What You NEED To Know About Renting Disney Vacation Club Points

If you’re a fan of Disney or are planning your net Walt Disney World vacation, chances are you've seen the ads on social media for Disney Vacation Club Points Rental companies. These ads claim to save you a ton of money on your next Disney vacation, but is it too good to be true? As a Disney enthusiast, it's hard to resist the lure of a discounted trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth." However, it's important to approach these offers with caution and do your research before diving in. Today, we'll be exploring the world of Disney Vacation Club Points rentals and sharing our thoughts on whether or not it makes sense for you. We'll also be taking a closer look at these rental companies and determining whether or not all that glitters is really gold. So buckle up and get ready to find out if renting Disney Vacation Club Points is the way to go for your next Disney adventure!

What Is Disney Vacation Club & What At DVC Points

Disney Vacation Club [DVC] is a membership program where members buy contracts that afford them a number of points which can be redeemed annually for stays at Disney Vacation Club Resorts. These points can be used in a number of ways, which would take a considerable amount of time to explain, but it’s important to understand for the sake of today’s discussion is that the points do not accumulate from year to year. In other words, if a Disney Vacation Club Member does not use their points, they will lose them.

For those members who are unable to use their points for one reason or another, there are 2 things that can happen. They can choose to simply not use the points or they can go the route of renting out the unused points. Renting their points can be done in a few different ways, but it’s increasingly popular to use a 3rd party company [DVC Point Rental Company] to coordinate the transaction.

DVC Point Rental Companies & How They Work

Disney Vacation Club Point Rental companies are 3rd parties that work with both the DVC Members as well as the customers/clients. Their role is to work as a middleman, finding DVC Members with available points and customers/clients who are looking to rent those points.

These DVC Point Rental Companies do this by sourcing points through agreements with DVC Members. This is done by agreeing to pay DVC Members a designated price-per-point in exchange for finding someone to rent those points before they expire. The DVC Point Rental Company will then “rent” those points to customers/clients at a higher price-per-point in order to turn a profit. DVC Point Rental Companies will also offer additional services such as travel planning services and travel insurance for an additional free.

With all this having been said, it’s very important to understand that the DVC Point Rental Companies do not actually acquire the DVC Points for themselves nor do they have direct control over they points. They are, by every sense of the word, a middleman in this transaction. This is important to keep in mind for a few different reasons, we’ll get more into that here later in the discussion.

Why Rent DVC Points

There are a lot of reasons that someone might consider renting Disney Vacation Club Points; the most common of which is to save money. It’s no secret that Disney World vacations can be expensive. Accommodations alone can take up quite a big chunk of a family’s budget. This is especially the case if you’re planning on staying at one of the Walt Disney World Deluxe Resort Hotels. Renting DVC Points is seen by many as a good alternative to paying those high prices for Deluxe accommodations.

Is It Really A Good Deal

There are a lot of really big claims being made by some of the DVC Point Rental companies out there. We’ve seen some claiming that you can stay Deluxe for the price of a Value and others saying that you can save 50% when staying Deluxe, all thanks to renting DVC Points. The question is, does that math work out?

The short answer? No.

While there were times we could manipulate the numbers and criteria to make the claims of some DVC Point Rental companies work, we felt like it was stretching the facts a bit too far for our liking. For example, the average price per night of a Disney Value Resort is around the $200 mark, but there are rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, which is a Value Resort, that come in at roughly $500 per night. Theoretically, this allows us to argue that a room in a Deluxe Resort for which we might pay $400 per night by renting DVC Points would cost less than a Value Resort. While it’s not necessarily untrue, it’s certainly not painting the either picture either.

This wasn’t the only area in which we noticed creative liberties being taken. There were also examples that were very contingent on a number of factors that included, but weren’t limited to, specific dates and/or resorts. Of course, some of this is to be expected when it comes to planning any sort of vacation or travel. However, the way that the information is used in order to make claims is what we found the most notable.

Advertising and bold claims aside, there were opportunities to save money by renting DVC Points versus paying cash for the same room. The amount of savings varied depending on a number of factors; similar to the factors we discussed above. Even so, we were unable to find any savings that came within the 50% range.

Other Not-So-Straightforward Claims

Conversations about pricing aside, there are some other important details about renting DVC Points that sometimes get glossed over in sales pitches and customer testimonials. For example, the differences between staying in a Deluxe Resort Room versus a Disney Vacation Club Villa.

While they are considered to be the same thing, in terms of Walt Disney World Resort Hotel category, there are some important differences between Deluxe Resort Rooms and Disney Vacation Club Villas that those considering renting Disney Vacation Club Points should be aware of. We could look at both Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort as well as Disney’s Contemporary Resort as an example. Both of these resorts have Disney Vacation Club Villas that guests can use DVC Points to book. However, in both cases the rooms aren’t the same as the rooms that you’d be booking if you stayed in a standard/non-DVC room.

This means that over at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, you and your family won’t have the ability to stay in one of the Moana themed rooms during your stay; as they are not DVC Villas. Something similar can be said for Disney’s Contemporary Resort, where DVC Villas are located in a separate building entirely; Bay Lake Tower.

This is important to keep in mind if you’re hoping to experience a particular Deluxe Resort in a specific way. Of corse, for those who are looking to experience the resort itself and don’t mind these types of differences it’s not much of a problem at all. Other differences might be more of an issue, however.

Disney Vacation Club Villas are considered to be a “home away from home” for Members, which means that their amenities aren’t what you’d come to expect from a standard hotel. Rather than having regular housekeeping, you’ll be put on a schedule. [This schedule, which is standard for all DVC Villas, offers a cleaning on the 4th day of your stay with towels and trash on the 8th. The cycle then repeats itself.] Outside of this schedule, guests are expected to manage these type of things on their own. This includes bringing trash to the dumpster, vacuuming the room and washing linens whether or not there’s in unit laundry.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In the past, “optional housekeeping” services were available at DVC Villas which included having your bed linens changed, trash taken out or towels replaced outside of the regular schedule. This would come with a fee. However, in 2020 this option was removed and there has been no word on whether or not it has been reinstated. That said, since then, we’ve called down to housekeeping for things like trash pickup and been informed where the dumpster can be located so that we can bring it ourselves and asked for fresh linens to have housekeeping bring them to us so that we could make our bed ourselves.

Having to do a little bit of housework in order to keep your hotel room tidy during your vacation isn’t going to be a huge problem for everyone, but we still think it’s important to be aware of it. We’ve heard from a lot of people who dream of staying Deluxe and go the route of staying in a DVC Villa only to realize that it comes with having to do work.

Lack Of Control & Flexibility

There are a lot of things that make the vacation planning process stressful and they’re different for everyone. For a lot of people though, the top of that list include a lack of control over as well as limited to no flexibility. Unfortunately, both of these are something you’ll need to come to terms with if you’re planning on renting DVC Points.

Like we talked about earlier, when you’re working with a DVC Point Rental company, you’re working with a middleman who is coordinating between you and the DVC Member to book your room. You’re also relying on that DVC Member up until you check-in to sure the reservation is correct as this is not something you’ll have the ability to do on your own.

There’s also a lack of flexibility that comes along with renting DVC Points. Of course, the specifics are going to vary based on a number of factors including the DVC Point Rental company that you happen to be working with. However, you can usually expect to see non-refundable deposit as well as the inability to change dates of your trip.

NOTE: Many of the DVC Point Rental companies that we looked into said that this wasn’t something potential clients should concern themselves with because they have the option to purchase travel insurance. However, it’s important to understand that travel insurance is contingent on specific scenarios playing out. It is important to read the details of the policy you’re considering purchasing before going through with making that purchase, especially if you’re hoping that it will help you in the event that you change your mind about your “non-refundable” vacation.

Would We Rent DVC Points

While there are some ways to save money on a DVC Villa by renting DVC Points from a DVC Point Rental Company, this is not a route that we could recommend. As we discussed, it can absolutely be the right choice for the right family, but it’s certainly not something that we think makes sense for most; certainly not the average family who’s looking to save some money on a Disney vacation.

Of course, we’d love to know what you have to say about this. Have you ever gone this route? Tell us your experience in the comments down below.