Vacation club points rental experience

[CHIPSTER]

Not sure this is the right board but looked at the DVC boards and did't find an appropriate board. Has anyone rented points and what was your experience? Thanks

 

[jjeanms]

I have rented points for the past ten years from the boards and have never had a bad experience. It always went smoothly and all the owners have been extremely helpful with any questions I've had. It's pretty easy, you just have to be willing to plan ahead and a little flexible. Usually you pay up front and there are no refunds but I have been able to stay at the deluxe resorts for half the price. Hope this was helpful.

 

[starry_solo]

You might want to check out the DVC portion of the boards. People are having issues due to the coronavirus

 

[Zife]

I rented for our last trip back in 2018 2017, and I'm looking at it again for later this year. I loved it, as it saved us a couple of thousand off of what it would have cost to book the same thing directly through Disney.

You definitely need to be a *lot* more flexible, since there are far fewer DVC rooms available than there are normal rooms. If you have your heart set on a specific Resort, you'll probably have to start with a bunch of dates in mind. If you're okay with any Resort, it won't be so difficult (and chances are that you'll get SSR).

Like @starry_solo mentioned, if you're looking at any time soon, make sure you confirm and modification & cancellation requirements with the person/company you're renting from.

If you're dealing with an individual, make sure you use a credit card and/or PayPal so that you get protection in case the person renting to you flakes. If using PayPal, use the "purchase" option when sending money as opposed to "send money to a friend" since sending money to a friend doesn't come with any protection.

Even though renting direct from a person can be more risky (not that I've ever read any horror stories, I'm sure they're out there), it's also usually cheaper. The going rate on websites (like DVC Request) is generally $19-20/point, whereas here on the boards, members often rent their points for $16-18/point.

 

[westie55]

I have rented points from David's several times and had wonderful experiences. However, even though agencies are trying to do right by their customers in light of the pandemic, DVC rental contracts are very clear that they are nonrefundable. Sometimes the owner has already spent the money they received or cannot get their points back. I would be very hesitant to rent points under the current circumstances. Covid 19 could take 18 months to resolve. Once the economy and Disney reopens (which could be months), it could close again. It is impossible to know what Disney's operational status will be at any time over the next 11 months, which is the furthest in advance you can rent points. I love renting points but for now (and maybe as a new normal), I will book directly through Disney to make cancellation or rescheduling MUCH easier.

 

[techman20]

I have rented points from David's several times and had wonderful experiences. However, even though agencies are trying to do right by their customers in light of the pandemic, DVC rental contracts are very clear that they are nonrefundable. Sometimes the owner has already spent the money they received or cannot get their points back. I would be very hesitant to rent points under the current circumstances. Covid 19 could take 18 months to resolve. Once the economy and Disney reopens (which could be months), it could close again. It is impossible to know what Disney's operational status will be at any time over the next 11 months, which is the furthest in advance you can rent points. I love renting points but for now (and maybe as a new normal), I will book directly through Disney to make cancellation or rescheduling MUCH easier.

In the past, I've had good experiences renting from David's. Stayed at Boardwalk, AKL, Bay Lake Tower, and Saratoga. Easy and saved a lot of money. Right now, I too would recommend being careful. I currently have a reservation through them for June that I fear may end up a loss. They are discussing credits for people affected by the closures, though not sure how those would work yet. And to be honest, I have some concern that they will even be able to stay afloat after this, especially if the closures last into June or July (or beyond). In normal times - recommended! Now - very risky.

Also, even if you wanted to attempt renting, they are so flooded with people affected by the closures that it will be a while before you will get through to anyone

 

[Deb & Bill]

The point brokers like David may be out of business after this COVID mess is straightened out. With Disney closing the parks and the resorts and a lot of members using expiring points to make reservations, there are a lot of people without reservations. You have to remember that DVC is a timeshare and members' points will expire after one year unless they banked them. They can only bank them once and then they will expire. If a member cancels less than 31 days out, the points used go into Holding and that means they cannot use those points to book anything other than 60 days out. By 60 days out, many resorts are booked up solid. Mid-Sept to mid-Jan is prime DVC owner time and it's hard to find anything left after seven months out when a member can use any resort points to book. From 11 to seven months out, they can only book their home resort.

However, if you are looking for the Rent/Trade Board on the DVC Boards, you need to be logged into the DIS to see it. It's there.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

PayPal so that you get protection

PayPal explicitly does not provide payment protection for timeshare rentals.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Not sure this is the right board but looked at the DVC boards and did't find an appropriate board. Has anyone rented points and what was your experience? Thanks

I rented through DVC Rental Store and it was a terrible experience. From now on, I will only reserve rooms directly through Disney, or through my travel agent when she can get me a good deal. But I will never rent DVC points again.

 

[westie55]

I rented through DVC Rental Store and it was a terrible experience. From now on, I will only reserve rooms directly through Disney, or through my travel agent when she can get me a good deal. But I will never rent DVC points again.

Was your terrible experience related to covid 19?

 

[Zife]

PayPal explicitly does not provide payment protection for timeshare rentals.

Good to know! Thank you!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I will add: You are making a trade for savings.

Timeshare owners trade a large up-front capital expenditure and a lack of flexibility for the savings of the timeshare, among other things.

Those who rent DVC are renting from timeshare owners. They are also making trades for savings:

• lack of flexibility
• need to plan well in advance - generally, 11 months out for the high season at Disney, which is fall for DVC, or at least 7 months out if they want any kind of options or a studio
• lack of ability to cancel
• lack of ability to change the booking
• no refund policies
• not generally knowing what the point usage roles for the points in use by the owner making the booking are

This last month, a lot of people who have blithely claimed that the inability to cancel or get refunds has never bothered them have found out what the trade looks like.

 

[sarahrdh]

I rented through DVC Rental Store and it was a terrible experience. From now on, I will only reserve rooms directly through Disney, or through my travel agent when she can get me a good deal. But I will never rent DVC points again.

also interested in what the terrible experience was. i am looking at them for a couple reasons over davids- 1. being they offer a point protection program which allows you to cancel for any reason (100% until you get into a 30 day window i believe offhand) and 2. they do not require you put money down just to check availability. i understand WHY davids does that, but i personally do not want to pay that just to check and see when i may or may not follow through. i want a quote and to know what availability is, bc im usually considering several options.

but I am not committing to anything until I see how all of this shakes out with the covid issues.


sorry for typos and bad punctuation. I blame it on the quarantine lol

 

[malissa99]

I’ve rented several times from owners. Of course there are drawbacks in exchange for the savings. You have to be certain of your dates and plan well ahead. No changing of reservation no cancellations for example. Renting points allows us to stay at deluxe resorts at the price of a moderate. Do your research and know what you’re getting into and if you can work with that it’s a great way to stay in deluxe resort.

 

[Afabena]

I rented points through David’s and have no complaints about the experience, but like others have mentioned I would be hesitant in this environment. With a broker you generally cannot be refunded if you need to cancel, and to get the resort and room category you need to book 11 months in advance. Before all of this happened I was planning to rent again in 2021, and while I still have some time to see how Covid plays out, I feel like for my peace of mind it might be better to book directly through Disney. I saved so much from renting, but it’s still a lot of money to lay out without the ability to get your money back if you need to cancel.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

We have rented numerous times from both companies mentioned. Prefer DVC request; quicker communication and no foreign transaction fees (David’s in Canada). This has allowed us to save some coin while experiencing many different resorts. Our preferred way to Disney. Like mentioned there is risk for the savings.