Renting Points

[Noodleloaf]

I'm sorry if I've missed these facts in all of the wonderful guidance provided in these boards, but I'm looking to rent points for the first time and want to make sure that I have all of the details covered.

1) Are there taxes or other fees on top of the price per point paid to the owner? If so, are these paid to the owner or do we settle up when we check in.

2) Is the reservation made in the name of the DVC owner or the person renting the points? If the former, do we have to "make believe" that we are the owners during our stay?

Thanks from a newbie. I'm looking forward to being part of this community.

Dave

 

[Deb & Bill]

Depending on your agreement with the member, you will pay what they ask. If you decide to purchase the Disney Dining Plan with your vacation, you will pay that when you check in and not before. If you add any extra housekeeping services or phone calls or internet service (or whatever), you will pay for that when you leave.

The owner should put your name on the reservation and you should not have to pretend you are them.

Just remember, you are making an agreement with an individual and not with Disney. So if there are problems, Disney will not be involved in any way. The member fully controls the reservation until the moment you check in. You can't change the reservation, you cannot contact Member Services for any reason, you might not be able to cancel or modify the dates.

If you decide to go this route, make sure your dates are far enough in the future so that there might be availability. What you see on the WDW website is not what is available for members. Most members make their reservations 11 months ahead of time. Some reservations are nearly impossible to get for any less time than 11 months out - like BW view at BWV, standard view at BWV, AKV Concierge, grand villas.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[DMKEDM]

Hi...we wish you luck in your venture into the world of renting DVC reservations!

First--all financial considerations are totally between you and the owner from whom you rent...I've never heard of an owner tacking on fees (there is no tax on DVC reservations), but I suppose they could...one possiblity that comes to mind is that some owners use PayPal, which has a transaction fee, and some of these owners charge the renter an additional amount to cover that fee...others build in that fee in their price per point to rent.

Also, the owner has to add the dining plan and Magical Express--if you the renter want either or both of these programs--ME is free, but the DDP the is paid for at check-in. The renter pays Disney directly for the cost of the dining plan.

The reservation is made in the renter's name, and no the renter need not "pretend" to be an owner. Renting is perfectly legal and you can "admit" to being a renter--altho in my experience, the issue has never arisen. I'm an owner, but have been asked for my owner's m'ship card only when using a member-only perk (renting does not entitle you to use member perks)... the CMs at check-in simply do not ask if you're an owner or a renter, and it has never (in my experience) come up...I have taken guests, who stayed in separate villas, and they've never been asked if they're owners or guests (or renters) either...but there's not a problem w/admitting to being a guest or a renter should the question arise for whatever reason...

I guess one possibility that comes to mind are damage charges/fines...e.g., there's a fine for smoking in a non-smoking area (don't know the degree to which it's enforced), and owners are responsible for damages done to villas, whether it's the owner staying there/doing the damage, or their guests/renters...if you find yourself charged a fine because someone smoked in your villa, or if you cause damage to the property, then the fact that you're renting could well come up...I'm sure the owner will hold you responsible for either of these charges, but Disney will hold the owner responsible...so that is an issue you'll find discussed by the owner when you're discussing rental terms...

Bottom line to renting: Disney allows us owners to rent our points (so long as we don't make our rentals into a "commercial enterprise"), but stays completely out of the transactions. So all details of your rental agreement will be between you and the owner from whom you rent. Disney won't get involved if you have a problem, nor will they allow you to do any "owner-only" tasks yourself (the biggest one of which is making/confirming reservations--only your owner can do that; you cannot)...

Good luck. The vast majority of rentals seem to go smoothly and result in happy renters and happy owners--but do use some caution and do understand that you're dealing w/an individual, not a corporation...the individual stands to lose points if you back out of your rental agreement, and the the "pain-in-the-tail" factor of renting is such that some owners are simply unwilling to accommodate cancellations...just make sure you discuss all these details with your owner and get a feeling of trust and good will between you and you should be fine...

Pixie dust to you...

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just one more thing to add.

DVC is not thrilled with commercial renters, so they have stated in the past that they would cancel reservations made by commercial renters. They indicated this could be anyone making 20 reservations or more a year. This might be one more thing you would need to be concerned with.

 

[salmoneous]

To clarify one minor point:

The renter is only responsible for whatever price they negotiate with the owner. However, there are taxes on a DVC rental. The owner is responsible for paying them. I suspect most do not.

 

[Noodleloaf]

Thank you all for answering my questions. Because I am looking for a relatively small number of points (40) for a resevation this December at the Vero Beach Resort, I'm not sure that I will be successful. However, it will be good practice for our next visit to The World - probably June of 2009. It is very reassuring that the DISboards are populated with such wonderful people as you! Keep it magical!

Dave

 

[What-r-ya Goofy?]

As an add-on to this thread, would anyone care to elaborate on special conditions or concerns regarding renting a reservation that has been secured through Interval International?

Several people posted on a recent thread that it was "not allowed" for a reservation secured through Interval to be rented to a second party. I don't know anything about the whole Interval process for obtaining a DVC reservation, but it sounds like something that potential renters should know about, especially if it is against "the rules" to rent one of these types of reservations.

Any information that can be provided would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[Caskbill]

As an add-on to this thread, would anyone care to elaborate on special conditions or concerns regarding renting a reservation that has been secured through Interval International?

Several people posted on a recent thread that it was "not allowed" for a reservation secured through Interval to be rented to a second party. I don't know anything about the whole Interval process for obtaining a DVC reservation, but it sounds like something that potential renters should know about, especially if it is against "the rules" to rent one of these types of reservations.

Any information that can be provided would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

If someone owns a non-DVC timeshare, and exchanges it for a DVC timeshare through II, they may not then rent the DVC timeshare to another party. This is prohibited by the II rules.

Posting of such a rental is not allowed on the DIS Rent/Trade board either and is a violation of the DIS R/T board rules.

 

[What-r-ya Goofy?]

If someone owns a non-DVC timeshare, and exchanges it for a DVC timeshare through II, they may not then rent the DVC timeshare to another party. This is prohibited by the II rules.

Posting of such a rental is not allowed on the DIS Rent/Trade board either and is a violation of the DIS R/T board rules.

Is there a way to know if a reservation is through II? How would a non-DVC member know? Or, how could Disney or II find out that the reservation had been rented?

It seems that there is the potential for an unsuspecting renter to caught in the middle on one of these deals.

 

[OKW Mom]

Gentle Renters-please retain all Credit Card receipts for ANYTHING you pay the desk for.

4/04 I gave a 3BR at HHI to our daughter's Venture Crew. 4 adults and 12 teens had a whale of a time.

1 adult paid for a Kayak trip with his CC.

Entire Party checked out, came home and raved about the great fun.

Months later - I go to bank our points and get told we are "flagged". For what? MS isn't sure, starts looking (I am getting tense). AHHHHHH...it is a bill for a Kayak trip. I am wondering who did it (no name on the record). I do not know if it was my guests or billed to the wrong room.

I contact my fellow scout leaders and they have none of their receipts-they are going to go to their cc co. to get records. After a reasonable time we find the CC co. double processed the charge AND double credited, leaving a balance on HHI that Disney wanted me to pay.

Luckily they accepted his telephone call and a CC over the phone. It was uncomfortable and I knew these adults - would never want to go thru that with a stranger.

Have any renters ever included a refundable security deposit for damages?

 

[Plutofan]

To clarify one minor point:

The renter is only responsible for whatever price they negotiate with the owner. However, there are taxes on a DVC rental. The owner is responsible for paying them. I suspect most do not.

The rule is that the tax is paid by the tenants or guests in addition to the total amount of the rental. All owners and/or manangers of the faciliities have the responsibility to collect the tax from their tenants.

 

[Chuck S]

Is there a way to know if a reservation is through II? How would a non-DVC member know? Or, how could Disney or II find out that the reservation had been rented?

It seems that there is the potential for an unsuspecting renter to caught in the middle on one of these deals.

II exchanges are always for a full week or if the person renting to you for some reason insists upon their name remaining on the reservation, hose are certanily signs. Also (though I haven't used II) I'm pretty sure the written confirmations are different, unfortunately by the time you get to see the confirmation you have likely already invested some $$.