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

[JimMIA]

And to me the refund isn't good Enuff to cover the huge letdown. My opinion

I agree, but there is NOTHING that would be "good Enuff" in this situation.

However, the purpose of using a broker is NOT to guarantee every aspect of a vacation and a magical time had by all.

It is to provide some level of security to the vacationer by guaranteeing that they will not lose any money, and that guarantee was met.

We're all sorry OP lost the reservation through no fault of their own, but put the blame where it belongs -- on the deadbeat owner who let his dues lapse and caused the reservation to be canceled.

That owner KNEW what would happen if they didn't pay their dues, and they are the person at fault here.

 

[Marionnette]

And to me the refund isn't good Enuff to cover the huge letdown. My opinion

It's not as if David's can pull another reservation out of thin air for the OP. That villa went to the next lucky DVCer. As others have pointed out, there is no way for any of the brokers to vet the owners they connect with renters. All any of them can do is offer a full refund if the reservation falls through. While it never hurts to ask more something more in the way of compensation when a business disappoints, you should also accept that they have done as promised if they don't go beyond the terms of their contract.

Would it be a good PR move for David's to do more? Well, heck yeah! But you cannot fault them for doing as they promised when a reservation falls through.

 

[cydswipe]

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.

This is a very great point. Thank you. This has been an extraordinary learning experience, for sure.

 

[cydswipe]

It's not as if David's can pull another reservation out of thin air for the OP. That villa went to the next lucky DVCer. As others have pointed out, there is no way for any of the brokers to vet the owners they connect with renters. All any of them can do is offer a full refund if the reservation falls through. While it never hurts to ask more something more in the way of compensation when a business disappoints, you should also accept that they have done as promised if they don't go beyond the terms of their contract.

Would it be a good PR move for David's to do more? Well, heck yeah! But you cannot fault them for doing as they promised when a reservation falls through.

Seriously, this has been an incredible learning experience. Thank you your insight.

 

[cydswipe]

David has replied to the review on his Facebook page. There are so many angles to consider. I appreciate the conversation and the respect shown here.. thank you.

 

[Kingdome8]

Would it be a good PR move for David's to do more? Well, heck yeah! But you cannot fault them for doing as they promised when a reservation falls through.

Yeah can't fault him. But can definitely avoid the service.

Also how is it known that the dues weren't paid? I didn't see that posted for sure. Just a thought of someone.
If I missed it my fault

 

[CMNJ]

Also how is it known that the dues weren't paid? I didn't see that posted for sure. Just a thought of someone.
If I missed it my fault

It was in the thread earlier-that DVC applied the dues to the wrong account (supposedly the member has multiple)

David has replied to the review on his Facebook page. There are so many angles to consider. I appreciate the conversation and the respect shown here.. thank you.

I read his response-interesting to see that he acknowledges both cancelled reservations were from the same member-I think we all kind of assumed it but he confirmed it
i think these threads have been good to show people that renting from a broker isn't any safer/more reliable (as far as guaranteeing your reservation( it just keeps your money safe

 

[supersnoop]

Yeah can't fault him. But can definitely avoid the service.

Also how is it known that the dues weren't paid? I didn't see that posted for sure. Just a thought of someone.
If I missed it my fault

Yes, that point was clearly posted by both people who had reservations cancelled. It was included in the email from David.

 

[Sleepy425]

I have used David and had a good experience. I have even referred friends to use his service.

However, if a renter's reservation had been canceled and it was no longer available to rebook through DVC, David should be busting his butt to find other accommodations for the renter, such as booking through Disney. Not for nothing, but David makes good money doing this. I highly doubt this issue is common - he could really save face and make his business look good if he went above and beyond to ensure that guests who trusted him still have a room for their vacation. The expense for him would be negligible compared to his yearly profits. He needs to take a cue from Disney and amp up the customer service in these rare cases.

 

[suebeelin]

I have used David and had a good experience. I have even referred friends to use his service.

However, if a renter's reservation had been canceled and it was no longer available to rebook through DVC, David should be busting his butt to find other accommodations for the renter, such as booking through Disney. Not for nothing, but David makes good money doing this. I highly doubt this issue is common - he could really save face and make his business look good if he went above and beyond to ensure that guests who trusted him still have a room for their vacation. The expense for him would be negligible compared to his yearly profits. He needs to take a cue from Disney and amp up the customer service in these rare cases.

David makes maybe $2 or $2.5 per point (charging $14 or $15pp). Imo, that's peanuts. If the reservation is 100pts, he makes $200 or $250, while the owner makes $600/700 (accounting for maintenance fees). The renter pays $1400-1500, or $200/night.

Let's say it's a week studio room at BWV in October. That's 107 points. For 7 days in a deluxe.

He's a small business. How small? Probably 2-3ppl, plus overhead and expenses. Note that a cash room at BWV during food and wine is gonna cost over $3k. I've priced it out at btwn $450-550/night cash rates. To "make good" is over TEN TIMES his profit.

I highly doubt he can easily afford "making good" on things. He isn't a big publicly traded company making record profits.

I'm so sorry for the risk... I won't be recommending my friends rent through a broker. Personally? We paid cash rates once to stay at BWV ($400/night with a conference discount) and decided buying dvc made sense instead.

Plus, there's more renters than rentees. Do you think that will change after this? I would be surprised.

The alternative? Buy your own dvc. Or, pay cash rates to Disney. Or... Stay at moderates and values.

Still sucks this situation, I agree.

 

[Deb & Bill]

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.

 

[JimMIA]

Also how is it known that the dues weren't paid? I didn't see that posted for sure

It was in the thread earlier-that DVC applied the dues to the wrong account (supposedly the member has multiple)

Well...maybe. That is what the victim OP was told.

But it sounds to me like this explanation had to have come from the owner who didn't pay their dues. David would certainly have no way of independently verifying whether DVC made a mistake or not. So that piece of information MUST have come from the owner.

Now, let me ask everybody a question.

Based on our collective experience with DVC, does anybody here really believe that DVC -- knowing THEY had made a mistake -- would have responded, "Too bad, so sad?"

Does anybody honestly believe that if they knew THEY had made a mistake, DVC would not have come up with acceptable accommodations of some sort to fix the problem?

I am not the least bit reluctant to criticize DVC, but I honestly cannot imagine them doing that IF they knew THEIR mistake caused the problem.

AND...as other owners who have thought this process through have noted earlier -- IF an account was in arrears for ANY reason, DVC would have been actively notifying the owner. They would do that several times before canceling any reservations. DVC is NOT in the business of messing up people's vacations -- even if the victim is a renter.

 

[tiggergal15]

Ok..this is the same issue as another post..!?!? Same situation And almost same wording...2 accidentally cancelled in the same day through the same company!?! Sounds fishy to me too...

 

[Minniesgal]

The thing is this is outwith David's control. If the room is booked the room is booked, if there are no rooms available there are no rooms available. Despite this not being the renters fault this has happened to them and it cannot be fixed. Sometimes things just have to be accepted because we cannot control everything and disappointments have to be faced. David's has made good on this they have given a refund in full. This is the protection you pay for through Davids. In my opinion expecting a broker to do more is unreasonable. It is one thing expecting a huge corporation to make good on a mistake they made (ie Disney) but expecting an individual (the owner) or a small business to do the same is unreasonable.

I also don't think there is any great point in public service announcements against renting or warning people about using Davids. Renting offers people the opportunity to benefit from a significant discount on deluxe rooms. It comes with downsides which are well known and well documented. Anyone who rents takes a risk on both sides. However, for the most part it goes well. We have two families who checked in today on our points at AKV in rooms not available otherwise for the price they paid. Many many rental transactions go down without problems. Do you really think families should be discouraged from benefitting because of a couple of isolated incidents. In all the time I have been a DVC member I have only ever heard of a few problems renting and it has mostly been the owner with issues not the renter.

Op I get you are disappointed but luckily you went through Davids and have all your money back. If you focus on being upset and how unfair it is you will stay upset and disappointed. Can't you book a room at POR or Pop or even offsite we love the DTD resorts. Then you can focus on your new trip rather than your disappointments. I know that won't be walking distance from F&W but it still could be an amazing trip.

I believe that these types of situation are the time to make limonade otherwise if you hold on to the disapointment you prolong your upset and only hurt yourself more in the process.

 

[Minniesgal]

Ok..this is the same issue as another post..!?!? Same situation And almost same wording...2 accidentally cancelled in the same day through the same company!?! Sounds fishy to me too...

It is the same resort and the same situation. I don't think it is fishy at all. I suspect both parties have booked with the same owner and are both suffering from the same issue. The fact both came to light the same day makes me convinced of it.

When I rented my last set of points I rented them in four separate reservations to four different families. If I had messed up four families would have been impacted not 1.

 

[mousehockey37]

AFAIK, don't the point holders have the option, albeit sour in nature, the ability to cancel your reservation anyway? It's their points you're renting, and if they want to use the points, they could technically cancel, get their points back and use them for themselves... Again, it's very very rare that this happens, but isn't it something that can happen?

 

[Minniesgal]

AFAIK, don't the point holders have the option, albeit sour in nature, the ability to cancel your reservation anyway? It's their points you're renting, and if they want to use the points, they could technically cancel, get their points back and use them for themselves... Again, it's very very rare that this happens, but isn't it something that can happen?

And anyone who handles your credit card had has the option to defraud you. Most don't.

The point is if people don't do something because there is risk associated you very quickly get to the point where you don't do anything and you are not really living. It is about knowing, understanding and accepting or not that risk.

 

[cvjw]

Now, let me ask everybody a question.

Based on our collective experience with DVC, does anybody here really believe that DVC -- knowing THEY had made a mistake -- would have responded, "Too bad, so sad?"

Does anybody honestly believe that if they knew THEY had made a mistake, DVC would not have come up with acceptable accommodations of some sort to fix the problem?

I am not the least bit reluctant to criticize DVC, but I honestly cannot imagine them doing that IF they knew THEIR mistake caused the problem.
.

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.

 

[JimMIA]

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.

And did they fix your reservation, or make acceptable alternative arrangements?

 

[cvjw]

And did they fix your reservation, or make acceptable alternative arrangements?

Yes, they somehow got my reservation back. We did not know until we were already in Orlando, but in the end, DVC made it right for us. I think they would also make it right for the OP if it was indeed their mistake