Understanding DVC rental points - HELP

[thrillme]

A friend of mine is looking at "renting" points from a DVC member for a stay at one of the DVC villas next year. (no one is actually BUYING into DVC they're only "renting points")

I'm totally clueless on this. Could someone advise me on the "good, bad and ugly" of this deal? How does this work, what should they watch out for? What are the benefits DVC rental vrs regular resort?

If this is a good thing with benefits of the resort (shuttles, late night stay at the parks) then maybe it would be a thing to look into myself but obviously I know I need to get cracking if I want it for next year.

[BigRedDad]

This should probably be on the DVC Board, but I will try to answer as best I can.

DVC members can place a reservation for someone else. You pay them for the use of their points. It is a good way to get Deluxe accommodations at a cheaper rate. However, you have to work with reputable people. There are boards out there for getting reservations and contracts that protect you and the DVC member. I recommend doing a search on renting DVC points.

[DVC Mike]

Could someone advise me on the "good, bad and ugly" of this deal? How does this work, what should they watch out for?

There are two ways you can stay in a Disney Vacation Club Villa:

• Call WDW reservations (just like any other resort) and book a villa
• Rent points from a DVC member

Disney allows the general public to book DVC units at rack rates through its regular resort reservations system, when available. Renting points from a DVC member is a much better deal, as it typically costs much less to rent from a DVC member than to book a DVC resort direct from Disney.

If you do decide to rent points from a DVC member, keep in mind that this is a private transaction between two people, and Disney is not involved in any way. If anything goes wrong, you can’t complain to Disney or expect them to resolve any problem.

Until you physically check-in, the DVC owner controls the reservation, even when it is in your name. A dishonest owner could cancel your reservation, and steal your money. Disney will not get involved. This risk is what gets you the discount, and renting is not for everyone. Thus, renting points takes some work ahead of time to protect yourself and minimize the inherent risk of these types of transactions.

Renting points requires trust on both sides of the agreement.

• Ask for references from the DVC member who is renting the points, and check their references

• Don't rent from any member who has only made a few posts on a rental board. It could be an indicator of a scam. Review past posts for the person you are working with so you can get an idea what type of person they may be.

• Get the owner's full name, home address and home phone number before sending any payment. To the extent possible, confirm that the information is valid.

• Confirm that the person is, in fact, a DVC owner by running a search at the Florida Comptroller's Office web site.

• There should be a written contract or letter of agreement, signed by both of you, spelling out exactly what the rental will cost, when payment is due, dates of the stay, etc.

• Never pay a total stranger by using a "cash equivalent" such as Western Union or money order.

If something sounds "off," don't proceed. It's not worth taking the risk. Any DVC deal that seems too good to be true most likely is.

Also, please keep in mind the following:

• Be aware that Disney Vacation Club will not speak with renters or give them any information. Only DVC owners can speak with DVC about reservations.

• A DVC reservation is very different from a regular hotel reservation and the limitations/restrictions/penalties on the owner may make cancellation and rescheduling difficult or impossible. Those problems vary from owner to owner, from rental to rental, and you have no way of knowing what kind of restrictions the owner is under. If you get in a position where you have to cancel a rented reservation, the owner may not be able to help you. Many owners have a “no cancellation” policy.

• You do not get daily maid service when you rent from a DVC member (while you do get daily maid service if you make the reservation through Disney CRO). You get your trash emptied and new towels on day 4 of a vacation, and if you stay 8 or more days, on day 4 you get a full cleaning, and day 8 would be the trash & towel service.

• The DVC system is complex and takes some time to understand, and many rental difficulties or misunderstandings are from good people with good intentions, who misunderstand the subtleties of the system.

Thousands of successful rental transactions have been completed throughout the history of the DVC program, and the savings are obvious. Reported instances of fraud occurring are small. However, you should take whatever steps you feel are justified to become comfortable with the process prior to entering into a rental deal.

[Hammer]

I am going to move this thread to the DVC board, so hold on to your suitcases!

[dlpmikki]

This came up in this post. Mike has quoted some of what mprewitt said which I know has ben put on several boards but it is still good advice and Mikes extras are also useful.

Both sides need to feel comfortable. I've just rented some points out and was not chasing payment too vigorously because I knew that I could cancel if they didn't pay. Then there were a few nightmare days because Disney cancelled some of the days I had booked and there was nothing available. Fortunately they came available but the proof of the pudding is when they check in and everything works out. From my point of view renting out points turned out to be a lot more stressful than I expected!

[thrillme]

Boy...this sounds rather complicated.

How many "points" would I need to rent for a 5 day vacation? That seems rather complicated. I pretty have come to the conclusion that I'm just not smart enough to thoroughly understand it.

I'm assuming that my friends are going to chose to go during the summer months (my game plan for Disney will be in October 08)

It looks like tenants will get the benefits of shuttle service to the parks, some discounts on meals which sounds pretty good (provided their key card reads MEMBER), what about early mornings and late night entry to the parks?
I checked a set of boards from "mousesavers" and found lots of postings but very limited ones for the summer season.

I'm still a very very dumb about DVC. From what I've concluded for "membership"...You pay so much for "points" say...to the tune of $19K. After that you get "some" point every year and if you need more you can buy them at a very discounted rate.

If you don't use say your 600 points you can "rent" them (I really don't understand how many points you actually get).

If the transaction is between the DVC OWNER and "so-n-so" then the DVC owner can rent them for whatever you feel like. The DVC owner will then make the reservation as if HE/SHE were staying there. The deal will be based on "good faith". OR the DVC Owner can sell his/her points to "Disney" who will "rent" those points for "rack rate"? Or if Disney doesn't have any reservations for a particular timeframe they will rent what they have left over for "rack rate" (which I understand to be FULL non-discounted rate).

It sounds like if you check out your DVC Owner through the Florida Comptrollers office and get references you're probably going to be pretty safe but you're going to have to be flexible on your dates.

[Maleficent's Dad]

How many "points" would I need to rent for a 5 day vacation? That seems rather complicated. I pretty have come to the conclusion that I'm just not smart enough to thoroughly understand it.

This varies greatly!!!
When in the summer will your party be travelling? Late August vs. July are two different point values (less points the second half of August).
Also - what size accomodations do you want to get? A 2BR requires a lot more points than a studio.
Where do you want to stay? The BCV are the most "expensive" in point value, and OKW is the cheapest.
I can give you more direction when you give more specifics!
For example:
At the BCV:
In July, a studio is 14 points per night from Sunday through Thursday, and 32 per night on Friday & Saturday.
Same studio in late August is 13 and 29 points.
A 2BR at BCV would be 40 and 75 points in July and 34 and 72 in late August.

OKW would be:
Studio for Sunday - Thursday would be 11 points and 27 points Friday and Saturday (per night).
Late August would make it 10 and 24 points per night.
2BR at OKW would be 30 per night (Sunday through Thursday) & 73 (Friday & Saturday) in July.
Late August would be 27 & 64 points per night.

Confused yet?

It looks like tenants will get the benefits of shuttle service to the parks, some discounts on meals which sounds pretty good (provided their key card reads MEMBER), what about early mornings and late night entry to the parks?
I checked a set of boards from "mousesavers" and found lots of postings but very limited ones for the summer season.

Yes, you get all Disney transportation included at no extra charge, including ME (which the member must book for you).

You do not get discounts on meals or park passes as you need a DVC Member card for those.

I'm still a very very dumb about DVC. From what I've concluded for "membership"...You pay so much for "points" say...to the tune of $19K. After that you get "some" point every year and if you need more you can buy them at a very discounted rate.

Once you buy a certain number of points and join DVC, your points are renewed every year. If you don't use your points one year, you can bank them and use them for next year - after the second year, you lose them.

If you don't use say your 600 points you can "rent" them (I really don't understand how many points you actually get).

You can rent or bank them, yes.
There is a minimum to "buy in" to DVC; currently I believe it's 160 points through Disney; you can buy fewer if you go through a resale.

It sounds like if you check out your DVC Owner through the Florida Comptrollers office and get references you're probably going to be pretty safe but you're going to have to be flexible on your dates.

If you rent early and have the owner make ressies 11 months out at his/her home resort, you'll get what you want. Closer in - like 7 months or so, you have to be flexible.

Good luck.
I didn't understand part of your post, but we can answer more specific questions if you have them!

[thrillme]

I think I'm getting the knack of it now. It sounds like this might be a good thing for them since they really like to stay at the deluxe and moderate resorts.

I tend to lean on the values so they may remain a better deal for me unless someone happens to sell really cheap which I doubt.

I gather from the way you described is that the DVC isn't really a "time share" in the conventional sense. It's more of paying for a discounted room and buying points to rent that room at the time. But everything expires.

It sounds like it would be a good deal for those who like luxury resorts and spend a week or two at Disney every year.

[LynneM]

Not quite right yet.....DVC is a points-based timeshare. Some of the big companies like Marriott use the same model for their timeshares.

Using my own membership as an example:

I bought 150 points at VWL back in 2001, and paid $10,000 for that. That was a one-time cost. I also pay about $58 a month in maintenance fees, which will continue for as long as I own DVC.

Every year in June, I receive a new batch of 150 points. I use those points to 'pay' for each night that I want to stay at a resort. For instance, my last stay in a VWL studio cost me about 12 points a night. The points per night cost varies depending on the time of year, and the size of the villa you want, and which DVC resort you want to stay at.

Does that make it a little clearer?

[Madame Leona]

It all sounds very complicated but if you don't think of the how's or why's too much it can be easy to rent points. DH and I have done it twice now and plan to try again in the future. The most important thing is to ask for references. Also remember, the person renting the points to you is as sceptical as you are. They are in the same boat of trusting a complete stranger.

[katzctkpt]

Not quite right yet.....DVC is a points-based timeshare. Some of the big companies like Marriott use the same model for their timeshares.

Using my own membership as an example:

I bought 150 points at VWL back in 2001, and paid $10,000 for that. That was a one-time cost. I also pay about $58 a month in maintenance fees, which will continue for as long as I own DVC.

Every year in June, I receive a new batch of 150 points. I use those points to 'pay' for each night that I want to stay at a resort. For instance, my last stay in a VWL studio cost me about 12 points a night. The points per night cost varies depending on the time of year, and the size of the villa you want, and which DVC resort you want to stay at.

Does that make it a little clearer?

Really does sound complicated. I just ordered information from DVC and I too am still trying to understand. Does the pts they send you each yr have an expiration date? and when you purchase the dvc do you get points right then?

[LynneM]

Each year's allotment of points is good for 1 year. So, I got 150 points in my account on 6/1/07, and they must be used before 5/31/08. Let's call those '2007 points', just for simplicity's sake.

If I'm not going to use all of my 2007 points, I can BANK some or all of them into my next year's point allotment. I can call Disney and tell them to bank 50 of my 2007 points, and they'll be moved to my 2008 point allotment. So, I'll now have 200 points in my 2008 use year, that will need to be used between 6/1/08 and 5/31/09.

You can only bank points into the next use year - meaning that now that those 50 points are in my 2008 point allotment, I can't bank them again into 2009. They absolutely have to be used by the end of my 2008 use year, or they're gone.

So, you can extend the use of your points for 1 more year, but no further than that. Lots of people use banking as a way to save up points for a big trip. If I banked all 150 of my 2007 points, I would have 300 points available to use the next year.

Hope that helps a bit!