Renters beware!
I have rented a week off owners for Marriott villas in myrtle beach and Hilton head for the past 6 years off of Redweek. . I have never had any trouble until this year. After finding the week I want I contact the owner and make arrangements to sign the contract and make the payment. I always call Marriott and confirm the person I'm renting from is an owner before sending the money. And I have a contract faxed to me, I sign it then the owner signs it and faxes me a copy. This method has worked for me for the first 5 years and I have dealt with wonderful and helpful owners. Last February I made arrangements to secure our week for this summer just like I have in years past. We were looking to rent a week during the 4th of July at Marriott Oceanwatch villas in Myrtle Beach, SC. For those of you unfamiliar with that property there are 4 main views that correspond to the views. There are 6 buildings 3 in the front, up close to the ocean, in a "U" shape, then 3 buildings behind the front three and back from the ocean a little ways. The front 3 buildings, the Scallop, the conch and the Starfish (middle one) all have oceanfront views. Then the two on the sides of the U which are the scallop and the conch have "oceanside" views as well. They are the sides of those 2 buildings either poolside or Oceanside, both with excellent up close views of the ocean. There are no ocean views on the starfish building as that building is oceanfront views only. Then the three buildings behind the front 3 were built later on and they are called the Maple Magnolia and Pine. These buildings DO NOT have oceanfront or Oceanside views as the front three do, they only have oceanside which is from the 7th floors and up and have a limited view of the ocean, then garden view which are lower floors and have no views of the ocean. We always get an "oceanfront" view guaranteeing one of the front 3 buildings and facing the ocean. This year I contacted an owner who listed his week June 30th thru July 7th and OCEANFRONT. When I asked for a contract he said he would send me one after he got the confirmation from Marriott. I had never done things this way but had confirmed he was an owner through Marriott and went ahead with the tranaction. He cashed my check and never sent me a contrat like he said he would. I contacted Marriott and they confirmed he had made the reservation in my name so they (Marriott) sent me my confirmation number. I just assumed I was dealing with a very unorganized person who doesn't return emails in a timely manner. I felt comfortable with the transaction because I had a confirmation no from Marriott. Around June 1st I called Marriott to put in a room request, just like I always do and that's when I got the news. Marriott told me my room was OCEANSIDE AND NOT OCEANFRONT, which is what I paid for. I immediately called the owner and he told me I was getting the corner room on one of the front two building with a deck facing the pool and a deck facing the ocean and that's why Marriott terms it "Oceanside." this was a flat out lie! First of all, those rooms are OCEANFRONT, not Oceanside, and Marriott confirmed with me that this owner owned several weeks there but none were oceanfront, they were all Oceanside. Secondly, an owner CANNOT PROMISE YOU WHERE your room will be. You only get a certain view based on what they purchased. I called him back again. I asked for a full refund so I could rent a week from another owner that was oceanfront. He waited a whole week to reply to my email and told me that I had 24 hrs to tell him if I wanted a full refund or to keep the room. Well by this time we were a week away from leaving and all other oceanfront weeks for that date were now rented. He waited to refund me after he saw all the other roms rented for our week gone on Redweek. I then told him I would love a refund but there are no other weeks available for our dates, but then again, he already knew that. That was the only reason he was offering me a full refund....he knew i wouldnt take it. I told him to refund me $800 to compensate for the downgrade in views I'm getting when he advertised for a prime oceanfront room during the most busiest week of the year. I could have saved $800 if I rented an Oceanside room that week clear back in February. He wouldn't answer emails nor my phone calls. I was scammed! So Beware when renting these views you get what your paying for. I had always had a good experience before and trusted this person based on previous years experiences. Always get a contract prior to sending payment. If they won't do it, rent from someone who will. This was the whole reason this owner was not sending me a contract. He was afraid I'd read it! Redweek was no help. They said because it was a contract between an owner and myself, they could not do anything. Redweek apparently only allows 3 choices in views when owners list their weeks: Oceanfront, ocean view and garden, there is no option for Oceanside, so some owners will list their Oceanside week as oceanfront and then tell you in the description that it is considered an Oceanside view by Marriott but is a great view of the ocean and up close. Some won't tell you at all. They let you believe your getting oceanfront. Only someone like me who is familiar with the property would catch this, I only wish I caught it before I rented my week. I recommended to Redweek that they cancell all rentals by this particular owner and never allow him to rent on the site again, but they didn't agree. This man is still renting and is still misleading renters so BEWARE! I hope this story will help one person, If it does it will be worth it.
Robin H.
Last edited by robinh130 on Jul 08, 2012 05:33 PM
We are looking to rent st the Marriott in Myrtle Beach and came across your note. It seems as if the Oceanfron prices are allover the map. It could be that some of these are really Oceanside. Would you share with me the name of the renter you were refrrring to in you note. Thank you for the warning. This is my first time doing this. Did you do the contract through Redweek. I think you can pay an extra fee to have Redweek intervene?
Jill M.
Robin, sorry to hear of your bait and switch incident. Renting Oceanfront or Oceanside units can be particularly tricky here on Redweek because "Oceanside" is not an option for view. Some owners call it Oceanfront and then in the text area of the ad mention that it is actually an Oceanside. Other owners list it as Oceanview and then in the text area of the ad mention that it is actually an Oceanside. And then of course, there are the owners like you encountered that fraudulently called their unit Oceanfront everywhere when in fact it was not.
I am an owner who frequently rents out our gardenview and upgrades to oceanside or oceanfront by renting from others here on Redweek. When someone contacts me to rent my gardenview I will usually speak with them, agree on the rental price and forward them a copy of my email confirmation from Marriott. This email will clearly say whether the unit is Gardenview, Oceanview (both back buildings) OCEANSIDE (Conch or Scallop building front buildings) or OCEANFRONT (Starfish, Conch or Scallop.) Always request this from the renter before making any payment. This will confirm ownership AND unit view. If you like you can also call Marriott also to confirm ownership is current, maintenance fees are not in arrears etc.
Carol S.
Last edited by carolgs on May 23, 2013 08:42 AM
I am an owner who originally purchased oceanview. For the last 8 years I have been in the front 3 buildings and my confirmation for this year is oceanside/oceanview. I have rented it out(here) and now find out that my reservation for this year is in the back building(oceanview/gardenview) and indeed I see in the 'ultimate occupancy' clause of my original contract that this could be the case now that the 2 back buildings are finished. I am stunned Marriott would be so ambiguous and very very upset i am re-thinking my whole relationship with the company so BEWARE there may be many people here with what they have always assumed would be a front 3 building timeshare suddenly relegated to the back buildings because of a clause. Really annoyed that Marriott would sell something clearly misslabelled and then invoke a clause to effectively downgrade a timeshare , mine will be up for sale soon.
D L.
Carolgs, As I mentioned, I had always requested the contract first, read through it, contacted Marriott, then sent my money. But this particular owner never sent me a contract, but I had confirmed with Marriott he was an owner. I never had a problem in the past with owners, so I proceeded with the transaction. So, I sent my money. All along, he had advertised oceanfront. The owner had the opportunity to make it right with me by refunding my money, or sending me partial refund for the downgrade view. But instead, he was rude, slow in getting back to me and simply put a thief! My whole point to my message, was to make other renters aware that this was going on and to save them the aggravation of getting ripped off by low life's that I had to deal with. I appreciate your advise. I learned a valuable lesson last year. I proceed with extreme caution from now on! Enjoy your week at Oceanfront! It's a beautiful property!
Robin H.
There is no "oceanview" in the front three buildings, only "Oceanside" and "oceanfront." The construction of the back buildings has been finished for a few years now, maybe three. Something is not right here. If you were sold "Oceanside" then you would be in the back buildings with "garden view." There is no "oceanview/Oceanside" views sold as one. It's either one or the other. This needs to be looked into more.
Robin H.
Robin, The contract is prepared by the owner and unfortunately he/she can put down any view they want. I am suggesting that you have the owner email you the CONFIRMATION that Marriott sends to the owner when the specific week is reserved a year ahead of time. This should clearly state the view, unless you see the example below.
dl90, it appears that you indeed purchased an oceanview unit many years before the back buildings were constructed. So for the past 8 years you were assigned to an oceanside unit. Lucky you! Now that the back buildings are complete you are getting what you paid for. As a gardenview owner we also were assigned oceanside for several years, (which did indeed spoil us) until the back buildings were complete at which time we were assigned actual gardenview.
If you are ever not clear on precisely what view the owner is entitled to, first obtain the email CONFIRMATION from Marriott which will state the confirmation number and view. If it says something like "Oceanside/Oceanview" then call Marriott directly, give them the confirmation number and they will tell you exactly what view the owner and guest (you) are entitled to. (They will not tell you the exact building or unit.)
Carol S.
