the Rent/Trade board here. It generally is less expensive to rent directly from an owner rather than using a broker like David's. I know that people say they like to go through David's for the "security" but a transaction through David's is no more secure than a transaction directly with an owner. David's just hooks you up with an owner willing to rent...ultimately, the transaction is still between you and the owner, and I'm not sure what kind of guarantee (if any) David's offers if an owner would abscond with a renter's cash without providing the promised reservation.

When renting, you can add the dining plan (if the owner is willing to do that). Dining must be set up at least 7 days before your trip and must be set up by DVC Member Services. What we've done in the past is send an additional check to the owner and then after it's received, he has called to set up dining. However, I've heard of people doing three way calls with the owner and member services to set up dining. It's all up to the owner.

Magical Express can also be added to your reservation, either by the owner calling Member Services or by you calling the ME to set it up yourself. The owner we've rented from has always called for us, but again, it's up to the owner.

The biggest difference between a cash reservation and renting points is that you pretty much have no flexibility when renting points...there really is no canceling (unless you have an exceptionally forgiving owner you're renting from). If you rent points, I'd highly recommend travel insurance that covers timeshare rentals in case something unforeseen pops up.

Another difference between a DVC reservation and a cash reservation is that Mousekeeping is limited with DVC. They do a "trash and towel" service only on day 4 (???...I think that's right) and then a full cleaning on day 8 (again???I think that's right). If you're doing a standard week-long stay, you won't have a full cleaning unless you stay 8 nights or longer OR you pay extra for it. We've never had a problem with this and like not having someone messing around in our room every day.

Overall, I think that renting points is a great value and I'd totally do it again.

 

[Jimbeaux28]

I've always being curious about this whole renting points thing. Now I know for sure I would never do it. Way to much of a hassle than just calling and booking a room plus I enjoy having house keeping daily. I was told on my last DVC tour while staying at the GF that house keeping is once every 3-4 days? Is that correct?

Glad some people like it but I knew buying a timeshare was not for me and it appears renting points is not either.

If I wanted to stay at BLT on 9/14 for 4 nights and called Disney and booked directly with them for a Lake View one bedroom, with tax I would pay $2596.52.

By renting points at $12/point, my room total comes to $912.

Way too much a hassle to save $1,684? Not for me it isn't.

 

[Networth]

Nope that is wrong. You get full Mousekeeping every 7th day, I think, I could look it up, but I can't remember. Day 4 you get trash and towels only. But you can always pay for Mousekeeping every day.

Thank you for the info I wasn't aware you could get mousekeeping everyday if you pay. You don't happen to know the cost by any chance?

 

[Networth]

If I wanted to stay at BLT on 9/14 for 4 nights and called Disney and booked directly with them for a Lake View one bedroom, with tax I would pay $2596.52. By renting points at $12/point, my room total comes to $912. Way too much a hassle to save $1,684? Not for me it isn't.

In your scenario that room would cost me $1,298 I don't pay rack due to the company I work for has a deal with Walt Disney Corp. So I pay a bit more than you but I don't have to worry about 11 months, 7 months, mouse keeping, annual dues, down payment, 50 year contracts etc. Glad you find value in it though, just the more I look into it the less interested I become. It is nice to know I could pay for mouse keeping daily though if I did book a villa room through Disney.

 

[illinidp]

Thank you for the info I wasn't aware you could get mousekeeping everyday if you pay. You don't happen to know the cost by any chance?

Additional Housekeeping Service Daily Rates:
•Full Cleaning Service for Deluxe Studio - $30 per day requested
•Full Cleaning Service for 1-Bedroom Villa - $45 per day requested
•Full Cleaning Service for 2-Bedroom Villa - $60 per day requested
•Full Cleaning Service for 3-Bedroom Grand Villa - $75 per day requested

Additional Trash & Towel Service Daily Rates:
•Trash & Towel Service for Deluxe Studio - $15 per day requested
•Trash & Towel service for 1-Bedroom Villa - $20 per day requested
•Trash & Towel service for 2-Bedroom Villa - $25 per day requested
•Trash & Towel service for 3-Bedroom Grand Villa - $35 per day requested

Pay As You Play
With Pay As You Play service, you'll be provided with the following amenities at no additional charge at the start of your stay. After that, you may purchase more amenities for the following fees (fees are subject to change): •Toiletries Package, $8 – 1 facial soap, 1 bath soap, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 body wash, 1 body lotion, 1 foot rub
•Coffee Package, $5 – Coffee, tea, sugars, creamers, artificial sweeteners
•Towel Package, $10 – 6 bath towels, 4 hand towels, 6 washcloths, 1 bath mat
•2 Bathrobes, $6
•Laundry Detergent (only in 2- and 3-Bedroom Villas), $1 - 1 box

 

[Networth]

Additional Housekeeping Service Daily Rates: •Full Cleaning Service for Deluxe Studio - $30 per day requested •Full Cleaning Service for 1-Bedroom Villa - $45 per day requested •Full Cleaning Service for 2-Bedroom Villa - $60 per day requested •Full Cleaning Service for 3-Bedroom Grand Villa - $75 per day requested Additional Trash & Towel Service Daily Rates: •Trash & Towel Service for Deluxe Studio - $15 per day requested •Trash & Towel service for 1-Bedroom Villa - $20 per day requested •Trash & Towel service for 2-Bedroom Villa - $25 per day requested •Trash & Towel service for 3-Bedroom Grand Villa - $35 per day requested Pay As You Play With Pay As You Play service, you'll be provided with the following amenities at no additional charge at the start of your stay. After that, you may purchase more amenities for the following fees (fees are subject to change): •Toiletries Package, $8 – 1 facial soap, 1 bath soap, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 body wash, 1 body lotion, 1 foot rub •Coffee Package, $5 – Coffee, tea, sugars, creamers, artificial sweeteners •Towel Package, $10 – 6 bath towels, 4 hand towels, 6 washcloths, 1 bath mat •2 Bathrobes, $6 •Laundry Detergent (only in 2- and 3-Bedroom Villas), $1 - 1 box

Thank you very much for the detailed breakdown!

 

[MissouriPrincess]

I just thought I'd share my experiences as a renter.

We've rented twice through the DVC Rental Store. For our first trip, my parents came with us, and we realized we could get a two-bedroom at AKL--Kidani for the same price as two moderate rooms rack-rate. We looked into it, and we have never regretted it.

The worst part is that you can't cancel and get a refund, so be sure you get trip insurance that covers your possible cancellations. We knew we were going unless something tragic happened or something, so we just got the insurance and didn't think about it again.

For that first trip, we purchased the dining plan. It was a great way to learn about Disney dining and have character meals and such. We bought our tickets through Undercover Tourist. The reservation was in our name, and we could check it prior to arriving anytime. No problems at all. We stayed five nights, and we had our towels and trash done on day 4. It was not an issue for us at all.

Fast forward two years, and we decided to plan another trip. We did three days at Port Orleans with a room discount, and we rented points again through the DVC Rental Store for a 1-bedroom at AKL--Kidani. We just loved the resort so much, and after comparing Kidani to a moderate, we are too spoiled to not rent points for a villa!

We didn't get the dining plan this time. We still ordered our tickets through Undercover Tourist. With MDE, everything shows up under your name. No problems again. We are planning to return in about 3 years, and we will rent points again.

Yes, you could probably save some money doing things directly with a DVC member, but I liked the security of a "middleman." I'd certainly check into the DVC Rental Store or another service.

 

[Minniekins]

If I wanted to stay at BLT on 9/14 for 4 nights and called Disney and booked directly with them for a Lake View one bedroom, with tax I would pay $2596.52.

By renting points at $12/point, my room total comes to $912.

Way too much a hassle to save $1,684? Not for me it isn't.

Exactly why I love renting DVC pts! We started staying with DVC pts a few years ago and I dont' wanna go back, lol! We could never stay deluxe without going this route! It's great staying deluxe while paying prices for a studio that are less than a mod, usually even with a sale. We paid about $1260 for AKL studio a couple years ago, would have been over $3000 for our Dec trip, even with a sale. This past year we did BCV studio for $1400 instead of close to $4000 for our Dec trip. We've got a trip booked to BWV this year in Dec, and again very happy with everything!

We've had a great experience everytime so far, and no trouble at all. The only real drawback I see is the not being able to cancel. The owners, I found all here on the Dis, have always set up ME or dining plan when needed. We did food OOP this past year and it was great so doing that again this year. One year we were able to were able to set up our own ME, but this past year they wouldn't even talk to me, so the owner set it up for me. Easily accessed my resort ressies to link to MDE for FP+ and ADR's. Been getting tickets through UCT for several years now, and converted the last ones we got into AP's to cover this coming trip in Dec.

I think to be able to have your best shot of booking the resort you really want, it's best to try to find someone by the 11 month mark! But, if I was gonna book a trip on less notice, I'd still try to find something thru renting DVC pts for sure, just might have less choice in getting the exact resort I might want, but there are lots of choices.

I guess insurance would probably be a good thing, though I've never done it, mainly because I wasn't sure where to look or what would be good prices. But it could certainly give more peace of mind if one was worried about possibly having to cancel. Also, you can always have a contract with the owner of the pts so you can feel more comfortable with the rental.

I definitely recommend renting DVC pts and plan to continue doing so myself whenever I possibly can!

 

[chalee94]

Umm has nothing to do with stacking.

it kinda does if you think about it.

DVC rooms have been included in the past for those who book with CRO at full rack rate.

but DVC owners pay upfront to get a discounted rate over the life of the contract...so it is unreasonable for DVC owners to expect "free" dining with their discounted rate/points accommodations when cash renters with CRO can't get "free" dining with their 30%-off rooms either.

and if DVC owners don't get free dining, of course they can't pass it along to renters. (unless they do it the same way disney does it...by jacking up the cost of the room rental.)

 

[Dasha Hermosilla]

In your scenario that room would cost me $1,298 I don't pay rack due to the company I work for has a deal with Walt Disney Corp. So I pay a bit more than you but I don't have to worry about 11 months, 7 months, mouse keeping, annual dues, down payment, 50 year contracts etc. Glad you find value in it though, just the more I look into it the less interested I become. It is nice to know I could pay for mouse keeping daily though if I did book a villa room through Disney.

To clarify.... The individual was talking about they rent from an owner. A renter rents an owners points out for a set trip with none of the long term aspects of ownership (nor benefits). The renter pays a set amount per point and does have to deal with 11/7 month reservations but the owner pays dues, down payment and length of purchase.

Renting is clearly not for everyone, but for some it's great.

 

[FirstTimeDisneyVisit]

With all due respect, I think you're the first DVC owner I've ever heard of trying to spin it this way. Typically, the renter pays $X per point, and then if they want dining, they pay the DVC rate to the owner for that in addition to the rental rate. I also think it confuses the issue for this post, as it's so atypical that it's not going to be generally what the OP runs into when renting points.

OP, I've done three rental transactions, all with an owner I originally found on the Rent/Trade board here. It generally is less expensive to rent directly from an owner rather than using a broker like David's. I know that people say they like to go through David's for the "security" but a transaction through David's is no more secure than a transaction directly with an owner. David's just hooks you up with an owner willing to rent...ultimately, the transaction is still between you and the owner, and I'm not sure what kind of guarantee (if any) David's offers if an owner would abscond with a renter's cash without providing the promised reservation.

When renting, you can add the dining plan (if the owner is willing to do that). Dining must be set up at least 7 days before your trip and must be set up by DVC Member Services. What we've done in the past is send an additional check to the owner and then after it's received, he has called to set up dining. However, I've heard of people doing three way calls with the owner and member services to set up dining. It's all up to the owner.

Magical Express can also be added to your reservation, either by the owner calling Member Services or by you calling the ME to set it up yourself. The owner we've rented from has always called for us, but again, it's up to the owner.

The biggest difference between a cash reservation and renting points is that you pretty much have no flexibility when renting points...there really is no canceling (unless you have an exceptionally forgiving owner you're renting from). If you rent points, I'd highly recommend travel insurance that covers timeshare rentals in case something unforeseen pops up.

Another difference between a DVC reservation and a cash reservation is that Mousekeeping is limited with DVC. They do a "trash and towel" service only on day 4 (???...I think that's right) and then a full cleaning on day 8 (again???I think that's right). If you're doing a standard week-long stay, you won't have a full cleaning unless you stay 8 nights or longer OR you pay extra for it. We've never had a problem with this and like not having someone messing around in our room every day.

Overall, I think that renting points is a great value and I'd totally do it again.

Everything we have read about renting points has been very positive. We have now wandered over to the rent/trade section of the boards and have been looking for available points for the dates we're planning to go. We usually pay OOP for our dining, so I don't think the dining plan would be something we would need to add. Also don't mind that there's not mousekeeping everyday, thinking about it, it's really not a necessity for us.

Thank you very much for your insight!

 

[FirstTimeDisneyVisit]

Exactly why I love renting DVC pts! We started staying with DVC pts a few years ago and I dont' wanna go back, lol! We could never stay deluxe without going this route! It's great staying deluxe while paying prices for a studio that are less than a mod, usually even with a sale. We paid about $1260 for AKL studio a couple years ago, would have been over $3000 for our Dec trip, even with a sale. This past year we did BCV studio for $1400 instead of close to $4000 for our Dec trip. We've got a trip booked to BWV this year in Dec, and again very happy with everything!

We've had a great experience everytime so far, and no trouble at all. The only real drawback I see is the not being able to cancel. The owners, I found all here on the Dis, have always set up ME or dining plan when needed. We did food OOP this past year and it was great so doing that again this year. One year we were able to were able to set up our own ME, but this past year they wouldn't even talk to me, so the owner set it up for me. Easily accessed my resort ressies to link to MDE for FP+ and ADR's. Been getting tickets through UCT for several years now, and converted the last ones we got into AP's to cover this coming trip in Dec.

I think to be able to have your best shot of booking the resort you really want, it's best to try to find someone by the 11 month mark! But, if I was gonna book a trip on less notice, I'd still try to find something thru renting DVC pts for sure, just might have less choice in getting the exact resort I might want, but there are lots of choices.

I guess insurance would probably be a good thing, though I've never done it, mainly because I wasn't sure where to look or what would be good prices. But it could certainly give more peace of mind if one was worried about possibly having to cancel. Also, you can always have a contract with the owner of the pts so you can feel more comfortable with the rental.

I definitely recommend renting DVC pts and plan to continue doing so myself whenever I possibly can!

We've also realized how much we would save by renting points. We are looking to book last minute (Sept 2014), so it's been a little difficult finding the points for our trip. We're hoping something shows up on the rent/trade section that works with our dates!

Once you get the reservation number from the owner, are you able to set up your own fp+ and ADRs? Or is this something the owner also has to do for you?

Thanks for your post!!

 

[FirstTimeDisneyVisit]

Thanks to everyone for your help! All the positive feedback has made our decision easier, we will be renting points for our next trip

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We've also realized how much we would save by renting points. We are looking to book last minute (Sept 2014), so it's been a little difficult finding the points for our trip. We're hoping something shows up on the rent/trade section that works with our dates!

Once you get the reservation number from the owner, are you able to set up your own fp+ and ADRs? Or is this something the owner also has to do for you?

Thanks for your post!!

You set up your own ADRs and FP+s. But since you're looking for September, you don't need to wait to have a reservation to set that stuff up! If you get a ticket (we've always purchased from Undercover Tourist, which is discounted from Disney's prices) now you can make FP+ reservations 30 days out without a reservation (clearly, it's advantageous to have a reservation in hand 60 days before your arrival date so that you can make FP+ selections then). ADRs aren't dependent on resort reservations at all once you're past the 180 day mark, so if you have an idea of dates, I'd try to set up ADRs now. We decided to make a "last minute" (for Disney) trip at the end of August a couple of weeks ago and were able to get some decent reservations, but a lot of in-demand choices weren't available.

Also, Disney is running a pretty decent late summer/early fall room-only promotion right now and there are some villas available at 30% rack rate, which is pretty close to what you'd get renting points. You might want to look into that if you can't find someone to rent from on short notice.

 

[Minniekins]

We've also realized how much we would save by renting points. We are looking to book last minute (Sept 2014), so it's been a little difficult finding the points for our trip. We're hoping something shows up on the rent/trade section that works with our dates!

Once you get the reservation number from the owner, are you able to set up your own fp+ and ADRs? Or is this something the owner also has to do for you?

Thanks for your post!!

You're welcome, I'm glad my post was helpful for you! I'm glad you are renting making a last min trip, hope you can find something that works well for you! The reservation will have the owners name up at the top, but then your name and those with you will be listed. I could set up everything, fp+ and adr's, myself once I got my ressie number. But, depending on when in September you are going, and if you have tickets, you may be able to start setting up your fp+. If you have tickets already, or plan to get them very soon, (we always buy from UCT to save a little money!), you can start to set up your fp+ once you are within your 30 days from check in day. If you are able to book your room soon, you could start to set the fp+ up at 60 days out, which of course, would be the best to have most choices, but even 30 days wouldn't be so bad. Since you are within 180 days of your trip, you can set up your adr's at any time now! So I'd start doing that if you have some you want to try for in particular!

Good luck, I hope it all works out great for you! I'm curious now as to what resort you will get and all, lol!

 

[ZehnJahren]

We've also realized how much we would save by renting points. We are looking to book last minute (Sept 2014), so it's been a little difficult finding the points for our trip. We're hoping something shows up on the rent/trade section that works with our dates!

Once you get the reservation number from the owner, are you able to set up your own fp+ and ADRs? Or is this something the owner also has to do for you?

Thanks for your post!!

You'll be able to find points, it's the resort that will be up in the air! I just took a quick look over on the rent/trade board - lots of points to be had. I'd jump in soon; your dates are getting close.

I've found that AKL, SSR, and OKW usually have points left over, so if you like any of those three resorts you should be able to get something easily. But do it NOW!