Renting DVC Points

[robinb]

It could have been an easy fix by just re- listing the points, which wasn’t done.

As @Marionnette says, it may not have been that "easy". Yearly allocation of DVC points essentially have an expiration date and they need to be used by that date. Your trip *may* have been close to the end of the life of the points which would make them more difficult to rent. That doesn't mean it would have been impossible, but it does mean that there would have been some extra work involved and the member may not have rented the points for the same price they received from you.

I would have hoped that the DVC owner would have extended some grace last year because of Covid and tried to re-rent your points even if it means that you would have only received a partial refund. Sadly, some owners don't care to put in any extra work once they pocket your money and make your initial reservation. I don't agree with it, but that is their prerogative. I'm sorry that the owner was, to put it nicely, inflexible.

Yours is a cautionary tale to make sure that you can live with the contract or agreement as written because you cannot depend on someone acting with compassion and humanity in the case of something out of your control like Covid and international travel restrictions. That is one of the reasons I recommend that people rent from DVCers who are "regulars" here on the DIS and a member of the community and not just a user of the rental board. You can read their posts and get a general idea of the type of person they are before entering into an agreement with them.

 

[kathy884]

Save money off of retail for Disney yes. Save money vs. offsite no. There is a premium to be onsite at Disney.

Of course it's not an Apple's to Apple's comparison but for a popular Disney condo like Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary (excellent location - walk to MK, etc. -- very desirable for sure) vs. a popular offsite condo (Sheraton Vistana Resort not too far from Disney Springs - -nice resort most people love, but car needed) for a two bedroom for a popular spring break, renting points for the onsite was about triple the cost of renting from an owner for the offsite. There are less expensive onsite options too. Just giving this an an example to make the point that offsite is a good value when looking at quality of accommodations for the price.

 

[Bobb_o]

I rented 2 or 3 times before I ended up buying a contract of my own. I could not really find a better deal to save at deluxes than renting. It's getting much closer for the Swan/Dolphin to be a similar/better value since Disney resorts are losing benefits like DME. These days with being gun shy from Covid I would more than likely go the Swan/Dolphin for the cancellation protection and the fact I have tons of Chase points saved up. For now I'm estimating it costs me about $260/night to stay at the studios I like so that's quite "cheap" compared to everything else besides getting good deals renting direct.

 

[BethanyMouse]

Yes, I’ve rented twice successfully and it saved me money. That said, my renting days are over. I had a Disney trip planned for last summer on rented points to stay at the Poly. I am super lucky that I had a renter that was able to re-rent her points when my DH and I did not feel comfortable traveling to Disney. She game me a full refund less $100. Unfortunately, I think many that rented last year had a huge headache on their hands. I always knew that renting points was risky, but I think last year magnified that risk. If you do rent, there really is no flexibility. You are giving up the option of being able to cancel or to rebook at your convenience. Is the risk worth the cost savings? Only you can decide that.

I hear this loud and clear. We rented through an intermediary company last year for a summer trip (pre pandemic of course). It was our 4th time using this company. In the end, they gave us a voucher- but I really had to fight for that. And the voucher had new clauses in it that were really unfair to both the renter and the owner. We are using the points this summer so that we can be down with that company.

I dont know that i will use an intermediary again. We like the use of DVC but this changed things for us.

 

[notaprincess]

As @Marionnette says, it may not have been that "easy". Yearly allocation of DVC points essentially have an expiration date and they need to be used by that date. Your trip *may* have been close to the end of the life of the points which would make them more difficult to rent. That doesn't mean it would have been impossible, but it does mean that there would have been some extra work involved and the member may not have rented the points for the same price they received from you.

I would have hoped that the DVC owner would have extended some grace last year because of Covid and tried to re-rent your points even if it means that you would have only received a partial refund. Sadly, some owners don't care to put in any extra work once they pocket your money and make your initial reservation. I don't agree with it, but that is their prerogative. I'm sorry that the owner was, to put it nicely, inflexible.

Yours is a cautionary tale to make sure that you can live with the contract or agreement as written because you cannot depend on someone acting with compassion and humanity in the case of something out of your control like Covid and international travel restrictions. That is one of the reasons I recommend that people rent from DVCers who are "regulars" here on the DIS and a member of the community and not just a user of the rental board. You can read their posts and get a general idea of the type of person they are before entering into an agreement with them.

no, there was enough time to re sell the points. lesson learned

 

[Marionnette]

no, there was enough time to re sell the points. lesson learned

Well, that's truly unfortunate. I don't know what you consider to be "enough" time but it sounds as if you got an owner that stuck within the four corners of your agreement at a time when we should all show a little flexibility. Even offering to share the pain for a forced closure would have been better than sticking you with the entire amount.

I hope that they didn't cancel it since it was your reservation to use even if you couldn't actually travel. They should not have kept your money AND got their points back to rent over again or use for themselves. That would have been very underhanded.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I hear this loud and clear. We rented through an intermediary company last year for a summer trip (pre pandemic of course). It was our 4th time using this company. In the end, they gave us a voucher- but I really had to fight for that. And the voucher had new clauses in it that were really unfair to both the renter and the owner. We are using the points this summer so that we can be down with that company.

I dont know that i will use an intermediary again. We like the use of DVC but this changed things for us.

This is why I've moved to renting out our points privately, as using an intermediary just doesn't give the owner any control over their own points either. Many renters didn't understand why owners couldn't help them last year, but they were bound by agreements with no flexibility for the most part, at least in the early months. I had several reservations for people through an intermediary last year and just held my breath that all would work out and thankfully it did. I can certainly understand your stress in dealing with a voucher AND having to fight for it. I don't blame you for not going that route any more.

An owner can get about the same or more PP renting privately and the renter can save a few bucks renting privately over using an intermediary. Win-win IMHO.

Everyone's tolerance for risk is different and understanding renting DVC is crucial for the new renter especially. I find that matching up with a renter is kind of like a "first date" LOL! It is a give and take until both feel reasonably comfortable with their "match". I did a transfer and four rentals so far this year and couldn't be happier with my renters. We just vetted one another through PM's and then emails and clicked in all cases and they know I'm available should they have a question. I'll do it again if I ever have excess points...I truly enjoyed working with them.

 

[Summer Starr]

Has anyone done this before, and did it save you any money??

I did it a few years back and looking to try again.

Has anyone done this before, and did it save you any money??