question on renting points and room availability

[saintphly]

I've been researching the benefits of renting points for DVC stay and it seems perfect for us. I found someone on Ebay who had excellent feedback and had rented many times before. Unfortunately, she said there was no availability at our first choice (BCV studio) or our second choice (VWL studio) for the time we will be visiting, May 1-8 '04.
My questions:Can I check myself for availability prior to posting on the "want to rent" board? If I can't, and I do post, can I be assured that the dates and property we are interested in are available?
I hope this makes sense. I hate to have someone offer to rent me points and then they have to call MS and hold, hold, hold, only to find that the dates/properties we want aren't available. Seems like a lot of effort for the person who is doing me the favor of renting out their points.
What do you suggest? Is it impossible to get either of these two properties for these times?

 

[tjkraz]

No, you cannot check yourself. Only a DVC member can check on availability through Member Services.

Also, if your eBay contact checked on your travel dates at BCV and VWL, and was told that there is no availability, then there simply are no rooms available. For a May '04 stay, all DVC members now have full access to any available rooms at those resorts. If they are all taken, then it doesn't matter through whom you are trying to rent points.

DVC does allow members to go onto a waiting list in the event that other people cancel reservations, but I don't know how many renters would be willing to do this for you. They would have to hold their points for you without knowing for weeks or months whether the reservation will ever be fulfilled.

If you are locked into those dates, you will probably have to consider another resort or a different class of room.

With regard to members having to wait on the phone with MS to check on availability for you, that's part of the "overhead" to goes along with renting points. The DVC member/renter knows in advance that it will require some time and energy on their part, so I wouldn't worry about that. But I agree it can make it difficult to pull everything together.

 

[CarolMN]

Only members can check for availability (or make reservations). Availability changes frequently (people change their minds all the timel) so there is no way to be assured of getting a reservation until it is actually made and a confirmation number is in the member's hands.

I wouldn't worry too much about the time it takes for the member to check availability - it's just part of the effort it takes for the member to rent out points.

As long as you and the member have agreed to terms and you are sure about your dates, most members have no problem at all calling to make a reservation.

Good luck - Hope you get your reservation.

P.S. BWV and OKW are also very nice resorts. You might consider trying for one of those if BCV and VWL are booked.

 

[Poorman]

You could also post the dates you want on the rent/trade board and someone may have those dates. I just checked with MS and BCV is not available. VWL has limited ,but as of 5 PM Monday the 5th there is availabilty. BWV has more than VWL but also limited and OKW has plenty.

I would not rent from Ebay unless you feel more comfortable there,try the rent trade board.

Good luck.

Rich

 

[saintphly]

I love these boards!!!
This is such helpful information - thanks!
Ok, question - what are your concerns regarding Ebay? I liked the fact that I could check feedback. I wasn't sure how to check that on the boards here. Also, I figured that most people would use their points rather than rent them, so I wasn't sure if people who only occasionally renting out their points would have references or use a contract.
I believe that most people are trustworthy, but this is a lot of $$ for my husband and I, so I want to be sure that the person we rent points from comes thru as promised.
What would you do in my situation?
FYI My DH and I are in our early 40's, we have a DD 10 who loves to swim and a very active DS 2. We haven't been to Disney in 6 years!
We've worked so hard to save the $$ and renting points means that our vacation would (almost) be already paid for!

 

[Poorman]

What would I do?????


Well a year ago I was in your situation and I rented points off this board, it went without hitch.

I bought points before I even got to use the rented points,but instead of canceling and making the person I rented from go through it all over again, I kept the ressie and rented my points out. I made some people happy. It is relatively easy to do ,there is an element of trust, you get the ressie and the member gets the money. The member can cancel at any time and you lose the money. I have never heard of this happening ,but I suppose it could. On ebay you are bidding on a vacation, you don't know what the final price will be ,here you can negotiate your price(usually $10.00 pp) and that is it. No taxes, no resort fee's,nothing else. Go to the rent/ trade board and look around. Then post your dates ,someone will answer and the process starts.

Good luck.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by saintphly
I love these boards!!!
This is such helpful information - thanks!
Ok, question - what are your concerns regarding Ebay?

I personally don't have any concerns about eBay, but I do know that uninformed people often will not get the best deal. I've seen people have eBay listings for DVC accommodations with a fixed starting price. The auctions do give you some booking flexibility but they are restricted to the lowest point seasons and are usually for a Sunday to Thursday stay (Friday and Saturday are much more expensive at DVC.)

The winners of these auctions are still getting a great deal compared to Rack Rates, but the owners usually end up pocketing more than $10 per point. The starting price will often get them $12-13 per point--more if people bid up the price.

Again, nothing wrong with this--it just won't get you the best deal out there.

My recommendation would be to start on the DISboards. Post some info about the number of points you need and travel dates. You will probably get several replies. Of those replies, ask for references. Some people rent points out repeatedly and have satisfied customers they can use as a reference. I rented points before buying DVC and have served as a reference several times.

If someone can't provide you with a necessary comfort level, thank them and walk away.

There have been stories of people having trouble with rentals, but they are VERY few and far between. Buying into DVC requires a minimum investment of about $13,000--people that make a habit of renting have invested much more. So I doubt there will be many situations where DVC members are looking do defraud people for a few hundred dollars.

Getting back to your question about the resorts, I do have two other suggestions to offer.

1. Consider splitting your stay between two DVC resorts. Many Disney guests--both DVC and non-DVC--do this, and really like the varied experiences it offers. If you can live without a room for about 5 hours (check-out time at one resort to check-in at the other), it is fairly painless. Disney will move your luggage for you. All you need to do is drop it off at the concierge, tell them your new resort, and show up at the new resort later in the day to check-in.

When you previously checked on availability at VWL and BCV, Member Services would have provided info for the entire period of your stay. It could be that each resort could accommodate all but one or two days of your desired stay. If you really want to try BCV, try to get 3-4 nights there and then move over to VWL or another property.

2. Another option would be to commit to the Boardwalk Villas (if available) and see if the DVC member will waitlist you for BCV or VWL. I believe the point costs for all three resorts are the same. If so, you might be able to get a confirmed reservation at BWV, and change to one of your other desired resorts if a room opens up between now and May.

Of course if you're going to start making a habit of WDW, the best course of action is to take the money you were going to use to rent points and put a downpayment on Saratoga Springs. But that's a topic for another thread.

Good luck.

 

[littlestar]

Have you thought about trying out BWV? We own at VWL and BCV, but I really love the BWV also. As a matter a fact, I would love to have some points at BWV also (but I need to pay for other things right now). The BWV main pool is fun. The quiet pool is nice also - it has a Community Hall right next to it with free games for the kids and all kinds of activities throughout the week. VWL and BCV don't have a Community Hall - I wish they did. I also think BWV's pool is a little easier for keeping track of little ones than Storm-a-long Bay at the BCV.

We'll be at BWV the week of May 1st. I wanted to stay there because it's the Flower show at Epcot during that time.

I have rented points before (it seems I never have enough) and I've always had good experiences so far. I usually try to find somebody on the boards with some past posts to rent from (I figure if they've been posting on here for a while, they're probably big Disney fans and legit and not out to rip people off). You should be able to rent for $10.00 a point on the rent trade board. Good luck!

 

[fkj2]

If you can live without SAB, I think you'd be very happy with BWV. Had stayed there about 6 years ago, I hope to be able to revisit this coming March. It's a great resort, as are all the DVC resorts.

As the others have said, ask for references. I've rented points out the last couple of years, due to personal circumstances that prevented me from using them myself, and try to offer references. One renter actually told me no, that just the fact that I offered to supply a reference was fine. Several have spoken to me by phone and felt confident from that. I give you rentees a lot of credit; it truly is a leap of faith but a great opportunity to experience DVC at a significant savings to CRO and one for those of us with extra points during our use year not to lose them if we can't use them.

And, I am prejudiced, I have never tried Ebay to rent points. Everyone I've rented to came from the Disboard and each one went smoothly.

I think you'd really like BWV.

 

[saintphly]

Everyone has been so helpful. I really appreciate all the advise! I agree that Boardwalk is just a beautiful resort. I certainly wouldn't feel as thought I'm settling if we stay here, but we would like to try something different.
Actually, I think we had such a perfect stay the first time that it might be difficult to go back and have to stay in smaller room, in perhaps not the best location. We first stayed in a 1 BR villa with an incredible location on the first floor overlooking the quiet pool, ducks visited our door and thrilled our (then) 4yr old every morning. My DD is now 10 and still talks about that vacation. We could have our coffee on the patio and have a quick swim every morning b/4 the rest of the "world" woke up.
I know that you can't guarantee any specific location or room. So, maybe we'll try a different property and keep our very special memory of the Boardwalk.
The comments on Ebay were very accurate. I ran the numbers and realized that the cost would be more than 10.00 per point - closer to 12 or 13. The person was very nice and helpful, but my DH and I have decided to try our these boards to find points.
I've posted on the rent board and we'll try for Wilderness Lodge!
I can't wait to get plans finalized - we've been waiting to go back to Disney for 6 years and we are VERY ready!!