What would you do? Renter wants to cancel.

[Marionnette]

Chat option. No problem. I changed lead guest easily in less than ten minutes.

When was the last time you were even able to use chat? It seems to be offline more than it is on lately.

 

[Sandisw]

Chat option. No problem. I changed lead guest easily in less than ten minutes.

Except chat is not always available these days. So it’s not as simple as it once was. Took me a few days of logging in frequently to get someone via chat.

 

[Thumper99]

When was the last time you were even able to use chat? It seems to be offline more than it is on lately.

About 9:30 this morning. Got in right away when I logged in to my DVC account. I’ve used it many times for the last two trips. I guess I’ve been lucky

 

[Marionnette]

About 9:30 this morning. Got in right away when I logged in to my DVC account. I’ve used it many times for the last two trips. I guess I’ve been lucky

I think you have been. You must have the magic touch.

 

[Judique]

About 9:30 this morning. Got in right away when I logged in to my DVC account. I’ve used it many times for the last two trips. I guess I’ve been lucky

You've been lucky. I've been logging in every day and haven't seen it working in months.

 

[Thumper99]

You've been lucky. I've been logging in every day and haven't seen it working in months.

Come to think of it I have been logging in on my MacBook not my phone.

You've been lucky. I've been logging in every day and haven't seen it working in months.

this is really weird. I’ve logged in multiple times today on different devices and in two different accounts (mine and my sisters) and every time I got the option to chat. One time it said email only and I refreshed and chat popped up. I sure hope I’m just hitting it at the right time and it’s not one of those stupid website /particular members issues. That would be crazy and just plain wrong.

 

[robinb]

The reason I asked this question is that in past I have used both the friends and family option and the invoice option. The funds showed up immediately for me in both cases. Maybe it has something to do with where the payee is transferring the funds from for the payment as to how soon it shows up?? Just a guess or maybe I've just been lucky?

The Friends and Family option is free to both of you, but the renter can only use a PayPal balance or a bank account. The invoice option allows renters to use credit cards, but you are changed a PayPal fee. I've had many renters who insist on an invoice so they can use their credit card and I calculate the fees into their total.

Frankly, this renter sounds like a PITB. I don't think I would want to deal with them any longer for the current reservation and I know I wouldn't want to deal with them for a future reservation. I would let them out of the contract and refund them everything except their PayPal fees. You can cancel with no penalty from DVC and you have nearly 11 months to re-rent your points.

 

[Judique]

Come to think of it I have been logging in on my MacBook not my phone.

this is really weird. I’ve logged in multiple times today on different devices and in two different accounts (mine and my sisters) and every time I got the option to chat. One time it said email only and I refreshed and chat popped up. I sure hope I’m just hitting it at the right time and it’s not one of those stupid website /particular members issues. That would be crazy and just plain wrong.

Saw this email - checked and chat was available! Since I called yesterday and got attended to, I had nothing to chat about.

That's the first time I've seen it in ages.

 

[DVC Doctor]

I would also add that if you DO offer to rebook,who’s to say they won’t ask for another change again down the line? I agree I’d say sorry you signed a contract. If you give an inch they may take a mile and that honestly isn’t really fair. I’d say as long as there’s no chance of losing the money you MAYBE offer one adjustment but otherwise it’s a final transaction. And I’ve rented and I know the risk 100% and the rules of holding points so I would understand the consequences.

Again, not to beat a dead horse, but this is not "have a magical day" customer service experience and this is not what I would want to hear from a DVC owner after spending perhaps thousands of dollars on a rental. How about just charging for your time (pick a number $20 per hour, $50 per hour, $100 per hour) and take that off the top rather than forcing someone to lose 100% of their money (perhaps $1,000 or more). NOBODY is trying to take a mile from anyone. This is simply a renter that had a change of plans (perhaps a medical reason) or something else. Again, other than covid this past year, it is RARE for renters to want to cancel or change a reservation, but it does happen on occasion. There needs to be a FAIR system for renters to change within the DVC availability and rules rather than people taking such a HARD line no-change attitude. Just offer changes for a service charge so you feel like you are not giving them a mile.

Frankly, this renter sounds like a PITB. I don't think I would want to deal with them any longer for the current reservation and I know I wouldn't want to deal with them for a future reservation. I would let them out of the contract and refund them everything except their PayPal fees. You can cancel with no penalty from DVC and you have nearly 11 months to re-rent your points.

I actually think this is the most generous offer of all....BRAVO. That is someone I would want to rent from. I personally would not refund any money until I was able to re-rent the points.

 

[ScubaCat]

as soon as the funds are in my PayPal account I transfer them to my bank account. This leaves the PayPal account balance at zero, so neither the renter or PayPal can access the funds.

Not true, unless you empty your bank account, too, and are prepared to never use PayPal again... And even then the bank could overdraw your account and you'd even be on the hook for that penalty on top of everything else going south. PayPal will absolutely pull back the funds if a dispute gets resolved in favor of the payor. Their ToS is pretty clear on that and I've seen it done once in person. (not to me, fortunately)

 

[robinb]

I actually think this is the most generous offer of all....BRAVO. That is someone I would want to rent from. I personally would not refund any money until I was able to re-rent the points.

The OP rented with points that have 11 months to go and those points are not distressed in any way. They will be able to rent them with zero problems. I would simply cut the fish off the hook and not look back. It’s not worth my time or energy to string them along, even to book someone else. Is what the renter is right? Heck no. They are jerks. Because of that I would prefer they were someone else’s problem.

 

[DVC Doctor]

The OP rented with points that were 11 months old and those points are not distressed in any way. They will be able to rent them with zero problems. I would simply cut the fish off the hook and not look back. It’s not worth my time or energy to string them along, even to book someone else. Is what the renter is right? Heck no. They are jerks. Because of that I would prefer they were someone else’s problem.

I think you mean 1 month old points (i.e. 11 months to go before they expire) and there is a possibility they can be banked to next year, so they are valuable non-distressed points.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Ok, so we own a lot of points but have never rented them out. I am the kind of person who avoids trouble and confrontation, so even though you should hold the renter to the contract, I would just give them their money back as long as you can get your points back without restriction and have plenty of time to use them. I definitely would not offer to reschedule them for a later date because then you really will lose your points if they try to back out. I think you are better off not dealing with someone who does not respect rules or your time and that this type of person will only cause more problems for you. If you go this route, you definitely want to be sure that you make clear to the renter that you are refunding as a sign of goodwill and have them sign something acknowledging this and that they received their money back.
I just read another post and agree take out PayPal fees and maybe fees for your time although you should have them sign something allowing you to do that.

 

[robinb]

I think you mean 1 month old points (i.e. 11 months to go before they expire) and there is a possibility they can be banked to next year, so they are valuable non-distressed points.

Thats what I meant . I edited my post to make it clear. Thanks!

 

[ScubaCat]

Ok, so we own a lot of points but have never rented them out. I am the kind of person who avoids trouble and confrontation, so even though you should hold the renter to the contract, I would just give them their money back as long as you can get your points back without restriction and have plenty of time to use them. I definitely would not offer to reschedule them for a later date because then you really will lose your points if they try to back out.

This was my thinking during my recent rental (using a broker, and the only time I've ever rented out points so far). The renter rented right at 11 months out (early February 2020) then tried to back out less than 2 months prior in November 2020. They obviously got nervous about travelling during covid, which I understand, but that gave me no time to bank the points so I had to simply decline. I feel bad they're probably out $1200 for nothing, but those are the breaks. Had they requested to cancel over the summer or even early fall, I may have been able to accommodate.

I realize that even last spring/summer we didn't exactly realize how long this situation would drag on, but you still have to be more proactive than that with things like this, IMHO, and the burden *definitely* isn't on me to eat the loss.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

This was my thinking during my recent rental (using a broker, and the only time I've ever rented out points so far). The renter rented right at 11 months out (early February 2020) then tried to back out less than 2 months prior in November 2020. They obviously got nervous about travelling during covid, which I understand, but that gave me no time to bank the points so I had to simply decline. I feel bad they're probably out $1200 for nothing, but those are the breaks. Had they requested to cancel over the summer or even early fall, I may have been able to accommodate.

I realize that even last spring/summer we didn't exactly realize how long this situation would drag on, but you still have to be more proactive than that with things like this, IMHO, and the burden *definitely* isn't on me to eat the loss.

Absolutely, I would have done the same thing. If the points are beyond the banking date, I would hold the renter to the contract. At that point you lose more than the rental. Since reading a lot about other people’s experiences, I would also be sure to tell the renter upfront if there is no wiggle room. I would not tell them if there is because I would not want to encourage them to bail! But if the points are close to the banking deadline I would tell them this and emphasize that the contract is absolutely final before they sign. But that’s just my 2cents!

 

[DVC Doctor]

This was my thinking during my recent rental (using a broker, and the only time I've ever rented out points so far). The renter rented right at 11 months out (early February 2020) then tried to back out less than 2 months prior in November 2020. They obviously got nervous about travelling during covid, which I understand, but that gave me no time to bank the points so I had to simply decline. I feel bad they're probably out $1200 for nothing, but those are the breaks. Had they requested to cancel over the summer or even early fall, I may have been able to accommodate.

I realize that even last spring/summer we didn't exactly realize how long this situation would drag on, but you still have to be more proactive than that with things like this, IMHO, and the burden *definitely* isn't on me to eat the loss.

I agree that you do not owe them a cash refund, but what happened to the points or reservation, did the room get taken out of inventory and never filled or did you cancel and get the points back. At least you could have offered to rebook them for any available date up until the points expire as it is relatively easy to make online modifications to existing reservations.

I would tell them this and emphasize that the contract is absolutely final before they sign. But that’s just my 2cents!

Hmmmm, here we go back to the "Contract" issue again and so far, I have not spoken or heard from any owner or renter where a dispute ended up in a real court to be settled by a judge or jury, so we really can't assume that just because you have a contract, you will be the winner in a disputed arraignment.

I personally prefer to help solve problems rather than end up in court where nothing is ever a certain outcome.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

DVC requires owners use contracts to rent. There is no shame in naming your terms. The renter can agree or go elsewhere for a deal.

There is also no shame in holding to legal and agreed upon terms.

 

[DougEMG]

In my contract I allow the renter to rebook at a different time or have me re-rent out the points they rented and refund that amount.

I've had one renter that due to COVID rebooked a year later, where I ended up cancelling the original reservation, banking the points and then making them a new booking. They were happy with that.

I've also had one renter that had to cancel on short notice because of a medical emergency and I was able to rent out their reservation but at a couple $/point less. So they got like 80% of their money back. They were happy with that.

I did have one renter that cancelled, wanted their money back and wanted to disregard the contract. I sent them their money back, and just re-rented my points. I was happy to be rid of them!

So while having a contract is useful so that renters know what their options are, I still think it is useful to look at each case individually and see what can be done; of course taking into account the DVC rules around cancellation, banking, booking, etc.

 

[ScubaCat]

I agree that you do not owe them a cash refund, but what happened to the points or reservation, did the room get taken out of inventory and never filled or did you cancel and get the points back. At least you could have offered to rebook them for any available date up until the points expire as it is relatively easy to make online modifications to existing reservations.

I agreed to allow the broker to rebook with another renter if they could match it up, but they weren't able to. Unfortunately, for this situation, I have a February use year, so cancelling a January reservation mid-November leaves no real time to rebook. The best bet is to try and re-rent the existing booking. Some of the points were already banked, too, so even an exception to the banking deadline wouldn't have helped.

As far as I know, the room sat empty.