I totally agree. I haven't been in the situation that friends have used my points without me, so I may reconsider not charging them, but I agree that I wouldn't charge my close family for any reason.I’m in No way criticizing anyone, nor am I looking to stir the pot,,,
Maybe I’m missing something, or perhaps I’m the outlier here, but I would personally never charge family or friends.
I could see the angle when you’re using points for friends who are traveling without you, but that‘s not something we’ve really done with our points. And even that would be a tough one to swallow.
Family? Never getting charged. EVER.
Admittedly, any friends and/or family who’ve stayed on our points have traveled with us, with maybe 1-2 exceptions in the past 23 years for family members.
Like I said, maybe I’m missing something here, but I wouldn’t charge family for points that I already own (yes I‘m aware of my annual dues, but I’m paying those regardless).
Not a criticism, just my perspective.
I’m in No way criticizing anyone, nor am I looking to stir the pot,,,
Maybe I’m missing something, or perhaps I’m the outlier here, but I would personally never charge family or friends.
I could see the angle when you’re using points for friends who are traveling without you, but that‘s not something we’ve really done with our points. And even that would be a tough one to swallow.
Family? Never getting charged. EVER.
Admittedly, any friends and/or family who’ve stayed on our points have traveled with us, with maybe 1-2 exceptions in the past 23 years for family members.
Like I said, maybe I’m missing something here, but I wouldn’t charge family for points that I already own (yes I‘m aware of my annual dues, but I’m paying those regardless).
Not a criticism, just my perspective.
There have been many similar discussions over the years but this comment makes this one somewhat unique.I'm currently in ROFR on my second contract in as many years primarily because my family and close friends appear to appreciate the deep discounts I can give them.
Cost of the maintenance fees for the points used. Except for my kids, of course mom pays then.I'm currently in ROFR on my second contract in as many years primarily because my family and close friends appear to appreciate the deep discounts I can give them. I've been giving DVC the side eye since 1996 when my kids were small, knowing that it just wouldn't work for us. I only had 2 weeks vacation/year and we weren't local so the cost/time was a hard no. Fast forward 26 years and the stars have aligned. As newer grandparents, freshly retired, it's been a great source of enjoying my childrens inheritance to their benefit. To that end, without some sort of control or governor, it could become a free for all with its own thorns.
So I've set a price of $10/point with subtle variations depending on who gets the master suite vs the pull-out in the living room. Extremely easy to manage and keeps a handle on fiscal resposibility (theirs, not mine).
How do others handle sharing your points with friends and family?
Yeah, in our case, in exchange for bringing our kids , we got grandkids.For family and friends, I don´t charge. But often I will just get something else from them in return.
Ha ha. I was going to post that such a charge -- maintenance fees plus a charge for the initial buy in expense -- made sense as a 'at cost' charge. I get it though -- maybe that entirely financially supportable approach would only be offered to lesser friends???If they're coming with us, no charge. If I'm using points for a trip we're not going, we charge them annual dues. If we don't like them that much then annual dues + the purchase price per point (per year)
Exactly.There are enough stories on these forums of family/friends doing just that to cause me to agree that having them pay something upfront, even just the dues, makes it clear to them that their accommodations aren’t free to you. If they’re not willing to commit any $, i wouldn’t be willing to commit to reserving a villa for them.