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Thread: DVC owners speculatively booking prime vacation times and renting them for profit

  1. #1
    DVCInfo.com DVC Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    550 miles from WDW

    DVC owners speculatively booking prime vacation times and renting them for profit

    This post concerns the practice of some members booking "choice/prime" reservations, not with the intent of actually using them for themselves, their family, or their friends, but with the sole intent of selling them to a non-DVC member for profit. I believe that this speculative booking with the intent of renting is unfair to other DVC members.

    I am not against transferring of points between DVC members. I am not against renting of excess or unusable points to non-DVC members. I don't have a problem with members renting confirmed reservations that they initially had intended on using, but now something has come up that prevents them from doing so.

    I do have a problem with members booking choice reservations (choice times: Christmas/New Years; choice rooms: Grand Villa; choice locations: BCV during F&W) with the intent of never using them, but with the sole intent of selling the reservations for profit.

    A reservation made for rental purposes is likely to be held for many months awaiting a non-member who is interested in the specific date / resort / room size that has been booked. I don't think anyone objects to people booking trips for actual use, nor do they object to rental transactions where a room is booked as a result of a request from the renter. It's the speculative renting that rubs people the wrong way.

    I feel this practice is detrimental to other DVC members, as it hurts their chances of booking those "choice" reservations themselves.

    Its undeniable that if people stop pre-booking reservations for the sole purpose of renting months down the road, more people will be successful at booking their preferred accommodation at 11 or 7 months.

    DVC and the POS prohibit commercial (i.e., for profit) renting, speculative or otherwise. Using DVC primarily to rent and make a profit (speculatively of high demand times or not) falls under that definition.

    Use of Vacation Homes and recreational facilities for commercial purposes or any purposes other than the personal use described in this Declaration is expressly prohibited. "Commercial Purposes" includes a pattern of rental activity or other occupancy by an Owner that the Board, in its reasonable discretion, could conclude constitutes a commercial enterprise or practice.

    There are various Disney-related web sites that host forums for DVC topics. Some allow the posting of rental advertising. These boards are probably the main reason renting even exists. Without these boards, there would surely be a lot fewer owners renting points or reservations to strangers, and most of us would not even know renting existed or feel any effect from it. The boards may not have any legal obligation or responsibility to manage the DVC program, but they certainly have influenced (and continue to influence) the way members use the program. So a case could be made that the boards have some obligation to mitigate the negative effects of their influence.

    I appreciate the new rules implemented on the largest rent/trade board (The DIS) to lessen speculative renting by both casual and commercial renters for the benefit of most members. I am proud that the DIS had the courage to take the steps they did. They saw a problem and understood that as the largest rental board around, they had an obligation to do what they could to improve the situation for the vast majority of DVC owners.
    DVC Mike

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  3. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Western Wisconsin

    Thanks for posting this. I had no idea that was going on. I hope that it can be stopped. We typically avoid prime time because of the crowds, but it is really unfair to the rest of DVC members who are obeying the rules and can't book prime time because of this practice.


  4. #3
    still romantic at heart
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    chicago

    whether the discussion boards are providing an avenue for commercial operations is probably true, they also provide a service to those owners who occasionally find a need to rent. it is not their duty to police Disney policy. While as a DVC owner I do find the practice of commercially renting a potential problem Disney's concern is not the same as yours or mine.l the real problem has more to do with Disney's profit management system. IE they see this as lost revenue for Disney. Because Disney tracks who is staying on property, and who owns points it is not really hard for Disney to track commercial renters.

    Grateful for all God has done for me, and for having Wfoxx by my side.

  5. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    London U.K.

    I have to say I value my points far too much to go renting them out to people. Disney do frown on this practice and, who knows, in time they may clamp down on it. They introduced the new policy of only dealing with the DVC member(s) for bookings, changes etc because all and sundry were telephoning to arrange things.I advise people to read their original contracts. The small print isn't there for nothing.

    Now, I'll turn that little mouse's dream into a Nightmare Fantasmic!
    Only you can speak the words that are on YOUR lips!
    DVC member -Saratoga Springs, WDW
     

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