Considering DVC rental

[Livelovedisney]

We've stayed on disney property before but never in a DVC. We are going with friends Nov. of next year and was wondering, is it usually cheaper to rent points than book directly through Disney?
Edit: There may be a total of 8 of us (4 adults and 4 children)

 

[Weather_Lady]

If you're looking at 2-bedroom or larger villas (or even multiple studios), it should be significantly less expensive. (The amount of savings varies by the room category and resort -- savings with studios and 2-bedrooms will typically be higher than a 1-bedroom, and some resorts offer better savings than others. Your dates make a difference as well...).

When we stayed at VWL a few years ago -- in the fall, typically a popular and expensive time if you're booking with DVC points -- in a 2-bedroom villa on rented points (through David's Vacation Rentals), the price we paid was about 40% less than rack rate for the same villa. If you want to compare, just run the numbers through a cost calculator (David's has one, and I'm sure the other major rental companies do, too), and then compare it with the rack rate cost for the room (available at Mousesavers.com -- just Google Mousesavers, the name of the villa resort, and "2019 rack rates" -- be sure you're looking at villa prices and not regular rooms).

 

[slappy magoo]

It's hard to do too many apples-to-apples comparisons because a: you can't see rates for rooms at WDW beyond the end of 2018 yet, so you can't look up next November; but b: if you try to compare prices based on THIS November, most resorts are booked when it comes to 2BR and Grand Villas so you can't look up the specific prices. The onlyDVC resort currently showing availability for a party that size THIS November (only for the sake of comparison) is - surprise! - Saratoga Springs.

For 8 people in November, per-night rates at Saratoga are currently $878 for a 2BR Standard location, $1044 for a 2BR Preferred location and $1100 for a Treehouse Villa. Those seem to be rack rates, no current promotional offers seem to be available, and it includes the resort taxes.

Same time frame for rentals via David's, 2BR Standard is $528, 2BR Preferred is $640 and a Treehouse is $656.

 

[Livelovedisney]

Thanks so much for the replies. Since we've never stay at a DVC before or rented points through david's dvc rental, I was a little hesitant about it. I will run the idea to our friends and see what they say. Right now we hope to get a 2 bedroom villa at the beach club.

 

[slappy magoo]

Thanks so much for the replies. Since we've never stay at a DVC before or rented points through david's dvc rental, I was a little hesitant about it. I will run the idea to our friends and see what they say. Right now we hope to get a 2 bedroom villa at the beach club.

You're welcome. Here's a little extra food for thought, some of it pertaining to renting, some it pertaining to traveling with friends.
1: If there's a resort you really want to stay at, David's might be able to book it for you as early as 11 months out (which is the time frame when DVC owners can book at their home resort). But booking that early will likely be more expensive than the prices I quoted you for this November which is only 5 months out.
2: If you're renting someone's points through David's, the owner could get penalized if you try to cancel or renege on the reservation; therefore, there's really no way to cancel your reservation. I don't know if you're the type of person to buy vacation insurance, but for a DVC rental I'd highly recommend it (David's provides links to an insurance company or you can seek it out on your own).
3: Even though renting points will likely be much cheaper than booking direct from Disney, it's still not cheap. Whoever you're traveling with, I don't know how keen they are about planning a trip so far in advance. I also don't know how keen are about PAYING for a trip that far in advance they can't cancel for absolutely any reason (booking direct from Disney, unless it's a package, you can get by with a one-night deposit, pay the balance later, buy park tickets when you get there, etc). So if you're thinking about renting, be prepared to talk to your traveling companions about what they need to expect to pay up front. Don't pony up all the dough yourself unless you're prepared to take the hit if they wind up giving you an "on second thought..."

 

[dreamfinder]

Renting DVC points is 100% cheaper than paying DVC rack rate (unless you don't pay attention). However, the question becomes is point rental going to be more affordable than booking regular rooms. You can get 2 value resort rooms during value season for about $150 each so $300/night, 2 moderate rooms are about $215 each so $415/night, 2 AKL rooms would be $420 each, so $840/night while a 2 BR villa at AKL would be closer to $500 a night via rental (35pts @ $15 each). So if you were normally going to stay value/moderate then point rental is most likely not cheaper. But if you normally would stay deluxe, then point rental would be cheaper. There are other things to consider, IE in room laundry and full kitchen in DVC that might swing the equation one way or the other. The PP's raised a few good points to keep in mind when renting points.

 

[Livelovedisney]

Renting DVC points is 100% cheaper than paying DVC rack rate (unless you don't pay attention). However, the question becomes is point rental going to be more affordable than booking regular rooms. You can get 2 value resort rooms during value season for about $150 each so $300/night, 2 moderate rooms are about $215 each so $415/night, 2 AKL rooms would be $420 each, so $840/night while a 2 BR villa at AKL would be closer to $500 a night via rental (35pts @ $15 each). So if you were normally going to stay value/moderate then point rental is most likely not cheaper. But if you normally would stay deluxe, then point rental would be cheaper. There are other things to consider, IE in room laundry and full kitchen in DVC that might swing the equation one way or the other. The PP's raised a few good points to keep in mind when renting points.

Yeah, we usually stay at deluxe and our friends wanted to give staying on site a try. We've tried moderates before and it's just not convenient enough for us. We usually come to rest for a couple hours at the resort midday, and we find that most deluxe resort has less bus stops (which makes it faster to get from/to the parks) or it's closer to our prefer parks at the time.

 

[nickys]

Renting DVC points is 100% cheaper than paying DVC rack rate (unless you don't pay attention).

100% cheaper means it costs nothing!!!!!

I'm going to assume you mean it's always cheaper to rent than pay rack rate? Which it is, although for a 1 bedroom the savings may not come to much, and some people would consider it worthwhile to pay rack rate for the ability to cancel or change.

 

[correcaminos]

Renting DVC points is 100% cheaper than paying DVC rack rate (unless you don't pay attention). However, the question becomes is point rental going to be more affordable than booking regular rooms. You can get 2 value resort rooms during value season for about $150 each so $300/night, 2 moderate rooms are about $215 each so $415/night, 2 AKL rooms would be $420 each, so $840/night while a 2 BR villa at AKL would be closer to $500 a night via rental (35pts @ $15 each). So if you were normally going to stay value/moderate then point rental is most likely not cheaper. But if you normally would stay deluxe, then point rental would be cheaper. There are other things to consider, IE in room laundry and full kitchen in DVC that might swing the equation one way or the other. The PP's raised a few good points to keep in mind when renting points.

While DVC rack rate is always more expensive than rental rates, Disney discounted rates aren't always close to rack rate. Especially for 1 bedrooms. You can often find Disney rates direct the same give or take very little as renting. Studios it isn't as good of a deal, and 2 bedrooms are hit or miss, but it's not a guarantee.

 

[dreamfinder]

100% cheaper means it costs nothing!!!!!

I'm going to assume you mean it's always cheaper to rent than pay rack rate? Which it is, although for a 1 bedroom the savings may not come to much, and some people would consider it worthwhile to pay rack rate for the ability to cancel or change.

Yes I apparently omitted the "...going to be..." from that statement.

While DVC rack rate is always more expensive than rental rates, Disney discounted rates aren't always close to rack rate. Especially for 1 bedrooms. You can often find Disney rates direct the same give or take very little as renting. Studios it isn't as good of a deal, and 2 bedrooms are hit or miss, but it's not a guarantee.

Maybe, but DVC direct discounted rates aren't going to come necessarily come out early enough for someone to book. If WDW doesn't offer a discount on rack rates, by the time they would be announced, odds are pretty good that owners won't have access to much availability. So its a dice roll if you need the extra space. Rent points in that 11-6 month window, or wait until that 2-4 month window when WDW offers discounts and chance not having availability for what you want.

 

[correcaminos]

Yes I apparently omitted the "...going to be..." from that statement.



Maybe, but DVC direct discounted rates aren't going to come necessarily come out early enough for someone to book. If WDW doesn't offer a discount on rack rates, by the time they would be announced, odds are pretty good that owners won't have access to much availability. So its a dice roll if you need the extra space. Rent points in that 11-6 month window, or wait until that 2-4 month window when WDW offers discounts and chance not having availability for what you want.

I don't know about that. My friend does it often and has great success (at about 6 months out or so). Again more with 1 bedrooms. There was another 'fight' about this on another forum and it was surprising with the rates people were finding.

I'm a shopper at heart so DVC works well for me. With the rental rates now going towards $17-20 routinely (yep that's what owners are asking for now!!!) it's not as great of a deal as it used to be. I'm always saying don't just assume one way is better than another. Run numbers and see.

 

[dreamfinder]

I don't know about that. My friend does it often and has great success (at about 6 months out or so). Again more with 1 bedrooms. There was another 'fight' about this on another forum and it was surprising with the rates people were finding.

*shrug* I'm going off the publicly available discounts as tracked on MouseSavers here -> https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends Usually they are listed as being released in that 2-4 month window.
I'd never suggest anyone pay rack rates for DVC EVER. Those numbers are inflated to make DVC look like a better deal. So I'm not terribly surprised if people are able to get targeted rates that are better than rack.

 

[correcaminos]

*shrug* I'm going off the publicly available discounts as tracked on MouseSavers here -> https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends Usually they are listed as being released in that 2-4 month window.
I'd never suggest anyone pay rack rates for DVC EVER. Those numbers are inflated to make DVC look like a better deal. So I'm not terribly surprised if people are able to get targeted rates that are better than rack.

Just going off of what the friend who rents regularly tells me too. Who knows (shrugging too). I really personally don't follow the rates, I just listen to the friend (and a few others) who do it regularly. I was a bit surprised when they were talking about how they rent rooms a few years ago. I didn't even know some of the rates were that good.

I agree 100% I never would pay DVC rack rates ever. In general I feel that way about Disney rooms as a whole though. I think their rates are inflated which is why I find some of the 'deals' to be poor. Though I'm an AP holder and a DVC member so I don't think I've come close to paying rack rates since our honeymoon in 2000 when AP discounts were so rare on deluxes that it just never happened. Of course prices then didn't feel as inflated as they do now. But that's a whole other discussion

 

[slappy magoo]

I agree 100% I never would pay DVC rack rates ever. In general I feel that way about Disney rooms as a whole though. I think their rates are inflated which is why I find some of the 'deals' to be poor. Though I'm an AP holder and a DVC member so I don't think I've come close to paying rack rates since our honeymoon in 2000 when AP discounts were so rare on deluxes that it just never happened. Of course prices then didn't feel as inflated as they do now. But that's a whole other discussion

Off-topic but this reminds me of what happened to JCPenney's earlier this decade. Now granted, they've had their share of problems and I'm not saying this was their biggest. But earlier this decade, they made a seismic shift in the way they priced product. They just slashed prices across the board and basically told their customers "every department store gouges you. They inflate prices wildly so when they offer a sale you think you're getting a bargain. Well, we respect you too much to do that any more. No more crazy sales to get you in the door, just the lowest regular prices for these products available. You're welcome."
Sales plummeted. Most people wanted the illusion of a deal more than a genuinely good price, and because profit margins were now thinner than razor-thin, the customers they kept couldn't buy enough to justify the consistently low prices. So they went back to inflated prices followed by sales. They're still suffering but at least what customers they do have feel better for shopping there. After all, it was 40% off, what a bargain.

But as long as consumers think the illusion of a great value is more impressive than a consistently good price, WDW room prices will keep spiraling upwards.

 

[correcaminos]

Off-topic but this reminds me of what happened to JCPenney's earlier this decade. Now granted, they've had their share of problems and I'm not saying this was their biggest. But earlier this decade, they made a seismic shift in the way they priced product. They just slashed prices across the board and basically told their customers "every department store gouges you. They inflate prices wildly so when they offer a sale you think you're getting a bargain. Well, we respect you too much to do that any more. No more crazy sales to get you in the door, just the lowest regular prices for these products available. You're welcome."
Sales plummeted. Most people wanted the illusion of a deal more than a genuinely good price, and because profit margins were now thinner than razor-thin, the customers they kept couldn't buy enough to justify the consistently low prices. So they went back to inflated prices followed by sales. They're still suffering but at least what customers they do have feel better for shopping there. After all, it was 40% off, what a bargain.

But as long as consumers think the illusion of a great value is more impressive than a consistently good price, WDW room prices will keep spiraling upwards.

Actually that's a good analogy. Kohl's is still quite popular here and they are always "having sales" just like what you were talking about.

Granted I am a shopper, so I do want a good deal, but at the same time I don't get fooled by fake deals as quickly as I used to.