How do owners guarantee they don’t get scammed?

[DisDisDisney]

My family is looking to rent out our Disney vacation points for the very first time. My dad is weary he wonders how we make sure we get paid and not scammed. From my research, I find that everyone is using PayPal? Is this what you guys are using to get paid? Also do we take a greater risk selling ourselves compared to using a rental company? Is it possible for people to send money and then say something like they didn’t receive the services and then get their money back once they’ve gone on the vacation? How can we protect ourselves or does it come down to taking a risk? And do people require the full payment within 24 hours? Do you guys make up a contract? Any helpful info is appreciated.

 

[J-Dog]

I am no expert on renting, but I would say that, if you are that concerned, then going through a broker would be the way to go. It will decrease (but not eliminate) the risk.

 

[Sandisw]

I am also going to recommend to use a broker. Please report any PMs you might get from this post as that could be a red flag.

Thank you in advance for not having posted details of what you want to rent. If anyone asks, please do not share.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Use a broker. Time is money and they handle talking to the renter and dealing with them. I wouldn’t rent on my own it’s really just not worth talking to people and then potentially dealing with their sob story why they want their money back.

Lastly PayPal tends heavily favor the payor not the payee so even when paid claims can get filed against you.

Use a broker.

 

[JackosinDIS]

I have heard of renters claiming money back through PayPal, but only where they paid for the rental as ‘goods and services’ rather than ‘friends and family’. I’m not sure the latter allows you to claim anything back.
As others have said, the safest way is via a broker.

 

[MattB2G]

You could also just ask for a personal check, that is what I have always done.

 

[starsaber25]

I just recently rented points. I used the board sponsor. It was a very easy process. It wasn't a lot of points but the whole transaction so far has been great. I opted for paypal so I guess I will just take on that risk. The renters trip isn't until June where I will receive the last portion of the payment. I certainly feel pretty comfortable about the process. I don't think I would do it on my own though.

 

[Sandisw]

I just recently rented points. I used the board sponsor. It was a very easy process. It wasn't a lot of points but the whole transaction so far has been great. I opted for paypal so I guess I will just take on that risk. The renters trip isn't until June where I will receive the last portion of the payment. I certainly feel pretty comfortable about the process. I don't think I would do it on my own though.

Since you are using the broker, you aren’t faced with the same risk because they pay you and not the renter.

The renter pays them directly!

 

[CraigInPA]

Paypal, Venmo, etc... are preferred by owners. The key is to use a one-way only method. For Paypal, that's designating the money as "Friends and Family".

I've rented 4 or 5 times through the rental board here on DISBoards, with good success. The most expensive rental I did was almost $5k. My first rental was through a broker, also just over $5k.

If you choose to rent yourself, be prepared for hours of wasted time. For example, I had 120 points to rent. I had requests from people who wanted 300+ point rentals, people who wanted one day a month away, people who wanted long vacations in AKV value studios (which is not my home resort), and people who wanted accommodations over a year away. I also had people asking me to look up availability and then never responded, or responded that they asked someone else with cheaper points and booked with them.

You'll want to have a good contract that protects both of you. Some brokers put everything on the owner, while others accept the risk. During the pandemic shut down, some brokers showed less than honorable ethics with the owners.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I just recently rented points. I used the board sponsor. It was a very easy process. It wasn't a lot of points but the whole transaction so far has been great. I opted for paypal so I guess I will just take on that risk. The renters trip isn't until June where I will receive the last portion of the payment. I certainly feel pretty comfortable about the process. I don't think I would do it on my own though.

PayPal with a broker is very different. The broker sends the money to you not the renter.

 

[AstroBlasters]

My family is looking to rent out our Disney vacation points for the very first time. My dad is weary he wonders how we make sure we get paid and not scammed. From my research, I find that everyone is using PayPal? Is this what you guys are using to get paid? Also do we take a greater risk selling ourselves compared to using a rental company? Is it possible for people to send money and then say something like they didn’t receive the services and then get their money back once they’ve gone on the vacation? How can we protect ourselves or does it come down to taking a risk? And do people require the full payment within 24 hours? Do you guys make up a contract? Any helpful info is appreciated.

Just ask them to pay with the “friends & family” rate. Here is what I have done:

1) List the points on the DIS forum
2) People contact you with dates
3) Verify dates and verify pricing and payment method with renter
4) Gather required information and secure reservation
4) Send renter confirmation number so they can verify in WDW/DL/Aulani apps
5) Require payment within agreed upon period of time via F&F to continue to hold reservation
6) Upon receipt of payment ask if there are any preferences they have for the room location (touring plans rooms finder), send them info on dining plan if they want it or about resort activities, etc. (I.E. Be a good host)

 

[Cfabar1]

Just ask them to pay with the “friends & family” rate. Here is what I have done:

1) List the points on the DIS forum
2) People contact you with dates
3) Verify dates and verify pricing and payment method with renter
4) Gather required information and secure reservation
4) Send renter confirmation number so they can verify in WDW/DL/Aulani apps
5) Require payment within agreed upon period of time via F&F to continue to hold reservation
6) Upon receipt of payment ask if there are any preferences they have for the room location (touring plans rooms finder), send them info on dining plan if they want it or about resort activities, etc. (I.E. Be a good host)

Should I need to rent in the future, I now know who to contact!

 

[DCL58]

When we need to rent out points, I always prefer to rent them directly to close family and friends. If that doesn’t pan out, I use a broker. I feel safer renting thru a broker because they handle everything. And if something did go wrong, I would hope that they would help resolve things.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

I use a broker... it helps protect everyone more. I would be to worry doing it without a middle man to weed out the scammers and provides some protections.
Also a nice part... we are renting out our points to help pay for Disney cruise, so they keep the money and just put it right to the cruise... so helps save a step on that end too.

 

[DoubleBaconBLT]

You could also just ask for a personal check, that is what I have always done.

I would not recommend taking a personal check from a stranger. That's open to SO many scams. Almost any form of check fraud could be used in that circumstance.

If I ever rent out points, I will almost certainly either use a broker the first time or rent to someone I already know. I would ALWAYS use a signed contract and require full payment prior to the 31 day holding cutoff using a payment method which is not easily reversed (so no credit cards, PayPal/Venmo with "Goods & Services" option, etc).

 

[Brian Noble]

I would not recommend taking a personal check from a stranger. That's open to SO many scams. Almost any form of check fraud could be used in that circumstance.

That's true, but it probably takes at most weeks to figure it out, and the owner controls the reservation---if the check is bogus, you can remove the lead guest and re-rent it.

 

[MattB2G]

I would not recommend taking a personal check from a stranger. That's open to SO many scams. Almost any form of check fraud could be used in that circumstance.

If I ever rent out points, I will almost certainly either use a broker the first time or rent to someone I already know. I would ALWAYS use a signed contract and require full payment prior to the 31 day holding cutoff using a payment method which is not easily reversed (so no credit cards, PayPal/Venmo with "Goods & Services" option, etc).

Not sure what scams your taking about, as long as you get the check and deposit the check before the reservation comes up, there is no way be scammed that I know of. My parents rented their vacation home for decades doing this. Also, I required full payment after the reservation is confirmed and I send the reservation number to the renter.

 

[DoubleBaconBLT]

Not sure what scams your taking about, as long as you get the check and deposit the check before the reservation comes up, there is no way be scammed that I know of. My parents rented their vacation home for decades doing this. Also, I required full payment after the reservation is confirmed and I send the reservation number to the renter.

As @Brian Noble pointed out, I forgot about the fact that rentals usually happen several weeks in advance of the stay. So you would know about any issues long before the actual stay happened, and you could cancel it if anything was amiss.

 

[MattB2G]

As @Brian Noble pointed out, I forgot about the fact that rentals usually happen several weeks in advance of the stay. So you would know about any issues long before the actual stay happened, and you could cancel it if anything was amiss.

I wouldn't use a check for making a reservation that was within 30 days, I would just go with Venmo or Paypal for those. But, most DVC rentals are made months in advance, thus a personal check is almost superior to other forms of payment because they can't be reversed, and provide a hard copy of payment. Using a signed contract and using checks are probably one of the safest ways to do DVC rentals...... for owners.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Whats a check? I kid ..