Why I will never rent again....life happens!

[addiedisney]

I have had great experiences with renting points before, but now I know why I NEED to finally become a member and not rent points again.

We rented from a very nice family, we were booked for a week at SS, then my husband had something come up at work and we could not go during that time. The owner was so nice and let me sell the reservation to another family except two nights worth of points.

We rebooked those points for a trip in March and got two nights at BLT magic kingdom view and booked free dining for the rest of the trip. My parents decided they wanted to go, so we decided to give them the two nights at BLT and they got another room for the rest of their stay.

Now unfortunately, my Dad just got very sick and is in the hospital. They called last night to say it did not look like they would make it. We already used frequent flyer miles for their airfare and will lose those tickets. At this point, I really don't care, I just want my Dad to get better.

So, we are now two weeks away from our trip and we have two rooms. Because we have free dining, I'm not sure it make much sense to cancel our hotel reservation for two nights because we would have a $200 cancelation fee and then lose the dining.

I can't write back the owner and ask if I could sell those nights, I would feel so bad if she had to call in AGAIN and change the name. I guess it's just the risk you take with renting and I'm done with it. At least if I owned the points I could call in and try to bank them or sell the reservation. Now I'm just out around $500.

Thanks for letting me vent.....

PS...anyone have any idea what they would do with this extra room? Do I dare call back the owner and tell her if I sell the reservation for her and she changes the name that I would split the $ with her, trying to make it as simple as possible?

 

[disneynutz]

You need to realize that owning has it's own rules and restrictions that may cause you to lose points also. Canceling a reservation 2 weeks before check in will cause the points to go into holding which has additional restrictions.

Bill

 

[addiedisney]

Thanks. Good to know. I have no idea what the owners rules are.

We are actually 16 days out. Is this too soon for the owner to do anything? I wonder if she could possibly bank the points. I have no idea what her use year is and if the points would need to be used by a certain date.

 

[mousefan1972]

Thanks. Good to know. I have no idea what the owners rules are.

We are actually 16 days out. Is this too soon for the owner to do anything? I wonder if she could possibly bank the points. I have no idea what her use year is and if the points would need to be used by a certain date.

No, she can't bank them. A reservation cancelled 30 days or less before check in causes the points to go into holding. Points in holding can't be banked and will expire at the end of her UY. Also, the points used for your reservation could very well have already been banked once (you would have no way of knowing this; only the owner knows) so even if you cancelled more than 30 days out, she still may be left with expiring points.

I'm sorry you are going through this! I rented 3x before we bought DVC, and thankfully didn't have to make any changes to any of the reservations once they were booked. I can imagine how stressful it is. At this point, I probably wouldn't bother the owner again, either. It's up to you... good luck!

 

[disneynutz]

Thanks. Good to know. I have no idea what the owners rules are.

We are actually 16 days out. Is this too soon for the owner to do anything? I wonder if she could possibly bank the points. I have no idea what her use year is and if the points would need to be used by a certain date.

Points can only be banked during the first 8 months of the UY. Holding points can only be re-booked 60 before check in and of course they expire at the end of the UY.

Bill

 

[Callymum]

Is there no chance of selling the room/ booking to someone else or letting someone you know buying off you at a cheaper rate.
Better to let someone use the room at a cheaper rate rather than losing all of the amount.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

If it were me at this point, i'd check into both rooms. Get the free dining from the one resort, but stay in the nice BLT room.

The owner wouldn't mind changing the names on the reservation. That's just an easy call to Member Services. Others are right, though, it's probably too late for them to do anything with the points this close to check-in.

 

[Dean]

If it were me at this point, i'd check into both rooms. Get the free dining from the one resort, but stay in the nice BLT room.

The owner wouldn't mind changing the names on the reservation. That's just an easy call to Member Services. Others are right, though, it's probably too late for them to do anything with the points this close to check-in.

agreed, or maybe get some other family or friends to go as well. These risks are similar for members, timeshares have an inherent risk and that's one of the reasons it's cheaper than renting directly from Disney.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Try calling reservations and see what the penalties would be to cancel the first two nights, explain the situation and see what they say. ALso with FF miles depending on the airline they can go back into your account for a fee

 

[addiedisney]

Try calling reservations and see what the penalties would be to cancel the first two nights, explain the situation and see what they say. ALso with FF miles depending on the airline they can go back into your account for a fee

I thought that Disney's rules were pretty clear that if you change the reservation after the 40 day deadline and the price goes down there is a $200 fee. I will call them tomorrow and see what they say.

That's a good idea. I will call the airlines and see what the deal is. I just assumed that we were out of luck. Maybe?

Is there no chance of selling the room/ booking to someone else or letting someone you know buying off you at a cheaper rate.
Better to let someone use the room at a cheaper rate rather than losing all of the amount.

I have no problem selling the room, even at a huge discount, the problem is I don't know if I can bother the member to make another change and how she will feel about it. I'm going to call Disney tomorrow and ask about canceling our other room for the first two nights and see what they say....

Thanks!

 

[Sandisw]

I thought that Disney's rules were pretty clear that if you change the reservation after the 40 day deadline and the price goes down there is a $200 fee. I will call them tomorrow and see what they say.

That's a good idea. I will call the airlines and see what the deal is. I just assumed that we were out of luck. Maybe?



I have no problem selling the room, even at a huge discount, the problem is I don't know if I can bother the member to make another change and how she will feel about it. I'm going to call Disney tomorrow and ask about canceling our other room for the first two nights and see what they say....

Thanks!

The $200 fee is usually takes place if you cancel the entire trip. I believe if you modify a package within that 45 day mark and the price goes down, its a $50 fee. Within 10 days of the reservation, I think there is another $10 fee.

I would contact them and see if you can drop the two nights. As long as you would still qualify for the free dining--given the new check in day--then I think you won't lose a lot.

Good luck!

 

[crisi]

I have no problem selling the room, even at a huge discount, the problem is I don't know if I can bother the member to make another change and how she will feel about it. I'm going to call Disney tomorrow and ask about canceling our other room for the first two nights and see what they say....

Thanks!

If you have someone in mind, the member probably won't mind at all under the circumstances, its a short phone call to do. The problem is, that there aren't too many people who can travel to Orlando on two weeks notice. If it were me - as an owner, I'd be calling friends in Atlanta to see if they wanted to use the points or my cousin in Sarasota.

But I'd call the owner first, if the owner is out of town for two weeks and unavailable, even if they want to help you, they can't. And have all the information the owner will need - your friends name and address and the names of everyone in the room.

You'd be in a similar boat as a member just two weeks out. You'd have holding points, and if you were making the trip early in your use year, you'd have a pretty good chance of using them at some point, but at the end of the year, they are gone.

Sorry to hear about your Dad.

 

[DeeCee735]

Try calling reservations and see what the penalties would be to cancel the first two nights, explain the situation and see what they say. ALso with FF miles depending on the airline they can go back into your account for a fee

If I understand this correctly, you booked one room through central reservations on cash? If that's the case, isn't there a 5 day or 7 day prior to arrival cancel policy? If so, you wouldn't lose anything on that room is you cancel 2 weeks out. What am I missing?

 

[jodifla]

You bring up a really good point about the potential pitfalls of renting. I'm always so aggravated by posters who come on and say "Why would any dummy buy DVC when I can rent points for so much cheaper and not have any obligation to pay dues, etc."

I hope it all works out for you, and that you are able to join the ranks of DVC members.

 

[etemplet]

My wife got the vacation insurance for this year. What would that do for us in this type of situation ?

 

[Tamar]

Is your free dining reservation at a value resort? If not, maybe you could switch to a value resort for your cash/free dining reservation, and then as a pp suggested, check in to both rooms.

 

[yeahdisney]

We had a waitlist for one nite with DVC. We booked thru disney for a moderate hotel. Withing 10 days of our trip our waitlist did come thru, I expected to lose the $100 fee-from cancelling within 2 weeks period of arrival. The CM said no fee, you are still coming and staying that nite. So maybe if you can cancel the first two nites with the regular hotel and still get the free dining for the rest of your trip, the DVC member could put your name on the DVC 2 nite reservation and would would not lose money. Hope your dad is better soon.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I am very sorry for you in this situation. However, as an owner that rents, I would not expect the owner to accommodate your last minute requests. Life does happen. And that's why there is rental insurance you could have purchased for such situations. As others have mentioned just go on with the vacation.

 

[mel&me]

If I was in your situation, I would see if I could find someone I know that could go and let them have the room just to use it.
Call owner and change name. outside of that, I would not expect the owner to do anything else.

 

[momof3poohlovers]

As an owner who has rented points before, I wouldn't have a problem with trying to change the name on the reservation. It's a simple phone call. I would have an issue though with changing the reservation this close to check-in.