DVC Points Rental getting too high?

[Strimp]

I was thinking about banking my points this year and just doing a rental for the vacation and was browsing several sites to see about pricing. Is it just me, or are there some sites charging upwards of $27.00 per point with very little transparency? I was actually shocked.

 

[davper]

Considering that the cash option would cost you approx $42 a point at bay lake tower, I would say that is a bargain.

 

[Strimp]

Considering that the cash option would cost you approx $42 a point at bay lake tower, I would say that is a bargain.

Agree, I guess my point is most are in the 20-21 per point range and are broken out per point. 27.00 seemed a little "ambitious" so to speak.

 

[Sandisw]

I think it’s high. But I have not compared to the cash rates and discounts being offered.

Lots of trade offs to rent vs going with Disney.

 

[Brian Noble]

I think it really depends on what unit size, resort, time of year, etc. We have a trip coming up where the Disney cash rack rate for the unit we have reserved works out to be $24.15/pt all in (so, including tax). Granted, this might be an unusual unit size/resort/date combination for which DVC points are not very efficient. But it is a very real example. If this unit is eventually discounted, the per-point "value" will be even lower. For this resort and season, a 20% discount would not be unusual, though nothing is usual about this year, so the discount may never happen. If it does, the value would be more like $19.35

For me to rent that stay and incur the risks of a DVC rental (no cancellations/changes, risk of an owner reneging, I carry the risk of a force majure closure, etc.) I would be willing to pay no more than $20 if Disney does not discount their rack rate, and maybe $16 or so if they do. The likely discounted rate is more than most brokers charge but only barely so and certainly not worth the hassle, so I didn't even bother looking.

 

[hhisc16]

Supply and Demand?

 

[RoseGold]

Haven't seen anything at 27, what??? But resale pricing is very high. OKW contracts are at $15/pt/year. That's not far off rental rates. I expect rental rates to climb, generally speaking, though maybe not right away.

 

[DLgal]

As a potential renter, I see those listings and laugh.

 

[Strimp]

I think it really depends on what unit size, resort, time of year, etc. We have a trip coming up where the Disney cash rack rate for the unit we have reserved works out to be $24.15/pt all in (so, including tax). Granted, this might be an unusual unit size/resort/date combination for which DVC points are not very efficient. But it is a very real example. If this unit is eventually discounted, the per-point "value" will be even lower. For this resort and season, a 20% discount would not be unusual, though nothing is usual about this year, so the discount may never happen. If it does, the value would be more like $19.35

For me to rent that stay and incur the risks of a DVC rental (no cancellations/changes, risk of an owner reneging, I carry the risk of a force majure closure, etc.) I would be willing to pay no more than $20 if Disney does not discount their rack rate, and maybe $16 or so if they do. The likely discounted rate is more than most brokers charge but only barely so and certainly not worth the hassle, so I didn't even bother looking.

Brian,

Agree completely. I did some random checking from the sponsor with whom I have rented through before and in January 2021, out of the 3 reservations I looked at, Riviera (granted, Run Disney), Bay Lake Tower (random weekend) and another Bay Lake Tower which was advertised as 35% off were all higher than $26 per point. Did they build in some extras into their pricing? Cancellation protection or something? Spread is way too thin, but they definitely have inventory which lends credence to supply and demand.

However, I also went through the request points process for something later, and again, it worked out to about $25.00, but you had to reverse engineer to get to that number.

Good on them if folks are willing to pay.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

I think it’s high. But I have not compared to the cash rates and discounts being offered.

Lots of trade offs to rent vs going with Disney.

I think people who are renting really underestimate their risk of ruin. No way to cancel with most rentals and I have yet to see a credible report of trip insurance actually covering a claim for having to cancel a reservation where you rented somebody else's points. I know lots of people buy trip insurance for this, but I am skeptical that trip insurance would actually pay out.

 

[SL6827]

I think people who are renting really underestimate their risk of ruin. No way to cancel with most rentals and I have yet to see a credible report of trip insurance actually covering a claim for having to cancel a reservation where you rented somebody else's points. I know lots of people buy trip insurance for this, but I am skeptical that trip insurance would actually pay out.

I agree. I really wonder if trip insurance would pay out. I have a feeling it might be a good chance you could lose out. I really don't know though.

 

[Leight19]

It does seem like value heavy rooms (bwv standard view studio as example) have been going for high price per point as confirmed reservations. This is especially true during high demand seasons and I’ve seen some advertised as “only room on site” or something to that effect for 50th.

I get why these demand high price but does leave bad taste in my mouth if people are targeting hard to get rooms/times for express purpose of renting at higher value. Hopefully this isn’t a consistent issue which causes problems down the line.

 

[CarolMN]

I get why these demand high price but does leave bad taste in my mouth if people are targeting hard to get rooms/times for express purpose of renting at higher value. Hopefully this isn’t a consistent issue which causes problems down the line.

This has been happening for as long as I can remember. It's generally known as "spec renting" and it's a sore topic for many. It's one of the reasons the DIS hasn't allowed confirmed reservations to be offered via its R/T Board more than 30 days in advance. (The Premium & Platinum Plans are recent options and require a fee to use the DIS R/T Board to offer a limited number of confirmed reservations per year more than 30 days in advance).

 

[Yinn]

I get why these demand high price but does leave bad taste in my mouth if people are targeting hard to get rooms/times for express purpose of renting at higher value. Hopefully this isn’t a consistent issue which causes problems down the line.

Im biased but I do think there’s a difference between someone who’s grabbing out of the general reservation queue and someone who might have a high demand guaranteed week. If someone paid extra for both the points chart and to secure a guaranteed week, I think it’s perfectly reasonable for them to charge more for that week.

 

[Leight19]

Im biased but I do think there’s a difference between someone who’s grabbing out of the general reservation queue and someone who might have a high demand guaranteed week. If someone paid extra for both the points chart and to secure a guaranteed week, I think it’s perfectly reasonable for them to charge more for that week.

Yeah I don’t hold against anyone who does it because understand eveyone has different views and reasons. It’s definitely more understandable if someone has points they need to rent and fixed week or even if they just want to book something given the backlog of points and don’t want to get stuck holding them (can’t blame maximizing value to make sure don’t get stuck holding reservation). I just hope doesn’t get to where someone who could use points rents them out because they see premium they can get (and I even understand the choice, just prefer an owner gets high demand/value room over renter).

 

[CarolMN]

I just hope doesn’t get to where someone who could use points rents them out because they see premium they can get (and I even understand the choice, just prefer an owner gets high demand/value room over renter).

I understand where you are coming from & what you mean. However, an owner did get that high demand room. He/She booked it using the same rules as any other owner.

 

[Leight19]

I understand where you are coming from & what you mean. However, an owner did get that high demand room. He/She booked it using the same rules as any other owner.

This makes sense in some scenarios but I believe the rules also specifically forbid investment type renting. In the scenario I laid out above this to me may blur the lines. I don’t think any action should be implemented to prevent it just stating I hope it doesn’t become a trend in future where rental companies encourage people to pre book high value rooms for sole purpose of renting.

 

[howardlee2]

point pricing is really just supply and demand. an owner can ask any $$ amount they choose but there are plenty of points available in the $16 per point range (non distressed). Occasionally distressed points can be had lower...

 

[Yinn]

point pricing is really just supply and demand. an owner can ask any $$ amount they choose but there are plenty of points available in the $16 per point range (non distressed). Occasionally distressed points can be had lower...

Some of that is just lagging the market too. For non distressed points, I’m not sure why people would go through the trouble of listing it on their own for $16/pt when you can get $16/pt from DVC Rental Store (dvcrentalstore.com)

It’s moved quite a bit in the last year, I imagine some owners are just catching up. Especially if they only rent their points out once a year.

 

[howardlee2]

personally I would rather rent points on my own rather than giving a middle man 20-25% resulting in a much higher cost to the actual renter. yeah I am aware of what is paid by the resale shops and have tried to price slightly above depending on the market.