Do you think DVC should be a little more open to people moving dates without penalty because of corona?

[MICKIMINI]

It is making me reconsider renting my points in the future though I have only had good experiences. I have two rentals in the pipeline (both recently made) made when it was obvious this virus was ramping up. Renters went in with eyes wide open. In the past I've looked to help out renters, but renters must know if you rent now and this thing keep going, DVC and owners can't keep stepping in as the DVC system can't maintain this chaos - this isn't about being mean or unfeeling to renters, it's about a system designed for personal use that evolved into a rental industry.

Renters want to save money, but now that the risk is a reality renters still want to save money but have no risk. Owners use brokers because they don't want risk - the money has been spent on purchasing, closing costs, mortgage, MF's and now broker fees and income taxes on the rental - not a windfall and in some cases it just covers costs for unwanted points.

If I'm going to be vilified because I fulfilled a contract initiated by a renter, knowing the risks, due to something I can't control, well I won't rent anymore. Though my four contracts last year and two (so far) this year may be a small part of the industry, I went in to make those families happy by fulfilling my responsibility by securing the desired reservation and it relieved me of points that I did not need but were already paid for... We'll just stay in bungalows in the future - well that may finally justify the points!

Animosity to owners that fulfilled their end of the contract will result in less willing owners (especially if their privacy is breached by angry renters), less options and higher costs as people will have fewer choices for securing reservations at Disney. This is a time to take a deep breath before making accusations and consider all the people making a sincere effort to help. Be well.

 

[teawar]

Has anybody canceled an Aulani reservation today that was scheduled in the next few weeks ? Were those points put in holding or returned to your current use year? I know Aulani is up and running, but this is definitely not a normal travel situation this week. I'm probably going to cancel my trip next week and really don't want to lose over 300 points.

I’m in the same boat as you! We are flying out on Friday, March 20th and are on the fence in regards on what to do...

 

[mlayton14]

If I'm going to be vilified because I fulfilled a contract initiated by a renter, knowing the risks, due to something I can't control, well I won't rent anymore.

Well if Disney shuts the resorts down, have you fulfilled the contract?

 

[Amymouse13]

Well if Disney shuts the resorts down, have you fulfilled the contract?

And has Disney fulfilled to owner? Let's take this the other way, dvc owner had personal trip planned with banked points (excuse my terms n00bie here) and they shut down, would the owner expect Disney to right this for them? They were unable to fulfill what you paid for. Would dvc owners just shrug and say well I lost 400 points whatever? If I were a dvc owner that had rented points and Disney shut down or had personally booked a trip during closure, I'd expect due to no fault of my own, them to honor the exchange. Whether it is a future dvc booking, cash, or even any Disney lodging.

 

[mlayton14]

Well that really wasn’t the question was it ? That is for us to work with Disney on

 

[Sandisw]

And has Disney fulfilled to owner? Let's take this the other way, dvc owner had personal trip planned with banked points (excuse my terms n00bie here) and they shut down, would the owner expect Disney to right this for them? They were unable to fulfill what you paid for. Would dvc owners just shrug and say well I lost 400 points whatever? If I were a dvc owner that had rented points and Disney shut down or had personally booked a trip during closure, I'd expect due to no fault of my own, them to honor the exchange. Whether it is a future dvc booking, cash, or even any Disney lodging.

Yes, we would lose the points if we can’t use them before expiration. Even the current waiving of penalties is something that could come back in a negative way to DVC owners down the road.

We own the resorts and hire a management company to run the program for us. So, there are going to be DVC owners who lose,

Its the risk of owning a timeshare. Any points that get returned for use later could overload the system. Plus, there are timeshare laws that prevail,

It just isn’t anywhere like cash bookings. DVC is real estate owned and while the resorts are land leases within Disney, it is the Owners who are responsible for the DVC resort, including our rights to use it, not Disney.

I think this entire discussion really does highlight how many misconceptions there are about DVC as a timeshaee vs. Disney resorts.

 

[heynowirv]

How about if I borrowed my Oct 2020 points? Will they go back to that use year?

Yes I borrowed from Aug 2020 and they went back into my 2020 bank of points.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Well if Disney shuts the resorts down, have you fulfilled the contract?

Quite honestly and not to be a wise guy, I don't know - I'm not an attorney, I'm an owner since 1996. This is unprecedented. When we initially bought we didn't buy to help people rent at cheaper prices - it was for our own use. Perhaps you are both an attorney and owner and can clarify wording on broker contracts for us as that would be awesome?

From what I see, 99% of Disney, owners and renters are trying to do what they can to be kind and helpful though there are severe limits on DVC contracts and so much is unknown as the fall out continues. I'll have to reconsider renting in the future, so my points may be out of the renting system and renters for those points may have to pay Disney rack rate. If this happens in full force renters will be staying less nights or not at all if they can't afford to pay Disney prices...

Thankfully I have no renters during this park (not resort) shutdown. Last year I did have renters arriving on the day of a hurricane and I called the broker to check on them and potentially reschedule within the parameters of my DVC ownership - banking, borrowing, UY and availability all factor in. They arrived and I didn't hear anything further. The broker was surprised that I even called to check in.

I, like others pay a broker to figure this stuff out...I am not allowed to contact the RENTERS, I provided points and secured the reservation which is what I was paid to do. I don't have points out for rent during this time but like others, would try to help out. Be well.

OOPS I meant "renters"

 

[GoofyCoaster]

And has Disney fulfilled to owner? Let's take this the other way, dvc owner had personal trip planned with banked points (excuse my terms n00bie here) and they shut down, would the owner expect Disney to right this for them? They were unable to fulfill what you paid for. Would dvc owners just shrug and say well I lost 400 points whatever? If I were a dvc owner that had rented points and Disney shut down or had personally booked a trip during closure, I'd expect due to no fault of my own, them to honor the exchange. Whether it is a future dvc booking, cash, or even any Disney lodging.

For DVC ownership there is a distinct difference between the parks being open and the villas (room) being open for lodging. The timeshare purchase documents specifically state there are no guarantees that any amenities will be available or maintained, which includes parks, swimming pools, etc.

DVC member services is showing some goodwill right now by permitting points from canceled reservations to not go into holding, to be unborrowed, and even some cases of banking after deadline.

But all points still have an expiration date. April 2018 points that were banked into 2019 will expire March 31, 2020. Same for banked June 2018 points that will expire May 31, 2020. There is no way around point expiration.
To answer the question, yes, I would be mad to lose points. But no, I would not expect Disney to give me cash or a future booking for unused points that expired.

 

[Chiefillini]

Wait did you request this? When were you going? Any idea if you're getting refund or rebook?

We reached out to our company the minute it was announced, as we were to arrive during the park current closing dates. The company we are with must of been working on a contingency plan because they were on it immediately. We are grateful for the owners that we rented from as they re-scheduled us for late 2020. The bright side is we get to plan 2 Disney trips in one year and we upgraded our room to something we would have never done. Our kids went from crying to joy again, even though it will be a long 8 months. I can tell you, as renters, we are taking a pretty significant financial hit, as we should, to make this re-scheduled trip happen. From my understanding, most owners do not get fully paid until we check in and with shifting dates they might be leaving money on the table until later in the year, that they didn't have to. We have travel insurance and really have to wait to see what happens with airlines, if resorts do close, etc. to file a claim.

 

[CookieMonster98]

Is Member Services treating all folks the same? We felt it necessary to cancel our Easter reservations on March 12 before Disney closed and DVC released their policies of not putting points into holding. I called this morning to request that our borrowed points go back into the October 2020 so we can make reservations for November. I was told that was not allowed even though this thread shows others being permitted to do this. I am super frustrated!

 

[Deb & Bill]

So, was Corvid-19 a plot by Disney to stop point brokers? I have a feeling most of them will be changing their contracts (owners better read them carefully) or even reducing the size of their business. Especially if they are going to be out the 30% they retain and they still have to pay their staff. Plus a lot of potential renters might be thinking that renting directly from Disney might not be so bad.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

So, was Corvid-19 a plot by Disney to stop point brokers? I have a feeling most of them will be changing their contracts (owners better read them carefully) or even reducing the size of their business. Especially if they are going to be out the 30% they retain and they still have to pay their staff. Plus a lot of potential renters might be thinking that renting directly from Disney might not be so bad.

I really have been wondering how this will effect them.

An extended closure could be really bad news for them. We’ve had some awesome vacations thanks to David’s and I am hoping for the best for them, even if using them again is probably not in our future.

I think there’s also a good chance this brings back better discounts on Disney’s end, so renting may not be as appealing as it was. The effects of COVID are so far reaching. It’s crazy to think about how fast this has all happened.

 

[Sandisw]

Is Member Services treating all folks the same? We felt it necessary to cancel our Easter reservations on March 12 before Disney closed and DVC released their policies of not putting points into holding. I called this morning to request that our borrowed points go back into the October 2020 so we can make reservations for November. I was told that was not allowed even though this thread shows others being permitted to do this. I am super frustrated!

I wonder if it is because your reservation was not scheduled during the park closure.

Most of what I have read about people having points put back and out of holding were schedule in March.

I even asked about that yesterday since my last night was April 1st and he said that he would apply the waiving of penalties to all nights,,,but my reservation did start March 29th,

I do know that the policy to waive penalties was only started after the park closed. I was told before that time that no exceptions were being made, Since I was already in the holding window, I knew we’d go unless the Park closed or airlines shut down.

 

[CarolMN]

So, was Corvid-19 a plot by Disney to stop point brokers? I have a feeling most of them will be changing their contracts (owners better read them carefully) or even reducing the size of their business. Especially if they are going to be out the 30% they retain and they still have to pay their staff. Plus a lot of potential renters might be thinking that renting directly from Disney might not be so bad.

I've also been wondering. The broker's customer base is likely to shrink a lot as the risks for renters sinks in. In addition, if the travel bans start to include travel between states, rental demand will decrease even more.

If people are slow to book WDW hotels, Disney will increase discounts and put even more pressure on the brokers and individual renters.

Not a happy time for owners who rent.

 

[Sandisw]

I wonder if it is because your reservation was not scheduled during the park closure.

Most of what I have read about people having points put back and out of holding were schedule in March.

I even asked about that yesterday since my last night was April 1st and he said that he would apply the waiving of penalties to all nights,,,but my reservation did start March 29th,

I do know that the policy to waive penalties was only started after the park closed. I was told before that time that no exceptions were being made, Since I was already in the holding window, I knew we’d go unless the Park closed or airlines shut down.

I checked the website and it does mention for canceling when parks are closed and that points won’t go into holding,

So, I take that to mean that any of this is only applying for the reservations booked during March. Now, if the park extends closing, then this I would think they would extend this too

 

[MICKIMINI]

We reached out to our company the minute it was announced, as we were to arrive during the park current closing dates. The company we are with must of been working on a contingency plan because they were on it immediately. We are grateful for the owners that we rented from as they re-scheduled us for late 2020. The bright side is we get to plan 2 Disney trips in one year and we upgraded our room to something we would have never done. Our kids went from crying to joy again, even though it will be a long 8 months. I can tell you, as renters, we are taking a pretty significant financial hit, as we should, to make this re-scheduled trip happen. From my understanding, most owners do not get fully paid until we check in and with shifting dates they might be leaving money on the table until later in the year, that they didn't have to. We have travel insurance and really have to wait to see what happens with airlines, if resorts do close, etc. to file a claim.

Thank goodness there are reasonable people left and yes, likely those owners will have to wait until you check in to get paid. Two Disney trips how cool!

 

[waltfan1957]

That is why they recommend vacation insurance. It’s one of the cons of renting a DVC reseevstion. You save a lot of money over Disney, but you agree to not getting your money back

I don’t mean to come off as uncaring for the renter, but its unfair to an owner who has no control over the situation to criticize them for wanting the contract honored.

No but it wouldn't have hurt them to at least try to sort something out I know I would

 

[Sandisw]

No but it wouldn't have hurt them to at least try to sort something out I know I would

I agree. I bet the majority of owners are trying the best they can and if they can accommodate renters to reschedule and have the points, I am sure they are.

 

[DougEMG]

So what would cause Disney to close a resort? How does this compare to people living in a high rise. Probably similar number of people in both.

And could Disney shut down the resort because they want to without a direct order from the government. Cause technically wouldn't they be in breach of contract to the owners.