Strategy: Renting DVC vs. booking a hotel room

[tweedletwin]

Hi All!

I’d love to pick the brains of some people that know what they’re doing when it comes to Aulani.

My husband and I are seasoned travelers to both Disney resorts and the Hawaiian islands in general. I’ve visited Aulani as a day guest, but would really like to actually stay for a couple of nights to celebrate our anniversary in late December 2021 or early January 2022.

Here’s where I need help. I recognize that we’ve likely picked a ridiculously expensive time to visit. There’s no real helping that. This trip is getting tacked on to larger vacation that we will be sharing with both of our families. His parents live on the other side of the world from us and we are so excited that we will (hopefully) be able to see them again!

Ideally, I would like to rent DVC points for the stay. I plan on submitting a request when our 11 month booking window opens up. Is it likely we will manage to snag a reservation around a holiday period? I’m also figuring that people are going to be stir-crazy and more ready to travel by then (I know I will be!) So is this a wishful thinking situation?

Or do I bite the bullet and book a rack rate reservation for a standard room? Not gonna lie, the price for this is a lot harder to justify when I know how much more cost-effective renting points can be.

Has anyone ever booked rack rate as a backup plan while waiting for a DVC point-based reservation to become available?

Just trying to weigh out my options.

Cheers!

 

[Karebear]

Just my thoughts....we had rented DVC points for Easter break 2021 at Aulani. I thought it would be safe to book it for then. I just cancelled the reservation...luckily I bought insurance and was able to do so. The reason being is that there are 4 of us going and I am just too nervous that one of us won't get our results back in time or that one of us tests positive or something. I ended up just booking a hotel room that I can cancel right before we go. Yes, the hotel rooms are crazy expensive but until we don't have to have a negative test to travel, it gives you more flexibility. Hope you have a great trips!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

That's the crux of it - you cannot cancel for refund easily with a DVC rental. Even insured, cancelling because of testing issues won't get you a full refund on short notice.

That said, even renting, you need to be willing to pay for a view. Standard is an extremely small category at Aulani and difficult to get near holidays.

 

[corgi_monster]

That said, even renting, you need to be willing to pay for a view. Standard is an extremely small category at Aulani and difficult to get near holidays.

This! Standard views rooms in all categories and island view studios are already sold out for the 26th of December.

@tweedletwin - I rented points from David's at $20/point and cancelled because I didn't want my small children traveling to WDW this winter. David's and the host were gracious enough to allow me to reschedule my vacation and it was a very easy process. I did have to pay $2/point to switch my WDW to Aulani so my total cost was $22/point.

If David's hadn't been able to get in touch with the owner to reschedule or if the owner refused, David's would have tried to sell my reservation as a dedicated reservation. If the dedicated reservation didn't sell, I was told I would not be able recoup any of my money. I ended up buying DVC points so I could enjoy the savings and not have to deal with all the "what if's" of renting every again lol. I never again want to worry that I will out thousands of dollars because of an earthquake, hurricane, pandemic, or whatever comes next.

At the end of the day, it would have been cheaper to book directly with Aulani because of all the discounts they're currently offering. (I booked with a 50% off discount for my first stay and a 40% discount off my second stay.) There may not be discounts available during Christmas week or the week after, but there's a good chance you'll see Aulani offer a discount starting January 2nd or 3rd. That's when the resort moves from the highest point tier to the lowest one. Also, Hawaii public schools start on January 3 so the resort won't be crowded with staycationers.

It sounds like your relatives do not live in the US. With all the news of new covid strains and international travel restrictions, I personally don't feel confident booking a non-refundable reservation at this time. Hawaii has very strict entry requirements and only people with negative covid tests from approved programs may enter. This may be a problem if your international relatives don't have access to an approved test. The LG has tossed around the idea that people with vaccines may be able to bypass quarantine, but Hawaii might be rethinking this program now that Moderna says the vaccine may not be very effective against the South African strain.

edited to add: I’ve rented directly from other members on this forum and have had great experiences, both before and after Covid. If I were to rent again, it would only be directly through an individual and not a company.

 

[tweedletwin]

Just my thoughts....we had rented DVC points for Easter break 2021 at Aulani. I thought it would be safe to book it for then. I just cancelled the reservation...luckily I bought insurance and was able to do so. The reason being is that there are 4 of us going and I am just too nervous that one of us won't get our results back in time or that one of us tests positive or something. I ended up just booking a hotel room that I can cancel right before we go. Yes, the hotel rooms are crazy expensive but until we don't have to have a negative test to travel, it gives you more flexibility. Hope you have a great trips!

Thank you for the perspective!

I hadn’t considered the fact that it may be worth the extra money to just have flexibility to cancel if things go pear shaped. I rented points for a stay at the Poly about 3 years ago, but the world wasn’t as uncertain as it is now.

 

[tweedletwin]

That said, even renting, you need to be willing to pay for a view. Standard is an extremely small category at Aulani and difficult to get near holidays.

Yes, the view part I am willing to be flexible on: we are less sit back and relax types, and more go-go-go. I mostly want the cheapest room I can get myself into, but I’m sure I’m not the only one!

 

[tweedletwin]

This! Standard views rooms in all categories and island view studios are already sold out for the 26th of December.

@tweedletwin - I rented points from David's at $20/point and cancelled because I didn't want my small children traveling to WDW this winter. David's and the host were gracious enough to allow me to reschedule my vacation and it was a very easy process. I did have to pay $2/point to switch my WDW to Aulani so my total cost was $22/point.

If David's hadn't been able to get in touch with the owner to reschedule or if the owner refused, David's would have tried to sell my reservation as a dedicated reservation. If the dedicated reservation didn't sell, I was told I would not be able recoup any of my money. I ended up buying DVC points so I could enjoy the savings and not have to deal with all the "what if's" of renting every again lol. I never again want to worry that I will out thousands of dollars because of an earthquake, hurricane, pandemic, or whatever comes next.

At the end of the day, it would have been cheaper to book directly with Aulani because of all the discounts they're currently offering. (I booked with a 50% off discount for my first stay and a 40% discount off my second stay.) There may not be discounts available during Christmas week or the week after, but there's a good chance you'll see Aulani offer a discount starting January 2nd or 3rd. That's when the resort moves from the highest point tier to the lowest one. Also, Hawaii public schools start on January 3 so the resort won't be crowded with staycatione

It sounds like your relatives do not live in the US. With all the news of new covid strains and international travel restrictions, I personally don't feel confident booking a non-refundable reservation at this time. Hawaii has very strict entry requirements and only people with negative covid tests from approved programs may enter. This may be a problem if your international relatives don't have access to an approved test. The LG has tossed around the idea that people with vaccines may be able to bypass quarantine, but Hawaii might be rethinking this program now that Moderna says the vaccine may not be very effective against the South African

Thank you so much. This perspective definitely helps.

And yes, my in-laws are Aussies. I’m hoping that will work in our favor. It’s hard at the best of times to plan a vacation between people coming from two different countries, and it’s even crazier now that we are dealing with a pandemic and 11 months of wondering “what things will be like then.”

All of us are pretty relaxed people who are willing to say “well, dang,” and cancel or rearrange plans if necessary. No one from either side plans on going without being vaccinated by that point, so if that’s where we are at, we will re-evaluate! Fingers crossed it works out. It’s rough having half the family so far away!

 

[Iceman93]

Will you all fit (comfortably) in a standard room or studio? The extra space of a 1BR or 2BR may shift the calculus even more in favor of renting points rather than paying.

Personally, I think your idea of booking a room as a backup, then investigating your points rental options is a good one.

 

[kyton]

As an Australian forummer, are you hoping to meet your family in Hawaii or you come to Australia? Because either of those two ideas are not possible at this stage - at least, not without incurring huge costs.

We have been told that other then extreme exemptions for medical / compassionate reasons Australians will not be able to travel overseas until at least 2022. Add into that mandatory hotel quarantine of at minimum 14 days costing $3000 AUD per person upon arrival back into Australia.

The option of you travelling to Australia will also incur that mandatory 2 week minimum quarantine in a government chosen hotel again at $3000 AUD (approx $2300 USD) per person - and I’m not sure whether you can enter without government permission.

Just some food for thought. We have more or less resigned to the fact that it could be late 2022 even 2023 before we get to visit overseas destinations.

 

[nkereina]

Ideally, I would like to rent DVC points for the stay. I plan on submitting a request when our 11 month booking window opens up. Is it likely we will manage to snag a reservation around a holiday period? I’m also figuring that people are going to be stir-crazy and more ready to travel by then (I know I will be!) So is this a wishful thinking situation?

You've already gotten some good advice in regards to these uncertain times and the implications that has with renting points. If you decide to take your chances and rent points anyway, the only thing I would add is that at 11 months, the supply of Aulani owners with points available to rent may not meet demand. Between the 7-11 month period, only Aulani owners can book. At 7 months, any DVC owner can book. Because of this, David's or any other point rental broker can't always fulfill reservations greater than 7 months out and sometimes they charge a premium if they do book you greater than 7 months out. You may be better off finding an owner yourself to rent from because you would not be paying that premium, you can get in at the 11 month window, and they may have more flexible terms as far as your options for re-booking, if necessary. We found an Aulani owner that we rented from on the rent/trade forum here.

I agree with PP that having flexibility with room type and view will help your chances of finding availability for your dates.

Or do I bite the bullet and book a rack rate reservation for a standard room?

Has anyone ever booked rack rate as a backup plan while waiting for a DVC point-based reservation to become available?

We knew we would be staying at Aulani whether we were able to secure points to rent or not, so we booked a hotel room and didn't cancel it until our points reservation was secured and paid for. Nothing wrong with this.

 

[tidefan]

The LG has tossed around the idea that people with vaccines may be able to bypass quarantine, but Hawaii might be rethinking this program now that Moderna says the vaccine may not be very effective against the South African strain.

Actually, Moderna has said that it's vaccine is still effective against the variant, just not "as" effective. They said that the level of neutralizing antibodies still should be sufficient.

Thank you so much. This perspective definitely helps.

And yes, my in-laws are Aussies. I’m hoping that will work in our favor. It’s hard at the best of times to plan a vacation between people coming from two different countries, and it’s even crazier now that we are dealing with a pandemic and 11 months of wondering “what things will be like then.”

All of us are pretty relaxed people who are willing to say “well, dang,” and cancel or rearrange plans if necessary. No one from either side plans on going without being vaccinated by that point, so if that’s where we are at, we will re-evaluate! Fingers crossed it works out. It’s rough having half the family so far away!

Australia and New Zealand are going to have a bit of a conundrum with opening up. A side effect of the good control that has happened means that if COVID ever did get a foothold, the population is still "novel", so it has the potential to spread rapidly. So, you can't open up until there is sufficient immunity. In NZ and AUS, that means basically when everyone gets vaccinated. In the US and Europe, unfortunately, there has been so much exposure that if you have 17-20% of your population exposed to COVID, and you need 70% to "herd immunity", that leaves only 50% needing to get vaccinated (roughly) so things may normalize (to a degree) faster.

 

[jkips]

As others have already said here, I think the main reason to not rent is on that off chance that the trip isn’t able to happen. Outside of that possibility I think it almost always makes more sense to rent from a cost perspective if you know far enough in advance when you are going to be going and are willing to take the extra couple steps to go through the process to do it.

If you are looking for more space - a 1 bedroom or more - then I don’t think it’s ever even a question.

 

[corgi_monster]

Just wanted to update to say that the state should be making an announcement in the week or two outlining vaccine exemption program. If you no longer need a negative COVID test, I’d feel confident renting points 11 month out. At least for those traveling from the US.

 

[Karebear]

Just wanted to update to say that the state should be making an announcement in the week or two outlining vaccine exemption program. If you no longer need a negative COVID test, I’d feel confident renting points 11 month out. At least for those traveling from the US.

Do you know when the exemption will start? I have had my first dose (as a teacher we have had priority where I live) and it would be great for me to not have to test.

 

[Jimmynguyen77]

Just my thoughts....we had rented DVC points for Easter break 2021 at Aulani. I thought it would be safe to book it for then. I just cancelled the reservation...luckily I bought insurance and was able to do so. The reason being is that there are 4 of us going and I am just too nervous that one of us won't get our results back in time or that one of us tests positive or something. I ended up just booking a hotel room that I can cancel right before we go. Yes, the hotel rooms are crazy expensive but until we don't have to have a negative test to travel, it gives you more flexibility. Hope you have a great trips!

Where did you get insurance and how did it work? I want to look into renting points but the terms I have reviewed are non-refundable so I am leaning towards just paying the hotel rate versus saving alot on renting DVC points.

 

[Karebear]

Where did you get insurance and how did it work? I want to look into renting points but the terms I have reviewed are non-refundable so I am leaning towards just paying the hotel rate versus saving alot on renting DVC points.

I rented points through the DVC Rental store and purchased cancel for any reason insurance through them. They are no longer offering that type of insurance as of 1-1-21. I think now they will just give you a credit if you need to reschedule.

 

[corgi_monster]

Do you know when the exemption will start? I have had my first dose (as a teacher we have had priority where I live) and it would be great for me to not have to test.

Sorry, I really don't know any of the details. All I've heard from friends at the leg is that it's a done deal and the announcement is imminent. Keep checking staradvertiser.com for the latest.

 

[tidefan]

Sorry, I really don't know any of the details. All I've heard from friends at the leg is that it's a done deal and the announcement is imminent. Keep checking staradvertiser.com for the latest.

@corgi_monster, I suppose that this is related to the news articles that have been referencing what the Lt. Governor has been trying to implement?

 

[corgi_monster]

@corgi_monster, I suppose that this is related to the news articles that have been referencing what the Lt. Governor has been trying to implement?

Yup, that's the one. Green has been floating the idea since early December, but until now the vaccine exemption program has just been talk. The leg convened late January and it looks like we finally have some action on the vaccine program.