Are DVC points not all the same?

[gir3puttbogey]

I'm new to DVC points and I've been reading the FAQ's and used the search function but I can't seem to find the answer.

For DVC points, are they not all the same? For example, let's say my home resort is Saratoga Springs and I have 200 points for it every year.
I know that if that's my home resort, I have 11 months out booking and I can only book the other resorts 7 months out.

Based on DVC vactions and using the points calculator, Poly would be 181 points.
So based on that, should I not be able to simply book Poly for 181 points and have 19 points left over?

My question is because I see in the classifieds forums, some ppl are pricing the points differently for certain resorts over others.

Keep in mind that I am not a DVC member but looking to rent points to book a stay with DVC

TIA

 

[RoseGold]

Because you book at 8-11 months with priority, so you pay for the resort you want.

People also price points that are hard to use lower, like points that expire soon, because it can be hard to book DVC last minute.

 

[CarolynFH]

My question is because I see in the classifieds forums, some ppl are pricing the points differently for certain resorts over others.

Keep in mind that I am not a DVC member but looking to rent points to book a stay with DVC

Some resorts/villas/views are more highly sought after than others, so owners charge higher rent for those points, especially when booking in the owner priority window 7-11 months out.

Since you're not an owner, you can't rent actual points, i.e. you can't rent 200 SSR points then wait for the 7 month window and book Poly for 181 points. All you can do is rent a reservation - at Poly - from a DVC owner, who gets to set their own price for those 181 points.

 

[Shellyred8]

Some locations are harder to book (more desirable) than others. Poly is typically more desirable than SSR because it's an MK resort. The more desirable resorts can be harder to book because so many people want to stay there. It's like most other things in this world: the higher the demand for something, the higher the price is going to be.

 

[gir3puttbogey]

Some locations are harder to book (more desirable) than others. Poly is typically more desirable than SSR because it's an MK resort. The more desirable resorts can be harder to book because so many people want to stay there. It's like most other things in this world: the higher the demand for something, the higher the price is going to be.

Thanks for the reply.

So basically when ppl are posting about their points like this:

200 pts SSR Mar 2023 use year $18pp
300 pts Poly Sep 2023 use year $19pp
400 pts Grand Floridian Dec 2023 use year $20pp

Are they just indicating the following:
- The 200 points for SSR have not yet been banked and they only have until Mar 2024 to redeem. Hence, the lower price point
- The 300 points for Poly are close to the 11 month booking window so you can pretty much gaurantee that you will get a room for July 2024 or use the 300 points for another resort within the 7 month window
- The 400 points for Grand Floridian will be approaching the 11 month booking window so you can pretty much gaurantee that you will get a room for Nov 2024 or use the 400 points for another resort within the 7 month window
- And basically the full 900 points are available to be used for any resort that is available up until Mar 2024...and 700 points are available to be used for any resort for any reservation up to July 2024 provided it's within the 7 month window and not using those home resorts

 

[Robbie Cottam]

If you have SSR points and wanted poly, You would most likely not be able to book poly at the 7-month window..... maybe, but for the past few years, the smaller resorts have pretty much sold at the 7-month or before the 7 month window...

Resorts like SSR OKW AKL are pretty big, have a lot of room, and do not have the demand the of a Beach Club or Bay lake.

Supply and demand says, ask for more for the resort that is in high demand.....

So from 11 to 7 months, the points are very much different.....

Inside of 7 months, they are not...

That being said, I personally will not rent my BLT or RIV points at a reduced rate just because the renter wants to book 6 months out.

Personally, I'll just bank them...

 

[Robbie Cottam]

BTW if you want to rent points from here you need to get your post count up so you can PM

 

[gir3puttbogey]

If you have SSR points and wanted poly, You would most likely not be able to book poly at the 7-month window..... maybe, but for the past few years, the smaller resorts have pretty much sold at the 7-month or before the 7 month window...

Resorts like SSR OKW AKL are pretty big, have a lot of room, and do not have the demand the of a Beach Club or Bay lake.

Supply and demand says, ask for more for the resort that is in high demand.....

So from 11 to 7 months, the points are very much different.....

Inside of 7 months, they are not...

That being said, I personally will not rent my BLT or RIV points at a reduced rate just because the renter wants to book 6 months out.

Personally, I'll just bank them...

Ah I see.

What is the accuracy of the rooms available for a site like (removed as link not used)

My window for the 7 month mark actually starts tomorrow. Planning to go on Apr 20, 2024.

I originally tried to use David's DVC rentals and they sent back confirmation that the room was available but then afterwards they were saying they didn't have the points. They said they had to wait for a DVC member with Poly points to book. Which is why I was asking if they were not all the same.

I'm going to try to submit another request with DVC rental store tmr when the 7 month window opens up.

Am I going about this all wrong?

 

[Shellyred8]

Ah I see.

What is the accuracy of the rooms available for site like (removed)

My window for the 7 month mark actually starts tomorrow. Planning to go on Apr 20, 2024.

I originally tried to use David's DVC rentals and they sent back confirmation that the room was available but then afterwards they were saying they didn't have the points. They said they had to wait for a DVC member with Poly points to book. Which is why I was asking if they were not all the same.

I'm going to try to submit another request with DVC rental store tmr when the 7 month window opens up.

Am I going about this all wrong?

The points calculators on these sites do not tell you if a room is available or not. It only tells you how much it would be for the room. They do this so you can get an estimate of how many points you would need to book your stay, not to tell you that a room is or is not available.

The way these places work is they rely on owners to rent them their points. They don't have the points themselves. They are a middle-man between you and the owner of the points. So when you asked if there was a room available, they have to wait for a Poly owner to rent them their points before they can rent them to you. The way it works is you tell them the dates you want. They find an owner that is willing to rent them their points and that owner makes the room reservation using your name. They then rent that room to you.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Ah I see.

What is the accuracy of the rooms available for a site like: (removed)

My window for the 7 month mark actually starts tomorrow. Planning to go on Apr 20, 2024.

I originally tried to use David's DVC rentals and they sent back confirmation that the room was available but then afterwards they were saying they didn't have the points. They said they had to wait for a DVC member with Poly points to book. Which is why I was asking if they were not all the same.

I'm going to try to submit another request with DVC rental store tmr when the 7 month window opens up.

Am I going about this all wrong?

you have to post the full link, we're not supposed to try to get around filters, for example, by not posting the link.

But DVC availability changes from moment to moment. No site that shows availability is guaranteed to be accurate beyond the time the data was gathered, it could literally have changed in the next moment.

The rental sites have to match you up with an owner. The board here, or social media groups, cut out the middle man so you can work directly with an owner.

 

[Shellyred8]

Thanks for the reply.

So basically when ppl are posting about their points like this:

200 pts SSR Mar 2023 use year $18pp
300 pts Poly Sep 2023 use year $19pp
400 pts Grand Floridian Dec 2023 use year $20pp

Are they just indicating the following:
- The 200 points for SSR have not yet been banked and they only have until Mar 2024 to redeem. Hence, the lower price point
- The 300 points for Poly are close to the 11 month booking window so you can pretty much gaurantee that you will get a room for July 2024 or use the 300 points for another resort within the 7 month window
- The 400 points for Grand Floridian will be approaching the 11 month booking window so you can pretty much gaurantee that you will get a room for Nov 2024 or use the 400 points for another resort within the 7 month window
- And basically the full 900 points are available to be used for any resort that is available up until Mar 2024...and 700 points are available to be used for any resort for any reservation up to July 2024 provided it's within the 7 month window and not using those home resorts

A couple of other things that play into the prices is the initial buy-in cost and the annual dues for the owners. The middle-man companies know that Grand Floridian (typically) costs more to buy into than SSR, so they have to pay them more for their points to get people to rent to them.

 

[CarolynFH]

I originally tried to use David's DVC rentals and they sent back confirmation that the room was available but then afterwards they were saying they didn't have the points. They said they had to wait for a DVC member with Poly points to book. Which is why I was asking if they were not all the same.

Just to clarify this for you -

At the time you were asking David’s, you were between 11 months and 7 months prior to checkin for your desired dates. That means that only Poly points could be used to book what you wanted, and David’s didn’t have any Poly owners with enough points to book that for you. Once you are 7 months or less from checkin (tomorrow), any owner can book for you with points from any home resort.

 

[gir3puttbogey]

Just to clarify this for you -

At the time you were asking David’s, you were between 11 months and 7 months prior to checkin for your desired dates. That means that only Poly points could be used to book what you wanted, and David’s didn’t have any Poly owners with enough points to book that for you. Once you are 7 months or less from checkin (tomorrow), any owner can book for you with points from any home resort.

You are correct and I just realized this after doing all the research today.
I contacted them just outside of the 7 month booking window and I guess they didn't have any DVC members who have Poly as their home resort. I figure if I submit the request tmr morning, I should be able to get the booking as long as 1. The availability is there and 2. they have enough interested DVC members who are willing to sell their points to them.

I also saw on the DVC Rental Store that any bookings made from 0-7 months is at $19 per point, which is better than the $21 that David's is charging.

 

[CarolynFH]

You are correct and I just realized this after doing all the research today.
I contacted them just outside of the 7 month booking window and I guess they didn't have any DVC members who have Poly as their home resort. I figure if I submit the request tmr morning, I should be able to get the booking as long as 1. The availability is there and 2. they have enough interested DVC members who are willing to sell their points to them.

I also saw on the DVC Rental Store that any bookings made from 0-7 months is at $19 per point, which is better than the $21 that David's is charging.

Check David’s price too - it’s possible that $21 is David’s home-resort price, and they may charge less for a 7-month booking too. Also, consider the offers on the DISboards Rent/Transfer board and deal directly with the owner - look for someone who posts here regularly such as those above.

 

[DonMacGregor]

I originally tried to use David's DVC rentals and they sent back confirmation that the room was available but then afterwards they were saying they didn't have the points. They said they had to wait for a DVC member with Poly points to book. Which is why I was asking if they were not all the same.

When you spoke to David’s you were outside the 7-month booking window, so only an owner with Poly points (home resort booking priority) could make the Poly reservation for you. Once inside the 7-month window, any DVC owner with points anywhere (except RR resale) can make the reservation.

 

[Genie+]

When you spoke to David’s you were outside the 7-month booking window, so only an owner with Poly points (home resort booking priority) could make the Poly reservation for you. Once inside the 7-month window, any DVC owner with points anywhere (except RR resale) can make the reservation.

This is one big thing that steered us to renting from DISboard owners. If you want to book something like Beach Club, Copper Creek, Boardwalk - certain rooms and dates need 11 month booking. Rental agencies often do not have the specific inventory that far out. They have to wait for more owners to come forward to fulfill requests and by that time room choice is gone. Now that spec renting has become so popular, even less. On DISboards you can check the rent/trade board for resort specific owners and not waste your time, and maybe get a better deal. But I understand why people feel more comfortable with brokers, especially when having little experience with DVC.

 

[Noodlez]

I also saw on the DVC Rental Store that any bookings made from 0-7 months is at $19 per point, which is better than the $21 that David's is charging.

It makes sense to go with the cheapest, as long as they have points available. You tend to find that the ones that charge the least also give the least to owners so may have fewer people willing to put their points with them.

Regarding your original questions about points not all being the same, I own at Beach Club which is hard to get into, and not cheap to buy, so I know I can charge more for my points than some other places. The only time I would reduce the price is if my points were going to expire so I was at risk of losing them. Even if someone wanted a booking only a few months out I wouldn't choose to reduce the cost as I know I can easily get the full price.

 

[bumbershoot]

they only have until Mar 2024 to redeem

March 2023 points would need to be used by the end of February. For instance, I have February points. My travel with them has to be finished by January 31.

My window for the 7 month mark actually starts tomorrow. Planning to go on Apr 20, 2024.

I originally tried to use David's DVC rentals and they sent back confirmation that the room was available but then afterwards they were saying they didn't have the points. They said they had to wait for a DVC member with Poly points to book. Which is why I was asking if they were not all the same.

I contacted them just outside of the 7 month booking window and I guess they didn't have any DVC members who have Poly as their home resort. I figure if I submit the request tmr morning, I should be able to get the booking as long as 1. The availability is there and 2. they have enough interested DVC members who are willing to sell their points to them.

Glad someone mentioned that and you figured it out.

Good luck with Poly. I nearly gave up for the upcoming February and this year's February trips trying to get in there for my OWN travel once I hit the 7 month mark, let alone for someone else. The amount of times I had to check was ridiculous, especially when booking last year for Feb 2023.

And to make sure...they aren't selling points to the company. The owners are making your reservation. They are checking for availability. They are the ones calling in. The company is just a middleman offering both of you some safety.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Honestly, at 7 months the highest demand resorts can disappear fast. And people renting via an agency aren't lurking on their keyboards to book fast at 7 months opening. No point. They will get paid the same for booking Poly at 8AM or Saratoga at 10AM after 3 coffees and a nice jog to the park with their pupper.

 

[Artemis Fowl]

Thanks for the reply.

So basically when ppl are posting about their points like this:

200 pts SSR Mar 2023 use year $18pp
300 pts Poly Sep 2023 use year $19pp
400 pts Grand Floridian Dec 2023 use year $20pp

Are they just indicating the following:
- The 200 points for SSR have not yet been banked and they only have until Mar 2024 to redeem. Hence, the lower price point
- The 300 points for Poly are close to the 11 month booking window so you can pretty much gaurantee that you will get a room for July 2024 or use the 300 points for another resort within the 7 month window
- The 400 points for Grand Floridian will be approaching the 11 month booking window so you can pretty much gaurantee that you will get a room for Nov 2024 or use the 400 points for another resort within the 7 month window
- And basically the full 900 points are available to be used for any resort that is available up until Mar 2024...and 700 points are available to be used for any resort for any reservation up to July 2024 provided it's within the 7 month window and not using those home resorts

Many owners post that way so that if you need to rent 225 points at SSR, you don't ask them because they don't have enough. Last year when I was looking to stay at BC, I needed 315 points for the stay I wanted. I needed to find someone with more points than that to make my reservation.

If you need to rent 225 point, and I only have 200, it doesn't really help either of us.