In episode 024 of the My DVC Point's podcast, we're getting to know Melissa Mullett of David's Vacation Club Rental. Melissa calls (BRV) Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge home. We discuss the birth of the point rental industry and circumstances that arise that prevent members from using their points. We discuss how DVC is in a unique position in the timeshare industry in the fact that they're the #1 vacation destination in the world, they own pop culture, they own magic, and DVC members can benefit from this draw through rental and resale. We discuss member education on banking and borrowing as it related to Use Year and banking and borrowing and Disney Cruise Swaps.

Disclaimer: At the time of recording and publication, My DVC POints does not have a financial relationship with a point rental or resale company. This episode is not sponsored content. However, due to the use or lose nature of DVC points, My DVC Points does highly recommend that every member develop relationships with a reputable point rental company and a resale company. Alternatively, members can explore the risks and rewards of making private arrangements to ensure their precious DVC points never go to waste. We reached out to David's Vacation Club Rental because David was the first entrepreneur to start a DVC point rental business.

This episode was recorded in early winter of 2019 after listeners requested to know more about renting out their points.

Melissa tells the story of her parents, Cathy and David, buying into DVC. It wasn't long after they bought in that David realized points are on a use or lose basis. What happens to your membership when you cannot use your points? You cannot bank a point more than once. He realized that he couldn't be the only person to have this problem. He saw this gap in the DVC program and thought, what if other people would be interested in renting the points to stay at a DVC resort? They started advertising on MouseOwners.com and started getting about one rental a month. Within four years, the business picked up, and Melissa left her corporate job in banking and joined her father in business full time.

Melissa with her parents Cathy and David

Melissa and I are in complete agreement. The best use of my DVC points is to book a vacation for my family at a DVC resort. However, we discuss frequent life events that happen, which prevent members from utilizing their membership. People change employers, and the new employer doesn't offer as much time off as their previous one, or the member may be between jobs and a Disney vacation does not make sense for the family's finances. In that scenario, rental income from DVC points makes perfect sense. Members report that as their kids' age, they may need to use their vacation time to attend travel sporting events of their children lose interest in going back to Disney every single year.

As a DVC member, you can bank on this fact: Disney owns pop culture. Month after month, Disney studios is always releasing a box office hit. Significant intellectual properties drive people to the parks such as Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and now the Fox movie proper. They are always opening up new lands, new experiences, and building strong consumer demand for their products and services. Disney is excellent at creating consumer demand for its parks and resorts. As a DVC owner, this benefits us as owners. People want to use our points when we cannot and own our membershi...