Redweek Timeshare cost

Does anyone else find that the owner pricing of timeshare rentals on this website are typically run high? A number of people on Facebook have recommended this site but after checking numerous properties the owner's expectations are really unrealistic.

Most of us who use Redweek to rent out timeshare weeks are competitive in price and well below the cost to rent directly from the Resorts. There are other forums which appear to be less expensive but often have hidden fees. It's good to shop around though! 🙂

On what basis do you state that RedWeek rental pricing is "unrealistic"?

First time (...or greedy) timeshare owners renting out weeks may not bother to determine current market pricing, but experienced owners certainly do. I'm sure that is true on ALL sites where timeshare rentals are posted.

Over the years, we've offered timeshare weeks for rent on RedWeek when we cannot use our weeks ourselves for one reason or another. The weeks are usually successfully rented out within 2 or 3 weeks of posting the RedWeek ad. I believe this consistent success to be the result of knowing resort-direct (overpriced) rental costs and also looking at other owner-advertised pricing for comparable weeks at the same resort, making very sure that our pricing is not only "realistic", but highly competitive and usually the lowest price to be found anywhere for the same week at the same resort.

In short, I do not believe that your overly broad comment about "unrealistic" Redweek rental pricing is correct or accurate. Timeshare owners (not the site they choose to post on) determine their own rental pricing. Accordingly, some exorbitant or "unrealistic" rental pricing can likely be found on any and every timeshare rental site in existence. That's certainly not the site's fault, regardless of what the particular site may be.

I have not fount that to be the case. Not sure of where you are looking. I have rented through Red Week twice and bought a resale timeshare through Red Week as it was the best and safest way to do so. You can see where there is a variation in what some owners are asking for compared to others. I actually negotiated a little lower rate on the unit I rented. Over all I think Red Week is the best option for rentals and sales a buyer or seller. But as one other member mentioned it's always good to look at other options and go with the company you feel best with. Enjoy your vacation!

Hi Ralphd110,

I find some timeshare rental prices too high here on Redweek. Holiday, ski and summer weeks get top dollar. I also think the owner keeps the price high to leave some room for possible negotiations.

Other places to find timeshare sales and rentals are: the Timeshare User Group Marketplace (TUG2.com) and MyResortNetwork.

The mayor of Kauai is requiring all visitors to quarantine for 14-days after arrival on the island. I rented my one week and the renter is asking about canceling the rental because of the restriction. What is a fair practice recommendation? I am disappointed but don't want to take advantage of a situation that is out of everyone's control. Looking for guidance. Thanks Jerry

I know you want your money but I think it's fair to refund the cost to the renter. These are crazy times and it's not fair to the renter that they keep changing the rules. We were in a similar situation last year, as a renter, and the owner did refund our fee. I believe exchange companies and resorts are extending use times so hopefully you'll be able to still rent in the future? Good luck, stay safe.

Not so sure - the objective is fairness. I had a similar situation so I reached out to the renter and gave them a chance to cancel with full refund before I lost all of my options - before 60 or 90 day option deadlines. Should they have taken the refund option, I would have been able to use options that would otherwise have been lost. The renter decided to keep the rental and it all worked out fine.

Owners and renters need to communicate early before other options are lost. This communication is very easy using Redweek.

Based on the fact that I can go through timeshare groups like Interval International and RCI and find pricing lower than most of the rentals on Red Week. This is not counting the various other sites which offer discounts. The average high end timeshare maintenance fees are around $1500/yr yet regardless of time of year most are asking for a week well in excess of their annual maintenance. Now more power to them when they can get their price. But as a old retail store motto said "A educated consumer is our bet customer". Look there are a lot of people who chose the easy route and that is their choice but that does not change the fact that redweek units are overpriced!

I guess we'll just have to agree to respectfully disagree, but I must note that comparing RCI and II rental pricing to private rentals is basically comparing apples to oranges. Let's face facts; Last Calls (RCI) and Getaways (II) NEVER --- and I do mean NEVER --- include any primo weeks in primo locations. Last Calls and Getaways (and also DAE / 7Across' available rentals) are essentially the unclaimed "leftovers" of the deposit for exchange process; they are weeks which no one wanted or claimed for an exchange. It's little wonder that such weeks can be rented "on the cheap" ---- no one wanted them at all when they were offered as an exchange. Sometimes, such offered weeks are unsold developer weeks. Whether it involves exchange company leftovers or unsold developer weeks, they figure (correctly) that renting these low demand weeks at a reduced price is still better than getting nothing at all for a unit / week left sitting empty.

In the final analysis, including by those "educated consumers" you cite above, supply and demand (...not individual web sites) determine appropriate and successful timeshare rental market pricing, whether that may be on RCI, II, TUG, MyResortNetwork, Craigslist, RedWeek, or anywhere else. You can usually find outlier high and / or low prices on any and all timeshare sites for "off" weeks, but prime weeks in prime locations always fetch consistently higher pricing on any site. The simple reality of "supply vs. demand" ultimately prevails over all else.

buy your own timeshares to save money. It's not easy especially this last year. The hidden costs are shocking. Most go up in cost every year. Sometimes you can't use / rent them. Compare the rental price from a owner vs directly from the resort , I'm sure you will see the savings. Supply and demand. If its to high, it won't rent. You can always make a offer. I will not rent one and loose money. We have thousands of dollars in these, recouping a few bucks is not out of line. If I could get a vacation at cost from another owner I would consider that a good deal.

Dave

My mid 70's now gives me a bit of experience. I've had several lapses in judgment over the years, like the 11 times we bought Marriott timeshares. The worst ones were when we bought from Marriott rather than in the resale market. Other lapses occurred as we attended presentations with promises to educate us. We caved to some and rescinded most. A couple of times, I got home, realized what a bad deal it was, rescinded, and then bought a resale within weeks.

The lessons I learned:

1. Buy only what you will or could use. Consider the cost of travel.

2. Buy high demand rentable units like Newport Coast, OceanWatch, etc. in "great seasons." If you can't use them, they will rent easily. Annual maintenance fees will be about half of what would be required for an equivalent points reservation. Of note, good weeks can be had at bargain prices - see Redweek resale listings.

3. Points are too expensive in use. "Imagine," spending $50,000 upfront plus $2,800 in annual maintenance fees to have just enough points to stay a prime week at Newport Coast each year for 4,700 points.

4. How many points do you need? Buying less than 5,000 points ($50,000 cost) is foolish, as most good weeks require 4 to 5,000 points for a week reservation. The person who buys 1,500 or 2,000 points is a fool.

5. Financing point purchases - The high interest you will pay at 13.99% would pay for rental of a prime week or two each year. ($50,000 purchase at 13.99% = $6,995)

6. Remember timeshare obligations are "forever" - you're stuck with what you buy plus annual maintenance fees forever.

7. Getting the reservation you want is not always easy - everyone wants the better resorts and seasons. Renting is easier.

8. Finally, "purchase resale weeks as a points alternative." Buy great rentable resale weeks and use them. Should you want another resort, rent out your week and use the cash to rent the week you want. Example: You can buy a Newport Coast Platinum season week for well under $10,000 with $1,400 in annual maintenance fees. "Imagine" cash (just like points) can be used for cruises, to rent houses, attend special events, etc.

Please comment, I'm listening.

Dennis

Dennis, great thoughts, thank you. A couple of my thoughts are if you buy in Mexico they are not forever. I think this is a plus because when your Right To Use is over, so are your maintenance fees. I see this as a huge benefit. I recently bought a 3 bedroom unit in Cabo for $500 and 20 years of use. Perfect for my timeline. It's at a very nice resort too where they are trying to sell similar units for over $30,000. It's literally crazy! Also, if you buy do it where you want to vacation. This way you can always (well usually....) reserve what you want and not worry about the trading game. But bottom line, buy resale and never from the developer. Now if we can just solve this Covid sh** we'd be fine...

Both above are great posts. I would only add one other general piece of advice. DO NOT buy any timeshare without studying the industry first. Timeshare is not for everyone. You must have the income, the ability to plan, and the appropriate job schedule to be able to use timeshare properly. A great resource for education is www.tug2.com. There are many educational threads about the different systems, as well as advice on how to get started without breaking the bank.

Hi Joy!

Hi Joy! When there is a posting on red week, are there fees on top of what I see for that week of rental? Or are these ‘out the door’ prices?

Thank you! Morgan

We have owned timeshares for 25 years. We don't trade much because we were advised to "only buy something you want to use, skip thinking about trading" many years ago. We soured on RCI years ago, with its annual fees that have to be paid through the period when you would use (not just exchange) a TS. Of the others (free or at least better designed exchanges) out there we had good experience several times with dae. They were bought out by RCI several years ago, but the "no membership fee" structure remained. There is a fee for exchange, which I have no problem with. So I gave them a California week (Hyatt Vac Club, ex Welk, Palm Desert) to see if I could exchange for a week in Washington or Oregon. There was nothing available at the time, so I listed Custom Requests. That was 6 months ago, and I have only one match sent me by email: it was in New Mexico, and not the months I requested. I called Cust Svc and the agent told me "I"ve never seen an exchange for WA or OR". Looking today (1/13/23) on their Availability list there are no exchanges listed for either state, and the area (Pacific Coast) has only 3 listed (for California) in March, 0 for April 23, and 2 (Palm Springs) for May 23. Otherwise you get this from almost every time period and location area:

"We don’t have any availability matching this search right now. Select another country, region‌ or month to see what else we might have available or click here to place a custom request."

Has anyone else had experience with them?

dpeyton wrote:

Has anyone else had experience with them?

I was not aware that 7Across (formerly DAE / Dial an Exchange) was bought out by RCI; that is certainly news to me (but we don't exchange anymore, so I don't really follow exchange company activity anymore). With no offense intended, color me somewhat dubious that your assertion about RCI owning 7Across is correct.

That aside, exchange availability (regardless of which exchange company is discussed) always depends upon people actually making deposits. Without deposits, there is no exchange inventory from which to select. In this Covid-influenced era, it seems to me that many more owners are simply either using what they own, or renting out what they own, rather than rolling the dice in the uncertain "exchange game" which (as you are clearly now discovering) may not (and frequently does not) offer any availabilty in the places / dates that people actually want to exchange into --- and then incurring hefty exchange fees if / when anything suitable is available. The "exchange game" is a risky and uncertain business in my opinion and prior experience. Your mileage may vary...

I have no personal experience with 7Across and long ago gave up entirely on RCI. I hope that you get other and hopefully better responses from people with more current first hand experience.