Complete Newbie Question On Point Rentals

[Savage1701]

We are considering purchasing DVC but would like to "rent" the points for a couple of years to see if it is for us or not.

We always go at the lowest season times (at least as defined by the hotel schedules) of mid-January and once in a while in October. We have no problem booking 7-11 months out, and personally I'd do it even further out than that if Disney would let me. In other words, we are stable, decisive vacationers that make a decision on dates and stick with them.

My basic question is this - let's assume we want to stay in the * and are willing to book 7 months out for non-home point renters or 11 months out for home-base point renters and we want to go in *. We would book for * nights, and would want *. As a fallback, we would also consider *- how hard is it to do what I am asking to do, especially for those who do not have * as a home resort but wish to sell points? Is it the sort of thing where we might get lucky at that one year and then never again, or is that something fairly easy to do? By point of comparison, I've never had a problem renting a room at a monorail hotel 6-12 months out.

I really appreciate any help anyone can give me on this. I've been going to WDW for 36 years and handling my own hotel reservations since 1986, so I'm no dummy at playing the hotel booking game. But I am clueless at this. However, we just had a very positive experience with a Ma****tt timeshare point rental, so I though this would be worth a try.

Again, my apologies if I have posted a question already answered in a sticky, but I was only seeing generalities there.

 

[Sandisw]

There are a lot of DVC members who offer to rent reservations with their points.

I do think that if you have certain resorts in mind, then finding someone who owns there and can book for you would give you a very good shot at getting what you want.

While there is always a chance at 7 months to reserve at other resorts, using the home resort booking advantage would be even better.



The Rent/Trade board has so much information that I would go there first!

Good luck!!!

 

[RahRah573]

Depending on your dates, the 7-month booking window for all DVC resorts is open for * - so you can look for either an owner of * or any other resort with points to rent at *....if you're going a bit later, you'd still need a * owner with priority reservations within the 11-month window.

if there is no availability for your dates, you'll need to seek out an already existing reservation from someone booked and see if they'll rent you their reservation!

 

[LisaS]

...if there is no availability for your dates, you'll need to seek out an already existing reservation from someone booked and see if they'll rent you their reservation!

Just an FYI: The posting rules for the DVC Rent/Trade board prohibit offering existing reservations until 30 days prior to the check in date for that reservation. Users can (and have) lost their Rent/Trade board posting privileges for doing so.

To the OP: There is a lot of information available in the "sticky" threads at the top of the DVC Rent/Trade board here on the DIS. Start with the "Read me first" thread to learn more about how renting works. Then read the "Required Reading" threads to learn about the posting rules for that board.

Also, what you might consider the "lowest season times" might be very busy times for DVC. In particular, early December is considered a slow time for the parks but it is one of the most difficult times to book at DVC resort. You really need to book 11 months out if you want to stay in a DVC resort anytime between Thanksgiving until after New Year's Day. Late January, early May and much of September (after Labor Day and before the start of the F&W festival) are about the only slow times for the DVC resorts.

 

[RahRah573]

Just an FYI: The posting rules for the DVC Rent/Trade board prohibit offering existing reservations until 30 days prior to the check in date for that reservation. Users can (and have) lost their Rent/Trade board posting privileges for doing so.

But can't someone seeking a reservation post a "reservation wanted" post to see if someone has an existing reservation and/or points to rent to her?

 

[LisaS]

But can't someone seeking a reservation post a "reservation wanted" post to see if someone has an existing reservation and/or points to rent to her?

Yes someone can post a "Reservation Wanted" thread to ask if someone can try to book the reservation for them. If there is availability for that reservation to be booked at that time, no problem. This is how the DVC Rent/Trade board is intended to work.

The Rent/Trade board does not allow "spec" rentals (reservations made in hopes of finding a buyer for those dates at a later time). If someone has those dates already booked and is just waiting for a buyer to ask for those dates in a "Reservation Wanted" ad and then uses that opportunity to rent that confirmed reservation through the DISboards, they would be in violation of our posting rules.

ETA: The only time we allow members to offer a confirmed reservation for rent is when they are within 30 days of check in for that reservation. If a member cancels a reservation within 30 days of check in, the points go into the Holding account and there are some restrictions on reusing the points. Because of this potential hardship, we do allow members to offer confirmed reservations in that situation.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Also, what you might consider the "lowest season times" might be very busy times for DVC. In particular, early December is considered a slow time for the parks but it is one of the most difficult times to book at DVC resort. You really need to book 11 months out if you want to stay in a DVC resort anytime between Thanksgiving until after New Year's Day. Late January, early May and much of September (after Labor Day and before the start of the F&W festival) are about the only slow times for the DVC resorts.

Include any time in October as well for a hard reservation to get unless you plan well in advance.

 

[RahRah573]

Yes someone can post a "Reservation Wanted" thread to ask if someone can try to book the reservation for them. If there is availability for that reservation to be booked at that time, no problem. This is how the DVC Rent/Trade board is intended to work.

The Rent/Trade board does not allow "spec" rentals (reservations made in hopes of finding a buyer for those dates at a later time). If someone has those dates already booked and is just waiting for a buyer to ask for those dates in a "Reservation Wanted" ad and then uses that opportunity to rent that confirmed reservation through the DISboards, they would be in violation of our posting rules.

ETA: The only time we allow members to offer a confirmed reservation for rent is when they are within 30 days of check in for that reservation. If a member cancels a reservation within 30 days of check in, the points go into the Holding account and there are some restrictions on reusing the points. Because of this potential hardship, we do allow members to offer confirmed reservations in that situation.

Gotcha!

Thanks....that's good to know

 

[CarolAnnC]

We are considering purchasing DVC but would like to "rent" the points for a couple of years to see if it is for us or not.

We always go at the lowest season times (at least as defined by the hotel schedules) of mid-January and once in a while in October. We have no problem booking 7-11 months out, and personally I'd do it even further out than that if Disney would let me. In other words, we are stable, decisive vacationers that make a decision on dates and stick with them.

My basic question is this - let's assume we want to stay in the * and are willing to book 7 months out for non-home point renters or 11 months out for home-base point renters and we want to go in *. We would book for * nights, and would want *. As a fallback, we would also consider *- how hard is it to do what I am asking to do, especially for those who do not have * as a home resort but wish to sell points? Is it the sort of thing where we might get lucky at that one year and then never again, or is that something fairly easy to do? By point of comparison, I've never had a problem renting a room at a monorail hotel 6-12 months out.

I really appreciate any help anyone can give me on this. I've been going to WDW for 36 years and handling my own hotel reservations since 1986, so I'm no dummy at playing the hotel booking game. But I am clueless at this. However, we just had a very positive experience with a Ma****tt timeshare point rental, so I though this would be worth a try.

Again, my apologies if I have posted a question already answered in a sticky, but I was only seeing generalities there.

Hi and Welcome to the DIS!

You will notice some details are ***'d out of your thread and I would like to explain why.

Here on our DVC Boards, general questions are fine regarding renting points. For specific requests, we have our DVC Rent/Trade Board.

We do not allow details in threads on the general DVC Boards, however. That is because then your post may be construed as a seeking rental post. In other words, you may have folks contacting you regarding your rental intent, but that is not what these general boards are for.

So, details such as dates, resort name, villa size, number of points, etc. are not allowed in these types of posts here.

General questions are fine though such as: Do most rentals require contracts? Hope this explains, and as others said, be sure to visit our Rent/Trade Board with the stickies on top.

 

[Savage1701]

OK, thanks to all for the helpful tips and please rest assured I was not trying to book anything in the wrong place or outside of the windows allowed or such. My questions were purely speculative. For instance, I had no idea that a slow hotel time could also be a busy DVC time. I'll be sure to check out the other boards and if we decide to try this, use them as appropriate.

Thanks again. This has been helpful and I'll try to find the right stickies on the other boards and such, especially if we are looking to try this out "for real".

Very informative boards for sure!!!!

 

[Savage1701]

Also, thank you for the info that one can, whatever the term would be, get a booking from someone in a 30 day window. I had no idea that was something one could do either. I guess I always assumed if an onwner changed their mind about a booking they could just cancel it whenever they wanted to. Good to know.

Again, great boards and very helpful.