Bait and switch

Hi!, I requested a week and then she said it was under contract but offered me same week different “unit” for an extra 1K. Is this common practice? Why would i be listed as available? Thanks

Was this a private rental, perhaps from an ad on RedWeek? Was this directly from the resort? Was this through a rental broker or middleman? Was it from an exchange company like RCI?

it was from a broker

Post which broker. It may have been a one time thing but in might be his or her regular mode of operation and if you call him out on it others might come forward that the same thing has happened with them and they can get reprimanded and/or booted by redweek.

yolandaf34 wrote:

I requested a week and then she said it was under contract but offered me same week different “unit” for an extra 1K. Is this common practice? Why would i be listed as available?

You don't indicate whether this was a RedWeek posting, but I have certainly seen this same phenomenon numerous times on other timeshare advertising sites, most often on a site whose initials are MRN. A broker, if hungry and unscrupulous, may never have had the original week to sell at all and may just be trying to lure in some business by advertising a phony "primo" week. Unethical false advertising --- but not unlawful until / unless money actually changes hands.

On the other hand, maybe the broker was telling the truth. Since placing ads cost money, it is both common and entirely appropriate to leave a listing posted until the deal is actually fully completed and closed. "Under contract" is only a preliminary first step. Any deal can fall apart before actual closing, so why remove a paid ad prematurely?

As far as pricing goes, the actual owner of a broker- advertised interval has some say in that matter too. If an owner tells a broker "I want to net X dollars from the sale, after your commission", then a broker will list the asking price accordingly. It is not at all uncommon to find very different prices for the exact same weeks at the exact same resort, regardless of whether or not there is broker involved. Some owners have a completely unrealistic idea of the value of their timeshare in the resale market, neglecting to acknowledge that no one gives a hoot what the owner originally paid; that figure has absolutely no relevance to its' value today in the open market.