You may have noticed online that anyone, even non-DVC members, can book a villa at DVC resorts using cash. You may ask yourself, where does Disney get the vacation time that is used for cash rentals? There are three sources to consider when looking into the vacation time that is used to fulfill these cash rentals; exchange inventory, breakage inventory, and developer-owned inventory. In this article, we’ll explain what each of these sources of inventory are, and why Disney offering cash rentals can be a great benefit to existing Disney Vacation Club members.
Exchange Inventory
Owning points with Disney Vacation Club provides members with the perk of having a network of Deluxe Villas they can use their points to book their next Disney vacation. However, owners also have the option of exchanging these points for additional experiences outside of booking DVC Deluxe resorts. For example, guests could use their points to book a Disney Cruise Line voyage, which is one of the most popular exchanges that members do.
When guests choose not to use their points to reserve a Disney Vacation Club resort by exchanging them for other experiences, Disney will not let the room sit empty. Disney will convert those exchanged points into resort inventory that will then be rented as a cash rental. This cash rental revenue is then used to pay Disney Cruise Line for the stateroom that is being used instead.
Breakage Inventory
Breakage inventory, also occasionally referred to as unused inventory, refers to rooms that have not been booked 60 days before the check in date. These rooms will typically not be booked by members at this point in time, so Disney will rent these rooms out for a cash price to non-DVC members.
A portion of this income is then allocated toward the hard costs involved in running Disney Vacation Club. This works out to be a net positive for members, as it allows for an additional revenue stream for the vacation club. This ultimately leads to less wasted vacation time and lower maintenance costs for members.
Developer-Owned Inventory
Disney still owns any of the points that are associated with memberships that have not yet been sold at resorts. Newly-built resorts such as the beautiful Riviera Resort still have a large number of points that are owned by Disney.
Rather than let these units stay vacant, Disney will rent out vacation time using the points associated with unsold memberships. Of course, the maintenance costs associated with the points being used to fulfill that cash rental are paid by the developer, and do not affect existing members negatively in any way.
How Do Cash Rentals Benefit DVC Members?
Members may be concerned that Disney utilizing cash rentals of Disney Vacation Club properties will make it less likely that they will get availability at their home resort. This is not the case. In fact, by Disney doing cash rentals, they are benefiting the owners of the resorts by adding additional revenue streams that ultimately reduce the hard costs involved in running the vacation club.
In particular with breakage inventory, the fee that Disney will charge for renting the unused rooms is listed as a revenue component line item each year when Disney is calculating the maintenance budget for the following year. This allows maintenance costs to remain as low as possible for the owners.
Also, when Disney rents out inventory that has been exchanged for another DVC feature, the revenue from the cash rental funds the exchange. If Disney chose not to partake in cash rentals, owners would most likely not be able to participate in point exchanges for additional experiences such as Disney Cruises.
How Do Cash Rentals Affect Member Availability To Book?
Disney has come on record to state that they carefully restrict cash rental accommodations with particularly high member demand and low inventory. For example, Disney’s Grand Californian Villas are not currently available to rent for cash prices to ensure availability for members. Disney has created this measured approach to help ensure optimal availability for DVC members, while doing their best to minimize the high costs associated with villas going empty.
DVC Rentals – A Great Alternative To Cash Rentals
It’s worth mentioning that the costs involved in renting directly from Disney using cash can be quite high. Many non-members will use cash reservations to “dip their toes” into the DVC pool, before diving completely in, but if you’re interested in renting a DVC villa you can always explore using a rental service on the secondary market.
Whether you’re renting points from a DVC member to book your dream vacation, or buying a confirmed reservation, using a company like DVC Shop Rentals can be a great way to experience Disney’s Deluxe Resorts without becoming a member of Disney Vacation Club.
What Are Your Thoughts On Disney Cash Rentals?
As you can see Disney Vacation Club Resorts has created a very intelligent system to fulfill these cash rentals with inventory that would otherwise cause additional costs for members, but what are your thoughts on Disney cash rentals? Have you ever booked a cash rental with Disney? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
