Renting risks? pls explain

[anyssa]

Ive read many of the FAQs and stickys about renting points, but still not sure what ensures that the owner doesnt change my reservation after ive made a initial payment. If a renter sends me a confirmation with my name when i make the first payment, cant the owner still change the reservation name subsequently? Is there ever a chance that i show up at check in and find that i dont have a reservation? Espec if i cant call disney directly to confirm?
Would appreciate any feedback. I worried about showing up with my very young children only to find out we dont have a room!! thanks so much.

 

[crisi]

Ive read many of the FAQs and stickys about renting points, but still not sure what ensures that the owner doesnt change my reservation after ive made a initial payment. If a renter sends me a confirmation with my name when i make the first payment, cant the owner still change the reservation name subsequently? Is there ever a chance that i show up at check in and find that i dont have a reservation? Espec if i cant call disney directly to confirm?
Would appreciate any feedback. I worried about showing up with my very young children only to find out we dont have a room!! thanks so much.

The owner can still cancel. There is no guarantee you wont show up and have no reservation (and money in the hands of someone who cheated you). Perhaps thousands of rental transactions occur each year on this site, and the VAST majority of them go well, but it takes trust - which is one of the reasons its a great deal.

 

[msabol01]

The simply answer is that there is absolutely no assurance.

Rentals are successful because of several reasons. Most people are trustworthy, both parties do their due dilligence, written contracts are detailed to cover most situations, and there is good communications between renter and owner.

There are plenty of tips on here to help minimize your risk, but at the end of the day, there is an element of trust involved.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just one reason why you need to get to know the person you are renting the reservation from. Treat the owner as a person you want to continue to know - get a telephone number, address, full name. And offer your's as well.

Some people say to do a three way call, but that could still be faked by someone who is unethical. Find someone you are comfortable with, it may even cost you a bit more to find that right person.

But when it comes down to it, if you just can't feel safe about it, make your reservations directly through Disney.

 

[disneynutz]

Ive read many of the FAQs and stickys about renting points, but still not sure what ensures that the owner doesnt change my reservation after ive made a initial payment. If a renter sends me a confirmation with my name when i make the first payment, cant the owner still change the reservation name subsequently? Is there ever a chance that i show up at check in and find that i dont have a reservation? Espec if i cant call disney directly to confirm?
Would appreciate any feedback. I worried about showing up with my very young children only to find out we dont have a room!! thanks so much.

If you are a worried type of person then I wouldn't rent. You each have to be comfortable with each other or it won't work.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Just think of it this way....There are risks for the owner who is renting to you as well. They could go through all the trouble of making your reservations, and then you don't make your final payment and because of the date, they might be totally out their points with no means of banking or receiving further payment for the points they thought they had rented. Or....you could trash the place or neglect to pay a room charge, and they could have a hold put on their points and be unable to use them until THEY paid your bill. These are extremes, but I point them out to show that the trust is definitely a two way street. It's one of the reasons I don't rent my points out.

 

[Coach81]

Both parties have the chance to be taken advantage of when you rent points.

Good luck with it.

 

[crisi]

If you are a worried type of person then I wouldn't rent. You each have to be comfortable with each other or it won't work.

I agree with this in that when I worry about something, I create a LOT of stress - planning a vacation is stressful enough - and there are plenty of other options to get to Disney for as cheap as renting DVC. Renting gives you a lot of benefits at a great price, but for me the stress of getting those benefits isn't worth it - I'd rather stay offsite for the same amount of money (or less - Skyauction frequently has great deals on condos - with less risk than the private transaction that happens here).

 

[JimMIA]

As Crisi said above, I think it's important to remember that thousands of these rentals occur every year with no problems. We have a "lumpy pillow rule" here on the DIS, which means that the slightest deviation from "magical" gets reported here.

In all the time there have been rentals on the DIS, I only know of two people who actually cheated anyone out of their money...and one of those was possibly not intended to be a fraud. One of those people had several victims; the other only had one victim that I know of. I have also heard of one situation where a DVC owner was defrauded by a renter.

The more serious risk, IMHO, is one or both parties just not understanding what they are doing. That can ruin a vacation or business transaction just as thoroughly as fraud, and it occurs much more frequently.

If you haven't already read it, here's a link to a very good thread started by Disnyfanatic a couple of years ago: DVC Point Rental Primer

I also agree with those who say if you are not comfortable with the risk inherent in DVC rentals, call CRO and make a cash ressie. There is some risk. Whether that risk is too much for your comfort, only you can tell.

 

[WaltEeyoreWorld]

There are always risks on both sides but you should have a contract with the rights of both parties clearly described and you should always check references or if not available, get real information like phone number, permanent address, etc. We started renting points a few times this year and when the transactions went smooth and for a good number of points, we sent those guests flowers to their resort thanking them. The goal is that if we ever need to rent out point again in the future, we will ask those first if they need points before "dialing" them out.