It's apparent that some people just don't get it. Rich has tried to explain it, but some fail to hear. Maybe a couple of examples....
1. In the 1970's the Japanese started sending more cars to the U.S., where they had about
3% of all sales. Asked if he was worried, a senior US Auto executive laughed it off and said he'd start to get worried when it got to
8%.
By the early 1990's, it was over
40%! And at the cost of tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.
2. Every year, there are dozens of major sporting events that many would love to attend when our favorite team wins the right or is invited to play, for example in College football bowl games. However, there are people and businesses out there who buy thousands of tickets to these games, many of them the best tickets in the house, before the two teams chosen to play are ever announced, knowing that they can sell them (translation: scalp) to the true fans who can no longer get any good tickets.
This is the true analogy to those who
consistently rent their
DVC points. To them it is a matter of making a profit. This is definitely a disservice to the rest of us.
I don't know the true solution any better than anyone else, but there are some rules already, including commercial use of renting out points.
The problem is how do you not hurt the occassional owner who needs to rent or wants to gift points to a friend or family, yet still stop the total abuse by others. Here's some thoughts:
1. Every owner registers a credit card number with DVC (a card that is issued in the OWNER'S name and address)and that card is always used for any charges incurred by the occupants, whoever they may be. How many renters would trust those they rent to with that?
2. Ammend the rental rules that allows only 20% (or any other number agreed upon) of points can be rented out. For example, if you had 200 points, you could only rent out 40 points a year, or all 200 points once every 5 years and nothing else in the in-between years. Those who rent out 100% of their points every year would be stopped. But for everyone else who purchased the property mainly for their own use, it would be of no consequence.
As to the democracy argument, it is simply not true. This is a contract argument, not a democracy argument. What someone is allowed to do is based on contracts and nothing to do with this being a free society. In real estate there are already thousands of zoning laws and covenants that pertain to all sorts of issues. Someone cannot just buy the house next to mine and turn it into a factory claiming it's a free society. It I wanted to live next door to a factory, I'd buy into an Industrial Zone, not into a Residential Zone.
When I purchased DVC I was informed this program was for the use and enjoyment of the family-owners so they could take vacations at WDW. Commercial use of points was not allowed. So please do not try to defend those who are currently ignoring the rules as they currently exist.
And before I get chastised by the board moderators, let me address the original post: If a rental goes for $17/point it does even more of a disservice as it only encourages others to start thinking more of making profits by renting themselves. At almost $14 above the OKW maintenance fees, one would only have to rent less than 5 times (based on the old $67/point purchase price which would have been the highest anyone would have paid for OKW) before their original investment was paid for. That would be 100% return in 5 years, definitely better than the stock market.
IMHO
Caskbill