Resort cancellations due to hurricane damage

I have rented my timeshare through Redweek using the Redweek Rental Agreement. The resort has now cancelled the renters week due to hurricane Irma. Am I legally required to refund the money to the renter, or is the renter out of luck? The renter did not purchase travel insurance.

frankp95 wrote:

I have rented my timeshare through Redweek using the Redweek Rental Agreement. The resort has now cancelled the renters week due to hurricane Irma. Am I legally required to refund the money to the renter, or is the renter out of luck? The renter did not purchase travel insurance.

This topic has been recently discussed on Timeshare Users Group. You may actually be the owner in the issue raised there (by the shut out tenant). The "shut out" tenant's name is Deb and the intended rental was apparently at Marriott Frenchman's Cove, if that rings a bell.

It seems that the (3 page, fill in the blanks) "do it yourself" rental agreement that RedWeek offers is completely silent on the issue of resort closures or other "unforeseen / uncontrollable circumstances") that prevent the owner from delivering the "product" identified in the contract. The majority view in those TUG discussions is clearly that since this particular "fill in the blanks" rental agreement fails completely to address the issue AT ALL, then if the owner is unable to fulfill the contract as written and cannot deliver the contracted "product", then the owner plainly owes the "shut out" tenant a 100% refund. Failure to refund 100% could (and likely would) result in a successful legal action against the owner by the "shut out" tenant for clear and obvious breach of contract. Court costs could even be ADDED to the refund amount due. I am strongly inclined to agree with those views, in the obvious and unfortunate absence ANY cancellation language or provisions within the (weak and inadequate) rental contract reportedly used for that transaction.

Ironically, the rental contract used in a RedWeek "full service" rental is reportedly crystal clear and very specific in addressing that same topic, leaving nothing to guesswork or subjective interpretation. Why the exact same language does not appear in BOTH RedWeek versions of a rental contract escapes my comprehension. That unfortunate disparity is something that only RedWeek can speak to directly and explain for themselves.

I am not your attorney nor am I offering legal advice, but I nonetheless respectfully submit that you ARE going to have to provide a 100% refund (several thousand dollars, apparently) to the "shut out" would-be tenant --- either voluntarily of your own free will or by court order.

Do you know how long the resort will be closed? I can't get ahold of anyone, we are due to be there the end of November

Ken,

Thank you for pointing out the inconsistency between our two rental agreements. The DIY rental contract was an early example and, regrettably, has not been updated since we formed our full-service rental program. Our overall view of rental contracts is: if the rental is not available to the renter for the agreed upon dates for any reason, they need to be made whole. This could mean a satisfactory substitute, or a full refund. In response to the latest hurricanes, we have modified the full-service agreement, and will work on getting the DIY sample updated as well.

We regret this type of storm puts the risk on the owner in many cases. We are hopeful most resorts will offer make-goods to owners for weeks lost. In the future, when we are able to offer travel insurance to all members, we may consider amending our policies to better protect both parties.

Phyllis

Pamela,

We are in the process of contacting all the timeshare resorts that might have been affected by the hurricane and then updating the RedWeek resort page accordingly. Please look up your resort on our website to see if we have posted a note about when the resort plans on reopening.

If you need further assistance, please Contact Us.

Phyllis

pamelab446 wrote:

Do you know how long the resort will be closed? I can't get ahold of anyone, we are due to be there the end of November

This is the current info on the facebook page: Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove September 19 at 4:10pm · Tropical Weather Update: The operations team is currently monitoring forecasts regarding Hurricane Maria and any impact the storm may have on Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove. At this time, Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove remains closed. Connectivity is limited at the property. Generators at the resort are working intermittently; however, only parts of the resort currently have access to power and water, and we are continuing to assess for any further damage. Reservations have been cancelled through November 10. At this time, we encourage you to consider delaying travel plans to Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove until further information becomes available. For more information, please call the resort hotline at (800)-306-9506.

Please note that "shut out" tenant "Deb" who posted over on Timeshare Users Group about Marriott Frenchman's Cove and the timeshare owner (frankp95) who has posted here on RedWeek (providing no identification of his resort) may or may not actually be involved in the same transaction. I have not asserted otherwise, but have merely speculated that both posts MIGHT pertain to the same transaction reported from two different sides, but I have no personal knowledge or verification of that. However, that detail doesn't really much matter, as the fundamental underlying issue is that of ALL rental contracts adequately addressing unexpected denials / cancellations of scheduled occupancy.

Travel / trip cancellation insurance is always routinely available from several different sources, including CSA, Allianz, Vacation Guard, et al. Anyone paying several thousand dollars for a rental probably should (in my opinion) purchase such insurance as a routine matter, since it offers cancellation protection for any one of a multitude of reasons (including resort closures in the aftermath of storm damage). HOWEVER, a tenant's failure to acquire travel insurance certainly does not impact or alter the indisputable fact that the owner must provide a 100% refund if / when the owner simply cannot "deliver" the contracted product and the associated rental agreement has completely failed to even address the issue of such unexpected closures / cancellations AT ALL.

Unfortunately, many of the trip cancellation policies the previous poster cited (CSA's included) do not cover you if your date of check-in is more than 14/15 days after the date of damage/closure...making that insurance essentially useless for many who thought they were covered.

robert2702 wrote:

Unfortunately, many of the trip cancellation policies the previous poster cited (CSA's included) do not cover you if your date of check-in is more than 14/15 days after the date of damage/closure...making that insurance essentially useless for many who thought they were covered.

Wow! If true and accurate (I do not personally claim to know), that really and truly STINKS!

Some cover weather related closures, some do not, some cover only if the closure is within 14-30 days of a storm hitting (not long term closures). Some basically only cover you if you get sick or have an accident and can't travel and even then some have pre existing condition exclusions.

You have to read the policies and compare. https://www.travelinsurance.com/2017/04/compelling-reasons-compare-vacation-rental-insurance-coverage/ This site lets you put in your parameters and then compares the price and coverage. The comparison info only shows summary info so if you are interested in one you can ask for a copy of the complete coverage. They may make you buy and then give you a window to refund the coverage after examining the full terms.

Are you serious??? So, those owners that had reservations that got canceled 15 or more days after the hurricane hit don't get covered? Even if the resort is closed?

So let’s say you are on the way to your beutiful Marriott timeshare resort in Hilton Head, SC. Now a hurricane comes and hits the resort hard closing it. Why do you need insurance for the lost points or week if you are shut out of the resort.? Where is the consideration in a contract between parties.? If you reserved through the Marriott hotel website you don’t lose your deposit or pre-payments. I do not see a difference. It’s really time for a class action regarding the Marriott’s lack of contract consideration when they close the resort. How would Marriott take it If I told them due to a hurricane I cannot get to the bank or mail to pay them? We all know that answer. Some day a family is going to be in harms way awaiting the opening of a timeshare location and if they are injured they will readily sue the Marriott corporation for not allowing them an alternative to arriving during a hurricane.

Funny if you own a Marriott timeshare and you are shut out by a hurricane you usually don’t get to rebank your points or postpone your week to next year. So corporations seem to have more rights than individual owner rentals. This topic may become real hot if Hurricane Florence hits.