For those of you who have rented DVC points...

[tuckerkeys]

how was your experience?

did you have any problems with the person you rented from or was it smooth sailing? we are going to rent for BWV a studio for a week in september, and i just posted on the dvc rent/trade board & someone was willing to help me. i dont know them or anything, but i see that this is done here all of the time. has anyone heard any stories of taking money & never making the deposit? and how does the reservation work? is it in theor name or mine?
many thanks!!1
kris

 

[DVCconvert]

I have rented (both before and after becoming a member) quite a few times. Everything has always been great, with no problems whatsoever. I've heard 'rumors' of some dealings gone 'south', but honestly, I think it's the renter who generally is the problem-by backing out.

Look at the member you're renting from, have they been on the boards for awhile? or do they have 4 posts all since last week? Renters & quite a few rentees can provide references too.

Go for it, it's a great way to go and you might just make some new friends out of it too!

HTH

 

[Controversy]

I rented points for my last trip and my upcoming trip. I'm a recent college grad who loves deluxes, especially the Beach Club, but would never be able to afford a BC standard room for a week. By renting a BCV studio for Sun-Thurs and staying at a lesser-priced hotel the first and last day when the points double (Sat and Fri. nights - Pop!), my tripmates and I were able to afford the kind of vacation we wanted. I think its a great opportunity and it worked out great last time and is working out great this time- I just sent the last payment to the seller, who graciously offered to let me pay in installments, and our trip is in May. I have the actual paper reservation and I'm so excited!

 

[vernon]

Just to say I would ask that you receive a copy of the confirmation Disney send out with the correct names, dates, accommodation before sending any money out. In all my time on these boards I haven't heard of a deal going sour, but that doesn't mean none have or never will.

I have rented out to friends ( from the UK ) before, as the person renting I asked for a copy of their flight details, so I could be sure they were going. I gave them a copy of the reservation confirmation, in their name , with the dates and room type on it before I asked them for any money to be paid. It is a question of trust, but I thought both those moves prove that 1) they were definately travelling to me and 2) it proved to them I was a DVC member, I had made the booking for their dates and it had my mailing address and membership details on the confirmation. It is always going to be a leap of faith, but by asking and giving information back and forth both parties can reduce the distance that "leap" requires.

 

[Rpsemont]

The first time I rented, I made sure the person was within a few hours or where I live. I just felt more confortable with someone geographically close. I also made sure the "agreement" was memorialized in writing, even if it was just e-mails back and forth.

This past week I rented points for just a couple nights because we didn't have enough (we're now owners). I rented from someone in South America with only a few posts. It was incredibly stressful, but I knew I could always do priceline if it fell through. Needless to say, it went without a hitch. For peace of mind, call just inside 30 days of your reservation and also inside 7 days of your reservation. I think if your reservation was still in place at those times, you probably don't have anything to worry about.
As everyone has said, it does take a little faith, but is really a wonderful way to stay a deluxe accomodations for an economy price.

 

[DsnyGeek]

We just rented points from someone and so far so good. We are using Escrow.com just to ensure no problems, I don't think there will be any, but don't want to give up a trip to Disney if something goes wrong.

 

[KristiKelly]

We rented 2 years ago for a stay at BCV. I was a little worried but everything worked out great. They mailed me the reservation confirmation, this had the DVC 800 # on it, I called every few weeks just to make sure everything was okay. We liked it so much that we took the SSR tour while there & joined DVC last summer. So there's your warning, if you rent you just might end up buying!!!

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

If I get thrugh ROFR, I will end up with lots of points from 2004 that must be used so I will probably have to rent some. I think it takes trust on both ends,but it is also a business deal on both ends designed to bring profit to both parties....

If someone messed with someone on either end of this 'contract' ...he could never again sell or buy on these boards, so it woudl be like shooting himself in the foot.

Make sure you write a simple contract that spells out what happens if the renter cancels (how much deposit is refunded, etc). Once the ressie is made and confirmed (and a copy sent to the renter), it seems that the renter is safe. And once the points are paid for, it seems the seller is safe.
So the real concern is: what if there is a need to cancel and the points can't be rebooked....then who bears the loss?

Since I will be renting out points, I'd like to hear as much as i can about this subject to better protect myself and the renter .

Good luck!

 

[drakethib]

I had points rented from Beth Bowers and it was great.

In a matter of 10 minutes everything ws signed sealed and delivered.

Confirm number and all !!!

 

[seaulater]

I rented points and it went smooth as can be. The owner booked in my name, and then since I wanted to check, I just called OKW and verified the ressie in my name for that date. No problem. Smooth as can be.

Linda

 

[ParrotAtOKW]

This is a good question. It seems to come up so often that I'm going to implement a rating function on www.dvctrader.com, so that when you rent points from someone you can rate the experience on a scale of good to bad. As someone pointed out, sometimes it is more a problem of the person renting the points than it is the person providing the points, so you will get to rate those people too!

ParrotAtOKW

 

[Y-ASK]

I just registered and tried to add a new listing. When I went to browse the listing it was not there. Also I did not see a link to where you could go to rate someone. I've recently rented to a couple of families and it woud be nice feature to point them to.

Thanks,
Y-ASK

This is a good question. It seems to come up so often that I'm going to implement a rating function on www.dvctrader.com, so that when you rent points from someone you can rate the experience on a scale of good to bad. As someone pointed out, sometimes it is more a problem of the person renting the points than it is the person providing the points, so you will get to rate those people too!

ParrotAtOKW

 

[ParrotAtOKW]

I just registered and tried to add a new listing. When I went to browse the listing it was not there. Also I did not see a link to where you could go to rate someone. I've recently rented to a couple of families and it woud be nice feature to point them to.

Thanks,
Y-ASK

Hi Y,

I apologize for the inconvenience. I do see your registration request.
Yes, it most certainly is a work in progress! Not yet even "formally" launched. Let's hook up over there... Drop me a line via the contact form and I'll see if I can work out what might have happened.


The rating function definitely is not there yet. I want to be sure there is some interest before I go a lot further with it. The more interest expressed, the faster it happens!

 

[disneyberry]

[SIZE=+0]IMHO, I don't believe a rating function can be implemented so easily. Who will police it? What's to stop a DVC member with massive points from registering as multiple "rentee"s and giving themselves very high ratings to increase their own business? What's to stop some mean-spirited person w/ a personal vendetta against someone from registering and talking trash about the person they're after? Ebay's system is already somewhat flawed... I'm not sure how true it is, but I recall hearing stories about people who do fake Ebay auctions just so they can bump up each other's ratings. I don't know... there may be demand for a DVC rental rating system, but doing it right is just is an extremely huge thing to tackle, and I don't see it as something feasible. JMHO

ColoradoBelle1, my own personal cancellation policy is similar to some others who have posted on this board. Basically the rental is non-refundable. If the renter needs to cancel, I explain to them that they can either
a) Find another family to take over their reservation. That 3rd family will pay them, and then they contact me to change the name.
b) Try to reschedule as long as the original points are still valid. This is tricky since availability is usually so limited with DVC resorts, also I specify that they can only rebook using the same number of points their original reservation used.[/SIZE]

 

[The Disney Bunch]

You could ask for references. We have rented out our points a number of times over the years and we have offered references, people who have rented from us in the past. And we have had them checked.

 

[ParrotAtOKW]

disneyberry, the questions you raise are all good ones. Thanks very much for the excellent observations. I hope I can provide some simple answers below.

[SIZE=+0]IMHO, I don't believe a rating function can be implemented so easily. Who will police it?

Me.

What's to stop a DVC member with massive points from registering as multiple "rentee"s and giving themselves very high ratings to increase their own business?

Me.

What's to stop some mean-spirited person w/ a personal vendetta against someone from registering and talking trash about the person they're after?

Again, me.

Ebay's system is already somewhat flawed... I'm not sure how true it is, but I recall hearing stories about people who do fake Ebay auctions just so they can bump up each other's ratings. I don't know... there may be demand for a DVC rental rating system, but doing it right is just is an extremely huge thing to tackle, and I don't see it as something feasible. JMHO

Flaws do not make the systems unuseable. I use both the ebay and amazon rating systems and have been completely satisfied with them. I believe they have provided useful and accurrate information for the transactions I've done through them.

You are right that it is not a trivial undertaking. But compared to other things I've done, it isn't a big deal. It will be simple and hopefully effective. But not perfect or even foolproof.

You may also be right about the demand. If demand does not present itself, it will not be developed further than whatever comes out to start with.

[/SIZE]