Do members ever do reservation "trades?"

[NeutralNovice]

I read the Rent/Transfer rules and while I think I understand how it works, I don't think it covers my question--but I may not be understanding it well so I figured I'd post on this forum and as.

So let's say that me and another member have the same dates we want to go to WDW, for example, Feb 1-8, 2023.

My home resort is BLT and the other member has SSR. For the stay above, I would like to stay at SSR this time around and the other member wants to stay at BLT. With our 11-month windows at our respective homes, we can, for the most part, reserve whatever room we'd want. If we find each other and make a trade agreement that I would reserve a BLT room of their choice with a SSR room of my choice, would that be something that members do on the regular? Would that be qualified under "Reservation Wanted" and therefore not allowed on the Rent/Transfer page?

Does this type of occurrence happen often or is it pretty rare because of how specific it is? Would it be better to look at the rent/transfer posts, rent/transfer someone else's SSR points then turn around and rent out my BLT points? Am I making any sense? Sorry if my thought process is a bit jumbled.

 

[Marionnette]

I read the Rent/Transfer rules and while I think I understand how it works, I don't think it covers my question--but I may not be understanding it well so I figured I'd post on this forum and as.

So let's say that me and another member have the same dates we want to go to WDW, for example, Feb 1-8, 2023.

My home resort is BLT and the other member has SSR. For the stay above, I would like to stay at SSR this time around and the other member wants to stay at BLT. With our 11-month windows at our respective homes, we can, for the most part, reserve whatever room we'd want. If we find each other and make a trade agreement that I would reserve a BLT room of their choice with a SSR room of my choice, would that be something that members do on the regular? Would that be qualified under "Reservation Wanted" and therefore not allowed on the Rent/Transfer page?

Does this type of occurrence happen often or is it pretty rare because of how specific it is? Would it be better to look at the rent/transfer posts, rent/transfer someone else's SSR points then turn around and rent out my BLT points? Am I making any sense? Sorry if my thought process is a bit jumbled.

I'd say that it is very rare that two DVC members with the exact same travel dates would be interested in the exact home resort of the other.

Even rarer still would be for those two to agree on the value of the exchange. Which one took more points? Whose points carry more "value"?

As far as the board rules are concerned, that's for a moderator to weigh in on. My feelings are that it would be a no-go to make ISO posts.

 

[NeutralNovice]

I'd say that it is very rare that two DVC members with the exact same travel dates would be interested in the exact home resort of the other.

Even rarer still would be for those two to agree on the value of the exchange. Which one took more points? Whose points carry more "value"?

As far as the board rules are concerned, that's for a moderator to weigh in on. My feelings are that it would be a no-go to make ISO posts.

Yeah, the more I typed out my thoughts, the more I realized how "rare" a pairing would be. There would have to be a lot of luck to get the right combination.

In a scenario like mine, what would be your opinion on which resort (between SSR and BLT) carry more value and how much?
For example, let's say the SSR room costs 275pts and the BLT is 241, should the BLT owner be compelled to offer compensation for the difference in points?
Now I'm gonna look for threads where people rank/tier each WDW DVC resort.

Thank you for your thoughts!

 

[Marionnette]

Yeah, the more I typed out my thoughts, the more I realized how "rare" a pairing would be. There would have to be a lot of luck to get the right combination.

In a scenario like mine, what would be your opinion on which resort (between SSR and BLT) carry more value and how much?
For example, let's say the SSR room costs 275pts and the BLT is 241, should the BLT owner be compelled to offer compensation for the difference in points?
Now I'm gonna look for threads where people rank/tier each WDW DVC resort.

Thank you for your thoughts!

I think it's difficult to place a value that both members agree to on the reservations. We all consider our home resorts to have more value than others do. If we were to go by what the rental agencies charge, SSR points at 11 months are worth less than BLT points. But is BLT worth the same as AKV (another "premium" resort)?

And is the number of points needed per night a valid comparison if Member A wants to trade a standard view BLT 2BR for a standard view 2BR at BWV? They're both 2BR villas at desirable locations but the BWV 2BR is going to come in much lower in points. As a BWV owner, I might contend that a 2BR is a 2BR and both resorts are equally desirable, therefore it's an even trade. As a BLT owner, I would probably argue that I paid more for my points than the BWV owner, it's going to cost me more points to book the BLT 2BR and that nothing beats the easy walk to MK.

Yeah. Not easy to do. For a trade to work, both sides have to feel like they are getting an even or better deal.

 

[NeutralNovice]

I think it's difficult to place a value that both members agree to on the reservations. We all consider our home resorts to have more value than others do. If we were to go by what the rental agencies charge, SSR points at 11 months are worth less than BLT points. But is BLT worth the same as AKV (another "premium" resort)?

And is the number of points needed per night a valid comparison if Member A wants to trade a standard view BLT 2BR for a standard view 2BR at BWV? They're both 2BR villas at desirable locations but the BWV 2BR is going to come in much lower in points. As a BWV owner, I might contend that a 2BR is a 2BR and both resorts are equally desirable, therefore it's an even trade. As a BLT owner, I would probably argue that I paid more for my points than the BWV owner, it's going to cost me more points to book the BLT 2BR and that nothing beats the easy walk to MK.

Yeah. Not easy to do. For a trade to work, both sides have to feel like they are getting an even or better deal.

If I were doing a trade, I would just make it easy and just agree to compensate for the difference in points. I like the idea of guaranteeing (for the most part) that I get a particular room at any given resort ASAP rather than gamble at the 7-month mark. Post-COVID, I have a feeling that getting any particular room at any resort at the 7-month mark will be rather competitive--at least for the next year or two.

But going further on your example, I would also add that, during Food and Wine, a BWV 2BR would be more "valuable" than a BLT 2BR so I would think that the point difference (if any) would be a breakeven.

For my situation, I love me some BLT but I am planning on a Jan 2024 family trip where I would love to score a grand villa reservation at either BCV/BWV/RIV. But I suppose it'd just be easier to just rent my points then use the funds from that to rent someone else's points haha. I'm just getting a bit nervous about the logistics of renting points---like it'd be confusing to me at first.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Seems to me, the "value" is in the possibility of getting the reservation you want at the resort you want, when you want it. If one member of the trading duo decides their points are more valuable, and wants some sort of additional compensation, all the other member has to do is say "go pound sand", and the owner believing their points to be more valuable is right back at square one, without their desired reservation. Certainly so is the other owner, but the loss is equal (no reservation), and lies in the opportunity cost faced by both members when forced to find the reservations at the 7-month mark, etc.

 

[NeutralNovice]

Seems to me, the "value" is in the possibility of getting the reservation you want at the resort you want, when you want it. If one member of the trading duo decides their points are more valuable, and wants some sort of additional compensation, all the other member has to do is say "go pound sand", and the owner believing their points to be more valuable is right back at square one, without their desired reservation. Certainly so is the other owner, but the loss is equal (no reservation), and lies in the opportunity cost faced by both members when forced to find the reservations at the 7-month mark, etc.

I agree. I also feel like a trade would be a relatively "safe" option, depending on different variables. If, for whatever reason, the other party suddenly backs out and cancels the reservation, at the very least I would still have a room to use for my trip--just not at the ideal resort.

On a personal level, I'd just discuss it with the other party. Like if they had VGF or CCR during the holidays, and the point cost for the room I'd want is more than what they'd want, I'd happy compensate them for the difference--but that is just me as I'd say I'm pretty flexible.

 

[CarolMN]

The DIS Rent/Transfer Board no longer accepts 'Trade' threads. They wee extremely rare - for all the reasons others have already mentioned.

If you are unable to book what you prefer at 7 months, your best option is to rent your points and use the proceeds to rent your preferred choice. It may or may not (probably not) be a wash, but any perceived difference in point value will take care of itself in the point price(s).

 

[Artemis Fowl]

I read the Rent/Transfer rules and while I think I understand how it works, I don't think it covers my question--but I may not be understanding it well so I figured I'd post on this forum and as.

So let's say that me and another member have the same dates we want to go to WDW, for example, Feb 1-8, 2023.

My home resort is BLT and the other member has SSR. For the stay above, I would like to stay at SSR this time around and the other member wants to stay at BLT. With our 11-month windows at our respective homes, we can, for the most part, reserve whatever room we'd want. If we find each other and make a trade agreement that I would reserve a BLT room of their choice with a SSR room of my choice, would that be something that members do on the regular? Would that be qualified under "Reservation Wanted" and therefore not allowed on the Rent/Transfer page?

Does this type of occurrence happen often or is it pretty rare because of how specific it is? Would it be better to look at the rent/transfer posts, rent/transfer someone else's SSR points then turn around and rent out my BLT points? Am I making any sense? Sorry if my thought process is a bit jumbled.

I asked this same question awhile back, and the conclusion I came to is this: Rent out the amount of points you assumed you would trade, then take the money and rent someone else's points at SSR.

If you have BLT you can probably even charge $1 or $2 more per point than you would pay to rent at SSR.

This way, you get your dates and room selection at 11 months and you're not looking to pair with some unicorn.

I think this site charged me $59 to be able to rent out my BLT points. It took less than 24 hours to rent out the points and another 24 to get the reservation I wanted.

 

[Yinn]

I could see it.

If I wanted to stay at BLT and wanted to pay less points so your 11-mo BLT is valuable to me to grab a standard. And if I have Beach Club (I don't) that is going to be valuable to you since it's hard to get.

So we make a deal, you make my reservation and I make yours. One of us is going to need to chip in cash though to cover the difference in points but at least we'd be trade at the same point value per point and avoid commissions.

But being this being DIS the more realistic thing is that I wanted to stay at BLT-standard so I went and added on another 200 points at BLT and justified my add on by telling myself I'll be saving points now that I can book BLT at 11 months out...

 

[DonMacGregor]

But being this being DIS the more realistic thing is that I wanted to stay at BLT-standard so I went and added on another 200 points at BLT and justified my add on by telling myself I'll be saving points now that I can book BLT at 11 months out...

This.

 

[808blessing]

I was thinking this same thing awhile back and I would be interested in a thread or spreadsheet like that.

 

[NeutralNovice]

The DIS Rent/Transfer Board no longer accepts 'Trade' threads. They wee extremely rare - for all the reasons others have already mentioned.

If you are unable to book what you prefer at 7 months, your best option is to rent your points and use the proceeds to rent your preferred choice. It may or may not (probably not) be a wash, but any perceived difference in point value will take care of itself in the point price(s).

Thank you!

I asked this same question awhile back, and the conclusion I came to is this: Rent out the amount of points you assumed you would trade, then take the money and rent someone else's points at SSR.

If you have BLT you can probably even charge $1 or $2 more per point than you would pay to rent at SSR.

This way, you get your dates and room selection at 11 months and you're not looking to pair with some unicorn.

I think this site charged me $59 to be able to rent out my BLT points. It took less than 24 hours to rent out the points and another 24 to get the reservation I wanted.

That's good to know that you were able to rent out your points pretty quickly! Part of me worries about me having to piece together different rentals to do what I'd want. Getting a GV at a non-home resort would be tough as I'd imagine it'd be hard to find all the points I'd need with one member--particularly at a high point cost resort.

I'll check out the DIS DVC Memberships, thank you!

I could see it.

If I wanted to stay at BLT and wanted to pay less points so your 11-mo BLT is valuable to me to grab a standard. And if I have Beach Club (I don't) that is going to be valuable to you since it's hard to get.

So we make a deal, you make my reservation and I make yours. One of us is going to need to chip in cash though to cover the difference in points but at least we'd be trade at the same point value per point and avoid commissions.

But being this being DIS the more realistic thing is that I wanted to stay at BLT-standard so I went and added on another 200 points at BLT and justified my add on by telling myself I'll be saving points now that I can book BLT at 11 months out...

Yeah I wouldn't mind chipping in some cash to pay for the differences.

I wish I had enough $$$ to just buy 150-200points at all my target resorts haha. I do have two kidneys... hmm. But you're definitely right---I'll probably be slowly adding my way to my goal haha. My next target is VGC. I'm so curious how DLT will affect the resales, if any. What are your other home resorts?

I was thinking this same thing awhile back and I would be interested in a thread or spreadsheet like that.

I do like me some spreadsheets! Maybe I'll work on something! Probably gonna have to start my own FB page--and I am not a social media person lol. Forums and Reddit are the only places I frequent.

 

[Yinn]

That's good to know that you were able to rent out your points pretty quickly! Part of me worries about me having to piece together different rentals to do what I'd want. Getting a GV at a non-home resort would be tough as I'd imagine it'd be hard to find all the points I'd need with one member--particularly at a high point cost resort.

If you're looking for a GV, you'll probably need to build relationships with some of the folks on here who have high points values. There are several folks on here who rent out regularly and list their points in bulk. If you give them plenty of heads up I'm sure they'd be able to accommodate it.

I've got enough to do this on a smaller scale and certainly not enough for a GV. But I've built up enough rentals that I'm getting repeat customers who know my use years. Several of which tell me in advance even before 11 months. It helps me manage my points for my own travel, which I appreciate. But it also makes sure I don't list them and end up breaking them up.

I wish I had enough $$$ to just buy 150-200points at all my target resorts haha. I do have two kidneys... hmm. But you're definitely right---I'll probably be slowly adding my way to my goal haha. My next target is VGC. I'm so curious how DLT will affect the resales, if any. What are your other home resorts?

AKV, CCV, PVB and soon to add SSR and either BLT or RIV...

I certainly understand the having enough $$ to add on. For some folks a one time rental isn't the worst thing in the world. But I do certainly recommend if you're going to be renting that amount of points or doing re-occuring rentals to buy.

That's precisely how I ended up with my CCV. We wanted to do a big stay and the CCV contract was loaded with points. Renting those points would have cost 33% of the contract. When you think about it that way, you really have to ask if you'll continue using those points either for yourself or as a rental.