COVID-19 Related Cancellations

I think there is a clause in the rental contract that says the unit must be habitable.

hi, please explain the procedure for the cancellation.

I simply cannot get the owner to cancel and refund our reservation for May 10. It appears that they are no longer willing to work with us refusing to answer emails. RedWeek.com Posting R856333 Marriott' s Maui Ocean Club - Lahaina Villas. Can you help me RedWeek?

Not true actually. They could have done 50/50 refunds. Half to owner, half to renter.

Interesting! I just sent them a 4th request. Here is the email message

April 2, 2020

Allen and Shannon,

We are all wishing this would go away but it’s not. As you know, both of our states and now the federal government have issued a 30 day stay at home order through the end of April. This is from Coronavirus travel restrictions for visitors to Hawaii in 2020 (Sheila Beal) dated March 31, 2020: Governor Ige, Hawaii was asked, “Will it be safe to go to Hawaii in June? Or July? Or….. We wish we knew when the virus crisis will be over. At this point no one knows. It’s probably better to err on the side of caution by postponing your trip even more than you might initially expect.” My wife and I just finished a FaceTime call with our good friends and longtime residents of Kihei. We talked with them at length about our situation that included your unwillingness to refund our reservation, due to the Coronavirus outbreak. They had reached out to their personal friends, Randy and Sharon Conrads, CEO RedWeek who had some suggestions for us. ¬ From RedWeek recommendation from yesterday:

“recommendation would be to make sure the owner knows timeshare companies have been flexible in canceling and rebooking reservations and request that they contact Marriott to find out their options. According to our information, this resort is closed at least until April 24. If the owner understands they may not lose the week which they have already paid for, hopefully they will be more willing to work with you”

We also understand that there are owners who have refunded and some who have not chosen to refund. We are all in this together and we don’t believe this is an unreasonable request.

We are asking that you reconsider and refund our reservation.

Sincerely,

James and Janet Albano

Here's what Marriott offer to owners that cancel their reservation:

For ownership week (not reserve with points), and with an arrival date on or BEFORE April 23, 2020

You will receive an Interval International week that will be deposited into your Interval International account within the next 10 days for future use. The Interval International week will have a reduced exchange rate of $99 and will expire on December 16, 2021. You will be able to check availability up to 120 days prior to your desired arrival date.

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For ownership week (not reserve with points), and with an arrival date AFTER April 23, 2020

My Scheduled Arrival Is 60 Days or More from My Date of Cancellation

Your usage will be returned to your account and will be accessible for use upon completion of cancellation without penalty. If you don't plan to use your ownership week, you may also deposit your week with Interval International as a full deposit, usable for travel up to 24 months after the check-out date of your deposited week for the reservation you are canceling.

My Scheduled Arrival Is 59 Days to 14 Days from My Date of Cancellation

While cancellations are not permitted, your week can be deposited with Interval International for a Late Deposit. You will have two years from the check-out date of your deposited week to travel and can check availability up to 59 days before your desired arrival date.

My Scheduled Arrival Is Less Than 14 Days from My Date of Cancellation

While Cancellations are not permitted, you may be eligible for a Short Notice deposit through Interval International on a very limited basis. Please contact Owner Services to check availability. If accepted by Interval International, you will have two years from the check-out date of your deposited week to travel and can check availability up to 59 days before your desired arrival date. Please note that only full villas/units (no lock-offs) are eligible for requesting Short Notice deposit.

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Also Renters need to understand that an Interval exchange doesn't worth much compare to the original Marriott reservation... hence why many owners don't want to do it. More not all owners own an Interval account.

Sue redweek The unit is habitable Contract does not stipulate a virus or global pandemic But units are 100% habitable making them responsible for total amount less fees rental price.

Units are still habitable redweek responsible for contracted amount ! Pandemic not part of their contract

Mine was at the time RedWeek did its dirty. It isn't anymore. However, as RedWeek most likely has more owners than renters it decided to use the only option it could find in the contract. Definitely an illegal maneuver. Contract attorneys would agree.

I agree with owners stating Redweek is in breach of contract unilaterally refunding renters without input from owners stating an "uninhabitable" unit. Clearly, a pandemic is not mentioned in the contract. I am appalled at the lack of timely response by Redweek in cases they 100% refunded renters without contacting owners before check-in to allow cancellations and late deposits. Redweek should be held accountable for this loss of trade in. This horrible situation should bear a shared cost/loss by both owners/renters at the least; it should not be 100% on the owners. Timeshare weeks are not the same as full ownership of home/condo/apartment. In many cases the owner can late-deposit weeks with Interval and get something back but there is no guarantee to recoup value of the original unit, nor that you can procure a booking at the desired resort on dates sought after, especially within a restricted booking window. It is ironic this pandemic occurred at a time Redweek marketed expansion of their full-service rentals, in some cases offering free upgrades to this service. I resisted that option from past renters mentioning problems and inability to get quick responses with rental questions. All owners and renters should see the disadvantage this Redweek service gives by removing the ability for owners and renters to correspond directly with one another, or negotiate any middle ground. The latest rules to deposit to Interval check ins after April 24th stating units cannot be locked off is a giant new restriction: it would invalidate all four rentals I had booked for the first two weeks in April. Renters: please understand Marriott is responsible for this unfair situation>> they refunded all, even non-refundable reservations and fees to anyone who booked directly with them, but not timeshare owners. If you had booked directly on Marriott website for MMOC and paid 30-50% higher nightly rates plus 14% hotel tax, you would have been refunded in full. It is a travesty Marriott Vacation Club will not give timeshare owners the same courtesy as those customers and allow owners to re-trade or late deposit weeks during this time for future credit use within Marriott Vacation Club (which would provide a comparable value).

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I’ll be looking to file a lawsuit against redweek with the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida in Orange County, Florida. let the judge decide that they breached contract and owe the money to owners. Sorry to be cruel but we all paid a service to protect our investments. Their contract doesn’t stipulate a full refund to renter under this unfortunate situation. In fact it states non refundable within 60 days. Renters also had the ability to purchase insurance. My finances are just as important hence why I used their services. Never again will I use redweek

I own a week at Marriott Desert Springs March 20-27 & it was rented for $1900. The rental agreement offers partial refunds before 60 days prior to check-in. The renter cancelled March 19 -- 1 day prior to check-in, and contacted Redweek asking for a refund. She didn't contact me & didn't buy travel insurance. Redweek notified me she requested a refund and I offered to refund her half -- $950. I had paid $1500 for annual maintenance fee + property tax, and couldn't reschedule the week or use it myself with a 1 day notice. I phoned resort and it was open, social distancing responsibly, and checking-in guests. Marriott began offering owners with reservations 60 days out the opportunity to reschedule their week. The renter's 1 day notice took away that opportunity for me. Redweek, without asking me, refunded the renter the full $1900 and said they decided the resort wasn't habitable or accessible, and informed me after I wrote multiple emails asking about my echeck.. I feel I was generous offering a 50% refund and Redweek has been very unfair to owners. Their web offers travel insurance for renters, no such insurance for owners, and by deciding to give renters full refunds without fairness to the owners that provide the resorts that keep Redweek in business, they are basically underwriting renters even if they don't buy travel insurance. I will never rent my 4 villas with Redweek again! I plan to complain to CA Consumer dept, Yelp, BBB and more if they don't respond within a week to my email of 2 days ago requesting them to reconsider. Very unfair to owners!!!!

Wish someone would file a class action suit against Redweek! Meanwhile owners should contact Yelp, their state Consumer Fraud Dept., and look for a different rental company in the future. Airbnb was fair to owners but I don't know if they rent timeshares. We should also all complain to Marriott about Redweek's business practices! Maybe your local tv, radio or newspaper -- get reporters to investigate this practice.

Read the rental agreement. It says no court suits, only arbitration of issues between renter and owner. Hopefully an attorney will decide owners can still sue the company directly.

Just received this letter from USAA -- a stand-up classy company! Redweek has been very unfair to owners! Especially those offering 50% refund to renters who didn't bother to buy travel insurance and cancelled 1 week within check-in date -- too late for owners to turn their week into points, exchange with Interval, or reschedule with Marriott. When you don't let owners communicate with renters, we aren't even sure Redweek really sent refunds to renters or kept the money. Not an AAA company! USAA didn't have a backlog to work through because they are proactive! Redweek could take a lesson...

Dear Fellow Member‚

We know the COVID‐19 pandemic is having a financial impact, and we're taking action to ease the burden. Every member with an auto insurance policy in effect as of March 31, 2020, will receive a 20% credit on two months of premiums in the coming weeks. All told, we're returning about $520 million.

We're able to pass on those savings because your efforts to stay home during the pandemic have meant fewer drivers on the road, which means fewer accidents and claims.

You will receive a credit applied to your bill. There is no need to call or take any action. For more details on the premium credit, please click here.

This is your association and we remain strong thanks to your service and loyalty. As a result, we are able to share our financial strength by giving back each year and in times of need. In 2019, we returned almost $2.4 billion in the form of distributions, dividends, and bank rebates and rewards. This credit is one of the many ways we're helping members deal with the pandemic's financial impacts, from offering special payment assistance to waiving late fees. You can learn more about other ways we can help at usaa.com/coronavirus.

Thank you for doing your part to keep our communities safe during this crisis, whether you're serving on the front lines of the pandemic or staying at home.

Our mission is to serve you and your family. It has been USAA's North Star since our founding in 1922.

Respectfully‚

Wayne Peacock

Wayne Peacock Chief Executive Officer

Comparing Redweek to USAA is apples to oranges . There is no comparison .

We're not talking about size or profits, we're talking about ethics, communication, getting in front of a problem and good business practices. Large and small businesses need to value their supply chain or suppliers go away. Is Redweek even listening?

USAA - Good job of advertising for USAA. I suggest you look at what GEICO and other major auto insurance companies did and they were first. Yes, USAA did a whopping 20% discount for two months - I guess about $40 a car in total. Others did more and first.

What contract are you reading? Can you post here?

patriciap511 wrote:

Read the rental agreement. It says no court suits, only arbitration of issues between renter and owner. Hopefully an attorney will decide owners can still sue the company directly.