Report Abuse

ruthw38 states in part (...but I respectfully and completely disagree with the suggested process, which I now quote below): >>As far as what someone should do, contact the Resort directly, find out what unit number you will get, and who owns it, before sending money to anyone. Ask the owner for references, of people who might have rented from them in the past.<< =============================================== As I have stated above in this same thread, no responsible resort will EVER just PROVIDE owner information to ANYONE (...just exactly as it SHOULD be, in the interests of protecting the owners' privacy). The resort can and will CONFIRM information, but they will NOT offer or PROVIDE ANY info (which is good and entirely appropriate). A prospective renter should FIRST obtain all owner information (name, address, phone number, unit / week owned) DIRECTLY FROM THE ADVERTISING OWNER! Only then is it appropriate for a prospective renter to contact the resort for CONFIRMATION of all the information which has been provided by the (alleged) owner, in order for the prospective renter to VERIFY a perfect match of all details provided by the (alleged) owner. It is NOT appropriate and it is NOT reasonable for ANYONE to expect ANY resort to ignore or violate owner privacy by PROVIDING owner information details to any unknown Tom, Dick or Sally who just happens to call on the phone asking questions about ownerships. A responsible, competently managed resort will release ABSOLUTELY NOTHING --- they will ONLY CONFIRM AND VERIFY information actually PRESENTED TO them (...just as it should be). As far as "references" go, I personally don't put much stock in that concept, since an owner renting out a week for the first time (common in this current economy) really has no references to offer anyhow, despite being a completely honest and trustworthy person. Furthermore, "references" can just be brothers-in-law or cousins or sisters of the owner, advised in advance to provide good (...but actually meaningless) "endorsements" --- and an inquirer would never even know the difference. Finally, even legitimate and real previous renters MAY NOT WANT to be bothered by unknown people calling them, asking about a private rental from a year (or longer) ago. Unless those renters previously and overtly agreed with the owner to voluntarily BECOME "references" for that owner, such unexpected inquiries can be (very appropriately) regarded as intrusive and unwelcome by those on the receiving end. That prior rental was, after all, a private transaction and NOT a public matter. Being respectful of people's privacy should ALWAYS be a VERY important consideration, particularly in an era when scams, identity theft attempts, etc. are a MAJOR (...and steadily increasing) problem in modern day society. My opinion and viewpoint is that direct, personal communication and some personal conversation between owner and prospective renter is the key to a successful rental in which both owner and renter develop a mutual trust, comfort level and understanding with one another --- with minimal bothering or involvement of others who are not involved in the transaction at all. A mutually signed rental agreement then formalizes all of the details of that understanding and protects (to some degree, anyhow) ALL parties involved in the transaction.