Dvc Point Rental Experiences

[Charleneluvsdisney]

We have successfully rented from the same person for 3 years now. The only problem is that we really need to take the plunge ourselves and become DVC owners.

I agree with yesdear - it is addicting, and you will never want to stay anywhere else, but on a DVC property.

 

[MJames41]

We are renting for this next trip. It's not someone who has a lot of posts, but has been around a while. However, the reservation page (with number) from Disney is a good sign. Every once in a while I'll call to check on it. It is an act of faith, but I don't see why they would want to mess it up.

 

[lmj]

We tried renting points for the first time last May and it was wonderful. We were able to get 2 studios at OKW for 4 nights (during the week when they cost fewer points) for a total of $180 a night. We were going to stay at one of the All Stars for a last minute quick trip, but instead got to stay at OKW which was much nicer and has a little kitchen, for just a little more.

We are renting points again next week for 2 nights at OKW from someone different. This time I only needed 1 studio. There were no studios available for my dates so the person I am renting from offered to give me the points at no charge to upgrade to a one bedroom. I am now only paying $196 for 2 nights in a wonderful one bedroom at OKW. You sure can't beat that deal.

My husband thinks we should look into buying into DVC since we have been going so often but we really don't have the extra money to invest in it right now. I think we will keep renting points and get some of the benefits of DVC ownership.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I had a similar experience to those posted. We were planning a family trip earlier this year, and for 7 adults and 1 3 year old, we needed 4 rooms. So we looked into a DVC rental. We rented a 2 bedroom and a studio for about $113 a room per night. We got deluxe accomations at a moderate price!

Before I rented, I frequented the DVC board and rental board. I became familiar with the rental prices and terms. When I was ready to rent, I looked through different points for rent posts. When I found a compatible points available, I then checked out the poster. I did a search and read months of posts (not a prolific poster )

I became very comfortable with the person through the consistency of their posts and their long term association with the DIS.

Everything worked out great and we had wonderful accomodations at the BWV. Great place!

Good luck (but be warned, I also bought into DVC! It is dangerous!!!)

 

[Carrieberry]

We will be renting points this next trip as well. We just couldn't resist, and because of the great deal, we were able to jump from ASMo to BCV!! I have a signed contract type of deal with the owner. I call MS every now and then to check that the reservation is still in my name and it has been for months now. I feel confident that all will go as smoothly as it had gone so far, and I will be sure to post here if it doesn't!! I think that so many points are rented/traded here on these boards, that if someone was trying to scam you, they would have their name and reputation totally ruined. Besides, it really is a win/win situation for the owner too. They get $$ for points they can't use, so there really is no reason why they would rip you off.

I DID call references though, that the owner was all to happy to provide, as anyone you rent from should be able to do!

 

[mirlow]

We rented points this July. I waited to find someone who had been on the Dis so I could feel them out. There seems to be a lot of people posting on that board that are quite new? I had someone who was very helpful and changed the reservation when I needed her too. My only problem is that I always end up changing plans up until the last minute and I would rather be able to do that myself. The other problem is that we were staying at the BWV's and there was too much construction going on for me. I didn't realize all of the work they were doing and we spend quite a bit of time at the resort. If we had been staying there on an AP discount we would have been able to move to a different resort. I guess I like the freedom of being in charge of my reservations and being able to move if we want to stay some where else. Having said that it is a great deal and we might try renting again because there aren't that many points needed in the winter and you can stay pretty cheap at a great place

 

[IAMLEGEND]

Three years ago i took the chance and rented points from a person who post's on these boards by the name of DEAN. It was the best thing i ever did. I was very nervous. But have faith, DEAN was great, transaction was smooth, vacation was great, stayed at the Broadwalk, and i am now a proud DVC owner.

 

[Nutts4DVC]

<The pool hopping is only to the other DVC pools except Storm Along Bay.>

As far as I know its any other pool on Disney property except SAB. We are DVC members and use other pools that are not just DVC pools.

Robin in Mi

 

[Ursula]

Thanks to all of you for your opinions and advice You really helped a lot with my decision making, and I decided I'm going to do it! If everything goes according to plan, I'll be at BCV in May 03. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[Puffy2]

I too have rented points. I haven't taken the trip yet so I'll report back after I do (Jan). A fair price for points is $10.00each; you will see offers for less but usually this is when someone is really in a jam and it's short notice. $10.00 is a bargain.

But , I think everything will work out just fine. THe person I'm renting from had a history here on the Dis - when I saw her offer to sell points I checked her history of past posts (she seemed "normal" - talked about her family, faith, etc... and she had been here on the Dis for quite a while). Of course, this doesn't guarentee anything but I feel more comfortable with that than renting from someone with only 2 or 3 posts - no history to compare, etc...

Some people offer contracts (I hope she won't mind me saying , but Shontell Crawford is one of them - she is a real estate agent and has her own business in timeshare resales. You can do a search here on the Dis and email her to see if she has any points to rent. I would have rented from her if her home resort had of been the Boardwalk. Anyway, you can tell her Puffy2 recomended her). Others will offer references which is good too. In my rental case, the person I worked with sent me a receipt of sorts.

I also called DVC membership and was able to verify the reservation over the phone. I'll do this again prior to leaving for the vacation.

One last comment, if anyone ever is "stiffed" we certainly will hear about it here on the DIS!!! And, I've NEVER heard of anyone ever having a problem. Lets hope it stays that way because one bad experience could really ruin a good thing for everybody concerned.

 

[Gillian]

One more satisfied renter here! We were able to stay in the BRAND NEW Beach Club villas for only $120/night (no tax) this September. Everything went smoothly & I would do it again in a second! The DVC studios, while not any larger than a regular hotel room, are perfect for us because they have a microwave, toaster, coffee maker & mini fridge. We saved a bit by buying breakfast food & drinks at a regular store (we had a car).

Good luck! DVC is definetly addictive.

 

[Mom B]

Hi! We just got back in the wee hours of this morning from our Disney vacation. We also rented our points from "Dean" and things went great! We had a 2 bedroom for us and our 2 teenagers; other family members had 4 studios. We got our rooms in the building we had requested (24) and all were located close by. It was great because it was within walking distance of the checkin, Olivia's, the gift shop, etc. I will definitely do it again if we possibly can...the only problem is I'm so spoiled I don't think we could ever live without at least a one bedroom; the studios are okay but once you're used to the extra space, it's hard to do without it.

Good luck to the rest of you! I definitely recommend renting DVC points!

 

[Ursula]

Thanks for your replies. I did decide to rent points for next May, but I've run into a minor problem. The person I am renting from wants 50% downpayment now and the other 50% when I get confirmation in writing that the res. was made in my name. The problem is, I have not been able to verify over the phone with BCV that the res. has been made. I don't feel comfortable sending a 50% payment on something I can't confirm. Has anyone else run into this problem? Is there any way I can confirm a res. by phone?

 

[Gillian]

I think you need to call member services, rather than CRO or the resort itself. The person I rented from gave me the number to call, but I don't have it anymore.

Ask the person you are renting from where you can call for verification.

Good luck!

 

[Carrieberry]

You do need to call Member Services, 800-800-9800 but you must have the reservation number. They will not give you any information since you are not the DVC member. You have to call them with the reservation number and then they will ask you your name and the resort, and then they will tell you if the ressie has your name on it and that is all they will tell you, nothing more, nothing less. The first they will ask you is for your member number and you just need to tell them that you are calling to verify a reservation that a member made in your name. The person you are renting from should tell you the reservation number. DON'T pay for anything until you can confirm that a reservation has been made or switched over to your name. As far as I know (and I am no expert!) it does not cost the member any cash money to call and make a reservation with their points, and they should be able to do this for you before you give them a penny, so you can call and confirm. In my case, the person I am renting from mailed me a copy of the original ressie they had in their name, then I was able to call and confirm it had been switched to my name. After paying the balance, they mailed me the hard copy of the reservation with my name on it that Member Services sent them when they modified it to my name. I would pay them the up front money when you call and verify it is in your name, and then I would pay the other half AFTER they have mailed you a copy of the reservation that has your name on it. Then after you pay the balance they can send you the orignal. This is how the person I am renting from did it and it has been a wonderful experience so far with no stress!

 

[fkj2]

That's what I've done in the past; mail a photocopy of the ressie as it appears in my name. Then, I ask for 50%down. Once that check clears the bank, I change the ressie over to the renter's name, send a copy of the new ressie and whenever the other 50% check clears the bank, I send them the ressie that's in their name. After that, it's between the rentee and Member Services unless the rentee wants me to intervene for some reason. And in the interim, of course they have something with a confirmation number with those requested dates.

 

[MMCD]

I am a DVC member who has rented points and rented from other people who owned timeshares from Marriott or RCI. Never pay upfront until you can confirm that the ressie exists. Definitely get the phone number of the resort and the confirmation number. Call the resort directly and confirm the ressie.

Sometimes when the renter has a 3-way conference phone, they are on the other line when I call member services. I call and just say that I want to recheck what my dates are for my reservation. Then I ask the rentee if they had any questions to ask member services.

When I've been notified that the check is coming, I call member services to change names. It takes about 5 - 10 days to get a new sheet for the name change. When I get the check and it clears, then I mail the new reservation confirmation to the rentee.

As with any reservation, I always reconfirm about 2 and 1 months ahead and sometimes days before leaving. I learned from previous experience that people can make an honest mistake. My family had shown up at a hotel that had inputted the wrong date of our arrival.

MMCD

 

[shefor24]

I have been wondering about this topic. I am glad to read all the replys to the question. So if I was to do this, how do I do it?? So just go to the DVC board and put a post on for renting points? How do you get started with this? Probably an obvious question, but I am just not familiar with the points and how that works. Sorry

 

[Ursula]

The best thing to do is go over the rent/trade board and read the FAQ. That will give you a good start. Also, you can check how many points you are going to need with the points calculator. Here's the link:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resort/dvcpoint.cfm

Once you understand the process and know how many points you need, you can either post on the rent/trade board what you are looking for, or reply to an offer someone else posted.

Good luck!

BTW, thanks to everyone who replied to my previous post
I was able to confirm over the phone my res. for BCV next May, so I'm all set

 

[crisi]

(You also cannot pool hop to AKL. You may not be able to hop if your room key doesn't have "DVC Member" on it (but it almost always does), or during any blackout periods.)