I want to rent points... but how?

[challer]

I am very interested in renting points. I have done timeshare rentals before (Atlantis in Paradise Island... twice) with alot of success. I am still confused a bit about how this works. Help me out here...

There are going to be a total of 8 adults and 5 kids, but it is divided up between 4 sets of families: 2 grandparents, 2 newlyweds without kids, 2 with their 2.5 y/o son and 1 yr old twins, and me with my wife and 2 kids (7 & 4). We can do either 4 standard rooms at any hotel, but we can also bunch it up a bit in 2-, 3-, or more bedroom villas @ DVC resorts. In terms of villas, I would love to be at Yacht/Beach or Boardwalk, but I'm not against Saratoga or KW if situation is right. (I've done AKL & WL non-villas, but as a rule I like to avoid staying at same resort twice.)

Where would I begin with a situation like this? Is it too much to deal with, and would it be better (and safer) to just book rooms outside of DVC?

I'd love the advice - thanks.

 

[DVC Mike]

See the [thread=1669863]Considering Renting from a DVC Member?[/thread] thread.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You are going to have to lock in your days now if you are going in Summer 2009. You will need to determine exactly what days you want to go and what accomodations that you will need. Then find a member with then number of points you need to make the entire reservation and get them to book it for you. On Jul 1, members can start booking May 31.

Now if each family is going to book their own lodging, you won't necessarily need one member to make all the reservations, but you will need them all linked to be able to be close to one another.

The members that you book from may require from half to full payment to make the reservation - especially if you have one member make the entire reservation. If anyone backs out, you won't be able to just cancel the reservation or revise it.

 

[JimMIA]

I would certainly do a good bit of research, and then provide your ideas to each family and let them make their own reservations. That way, if someone's plans change (VERY likely with a group that large booking many months in advance of the trip), you're not on the hook for the reservation.

Those reservations will probably have to be made separately anyway, because few owners will have enough points to rent to cover everything, and even fewer will be willing to accept that much risk.

It's important to keep in mind that DVC has serious risks to both the renter and owner if someone's plans change. I think the best mindset to have -- and many owners have this policy -- is that all rental reservations are final, unchangeable, and non-refundable.

Mike gave you the link to his thread. Another excellent thread is Diznyfanatic's DVC Point Rental Primer, which contains a lot of great info from a wide variety of posters.

And of course, the most important things to read are the "stickies" at the top of the Rent/Trade board.

 

[challer]

Yeah, all the threads about renting DVC points makes me too nervous to ever rent points, let alone rent for a large group like mine. Thanks for the tips.

 

[kimberh]

I am so sorry you are now discouraged about renting from a DVC member. There have been Thousands of successful rentals. There are many members that can handle your request. It really depends on the number of days you are wanting to stay, room size and time of year that you are wanting to travel. If, I was planning a large family trip, I would book each room individually, then have each family member responsible for payment. We do not have much flexibility with our points, most owners have a non- cancellation policy. You would need to get your group together and explain this to them. They could always rent from Central reservations at the same resort that you are staying at. You would have the larger room with a kitchen or kitchenette, depending on what size room you booked, they could have a hotel room, if booked at one of the hotel/DVC resorts. I will be glad to help answer any questions you have.

 

[rigsby25]

I am a DVC member and have had to rent on several occasions. The most recent was for my daughter's WDW wedding. I asked each person what they wanted, and then looked on the rent/trade board for what was available. I would let the person know and they could either have me pursue or not. We wound up with some really nice reservations. Everyone was happy with staying at DVC. We got an AKV concierge studio for a young couple with a baby. And we were able to get a week in an OKW HA for the grooms parents. They loved their villas. We have never been disappointed and have made some friends along the way.

 

[icydog]

What about an OKW Grand Villa. It would come out cheaper in the long run and you can charge by the bdrm. So if one family has only one bedroom they would pay 1/3 of the rental costs. I did this type of rental for an extended family last Sept.

They had 8 people in the Grand Villa and then they had two extra studios too. The people in the studios, like the newlyweds you mentioned, will have their privacy but can use the kitchen in the three bdrm Grand Villa and hang out there with the older folks.