DVC with friends

[bwang123]

We are going on bringing guests 4 times.
1st - We used our points for friends, they paid for full-time babysitter to fly to Orlando with us
2nd - We gave family a free room for $0 or any additional expectations
3rd - Traded room with family for tickets for our two kids
4th (upcoming) - Giving a free stay to family if they pay for one day at a hotel on our drive from TX to FL

 

[AdamsMum]

I'm a single parent and not in a position to offer a free room to family or friends who come with me. I let people know that I'm going. If they express interest in coming, I let them know up front that they would share the cost of the points used with me. I use the current year pp cost, I'm not profiting from anyone. My family know that they are getting a great resort at a great location for the same price they'd probably pay at a value resort. Ditto for anyone using my points without me being there. They understand.

 

[Smilelea]

I have enjoyed reading all the different ways people handle these situations. We have some friends potentially coming along with us in 2020. I share the same concern others have expressed regarding non-dvc folks not understanding you can't just cancel or rearrange dates easily. We don't really want to charge them for the room so I was thinking of having our friends give us a "deposit" equal to the difference in points from a 1 br to a 2 br x the mfs at the 11 month mark when we book. Then as long as they don't back out on us they will get it back. If they do back out we will keep their deposit.

 

[Dean]

I'm a single parent and not in a position to offer a free room to family or friends who come with me. I let people know that I'm going. If they express interest in coming, I let them know up front that they would share the cost of the points used with me. I use the current year pp cost, I'm not profiting from anyone. My family know that they are getting a great resort at a great location for the same price they'd probably pay at a value resort. Ditto for anyone using my points without me being there. They understand.

If we invite people go with us, we provide the accommodations. But we can do so, it's one of our ways of giving back. But if someone asks us uninvited to use our timeshares, we would generally expect them to pay a reasonable fee. If I and they agreed, it'd still be a good deal but not necessarily so cheap they couldn't pass it up. But IMO it'd be unreasonable for someone who couldn't afford it to cover other people's reservations and even more unreasonable for others to expect them to do so. The problem is that there are 2 group of people that could cause a problem in such situation. There are the people that always cause problems and those that don't understand timeshares. For the first group everyone knows who these are in their family, I likely wouldn't let them use it for twice what it was worth but fortunately we don't have any of those currently in our family. The latter group is more difficult as they're often nice people that just don't understand. But the reality is they often see a timeshare as free and/or don't understand the true cost involved with Disney or timeshares. So they may feel like you're trying to take advantage of them even when you're giving them a great deal. So one needs to ease into such a discussion and if it looks like it's going to be a problem, just stop and don't do the trip.

As I'm typing this I'm on the phone with Marriott making our 2019 reservations. I booked seven 2BR villas for Hilton Head, last year we had 51 people for this trip. I hope to get 2 or 3 more villas when the points reservation window opens up soon.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

I think the key to inviting family and friends is be as upfront and clear as possible. If you expect some sort of payment I think that should be made know as early as possible. Talking about money with friends and family can be awkward at times but the longer people wait the more awkward it gets.

We joined in 2009 and have taken my SIL and her kids every other year. We stay in a 2BR/GV somewhere and never ask them for money for the rooms. We also pay for the kids plane/park tickets and SIL/BIL pays for all her expenses and then the kid's food. We're a kid-less couple so don't mind paying for the extras. We don't get to see the kids as often as we'd like to it's a ton of fun to have them there. She has some close friends that go every year with their kids and stay at value resorts and typically spend 2x-3x more than my SIL will out of pocket. She knows she's getting a great deal and we get to spend time with the family. Everyone wins

 

[AdamsMum]

last year we had 51 people for this trip.

Wow, I can't even imagine arranging a trip for that many people! You're my hero.

 

[Dean]

I think the key to inviting family and friends is be as upfront and clear as possible. If you expect some sort of payment I think that should be made know as early as possible. Talking about money with friends and family can be awkward at times but the longer people wait the more awkward it gets.

One of my motto's is "to be unclear is to be unkind" but unfortunately, this only works for good and reasonable people. One of the mistakes "the planner" often makes is assuming they'll be on their best behavior at Disney and/or when someone else is paying for much of the trip. From what I've seen, it's often quite the opposite. Crazy is crazy on steroids where Disney and vacations are concerned. Many families have people that everyone knows are a problem. Just being clear about expectations usually doesn't work here. The only thing that has a chance of working is to be VERY clear. Basically to sit down, lay it out on the table and threaten them. You have to look them in the eye, tell them they're known to be a problem and if they cause a problem on this trip, they'll have to answer to you. Then you have to get a commitment that they're OK with that requirement and will be on their best behavior. Even then there's risk.

Wow, I can't even imagine arranging a trip for that many people! You're my hero.

it's actually pretty simple. I take the groups overall situation and preferences into account, I float a couple of balloons 1.5 to 2 yrs out, I then make the reservations at 11-15 months out depending on what timeshare I'm using (generally Marriott or Bluegreen). Once I have it arranged, I invite people up to the capacity I was able to get. My rules are very simple; no drama, don't leave charges on the room and we'll do a required family meal together. Otherwise they're on their own and can do as much or little with whatever group they want. I do a lot of planning for the trip ahead so I can relax on vacation. I also actively plan NOT to control other people's vacation which I think is one of the mistakes planners make, esp where Disney in concerned. But we're lucky, there isn't going to be a lot of drama with this group anyway. We did our first family trip in 1998 at VB with 3 other close family units, then in 1999 I borrowed my OKW points (and got free park tickets) and we did a larger group to OKW for around 23. We've had anywhere from 34-43 otherwise once I was in a position to get enough volume. We do this all summers our other trips don't preclude it. I think we've missed 3 or 4 times in the last 20 years, basically for HI or Alaska trips. This last trip to HH I also chartered a boat for dolphin watching that held 40 so not everyone could go. Even this summer when we're not doing our "family trip" we'll have 14-16 people in HI.

 

[jrmint2]

I poked around a little and didn't see anything about how people handle this and Im curious.
When you are staying with friends on your points do you take them as guests or do you split the cost (pp as it were)?
How did you come to the conclusion about if you would or how much you would?

We are planning a trip with the parents of a good friend of our daughter. We really like them and have spent a fair amount of time with them so were not worried about traveling with them. We are talking about sharing a 2 br. They are in a similar financial situation as we are so were not worried that we're putting all of us in an awkward situation when talking about costs (since we all know that these trips ain't cheap, no matter how you do them)
I am not interested in asking them to pay $15 or $17 pp. I was thinking $10. Part of this is also because the mom is friends with some bigwig at MK and gets VIP day passes. They are FOR SURE a valuable part of the whole collaboration.

So what do you do?

When we invite friends, the room is on us. However, they pitch in for groceries, and usually my friends will pick up a tab or two when we are at a restaurant. It kind of evens out for us. Are the point costs $15 to $17 now? wow!

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

known to be a problem and if they cause a problem on this trip, they'll have to answer to you. Then you have to get a commitment that they're OK with that requirement

Oh how I wish I did this a year ago. At MCO as soon as the 6 year old started crying Dah Dah while refusing to move to the back seat and her parents let her sit there despite not being able to fit next to the other car seats.

My rental, my DVC, My rules of civility.

NEVER AGAIN! 6 days of relentless horrid behavior from all three kids and their enabling parents. Punching another child's balloon "HAHA someday he'll rule the world."

Or his prison block.

Relationship will never be the same.

Sorry for the "drama" arrival picture in social media feed while reading this.

Many other fantastic guests through the years. We invite so no charge for the room. We use our TIW discount for all - everyone pays for their food and tickets.

I send all guests to the Allears menus before we plan so they are not shocked.

 

[Dean]

Oh how I wish I did this a year ago. At MCO as soon as the 6 year old started crying Dah Dah while refusing to move to the back seat and her parents let her sit there despite not being able to fit next to the other car seats.

My rental, my DVC, My rules of civility.

NEVER AGAIN! 6 days of relentless horrid behavior from all three kids and their enabling parents. Punching another child's balloon "HAHA someday he'll rule the world."

Or his prison block.

Relationship will never be the same.

Sorry for the "drama" arrival picture in social media feed while reading this.

Many other fantastic guests through the years. We invite so no charge for the room. We use our TIW discount for all - everyone pays for their food and tickets.

I send all guests to the Allears menus before we plan so they are not shocked.

In this case I doubt a discussion ahead of time would have helped. The only solutions that are likely to make a difference are to either just not include them or to get enough separation that it won't affect you. We had a similar experience with a preteen and young teen on a cruise where they seated myself and my wife at a table with 8 other people in a family. Grandparents, their adult children and spouses plus the 2 older kids. We should have moved but we figured it would be OK. It just got worse and worse as the week went on.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I have never charged anyone for points. The only thing not up for discussion is that we take the Master Bedroom.

We take an annual kid-free trip with friends every fall. November 2017 was Vero Beach/SSR (for MVMCP). Our friends paid for their own tickets, air fare, food, and for the entire rental car. We covered the points for the 2BRs at both locations.

I took my niece, her husband and two grand-nephews for 9 days in Jan/Feb 2018 in a 2 BR at SSR. My niece and her husband had indicated that they wanted to do WDW someday (I had taken her multiple times as a child), but they would like me to be there to plan it all. It took a full year's points + a few more to book it. I was afraid they would flake out on me, so I borrowed from 2018 UY for the November trip to VB and used 2017 points for the niece trip. Once they bought airfare I felt a little better. One night while she and I were walking back from DS, she indicated that she and her husband would love to come down for a weekend, just the two of them. I let her know the going price to book SSR (she liked the location and didn't want to stay offsite), from CRO, and the hard costs for me for this trip ($7.66/point x 266 pts.). At that point she was a little taken aback at the cost. A couple of times prior to the trip they casually mentioned that the baby could sleep in my room. I quickly nixed that idea. I needed a quiet place to go for alone time. My kids are grown (DD19 and DS23) and being with an ADHD 6 year old and an 18 month old 24/7 could be a bit trying on my patience - not to mention the ADHD husband.

I think too many people think that once you buy a timeshare, it doesn't cost anything to go there. I wanted her to understand that there are very real costs involved and that I wouldn't be gifting her points every time she felt like a vacation. I love her like my own, but her DH can be a bit of a challenge at times. (DH refused to go with us because he said he couldn't stand to be with her husband for 9 straight days).

 

[goofy kc]

Like so many have said, if we invite, the room is on us. We let close family (siblings and parents) know when we are going and open to guests. Usually reserve one trip a year for just us, otherwise we're open to the maximum occupancy of a 1 or 2 br.
Last summer we invited a close friend who had never been to Disney and we wanted to show her a magical time. She picked up a couple of snacks and a meal but I am quick with the magic band so we were able to treat for most of the trip - three adults is not much more than two. We were happy when she surprised us with a couple of bottles of wine for the room and even more surprised with a gift certificate for our favorite restaurant when we got home.

Still, it's easier taking nieces and nephews - no expectations except to have fun.

 

[brertoad]

Tough call. If you are shelling out a lot of points it is only reasonable to be compensated for your cost.

If we invite someone, we cover the room. But it is generally good manners for them to offer a reciprocal gift. We are local so we only usually book one or two nights, so a nice meal or something is appreciated.

A lot of times though if you don't discuss anything, then don't expect anything. Better to discuss it ahead of time if you are putting in a lot of your DVC points.