Do you rent out your points yourself or use a points broker?

[crisi]

I wouldn't use a broker. Why pay hundreds of dollars to a broker for no real extra security and for far less flexibility?

I've rented through a broker. So why?

I'd argue that its more than perception of security (there have been more than one on this board that I can think of). Being without a room is way better than being without a room and with no refund to purchase a room elsewhere.

The broker brokers - I wanted a HHI owner. I put in the request and had a match in the afternoon. No effort on my part. This is probably the biggest reason to use a broker - and the biggest reason not to. For a reservation where there are more owners than renters at ten or eleven months out (HHI in the Summer), a broker makes a lot of sense. When you are trying to score the Poly - I'm not sure you'll have luck whichever direction you go, but finding a private rental ahead of time might be your best bet.

David took a credit card. That made the transaction really easy for me.

I knew before the reservation was in play what the terms are. No changes or flexibility - I wasn't expecting it anyway. With a private renter I'd have to evaluate each set of terms. Since I wasn't looking for flexibility, not a big deal in my case, but not all private rental offer flexibility. Thats up to the owner.

Like when I rented out my own points through a broker, when I rented points I had a no nonsense transaction. The process is smooth and professional. The process with a private owner is going to vary depending on the owner.

 

[ziravan]

I've rented through a broker. So why?

I'd argue that its more than perception of security (there have been more than one on this board that I can think of). Being without a room is way better than being without a room and with no refund to purchase a room elsewhere.

The broker brokers - I wanted a HHI owner. I put in the request and had a match in the afternoon. No effort on my part. This is probably the biggest reason to use a broker - and the biggest reason not to. For a reservation where there are more owners than renters at ten or eleven months out (HHI in the Summer), a broker makes a lot of sense. When you are trying to score the Poly - I'm not sure you'll have luck whichever direction you go, but finding a private rental ahead of time might be your best bet.

David took a credit card. That made the transaction really easy for me.

I knew before the reservation was in play what the terms are. No changes or flexibility - I wasn't expecting it anyway. With a private renter I'd have to evaluate each set of terms. Since I wasn't looking for flexibility, not a big deal in my case, but not all private rental offer flexibility. Thats up to the owner.

Like when I rented out my own points through a broker, when I rented points I had a no nonsense transaction. The process is smooth and professional. The process with a private owner is going to vary depending on the owner.

Three parts to a rental transaction:

Security
Cost
Flexibility

With a broker, you sacrifice two (cost and flexibility) for the third (security).

With a little due diligence, that's an unnecessary sacrifice.

You can have all three, equal security, cheaper cost, and greater flexibility from a private owner.

As an owner, you can exercise more control of when you rent (short term vs long term), and you get paid all up front.

With a broker, you are truly paying excessively for convenience.

If there weren't vibrant forum markets, I could maybe see the need to pay someone to match you with an owner or tenant. Those markets are right here. I've never had the slightest difficulty finding a reliable owner or tenant.

Anybody that found this forum already has the acumen and tools to make a safe and better deal without a middleman.

 

[Golden Rose]

This is a really interesting thread - the most civil discussion of the different sides of the issue that I can remember seeing.

We have never rented our points, and have no plans to do so. We use them every year, so much so that we added on a second time a couple of years ago. We still have young kids who wish we could live at WDW. (Me, too. I keep telling DH to look for jobs in Orlando.)

There may come a time we can't use all the points we now have. I used to say I would never rent my points, but I think that I could see situations in which we might want to rent. If I didn't know someone who wanted to rent from us, I would probably go through a broker. If I recognized a name of someone whom I knew had been a long time poster on disboards (someone I sort of felt like I knew, if that makes sense) I'd be more comfortable renting directly.

 

[crisi]

Three parts to a rental transaction:

Security
Cost
Flexibility

With a broker, you sacrifice two (cost and flexibility) for the third (security).

With a little due diligence, that's an unnecessary sacrifice.

You can have all three, equal security, cheaper cost, and greater flexibility from a private owner.

As an owner, you can exercise more control of when you rent (short term vs long term), and you get paid all up front.

With a broker, you are truly paying excessively for convenience.

If there weren't vibrant forum markets, I could maybe see the need to pay someone to match you with an owner or tenant. Those markets are right here. I've never had the slightest difficulty finding a reliable owner or tenant.

Anybody that found this forum already has the acumen and tools to make a safe and better deal without a middleman.

That convenience is a forth part of the rental transaction. Whether I'm renting out my points or renting from someone else. I'm not interested in doing due diligence. The few hundred I paid David over renting points directly was worth every penny - the flexibility wasn't important, the cost wasn't important - the security was, as was the convenience. For some people, its worth more to have the whole thing taken care of in an email or two.

 

[skateshome]

We have rented points in the past to stay at BLT. We enjoyed it so much and after talking with a DVC owner in the hall way for a few minutes....I decided I needed to look into becoming a DvC member myself. Long story - short...I got my "closing email" today so we are just waiting on Disney to transfer over and assign us a member #. We are so excited!!!

The only thing I would question in the OP is ease of renting from a Broker. I'm sure it all depends on where you want to stay but We had to go thru an individual owner because there simply was not any availability thru brokers for BLT. This was at 11 months out. Longg waiting list with Brokers and a very slim chance of being able to secure thru them.

This is the reason I'm a DVC owner today. Plus it will only cost me about $100 or less per night to stay at BLT from this point forward.

 

[ziravan]

Convenience is relative.

If you're a tenant, it's not convenient to need some flexibility later and it not be available.

If you're an owner, it's not convenient to have to wait months for full payment.

I would argue that using the rent/trade boards on the forums is also very convenient. There's just a learning curve.

It's sometimes easier to let someone else do the work for you. Granted. My point is that it's very easy to conduct this transaction, and to do so safely, without a middleman. Paying hundreds of dollars for the convenience of what can be accomplished by any member of this board in an hour or two is not a good value.

And that's on top of what you are otherwise trading for that convenience. A good relationship with an established owner is safer, cheaper, and more flexible. If I were routinely renting points, that would be how I would do it. If I were routinely renting out points, and I do, that is how I do it.

Most people rent points to save money. Why leave money on the table by paying for a service easily done yourself?

 

[crisi]

Convenience is relative.

If you're a tenant, it's not convenient to need some flexibility later and it not be available.

If you're an owner, it's not convenient to have to wait months for full payment.

I would argue that using the rent/trade boards on the forums is also very convenient. There's just a learning curve.

It's sometimes easier to let someone else do the work for you. Granted. My point is that it's very easy to conduct this transaction, and to do so safely, without a middleman. Paying hundreds of dollars for the convenience of what can be accomplished by any member of this board in an hour or two is not a good value.

And that's on top of what you are otherwise trading for that convenience. A good relationship with an established owner is safer, cheaper, and more flexible. If I were routinely renting points, that would be how I would do it. If I were routinely renting out points, and I do, that is how I do it.

Most people rent points to save money. Why leave money on the table by paying for a service easily done yourself?

Because it isn't enough money to make it worthwhile - not for me. I DIDN'T rent points to save money. I rented points to secure a Summer reservation at HHI. And while many people rent points to save money, if you are going to spend a few thousand renting points, why not spend a few hundred to sleep better at night knowing if you do fall victim to a room that isn't there when you show up, you'll at least get a refund. Its like travel insurance. Some people buy it, few people need it. When you do need it, though, it keeps a disappointment from becoming a catastrophe.

 

[bethifoody]

I've only rented points out once, and I handled it myself. I rented to a friend (she got a break, I got enough cash to pay dues & have a little spending money for a cruise) & it worked out fine. I am not really sure what I would do if I needed to rent points & didn't have someone I know in mind to rent them to. I'm guessing I'd reach out to a reputable rental agency before I'd handle it myself.

 

[ziravan]

Its like travel insurance. Some people buy it, few people need it. When you do need it, though, it keeps a disappointment from becoming a catastrophe.

My point is that you buy travel insurance to protect you from unexpected changes in plan.

That is exactly what you won't get from a broker but might get from an individual owner.

For example, I am renting to two people at the moment. In one case, I just now changed their location to one they wanted more because whenever I stalk the RAT (resort avail tool), and that is often, I also look for them. Now they have a monorail resort planned that wasn't avail when they first committed to going to WDW.

In the second case, I found an Epcot resort after much looking and have it booked for my tenant, but I also have the monorail resort they really want wait listed.

You just won't get that kind of flexibility from a broker.

And if they needed insurance against a last minute change? Of course I'd help.

I'd speculate that almost every owner with a proven forum record would be helpful to one degree or another. After all, we're here on this board in the first place in order to share pixie dust.

 

[DVC Doctor]

Over my 21 years of membership I have rented out about 6,000 points on my own and about 2,000 through David's.

You average renting almost 400 points per year for the past 21 years. When do you ever get to use your own points?

Perception of security, maybe. Reality is otherwise.

Plus, helping someone get a great deal for a once in a lifetime trip to WDW is almost like spreading pixie dust. I like doing it. I like the relationships I'm building.

Building a good relationship with an owner means paying hundreds less and getting far more flexibility. Building a relationship with a tenant means getting paid more and all up front.

I wouldn't use a broker. Why pay hundreds of dollars to a broker for no real extra security and for far less flexibility?

Well said.

 

[supersuperwendy]

I have been renting out my own points long before there were brokers. I collect payment in full at the time of booking via paypal so I get the full amount right away, I also do now allow cancellations to protect banking/cancellation deadlines. I have found over the years it's easier to rent an existing reservation. Due to the limitations of renting existing reservations on the disboards I post them elsewhere. I have never had to wait longer than a day to rent what I have listed I used to charge $10 per point, but now since the services charge around $14 pp I now charge up to $13 per point which is great.

 

[Huggups]

I also have repeat renters and have met some wonderful people by renting to them. The price the broker offers is so much lower than what I can get by renting them myself. Approximately $11.00 when I can get $14-$15! Why would I? Besides, I will always try to rebook for someone if something comes up. No refunds and there may be restrictions but will rebook for them.

 

[fdwang]

Given a choice, I would prefer a direct transaction with a renter for the reasons mentioned by others. Currently, I usually rent to friends or use a broker. I'm not really active on this forum because I tend to lurk rather than post. I think that as folks get to know me better, they may be more comfortable in a direct transaction with me.

 

[alisonslp]

for those who rent out their points routinely, have you ever had problems with DVC? I haven't read my contract in a long time but I seem to remember something in there about owners not using their ownership to be brokers for points. I don't remember the exact wording but the meaning of it was - do not buy into DVC just to rent out your points for profit.

When we bought, we never considered that we might rent in the future but we likely will over the next few years as our family is just too busy right now to use all the points wee have - teens in 3 sports that have crazy schedules, none of which have the same breaks.

 

[oufpat]

Have not done it yet, but would use a broker.

 

[rascalmom]

I've done both, although it is pretty rare for us to not use our points. I rented on my own to a disboards member (same person) twice a few years ago. This week, I came to the sad realization that I had about 124 banked points that I'm not going to be able to use before the end of my use year. i emailed Dave's and had over half of them rented within about 8 hours of my initial contact. Money is already in my PayPal account. My time is pretty limited right now - crazy with work travel, so the ease of it was worth it to me.

 

[Mazz519]

I have rented numerous times over the years and always do it myself.... never had a problem...I enjoy doing it