Renting During COVID

[PlutoTheDog89]

Hope this is in the right place.

My family used to always go for Christmas. We skipped last year in lieu of road tripping in California and visiting Disneyland, and will skip again this year because of COVID.

We've been incredibly fortunate to save a good amount of money during the pandemic, with not traveling anywhere or really doing anything, so with things hopefully back to normal, we'd love to go all out next year.

I'd love to get a theme park view room at Contemporary, but can't see (even after saving), shelling out nearly 1k/night. And if fireworks aren't back, then there's really no point.

Either way, we're considering a DVC stay. With Christmas being so popular, I know we'd have to book 11 months out once it becomes available, but I'm still not 100% confident that we'll be able to travel by Christmas, and I'm aware that things can so easily change.

For those who have rented points - without promoting who you rented from etc. - how did it go? Did you have to buy insurance? Did it cover not traveling due to COVID, etc.? Would it be smart to book so far out?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

At this point, insurance is really hard to get that will cover significant chunks of a rental that you do not use due to COVID.

If the resort is open, the agency will not give you a lot of help getting out of a reservation.

 

[Heather07438]

We have a trip coming planned 11 months out. Rented points thru a lovely owner on the boards who made the process easy. I wouldn't do it the same way again tho because of what's happened this year. Renters were commonly left holding most of the risk, in our case we held/hold all of the risk.

In hindsight whatever savings from renting at $19pp weren't really worth what we gave up in flexibility or refund-ability. We may still rent again but this is how we'd do it differently:

• Make sure our travel dates are early enough in the owner's User Year where if necessary there's still reasonable time available to move dates without going past the banking window (the last 4 months of UY). Know what kind of points you're renting. Are they banked and expiring soon? Borrowed and can no longer be banked? In the current UY where they can still be banked if necessary (preferable).
• Then make sure the contract allows at least one date change from renter, and an agreement on what the furthest date can be.
• Have a Force Majeure clause where both parties share loss 50/50; not renter gets left holding the whole bag.

 

[Sandisw]

Honestly, based on all that happened this year, I would not get into a DVC rental 11 months out unless you are prepared to lose all your money if something prevents you from going,

Most owners, including brokers make the contracts non refundable. Some brokers now offer a voucher if a force majeure happens but not wanting to go, or something happening and you can’t will result in a loss,

As mentioned above, you have to know the contract and what the owner/broker is offering. Some will offer changes, some will not. Some will offer a refund, some will not,

Owners and brokers are the ones who set the terms so if you want something, you may have to search to find an owner or broker who is offering that. Some of what has been suggested would not be terms I, as an owner, would have in my agreements, so not all renters would be a good fit for me if I was renting points.

The savings from rentals can be there, but to be honest, renters will always be the ones to carry a bigger risk and you really have to be okay with it,

 

[Sandisw]

We have a trip coming planned 11 months out. Rented points thru a lovely owner on the boards who made the process easy. I wouldn't do it the same way again tho because of what's happened this year. Renters were commonly left holding most of the risk, in our case we held/hold all of the risk.

In hindsight whatever savings from renting at $19pp weren't really worth what we gave up in flexibility or refund-ability. We may still rent again but this is how we'd do it differently:

• Make sure our travel dates are early enough in the owner's User Year where if necessary there's still reasonable time available to move dates without going past the banking window (the last 4 months of UY). Know what kind of points you're renting. Are they banked and expiring soon? Borrowed and can no longer be banked? In the current UY where they can still be banked if necessary (preferable).
• Then make sure the contract allows at least one date change from renter, and an agreement on what the furthest date can be.
• Have a Force Majeure clause where both parties share loss 50/50; not renter gets left holding the whole bag.

I doubt these are terms one would find with a broker, but may find an owner who is willing.

That is the plus with those types of rentals,,,,owners do sometimes offer things to renters that brokers will not!

I agree that a renter needs to be comfortable with what they are agreeing to and if what you want and need is not available, then renting won’t be a good option.

 

[Marionnette]

Hope this is in the right place.

My family used to always go for Christmas. We skipped last year in lieu of road tripping in California and visiting Disneyland, and will skip again this year because of COVID.

We've been incredibly fortunate to save a good amount of money during the pandemic, with not traveling anywhere or really doing anything, so with things hopefully back to normal, we'd love to go all out next year.

I'd love to get a theme park view room at Contemporary, but can't see (even after saving), shelling out nearly 1k/night. And if fireworks aren't back, then there's really no point.

Either way, we're considering a DVC stay. With Christmas being so popular, I know we'd have to book 11 months out once it becomes available, but I'm still not 100% confident that we'll be able to travel by Christmas, and I'm aware that things can so easily change.

For those who have rented points - without promoting who you rented from etc. - how did it go? Did you have to buy insurance? Did it cover not traveling due to COVID, etc.? Would it be smart to book so far out?

TBH, renting for next December is probably not a good idea for you. No insurance is going to cover you for COVID. The brokers will not refund you if the resorts have to close. They will only offer a travel voucher. None are going to let you cancel because you don’t feel comfortable traveling. Some might allow your reservation to be re-rented at a reduced rate - if the owner is agreeable to making the name changes. But let’s face it, if you’re not comfortable traveling, there are also going to be a lot of other people who are also uncomfortable traveling, too. Re-renting might be pretty difficult.

Renting DVC can save you a lot of money, but the reason that it comes at a lower price is because the risks are greater than just booking a room directly thru Disney.

 

[Heather07438]

I doubt these are terms one would find with a broker, but may find an owner who is willing.

That is the plus with those types of rentals,,,,owners do sometimes offer things to renters that brokers will not!

I agree that a renter needs to be comfortable with what they are agreeing to and if what you want and need is not available, then renting won’t be a good option.

Actually the last 2 of the the 3 bullets I listed are very common on the contracts used on one of private DVC owner rental sites. My first bullet is just a reminder to understand what flexibility is available between your dates and the contract, and even this 'use by' date was included in some of those commonly used contracts.

 

[Sandisw]

Actually the last 2 of the the 3 bullets I listed are very common on the contracts used on one of private DVC owner rental sites. My first bullet is just a reminder to understand what flexibility is available between your dates and the contract, and even this 'use by' date was included in some of those commonly used contracts.

I think I was trying to let the OP know that you will have more flexibility with different terms with owners vs brokers and doing ones homework to find them is important.

But It is still owner decided and there is no set of rules that have to be included when renting. For those new to the game, it is important to know that as well.