That's a very good point, Suzanne. I've rented points from
DVC owners four times now, over the years, and it's always not a cost savings of any sort really, when we run the numbers, to own vs. keep renting, BUT... there is the "right" to book the unit we want, at a resort we love, and manage our own points and reservations. There's not the hassle of cancellations with a third party, the trust issues. Heck, one time I lost my confirmation letter *and* my computer crashed -- I could barely find my renter in time to take the vacation I'd paid for! (She'd changed her email address and hadn't posted since she rented to me, months before my trip.) We finally got in touch and she bent over backwards for me, but sheesh that was stressful!
One motivator for me, too, is that once upon a time I could rent BWV when I wanted to, but the last two years it's been getting harder and harder to get a reservation. I'm not sure that would be any easier if I owned there, really, though... It makes me nervous when they build something like SSR with so many owners, many of whom I think are thinking they are going to stay at any resort *but* SSR. That's a bit scary.
Another motivator for me is that our other "favorite" place to stay, the Ft. Wilderness Cabins, keep going up $25 or $30 a year, and the AP rates that used to be easily had are getting farther and fewer inbetween. Maybe it's just temporary, but for right now, WDW is pricing us into seeing DVC as a more attractive purchase than we used to.