How do payments work with listings that are not Verified & Protected?

We are Aruba Surf Club owners and have always listed our units to rent on Redweek and have utilized the Verified & Protected feature, but now we want to rent a week in November at the Aruba Surf Club. Many of the listings are not Verified or Verified and Protected, how does the payment process work? How are we protected with the reservation being in our name? And when and how do we make payment. Is it after we check in? What risks are there to renting on Redweek without the Verified and Protected listing? Thanks, Patricia Guthrie

patricaig wrote:

We are Aruba Surf Club owners and have always listed our units to rent on Redweek and have utilized the Verified & Protected feature, but now we want to rent a week in November at the Aruba Surf Club. Many of the listings are not Verified or Verified and Protected, how does the payment process work? How are we protected with the reservation being in our name? And when and how do we make payment. Is it after we check in? What risks are there to renting on Redweek without the Verified and Protected listing? Thanks, Patricia Guthrie

If the listing is not being handled by RedWeek, then terms of payment and / or cancellation policy are determined solely by the owner advertising the rental; those terms and conditions and policies certainly can (and do) vary from one owner to another.

For the additional $14.95 cost for an advertising owner to get "RedWeek Verified", I cannot understand why ANY owner would choose NOT to get "verified". IMO, that's just being "penny wise and pound foolish" (that's more polite than saying "cheap"), particularly for a rental that may very well involve four figures!

Not being "verified" doesn't necessarily mean that the owner and listing are not completely legit, but if they are too cheap to pay $15 to get verified by RedWeek, then make them provide documentation to YOU, proving the legitimacy and details of their ownership and a confirmed reservation (it would have been easier for them to just get their listing "RedWeek verified" in advance for a measly $14.95). I don't grasp the logic behind NOT getting "verified"; I would never consider posting a rental listing without first getting my listing "RedWeek verified". It's $14.95 well spent to avoid having to spend time "proving" my legitimacy and my ownership details to inexperienced and / or skittish inquirers --- over and over again. No thank you ; I'll pay the $14.95 --- "verify" me.

I like listings without verified and protected because the final price to the renter always ends up $500 more than what is advertised. I have rented for years and have never had a problem renting straight from the owner. I don't like the added taxes and fees. There is no deal with that amount added to the final payment.

scottb35 wrote:

I like listings without verified and protected because the final price to the renter always ends up $500 more than what is advertised. I have rented for years and have never had a problem renting straight from the owner. I don't like the added taxes and fees. There is no deal with that amount added to the final payment.

With all due respect, you are apparently confused and mistaken. If an owner handles his / her own RedWeek-advertised rental and chooses only to become "RedWeek Verified" for the additional $14.95 fee, there is absolutely no additional cost to the renter. No additional taxes, no additional fees and certainly no "$500". I have no idea how or why you might somehow believe otherwise, but you are mistaken. I have conducted numerous rentals on RedWeek as a timeshare owner over the years, "RedWeek Verified" only, and there has never once been one penny of additional cost to the tenant above the advertised rental cost . None, zero, zippo.

Is the 14.99 fee for verification an annual fee, or a per posting fee? New to the forums. Have not yet listed my timeshare, but plan to. Sounds like you're well informed, so thought I'd pick your brain. Thanks in advance

How do I pay for an unverified listing that wants a Zelle or Paypal payment. I obviously can't just send someone $1600 and hope it a legit listing. Do i get protection from this site. I sent them $19 and was forced to become a member so they should protect me.

sandyh263 wrote:

Is the 14.99 fee for verification an annual fee, or a per posting fee? New to the forums. Have not yet listed my timeshare, but plan to. Sounds like you're well informed, so thought I'd pick your brain. Thanks in advance

The additional $14.99 fee to get "RedWeek Verified" is for each and every individual listing. That fee is entirely separate from (and unrelated to) the annual RedWeek membership fee and the fee to get “verified” is in addition to the cost of placing the ad itself.

sall44 wrote:

How do I pay for an unverified listing that wants a Zelle or Paypal payment. I obviously can't just send someone $1600 and hope it a legit listing. Do i get protection from this site. I sent them $19 and was forced to become a member so they should protect me.

Your RedWeek membership fee does NOT in ANY way "protect you" when dealing with someone who has placed an unverified listing. The membership fee allows you to use the RedWeek site and to contact advertisers --- no more, no less. That being said, RedWeek is among the safest sites available anywhere for rentals, since membership (and a traceable identity) is required before placing ANY ads in the first place.

My suggestion would be to request the (penny pinching) advertiser of the listing which interests you to get their ad "RedWeek Verified", even if they have to add the $15 to do so to their rental price. Personally, I would not do business with any advertiser on RedWeek who is not willing to get their listing "RedWeek Verified" for a measly $14.99, but that's certainly your own personal choice and decision.

Hi Sal,

I don't see any answer to your post, but I have the same question. Did you figure out a way to verify that it was legit before just pay 2k to a random person on Zelle? Thank you,

Wendy

Hi Sal,

I don't see any answer to your post, but I have the same question. Did you figure out a way to verify that it was legit before just pay 2k to a random person on Zelle? Thank you,

Wendy

I believe that all you have to do is ask the owner to see a copy of the Confirmation number.

It may also be possible to contact the resort to verify that the confirmation number is legit. As the renter, you cannot do anything until the owner adds your name to the Reservation. Some trust is required.

Also, if you are only renting a portion of the owner's 2 bedroom villa, the owner may only have a full confirmation number. The owner, upon a credible renter placing a deposit, will split the full villa reservation into a 1 bedroom and a studio (same as a lockoff) and then add your name to new confirmation number for the portion you are renting. At this point, all is credible as well. The owner may expect full payment at that point. I believe that the owner could still change the name if the renter fails to pay up. so again, some trust is required. Redweek acts as the middle man in the Verified and Protected, to perform these tasks.

If anyone knows differently, please advise...

As someone who has been looking at rentals, there absolutely is additional cost to the renter and it varies based on the cost of the listing. The listing price when it is not verified and protected is the same total when you click request to book. When requesting to book a verified and protected week, the fees have been about $300 more. I know you sounded confident that this is not the case but all you have to do to see this is click on request to book on the two different types of listings and you will see the total on the non-verified stays the same and the total on the verified and protected increases.

Is it common for an owner to request direct payment? Or should payments always go through Redweek?

scottb35 wrote:

I like listings without verified and protected because the final price to the renter always ends up $500 more than what is advertised. I have rented for years and have never had a problem renting straight from the owner. I don't like the added taxes and fees. There is no deal with that amount added to the final payment.

jasonk449 wrote:

Is it common for an owner to request direct payment? Or should payments always go through Redweek?

There is no "common"; the answer depends upon the individual listing. Some owners do not choose to have RedWeek involved in the rental of their timeshare, beyond merely utilizing the RedWeek site to advertise the rental. In those cases, payment will be made directly to the advertising owner, with no further RedWeek involvement, under the terms and conditions identified and agreed to between owner and renter.

In other instances, owners don't want to handle details of the rental themselves, so they use RedWeek's "full service" option. In those cases, rental payment is processed through RedWeek, not directly between the owner and renter. RedWeek’s “full service” option results in additional costs and fees for both the owner and the renter.

In short, payment details are determined by each individual listing.

If someone wants a direct payment and said they will email me the guest certificate. This is my first time using the site, so I’m wondering if this is this normal?

keelym11 wrote:

If someone wants a direct payment and said they will email me the guest certificate. This is my first time using the site, so I’m wondering if this is this normal?

Mention of a “guest certificate” suggests that a week which may have been obtained as an “exchange” from RCI or II might possibly be involved here. If so, you should be clearly aware that both RCI and Interval International strictly and specifically prohibit the rental of any weeks obtained from them as an “exchange”, as is clearly and specifically stated in the written terms and conditions of membership of both of those two exchange companies. RedWeek would not know if an “unverified” ad involves an attempt by someone to rent out an “exchange”, if RedWeek is merely the site on which this (or any other) “unverified” ad has been placed.

Before sending off any money, I would recommend making certain that the advertiser demonstrates to you that s/he actually owns the advertised week involved. If they don’t own it but merely acquired it as a one time “exchange” from either RCI or Interval, then it’s simply not theirs to rent out to you (or to anyone else) in the first place. They can (for a fee) obtain a guest certificate from either exchange company to allow someone else specifically named on that guest certificate to use the exchange week, but the "exchange" CANNOT be rented out for profit.

Be careful here. You could be denied occupancy and the “improper landlord” (IF this is actually the case) could have their exchange company membership suspended or terminated if they are discovered to be attempting to engage in the rental of a week obtained by "exchange". You could also and be denied occupancy if discovered. Will anyone necessarily find out? Maybe not, but just be aware of the existence of this restriction imposed by both RCI and II before you proceed with sending any payment for a rental that may be overtly prohibited.

If complaints are made to redweek ala a scam - does redweek delist them? It's too bad redweek doesn't have a simple rating system. Maybe there's a market for a competitor... :)