DVC Cancellation Question

[Ericshow]

Maybe someone can help....I have rented points from a great DVC member and now I have to cancel (have already paid $1K down). With that in mind, the DVC member is already thinking of ways to try and recoup the money (if possible) to assist me. 2 questions:

1. Do they have to get someone to take the reservation they have made?
2. Or can they just cancel and rent their points to someone else (hopefully gaining back the $1k as a new "deposit?)?

Ughh....thanks for the help!

 

[vicki_c]

What they have to do is irrelevant (unless they are asking you to find out for them because they don't know). The only relevant factor is what was agreed between the two of you when you rented the points, hopefully spelled out in some kind of contract.

Most owners stipulate no cancellation at all in their agreements.

Depending on the time frame, they can either get their points back (and could re-rent them if they chose) or they are stuck with a reservation that has to be used.

 

[Sammie]

Vicki is right, the agreement when renting is between the renter and the member and every agreement can be different.

So basically only the member you rented from can answer any questions regarding your situation.

 

[JimMIA]

To amplify a bit on Vicky and Sammie's comments, there are a lot of factors in a DVC points reservation that only the owner will know. I'll highlight a few of the main difficulties an owner faces in trying to help a renter whose plans have changed.

Points time restrictions - There are two key time considerations with DVC points. The first is that each year's allotment of points is valid for exactly one year. If the points used for your reservation are approaching expiration, the owner may lose the points entirely in the event of a cancellation.

The other consideration is the banking window. Owners can bank points into the next Use Year only during the first 8 months of their use year. If that banking deadline has passed, the usefullness to the owner of the points is drastically reduced.

Another time consideration comes up when a reservation is canceled within 31 days of arrival. In that case, the points from that cancellation can only be used to book a reservation 60 days in advance -- a very difficult task with DVC.

Reservations availability - You can call your favorite hotel just about any time and get a reservation, but that is not the case with most timeshares and definitely not the case with DVC resorts at WDW. DVC reservations can be made as far as 11 months in advance, and during many times of the year, they must be made 11 months in advance. Depending on the resort and the specific dates, the owner may have ZERO ability to put the points back in their account and just rent a new reservation. The same holds true if you wanted to change the dates of your trip -- there may simply be nothing available.

The owner could just change the name on the reservation to someone else, but obviously they would have to find someone who wanted exactly the same type of accommodations for exactly the same dates and that's trying to find a needle in a haystack.

There are many other considerations, but I think you get the point. Regardless of what an owner wants to do to help you, they may very well have NO ability to help.

 

[Ericshow]

Thank you very much for the feedback. Not a happy time!

 

[hoffmann2828]

OP - not that this will help you in your current situation, but when I've rented out points before, I make it "no refunds" on the transaction of POINTS. I rent them the XX amount of points, and it is theirs to do with as they wish. If they cancel, they have until the end of the use year to reuse them or lose them.

Do you have to cancel indefinitely? Why not just see if you can postpone the trip?

Jenny

 

[Ms. WDW]

Sorry you have to cancel your trip. One option that has been mentioned is to possibly postpone the trip. You'd have to talk to the member who rented to you to see what their use year is. This should be done as quickly as possible.

When I rent, I clearly specify this is a non-cancellation reservation. In the unlikely event the renter can't make the trip I offer to try and re-schedule their trip provided the points are not due to expire. Another option is for YOU to see if there is someone else in your family maybe, or a friend who would like to go and they can in turn help you re-coup the monies you have paid out. Then you could ask the DVC Member to have MS modify the reservation.

I hope it works out for you.