Reservations for friends

[rigsby25]

My daughter asked me Monday if I could make reservations for her sister-in-law at the Boardwalk for a 1 bedroom 11-22 / 11-24. I told her not to get her hopes up. Tuesday I called member services and got busy signals. The 407 number put me on hold for 20 minutes. So I went to the website and explained I wanted Boardwalk 1 br any view, Beach Club, or Old Key West - in that order. Guess what? She got Boardwalk Preferred view. WE have never been able to book into Boardwalk, and this is less than a month away! No one said anything about paying. If they ask, what should I say - considering this is practically family? It cost 48 points. But the thing is - I don't think these people appreciate the cash value of what they are getting. They were my daughters guests at Old Key West when she got married at Swan and Dolphin last year.

 

[rlovew]

I think I would have decided that before I called as you are now stuck with the reservation or the points go to holding if you don't agree on what they should pay.

My suggestion would be a regular but low rental rate of $10 a point.

The minimum I plan to accept from people whom I have not offered a reservation to is the additon of my point cost pre year- $2 for me as I bought at BLT added to the MF for the year. I would suspect that is getting close to $&-8 a point at most resorts now but I am not sure.

If they don't undedrstand the cash value than look it up on the website and have her tell them the cash amount from Disney and then say you will accept X amount for the room instead.

 

[rigsby25]

I went in to this thinking I might have to totally give this away at the request of my daughter. But since my husband is out of work - and if they do ask - I am looking for suggestions. You say 8.00 a point? So maybe 375.00 about? My daughter's sister-in-law is now part of our family and I want to be gracious.

 

[CarolMN]

The rack rate for a 1 bedroom villa for those nights is $510/night plus tax. That would be well over $1000 for two nights.

I think $500 is more than fair for those two nights. It's better than buy 1, get 1 free!

 

[Sandisw]

Have you asked your daughter if the subject of them paying came up when they asked about getting the reservation?


I think once you know, you can decide what to do. The only difficult thing at this point is that if you say you want a certain amount and they back out because they were not expecting to pay that much (or at all) you are stuck (either letting them go or having holding points).

Good luck!

 

[jamstew]

I haven't actually done this yet since the trip my cousins wanted to take a couple of years ago never got booked, but my plan was to charge $10 a point. I think that's more than fair, and I can't imagine that anyone wouldn't think you were being extremely gracious in giving up your points for them. That's a fraction of what the rack rate would be.

 

[lochbox]

Tell us what happens....

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

GOOD LUCK

 

[rigsby25]

I think I'll do this. My husband wanted 380, but my daughter thought that would be too much. Her sister in law DID e-mail and asked "how much do we owe you?". I'm going to reply that "points usually rent for 10.00 each, but seeing as how I was doing my daughter a favor, would $200.00 be too much? Mainly because my husband is out of work." Then I'll talk to my daughter about future reservations. You learn by living I guess.

 

[fkj2]

If you're unsure what to do, and since this is family, sort of, you could at the very least ask for the amount of the maintenance fees. You'd not be ahead of the game but you wouldn't be paying for someone else's vacation either.

 

[dzorn]

I would at minimum cover your MF. But I would also not have a problem charging $10 per point. I would also print out a CRO reservation amount to show them the price Disney charges. With your husband out of work you should not be paying for others vacations.

Denise in MI

 

[rigsby25]

Thanks everyone for your help. I promised my husband that the next time my daughter asks, I'll look up the point value and give a price before I call member services! And I've also talked to my daughter about the value of the reservation. I think all she saw was that we're not actually paying for the reservation. But yes, you are all right. This shouldn't have happened and won't again! I asked them for the 200.00.

 

[dzorn]

You might also mention to your daughter the cost of the MF and let her know for future reference that you cannot pay for others vacations.

Denise in MI

 

[TLSnell1981]

I think I'll do this. My husband wanted 380, but my daughter thought that would be too much.

Wow!! Do they realize the normal cost for a Villa? You were VERY generous with your time and points. I can't believe they would think $190 per night is too expensive.

Here's some You deserve some good karma for being so nice.

 

[jpeka65844]

We're doing this for friends on our trip January. They originally had 3 adults and 2 kids squeezed in to a value room at Pop for 4 nights. We're treating them to a 1BD at VWL for what they'd pay at Pop.

This is the whole reason we bought DVC; to share with family and friends. We're blessed in that (so far!) it's been nothing but awesome bringing other people along!

 

[DisneyBill]

This is the whole reason we bought DVC; to share with family and friends. We're blessed in that (so far!) it's been nothing but awesome bringing other people along!

Love this attitude!

 

[BroganMc]

Thanks everyone for your help. I promised my husband that the next time my daughter asks, I'll look up the point value and give a price before I call member services! And I've also talked to my daughter about the value of the reservation. I think all she saw was that we're not actually paying for the reservation. But yes, you are all right. This shouldn't have happened and won't again! I asked them for the 200.00.

My dad gets himself in that kind of quandary frequently. You have to be careful about the line between generosity and foolishness.

Shame on your daughter for thinking those points had no cost to you. Does she think money grows on trees? There's always a cost behind everything we do. It's just sometimes the cost is relatively minimal compared to how much we have at the moment.

Let this be a lesson to you. Next time (if there is to be a next time) don't be so quick to give away. If you have to train yourself to say "I'll look into it and get back to you." That simple response gives you time to research and save yourself from foolhardiness.

 

[rigsby25]

We're doing this for friends on our trip January. They originally had 3 adults and 2 kids squeezed in to a value room at Pop for 4 nights. We're treating them to a 1BD at VWL for what they'd pay at Pop.

This is the whole reason we bought DVC; to share with family and friends. We're blessed in that (so far!) it's been nothing but awesome bringing other people along!

We are really like that too. When we first toured SSR we were thinking "family reunion in a grand villa". We did get to do it and we didn't charge anyone and we put about 125.00 worth of staples in the fridge for everyone. But boy - when everyone got there - did we feel great! Since then, we have provided lodging for My daughter's wedding at Swan and Dolphin and also this last trip - 7 people in a van - 3 at SSR, 4 at AKV. We had a wonderful time and this couldn't have happened without DVC. I'm so glad you posted!

 

[DVCGeek]

I don't see anything wrong with asking someone to cover your costs (MF + purchase cost for what those points cost you) at all. If it weren't a timeshare, would there even be a question? When staying at a cabin we split the cost with the other couple once; there isn't any difference in my mind with DVC.

My parents have reimbursed us ~$1600 for a total of 9 nights in mixed SSR & BLT studios. Sorry I don't have the exact #s handy. They know we are still paying off the BLT loan and my dad basically gave us what he would have paid for a discounted room otherwise or maybe a bit less; win-win on both sides. Trying to work out exactly what we'll do w/ DW's parents for their 3 Feb. nights @ BLT. They are in a std. view studio and only using 45 points; but DW didn't want me to ask for a specific $ amount. I DID list out what CRO would charge for the room or something in the Contemporary for reference, so they have some idea of retail. They also asked what my parents usually give us.

Hope the $200 you mentioned works out well.

 

[BroganMc]

We are really like that too. When we first toured SSR we were thinking "family reunion in a grand villa". We did get to do it and we didn't charge anyone and we put about 125.00 worth of staples in the fridge for everyone. But boy - when everyone got there - did we feel great!

There's a difference in my mind between treating someone to a trip with you and treating them to a trip without you.

We take lots of people with us on trips. When we do we never ask for room fees. They pay their expenses (park tickets, airfare, etc.). If we decide to go out to eat somewhere, we cover them too. At most we'll split expenses in that we let them treat us to a meal sometime.

But letting someone else use our points instead of us? That gets self-defeating. If we had an overabundance of points and they might go into holding or otherwise distressed, then maybe. As it is, we use every last point for our own adventures.

I feel differently about our Marriott TS and rewards points. Those were infinitely cheaper to buy and maintain and we have an abundance of them.