Renting DVC Points Website

[Anjelica]

I thought, and I could be 100% wrong hence the post, that commercial renting was not allowed per se by DVC?

Does this website fit into that category of commercial renting or is it acceptable?

http://www.dvcrequest.com/

 

[hellerjw]

DVC itself rents/sells reservations in order to recoup the costs of exchanges, trades, etc so legally it is somewhat of a grey area as to whether they could ever ban renting altogether.

However, they do frown upon commercial renting and have moved in the last few years to curtail it with imposing restrictions on anyone who rents more than 20 times per year and most recently with the limit on the number of associate memberships you can have. The associate membership restriction could severly limit the viability of the site you mention unless they find a way around the limit.

 

[RobDoc]

DVCrequest.com is now a DIS advertiser. While DVC has issued a policy change that could affect some rentals, DVCrequest is still in business and seems to have a lot of very satisfied guests (and DVC Members) who have used the service.

A banner ad for the company may be found at the top of the DVC Rent/Trade Board.

 

[disneynutz]

Disney is a profit based corporation and Mickey doesn't like folks who take money from the mouse.

If Disney feels that others are encroaching on their turf, they will change the policies and rules to affectively force others out of business.

They are also known to have had their flock of Legal Eagles go on the attack.

Bill

 

[Anjelica]

DVC itself rents/sells reservations in order to recoup the costs of exchanges, trades, etc so legally it is somewhat of a grey area as to whether they could ever ban renting altogether.

However, they do frown upon commercial renting and have moved in the last few years to curtail it with imposing restrictions on anyone who rents more than 20 times per year and most recently with the limit on the number of associate memberships you can have. The associate membership restriction could severly limit the viability of the site you mention unless they find a way around the limit.

What is associate membership?

The reason I even brought up this question is I was surprised to DVCRequest as a DIS sponsor as just at first glance it didn't seem to be "allowed" by DVC. But again that is why I asked the question as I am far from knowing what is or isn't allowed all the time.

 

[mcorbo]

An associate member is a person you can add to your DVC account that is only allowed to make reservations.

 

[jessrose18]

I also had my reservations about this company when researching renting points a few months ago. However, if the dis people are letting them advertise on their site, they must be legit right? I hear them say they take great lengths to aprove their advertisers. Just a thought, interested to hear what other people think...

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC recently changed their rules about Associate membership. They will only allow a person to be an associate on up to four contracts and they have the right to not approve an associate on a contract, even if that person is not an associate on another contract.

The website in discussion used the associate membership as a means to make reservations for other members.

This may be the reason for the change in DVC's policy. Or not.

 

[ercrbc]

I rented points from this site last Summer and had a wonderful experience. I have noticed some members frown upon the site for whatever reason, but I think he provides a great service.

We are very interested in DVC, and renting points was (is) the best way to try it out without having to buy in.

I found this site to be a secure and easy way to stay in the DVC accommodations. The user recommendations on the site were encouraging, the easy to use points calculator/calendar was great, the ability to use paypal offered security and every question I had was quickly answered regarding the reservation. I could also look up the reservation online or call for ADRs as I was immediately given the reservation #.

It was great to experience the "perks" of DVC before making the commitment to buy. We had such a fabulous time I have been researching DVC ever since We are now waiting to hear from Disney about a resale AKV contract (fingers crossed!)

I am excited to hopefully have our own points soon. But it's nice to know that if we are in a bind to use them at some point renting them would be an option!

 

[DISNEY FIX]

DVC recently changed their rules about Associate membership. They will only allow a person to be an associate on up to four contracts and they have the right to not approve an associate on a contract, even if that person is not an associate on another contract.

So if it is not the owner of the company who becomes your associate owner then who is it????? After every fourth client of contract the company brings in do you just hire more people to use their names to put on as an associate? Just a thought.

I love my points I don't know if I could part with them, in my right mind.

 

[JeffR]

This company now has a STICKY post on the Rent/Tread board. Is this maybe a money issue for disboards?

I went to the site and clicked on the DVC Member link and it mentions "distressed" points (within 100 days of expiration). But this doesn't seem to make sense as he's responding to posts on the Rent/Trade board for the week of July 4th.

 

[RobDoc]

This company now has a STICKY post on the Rent/Tread board. Is this maybe a money issue for disboards?

I went to the site and clicked on the DVC Member link and it mentions "distressed" points (within 100 days of expiration). But this doesn't seem to make sense as he's responding to posts on the Rent/Trade board for the week of July 4th.

As already mentioned previously in this thread, DVCrequest.com is a DIS advertiser, as denoted by the "Approved" logo in the avatar area and the banner ads seen on many of the boards.

I believe the "distressed" information is designed to try to assist DVC members with points that might otherwise soon go to waste, but there are also many other opportunities for members willing/able to make reservations up to 11 months ahead.

 

[JeffR]

Although probably not an intentional consequence, I’m thinking the rule change and inclusion of DVCRequest, in tandem, will make it impossible for “casual” renters (those who might only do it once or twice) to find renters on this board. And I want to say right up front that I don’t necessarily think it's a bad thing.

My experience trying to rent for the first time has been that I got very few responses to my listing on the Rent/Trade board (maybe because my home was Hilton Head?). I had better luck contacting “Reservation Wanted” listings who fell within the 7 month window, but still not good enough to rent my points. One of the main problems I had was that by the time I saw the listing, several other “serial renters” had already contacted them (as I’m not “in the business of renting points”, I’m not on the boards nearly as much as those who are). So, on the surface, it would seem that eliminating the “Reservation Wanted” posts would have put us casual renters on more even footing.

But then DisBoards, in effect, gave a monopoly to the serial renter DVCRequest. He was given a sticky and allowed to advertise his services. So without the “Reservation Wanted” posts, and with the tacit approval of DVCRequest by Disboards (as evidenced by their Advertising Banner & Sticky), most rational renters would use his services over any other listings on the Rent/Trade boards (I know I would).

The net effect of these two changes will be to force casual renters such as myself to either list through DVCRequest (which may not be a bad thing) or to further encourage the use of Spec reservations offered from other sites (EBay, Craigslist) or within the allowed “Reservations for Rent” window offered by DisBoards.

In the end, I think I'm going to come down on the side of this being a good idea. The people using this board to basically make money by renting points should be the only ones to suffer, although we've had to trade a free resource (DisBoards) for what I assume to be a fee-based service (DVCRequest) to rent our points. But again, if I'm only ever going to do this once or twice, I wouldn't mind paying a small fee to have someone else brokerage the deal for me.

And you know what? Kudos to David for making this happen. I can always appreciate an entrepreneurial endeavor.

 

[vicki_c]

I wouldn't say David has a monopoly because there is still basic economics involved. With the exception of special deals he offers for particular points, dvcbyrequest generally charges in the range of $13-15 per point, I believe. Most of the DISers seem to rent for a few dollars less than that.

Not everyone is willing to pay the higher price for the greater security offered by dealing with a company vs. an unknown individual (if the security is even much greater, but I perceive it that way).

 

[JeffR]

I wouldn't say David has a monopoly because there is still basic economics involved.

No, he doesn't have a monopoly - you're right (but he's got an awful strong advantage ). I was using strong words as I started because I was upset at the situation. But the more I wrote (and thought) about it, the more I became convinced that this was not a bad thing.

 

[robinb]

FWIW, David also provides a service to those people who want to rent their points out without the hassle of doing it themselves.

 

[JeffR]

FWIW, David also provides a service to those people who want to rent their points out without the hassle of doing it themselves.

I agree (it's why I said it ).

But again, if I'm only ever going to do this once or twice, I wouldn't mind paying a small fee to have someone else brokerage the deal for me.

 

[disneyrunningnut]

FWIW, David also provides a service to those people who want to rent their points out without the hassle of doing it themselves.

I agree that it is nice to have the option. I have never rented my points and would probably like to have someone else deal with the details. How much does he pay the member for the points?

 

[robinb]

I agree that it is nice to have the option. I have never rented my points and would probably like to have someone else deal with the details. How much does he pay the member for the points?

I'm sorry ... I think I remember reading it somewhere but I don't remember. If you email him he would be happy to answer that question .

 

[Scotch]

I had no idea a member could get a sticky on the RT board here. I also don't understand why DVC would allow this business.