HHI Rental Market Strength?

[sparty]

Just wondering if I am doing something wrong. I put my summer HHI week up for rent but I havent locked in a renter yet where usually it goes fast. Wondering if renters have shifted away from the tried and true rental sites I have always used to new ones like airbnb? The rental is mid-July and the price is a little low- wondering if I should be worried - or plenty of time?

 

[Robert D]

What resort are you renting?

 

[MOXJO7282]

If it's a Marriott and you have rented before I would think you'll still rent it because the Marriott HHI summer rental market is very strong

 

[AlmostRetired]

I rented one of my summer HHI weeks the last 6 years. I normally put one or both up in January. This year one was rented in February. The other I pulled in early April. It is interesting you ask this question because this year I did notice more units for rent. I also had more inquires with more people not getting back to me. A few people asked about the impact of Hurricane Matthews on the island. In thinking about it could Matthew's be causing more owners rentering with less demand...maybe.

I own at the Monarch and often get owners needing another unit for their adult kids with grandkids or repeat Monarch renters who who enjoy the Monarch. The last 6 years my pricing has been in a narrow range. As my MF continues to go up the last few years, I have not be able to pass it on.

In general, the good about the HHI market is it is easy to drive to from so many locations so it gets a lot of draw. The challenge is not a lot of planning is required to drive so it can be last minute decisions.

 

[MOXJO7282]

When I hear a someone isn't having success renting a Marriott HHI, which I'm assuming is Barony I first think it's likely a gardenview and the price is probably a little high because I've rented so many over the years and mostly late summer and prime fall weeks and never had a failure with Redweek. I do have a lot of experience and my units either have a great view or are on the ocean or both but I'm not doing anything special otherwise but monitoring all the listings and make sure I'm priced right somewhere near the low but not the lowest. There is also a lot of late renters because it is easy to get to for many. At some point you may need to adjust your pricing but I don't start to get concerned until 30 days but don't think I've gotten that close except for maybe a bad gold week I got stuck with when I purchased and that was the week that came with the unit.

 

[sparty]

Thanks for all the feedback. The rental supply does seem high, IMO, compared to other years. I was thinking some of the more popular rental sites are also getting less rentals because other newer sites. This weekend I am going to try to list on more sites. I am about 40 days out from the reservation. The price is around the median listing price, so I don't think there is an issue there. One other piece of interesting data I got by researching a low lister, got me a little worried. The low lister is an east coast attorney and when I searched the recorder of deeds this guy has bought hundreds (thousands maybe, records listing was too long for me to even count) of Marriott intervals in resale. A mega renter and dumping on the rental market. I wouldn't say this one individual is impacting the market, but how many other mega renters are out there?

 

[grupp]

Thanks for all the feedback. The rental supply does seem high, IMO, compared to other years. I was thinking some of the more popular rental sites are also getting less rentals because other newer sites. This weekend I am going to try to list on more sites. I am about 40 days out from the reservation. The price is around the median listing price, so I don't think there is an issue there. One other piece of interesting data I got by researching a low lister, got me a little worried. The low lister is an east coast attorney and when I searched the recorder of deeds this guy has bought hundreds (thousands maybe, records listing was too long for me to even count) of Marriott intervals in resale. A mega renter and dumping on the rental market. I wouldn't say this one individual is impacting the market, but how many other mega renters are out there?

Although, if your price is around the median, all the units priceed lower than yours will have to rent before yours is the taken.

 

[Slinger]

I have not had issues in years past.

This year, I have a week starting within the next 10 days or so that has yet to rent and is priced at about 2/3 the cost of the MFs.

Maybe the hurricane damage this year? I don't know. I am confused myself this go around.

 

[jme]

It has nothing to do with the hurricane, imho. Many resorts had only minimal cosmetic issues (tree limbs in pools), others had slightly more issues (limbs down, sand in pools & elevator shafts, etc), and some had moderate+ issues like water in units necessitating repair/replacement. Only a few suffered more catastrophic damage like major trees down, destruction of buildings--- like Royal Dunes. Those had "downbursts" (small dipping/skipping along of tornadoes hitting erratically). For the most part, the major resorts had very little damage....such as Grande Ocean, Barony, Surfwatch, etc along the oceanfront (minimal debris clean-up, exterior painting, sand removal, some unit repairs, etc.) I believe nearly 100% of clean-up & repairs were completed months ago. Islandwide, in the more heavily forested areas, there are still large trees down, with an ongoing effort to cut them, stack them, and slowly remove them in an organized fashion. I've noticed a lot of that as one drives farther onto the island after the bridge. Practically speaking, those areas are only cosmetic to tourists, altho environmentally they are more severe......i.e., it doesn't affect the tourism directly.

To the OP's dilemma, I believe it's a couple of things: oversupply and people waiting longer to get a deal.

There's a definite glut of rental units this year. Speculation, but it could be that rental fees have gone up dramatically in recent years, and owners are wanting to reap the benefits. There is a history of high demand for summer HH units, and recently, more demand for any season, even so-called "off-season" (but that term may soon no longer apply to HH, as many resorts are near capacity in Jan/Feb.

Grande Ocean particularly has a lot more listings this year than normal, especially summer weeks, with high fees. Whether or not they're getting renters at the high fees is another story. If all rentals are down dramatically across the board, or we start to see even the lowered fees drawing no interest, one could blame the economy. Not so sure I'm seeing that yet.

Many renters (I've noticed in last 2-3 years) are waiting longer to book anything. Lucky for me, but I listed two June weeks for rent at Grande Ocean back in January only due to scheduling conflicts of our kids who couldn't come---one rented within 24 hours, another 2 weeks later.
We will still be using 3 consecutive June weeks, in spite of letting two reluctantly go to rental.
I also listed a Myrtle Beach non-Marriott week for June, and it just rented this past week, 2 weeks before check-in and at a very low fee. Some of the higher-rated resorts have very high listing fees, and I'm not sure renters want to pay that much, so again, many seem to be waiting. Some don't, though, and make early commitments, but overall I think many are waiting.

OP, be patient, you may still get a renter if you hang on, but fee must definitely be near the bottom of the listed fees to attract a renter, no matter when that time is...in January or now. If in the middle of the pack, the lower fees will go first ahead of you, always,
and you may have to make a move. Avoid the inevitable, reduce it now. You'll end up at the same number, only earlier. I've always felt one should have a reasonable fee (somewhat near the bottom of listed fees) in January/Feb to get an early commitment on a summer week.

Also, it ALWAYS depends on the resort too. The lesser resorts don't seem to move as quickly as the nicer, larger, oceanfront ones.

 

[sparty]

Thanks to some fellow TUG members for giving advice.. I've expanded the listings to include more sites..

This is raising an interesting question for me.. Is it better to rent points or rent weeks? The price of weeks I thought was rising, while the points given by marriott has not changed, and the rental price per point has been declining. I've also noticed low ball renters are non-home resort owners renting stays less then 7 days using points and bragging over their "chariman" status over the prime days of the week, adding more pressure to weeks renters in HHI.

So I'm leaning towards switching my rental strategy next year from weeks to legacy points. However the points exchange isnt give me a warm fuzzy either. If you look at points available for rent there is a dramatic inelastic supply of points available for rent.

Is the Marriott rental market fading fast? And what happens if ILG merges?

 

[MOXJO7282]

This is raising an interesting question for me.. Is it better to rent points or rent weeks? The price of weeks I thought was rising, while the points given by marriott has not changed, and the rental price per point has been declining. I've also noticed low ball renters are non-home resort owners renting stays less then 7 days using points and bragging over their "chariman" status over the prime days of the week, adding more pressure to weeks renters in HHI.

So I'm leaning towards switching my rental strategy next year from weeks to legacy points. However the points exchange isnt give me a warm fuzzy either. If you look at points available for rent there is a dramatic inelastic supply of points available for rent.

Is the Marriott rental market fading fast? And what happens if ILG merges?

The answer is no because points for a week are more expensive than weeks MFs. We exchanged some thoughts on your situation and the one bit of info i don't have is when you put up your week for rent because it would surprise me if you had it listed for 12 months and it didn't rent because it's Marriott, HHI. summer, 2BDRM oceanfront resort with a nice view and priced reasonably within the market so that usually adds up to a rental. I still think it will rent because you're the only available listing for that date but must admit I don't know the Barony market as well as the GO and Monarch.

I'm seeing the opposite with Marriott rentals that it's going stronger than ever but we do own the really high demand resorts like Maui, Newport Coast, GO, MOW and the Monarch.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

I might be alone but I would never list a unit for the median list price. HHI might be different. I've never rented one there but yesterday I reserved July 4 OS for next year at Barony.

To me a median list price has a high chance of going unrented. The market may move to meet that previous median but others might be dropping their prices to meet the market.

I like to price my rentals at the lowest excluding an outlier. I would rather have the money 6 months or more earlier.

 

[ilene13]

In 2015 I listed our 3bedroom 3 bath Surfwatch July 4th week up for rent on multiple sights. I would have taken at least $2300 for the week. The people that contacted me wanted to pay less than $2000. We were in the middle of moving from Buffalo to Sarasota but we went to HH although it was inconvenient.

 

[hangloose]

In 2015 I listed our 3bedroom 3 bath Surfwatch July 4th week up for rent on multiple sights. I would have taken at least $2300 for the week. The people that contacted me wanted to pay less than $2000. We were in the middle of moving from Buffalo to Sarasota but we went to HH although it was inconvenient.

Wow. Very surprising. HHI over July 4th is prime, especially a 3 bedroom as one of the Big 3 on HHI...Surfwatch. Did you post the rental late/last minute? If so, I could see a low price for last minute travel. If you posted well in advance, it's surprising you didn't get a rental.

 

[Steve A]

I live in Port Royal Plantation around the corner from the Barony where we also own. Hurricane Matthew has no current impact on the Barony or this part of the island.

 

[ilene13]

Wow. Very surprising. HHI over July 4th is prime, especially a 3 bedroom as one of the Big 3 on HHI...Surfwatch. Did you post the rental late/last minute? If so, I could see a low price for last minute travel. If you posted well in advance, it's surprising you didn't get a rental.

I posted it for rent in April as we knew we were moving.

 

[MOXJO7282]

I posted it for rent in April as we knew we were moving.

I'm sure that is the reason you didn't find a renter, the rental offer window wasn't quite long enough. i just secured my July dates for our MOW and Newport Coast 2018 units and have already listed them on Redweek. The goal is maximum exposure for the longest amount of time. You would be surprised how many units I rent at 12 months from check-in and even though it's very early I've only had to take out another 6 month RW ad maybe once or twice over many, many rentals.

So the recommendation is to list as early as you possibly can. the earlier you are the higher price you will get. As you get to 3 months that is where I'd start to lower the rental costs because if you can't use the week yourself or don't want to trade it for something later it's better to get something than nothing and with a nice Marriott you'll almost always get something.

 

[elaine]

I agree with pp. My east coast D.C. friends usually confirm their summer rentals by February.

 

[Slinger]

My check in is tomorrow.
Had it listed for a year.
I'm down to the bargain bin price here on tug as well as ebay CL and redweek. No takers.

Had it priced at the lowest price for my specific week all year.

I am skeptical this year. :/

 

[Saintsfanfl]

My check in is tomorrow.
Had it listed for a year.
I'm down to the bargain bin price here on tug as well as ebay CL and redweek. No takers.

Had it priced at the lowest price for my specific week all year.

I am skeptical this year. :/

What specific unit are you referring to?

 

[ilene13]

I'm sure that is the reason you didn't find a renter, the rental offer window wasn't quite long enough. i just secured my July dates for our MOW and Newport Coast 2018 units and have already listed them on Redweek. The goal is maximum exposure for the longest amount of time. You would be surprised how many units I rent at 12 months from check-in and even though it's very early I've only had to take out another 6 month RW ad maybe once or twice over many, many rentals.

So the recommendation is to list as early as you possibly can. the earlier you are the higher price you will get. As you get to 3 months that is where I'd start to lower the rental costs because if you can't use the week yourself or don't want to trade it for something later it's better to get something than nothing and with a nice Marriott you'll almost always get something.

I wouldn't normally rent out our HH unit as we always used it. 2015 was an anomaly. I do not use my timeshares as a business only as guaranteed vacations. The only ones I rent out are my extra Aruba Christmas or New Years weeks if my children don't use them. Since we moved to Sarasota and we live in a gated Country Club community we don't feel the need to go to HH so we have opted for DP for a few years and we are going to Europe on Marriott!

 

[tschwa2]

What specific unit are you referring to?

http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?...june-4-june-11-2017-on-hilton-head-sc.256550/
This one.

 

[MOXJO7282]

http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?...june-4-june-11-2017-on-hilton-head-sc.256550/
This one.

I would've done an ebay auction starting at $700 2 weeks before check-in and if you didn't get a bite then a 2nd auction starting at $500 the week before. $500 is better than $0 in my book. The problem with this listing is June 4th is only a summer week for the southern states as the northern and mid atlantic don't get out of school for a few more weeks so the demand isn't nearly what a July 4th week is. I'm thinking with the July 4th week referenced here that didn't rent just wasn't out there for long and didn't find a taker but I have to believe that one listed at a good price for a full year would've found a taker.

 

[JIMinNC]

I would've done an ebay auction starting at $700 2 weeks before check-in and if you didn't get a bite then a 2nd auction starting at $500 the week before. $500 is better than $0 in my book. The problem with this listing is June 4th is only a summer week for the southern states as the northern and mid atlantic don't get out of school for a few more weeks so the demand isn't nearly what a July 4th week is. I'm thinking with the July 4th week referenced here that didn't rent just wasn't out there for long and didn't find a taker but I have to believe that one listed at a good price for a full year would've found a taker.

Even for the southern states closest to HHI, June 4 is before school is out. In most districts here in NC, school isn't out until around June 9, and I think most of SC is similar. Here in the Charlotte area, many of the private schools end in late May around Memorial Day, but the public schools don't wrap up until the 9th. Final exams are this coming week and high school graduation ceremonies start on the 10th and run through the 12th or 13th. So an early June date is definitely a negative for many areas around here.

 

[ilene13]

Schools are out in Florida.