Successful Resales & Rental Feedback Wanted

That's a great idea, but I'm wary of people calling to rent 2, 3, 4 of my 7 nights. What's to prevent them from using the entire week? I figure it's just another way a renter is working to get the price lower "I'm only using 4 nights so I should only pay for 4 nights". My response is, :if you're only using 4 nights, rent direct" or "this unit is only available for 7 nights, if you want to pay more to rent 4 nights direct vs my 7, go ahead".

I know a number of resorts are renting pretty low these days but the Marriott Newport Coast is a classic example. Direct rentals are $400-$650/night and I list weeks for $1,500-$2,500. Even now. Similar for Kaanapali Beach Club. I do my best to avoid listing units where they can be rented direct for the same or lower amounts. And yet bottom feeders still work me to get a better deal. The solution is to remove my advertising from sites where people wring every last blood cent from me and focus on areas/methods where my reasonable market rate units result in rentals.

I feel bad for the owner of that Memorial Week unit. They made a poor choice since most renters will want to be home when the weekend is over so they took a risk and look at the results. A renter used their week for less than maintenance. We should find a was to get owners together to function as a single corporate entity with pricing strength rather than thousands of individuals working against ewach other. If everyone were able to hold to the same price, renters would still get a great price in relation to direct rentals (in most cases) and owners would not incur losses like we are.

Good Point, I have heard of people renting for 4 days, Then not going home. The resort will not kick them out. Thanks,

@peterp151: While I understand your perspective as an owner wanting to get the value out of your timeshare, you need to consider the following when complaining about people wanting to rent for less than the full 7 days.

1. Unless retired, many people do not have the luxury/vacation time to take time off from work in 7-day-stretches. I work in tourism consulting, and study after study has shown that people are now taking several short, 3-4 day vacations or long weekends throughout the year as opposed to the traditional "7-day vacation" they have in the past. Busy work schedules, kids' school schedules, and the frenetic pace of modern life are slowing eating away at the traditional model. The U.S. Travel Association has done a lot of polling on this over the past several years -- lots of good research on their website.

2. Right now, we are in one of the worst economic crises since the 1930s. Unemployment is at record highs, and even those who stil have the funds to travel are making decisions based on the best value they can get for their dollar. The travel industry has taken a huge hit during this recession, and the traveling public knows it. To categorize people as "bottom feeders working to get a better deal" is a little extreme when such unusual market forces are at play.

3. The supply/demand curve and demographics play a huge role in the pricing of both hotel rooms and timeshares, and right now, there is massive overcapacity in both. During the boom years, hotels and timeshare complexes were overbuilt -- now, during the bust, that excess capacity will drive prices down. Shifting demographics are also going to have a huge impact on the timeshare market within the next decade. When you consider who uses timeshares, families often come in at the top of the list, since mutliple bedrooms and a full kitchen are a big attractions when you have kids. However, the Boomer demographic is aging, and the demographic that is taking their place - Gen X - is much, much smaller. Most young families traveling today (including the affluent ones purchasing or renting timeshares) are headed by Gen X'ers, who have increased leverage with pricing negotiations by virtue of their smaller numbers (more units chasing a smaller number of potential prospects). This is why we've seen such a cratering in the second-home market in recent times...there just aren't enough buyers (demand) to support to the number of properties (supply) on the market.

and I simply repeat - if you want to stay 3-4 nights, rent direct if you don't like that my 7 night rate is less than the 3-4 night rate direct. Don't screw me by claiming you only need 3-4 nights so you should get to pay even less, and don't be one of those people claiming you need 3-4 nights and then stay the week.

Again, I recognize there are a number of resorts with direct pricing in near tandem with owner maintenance. I don't offer those units for rent. I offer units where direct rentals have a premium to owner rentals. In either case my position is the same. If you can rent direct for less than a 7 night owner stay, rent direct. Stop asking owners to rent for less based on what I believe to be a false premise you are staying only 3-4 nights.

On a side note, I've had a few units where my 2BR unit was the only one available. People call me for a two night stay, which they can't even get direct since the resort is booked out also. They can stay in a basic motel for $100/night = $400 plus tax for two units for two nights (two units can occupy about the same number of people as a 2BR timeshare). They can stay in a hotel equal in caliber to the 2BR timeshare I'm offering for $350/night = $1,400 plus tax. Or they can rent my 2BR timeshare for the week $1,500 with no tax. They don't want to pay $1,500 they want to pay $400 ("two nights"). Fine, go stay in the basic motel.

jenniferc518 wrote:

However, the Boomer demographic is aging, and the demographic that is taking their place - Gen X - is much, much smaller.

I agree with the above .... my husband retired in 2000 then we got into timesharing and we traveled for 5 years .... we are to the point now that traveling with the constant packing, unpacking, packing and unpacking got to be old AND we got to the point that we didn't want to stay away from home for an entire week .... we now prefer much shorter stays of 1-2 days (locally since we've moved to the NC mountains with the Smokies being practically in our back yard and there's so much to see and do) ... we were successful in selling all of our timeshares before the bad economy hit, thank goodness.

AMEN Pete, I agree with your stance 110%

jayjay wrote:

jenniferc518 wrote:

However, the Boomer demographic is aging, and the demographic that is taking their place - Gen X - is much, much smaller.

I agree with the above .... my husband retired in 2000 then we got into timesharing and we traveled for 5 years .... we are to the point now that traveling with the constant packing, unpacking, packing and unpacking got to be old AND we got to the point that we didn't want to stay away from home for an entire week .... we now prefer much shorter stays of 1-2 days (locally since we've moved to the NC mountains with the Smokies being practically in our back yard and there's so much to see and do) ... we were successful in selling all of our timeshares before the bad economy hit, thank goodness.

marty8084 wrote:

chouchou wrote:

Dear Redweek, I have successfully rented my Costa Linda resort timeshare week for years that we are not using our timeshare. It has been quite easy and have found redweek to be my best option when renting my timeshares. Thank you! Owner of both Sanibel Island and Aruba Spring Timeshare Weeks

Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback on your RedWeek experience.

Marty

thanks

maso wrote:

marty8084 wrote:

chouchou wrote:

Dear Redweek, I have successfully rented my Costa Linda resort timeshare week for years that we are not using our timeshare. It has been quite easy and have found redweek to be my best option when renting my timeshares. Thank you! Owner of both Sanibel Island and Aruba Spring Timeshare Weeks

Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback on your RedWeek experience.

Marty

----------- Marty, do you know of anyone that has resold units in Westgate Vacation Villas?

thanks

Since RedWeek isn't involved in the actual resales we don't have any statistics on the sales for any of the resorts.

Thanks, Marty

joh46 wrote:

Do you know anything about Transfer Smart?

If they ask for an upfront fee in the hundreds/thousands of dollar they're a scam.

joh46 wrote:

Do you know anything about Transfer Smart?

Transfer Smart has been posting this question on multiple forum threads. This "question" is an advertisement and I recommend people be very careful in their choice about contacting them.

I though advertising was not allowed...

peterp151 wrote:

Transfer Smart has been posting this question on multiple forum threads. This "question" is an advertisement and I recommend people be very careful in their choice about contacting them.

I though advertising was not allowed...

Advertising is not allowed in the forums, but employees of these companies post here acting naive by asking questions like they don't know anything about the company.

The timeshare companies I am familiar with would not kick out a person who paid the owner for less than the time reserved because the owner could not rent the remainder anyhow without canceling the original reservation and making one (or two) new ones for that period. This would often be impossible because someone else could grab the week canceled before the original holder could reschedule. Of course, if you have enough points to reserve the partial week desired and it is available, you could do that and put it in the guest's name BEFORE canceling the original reservation. MD

I have been a member of Redweek for several years and have been successful many times in renting out my timeshares, and have secured rentals for myself. I have not attempted to buy or sell via Redweek, but would not hesitate to use RW were I buyer or seller.

I like that people have to belong (PAY) to contact owners. really weeds out the looky-loos and limits to those more likely to understand timeshare.

Addressing another issue on this board, if I had a full week to rent out and could not find a 7-day taker, I'd hold firm on the price and not concern myself with their actual check-out.

I agree: find a hotel if what I offer doesn't fit, I have no reason to sustain financial loss to accomodate someone else.

vicki296 wrote:

... I like that people have to belong (PAY) to contact owners. really weeds out the looky-loos and limits to those more likely to understand timeshare...

Vicki agreed with me on pretty much everything, but I do think there are a lot of lowballers hitting RW these days. Maybe not looky-loos, but essentiallt the same thing for me!

we agree again, Pete - I think masses believe economy is soooo bad, you'll just take whatever they offer. and I think some owners will take Whatever just to not take a total loss.

many on TripAdvisor send people here.

Hi, Even if you can use 4 of 7 days. Most owners will work with you on a lower price. Have never had a problem since our unit rents from Sunday to Sunday.

How did you end up selling your timeshare? On this site or through a broker? Thx!

First time redweek member here.

I have had a timeshare for a couple of years now that I have been using but this is the first time I decided to rent one out. My rental is intended for a week, like most members here. I just thought I'd ask about this process from experienced folks out here before I post my rental.

How many timeshare rental owners here use RCI like I do, probably a few, I am assuming? If you are familiar with it, you know that once you rent it out, you need to issue a guest certificate in the name of the renter.

I had a few questions regarding this:

i) Does RCI issue guest certificates via e-mail so that the turnaround time is quicker for someone who is making the payment on the rental when finalized? Everyone is used to that confirmation e-mail from an expedia or travelocity, so I wondered what is the quickest way to assure a buyer that there is a confirmation under their name. One obvious way, while waiting for the RCI guest certificate, would be to call the resort and make sure the guest's name is on the reservation. Any other ideas??

ii) Plus, what do timeshare owners here use to verify payments from prospective renters, PayPal, or something else?

iii) What other precautions as an owner do I need to take when it comes to renting a week out?

Thanks in advance for all your feedback, it is greatly appreciated.

Chad

Chad, always check with the front office. We had a mis-spelled last name. That hosed it for the couple we rented to. Glad they had my cell #. Ez fix.