DVC Point Rental

[bevotex]

I have been researching DVC membership for several weeks and it all sounds appealing to me. Now, I am trying to educate my spouse on the matter. One question that keeps nagging me and my wife are the year(s) when we cannot attend. I know about banking and borrowing points. Here is my question:

For those that have rented their points to others, have you been successful? How vibrant is the point rental market?

Thanks, in adavnce, to all the respondents. I really appreciate all the information provided on these discussion boards.

 

[awatt]

I don't anticipate renting my points often. But this year I had a little surplus, about 100 points or so, so I renteed them, It was very easy. And because i did it well in advance I got a good price for them, adn was able to get the renters the available dates they wanted. I don't think we'l be in this situation again for years, if at all, but it's reassuring that your money/points are not wasted if your situation changes one year and you have a surplus.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Only buy enough points to meet your needs. And if you use banking and borrowing, you don't have to go every year. Disney could always set new requirements on renting out reservations that could make it more difficult and then you might be in a pickle with those excess points.

If you are already thinking about renting out reservations, maybe you need to think more about buying DVC. It's best to use DVC points for DVC stays. And if you don't plan on staying in a DVC resort on a regular basis, you might want to check out other timeshares that are more cost effective for trading. Hilton Grand Vacation Club, Marriot, etc.

You're talking about a $16000 buy in minimum if you purchase directly from Disney, plus those annual fees of about $600-700 per year (for 2007 - they have been increasing steadily) on those points.

 

[browniemtb]

Renting points is fairly easy so far. We too have had a couple of times when we had excess points. So even when you buy in you will have the best intentions on using all the points things may happen that require you do something else with your points, like rent. But if you plan in renting your points year after year either you have too many points or DVC isn't the right choice. Look at renting as an option that may happen occasionally and as another poster said Disney could change some rules to make it more difficult to rent. Good Luck...

Brownie

 

[ScottakaMickey]

Take a look at Rent/Trade board here on th DIS. You'll see a lot of Activity. A lot of renters are looking for the hard to get times of the year, but there are plenty looking for other times as well. It worked for me when I recently rented my IP's I got with my purchase.

Good Luck!

 

[bevotex]

Thanks for all the comments. I am asking the question not because I intend to ever have any points left, but to ensure they don't go to waste during times when I may not be able to go. 35/47/50 years is a long time. I can't say I will be able to go each year or every other year for that long a time. All the comments received have been appreciated. You are making my decision easier. Thank you.

 

[crisi]

Thanks for all the comments. I am asking the question not because I intend to ever have any points left, but to ensure they don't go to waste during times when I may not be able to go. 35/47/50 years is a long time. I can't say I will be able to go each year or every other year for that long a time. All the comments received have been appreciated. You are making my decision easier. Thank you.

We did the same sort of "would we be able to rent" analysis. We decided (years ago now) that the answer was "yes, it was a nice insurance policy." We also decided that for our family, it would not be a first choice if we can't use our own points. There are family and friends who we believe would be willing to cover maintainence fees in exchange for unused points and "renting" to them (or even gifting points to them) would be our first preference.

Even there though you need to be careful - some family and friends are worse to deal with than many of the "strangers" that you could rent points to. But at least you might have a clue before you offer friends and family points.

We also chose to own a few LESS points than was ideal - we can supplement the occasional trip with a cash stay or cut one trip every five years a little short - or even rent points. Its an unusual methodology around the DIS, but it keeps the risk of having "unused" points lower.