David's Vacation Rental RESERVATION CANCELLED.... something is fishy

[Missyrose]

I had a reservation accidentally cancelled by DVC a few years ago. They also lost the 400 points that were used to make the reservation. It was accidentally cancelled less than a week from check-in date. They acknowledged their mistake instantly, and immediately began trying to fix it. It unfortunately was a problem that only Disney IT could fix. I had almost a week of not knowing if we would be staying in our 2 bedroom at BLT, or if we would even have a resort reservation at a Disney resort. Or, if my 400 points would be located from Disney cyberspace.

In the end, Disney IT found my reservation, and the points used to make it. They were extremely apologetic, and gave me a couple of nights points back in my account for the inconvenience.

Yes, DVC can make mistakes. But if this situation was DVC's fault, they would be working to remedy it for the owner and her renter.

But here's the thing, to get DVC to "make it right," it would require the owner to be kicking and screaming on the renter's behalf. I'm just not sure someone who is renting their points out are going to go to the mat with DVC about an issue such as this.

And count me among the people who say David's makes it clear what a broker's role is. They match the owners/renters, confirm a reservation is made and deal with the money changing hands. If these people hadn't gone through a broker, there's a very good chance that they would be without a room AND the cash. The full refund opportunity is what you pay the broker premium for.

 

[DebbieB]

But here's the thing, to get DVC to "make it right," it would require the owner to be kicking and screaming on the renter's behalf. I'm just not sure someone who is renting their points out are going to go to the mat with DVC about an issue such as this.

And count me among the people who say David's makes it clear what a broker's role is. They match the owners/renters, confirm a reservation is made and deal with the money changing hands. If these people hadn't gone through a broker, there's a very good chance that they would be without a room AND the cash. The full refund opportunity is what you pay the broker premium for.

If they only got 50% upfront, "going to the mat" would give them the other 50%. I really doubt its DVC's fault.

 

[DougEMG]

To the OP, very sorry for you to be losing your BWV reservation over F&W. I hope you can work out some other arrangements and still have a good time.

Renting points is a lot cheaper than paying cash, but there are some major things a renter gives up for that cash discount. Like not knowing for sure if they'll have a room when they show up, not being able to make changes or cancel the reservation and paying up front. But all of those apply to wether you are renting through a broker or through an owner directly (some owners do provide a little more flexibility). Most brokers charge anywhere from $2-$4 per point more than going through an owner directly and for that premium the broker is providing two services, finding the owner to rent from and ensuring you get a refund if something goes wrong, that's it.

It certainly sounds like it is the owner that caused the problem here, not Dave's and not DVC and I would have a hard time trusting anything an owner was saying in a case like this.

When I first looked into DVC it totally amazed me that people would send thousands of dollars to total strangers to rent points, but it happens all the time and in the vast majority of cases things all go smoothly!

 

[DVC Doctor]

When I first looked into DVC it totally amazed me that people would send thousands of dollars to total strangers to rent points, but it happens all the time and in the vast majority of cases things all go smoothly!

I 100% agree and 99.99% of the times there are only happy transactions.

Is there any escrow services that handle these transactions. Not that that would matter here as the OP money is safe, they just lost a hard to get reservation.

 

[crisi]

I 100% agree and 99.99% of the times there are only happy transactions.

Is there any escrow services that handle these transactions. Not that that would matter here as the OP money is safe, they just lost a hard to get reservation.

That is pretty much the service brokers provide. They also provide a match. To the best of my knowledge, no one provides the escrow independently of finding the match between owner and renter...maybe there is a business opportunity there?

 

[DougEMG]

Yup, the broker is essentially providing the services of an escrow service.

 

[Judique]

Since the member who made the reservation has many contracts (where the dues were inappropriately applied), he may have also made more than 20 reservations in one year. At that point, "commercial renting" kicks in. And DVC may have stopped him and cancelled his reservations. A few years ago, there was discussion about a member who several non-members had rented from who did just that - more than 20 reservations to different people and got caught by DVC.

I agree with this.

I've had DVC for 15 years and one year I rented my points. I don't have many points, but people were asking for anywhere from 1-5 days in studios mostly. I think I ended up with about 7 rentals and a small transfer.

DVC (Disney) sent me a warning letter after the fact.

So, it's possible that some of David's point sources are big point holders who get busy and can't put the time into managing 4K-5K in points. I know I spent a LOT of time managing and renting about 400 points that one year. In fact, if I get busy again and can't take my 2 week trip, I'll be knocking on David's door.

 

[Sammie]

As I said in the other thread, David isn't the member he simply provides a service in helping a renter find a member wanting to book a reservation for profit. If anyone does not understand that the Member owns the points and therefore owns the reservation, then they did not do their homework. Until you take possession of that room, it can be cancelled by the member. And I guess even after you check in a member could cancel out the rest of the days after that. If you want more security, book with Disney.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

As I said in the other thread, David isn't the member he simply provides a service in helping a renter find a member wanting to book a reservation for profit. If anyone does not understand that the Member owns the points and therefore owns the reservation, then they did not do their homework. Until you take possession of that room, it can be cancelled by the member. And I guess even after you check in a member could cancel out the rest of the days after that. If you want more security, book with Disney.

Points are forfeited if cancelled on day of check in so even if an owner could cancel after a renter checked in ,which I would question a bit of they could, there would be no gain to the owner. I guess a very sad story told to MS might gain use of the points but nothing would be a given.

 

[Fastpassminus]

I rent points through Davids. It is a fear of mine that something will go wrong like this ( I only have 1 contract & dues are paid in full until January but still)

I have rented points from David & had a few sleepless nights of " what if?? " before checking in. I found it comforting to be able to see my reservation in MDE right up until check in, but there is still a huge trust factor at play.

 

[crisi]

Points are forfeited if cancelled on day of check in so even if an owner could cancel after a renter checked in ,which I would question a bit of they could, there would be no gain to the owner. I guess a very sad story told to MS might gain use of the points but nothing would be a given.

It isn't likely. Nor is this scenario likely, but this one has gain - they don't cancel the reservation, they change the names the day before checkin. From renters to theirs, or friends of theirs, or...

Almost everyone who rents DVC points isn't scamming. They intend to follow through with the reservation. And almost always they do follow through with the reservation. This feels like someone in deep financial trouble who couldn't come up with the cash to pay dues.

 

[supersnoop]

Almost everyone who rents DVC points isn't scamming. They intend to follow through with the reservation. And almost always they do follow through with the reservation. This feels like someone in deep financial trouble who couldn't come up with the cash to pay dues.

But they should have received the money at the same time dues were due. That's what doesn't make any sense to me. It's like they rented out specifically to pay the dues, and then didn't?

 

[crisi]

But they should have received the money at the same time dues were due. That's what doesn't make any sense to me. It's like they rented out specifically to pay the dues, and then didn't?

They would have received only half the money, that might not have been sufficient to pay for dues. And they apparently had multiple contracts. They may have financed DVC - so they had more in play to keep the reservation than just dues - they may have had to keep their payments current. If they received the money before dues were due, they might have spent it doing something frivolous like paying their mortgage on their home or buying groceries - hoping a job would come along that would let them catch up on dues before it got this far. If its an accident or illness of some sort, it takes forever for SSDI to come through, but you usually get back payments - maybe they were counting on that.

 

[Sammie]

But they should have received the money at the same time dues were due. That's what doesn't make any sense to me. It's like they rented out specifically to pay the dues, and then didn't?

Or like Deb said, they had more than 20 bookings and got caught and DVC cancelled them. It has happened before.

 

[Majesty1919]

I'm sorry this happened to you, but your description of the response you got is VERY far off base. You paid a premium to book through a brokerage service, and the reason you did so was the assurance that you'd get your money back if something went wrong with the reservation.

Something did go wrong, and you were offered your money back. From your own description, David's is doing exactly everything they promised to do.

David's has already paid the owner a substantial portion of your total rental fee. If they are unable to recover that money from the owner, David's -- not you -- takes that loss. What more do you expect them to do?

It's a bad situation, and we're all sorry for that and everyone fully understands the disappointment you feel losing a coveted and difficult to replace reservation. But it's neither your fault nor David's -- it's the fault of the owner who made the reservation.

"Spreading the word" in an inaccurate way because you're mad does absolutely nothing.

I can appreciate the way you explained this. I understand better the plus of using a broker, recognizing that it doesn't eliminate all risk. What it does do for me is assure me that in the event this kind of "uncomfortable and unforeseen circumstance occurs, at the least I won't be out the $1000 or more that I paid. I just don't have a place to say. That is going to suck. But even more sucky would be no room AND no money.

 

[Dean]

I can appreciate the way you explained this. I understand better the plus of using a broker, recognizing that it doesn't eliminate all risk. What it does do for me is assure me that in the event this kind of "uncomfortable and unforeseen circumstance occurs, at the least I won't be out the $1000 or more that I paid. I just don't have a place to say. That is going to suck. But even more sucky would be no room AND no money.

There are negatives to using a broker also. They potentially include a slightly higher cost, less flexibility to make changes or if something happens, and less control than dealing directly with a given owner. IMO dealing with a single owner over time is potentially better, cheaper and less risky than using a broker. It's pretty much the same issue of a home daycare vs a business.

 

[Tozzie]

I will tell you from personal experience DVC does not cancel reservations immediately if the dues are in arrears. I found out totally by accident, I purchased a Boardwalk contract last year and I thought they would link the dues to my currrent contracts and take it electronically every month but they didn't and I was 4 months behind before I realized it, I had reservations for trips and DVC did not cancel them. When I found out I immediately called and took care of it. So if it was indeed due to dues not being paid the member was seriously delinquent and should have known they were delinquent.

 

[Majesty1919]

You are right. The cost is higher. There are pros and cons to both I'm finding.

Brokers do cost more. Some offer a money back guarantee if the reservation is cancelled because something went wrong on the owner's end. Others offer cancel for any reason on points coverage in case something goes wrong on MY end. Yes, that does all come at a premium. One helpful tip I received from other members for a smooth transaction is clear communication of what is expected from both parties. That's what I do like about most brokers. They clearly lay out the cost and the process.

I am sure that some renters are no walk in the park either. Working with owner's directly has a proven challenging so far for me because some posts are vague. Ie; I have points. Where and what date? I've done this before. Give me your money and I want it all up front. LOL The stickie for new renters said do your homework BEFORE any money changes hand and if you'e not comfortable with the terms walk away. I asked for references and a written agreement and never heard back.

I'd prefer to work with a reputable owner and save $2 a point, with a contract, and some references. But I don't want to feel like I am offending someone because following the sticky advice.

 

[Savagekids]

I don't understand why David's couldn't or didn't find another member to rent points to OP. I get that it might not have been the same room and dates but something should have been offered.

 

[LVSWL]

I don't understand why David's couldn't or didn't find another member to rent points to OP. I get that it might not have been the same room and dates but something should have been offered.

David's can only work with what they have. They may not have had another owner with points to rent at that time, but more importantly there probably wasn't anything available by that time because of when the renter's trip was planned.