If resorts closed, will DVC rental companies and Hotwire refund your money?

[Mainsail Minnie]

These are nonrefundable rooms under normal circumstances, but if the resort is actually closed, will these 3rd parties give refunds? I'm talking about reservations made with cash, not points.

 

[starry_solo]

Any DVC rental company makes reservations with points. While the renter may pay with cash, the reservation itself is paid for with points. I think if the resort is closed (not just the parks, but the specific resort you'd be staying at), a refund would be due.

 

[Thecouch]

i have emails from hotwire and priceline saying they are contacting hotels to see if they will allow refunds

 

[Shelleyfs]

I doubt very much that anyone will get anything from DVC Rental Companies. They tell you over and over to get cancel for any reason travel insurance, that there will be no refunds under any circumstances which is what makes DVC rentals risky and why so many say warnings against it when people ask about dvc rental. They have already given the owner 70% at time of booking. That money could be long gone by now and no way for the rental company to recoup it.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I doubt very much that anyone will get anything from DVC Rental Companies. They tell you over and over to get cancel for any reason travel insurance, that there will be no refunds under any circumstances which is what makes DVC rentals risky and why so many say warnings against it when people ask about dvc rental. They have already given the owner 70% at time of booking. That money could be long gone by now and no way for the rental company to recoup it.

If they won't give a refund, then I guess it's fair game for a credit card company dispute. The consumer would seem likely to win that one, as the promised goods (hotel stay) were not delivered. If the resort is actually closed and there is literally no way for the consumer to stay there, I don't see how the companies can legally justify keeping the money.

 

[Shelleyfs]

If they won't give a refund, then I guess it's fair game for a credit card company dispute. The consumer would seem likely to win that one, as the promised goods (hotel stay) were not delivered. If the resort is actually closed and there is literally no way for the consumer to stay there, I don't see how the companies can legally justify keeping the money.

I'm not disagreeing and I have no horse in the race. I just know from past experiences how it works. I hope they do something to help folks.

 

[clayfolks]

DVC gave owners their points back unless reservation was booked with banked points that are expiring. I would hope that a deal is worked out between the rental agencies and the DVC members so that the renters can book another stay.
Edited to add: unless reservation

 

[starry_solo]

If they won't give a refund, then I guess it's fair game for a credit card company dispute. The consumer would seem likely to win that one, as the promised goods (hotel stay) were not delivered. If the resort is actually closed and there is literally no way for the consumer to stay there, I don't see how the companies can legally justify keeping the money.

Of course, but you know that the rental companies don't keep the funds until the stay is complete, right? They send 70% over to the owners who booked the reservations. So, all they have is 30% of the funds.

 

[Lynne M]

That’s going to be up to each individual rental company. I don’t think they’d lose a dispute if their agreement with the customer clearly states that there are no refunds.

When you enter into an agreement like that, you either buy trip insurance or you take your chances.

 

[lanejudy]

If they won't give a refund, then I guess it's fair game for a credit card company dispute. The consumer would seem likely to win that one, as the promised goods (hotel stay) were not delivered. If the resort is actually closed and there is literally no way for the consumer to stay there, I don't see how the companies can legally justify keeping the money.

But that isn't the current situation. Resorts are open. It's the parks that are closed. So if a guest cancels the resort stay, they are the one breaching the contract, not the rental company.

 

[Rxdr2013]

I had to fight with hotwire for my hot rate refund. They tried to charge me $60 to cancel my reservation because "they couldnt get thru to disney to ok the cancellation" i said no I will hold, I know they are allowing cancellations. Eventually a supervisor was involved and I am getting all my money back.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Point brokers may be in trouble if they don't have the funds to pay back the renters and owners can't rebook a stay. There are only so many DVC villas available and future booking, like Fall, might be next to impossible this late. They don't call it Fall Frenzy for nothin'. It's the favorite time for owners to go to WDW so they book their home resort at 11 months out. Most of the time they can't change the reservation at seven months out because there isn't anything left to book. Plus many of the owners use the money they get from renting for other priorities, so they might not have the money anymore. Finally, DVC points have a shelf live. DVC might give the owners the points back, but if they expire at the end of March, they don't have any points left to book anything.

If they won't give a refund, then I guess it's fair game for a credit card company dispute. The consumer would seem likely to win that one, as the promised goods (hotel stay) were not delivered. If the resort is actually closed and there is literally no way for the consumer to stay there, I don't see how the companies can legally justify keeping the money.

That's why brokers make everyone sign a contract. The owners who rent out their points and the renters who want a vacation cheap.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

That's why brokers make everyone sign a contract. The owners who rent out their points and the renters who want a vacation cheap.

And if the terms of the contract aren't met by the side promising to provide the goods, the other side has legal justification not to pay. I'm on a contract at work, and if I suddenly stopped showing up, my employer wouldn't have to pay me, just because there is a contract.

 

[Sandisw]

DVC gave owners their points back unless reservation was booked with banked points that are expiring. I would hope that a deal is worked out between the rental agencies and the DVC members so that the renters can book another stay.
Edited to add: unless reservation

I think most owners will try to work with renters, Yes, owners are getting points back if they initiate a cancellation, including banked points,

But, those points still have expiration dates and may not be valid for future stays when the renter can go or, more likely, DVC availability may not be there,

If the resort closes, then renters really would be entitled to get a refund from the owner, via the broker. The problem is how long it might take to secure the entire thing as the broker has to get the owner to pay them.

Brokers do hold back part of the rental payment so that should be refunded quickly,

If the resorts don't close down, the it will be tricky.

 

[Sandisw]

And if the terms of the contract aren't met by the side promising to provide the goods, the other side has legal justification not to pay. I'm on a contract at work, and if I suddenly stopped showing up, my employer wouldn't have to pay me, just because there is a contract.

I agree as long as the resort closes, The contract isn’t fulfilled. So, if they stay open, there will be renters who are out of luck because they won’t be entitled to a refund and an owner may not be able to reschedule them.

 

[tallguy001]

If they close the resorts, none of the points rental contracts are valid as the consideration (room) is gone.

 

[gatormom2tots]

I got a full refund from hotwire on a "hotrate" deal. That being said, I had to give them the number to Disney wholesale department that deals with 3rd party reservations in order to get it. Initially they called the main reservation line, could not get hold of anyone (welll duh- took my 3 days to get hold of a person at hotwire) and told me they couldn't. But once I gave them the number, it was done in 5 minutes. With hotwire, they will have to contact Disney to verify they will allow the calcellation.

 

[ScubaCat]

When you enter into an agreement like that, you either buy trip insurance or you take your chances.

I don't think most travel insurance cover pandemics like this. The DVC one doesn't mention it, so (someone correct me if I'm wrong) I have to assume it does not either.

That said, DVC is returning the points, so if I had rented points during this time, I would definitely return the money. The gray area here is that the resorts are remaining open, although time will tell how long that lasts. If a rented resort closes, the agreement requires a refund.

 

[ScubaCat]

If they close the resorts, none of the points rental contracts are valid as the consideration (room) is gone.

Exactly, that's how I read it as well. The issue is that they're (for now) remaining open. I'd personally refund it immediately, but I don't know if that's required or not. It looks like it's not.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The DVC insurance through Disney (for owners) does NOT cover pandemics. Quite explicitly, in fact.