How to Save Money Renting Disney Vacation Club Points
These money-saving tips for renting Disney Vacation Club points will get you Deluxe Resort rooms at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond. DVC rental is safe, easy, and cheaper than standard hotel reservations. It’s also a great way to “test drive” the accommodations before buying a DVC membership. (Updated February 1, 2023.)
Disney Vacation Club (DVC) point rental is the one-time use of a set number of a points to book a Deluxe Villa room at a Disney Vacation Club Resort. It’s an easy process, and you can do this on a person-to-person basis via social media groups, or via one of the established point rental companies that we recommend.
If you’re simply looking for the best way to safely rent DVC points at the lowest prices, our two top recommendations are David’s Vacation Club Rentals (for lowest prices) and DVC Rental Store (for most flexibility). That’s the short and sweet advice for renting DVC points–if you want to know more or compare the options, this post offers info & tips. Disney Vacation Club point rental can be a great way to save big on your 2023 Walt Disney World vacation, but it can be complicated, confusing, and require planning. For that, we’re here to help!
Let’s start with the basics of DVC rental. Here’s how it works: the owner of the points agrees to “rent” the points out to a rentee, and in exchange for payment to the owner of the points, the owner makes a room reservation for the rentee in the rentee’s name. The amount of the payment is determined by the number of points needed for the booking, with a per-point cost being agreed upon by the parties.
For example, if the agreed upon price is $20 per point, and the rentee wants to stay book Animal Kingdom Lodge for December 1-7, that will require 60 points, for a total cost of $1,200. Contrast that with booking directly from DisneyWorld.com, which would cost $2,451.38. That’s over half off by renting DVC points for that Christmas-time stay! As you can see, the big advantage of Disney Vacation Club point rental is saving money over booking directly with Walt Disney World.
Speaking of Christmas 2023, if you want to visit Walt Disney World and rent DVC points for this holiday season, you really need to book ASAP. Above is a look at availability at Saratoga Springs Resort as of February 1, 2023. Wide open availability, which looks pretty good, right?
Not so fast. Below is the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, where rooms are filling up much quicker. This resort along with the Polynesian, BoardWalk, Beach Club, and others in close proximity to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios always book up over 7 months in advance. In other words, if you’re thinking about renting DVC points for a Christmas 2023 trip and want the best options, you need to book as soon as possible.
For what it’s worth, there’s a reason the holiday season is such a popular time to visit Walt Disney World. You can read more about why we love this time of year, dates & details, what’s happening, and more in our Ultimate Guide to Christmas 2023 at Walt Disney World. Without question, this is the best time to visit Walt Disney World–we highly recommend making reservations immediately so you can get a good resort!
While this is the best time to visit Walt Disney World, it’s just one of many times that Disney Vacation Club Members tend to prefer, which book up quickly as a result. Other popular times of year include all school breaks, holiday weekends, the start of EPCOT festivals, and any ‘cheap’ dates when a lower number of points is required to book rooms.
This brings us to lesson #1 about DVC point rental: book as close to 11 months in advance as possible. It used to be the case that booking at least 7 months in advance was sufficient, but that’s no longer true. In searching for DVC availability, there are few good options for multi-night stays between today and April 2023 for studios or one-bedroom units. Only a scattering of dates at most resorts, with slightly better options for Saratoga Springs and Old Key West.
If you’re looking more last minute, fear not, as there’s another option for availability inside 6 months: confirmed reservations. These are reservations that have already been booked by a Disney Vacation Club Member and are available to be reserved by a guest. Booking a confirmed reservation is quicker and more efficient, but it’s also inflexible. There are no modifications or customized reservations. What you see is what you get.
In the past, confirmed reservations were rare. They were often bargains that were available because a DVC Member had to cancel a trip at the last-minute, and was hoping to recoup some money. In the last few years, confirmed reservations have exploded in popularity and frequency.
Rather than being bargains, they’re often speculative reservations that are booked for the most popular travel times in the most popular room types. Consequently, it’s often the case that confirmed reservations are more expensive than their per-point counterparts.
To be sure, there are still bargains at the absolute last minute and during less-popular travel times, but as hotel availability has become more difficult to book during peak seasons, confirmed reservations have become more popular among DVC Members looking to capitalize. While the amount varies, it’s common for confirmed reservations to charge as much as $25 per point.
In terms of other updates, there’s big benefit of renting Disney Vacation Club points throughout 2023. That’s because guests staying in Walt Disney World resorts have access to a couple of perks. First is Early Theme Park Entry, which gives ALL on-site resort guests a 30-minute head start at any Walt Disney World theme park, every day before normal operating hours begin. Learn more strategy in our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World.
Second, there’s Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. This benefit is exclusively for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas, or other select hotels. This includes Disney Vacation Club resorts and those renting DVC points are eligible. This second perk is incredibly advantageous, as crowds are usually low during these nighttime hours. See our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for taking advantage of this perk, eligibility, and more.
Okay, now on with the normal DVC point rental tips…
In recent years, renting points has gone from relatively uncommon to a bit more mainstream practice. There are individual owners who rent points because they either aren’t going to be able to use their points or need a way to offset some of the considerable cost of membership, and there are companies that exist solely for the purpose of renting Disney Vacation Club points to savvy Walt Disney World and Disneyland guests.
As indicated above, the two main places to rent Disney Vacation Club points are David’s Vacation Club Rentals and DVC Rental Store. The two are pretty comparable–both are reputable businesses that can be trusted. David’s has one big advantage: lower prices. This makes David’s the better option if you’re simply looking to pay the least money possible.
DVC Rental Store’s biggest strength is flexibility. All reservations include their Stress-Free Cancellation Policy, which basically means paying a little bit more for lower risk. Additionally, they don’t require full payment up front–your balance is due 75 days prior to check in. The obvious advantage here is that you’re not paying in full up front, meaning you can cancel your reservation if you’d prefer to just walk away and not deal with credits.
Speaking of timeframes, it’s generally recommended that you rent DVC points at least 7 months in advance or, ideally, 11 months in advance. These are when the booking windows open for Disney Vacation Club resorts, so you’ll have a higher likelihood of success the earlier you contact one of the rental companies. If you think you’re going to get exactly what you want 5-6 months in advance, think again. Resorts along Magic Kingdom’s monorail loop, EPCOT’s Crescent Lake, and the Skyliner gondola all start booking up more than 7 months in advance.
With that said, booking at the very last minute also can be advantageous. DVC Rental Store has confirmed reservations and David’s has dedicated reservations available for rent. As explained above, these are reservations that have already been booked.
If you’re flexible on your travel dates, resort, and room preference–or just happen to get lucky with the stars aligning and exactly what you want already being booked–these existing reservations can sometimes be a better option at the very last minute. Otherwise, we highly recommend renting DVC points at least 7 to 11 months in advance.
Although we are Disney Vacation Club owners, we have a relatively low number of points, so we’ve actually rented points ourselves a couple of times in the last few years. In attempting to rent points, we’ve contacted both the point rental businesses and individuals on forums about rental, and have opted to go with the point rental businesses (despite paying a bit more) for simplicity and peace of mind.
How you go about renting Disney Vacation Club points, and whether it’s safe, is probably the most common reader question we’ve received in response to our Disney Vacation Club Buying Guide, so I figured I’d put together this guide based on our experiences and research, along with my thoughts about the pros and cons of each method of renting points.
Let’s start with the pros and cons of renting DVC points in general to determine whether it’s right for you…
Pros & Cons of DVC Point Rental
The biggest benefit of renting Disney Vacation Club points is saving money. The example of Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas above is a good one. If you wanted to book a stay August 19-23 in a value view studio, that’s exactly how many points you’d need, and how much it would cost if you rented points through one of the point renters.
For a stay December 2-6 it would be even cheaper! Other nights throughout the year would cost more, but you get the idea. You couldn’t even stay in a Moderate Resort for the rates you can get by renting Disney Vacation Club points, let alone a Deluxe.
In addition to saving money on hotel rates, another benefit of renting Disney Vacation Club points, for some people, is getting the Disney Dining Plan without purchasing park tickets. Unfortunately, the Disney Dining Plan is temporarily unavailable, but we expect it to return sometime in 2023. (See When Will the Disney Dining Plan Return?)
Speaking of food, the studio rooms feature a kitchenette and one bedrooms and larger have full kitchens. This means it’s easier to prepare full meals than if you’re staying in a standard hotel room. Not something everyone wants to do on vacation, but it’s nice to have the option. This is especially true for breakfast when you want to get out the door quickly, or for late night snacks after the restaurants have closed. To that point, here’s what we recommend for grocery delivery at Walt Disney World.
Similarly, guests staying in Disney Vacation Club units have access to free laundry rooms. Moreover, one-bedroom units or larger have in-room washers and dryers. Laundry is another thing we hate doing on vacation, but having the option in your room is huge, and the convenience of that cannot be overstated.
Finally, not purchasing a vacation package from Walt Disney World directly means you can save money by purchasing tickets from an authorized ticket broker. These savings can be small or huge, depending upon the size of your party and the tickets you get, this could amount to another $800 or more in savings!
The biggest downside to renting Disney Vacation Club points is that you don’t have total control over the reservation. Someone else books the reservation for you, and someone else has to make any changes to the reservation for you (such as adding the Disney Dining Plan, once that returns). Disney Vacation Club won’t discuss the reservation with non-members, so even if your name is on it, you’re at the mercy of the person who booked it if you need changes.
Another downside for some guests is that, since the unit rented is a villa and not a hotel room, housekeeping service is not daily. Most stays will only have one visit by Mousekeeping. This isn’t a problem for us, but for some people, not having the full hotel experience might be a fatal blow to renting DVC points.
The final downside is cancellation and refund policies. While it’s possible to purchase travel insurance for DVC point rentals, the cancellation policies are not nearly as forgiving as booking directly via Disney. This is because of the strict policies surrounding DVC point usage. In the event of hurricane or some other ‘Act of God’ scenario, the member who is renting out the points may not be able to reuse them if the guest cancels.
You’ll find no shortage of negative reviews online about the major rental companies following the closure of Walt Disney World for this very reason. While some guests were accommodated with future bookings or travel credits, a lot of people who wanted cash refunds were denied. We’ve explained the why of this in DVC’s Point Pool Problem; the short version is the supply of unused outstanding points exceeds room availability by several millions of points. Someone is going to be left holding the bag, and it’s not going to be Disney.
The good news on this front is that it has resulted in some policy reforms by the rental companies. DVC Rental Store now offers a stress-free cancellation policy that issues you a credit you can use toward a future DVC rental in the event of cancellation. You can utilize these credits up to two years from your original travel dates.
We recommend paying close attention to contract when renting, and making sure you’re not agreeing to terms that would not create an undue burden if you need to cancel, because there are no cash refunds. Part of the reason DVC renting saves so much money is that it comes with compromise–there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Whether DVC rental is right for you comes down to your personal risk v. reward assessment.
How To Rent?
If you’re convinced that renting Disney Vacation Club points is right for you, the next question is who to use. There are a couple popular choices here, including the DVC Rental Store and David’s Vacation Club Rentals. The advantages to renting through them are that both are accredited by the Better Business Bureau, both have a team that does this as its full-time business, and both have a sterling reputation. The other upside to renting from the DVC Rental Store or David’s is convenience.
They have “home resort” inventory for every Disney Vacation Club resort. This means that if you want a popular resort, you can book with him at the 11 month mark. If you want a hard-to-book resort and plan on booking through an individual, you need to do so 11 months out and find an owner who has the resort you want as a home resort. That can make the whole process of booking person-to-person more time consuming and tedious.
Compounding that challenge, most of the forums that previously facilitated person-to-person point rental have closed, with the exception of the Disboards one. However, several Facebook and other social media groups have popped up in their place. If you have friends who are DVC members that are willing to rent out their points to you, that’s another route, too.
The downside to renting from strangers is that you have no guarantee that you aren’t going to be ripped off, or that the owner will be available to assist you if something goes wrong with the reservation. You’ll have a bit of uneasiness until the moment at the check-in desk that your reservation pulls up. Basically, it comes down to how risk averse you are and how much more you can save by going through an individual.
For what it’s worth, in my time researching rentals, I heard of very few instances of people being ripped off by individuals on the forums or social media. It does happen, but it seems to be very, very infrequent. When we rent in the future, I’m not sure how we’ll do it. It largely depends upon prices.
If it’s a short weekend trip and the David’s Disney Vacation Club Rentals is charging ~$23/point versus $20/point from an individual, I can’t see going the person-to-person to say what will amount to $30 or less. The possibility that we could be scrambling at the last minute to find an alternate hotel room for such a short trip wouldn’t be worth it. Given how significantly Disney has increased their prices in the last few years, these rentals are still a good deal.
I’d prefer to just pay the bit extra for the peace of mind. If it were a 10-day trip in a Grand Villa, I’d probably be more likely to go through an individual because the savings are greater, but then I’d be concerned that such a big purchase were risky. I really don’t know what I’d do, it’s a tough call.
If we did end up going through an individual, I would do a few things to protect myself as best I could. First, I wouldn’t rent from any new members or individuals with only a handful of posts. I’d want someone with an established reputation on the forums. Second, I’d ask for references. Third, I’d pay with an American Express credit card rather than any other form of payment.
Which DVC Resort?
Finally, you need to figure out which Disney Vacation Club Resort is right for you. We’ve stayed at every single DVC resort at Walt Disney World, most several times. It’s tough to declare a definitive “best” Disney Vacation Club resort, as each has its pros & cons, and is a good option depending upon your priorities.
We have a post that Ranks the Disney Vacation Club Resorts at Walt Disney World and shares the strengths and weaknesses of each. To be honest, though, we love just about all of them. That list does give you a good basis in terms of theme, location, amenities, and other things to consider that will help you make an informed decision, though!
Ultimately, Disney Vacation Club point rentals is a great way to save tons of money without making the long term commitment to joining. If you’re currently booking Moderate or Deluxe Resorts directly from Disney, it’s definitely something to consider. Most of the time, renting Disney Vacation Club points will be cheaper than booking a Moderate, and it will ALWAYS be cheaper than booking a Deluxe (even with the best discounts!).
Renting from individuals is the best way to maximize your savings, and renting from the DVC Rental Store or David’s Vacation Club Rentals is the safest way to rent–plus they’re full service companies with great customer service that can help you through the process and answer all of your questions!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you agree or disagree with our recommendations for renting DVC points? Any firsthand experiences you care to share? Which DVC resorts do you recommend for a first-timer renter? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Hi Tom,
Thanks to your detailed post, I chose DVC Rental Store to get a 1-BR villa at the Grand Californian for next Halloween season at Disneyland! I booked right at the 11-month mark for this popular season, which is critical for the GC as there are not many DVC rooms. Would’ve been nice if they were on the schedule for refurbishment but I love the GC so much that I don’t care 😀 Thanks again!
Two major timeshare rental companies are now in the business of renting DVC confirmed reservations. Redweek.com and Go-Koala.com both have numerous DVC reservations for rent. Both offer protections to renters, including cancelation policies.
How do split stays work when renting points? Do both reservations show up in my Disney? Do you have to buy tickets before or after linking reservations?
Yes, we are doing a split stay in august and rented points directly from same owner for three nights at BCV and three nights at BWV ($18 per point at the 11 month mark). Both rezzies immediately showed up in My Disney Experience app. Park tickets are completely independent so can be purchased and linked before or after or not at all. We bought tickets from undercovertourist after and very easily linked them to my trip in the app. Good luck.
Thank you for your help Harlan!
Split stay show up as two independent stays.
Both show up in MDE after you enter the reservation number.
Other than transfer your bags it is no different than two separate vacations.
I would also recommend lyft to get between the hotels with the bags …. Maybe a Minnie Van
You said there are millions of points more than available space??? That sounds uncomfortably like a Ponzi scheme and i wonder how they get away with it. Paying for parking while a resort guest and limited times now for park hopping?? Dishonest wait times?? The whole thing sounds like planning the invasion of Normandy. No thanks.
I was wondering if anyone has used DVCstore.com
Went to look up a stay in January or February and everywhere is booked solid, much to my surprise. Is that pretty normal? I got pretty used to the open availability of trips in 2020-2021, so I really don’t have a good baseline anymore. There’s still plenty of confirmed reservations at least, so I’ll probably wait till right before the trip and take advantage that way, but it would have been nice to pick out the days.
I wouldn’t say that’s normal, but it’s definitely closer to normal than what you’ve experienced the last two years. We’ve been discussing this issue for a while here: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-vacation-club-point-pool-problem-closed/
Even pre-closure, DVC availability had been getting progressively worse due to a number of factors. (Discussed here in 2018: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/limited-availability-disney-vacation-club-resorts/)
On the plus side (?), DVC bookings are not even remotely conclusive of attendance or crowds. DVC is just “busy” year-round now.
Since mid 2021 DVC has been sold out almost before the 7 month mark for studios at the preferred resorts. Even SSR and OKW have been a lot hard to book at less than three months
Thank you both! Those are good reads, Tom – I’m really surprised the water hasn’t made it back into the pool yet, but since it was already starting to overflow in 2018 I can see why it doesn’t have anywhere to go right now. I can’t say I’m excited for them to finish the new ‘themed resort’ at the Poly, but maybe that’ll make some space open up elsewhere.
If you rent DVC points can you take advantage of 60 day ADRs?
Yes you can
Okay great! I guess I was confused because they mention uncertainty about your booking until you get there. Does that mean you can register your booking with WDW somehow so you’re recognized before your visit as someone staying at a Deluxe?
If you rent points either from a dental store or direct from the owner, you should get your travel plan number right then.
This number can then be loaded I. The my Disney experience app.
Once it is, you can do everything you want or need to do.
Okay great. Thanks Robbie, that’s super helpful!
I understand that parking is free at the resort & parks when renting DVC points. Are you able to also park at another resort for free, ex: Beach Club while renting points for GF? We wanted to visit the resort & walk over to Boardwalk & Epcot.
I’ve been very much interested in renting DVC points for the opportunity of staying at a Deluxe resort, since we’ve only done Value before. Turns out a friend’s dad is a DVC member and they rarely use their points since the pandemic, they basically rented us points at the lowest price possible only to cover their fees! And now we have a reservation for the Poly for January 2023 at a much lower rate than even the Value resort we stayed at last time. Insane! I’m so, so excited.
Sounds like you got a great deal
Congratulations
Our family of 6 wants to do a split stay by renting points for two standard studios at Grand Floridian and Boardwalk Villas for the third week in August 2023. Would the probability be high that we could snag these accommodations if we waited to rent the points at 7 months instead of jumping on it at the 11 month mark?
I would strongly suggest you book with before the 7 month window.
By 7 months both of those resorts will have limited availability.
Thank you. Would that be true for slower times like late august too?
I don’t think there are slow times at Disney any more. At least not for DVC
I tell all renter to plan on booking as close to the 11 month window to get the best chance of getting what you want.
I have tried to booked rooms for people at the 11 month window and have had to change category views to make it work.
OKW and SSR are the only resorts that practically ever have availability at less than 6 months
We used David’s back in 2015 and it was great!!! We had a large party and needed a 3 bedroom villa and could never have afforded it otherwise. I have checked with them recently when looking to rent and although there was no opening at the resort I was interested in David’s customer service was top notch just as it was years ago. I highly recommend them!
What are your thoughts on DVC Shop and dvc-rental.com? I have found good things about DVC Shop but I’ve not been able to find much on dvc-rental.com
Unfortunately, Mouseowners’ Rent/Trade/Transfer Board is permanently closed.
Did boards is alive and well
There are also 4 or more Facebook groups
Tom, you mentioned that parking is included (free) when DVC points are rented. I was told that parking is also free at the parks for those who are using DVC points. Can someone confirm that benefit? Also @PegP – that sounds like a really crumby experience with DVD Rentals. I’ve rented through them four times, and have only experienced positive, supportive assistance. One of those times, I found out my granddaughter’s graduation was taking place the weekend I had just booked. My DVC “advisor” went back to the DVC member and changed the dates, something that is specifically NOT included, per their contract. It was really going the “extra mile”. Anyway, I’ve booked through both DVC Rental and Dave’s, and found them both to be helpful and professional. Dave’s is significantly cheaper ($4 a pt), but doesn’t have as extensive an inventory as DVC Rental. I tried renting a Grand Villa for May 2022 through Dave’s, and after 2 days, they reached out to me that they didn’t have anyone with that many points. I got my deposit back, and contacted DVC Rental. They had me AKL Grand Villa secured within 24 hours!.
I can confirm that when I rented points we were able to take our car to the parks for free. All they do is scan your magic band and it says you are staying at a hotel; they don’t see how you booked it.
I can confirm you get free parking at the resort when saying on DVC points. I had not heard the parks were also.
I might want to confirm that directly with Disney
Hi Tom! Thank you for this post! We were on the fence about renting points but after reading this article I booked a 1 bedroom villa at AKL Kidani through one of the companies you mentioned. I can’t believe the money we saved.
I can’t emphasize this enough – do NOT rent through The DVC Rental Store! Go with David’s or some other credible company. I’ve been having the worst time with DVC Rental the past few months trying to reserve different resorts for different dates. Their communication is beyond bad. You’ll often wait days to hear back from them when submitting a request or even asking a question. I’m still waiting for my online chat question to be answered (asked over a day ago). I’ve been accused of paying a deposit before I was supposed to, then lectured on their policy for submitting deposits. But I hadn’t paid the deposit yet as I was waiting to hear from them that the room was available. I’ve had two different people tell me two completely opposite things on the same day. I’ve been told my deposit wasn’t received, when it not only had been received (keep emails!) but had also cleared my credit card company. They’ve told me my requested resort was no longer available when it was. It’s been a NIGHTMARE! I finally got so stressed and frustrated that I canceled all my requests and booked rooms through Disney. Yes, I paid more, but you get what you pay for. So if you don’t mind incredibly rude and inconsistent customer service, then The DVC Rental Store will work for you. It didn’t for me. There’s just too much money involved for that much incompetent handling of it.
PegP, I wholeheartedly agree with you and I personally feel that the DVC Rental Store is the absolute worst and a complete rip off. We naively booked a reservation with the DVC Rental Store (after reading recommendations/reviews) back in September ‘21 for a May ‘22 trip with a deposit of $1,200. In February my brother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and we needed to reschedule our trip as he would be undergoing surgery / treatments in April & May and my sister would not be able to travel and be away from him. I reached out to the DVC Rental Store to explain the gravity of the situation and to inquire if we could simply push out our reservation to the fall of 2022. Their response was very loud and clear, NO. There is no rescheduling, only viewed as a cancellation and no monies would be refunded for any reason. We had no other choice but to sign their cancellation form and get $0 of our $1200 deposit back. I will never rent from the DVC Rental Store again nor would I ever recommend them to anyone. We immediately rebooked our trip directly through Disney – same resort/same villa type (Riviera 1 bedroom villa) for fall 2022 and although it is slightly more expensive, in my opinion it is absolutely worth the $$ as it is the only “safe” way to book a Disney vacation. I have always gone directly through Disney for all of my Disney vacations in the past (2x per year @ deluxe resorts), so I have no idea why on earth I even considered the DVC Rental Store this go around – my bad and a tough lesson learned.
Tom, please don’t let the DVC Rental store fool anyone into believing that they are the safer choice and refund your monies bc they absolutely do not. It is unimaginable and appalling that consideration would not be given for a major life altering crisis, especially when we were not flat out cancelling but simply trying to reschedule. Therefore based on my personal experience, I cannot ever recommend The DVC Rental Store to anyone in any way.
I’ve rented from DVC Rental Store twice and it was smooth sailing. You know up front that it is nonrefundable, regardless of the situation.
I am happy with the Rental Store.
Hi CatherineB,
I’m sorry to hear about your brother-in-law. I hoe that works out for the best.
I normally would not defend any other the rental stores but in this case I will at least try and explain why there is usually a no refund policy when you rent DVC, either directly from an owner or a rental store.
First, DVC points are like lettuce, that is to say they have a very finite shelf life. In fact they are good for exactly 12 months. In some cases the owner can Bank the points into the next year, but that has to be done early in the Use Year. Based on a basic understand of how the rental stores work, how the points work and a little assuming on my part, I’m going to assume that the points you rented expired in May, but best case August. It would not be possible for the rental store or anyone to simple push the reservation to the fall.
Next Most DVC resort book full or nearly full at about 6 or 7 month prior to travel. When I say DVC resort here I’m only talking about the points rooms, the cash rooms are a completely different inventory and you might as well pretend there are not there.
If you tried to change you vacation in February and the points expired in May it would have been next to impossible for the rental store to resell the points you had rented.
The rental store also has a contract with the points owner to pay then for the points for your vacation. They don’t get out of that just because you are no longer able to go. In this case the rental store had to buy the points from the owner at the agree price. They then would have to sell those points on their last minute bargain board. At three months out it is almost impossible. So they either needed to sell someone else you exact reservation or piece something together. Neither of those are easy, and they have to discount the points to do it.
Most everywhere that rents point has a no refunds policy for these reasons.
When I rent points, I have a big bold clause that states that the vacation is final. I have been able to move vacation before for people when they have let me know early. 8-11 month prior to travel. I will also refund some money if I can re rent the points. I gave 75 percent of whatever I get for any points I re rent.
The big thing you have to remember about renting DVC is that you are going to save between 40 and 60 percent of the cash room rack rate of the same resort. The down side is that do to the point rules place on the points by Disney, DVC is very inflexible.
Most owner book 11 months prior. I almost never book at less than 7.
It is a trade off. You have to had your plans craved in stone. In this case clearly, you had to miss you vacation to support you sister and brother in law. Unfortunately, in your case you plans had to change, but at the same time, even though you didn’t get to go on vacation, you had used up someone else points.
I know and completely understand you don’t see it that way, but think about trying to return a head of lettuce after is sat in you refrigerator for seven months.
Again I hope everything works out for your brother in law
I also have had two positive experiences with the DVC Rental Store. The prices are higher than Dave’s but as others said the inventory is larger. It at least has some form of cancellation policy so at various points in times you can get some money “back” in the form of a credit to use in the future (not an actual refund). And you don’t have to pay the full cost immediately. I closely read my contracts and entered the cancel by dates into my personal calendar. Honestly renting DVC points is a risk and not for the risk averse. Unfortunately things happen that make cancelling necessary. Sometimes unforeseen, awful things that don’t time themselves with cancellation policies. I told myself going int that I was risking an investment and also potential WDW discounts like free dining. I didn’t have a poor customer service experience so I am sorry for those that did. I just personally cannot afford Disney rates for deluxe resorts and decided to take the renting plunge. But you really have to be okay with knowing you could lose and it’s not like other companies/situations where compelling circumstances lead to policy exceptions. I can understand that leaving a bad taste in someone’s mouth and I am sure I would feel the same way when it happened. But it just isn’t forgiving so if risks make you at all nervous don’t do it.