Cross Shoo Disney Direct vs DVC rentals

[FrostyNaples]

I've always advocated DVC rentals for price savings since we became AP holders in 2014.

Recently however, without explanation I'm starting to find DVC rentals coming up more expensive than booking Disney direct.

So if recommend everyone start doing the same, this is a price game

My recent example as follows:

Dates - Aug 27th thru Aug 30th (3 nights)
Location - Wilderness Lodge Boulder - 1bd Villa

David's DVC - $1680
Disney Direct Summer offer - $1506.60

 

[AndrewsJ]

So many options to go cheaper than either you speak of. Find a reputable member to rent from. It's not at all hard to do.

 

[BigRedDad]

12/03 - 12/10 OKW Studio: $1,216 @ David's; Private owner: $700

 

[Skibum1970]

WL Boulder Ridge: $900 for five nights in September.

Disney: Averaging $2,000+ but no discounts have come out yet. Even still, the cheapest I've seen WL is $257/night which is still more expensive that Dave's.

Haven't gone the private owner route.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I believe the big savings come in with renting studios. 1 bedrooms have little if no savings.

 

[The_Jobu]

I've always advocated DVC rentals for price savings since we became AP holders in 2014.

Recently however, without explanation I'm starting to find DVC rentals coming up more expensive than booking Disney direct.

So if recommend everyone start doing the same, this is a price game

My recent example as follows:

Dates - Aug 27th thru Aug 30th (3 nights)
Location - Wilderness Lodge Boulder - 1bd Villa

David's DVC - $1680
Disney Direct Summer offer - $1506.60

What is "cross shoo Disney direct" exactly? Booking rack rates off the main webpage?

I had a great experience renting points through a rental website last year, but now I notice that the cost of rental points is up 1.50 - 2 dollars across all the sites. What's up with that?

So many options to go cheaper than either you speak of. Find a reputable member to rent from. It's not at all hard to do.

Is there a specific forum one would post in if they're looking to do this?

 

[Weather_Lady]

It certainly varies, depending on the situation. We recently rented points for a Beach Club Villas studio and a Poly Studio (split stay) for May 2018. In our case, renting DVC points was 25-50% less expensive than rack rate (even a seasonally-discounted rack rate).

Beach Club Studio (premium rate of $17/point from David's DVC) - $272/night (weeknight rates)
vs. from Disney (2017 rate) - $540/night (no seasonal discount offered for the same week in 2017)
...meaning we saved at least 50% on the cost of a Beach Club studio by renting DVC points, even at premium rental rates, and without factoring in the likely rack rate increase for 2018.

Polynesian Studio, Standard View (premium rate of $17/point from David's DVC) - $408/night (weekend rates)
vs. from Disney (2017 rate) - $628/night, or assuming a 15% seasonal discount identical to the one offered in 2017, $534/nt
...meaning we saved at least 25% over the cost of a discounted Polynesian studio by renting DVC points, even at premium rental rates, and without factoring in the likely rack rate increase for 2018.

Obviously renting directly from an owner would have been cheaper yet, but despite posting rental requests on Mousesavers, and this forum, I had no takers. Because we don't visit WDW often and didn't have much flexibility about our resorts and dates (and because we've had excellent experiences with David's in the past), we opted to go with David's, applying the philosophy that a "bird in the hand (or in our case, a confirmed reservation in hand) is worth two in the bush."

 

[JS514]

How does one find a private owner? I've looked into doing DVC rentals several times, but prices at Dave's didnt really add up favorably for us.

 

[correcaminos]

So many options to go cheaper than either you speak of. Find a reputable member to rent from. It's not at all hard to do.

A lot of renters are not much cheaper than David's. Many are asking for the same price as David's and getting it easily.

The direct from Disney is a newer phenomenon but I've heard many say it has been happening. Personally if I had the choice I'd do direct vs rent even if it meant paying $100 more or so.

How does one find a private owner? I've looked into doing DVC rentals several times, but prices at Dave's didnt really add up favorably for us.

There are a few forums for DVC owners that have rental portions. Mouseowners.com is my favorite.

 

[wplong1]

I think there are some differences in booking windows as well. When I contacted Disney a couple of years ago to ask, a non DVC member could book available DVC rooms direct from Disney 6 months in advance. You could potentially rent points 11 or 7 months in advance depending and may have more availability earlier to ensure booking what you wanted. I did our last DVC rental at 10 months and liked knowing I was getting exactly what I wanted as early as possible.