Point rental prices 2003-2013

[gibbow]

From my renting experience (my first experience was excellent) I'd personally be more inclined to rent direct from the member for more than what David's offers...

A competitive price per point direct seems more appropriate to me personally than using a third party. Although I do understand the simplicity in going through David's and less risk involved I would assume...

However, as with the rest of the planning of my Disney trips, which I find is half the fun, I enjoyed the interaction with the member I rented from with working out the final details of the reservation. Furthermore, I enjoyed being able to thank the member for the opportunity for the affordable and amazing accommodations...

 

[Nabas]

Combined, AKV, BLT, and SSR more than doubled the number of DVC rooms available. Despite this huge jump in inventory, point rentals seem to be as strong as ever. It certainly seems that, compared to 10 years ago, the general public is more aware of renting points. IMHO, the Internet has greatly aided keeping demand strong despite a huge increase in DVC inventory.

The point rental market is capped by WDW resort prices. Unlike ticket and food prices, Deluxe Resorts rack rates haven't increased much lately, which normally should keep point rental prices down. However, "Free Dining" and "Room Only" discounts have been cut back. This year, it looks like "Free Dining" will only be offered for September (although lots are receiving PINs for October to December) while "Room Only" discounts at the Deluxe Resorts have come down from 40% to 30%. CFO Jay Rasulo mentioned that they've been cutting back on discounts as part of a strategy to increase company revenue.

Looking forward, VGF and the rumored Poly DVC book look to be very small, adding very little DVC inventory.

At the WDW theme parks, we all know about the New Fantasyland and Avatarland, while rumors are swirling about a DHS makeover. These improvements mean that WDW should remain a popular vacation destination. And of course there's MyMagic+, which CEO Bob Iger hopes will improve onsite occupancy rates.

If the economy holds steady or improves, demand for DVC point rentals should remain strong for some time.

 

[mjc2003]

Another angle here (which somebody already hinted at) is that there are times when it's not cost effective to rent. Because of a points imbalance (the point allocations are way too low in the fall when you can barely get a room anywhere, and way too high in the late spring when rooms are sitting vacant for appreciably higher points), it's very hard to get a room by renting points during a time of year when it's cost effective.

For example, if I want to stay at BCV or BWV in October, I need to find an owner 10-11 months out. Easier said than done, and often times renters are not planning that far ahead. Because I can get a 1BR at BCV for 211 points in October, if I can find an owner willing to rent for $12-$13 I am still saving $500-700 off rack rates (with discounts) or member discounted prices, but chances are I'm not finding anything desirable once we get inside 7 months.
Conversely, in late April this year we found availability inside of 2-3 months at both BCV and BWV but the price of the 1BR at $12-$13 for 269 points was going to cost me over $3200. I was able to get the 30% off through Disney which made the cash cost virtually the same as the rental price, but with the housekeeping every day it's a better deal. And truth be told, I'd rather pay $100-$200 more to reserve cash through Disney b/c there are variables with renting, i.e. no control over the reservation, that don't justify the savings.

We are going in October this year, I have 3 rooms rented at BCV with points. I needed to add another room for 3-4 nights, there is literally nothing except for SSR. So we booked with the member discount, and ultimately it is more than I'd pay if I rented points but there's no availability.

As an aside, I monitor the R/T board on another site and I think the existing reservations clearly go for a premium. So as a BCV owner, if I ever wanted to rent out my points I'd probably just book a room during a popular time, like in October, and then rent out the reservation because by the time I find somebody who wants to use the points, there's nothing left to rent.

 

[Dean]

I rented in 1995 or early 1996 for $10.50 a point and never for less than $10 a point. However, there was a glut of rentals following 9/11 so prices did fall for many. There were a LOT of distressed points rentals but even many of the non distressed prices dropped. You might ask Doc as he was the moderator of the Rent/Trade board at the time IIRC. I'm thinking $8-8.50 a point was common for a while.