How do I rent out a Reservation?

[jeasova]

Hi, I am a brand new BLT DVC member. I have an upcoming *** Reservation at ***, but now we want to stay at the Wilderness Lodge. We will be in the 30 day window in a few days so I can then list it. How do I rent out my *** Reservation so that I can then pay to stay at another resort.

I do not know what to charge or how to get paid etc... HELP PLEASE!!!

 

[Chuck S]

The above post was edited to remove resort specific info, so as not to be construed as offering a Reservation for Rent.

First, of course, you need to post the reservation. Many people accept PayPal for payments. The average rental seems to be about $10 per point, but that is fully negotiable between you and renter.

Once you have reached an agreement on price and method of payment, you call Member Services and change the name on the reservation, and then book your new reservation using cash.

The premise is simple, however, doing so within the 30 day window required by our Rent/Trade board is somewhat problematic. Renting an existing DVC reservation at 30 days really wasn't designed for the purpose of switching reservations so the owner can stay elsewhere, it was to allow owners a chance to recoup a total loss of points if they would have needed to cancel the reservation, and risk those points expiring in holding status.

It really is best, at 30 days, to use the reservation yourselves, if you are planning on traveling to WDW anyway.

Renting points for staying at other locations works best by simply offering points, and booking a reservation for the renter, based upon availability. Usually this is done much farther out than 30 days.

 

[jeasova]

Thanks, I did not know not to list the actual resort.

We really wanted to stay closer to the MK because we have a one year old and plan to spend most of our time there. Although, we did rent a car so we could avoid the buses as much as possible.

 

[mmouse1239]

I'm not sure where you want to stay, but I'm curious as to why you want to avoid the busses? We love not having to deal with parking, etc. and being dropped off right at the entrance without having to deal with trams, etc.

 

[jeasova]

We went in Sept 08 with our then 12 month old baby. He was terrified on the buses at night. Cried the whole way home from the parks EVERY night. Other passengers on the buses were not too happy to have him on the bus.

Plus the bus wait times were VERY long at park closing times. Sometimes waiting 30 to 45 minutes to board a bus. We have never stayed at a DVC resort though, so maybe the wait times would not be so long even during Easter Week for those buses.

Last, we get the deluxe Dining Plan and eat most of our dinners at the signature restaurants in the resorts. It is inconvient and VERY time consuming to have to take the bus to the park, then wait to take another bus or the monorail to another resort just to eat dinner, then reverse the whole process after dinner. So we thought we would try a rental car this trip.

 

[mybabesuz]

To have a cash reservation at WL it is going to cost WAY more than you can rent points for...
I can only guess by your post that your Reservation was made with DPs.
The rent board is flooded with DP reservations right now...
You really should give SSR a try... It is Beautiful

 

[jeasova]

To have a cash reservation at WL it is going to cost WAY more than you can rent points for...
I can only guess by your post that your Reservation was made with DPs.
The rent board is flooded with DP reservations right now...
You really should give SSR a try... It is Beautiful

With the Disney offer of 7 nts for the price of 4 including two 7 day park Hoppers it will only cost $2300.00. I will have to purchase the tickets if I stay at DVC anyway so if I deduct the cost of the tickets the actual cost of staying at the WL for the 7 nights is around $1700.00. I know this is more than I will get for my reservation, but we really want to stay near the MK.

 

[mybabesuz]

You do know that from 4/4 to 4/19 are black out date for the 4 get 3 Deal...
Just making sure you know...

 

[jeasova]

You do know that from 4/4 to 4/19 are black out date for the 4 get 3 Deal...
Just making sure you know...

I know, but on the Disney Website, you can still get some of the resorts with the offer even on those dates. I just checked again, and the WL is still available for the offer on my dates of 4/3 thru 4/10. There is VERY limited resorts still available for the offer over Easter Break. I do not know why they say blackout dates, then they are available. It's hard to figure Disney sometimes.

 

[Chuck S]

I know, but on the Disney Website, you can still get some of the resorts with the offer even on those dates. I just checked again, and the WL is still available for the offer on my dates of 4/3 thru 4/10. There is VERY limited resorts still available for the offer over Easter Break. I do not know why they say blackout dates, then they are available. It's hard to figure Disney sometimes.

It is likely because your trip starts on Apr 3, which is not a blackout date.

I still don't think trying to rent any reservation within a 30 day timeframs, simply to rebook with cash is a good idea. You are within the 45 day cancellation period for the 4/3 package, meaning you need to pay it all at once. If you don't find a renter (and given the economy, you may not) what will you do? Will you waste the points or lose cash on the package?

 

[Tara]

We went in Sept 08 with our then 12 month old baby. He was terrified on the buses at night. Cried the whole way home from the parks EVERY night. Other passengers on the buses were not too happy to have him on the bus.

Plus the bus wait times were VERY long at park closing times. Sometimes waiting 30 to 45 minutes to board a bus. We have never stayed at a DVC resort though, so maybe the wait times would not be so long even during Easter Week for those buses.

Last, we get the deluxe Dining Plan and eat most of our dinners at the signature restaurants in the resorts. It is inconvient and VERY time consuming to have to take the bus to the park, then wait to take another bus or the monorail to another resort just to eat dinner, then reverse the whole process after dinner. So we thought we would try a rental car this trip.

Frankly, I like to avoid the buses, too. My son is 7 now, but it was really those trips when he was younger and in a stroller that broke us of the bus habit. It was never fun leaving a park at night on a bus with a sleeping (heavy!) baby, especially if we had to stand. And we had a small folding stroller (a Maclaren) and it wasn't fun to deal with having to stand and hold it on the rides where they cram people in like sardines. We do mostly signature dining or resort dining, so I agree that a rental car is the best way to go.

 

[Sandisw]

Frankly, I like to avoid the buses, too. My son is 7 now, but it was really those trips when he was younger and in a stroller that broke us of the bus habit. It was never fun leaving a park at night on a bus with a sleeping (heavy!) baby, especially if we had to stand. And we had a small folding stroller (a Maclaren) and it wasn't fun to deal with having to stand and hold it on the rides where they cram people in like sardines. We do mostly signature dining or resort dining, so I agree that a rental car is the best way to go.

It is so funny to hear that others have had the same experience. We went for the 1st time in 1994 when my DD was only 1.5 years. We had rented a van since we were staying at FW cabins, but were excited about the buses. Well, after the first nights 45 minute ride back with a sleeping toddler, standing in the aisle, my DH said enough.

We have not been back on a Disney bus since!!! We love the convenience of the car plus we found that we loved the Contemporary and always stayed there after those first few years. This is why we know own at BLT and VWL.

 

[jeasova]

It is likely because your trip starts on Apr 3, which is not a blackout date.

I still don't think trying to rent any reservation within a 30 day timeframs, simply to rebook with cash is a good idea. You are within the 45 day cancellation period for the 4/3 package, meaning you need to pay it all at once. If you don't find a renter (and given the economy, you may not) what will you do? Will you waste the points or lose cash on the package?

The cancellation policy on the 4/3 package is $100.00 from 44 days to 6 days before check in date. So if I choose to take the risk, I would lose the $100.00 if I needed to cancel WL due to not renting the DVC reservation. I would then just use the DVC myself.

 

[mmouse1239]

I can see how those of you who mentioned small children and dining at resorts would opt to not use the busses. As a parent of a teenager who often brings friends, I love the fact that we can all come and go as we please. I think there are times when having a car is a great idea, though. We sometimes get one so that we can venture off site from time to time. We also rent a car when we don't do the dining plan so that we can stop for groceries. I remember on my DD's first trip (at the age of four), she fell asleep standing on the bus one night on our way back to our resort.