Renting Issues Lately?

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I DID rent 14 points to someone to try BWV for one night before buying... I made DVC several thousand bucks on that rental!

Tagrel: I hope you at least got the referral.

I not surprised to see that many others are seeing the same issues that I am.

HBC

 

[Tagrel]

Originally posted by Happy Birthday Cat
Tagrel: I hope you at least got the referral.

LOL, Well, I think it was almost a done deal before the rental, but it did help them make a final decision! It was a friend, and we lucked into a VERY last second studio reservation at BWV for a 'test run'. They loved it, and quickly bought in. And yes, they were very kind and listed us for the referral.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by Tagrel
(snip)
And as to it being a 'bargain' to rent points - and that being bad due to a devaluation of the DVC properties. Why are all attempts that wish to discuss the true value of rental points 'attacked'? Granted there is a difference between just saying, "OK - everyone start charging $12 a point" - THAT is price fixing. But why NOT discuss how much points should cost in a general sense? It seems it should follow fairly closely behind what Disney is charging for the same units. (Minus the daily housekeeping and taking in mind the difference in cancellation policies)

How much the owner pays in dues or original cost should be irrelavant. What you PAY for something has no true meaning to its VALUE to sell. That depends on market conditions. Personally, I think the $10 per point should be much more fluid than it is currently.

Just another couple cents!

Well, make that 6 cents! I too have never rented and don't forsee it happening anytime soon (unless I get a LOT more points), but I do not necessarily think the person renting should expect to get a "bargain" bigger than the AP rate. I certainly don't think renters can charge Disney prices, but I don't think it should end up being a tiny percentage of what Disney charges either. For example: A sunday night stay in a studio at OKW during most times of the year would be around 10 points, or $100 for the renter. Disney charges around $250 for that same room at that same time. That is less than half. If fact, it is more like the price of a moderate. (no comments about OKW and moderate now, Dee!) I see no reason why there should be that big a difference.

 

[Geezer]

What's an AP rate?

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by Geezer
What's an AP rate?

Disney has special rates sometimes for Annual Pass holders.

 

[maminnie]

Help me understand what some of you feel is a fair value for the renter and the DVC member renting the points.

Just a few details to begin:

2004 rack rates on WDW web-site:

Boardwalk and Beachclub:

Holiday 12/20-12/31 1 Bedroom 570.00 2 Bedroom 1010.00
Peak 2/12-4/17 1 Bedroom 505.00 2 Bedroom 890.00
Regular 4/18-7/4 1 Bedroom 435.00 2 Bedroom 705.00

***Plus 11% sales tax.

If a two bedroom at either resort for school vacation in February is 350 points per week, at $10.00 per point that would be $3500. Rack rates would be $988.00 (includes tax) per night, that would be $6916.00. Is this a win win for both parties?

What type of AP discounts and other discounts are offered for the villas? What are we really competing against? Do people pay these prices to stay at these resorts? Personally prior to buying my points in 2000, I stayed at Boardwalk Villas two years in a row in a one bedroom as I had a baby and a small child and needed cooking facilities and separate sleeping areas. My mother was also with us. We payed about $435.00 total per night and this gave us what we needed and eliminated the need for two rooms at $200 plus per night.

I am considering renting points in a year or two to go on the cruise again. The cruise not only takes so many points but you move so many points into one use year that if you cancel it would be difficult to use them up. You also have limited places to use them.

Your thoughts on the above would be appreciated.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Originally posted by dianeschlicht
I do not necessarily think the person renting should expect to get a "bargain" bigger than the AP rate. I certainly don't think renters can charge Disney prices, but I don't think it should end up being a tiny percentage of what Disney charges either. For example: A sunday night stay in a studio at OKW during most times of the year would be around 10 points, or $100 for the renter. Disney charges around $250 for that same room at that same time. That is less than half.

I totally concur. When renting out points, the price charged should reflect the timeframe and what types of discounted rates the rentee could receive through Disney. Also, the "no sales tax" savings must be added into the calculations. Unless points are distressed, under most circumstances, a total of 20-45% discount off rack rate (tax included) seems very fair for the rentee.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by Johnnie Fedora
I totally concur.

Okay.... I am trying to keep track....

Did you or did you not add your 2 cents here??? If you did, we are now up to 8 cents.

So far, the following posters have added 2 cents:

1) Tagrel
2) CarolMN
3) dianeschlicht

In full disclosure, I have no idea who is actually collecting everyone's 2 cents, nor do I know where everyone's 2 cents is being kept.

MG

 

[PamOKW]

I sometimes question the whole "per point" pricing system, especially when it comes to renting to non-DVC members. The number of points, what a point is, etc. really have no relevance. When it comes to renting a reservation (rather than transferring points to another member) it really should just be a "cost". This would also make it easier to rent out weekends.

Still using $10 per point. To rent a 2 bedroom in Magic Season would be $300 for weekdays and $600 for weekends. Now, people aren't likely to rent at $600 per night but they might rent a 4 day weekend for $1,800. That would be 4 nights at $450 per night. That would compare to whatever discount a person could get from Disney on what would be a rack rate of over $3,900. A DVC member could also adjust the price up or down to cover their own needs without having to stick to "per point" pricing.

If we rented by the reservation, prices might go up when you compare price to price rather than fixating on a "per point" price. This would allow non-members to compare what Disney wants with what a DVC member is offering without confusing them with the "points" part of the equation.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by PamOKW
...(snip).....If we rented by the reservation, prices might go up when you compare price to price rather than fixating on a "per point" price. This would allow non-members to compare what Disney wants with what a DVC member is offering without confusing them with the "points" part of the equation.

This sounds very reasonable. However, I think it is too late. How does that old saying go? The "cat" is already out of the bag!

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Originally posted by Maistre Gracey
Okay.... I am trying to keep track....

Did you or did you not add your 2 cents here??? If you did, we are now up to 8 cents.

So far, the following posters have added 2 cents:

1) Tagrel
2) CarolMN
3) dianeschlicht

In full disclosure, I have no idea who is actually collecting everyone's 2 cents, nor do I know where everyone's 2 cents is being kept.

MG

I guess (with this post) I'm now up to 6 cents.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by Johnnie Fedora
I guess (with this post) I'm now up to 6 cents.

LOL! But we still didn't figure out who was collecting them!

Pam, that is a great idea, but I have to agree with Carol....It is probably a bit late for that to happen.

I have a question. Who decided on the rental price in the first place? Did it originate on this site, or was this going on before the DIS came along?

 

[anniet]

Did Maistre Gracey say he was renting his points for two-cents?

 

[Sheree]

i rented out points for the first time this year. I had banked points, thinking we'd use them for DCL. when the points came out they were outrageous. instead we decided to stay at SSR but I had to transfer points to my SIL for her to make the ressie (home resort) couldn't transfer the banked points, so now I was stuck! So i rented out 360 points. So far, so good. got paid, got the confirmations out, had good email "conversations" with everyone. Hoping noone tries to back out at a later date.

I don't think I would rent out on a regular basis but in this situation we needed to!!!

just my opinion

 

[bounceytigger]

Well, I guess I'll add my "brand-new DVC'er" 2 cents in, too! Although it's a different 2 cents than what's currently being collected on this thread... (Incidentally, I WILL add 2 cents to that running total, too.....I agree that the price of rented points should be more fluid! Don't know if that'll ever happen in reality, but it's a nice thought if someone wants to get that band-wagon rolling.!)

I personally am very glad that the rental option is out there for DVC'ers, simply because this is how I first came to even consider purchasing into DVC. I actually read about the concept of renting DVC points on a website when I was planning my family's trip for this Winter. It seemed like an interesting concept, and I soon ended up at the DIS website, perusing through the rent/trade board. It was after reading through several people's posts that I realized "Heck I don't just want to rent someone ELSE'S points to go to WDW this year, I want to own my OWN points to use every year!!"

In trying to convince my DH that buying into DVC was the ONLY way to go , the concept of occassionally being able to rent out points helped tremendously!! For people who've never bought into a "timeshare/vacation club" program before (i.e. ME, and my entire extended family!) there's a feeling that you're potentially signing your life away on a dotted line (okay, I'm exaggerating a bit)....but having this rental option out there gives a person a bit of breathing room and some level of comfort that they're not being sold on something that is "too good to be true". Personally, I don't plan on ever renting out my points--I want to use them ALL! But it's nice to know the option exists.

This all being said, it does seem like parameters ought to be in place to keep things in some kind of order--mainly to ensure that renters have a sense of responsibility to DVC property while they're visiting, and also to ensure that renters realize all they are getting is simply the "reservation", not all the other services.

I like Tagrel's thought, of checking out a renters DIS posts before renting to them!!

 

[crisi]

Although I've been part of the anti on "we should all charge more" in the past, things have changed. DVC points are more expensive now than they were and $10 is probably low now. Also, Disney is currently not having as much problems selling their own rooms - so there don't seem to be as many good codes and AP discounts.

But $10 per point is easy - its easy math. And for that reason alone it will probably stay around for a long time

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by dianeschlicht
...I have a question. Who decided on the rental price in the first place? Did it originate on this site, or was this going on before the DIS came along?

Well, since DVC was willing to buy back my first year's points at $10 a point, perhaps this is the source of this price level.

I have rented out my points at $10 and $11 a point, and rented points from others' for $10.15 and $10.50 a point (I'd love to rent MG's points for $0.02, as well). So now I've been on both sides of the transaction. I expect I am atypical tho.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Originally posted by crisi
But $10 per point is easy - its easy math. And for that reason alone it will probably stay around for a long time

OK I'm up to 8 cents now, but I think the person renting out their points could solve the above dilemma by adding a "$75.00 transaction fee" or a "premium resort fee" to all the rental transactions.

 

[JLS]

Whenever this topic comes up, there seems to be a post (or more) that argues that renting is bad because renters won't treat DVC resorts as well as owners because it is not "home" for them (someone above referenced the trash in the halls at BCV as an example). I don't think there is any basis for that at all. Many of the people who were once renters (me included) rent to check out DVC and then they become members. Others are people who are either friends or family of owners, or just people who would otherwise stay in a hotel who stumble across the renting option. There is no reason to think those people will trash villas any more than they would trash hotel rooms. There just seems to be a bias on this board against renters that I think is not based in any FACT.

That's my 2 cents! I totally agree with the posters who say that it is nice to have the option to rent points. We bought 300 points because once we have children we figure that's what we will need. But right now it is just the two of us and we stay about a week per year in a studio - we don't need 300 points right now. So it is nice to be able to rent, which we did this year to friends, to offset maintenance fees. I'm sure our friends will treat our "home" well!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Pam's idea about renting a reservation instead of the per point price should help the entire process. You know how we members always feel that DVC raised the weekend points so they wouldn't get used by locals for quick weekend get aways. Well, I'd say at least 90% of the requests on the Rent/Trade board are only looking for Sun-Thurs because of the higher weekend points.

The higher weekend points don't bother me, because we usually go for 8 or 9 nights and use our points for the entire stay. But I sometimes wonder if there are nights going unused because of all the people trying to avoid the higher point nights. Anyone know?

Now if we could just get some of the notorious point renters to reserve the seven day vacation instead of the 5 day vacation to sell on Ebay.