What are the drawbacks to renting?

[DocAlan02]

Hi there -

We will be going to WDW for the marathon weekend in January. We are considering a 2 bedroom villa because there are six of us. We are not DVC members, and this is also the first time I have ever even looked into renting. What are the advantages/disavantages of renting a DVC villa as opposed to just getting a regular room through Disney (other than size, obviously)? Also, what are the advantages/disadvantages of renting directly through Disney reservations as opposed to one of the big rental sites (David's, DVC Rental Store, etc)?

Having not looked into this before, it seems like there must be factors we need to consider that are not obvious to us.

Thanks!

 

[Master Yoda]

No daily housekeeping is the only con that comes to mind with renting DVC points.

Going directly through Disney for a DVC room is brutally expensive. Renting DVC points you can often get larger DVC level accommodations for about the same price as rack rate at a moderate.

Going through a place like David's is a little safer than just trying to arrange something through a DVC owner you do not personally know. It might cost a tad more, but the chance of you getting shafted is near zero.

 

[lostpro9het]

Advantages of going through Disney:
Low down payment, and have time to pay off vacation
More accessibility to rooms without having to book 11 months out.
Housekeeping everyday.
Can cancel up to a certain point and get full refund.

Disadvantages of going through disney
COST!!!

Advantages of renting:
COST!!!

Disadvantages of renting:
For popular times you almost must book 11 months in advanced if you want your preferred location.
No guarantee that someone with points will be available despite a room being available.
Large deposit, if not 100%, of the money is due at time of booking(varies by vendor)
Housekeeping not done daily.
Non refundable in most cases.

We've rented at least 7 times via David's, Rental store, and private owners and enjoyed the process every time.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Well, first off, you cannot "rent" points from Disney. They don't do that. To get a 2 bedroom unit for that weekend will cost you a bundle when using the Disney reservation system. It will probably be on the order of at least $700 per night.

One of the main drawbacks to renting - even from David's or anywhere, is that you have zero control over the reservation. Whoever the owner is will have to do everything for you. You are not allowed to even talk with Member Services about your reservation. The owner will have to secure DME, any dining plans, etc. for your stay. Once you have the reservation, you can, of course, make your own dining and FP+ selections. If you need to change anything though, you will have to go through the owner in order to do it.

Right now, for the week of Jan 5 - Jan 12, there is availability for a 2 bedroom at OKW, SSR, and AKL-Kidani Village only. If you are going that week, you will need to get reservations now, because due to it's being marathon weekend, and some of the lowest points needed for DVC stays, it will usually fully book up in the next month or so.

 

[dreamfinder]

As @Master Yoda said, the biggest different is the lack of daily mousekeeping. DVC owners will only get 1 trash/towel service unless staying for longer than a week, so that is what you would get as well.

Booking through WDW/CRO direct means you are paying a pretty penny for your villa. DVC keeps those numbers nice and high to make owning look like a better deal. Doing so means that you control the reservation, and can make changes as needed.

Renting through a broker (David's etc) will cost you about $14-16 per point (less if they have last minutes points to use), so you save money. For example, an AKL value studio during value season costs $358 direct, and is 9 points so going through a broker might cost you $144 (9x16) A pretty big savings. However you don't own the reservation, the owner does. So if you want to add dining, make requests, etc, the owner needs to do it. David's has a pretty good legal framework in place, and has been good about resolving issues that arise.
Renting directly from an owner would be cheaper (usually) as the going rate is normally around $11 per point, so $99 for that same value studio. Like going through a broker, you don't have control over the reservation. And going direct, you need to trust that the person isn't going to take your money and cancel the trip. You have no recourse against them unless you create your own legal document and chase them down in court yourself.

 

[DocAlan02]

Thanks everyone! There is definitely some stuff here of which I was not aware. This whole thing about not having control of the reservation is the main thing. We won't do a dining plan or anything, so i am not sure exactly what the impact of this limitation would be on us, but it sounds like a concern.

@lostpro9het - you said you have done this 7 times. Not having control of the reservation never caused you an issue?

 

[lostpro9het]

@lostpro9het - you said you have done this 7 times. Not having control of the reservation never caused you an issue?

Issues, absolutely not but we're also simple folk . We drive down and use TiW so we never needed special treatment for DME or DDP. I won't lie, I was nervous the first time we did it since it was a trip for the week of Christmas but we've never had an issue. If you do go private owner you will most definitely want to try and get references/referrals the best you can. I'm just one case, though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks everyone! There is definitely some stuff here of which I was not aware. This whole thing about not having control of the reservation is the main thing. We won't do a dining plan or anything, so i am not sure exactly what the impact of this limitation would be on us, but it sounds like a concern.

@lostpro9het - you said you have done this 7 times. Not having control of the reservation never caused you an issue?

Not having control of the reservation is not that big of a deal. The same thing happens when you book trough a travel agency.

What is boils down to is the person or company that owns the reservation has to make any changes and/or payments. That is it. If you don't modify the reservation it will not seem any different than booking yourself.

 

[DocAlan02]

Issues, absolutely not but we're also simple folk . We drive down and use TiW so we never needed special treatment for DME or DDP. I won't lie, I was nervous the first time we did it since it was a trip for the week of Christmas but we've never had an issue. If you do go private owner you will most definitely want to try and get references/referrals the best you can. I'm just one case, though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I only know one owner, and I don't expect her points are available. I would not be comfortable going directly to a private person I don't know. So I would use something like David's.

 

[lostpro9het]

... So I would use something like David's.

IMO, if you go David's you have very little to worry about. Just try to know all of what you want ahead of time.

 

[DocAlan02]

Not having control of the reservation is not that big of a deal. The same thing happens when you book trough a travel agency.

What is boils down to is the person or company that owns the reservation has to make any changes and/or payments. That is it. If you don't modify the reservation it will not seem any different than booking yourself.

Good information. I haven't used a travel agent in 20 years, probably, so I don't even remember how that works. As far as the paying upfront thing, that's the case with the services like David's too?

 

[Weather_Lady]

Also, when you rent (at least, when we did, through David's, which I highly recommend), you can't get a refund if you end up having to cancel, regardless of how much notice you give. For that reason, if you're dropping much money, you'll want to buy vacation insurance (we like Travelguard, which gives us cancel-for-any-reason coverage if we buy it within a week or two of our first payment toward the trip) which covers your costs in the event you're not able to keep the reservation.

 

[DocAlan02]

IMO, if you go David's you have very little to worry about. Just try to know all of what you want ahead of time.

"All of what you want" as far as what? We'll pick the room size, dates, location/property/view. What else might I need to know?

We are considering buying into DVC, by the way. Haven't pulled the trigger yet. Seems like there is so much to know.

 

[lostpro9het]

... As far as the paying upfront thing, that's the case with the services like David's too?

Last I read, David's is $98 to check on a reservation with the remaining balance due when it is booked.

 

[Master Yoda]

Good information. I haven't used a travel agent in 20 years, probably, so I don't even remember how that works. As far as the paying upfront thing, that's the case with the services like David's too?

I believe so. I have not personally used David's, but I think you pay David's, David's pays the DVC owner and the DVC owner makes the reservation.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

One of the main drawbacks to renting - even from David's or anywhere, is that you have zero control over the reservation. Whoever the owner is will have to do everything for you. You are not allowed to even talk with Member Services about your reservation. The owner will have to secure DME, any dining plans, etc. for your stay. Once you have the reservation, you can, of course, make your own dining and FP+ selections. If you need to change anything though, you will have to go through the owner in order to do it.

This might sound like a minor thing, but it's an absolute deal breaker for me. Far more headache than saving a few bucks.

 

[DocAlan02]

No guarantee that someone with points will be available despite a room being available.

Sorry...what does this mean?

 

[lostpro9het]

"All of what you want" as far as what? We'll pick the room size, dates, location/property/view. What else might I need to know?.

Do you need dining plan added, do you née Magical Express to pick you up from the airport.

We are considering buying into DVC, by the way. Haven't pulled the trigger yet. Seems like there is so much to know.

Part of the renting for us, outside of the savings, was to find a home resort we liked. After many stays we happily bought into AKL!

 

[Master Yoda]

This might sound like a minor thing, but it's an absolute deal breaker for me. Far more headache than saving a few bucks.

The thing is, it is not really a headache unless you change your reservation all the time.

When it comes to DVC you are also talking about a good bit more than a few bucks. It can easily cut your lodging bill by 40%-50%

 

[lostpro9het]

Sorry...what does this mean?

There could be availability for the DVC room but if David's, or whoever, doesn't have anyone with points to rent from then you can't book. So if you want a week at the Poly and are outside the 7 month mark, you would need to find a Poly owner to book there.