Have you used rental places? How do you protect from owners making changes?

[DianaMB333]

Hi
I am trying to book a high season dates reservation through a rental place… but got curious on how do you prevent the owner from making any changes/cancellations at the last minute?
Can the rental places truly protect the buyer?
Thanks

 

[supersnoop]

You sign a contract and they sign a contract. That's your protection. I imagine any damages would be limited to the price you paid. And I imagine if someone violates the contract, the rental company wouldn't do business with them anymore.

 

[Marionnette]

Hi
I am trying to book a high season dates reservation through a rental place… but got curious on how do you prevent the owner from making any changes/cancellations at the last minute?
Can the rental places truly protect the buyer?
Thanks

You cannot prevent the owner from making changes. They retain control of the reservation until you check in. But most rental companies hold onto part of the payment to the owner in order to make sure that they don't flake out on you.

Still, there can be stuff that happens which could cancel or change your reservation. There are a number of DVC members currently being told that their AKV Jambo reservation in CL or value rooms are being relocated to hotel rooms or another resort. That's not something an owner can control if they rented the points out. There was a glitch where VGC got overbooked and guests were being relocated by DVC. Stuff happens at DVC just like it can happen on the hotel side.

 

[Sandisw]

To add, the agencies will work to get you something but that is all they can do.

So, they do offer some protection that you won’t be without something but it may not be the same as you rented if something happens.

 

[DianaMB333]

Thank you all for the comments!

I guess the money is somehow protected by the rental agency, but the reservation itself might not. And It would be very hard to get something in those days -dvc resorts seem to be fully booked the next months.

I am leaning towards paying cash rate to WdW .. will look for alternatives

but thanks for the guidance!

 

[Brian Noble]

There are lots of these transactions, and the vast (vast!) majority of them work out just fine. The odds of something else going wrong--your flight cancelled or you being bumped, etc.--are probably higher than the odds of being stiffed by a shady owner.

But, this really comes down to how much risk you are willing to take on. It is not a risk-free proposition, and if you're the sort of person that might trouble, it's probably not worth losing sleep to save a few bucks.

 

[CarolMN]

Agree with @Brian Noble. Owner has complete control until you check in. If that is too risky for you, then you need to book directly with Disney.

To minimize potential loss of money, you can buy travel insurance.

If you use a broker to rent, some offer a kind of "protection" from owner cancellation. Read their contract for specific details, which will vary between brokers.

If you rent from an individual, do your due diligence before sending any money. Read the pinned threads on the DISboards Rent/Trade Forum. You will find a lot of very good advice.

 

[sethschroeder]

Lots of people rent rooms both direct from members and from rental companies. People are willing to tell bad stories online so if it was a significant issue you would see way more posts considering you might just on this forum have 1000 or more rooms booked in a year.

Then consider you have rental companies who make a business out of renting rooms. If they constantly had issues they would be run out of business based on bad reviews and non-repeat customers.

If its a reputable company or member then I wouldn't have an issue booking with them.

Also "high season" might actually be DVC "low season" where its easier to find a replacement for you via the rental company or others who rented through the rental company who can't go now.