Anyone use DVC request / David’s vacation rentals?

[Skbak]

Looking to book trip, we travel with kids and grandparents so a 2 bedroom villa with a kitchen/washer dryer seems way more appealing than two adjacent rooms like we did on our last trip

I’m wondering if the prices are too good to be true though. David’s looks 1/3 cheaper than renting 2 hotel rooms themselves. I also looked at DVC rental store which is 20% more expensive than David’s—main difference with David’s seems to be more risk since you can’t get a refund if you cancel and you have to pay in full up front with David’s vs dvc rental which is only a 25% deposit

Anyone have experiences positive or negative with David’s renting a villa?

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Pre-covid I had two positive experiences using David's to rent studios at Boulder Ridge and the Contemporary at the 11 month mark. Yes, it's cheaper than the competition, but more risky of course. A friend recommended David's. And he's right, it's a great choice.

I'm getting ready to book a February 2023 trip at a DVC - hoping to do Beach Club this time, if that doesn't work out maybe Boardwalk, Poly or GF. I'm probably going to try DVC Rental Store this time. 1. Less risk 2. I'm hoping to support Dreams Unlimited/Disboards/DisUnplugged sponsors.

 

[CraigInPA]

There is a VERY LONG thread on here regarding how David's treated renters and owners during the pandemic. Their actions were universally condemned by both sides, and the current contract owners have to agree to to rent their points is so terribly one sided (in favor of David's, not the owner or renter) that many owners refuse to deal with them.

Check for discounts directly from Disney before renting points from a rental agency. When the pandemic started to abate 6 months ago, the rental services were often more expensive than getting rooms directly from Disney. You can also check the rent/trade board here for owners who are renting their points directly.

 

[howardlee2]

I agree with checking the rent/trade board. In many cases you will be able to get a slightly better price as there is no 'middle man' involved. David buys our points and rents them out at a mark up.

 

[MMSM]

I have done David’s (pre-covid) and had a good experience. Then I did DVC rental store during pandemic and they were amazing. Communication was incredible. I have also directly rented from someone. However I know that person. There are risks for every situation. I read a lot of threads when we were trying to get back money from rental when covid shut down. The lack of information and the treatment from David’s told me I would not rent there again. I need to know that if I have a concern and I wrote and an email someone would get back to me. I know that it was something that had never happened before and they didn’t know what to do or how to accommodate things. Yet they could of said just that and reach out to people and get back to people.

 

[lpereira]

David's got his point owners to issue refunds during the shutdown. That was super nice. Then he pocketed that money and only gave a voucher to the renters. It came with all sorts of strings attached.

 

[Minniesgal]

I used to but I wouldn’t since the pandemic due to the force majeur clause he has put into his contracts putting all the risk on owners

 

[Marionnette]

Looking to book trip, we travel with kids and grandparents so a 2 bedroom villa with a kitchen/washer dryer seems way more appealing than two adjacent rooms like we did on our last trip

I’m wondering if the prices are too good to be true though. David’s looks 1/3 cheaper than renting 2 hotel rooms themselves. I also looked at DVC rental store which is 20% more expensive than David’s—main difference with David’s seems to be more risk since you can’t get a refund if you cancel and you have to pay in full up front with David’s vs dvc rental which is only a 25% deposit

Anyone have experiences positive or negative with David’s renting a villa?

As an owner, I refuse to do business with David's for all of the aforementioned reasons. They really screwed a lot of owners over during the pandemic and they don't pay owners as well as DVC Rental Store.

As far as pricing rentals vs hotel rooms, make sure that you are not comparing the cheapest DVC views to hotel rack rates. Those cheap views are almost impossible to get as a renter.

Make sure that you're comparing the same room, resort and view/location when you're looking at David's prices vs other rental agencies. The others wouldn't stay in business very long if their competitor is undercutting them by 20%. David's might be less expensive to the tune of $1 per point but as you saw, their rental terms are not flexible, and they require 100% payment upfront (while holding back a large portion of it from the owner).

 

[Sandisw]

After what happened in 2020 with David's, I could not recommend him. I didn't like the way it was handled and the changes he has made since then. I would pay a bit more and go with DVC Rental Store because I think you will get much better service.

I have not used them....only David's during the pandemic.. but when I have to rent points, they will be who I use...

 

[Mazz519]

Heard a lot of friends have had a bad experience with Davids during the Pandemic... Looked into using a service a few years ago didn't agree with their cut and what I was responsible for. I have been renting my own points only by myself for the past 20 years and gave everyone their money back that had confirmed reservations during that time...Renting on this Rent/Trade Forum right here is a great way to rent points

 

[DisneyRegulars]

As an owner who rents points, I found it very easy to rent my points with Davids. They are legit and easy to work with. I rented about 450 points with them this past year.

 

[emilyindisney]

I’ve used both services pre-COVID. I’m sad to hear the way David’s handled COVID reservations- I would think twice about using them going forward for that reason. I just booked a reservation with DVC Rental store and went with them over David’s this go round for the reasons you mentioned (less due upfront, availing to cancel, etc.) David’s also used to have a point minimum so sometimes I would utilize DVC Rental store instead for smaller reservations as they didn’t have a min. Doesn’t sound like that would be a deciding factor for you anyways. No matter which way you go renting DVC points is a great value!

 

[New Mouse]

I would hard pass on David's. If something goes wrong you could be In for a good ride trying to get it sorted. They also aren't very accommodating of common sense solutions if things go wrong

 

[SherylLC]

Another hard pass on David's. During Covid shut down many owners wanted to fully refund the families renting their points and David's would not allow it. They wanted to keep the money for themselves and pass on vouchers with limited use clauses. Other very shady practices as well...actually too may to list here! When the going got rough, David's only protected themselves. Same self preservation focused policies in place to date.

 

[gharter]

Due to co-Vid, we lost several trips to WDW. We had too many points accumulate that we couldn't use. We rented them through David's. While I've read those who have bashed him, we couldn't be happier. Super easy to do. we got 70% of the payment the day the points were rented and the remainder when the trip occurred. Minimal hassle on our end. Hoping to never need to use them again, but would have no concerns using them in the future if needed.

 

[Best Aunt]

As an owner with banked points I was not going to use, I was not going to use David's because I, too, did not like what I read about their practices during the Pandemic.

But then I read the details on their competitor's website.

While their competitor's policy provides more flexibility for the family who wishes to use the points, that means the owner also must be flexible.

There was a lot going on in my life at the time, and I just wasn't up for dealing with families who wanted to make changes after the reservation was made. I used David's because I knew that once I made the reservation for a family, I was done.

When choosing which company to use for renting out my points, I weighed the likelihood of the DVC resorts being closed again versus the likelihood of a family committing to a reservation and then changing their mind. To me, the bigger risk was on the latter, so I went with David's despite being philosophically opposed to their practices.

David's had someone waiting for a reservation which used 2/3 of my banked points, and a few weeks later had someone who wanted a reservation which used up the rest. It worked out well for me.

 

[whit.hudson21]

We used DVC request for the first time for our trip in June! So far, it has been smooth sailing. We also bought travel insurance through one of their third party companies just in case we need to cancel for unforeseen circumstances.

 

[SL6827]

Sounds like David's might be better for the renter verses the owner who is renting out thier points. I will say, for the renter, David's is quite more competitive with pricing.

 

[Marionnette]

Sounds like David's might be better for the renter verses the owner who is renting out thier points. I will say, for the renter, David's is quite more competitive with pricing.

But if owners are being paid better by other intermediaries then that's where a renter has a better chance of getting a match. IOW, if David's is going to pay me $17 per point and DVC Rental Store is going to pay me $18 per point, guess where I will go to rent out my points?

 

[Madame]

But if owners are being paid better by other intermediaries then that's where a renter has a better chance of getting a match. IOW, if David's is going to pay me $17 per point and DVC Rental Store is going to pay me $18 per point, guess where I will go to rent out my points?

This. Points are in short supply right now and David’s has some competition…. Several companies in fact. These companies need to work for both parties if they want to actually have points to secure the reservations (esp hard to get reservations). As someone who wanted to reimburse a renter during Covid... Hard no from me.