need your opinion on my points rental situation

[LisaS]

Yes, actually. As I said multiple times I understand I signed a nonrefundable contract. I would rather know that I need to either go on the trip and use the reservation or lose all of the money, than be to be told that there is a third option but it would result in possibly (what I would consider, and maybe I'm wrong) excessive fees.

If that is truly how you feel then just restrict your thinking to those two options, go on the trip or lose all of the money, because they are both still available to you.

 

[bumbershoot]

Is David's fee for finding a new renter excessive? Possibly. But it's there to deter people from doing exactly what you're doing.

Agreed.

David's is a scam - for both the renter AND the owner.

You see scam, I see someone getting owners and providing a level of protection from bad renters. Many are willing to pay extra for this.

Your owner has you lock in at 60 days out. That is not actually when our reservations as dvc owners become firm. Our reservations are firm at 31 days. So even your owner is building in a time cushion for him/herself.

Agreed.

Its $3 a point in insurance for me to have David explain that if the need arises.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I mean, really, it's worth $3pp to me not to have to explain that BWV Standard 5 months out is a laughable dream, and that AKV Club was booked 12 months back via walking.

 

[crisi]

I mean, really, it's worth $3pp to me not to have to explain that BWV Standard 5 months out is a laughable dream, and that AKV Club was booked 12 months back via walking.

Or that my price is firm. Or that I can't guarantee their room will be in the same area as their friends. Or that I'm very sorry that the room they got had a bad view or was in a bad location, or that a drawer was broken, or that they didn't check in until 7pm, or trash and towel never happened, but there isn't anything I can do, and no, I won't refund.

 

[Matty B13]

Unfortunately a lot of renters think they are renting a regular reservation at a 50% discount and canceling on an owner isn't a big deal. For most owners this is a huge deal, because they pay a lot of money for the points and takes away a possible vacation from their family if the points can't be banked. I think a lot of renters don't understand stand the way DVC works and why canceling a reservation is such a big deal.

 

[poison ivy]

I've never liked David's. I keep waiting for the DVC to disallow brokers like this. This does seem to be a price gouge, If they're charging a cancellation fee and only paying the owner half their contracted amount. My question is: what happened to the balance of the pd. in full fee and the points used for the reservation?

I'm sorry you are in this situation. IMO you may want to reconsider taking the trip at this point. It's a lot of money to lose and I'm not sure if there's any recourse.
We've rented out our points more than a dozen times here on the DIS and have fortunately not encountered all the headaches described here.
But I do understand both arguments. I hope everything works out for you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I've never liked David's. I keep waiting for the DVC to disallow brokers like this. This does seem to be a price gouge, If they're charging a cancellation fee and only paying the owner half their contracted amount. My question is: what happened to the balance of the pd. in full fee and the points used for the reservation?

I'm sorry you are in this situation. IMO you may want to reconsider taking the trip at this point. It's a lot of money to lose and I'm not sure if there's any recourse.
We've rented out our points more than a dozen times here on the DIS and have fortunately not encountered all the headaches described here.
But I do understand both arguments. I hope everything works out for you.

The owner of the points gets paid half (or maybe a bit more) when they make the reservation. They get the rest owed to them when the vacation starts. In this case the renter wanted to cancel, so the owner won't get any more but they should be able to cancel the reservation or get David to re-rent it if possible. Or use it themselves.

 

[poison ivy]

The owner of the points gets paid half (or maybe a bit more) when they make the reservation. They get the rest owed to them when the vacation starts. In this case the renter wanted to cancel, so the owner won't get any more but they should be able to cancel the reservation or get David to re-rent it if possible. Or use it themselves.

Not sure if I'm understanding this correctly, the owner gets paid half and retains control of the reservation/points? So David's splits the amount collected if the renter cancels but do the points remain with the owner? Who gets the cancellation fee for the re-rent?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I am pretty sure David's will PIF to the owner. They hold 50% in escrow until the trip starts. They don't stiff owners.

Disney would have an impossible time shutting down brokers. Rental is allowed in owner contracts, and MS has no visibility if an owner is booking for a brokered guest or their best friend's niece's cousin's ex-girlfriend.

 

[Marionnette]

Not sure if I'm understanding this correctly, the owner gets paid half and retains control of the reservation/points? So David's splits the amount collected if the renter cancels but do the points remain with the owner? Who gets the cancellation fee for the re-rent?

From David's website:

• 70% of the funds due to you are immediately transferred to you via PayPal at the time of the reservation (once I receive the funds from the guest). If you don't already have a PayPal account, you can open one here. There is NO FEE to you to receive your money through PayPal. We absorb all fees. I take guest payments by credit card or PayPal so there are no additional charges to you. In a few instances, the PayPal payment may be made by e-check. In these rare cases, it may take 3 to 4 business days for the e-check to clear, at which time you will receive your money.
• The balance of funds owing to you are paid on the day of guest check in. Reservations are NON REFUNDABLE so you get your money regardless. I hold back 30% to ensure that my guests have a room on arrival. You are committed to keeping your dues and mortgages current so as not to harm any reservations.

 

[LisaS]

This does seem to be a price gouge, If they're charging a cancellation fee and only paying the owner half their contracted amount. My question is: what happened to the balance of the pd. in full fee and the points used for the reservation?

I'm confident the DVC owner will be paid in full per David's usual policy of paying part of the rental fee when the reservation is made and the rest on check-in day, whether it's the OP who checks in, a new renter or nobody at all. The OP has already paid David's in full, the DVC owner has already received 70% of the money that's due to him/her and will get the rest on check-in day.

Reservations through David's are normally non-refundable. In this particular situation, David's is offering to help the OP by making an exception to their "no refunds" policy by trying to re-rent the confirmed reservation provided the DVC owner is open to changing the names on the reservation and arranging anything else needed by the new renter (DME, dining plan, etc). If David's does find a new renter for this reservation, the OP gets their money back minus $4 per point that David's will retain for their efforts. I suspect part of this fee will be paid to the DVC owner for agreeing to re-do everything on their end. But in any case, whether the OP goes on the trip, or stays home and forfeits the full cost of the trip, or agrees to (and David's is successful at) re-renting the reservation, I'm quite sure the DVC owner will be paid in full.

 

[disneynutz]

I read recently that PayPal is now reporting transactions to the IRS. Don't know if it's true but owners may want to check it out.

Bill

 

[zavandor]

Unless he changed rules recently, David pays the owner the full amount, without the Paypal fees, which eat in his margin. There are additional transactions to change the reservation (refund to you, money coming in from the new renter) this means additional expenses for him as well. That's why a fixed fee wouldn't work, the bigger the reservation, the higher the fees.
In the standard contract I use to rent my points out, I've written I'd try to rent the points again in case of problems for the owner, but any fee or discount I incur in has to be paid by the renter willing to cancel the reservation.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I read recently that PayPal is now reporting transactions to the IRS. Don't know if it's true but owners may want to check it out.

Bill

Bill is correct.....PayPal does file a 1099 For anyone who has received $20,000 or over in a calendar year.....I sell on eBay..and they have done so for a few years now

 

[Dean]

Unless he changed rules recently, David pays the owner the full amount, without the Paypal fees, which eat in his margin. There are additional transactions to change the reservation (refund to you, money coming in from the new renter) this means additional expenses for him as well. That's why a fixed fee wouldn't work, the bigger the reservation, the higher the fees.
In the standard contract I use to rent my points out, I've written I'd try to rent the points again in case of problems for the owner, but any fee or discount I incur in has to be paid by the renter willing to cancel the reservation.

Apparently David's doesn't report rental income because they are not US based, at least one of the rental brokers does I understand.

 

[LVSWL]

As aurora said, that's the going fee to rent points out through David. It wouldn't exactly be fair if he charged you less to rent out "your" points than he charges everyone else.

There is no less work for David and his team to rent that reservation the second time than there was the first time. And if I were the owner on the other end, I'd be looking for a cut, because my contract with David says no changes on the primary name. So its possible that David isn't getting the full $3.

True. Just as much work, maybe even more because they have a reservation that may only appeal to a certain number of people. Contract is a contract.

 

[g-dub]

I'm confident the DVC owner will be paid in full per David's usual policy of paying part of the rental fee when the reservation is made and the rest on check-in day, whether it's the OP who checks in, a new renter or nobody at all. The OP has already paid David's in full, the DVC owner has already received 70% of the money that's due to him/her and will get the rest on check-in day.

Reservations through David's are normally non-refundable. In this particular situation, David's is offering to help the OP by making an exception to their "no refunds" policy by trying to re-rent the confirmed reservation provided the DVC owner is open to changing the names on the reservation and arranging anything else needed by the new renter (DME, dining plan, etc). If David's does find a new renter for this reservation, the OP gets their money back minus $4 per point that David's will retain for their efforts. I suspect part of this fee will be paid to the DVC owner for agreeing to re-do everything on their end. But in any case, whether the OP goes on the trip, or stays home and forfeits the full cost of the trip, or agrees to (and David's is successful at) re-renting the reservation, I'm quite sure the DVC owner will be paid in full.

This is exactly correct - the owner gets paid no matter what.

Unless he changed rules recently, David pays the owner the full amount, without the Paypal fees, which eat in his margin. There are additional transactions to change the reservation (refund to you, money coming in from the new renter) this means additional expenses for him as well. That's why a fixed fee wouldn't work, the bigger the reservation, the higher the fees.
In the standard contract I use to rent my points out, I've written I'd try to rent the points again in case of problems for the owner, but any fee or discount I incur in has to be paid by the renter willing to cancel the reservation.

This is a great point and a very reasonable justification for a per point cancellation fee.

I am making every attempt possible to rearrange our schedule and make this trip work so we can avoid the re-stocking fee. In the end, I suspect we will go, and have a Great Time!

In hindsight and retrospect and after reading the excellent advice and opinions here, I suspect the re-stocking fee is a bit excessive but is so on purpose to avoid making it easy to back out of a reservation, which clearly creates more work for the owner than I initially realized. I’m sure that’s intentional, and it makes sense.

 

[DebbieB]

I've never liked David's. I keep waiting for the DVC to disallow brokers like this. This does seem to be a price gouge, If they're charging a cancellation fee and only paying the owner half their contracted amount. My question is: what happened to the balance of the pd. in full fee and the points used for the reservation?

I'm sorry you are in this situation. IMO you may want to reconsider taking the trip at this point. It's a lot of money to lose and I'm not sure if there's any recourse.
We've rented out our points more than a dozen times here on the DIS and have fortunately not encountered all the headaches described here.
But I do understand both arguments. I hope everything works out for you.

The member makes the reservation, not David's. David's just draws up the contract and handles the money. DVC would not know if the reservation was made through a broker or the member made a deal on their own (or it's a family member or friend). I don't know how they could "disallow brokers".

 

[poison ivy]

The member makes the reservation, not David's. David's just draws up the contract and handles the money. DVC would not know if the reservation was made through a broker or the member made a deal on their own (or it's a family member or friend). I don't know how they could "disallow brokers".

True. If they were to implement any policy, they'd probably only be made aware of a violation via consumer complaints directly to DVC or thru BBB or other media outlets. An executed contract does exist between the broker and renter if I'm not mistaken. I'm just not a fan of this practice but that's purely my opinion. Others here have had great experiences, included the OP until now.

Thanks to all for clarifying.

 

[Minniesgal]

The owner should get paid in full no matter what as when a customer cancels there is no guarantee they will be able to resell those points. All the risk is on the owner.

As for the OP I think Davids is already going above and beyond the contract that was signed I think positive feedback is in order here and getting $10 per point back is way better than zero which is the actual entitlement.