thanks for your responses everyone. I just cancelled and took the meager 600.00 refund. I don’t know, maybe it was the wrong call but I need the money now.
Let me start by saying I have been very clear, like @Nicky_S that I will take the loss, not a renter but let’s be clear - the owner will be taking a loss. The cost of DVC is the total amount of points over the life of the contract. Yearly the owner pays dues on those points (about $7-8 per point and charges about $13-15 a point for these reservations). Some owners have decided to not use their points and are renting them. Those points for some are gone. Next year’s points and next year’s dues are something an owner has purchased or owes.
I will take the loss because I have prepaid for my vacation and I hope to have another chance someday. I am also financially able to take the loss and hope my renter will have another chance too. My points are gone. I am not getting them back, please do not dismiss that some of us, including @Nicky_S have made this choice on our own.
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I certainly understand schamberry and nothing wrong with that. That’s where we are at with not wanting to make the last payment which is about the same as yours, esspecially if only looking at getting half that back.
Yeah, it’s a tough situation for everyone. Ya know I was on the fence too about buying my own resale dvc contract but this has turned me off. I’ll just stay a cash customer and book directly through Disney from now on.
Thank you @PrincipalTinker for eloquently explaining things better than I could.
To add, I made the decision along with DH, despite the fact the money we received for our points 11 months prior had already gone towards our Washington DC trip last year. DS had been working on the Apollo 50th celebration show that the Smithsonian put on in the Mall; the money enabled us to go and see a genuine once-in-a-lifetime show that he helped create. We wouldn’t have been able to do that otherwise.
As a result, when we refunded, we put that $1500 onto a credit card. So in effect we have repaid more than we received. Our choice, but it was a financial hit. Even if we manage to rent out all the points before they expire, it will still be a net loss after paying the maintenance fees.
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Yeah, I’m sure they’d like to have that be interpreted as they’re covered in this situation (or simply to act as a deterrent to people pursuing chargebacks or other legal recourse). But my read is the same as yours (and it specifically references guest or guest’s “travel party” where the rest of the contract references the Renter). At best it’s ambiguous. They could easily have added in a standard force majeure clause stating what happens if the resort is closed and the contract can’t be fulfilled, but they didn’t. My understanding (again, not a lawyer) is these ambiguities are usually not decided favorably for the party that drafted the contract.
Agreed. Accepting the $600 is certainly the no risk option and you have to do what’s best given your risk tolerance and financial situation. I’m in a similar boat where we’ll be deciding soon whether or not to make the second payment, but haven’t been thrilled with hearing about options others have been provided.
I don’t think anyone has ever seriously expected the resorts to be completely closed. Even during hurricanes, resorts stay open. A hurricane may make it impossible for the guest to get to WDW. My family doesn’t rent points during hurricane season for this reason.
That said, I think they may update their contracts moving forward.
We were able to re-schedule our May trip to August. We had a split stay with 2 different owners.
68 points for 2 nights in a BLT 1 bedroom (standard) in May became 2 nights in a BW 1 bedroom (pool/garden) in Aug. Needed 6 more points for this section which the owner had (we pay for the extra 6 points).
91 points for 5 nights in a BW studio (pool/garden) in May became 3 nights in a OKW 1 bedroom in Aug (90 points total, we lose the 1 point).
Not sure if the resorts will be open in August, but thought we would give it a try. The 91 points expire at the end of Nov. We want to avoid hurricane season as much as possible, plus late Sept- Nov travel doesn’t really work for my father who is super looking forward to this trip. Like willing to drive down from the northeast for a resort-only trip looking forward to it.
The right call is the one that helps you out. You made the right decision for you based on your own needs.
My family’s needs are probably quite different from many people on this thread. Partly because we are all adults and everyone pays their own way so no one has to take a financial hit for the whole family. However, we vacation very differently from most Liners. My parents and I could easily spend a week a WDW without going into the parks. Our full family trips (which is what our rental was for) are driven more by what dining we want to do than what attractions we plan on riding.
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I’m booked with David’s for June, but they said they are only dealing with April and May right now. I emailed asking about June, trying to proactively outreach to see if I could possibly move our trip (if the points from the owner are available beyond June) - I know as folks are rescheduling, availability is in short supply. But no go, they won’t look at it now.
We have booked several trips as a DVC rental (both with David’s and DVC rental store) and over the years, we have saved a significant amount of money. I will be disappointed if we end up losing the entire cost of this trip (and it looks like that won’t be the case, it looks like we’ll get some sort of credit for at least some), I went into this knowing that was the risk. But we also are booked in a studio, so we’re not out as much as someone who rented larger rooms. I figure we’re offset somewhat by the savings we’ve enjoyed for years. All that being said, I don’t think I’ll go DVC rental again (at least for a while) because this the lack of control right now is what is driving me nuts - the ‘we can’t talk to you because your trip is June’ message is what bothers me.
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“All that being said, I don’t think I’ll go DVC rental again (at least for a while) because this the lack of control right now is what is driving me nuts - the ‘we can’t talk to you because your trip is June’ message is what bothers me.”
In fairness the resorts haven’t (yet) closed for June, though I feel the same way. The value these brokers provide is by acting as an intermediary between owner and renter to facilitate better outcomes for both. There is no shortage of owners and renters with reservations in early summer who would like to try to work together to move them to a later date, but now the brokers are actively standing in the way of this communication. Of course, with limited availability and so many people looking to rebook some are going to lose out, I just don’t like that these conversations can’t even be started for people with June reservations.
I think a lot of people (owners and renters) have been put off by the whole process and suspect there will be less interest in working with a broker on both sides going forward…
I feel and share everybody’s pain on here. I rented from DVC Rental Store at BLT (theme park view studio) for 7/17 - 7/25. No insurance, never envisioned not going so I didn’t buy it. My entire contract was $4,023 of which I have paid $2,358 at 11 months out. July is starting to appear in peril of not happening and even if the resort reopens, what kind of vacation is it going to be?? Walking around MK with masks, gloves and hand sanitizer is not appealing to me. So, I have to decide what to do. I am leaning towards waiting it out and seeing if Disney remains closed through July. I’ve also got non-refundable airfare so I’ve got to wait that out too to get my money back. I think that gives me a little more leverage. Basically, the owner and DVC Rental Store is not delivering what they contracted to do (the room). I do think it is shabby to take people’s money and just keep it hiding behind legaleze, when the resort is closed. Kudos to Nicksyme for doing the right thing.
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FWIW, our DVC Rental Store reservations were able to be re-scheduled even though we didn’t have point protection. We had a split stay with 2 different owners booked about 10 months out for May 19 through May 26. Of course re-booking depends on when your renting members points expire, room availability in the future and your own schedule.
I’d contact your travel adviser closer to the 45 day mark (when final payment is due) and ask about when your renting members points expire if you are interested in re-booking.
Our trip is now scheduled for 8/9 - 8/14 and we were able to purchase points protection with our new reservations (which we did given the uncertainty).
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To give an update I got an email today reminding me of the final payment due next Friday and that if I don’t pay the contract will be cancelled and I’ll lose that money. If paid and the parks are closed then I’d get a credit for the full amount to be used within 24 months. So it sounds like they are going the same route as David’s.
I feel like I have to pay the final payment now and hope the parks are closed. I’m worried they are going to try to be open to get some revenue going, but extremely limited and not worth the money. Esspecially it says if resorts are closed and so even if do same as Shanghai where resorts and Disney springs is open then would get no refund, but wouldn’t be able to go to the parks which is not worth the cost.
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Thanks. They’re offering a credit if the parks are closed, or only if the resort is closed? We are about five days behind you in the same situation and will probably make the same choice if the credit applies if parks are closed too. Though I never imagined I’d be in a situation where it would be in my personal interest to have the parks/resorts closed! Still hoping for a speedy (and safe) opening for all the cast members and crew though…
Specifically says Resorts not parks. I’d hope Disney wouldn’t open the resorts without the parks knowing it wouldn’t be well received, but given they did that in another market is what has me worried. Here is the wording from email:
"In the event the current closures directly impact your travel dates, and the Disney Resorts are closed, you will receive a full dollar for dollar credit that can be applied to a future booking within the next 24-months from your original date of check-in.
In the event the Resorts are open for your travel dates, no credit will be offered"
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Thanks, that is my concern too…
We are hoping the opposite; that Disney will open the resorts first (since social distancing requirements will be easier to maintain at the hotels than the theme parks). It would ease the pressure on DVC point bookings moving forward. We are both renters and owners. We purchased a DVC contract because we love the resorts. We would gladly visit the hotels for our mid-August reservations without any theme park time.
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I wouldn’t mind a resort-only vacation for my stay at the beginning of June as long as there were at least some restaurants and pools available for use. I’d need some form of recreation for a week at the most expensive hotel I’ve ever stayed at.
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For sure! At the very least table service restaurants should be able to open in limited capacity (maybe they’ll do take-out? We have 1 bedrooms for most of our mid-August trip; takeout would work for us; leave dine-in for people in studios). Counter service should be fine for mobile order. Disney Springs should be able to open prior to the them parks too. Theoretically, they can open recreation activities like tennis courts, boat/bike rentals. horseback trail rides since these are done in small groups and with time to clean equipment between parties (something that is far more difficult for rides).
I’m worried about pools though. Pools (particularly the slide) are essential to my family’s resort enjoyment…Medical professionals, please weigh in on the pool situation vis-a-vis COVID-19.
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