Has Renting Points Become More Prevalent?

[Lynne M]

You can bet, DVC has a pretty good knowledge of the percentage of points being used or by owners or renters.

They know when it's not an owner on the reservation because that's part of the information you enter when making a reservation. But they have no way of knowing whether the reservation is a gift to a relative/friend or a paid rental to a stranger. Which brings us to this question: how do you define a renter? Is it someone who paid a member to make a reservation? Does it have to be a stranger, or can it be a relative/friend/coworker?

I think there's a couple of things that lead to the concern by some that renters are taking members' reservations. First, there's a misconception about the rental brokers. Some think they're companies that own a ton of points and make a huge number of reservations for hard-to-get seasons or resorts and then sell them. That's....not how it works.

As I said on another thread, I think some also assume that because you hear more about renting these days, if they can't get a reservation, it must be because of renters. As scientists say, correlation does not equal causation. For some, it's easier to believe that there's a "bad guy" at work than to believe the simpler explanation: Some resorts and seasons are more popular than others, and members compete heavily for those popular reservations.

 

[Dancind]

We own two contracts, BCV and OKW. A good number of points, because we liked to get a one bedroom whenever we went, and always stayed at least 9 nights. Haven't been in several years, daughter is grown, in fact canceled a big trip this fall because she got a new job. I hope we can get back in a year or so.

Anyway, have been renting, and yes, everyone wants studios. Have had one renter in the last several years that wanted a 2 BR. When you compare renting to rack rate, it's quite a chunk of savings. Probably pays for tickets. But yes, it is much easier to find availability for 1 and 2 BR units.

 

[jarestel]

Since there are more owners now than ever before and more people know about renting, I would suspect that renting has indeed become more prevalent. Additionally, more non-members view DVC rentals as a cheaper way to get accommodations at WDW. I don't think this has any real impact on owners though since if the rentals weren't being rented, they would probably, in most cases, be used by the DVC members anyway.

 

[crisi]

I've owned for about 15 years. I'd never rented out until recently as I had zero interest in dealing with the hassles of renting to an individual. Too much trouble. The ability to use a service like David's has made this almost effortless. A few clicks, a few emails and money appears in my PayPal account. If someone wants to cancel - it is not my problem.

I recently had to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on mobility devices (van with lift, wheelchair, etc). I rented out 2-3 years of points on three contracts and was able to quickly raise a lot of cash without having to sell a contract. I am very thankful that so many people want to rent and that David's provides such great service.

Oh, thanks for the idea.....I just impulse bought a very expensive piece of jewelry (but historical and unique and gorgeous - and I got a bargain on it - thanks to current foreign exchange rates) and I'm feeling a little guilty about it....but I can "trade" DVC points to make up the difference. I really don't care if I get to Disney next year, I did want this piece.

 

[crisi]

As I said on another thread, I think some also assume that because you hear more about renting these days, if they can't get a reservation, it must be because of renters. As scientists say, correlation does not equal causation. For some, it's easier to believe that there's a "bad guy" at work than to believe the simpler explanation: Some resorts and seasons are more popular than others, and members compete heavily for those popular reservations.

There probably is an influence on availability as renting becomes more known and renters (and DVC owners who rent) become more knowledgeable.

Brokers give me an incentive to rent my DVC points at BWV before the seven month window opens. Without that incentive, I might not be so anxious to get them rented out, and my BWV points might get rented to someone happy to stay at VAKL or SSR by someone who simply sees renting DVC as a deal to get a room on property, not someone who sees DVC as a way to get a deal on BWV. At the same time, knowledgeable renters know they need to be on the ball to get that BWV reservation, so they are trying to secure it early.

However, when I rent my BWV points, I personally avoid renting them out in that last quarter. They rent fine in March or April or June - and I get the same amount of money. I figure I'll be "nice" to my fellow BWV owners and not add to that madness of booking....at that time of year there aren't points to go around. Costs me nothing to rent at a time of year where the resort won't book solid BEFORE seven months. And I don't go looking for standard or BW view for renters - again, same monetary reward for me - and its far less of a hassle to say "I only book preferred view" and not have to bother with availability - plus, nice to my co-owners. But sorry non-BWV owners - I'm still taking the extra money for renting before seven months. I spent a premium to own the points, my dues are expensive compared to other resorts, and they are my points to maximize.

Now, when David starts paying me more for my BWV points over F&W, then I might revisit that "nice" policy, because I'll have an incentive to rent my points out where I maximize my own benefit.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I don't think renters make it harder for members to book, because the owners were eligible to book those rooms anyway. I think that having more DVC resorts sold out is the factor that makes it harder to book at the 7 month mark because members know if they want certain rooms or dates they need to book at the 11 month mark.

My thinking as well, a body is a body, renter or owner. With a bustling economy people are vacationing more and why not stay/rent in a DVC villa rather than a hotel, you get the benefit (buses, parking etc.) without the huge layout of cash and monthly maintenance fees. Last week at Food & Wine, a couple heard us talking and asked if we were DVC owners, I said yes, 19 years. She said they thought of buying but couldn't get past the lack of daily room service. Now, they had been renting for 6 years, so obviously, she's been making due... completely contradicting her previous statement. I've brought many friends with me over the years, they all love DVC and it's perks & benefits, yet none have ever bought.

Personally, I'm always in a state of borrowing, sometimes I even have to buy transfer points for reunions and things, but I've never had any points to rent out. More owners, more resorts being built, it becomes more crucial now to buy where you want to stay and to book early, though to date I've always had great success at the 5-7 months mark.