Rental Risks

The biggest downside to renting DVC points is that it is a glorified handshake agreement. While a written contract is recommended (see below) to help define the obligations of both parties, legal enforcement of the contract is a bitter pill to swallow in light of a ruined Disney vacation.

Throughout the entire rental process, the Renter retains full control of the reservation. There is simply no way around this. Non-members cannot hold nor manage DVC points. DVC Member Services will not independently confirm the existence of a reservation when contacted by a non-member. However Member Services does not exist to service non-members or facilitate point rentals, and they have no obligation to answer questions posed by non-members.

A Rentee must accept the reality that s/he is placing a great deal of faith in the Renter’s promise that a reservation has been made and will remain in force until the Rentee’s arrival.

Some suggestions for overcoming the trust issue are:
Ask the Renter for references to people with whom the Renter has dealt in the past. Contact those references and ask for feedback on the transaction;
Speak to the Renter on the telephone and make sure you have a comfort level with him/her. Don’t just rely on email communications;
Ask for the DVC reservation confirmation to be provided prior to final payment to the Renter. DVC will send a one-page printed confirmation for all reservations made at DVC resorts. Rentees should consider stipulating that the confirmation be provided at some point prior to final payment on the rental transaction.
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 miniscule. However, Rentees should take whatever steps they feel are justified to become comfortable with the process prior to entering-into a rental deal.