Renting reservation questions - pls help!

[divemistress]

Anyone with experience, pls help. I'm planning on renting a reservation (as the renting non-member) but am very afraid of being taken for a ride. What is an acceptable deposit because the person is asking 50%. If the member makes a reservation 6 months in advance and wants to cancel within one week, is there any penalty? If not, I don't see why 10% is not adequate for a deposit with another 40% immediately after the confirmation of reservation is sent.
This person wants 50% upfront and 50% in two weeks time.
Also, can the Member go and cancel the reservation right after I paid them and I would never know any better until I call the hotel before the trip to confirm?
Any other tips are welcome. I've followed all the advice about checking them out and there are two people by the same name living in different states. The one that holds the deeds lives in a different state than the one who has the email address that I'm corresponding with! Not sure what to make of that! Help!

 

[cvjw]

Before we purchased DVC, we rented points a couple of times. The procedure was 50% up front, and 50% after the confirmation was received. Everything worked out fine for us, but there is an uncertainty to the process. We were able to stay in very nice resorts for the prices of moderate resorts, so we were willing to rent the points.

 

[Deb & Bill]

It sounds like you know nothing about DVC and don't understand the points requirements. Half to make the reservation is not unusual.

If you are that concerned about being taken, you need to rent directly from Disney and not from a member.

If you are talking about Spring Break time, that is very popular and the member needs to make that reservation now. They are just as concerned about you backing out and not paying. And then they are stuck with a reservation that they cannot use.

 

[lark]

Also, can the Member go and cancel the reservation right after I paid them and I would never know any better until I call the hotel before the trip to confirm?

Pretty much. I'm not even sure you can call the resort before the trip to confirm. There's no real way to be certain until you have the key cards in your hand. Once you get under 30 days and have the reservation in your name, you're in pretty good shape since the cancelation policies get pretty difficult at that point, but even then, the DVC Member could still cancel out from under you.

That said, I think the far bigger risk is the amount of up front money you are asked to pay. Once you have a confirmation in your name, if you have personal details about the renter like the their address and phone number, you can hound them like crazy if they cancel the reservation out from under you. At that point, at least relatively speaking, you're somewhat safe. You know that the person is a real DVC member. If they post here on the disboards with a decent post total, you have the power to expose them and slam them, etc.

The far greater risk is that you'll send up front money to someone that doesn't even have a DVC account and is just going to swindle your up front money. There are a number of ways to deal with this -- one is to get a copy of their deed along with some other assurance that the person you are speaking to really is the person on the deed. Another is to get other rental referrals from them and talk to those people. Another is to request that when they call for your reservation you get to be on the phone. Anyone demanding a large up front payment that is not willing to do some or all of this should probably be avoided unless they give a very good reason. It's just not worth the risk, and there are others renting points.

Whether 50 percent is a fair deposit or not depends somewhat on the circumstances. I personally think it's a bit too much in most circumstances, although it certainly is common. If the person must bank or borrow points to make your reservation, those are final transactions, and in that case I think a higher up front payment is warranted.

 

[schatterjee]

Does the owner offer a contract? Do they have any references? Those are things that might make you feel more comfortable. When we have rented our points I have asked for 50% once the reservation is made and the balance at 90 days out. I often feel that the renter is taking the bigger leap of faith. Having a lot of posts here would also make me feel more comfortable which I hate to use as criteria because I don't have many - I'm a lurker!

We've had nothing but great experiences - good luck!

 

[Big Kid]

I read somewhere that paying a DVC member for a reservation via PayPal offers some protection in the event of fraud. My impression is that if PayPal is paid via credit card, the credit card holder can instruct the credit card company to withhold or reverse payment if the purchased good or service is not delivered.

Note that I'm not an attorney and have no firsthand experience with this scenario. Anyone else have knowledge or experience in this area?

 

[Deb & Bill]

I read somewhere that paying a DVC member for a reservation via PayPal offers some protection in the event of fraud. My impression is that if PayPal is paid via credit card, the credit card holder can instruct the credit card company to withhold or reverse payment if the purchased good or service is not delivered.

Note that I'm not an attorney and have no firsthand experience with this scenario. Anyone else have knowledge or experience in this area?

Many DVC members do not use PayPal because they don't like it for the very fact you mention. The renter can decide they don't want to pay and they dispute the charge with PayPal.

 

[lark]

I often feel that the renter is taking the bigger leap of faith. Having a lot of posts here would also make me feel more comfortable which I hate to use as criteria because I don't have many - I'm a lurker!

I tend to agree with you. Trust is needed on both sides. I've frequently rented timeshares, and you get to a point where you know what you know and you get a sense of things. Maybe I've just been lucky and I'll get burned one of these days.

Now, as a DVC owner, I may change my perspective a bit since I'm sure I'll be renting points at some point. But I doubt, for example, I'm likely to ask for a 50 percent deposit before making a reservation for current use year points that I can simply cancel. (Banking and borrowing would be different.) Heck, if DVC owners are able to command $12 per point, get 50 percent deposits, and get cash instead of taking paypal, more power to them. It seems to me that with millions more points entering the DVC system every year, and renters getting more sophisticated, finding the right match and looking for ways to give good potential customers like the OP some assurance about how to rent safely is not such a bad idea. Obviously, JMHO. A deadbeat renter or two could change my mind quickly.

 

[dismagiclover]

You can use this link to confirm that your DVC reservation exists. Granted though, the member can cancel the reservation at anytime. I've rented points and have always had a good experience.

http://mydisneyreservation.com/dvc

 

[been2marceline]

Pretty much. I'm not even sure you can call the resort before the trip to confirm.

I just talked to MS yesterday about this, they said that the resort won't get the information about the reservation until about a week before - so it would be hard to confirm independently to the resort itself.

If the purchaser has any concerns - they can insist that they be given the right - in the agreement - to do a conference call, that they initiate to Member Services, at any time along with the owner, to get a verbal confirmation from MS that all is well, up to the day before the reservation goes into "penalty".

Of course the owner can always try and screw the purchaser afterwards - but then the points are in a degraded status - so the buyer does have some hold over the owner.

 

[been2marceline]

Many DVC members do not use PayPal because they don't like it for the very fact you mention. The renter can decide they don't want to pay and they dispute the charge with PayPal.

I don't think it makes a difference - if the payment is made and the reservation s used by the renter, I don't see how a dispute could go through. As long as the contract is accurate in describing what the renter is receiving, it should be sufficient to stand up to PayPals' dispute process.

Did I miss something?

 

[divemistress]

It sounds like you know nothing about DVC and don't understand the points requirements. Half to make the reservation is not unusual.

If you are that concerned about being taken, you need to rent directly from Disney and not from a member.

Astute observation...that is why I have tapped in to the collective resources offered here in order to inform myself and make a wise decision.
Thank you for all the advice from everyone! I just wanted to get a feel for what other people do with deposits to know what is fair and how it works on the members end according to the regulations for booking.

 

[divemistress]

By the way, someone mentioned paypal and protection. Was reading their policy yesterday and, unless I'm mistaken, this is what I gathered:
It does not offer buyer/seller protection for a transaction of a rental reservation. If you read the fineprint for paypal, you'll see it deliniates that for non-eBay purchaces, there is limited coverage but the item of transaction must be tangeable and shippable. Renting accommodations is not covered.
Correct me if I'm wrong. It would be nice to have some buyer protection!

 

[been2marceline]

You can use this link to confirm that your DVC reservation exists. Granted though, the member can cancel the reservation at anytime. I've rented points and have always had a good experience.

http://mydisneyreservation.com/dvc

It doesn't look like this URL works for DIsneyland DVC - The Grand Californian isn't listed. Anyone know?

 

[Chuck S]

It doesn't look like this URL works for DIsneyland DVC - The Grand Californian isn't listed. Anyone know?

Does the Anaheim resort allow online check-in for cash reservations? If not, I would assume the link for DVC also would not work.

 

[Chuck S]

Divemistress,

In truth, there is no absolute protection in a rental transaction. There is trust required on both sides of the equation. You must trust the owner not to cancel your reservation. the owner must trust you not to trash the room or leave a room charge balance for which they would be held responsible.

Renting isn't something everyone is comfortable with, those that must have guarantees have the option of renting through Disney. Those owners that are not comfortable with renting simply choose not to rent.

 

[been2marceline]

By the way, someone mentioned paypal and protection. Was reading their policy yesterday and, unless I'm mistaken, this is what I gathered:
It does not offer buyer/seller protection for a transaction of a rental reservation. If you read the fineprint for paypal, you'll see it deliniates that for non-eBay purchaces, there is limited coverage but the item of transaction must be tangeable and shippable. Renting accommodations is not covered.
Correct me if I'm wrong. It would be nice to have some buyer protection!

Dang - I never saw that part - we've been using it for our other rental properties, but we've never had an issue.

I guess there is no way to completely remove the trust factor.

 

[kimberh]

I would ask for references! That will tell you volumns. I rent, I have wonderful families, and I receive 50% down then the balance 90 days before travel. I give 3 references, that has always helped with someone's trusts issues.

 

[Sammie]

Use of Paypal is strickly for convenience it offers no protection at all.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Does the owner offer a contract? Do they have any references? Those are things that might make you feel more comfortable. When we have rented our points I have asked for 50% once the reservation is made and the balance at 90 days out. I often feel that the renter is taking the bigger leap of faith. Having a lot of posts here would also make me feel more comfortable which I hate to use as criteria because I don't have many - I'm a lurker!

We've had nothing but great experiences - good luck!

I tend to agree with you. Trust is needed on both sides. I've frequently rented timeshares, and you get to a point where you know what you know and you get a sense of things. Maybe I've just been lucky and I'll get burned one of these days.

There are four very important elements to renting a ressie. A contract, trust, references and good communication.

I don't remember the details when I rented, but it seems like I paid a 25% down, 25% when the ressie was confirmed and the balance before the banking window expired.

Good luck! My renting experience was positive and we became DVC members as a result.