Against RCI/II Rules to Rent out Exchanges

joanp60 wrote:

To clarify:

If I pay all fees and donate my exchanged week to a non-profit org. for their fund-raising auction, and the auction winner pays the non-profit org. the amount they bid is there a problem? The guest cert would be put in the winner's name.

Hi. Since it is a donation and you have no financial gain, then it should not qualify as commercial activity, hence I believe it is within the RCI rules. Stan.

delorise2 wrote:

john1671 wrote:

Hi All,

It is a violation of RCI and II rules to rent a unit that was obtained via exhange. If caught RCI/II will cancel your account and you lose all deposited weeks too.

Some resorts (especially Disney) have taken to question people with guest certificates upon checkin. If the renter admits it was a rental, they are turned away homeless fro the week.

Read the rules, they are on both websites.

And don't attack me, I do not like these rules but share them only so that potential renters do not get burned.

Don't believe me? Just call RCI or II and ask for yourself.

John

PS. They catch people every day, read some of the postings on TUG2.NET for war stories.

I undetstand the point here, but why do sales people at many resorts tell potential buyers that "you can even rent your week to family and friends as a way to pay maintenance fee, etc?

The salesperson is correct. You CAN rent YOUR week. You just can't bank your own week with an exchange company, accept an exchange, and then rent that EXCHANGE WEEK (which you don't own).

You may also be able to make an Internal Exchange within your own resort group (if it allows internal exchanges) and rent out that week.

You would usually need to get a Guest Confirmation when you know who the renter will be. Whether that requires a fee, depends on your own resort/resort group policies.

MD

joanp60 wrote:

Also, I don't feel like anyone has answered the question Mike posed about if I want to let me daughter, my neighbor, whoever be my guest by using my exchanged week, can I ask them to reimburse me the $164. exchange fee + the $59. guest cert. fee?

If I was charging them rent, I would be charging them hundreds of dollars. This is not the same as charging rent to me.

Say you even asked your daughter to pay you the $59. you had to pay to put it in her name, is that still against the rules? I don't know if you would get a different answer depending on which RCI rep you got.

=======

It is generally understood that you may accept compensation for the Guest Confirmation and Exchange Fee but not for the week itself when RCI or II is involved. Does that help? MD

Will RedWeek follow the same policy as other exchange companies and prohibit the rental of weeks secured through a RedWeek exchange? Require Guest Confirmations? Fee? MD

adahiscout wrote:

Will RedWeek follow the same policy as other exchange companies and prohibit the rental of weeks secured through a RedWeek exchange? Require Guest Confirmations? Fee? MD

Hi MD,

We do not have a specific term that prevents this. But, it is outlined in our terms that YOU are responsible for any damages your guest makes (See Timeshare Exchanges section #2: http://www.redweek.com/tos#exchanges. We also only deal with you, not your guest. We do not charge guest certificate fees.

Hope that answers your question.

Thanks, Marty

marty8084 wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

Will RedWeek follow the same policy as other exchange companies and prohibit the rental of weeks secured through a RedWeek exchange? Require Guest Confirmations? Fee? MD

Hi MD,

We do not have a specific term that prevents this. But, it is outlined in our terms that YOU are responsible for any damages your guest makes (See Timeshare Exchanges section #2: http://www.redweek.com/tos#exchanges. We also only deal with you, not your guest. We do not charge guest certificate fees.

Hope that answers your question.

Thanks, Marty

============ Missed one question (above), Marty. Will RedWeek Exchanges allow a week we receive in an exchange to be rented out to someone else? Or will rental for profit be prohibited as it is with RCI and II? Since this topic has taken up lots of Forum space when discussing other exchange companies, RedWeek policy should be made clear. MD

My interpretation is that Redweek does not prevent rentals of exchanges, however they do not take responsibility after such a rental occurs ... the responsibility is between the exchanger and the renter. The change of name on the confirmation is the responsibility of the exchanger since Redweek does not offer guest certificates.

Marty, correct me if I'm wrong.

NOTE TO REDWEEK (I really hope that Redweek discourages rentals of exchanges due to the best exchanges being snapped up and rented for profit.)

joanp60 wrote:

I just tried to get a summer beach location in DE, MD, NJ and could not find any. All I can find is winter. And this is with me checking 2 years in advance! The only thing RCI said is I can put in a 'search'. I wouldn't mind doing that if I didn't have to put something upfront first but I don't want to pay or to take my week out of the spacebank when I am not guaranteed that they will find anything with their search. Joan

====== A deposit remains active for two years. For you to get something 2 years ahead, someone would have needed to deposit a week for 2 full years in advance of the check-in date. Right? You don't want to put something in upfront. Why would they? Do you see the problem? Once you have made your own deposit, RCI can make a continuous search and let you know whenever an appropriate match appears. If you do not deposit, you are always in line behind anyone who did and wants the same thing you do.

This is precisely why they created RCI POINTS which automatically deposits members' weeks each year, creating a pool of availability. The down side is that, by contract, POINTS owners can never rent out either your owned week or an RCI week secured by exchange. (Just confirmed this with RCI.)

I have also learned that while RCI POINTS members can exchange for RCI WEEKS deposits, WEEKS members do not have full access to POINTS deposits. However, when a POINTS member takes a WEEKS deposit, a compensating POINTS week is deposited in WEEKS.

WEEKS members can also reserve via the "Nightly Extra Vacations program, which began as a result of surplus nightly availability within the POINTS system."

With the best will in the world, nothing ever seems to be as simple as we'd like!

If you really don't want to deposit your week with RCI you could look for a rental offered on RedWeek or ask for one on RedWishes. MD

jayjay wrote:

My interpretation is that Redweek does not prevent rentals of exchanges, however they do not take responsibility after such a rental occurs ... the responsibility is between the exchanger and the renter. The change of name on the confirmation is the responsibility of the exchanger since Redweek does not offer guest certificates.

Marty, correct me if I'm wrong.

NOTE TO REDWEEK (I really hope that Redweek discourages rentals of exchanges due to the best exchanges being snapped up and rented for profit.)

JayJay, this is correct. We do not have a specific term that prevents this... so, no, it's not explicitly prohibited. You're just responsible for your guests actions if you do rent it out.

Thanks, Marty

When I exchange through II I have the option everytime to get a guest certificate for I think it's 39 dollars. It does not say it must be a family member or anything like that so I do not see why the exchange can not be sold when using II. I'm sure you could call up after it's rented to have the guest certificate added for that fee. Now renting to someone you don't know can cause probems because you as the owner/exchanger would be responsible for any and all damage that happens in the unit.

Renting to someone you do know can cause a problem. Mainly for the renter. The rules are easy, you can't rent a week you obtained from an exchange through II or RCI.

You can get a gift certificate, you can charge the person a few certain fees (which Jayjay mentioned in another post & I can't remember) ....which is not anywhere near what the fair rental should be, but you can't rent it.

You can let a guest, family member or stranger stay in the unit with your guest certificate....and the same happens as REDWEEK you are responsible.

Here is something that was posted on another site.....I have no idea of its validity, but according to where it happened, I could easily see it being close to the facts. (Some resorts are run by a hateful group)

"Hi...we would like you to get a free breakfast and help us with a survey." Could you make it on Monday AM?" Renters in unit replied negatively, and of course an attempt was made for other things to get the family to attend a T/S sales presentation.

" No we rented for less than your maintance fees" . Must have irked the salesman. Must have asked what the week was rented for. Checked owner of the week. Called RCI and told them the owners rented the week. They had to find another place to stay for the rest of their week (this was Orlando). Owner lost banked weeks and was (temporary) removed from RCI membership. I would not put it past II to do the same. ( They would and could)

So, if you somehow get more $$ from the family using your unit with a gift certificate than you are supposed to, MAKE SURE THEY KNOW YOU GAVE THEM THE WEEK AS A GIFT. Tell them not to tell anyone they paid a rental fee.

I think what is allowed is the gift certif fee and any exchange fees. But I'm not sure if both RCI or II have exactly the same policy.

Just remember, when you give in your owned week, you have lost your ownership rights. Those weeks back are under the control of RCI or II....not you. ( And I don't know why, except for possible damages).

(Damages could include a lawsuit against the owners of a week who rented and the teenaged girls set off the fire alarms to watch all the old people try to exit the 19 story beachfront T/S tower. Yes..it happened.)

Do you wonder why some HOAs would rather not allow renting?

RE: >> When I exchange through II I have the option everytime to get a guest certificate for I think it's 39 dollars. It does not say it must be a family member or anything like that so I do not see why the exchange can not be sold when using II. << =======================================

It's the II (and/or RCI) membership terms and rules, not the certificate, which very clearly and expressly prohibit the sale or rental of an exchange for an amount of money which is more than the cost of obtaining the guest certificate, which would then make it a prohibited "for profit" action on your part. =======================================

Re: >> I'm sure you could call up after it's rented to have the guest certificate added for that fee.<<

Don't be so sure. Your membership can be terminated and the prospective renters turned away and refused occupancy for your violation of the exchange use policy, if it became known. This has happened -- it's not just urban legend. =======================================

Re: >> Now renting to someone you don't know can cause probems because you as the owner/exchanger would be responsible for any and all damage that happens in the unit. <<

You, the owner, are personally and directly responsible for damage whether you know the occupant or not, when you (as opposed to either the resort itself or an exchange company) rent out your week on your own. You can always execute a damage liability contract with your renter, but the resort doesn't care one bit about that. If you rented out your owned week and there is damage by your "tenant", the resort will come after YOU. You, in turn, would then have to seek cost recovery from the renter yourself.

marty8084 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

My interpretation is that Redweek does not prevent rentals of exchanges, however they do not take responsibility after such a rental occurs ... the responsibility is between the exchanger and the renter. The change of name on the confirmation is the responsibility of the exchanger since Redweek does not offer guest certificates.

Marty, correct me if I'm wrong.

NOTE TO REDWEEK (I really hope that Redweek discourages rentals of exchanges due to the best exchanges being snapped up and rented for profit.)

JayJay, this is correct. We do not have a specific term that prevents this... so, no, it's not explicitly prohibited. You're just responsible for your guests actions if you do rent it out.

Thanks, Marty

===== Marty, in answer to my previous question about guest certificates/guest confirmations, you said RedWeek would not CHARGE for them. Do we understand then that RedWeek WILL issue them? I'd think this would be necessary or the guest/renter would have nothing to present at check-in and the resort would not know who was coming. I certainly have to get Guest Confirmations when I get a place for someone through points or internal exchanges with Fairfield, Bluegreen, or Mayan Palace even though none of these charge me and some want me to forward them to the guest myself.

JayJay has the impression that RedWeek would not ISSUE Guest Certificates. Which is correct? MD

adahiscout wrote:

Marty, in answer to my previous question about guest certificates/guest confirmations, you said RedWeek would not CHARGE for them. Do we understand then that RedWeek WILL issue them? I'd think this would be necessary or the guest/renter would have nothing to present at check-in and the resort would not know who was coming. I certainly have to get Guest Confirmations when I get a place for someone through points or internal exchanges with Fairfield, Bluegreen, or Mayan Palace even though none of these charge me and some want me to forward them to the guest myself.

JayJay has the impression that RedWeek would not ISSUE Guest Certificates. Which is correct?MD

Good question .... is there a confirmation/reservation certificate for Redweek exchanges since resorts want the confirmation to be in the name of the person checking in. How is this going to be handled by Redweek? Are the confimations all handled by email?

jayjay wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

Marty, in answer to my previous question about guest certificates/guest confirmations, you said RedWeek would not CHARGE for them. Do we understand then that RedWeek WILL issue them? I'd think this would be necessary or the guest/renter would have nothing to present at check-in and the resort would not know who was coming. I certainly have to get Guest Confirmations when I get a place for someone through points or internal exchanges with Fairfield, Bluegreen, or Mayan Palace even though none of these charge me and some want me to forward them to the guest myself.

JayJay has the impression that RedWeek would not ISSUE Guest Certificates. Which is correct?MD

Good question .... is there a confirmation/reservation certificate for Redweek exchanges since resorts want the confirmation to be in the name of the person checking in. How is this going to be handled by Redweek? Are the confimations all handled by email?

When a user pays an exchange fee and completes a reservation, they receive an email receipt from us with the details of what was included in their cart. They also receive an reservation confirmation e-mail which comes directly from DAE as a text e-mail with a PDF attachment.

Thanks, Marty

marty8084 wrote:

When a user pays an exchange fee and completes a reservation, they receive an email receipt from us with the details of what was included in their cart. They also receive an reservation confirmation e-mail which comes directly from DAE as a text e-mail with a PDF attachment. Thanks, Marty

Thanks for the explanation Marty.

jayjay wrote:

marty8084 wrote:

When a user pays an exchange fee and completes a reservation, they receive an email receipt from us with the details of what was included in their cart. They also receive an reservation confirmation e-mail which comes directly from DAE as a text e-mail with a PDF attachment. Thanks, Marty

Thanks for the explanation Marty.

=========

OK, Marty.

So, if I make an exchange, I get a PDF confirmation from DAE with my name on it. Quite naturally, that is covered by the exchange fee, just as it would be with RCI. If I knew up front that someone else would be using the exchange, I suppose I could ask that the confirmation be made originally to that name at no extra charge. (Correct?)

What happens should I subsequently rent out the week received in this exchange or gift it to another party? Do I contact DAE for a replacement confirmation so that DAE can inform the resort of the real vacationer's identity? Is there an additional charge in this case?

You indicate that RedWeek has no policy against the rental of exchanges. I trust this also applies to DAE. MD

adahiscout wrote:

jayjay wrote:

marty8084 wrote:

When a user pays an exchange fee and completes a reservation, they receive an email receipt from us with the details of what was included in their cart. They also receive an reservation confirmation e-mail which comes directly from DAE as a text e-mail with a PDF attachment. Thanks, Marty

Thanks for the explanation Marty.

=========

OK, Marty.

So, if I make an exchange, I get a PDF confirmation from DAE with my name on it. Quite naturally, that is covered by the exchange fee, just as it would be with RCI. If I knew up front that someone else would be using the exchange, I suppose I could ask that the confirmation be made originally to that name at no extra charge. (Correct?)

What happens should I subsequently rent out the week received in this exchange or gift it to another party? Do I contact DAE for a replacement confirmation so that DAE can inform the resort of the real vacationer's identity? Is there an additional charge in this case?

You indicate that RedWeek has no policy against the rental of exchanges. I trust this also applies to DAE. MD

Q. So, if I make an exchange, I get a PDF confirmation from DAE with my name on it. Quite naturally, that is covered by the exchange fee, just as it would be with RCI. If I knew up front that someone else would be using the exchange, I suppose I could ask that the confirmation be made originally to that name at no extra charge. (Correct?) A. You have to confirm the week in your name, RedWeek/DAE take ownership of it, and then transfer it into the guest's name. We don't know who the guest will be at the point you make the confirmation, and may not for quite some time. Q. What happens should I subsequently rent out the week received in this exchange or gift it to another party? Do I contact DAE for a replacement confirmation so that DAE can inform the resort of the real vacationer's identity? Is there an additional charge in this case? A. All guest name changes need to be made through DAE, yes. We do not charge a guest certificate fee for this type of change.

Q. You indicate that RedWeek has no policy against the rental of exchanges. I trust this also applies to DAE. A. DAE is our backshop. Using our exchange, you are subject to our policies, not DAEs. What DAE decides is policy for their members is up to them. If you go through RedWeek Exchange, our policies apply to you; DAE simply processes it. You are not going to get in trouble with DAE for doing something that RedWeek policy allows.

Thanks, Marty

Q. So, if I make an exchange, I get a PDF confirmation from DAE with my name on it. Quite naturally, that is covered by the exchange fee, just as it would be with RCI. If I knew up front that someone else would be using the exchange, I suppose I could ask that the confirmation be made originally to that name at no extra charge. (Correct?) MD

A. You have to confirm the week in your name, RedWeek/DAE take ownership of it, and then transfer it into the guest's name. We don't know who the guest will be at the point you make the confirmation, and may not for quite some time. Marty = = Marty, the above copied question refers to the Confirmation at the time of making the actual exchange, so I might well know who the guest will be. Are you are speaking of confirming the DEPOSIT I am making, not the week I am actually getting by way of the exchange? Well ,in any case, if there is no charge it makes no great difference. Just thought we might kill two birds with one stone rather than telling the resort one name and then another. Thanks. MD

joanp60 wrote:

http://www.rciclassaction.com/ says: "A class action lawsuit has been filed against RCI on behalf of all members of RCI’s Weeks Program.

The lawsuit alleges that RCI improperly skims a large percentage of the timeshares from the RCI exchange bank system, including many prime timeshares, and rents those timeshares out to the general public for profit and also uses them for promotional purposes and as fringe benefits for its employees. The lawsuit further alleges that as a result of these practices, the actual experience of many RCI Weeks Program members is that they simply cannot find any comparable exchanges.

If you believe that you may be a member of the class action and would like more information, or if you have information that can help the investigation, please contact us."

Do you think there is a downside of joining this class action suit?

I just tried to get a summer beach location in DE, MD, NJ and could not find any. All I can find is winter. And this is with me checking 2 years in advance! The only thing RCI said is I can put in a 'search'. I wouldn't mind doing that if I didn't have to put something upfront first but I don't want to pay or to take my week out of the spacebank when I am not guaranteed that they will find anything with their search. Joan

first of all if you want bank you week till you get a vacation and if Joe blow won't bank his week till he gets a vacation, then how the heck do expect RCI to give anyone a vacation??? If no one banks, no one gets anything. Everyone cries they can't get anything!! Where ever you own i'm sure someone is waiting to get your unit, but your not banking. So quit crying and bank your week as soon as possible so others will do the same.have you ever banked 2 years in advance?? Any of you?? well there's a good chance others didn't either!! If what you want is not available, then search till someone banks. And no there is no guarantee you'll get it, cause RCI also doesn't have a guarantee that you will bank your home week every year for the rest of YOUR life either!!!