So many stripped resales…

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

What economic uncertainty? Just saw net resale inventory shrink by about 150 contracts the past couple weeks following the tax package. Anyone with kids just got $200 bonus per, big exemptions on OT/tips, and for businesses, immediate expensing on all equipment and capex retroactive to January. That’s going to be massive amount of stimulus unloaded by the private sector.

Foreign tourism may be down, but economies abroad are pretty stagnant basket cases. US is doing fine. And I just asked two fake not-Ai-but-everyone-insists-it’s-Ai a basic math question and got two different answers. Suffice to say these fears are waaay overblown and overhyped by snake oil tech salesmen.

The moderator has asked us not to get into political discussions so to be safe, I'm not going to respond to the general macroeconomic points, but based on what I'm personally seeing and hearing from being in senior leadership at two very different corporations (one giant multinational, the other a closely held company worth < $100mil, in two totally different industries), if I wanted to unload a timeshare in the next 12 months, I would absolutely be trying to sell it as swiftly as possible.

That's before you take into consideration what will happen to the DVC resale market IF Disney brings down the hammer on a few big renters... so, bringing us back on topic, that is why I would not strip a contract to (hopefully) make a few extra dollars per point.

 

[Genie+]

Exactly, I remember reading it and my shady radar going off

Yeah the broker is coaching people to avoid mentioning it’s a rental

Why the need if everything is 100% legit? It just serves to hide the cases of questionable activity. Otherwise why not stay above board and coach customers to simply say I am a guest of *** ***, without explicitly coaching the customer not to use the word Renter.

Maybe DVC should just make renters attest to having a contract in place as is required in our contracts, which would also bypass this coaching strategy. Most renters want a legit reservation, gotten through the proper means. And owners renting out points within reason would remain fine.

I think DVC should work to prevent exploiting a personal use system for financial gain because those patterns of use are detrimental to the intended membership - personal use owners. I have no problem with brokers being the middle man… as long as they aren’t trying to create safe haven for misuse.

 

[Girlstar30]

The moderator has asked us not to get into political discussions so to be safe, I'm not going to respond to the general macroeconomic points, but based on what I'm personally seeing and hearing from being in senior leadership at two very different corporations (one giant multinational, the other a closely held company worth < $100mil, in two totally different industries), if I wanted to unload a timeshare in the next 12 months, I would absolutely be trying to sell it as swiftly as possible.

That's before you take into consideration what will happen to the DVC resale market IF Disney brings down the hammer on a few big renters... so, bringing us back on topic, that is why I would not strip a contract to (hopefully) make a few extra dollars per point.

Agreed. What benefits some, does not benefit others and shouldn't be discussed as some are not feeling secure right now

 

[Girlstar30]

Yeah the broker is coaching people to avoid mentioning it’s a rental

Why the need if everything is 100% legit? It just serves to hide the cases of questionable activity. Otherwise why not stay above board and coach customers to simply say I am a guest of *** ***, without explicitly coaching the customer not to use the word Renter.

Maybe DVC should just make renters attest to having a contract in place as is required in our contracts, which would also bypass this coaching strategy. Most renters want a legit reservation, gotten through the proper means. And owners renting out points within reason would remain fine.

I think DVC should work to prevent exploiting a personal use system for financial gain because those patterns of use are detrimental to the intended membership - personal use owners. I have no problem with brokers being the middle man… as long as they aren’t trying to create safe haven for misuse.

My whole problem with renting from these brokers now is that as a repeat renter myself, I did not know that commercial renting was strictly against DVC's policy at the time of booking.

This is something I would have liked to know before making this purchase. Even though renting is allowed for owners who are mainly using their membership as intended, I have no idea if this owner i rented from is flagged for having more than 20 reservations, renting thousands of points on on Facebook, etc.

This puts me at risk of being out of a reservation and losing money. And a credit to use in the future isn't going to pay for travel expense etc. Its a risk i wouldnt want to take if informed.

Now that i signed a contract and im stuck, im being sent an email telling me play along with not being part of this owner's rental count and if its a large one thats an issue.

I am also a DVC member myself now and im not supposed to engage in commercial renting and by possibly renting from one, am I not unknowingly engaging in some form? I just wanted a room and to have a fun vacation . And with all this uncertainty id rather just not be part of it in any way.

I can see this being a real problem for the rental stores down the line.

 

[VGCgroupie]

This is exactly what the email says after you rent from dvc rental store:

"If asked during check-in, please refer to yourselves as a guest of **** ***, not a renter. Please note, Disney will have no record of any transaction regarding the DVC Rental Store. All of Disney's dealings have been done through ****.

Please be aware, check-in will be no different than any other regular resort stay. The reservation is in your name, so you will need to provide your name, a photo ID and a credit card to the Cast Member checking you in. Rarely, if ever, will the member's name come up."

I booked before all this hubbub lol. I think by telling you not to refer to yourself as a renter and that you should say you're a guest, is solidifying that being a renter could spell trouble with DVC, just my opinion or else why tell us that.

I dont see it this way. I give the board sponsor more grace than most here though. I see this as there is no need to mention it for various reasons, not all CM are all knowing about renting DVC points let alone the name DVC Rental Store and it could just become a very awkward unnecessary conversation.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I think it is possible that the broker sending the email thinks there's a chance of random "Wyndham style" crackdowns at some point later this year and is trying to protect its clients from being the unlucky recipients of such a crackdown... assuming that Disney is only going for the very lowest hanging most obvious fruit so trying to make it less likely it happens to their clients.

I wouldn't have thought this until we started seeing all the reports of random CMs telling people they can only rent to friends and family. What if they start percolating the same (extremely unfortunate and unfair) talking points to front desk employees--- "let them check in as long as they say they are a guest on personal use but if they so much as breathe the word rental they can't stay until they swear they know the owner personally"?

 

[Girlstar30]

I dont see it this way. I give the board sponsor more grace than most here though. I see this as there is no need to mention it for various reasons, not all CM are all knowing about renting DVC points let alone the name DVC Rental Store and it could just become a very awkward unnecessary conversation.

With all the confusion over renting and their own cm's not knowing what is allowed, I do see this as this being the possible reason as well.

Im not blaming the rental stores either tho as Sandi said, renting is allowed so why wouldnt they build a business about this.

Its just now with all the uncertainty and everyone saying something different, id just rather not rent from strangers until there's more clarity

 

[Genie+]

Please be aware, check-in will be no different than any other regular resort stay. The reservation is in your name, so you will need to provide your name, a photo ID and a credit card to the Cast Member checking you in. Rarely, if ever, will the member's name come up."

Cast Member making small talk at the front desk…

Me: Hold on… let me check the email from my broker for the proper response here

 

[Girlstar30]

Cast Member making small talk at the front desk…

Me: Hold on… let me check the email from my broker for the proper response here

Good Lord, when they ask who I am before handing them my ID I am going to put one hand over my heart and raise the other and proclaim, "I attest that I am using this for personal use only and am in line with the terms and conditions of the POS!"

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Exactly, I remember reading it and my shady radar going off

Before we became DVC members we rented once...and of course we ended up having issues with our room during our stay. I waited to say anything precisely because I remembered that exact line and was super paranoid that I was going to get everyone (including myself) in trouble! Eventually, my frustrations over the noise outweighed my anxiety around getting caught as a renter...but it does create an awkward situation all around IMHO.

 

[airjay75]

Yeah, the "say you're a guest" doesn't bother me at all. I think it prevents confusion more than anything else. And, given that they were including that in the e-mails before the latest brouhaha over commercial use, I'm not so sure they were trying to hide anything. Particularly with respect to the CMs that may be checking you in and are not well-versed in things DVC, some of them might be really confused if you say you're renting points.

And, having just rented through dvcrentalstore.com, I would have no qualms about recommending them or using them to either rent myself or rent out my points. The entire process was seamless, and I think renting through a broker gives you a lot of protection, particularly on the "guest" side of the transaction. Should your reservation get cancelled either by the member or by Disney cracking down on what they think is a commercial rental, the broker is going to have your back. They have a reputation to maintain (and if you're extra concerned, pay the extra fee to pay with a credit card, and then should you have a significant problem, you can always contest through your credit card).

 

[Girlstar30]

Yeah, the "say you're a guest" doesn't bother me at all. I think it prevents confusion more than anything else. And, given that they were including that in the e-mails before the latest brouhaha over commercial use, I'm not so sure they were trying to hide anything. Particularly with respect to the CMs that may be checking you in and are not well-versed in things DVC, some of them might be really confused if you say you're renting points.

And, having just rented through dvcrentalstore.com, I would have no qualms about recommending them or using them to either rent myself or rent out my points. The entire process was seamless, and I think renting through a broker gives you a lot of protection, particularly on the "guest" side of the transaction. Should your reservation get cancelled either by the member or by Disney cracking down on what they think is a commercial rental, the broker is going to have your back. They have a reputation to maintain (and if you're extra concerned, pay the extra fee to pay with a credit card, and then should you have a significant problem, you can always contest through your credit card).

I rented 4 resorts thru Davids in January and I have to say it was amazing and seamless and I was super greatful we got to stay at the prices we got to stay at.

Disney should also realize that people staying on rented points can actually bring them future DVC owners!

Although we were interested in DVC and that was the purpose of our stays, I truly dont think we would have bought if we didnt get a taste of the magic and we wouldnt have stayed at rack rates.

Granted we bought resale, but we are so happy with it that it was the gateway drug to our eventual direct purchase.

TBH, the boards are what is making me paranoid as I never even thought of this stuff before but with good reason! Disney doesn't shy away from exerting their rules and thats what makes me uncomfortable for the time being.

 

[Brian Noble]

Some of y’all are bending over backwards to find a reasonable explanation for “don’t tell anyone you are renting this stay.”

 

[VGCgroupie]

Yeah, the "say you're a guest" doesn't bother me at all. I think it prevents confusion more than anything else. And, given that they were including that in the e-mails before the latest brouhaha over commercial use, I'm not so sure they were trying to hide anything. Particularly with respect to the CMs that may be checking you in and are not well-versed in things DVC, some of them might be really confused if you say you're renting points.

And, having just rented through dvcrentalstore.com, I would have no qualms about recommending them or using them to either rent myself or rent out my points. The entire process was seamless, and I think renting through a broker gives you a lot of protection, particularly on the "guest" side of the transaction. Should your reservation get cancelled either by the member or by Disney cracking down on what they think is a commercial rental, the broker is going to have your back. They have a reputation to maintain (and if you're extra concerned, pay the extra fee to pay with a credit card, and then should you have a significant problem, you can always contest through your credit card).

Agree 100%

Edit to add: I love that you have used the word brouhaha more than once recently.

 

[Brian Noble]

Just this side of a donnybrook.

 

[Girlstar30]

I booked before all this hubbub lol. I think by telling you not to refer to yourself as a renter and that you should say you're a guest, is solidifying that being a renter could spell trouble with DVC, just my opinion or else why tell us that.

Agree 100%

Edit to add: I love that you have used the word brouhaha more than once recently.

I think hubbub should get some love too

 

[Girlstar30]

Just this side of a donnybrook.

You know i love me some donnybrooking (yes I googled that word before posting )

 

[MyDogTink]

Disney should also realize that people staying on rented points can actually bring them future DVC owners!

Very true. I was on the elevator at BLT in June talking with a man who said they usually do DCL but rented points this trip and were considering buying into DVC.

 

[eticketplease]

About that.......

"When a Club Member uses Home Resort Vacation Points to reserve Vacation Homes on behalf of a Guest, and the Club Member does not charge any rental or other fees to the Guest for the reservation, then the Guest may be eligible for all or some of the Club Member privileges and benefits that a Club Member would normally receive during the Club Member’s stay in the reserved Vacation Home. If the Guest is renting, it is the responsibility of the Member to notify Member Services when making the reservation. Member privileges and benefits cannot be extended to Guests who rent Vacation Homes from Club Members."

There used to be a check box years ago that you would check designated this person is not a dvc member. I assume this was for this clause and wonder if that box was checked if it would restrict people staying in studios from the laundry back when the rooms were actually keyed.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

"If asked during check-in, please refer to yourselves as a guest of **** ***, not a renter. Please note, Disney will have no record of any transaction regarding the DVC Rental Store. All of Disney's dealings have been done through ****.

Ah, we’ve reached the “telling your customers to lie” part of the story. Things are going swimmingly!

Definitely don’t understand then its purpose because renting is allowed.

It doesn’t seem like DVC Rental Store is quite so sure about that.