# TUG Last Minute Rental Board



## denverbob (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm into renting timeshares. We have had great luck renting from both TUG and Redweek. I check the last minute rental boards regularly.

I have noticed that sometimes the TUG last minute rental board is overloaded with entries from one particular resort. My guess is that someone must own these units outright (all weeks) and then tries to rent them *every week*. I can't blame a TUGGER for trying this, but it seems an abuse of this board.

Would it be more fair to limit an indivudual TUGGER to 2 or 3 listings on this board per month? Or charge a fee for any additional listing (above a set standard)?


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## Goofyhobbie (Apr 21, 2010)

*Is the Renting Poster Abiding By The Current Rules of The Last Minute Renting Forum?*

denverbob,

Makai Guy has provided Rules and Notes regarding posting in the Last Minute Rental Forum, as long as the poster complies with those Rules and does not abuse them why not just go with the flow?

It may be a little inconvient to some prospective renters to go throuh similar posts regarding the same resort; but the Forum is there to benefit you and the Renting party. 

Without the Renter being willing an able to post you would not have the opportunity to rent through TUG at a reasonable cost at the Last Minute.


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## denverbob (Apr 21, 2010)

I understand there are rules for posting - and for the most part I agree with the rules. I guess what I am suggesting is to amend those rules to benefit more TUGGERS. 

It is my belief (and to some extent practice) that when I see the same resorts listed 10 or 20 times each week (or month), I tend to just ignore ALL the posting on that day. In fact, many times it causes the single post to move to page 2, which I rarely check (since I usually check 2 or 3 times per week). I think it would make the last minute board better by eliminating some clutter.

I also doubt the board was designed for excessive multiple posts, which is what is sometimes happening now.

These are just my thoughts, but wondered how others felt. Any moderators want to respond?


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## Goofyhobbie (Apr 21, 2010)

*Wisconsin Dells Last Minute Rental*

denverbob,

Are you refering to today's post about Wisconsin Dells.  If so, it appears that the poster is offering a specific unit with each post rather than repeating a post for the same week. 

If the poster has more than one Unit for the same week at a specific resort why shouldn't that poster be allowed to offer EACH separate unit that he owns if he so chooses. 

It appears that it would be a good deal for each TUGGER that took advantage of the specifc UNIT.  Obviously, most renters would not use more than one specific Unit for the same week.

Just my observation.


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## djyamyam (Apr 21, 2010)

denverbob said:


> I understand there are rules for posting - and for the most part I agree with the rules. I guess what I am suggesting is to amend those rules to benefit more TUGGERS.
> 
> It is my belief (and to some extent practice) that when I see the same resorts listed 10 or 20 times each week (or month), I tend to just ignore ALL the posting on that day. In fact, many times it causes the single post to move to page 2, which I rarely check (since I usually check 2 or 3 times per week). I think it would make the last minute board better by eliminating some clutter.
> 
> ...



So if I understand this correctly, you're complaining that because some people post multiple ads that it's making it more challenging for you to find that one gold nugget LM rental that you're looking for?  You now have to work at scanning the posts as opposed to just seeing it pop out?

If it's a LSM deal, it's a LSM for someone if not you.  Sorry but I don't agree with you


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## Bill4728 (Apr 21, 2010)

I've moved this to the about TUG BBS board.


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## denverbob (Apr 21, 2010)

djyamyam said:


> So if I understand this correctly, you're complaining that because some people post multiple ads that it's making it more challenging for you to find that one gold nugget LM rental that you're looking for?  You now have to work at scanning the posts as opposed to just seeing it pop out?
> 
> If it's a LSM deal, it's a LSM for someone if not you.  Sorry but I don't agree with you



I understand what you are saying, and I can see where you think I might just be picky - and not want to read through all the 'unwanted' (my opinion) posts in the list.

And yes, the Wisconsin Dells posts are one of the problems as I see it.

If there are no changes, I will still sort through the list even if I have to click on page 2 or 3 sometimes. However, others may not - which is my point. 

Can the Last Minute Rental Board be better?


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## djyamyam (Apr 22, 2010)

denverbob said:


> _I understand what you are saying, and I can see where you think I might just be picky - and not want to read through all the 'unwanted' (my opinion) posts in the list._
> 
> And yes, the Wisconsin Dells posts are one of the problems as I see it.
> 
> ...



That's exactly what I think.  Your early post was that "I rarely click past page 2" so if that's not lazy, I don't know what is.  I would also hazard an educated guess that the majority aren't just searching for LSM postings 2 or 3 times a week.  A person that's going through there is probably searching for something reasonably specific, so they're going through the list of postings anyways, and probably through a few days/week worth because it just occurred to them to check.

If your rule of 2 or 3 listings a month was actually implemented, you probably wouldn't have gotten 1/3 of the LSM rentals you actually got.  I can think of a few posters that regular post LSM availability (in a broad number of places, eg. NHTC, some of the Wyn resort posts, Aliikai, Bruce, etc) that have helped a lot of Tuggers get some great rental deals.  You really don't want to be biting the hand that feeds you.


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## geekette (Apr 22, 2010)

Sorry, Bob, I'm with dj

Charging someone to post in LMR is not what it's about.  What about if people that rented more than twice from LMR got charged starting with third rental?  Would that be OK?  What if you were not allowed to post more than one Rental Wanted in some arbitrary period of time?  All of these hurt the intention, which is, owners helping owners.  AND, would cause a lot of extra work for mods, to achieve the outcome of LESS rentals available so that there are less pages for you to scroll thru.  seems selfish

It is what it is, and it works.  If it's inconvenient for you, find your cheap rentals thru another venue that works better for you.  Pretty much not my problem that clicking pages is a problem for you, but don't diss our hunting grounds!

I give you much credit for not rehashing the most common complaint about LMR!


ps - I clicked all the way to Page 4 of New Posts to locate this interesting thread


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## scrapngen (Apr 23, 2010)

denverbob said:


> I'm into renting timeshares. We have had great luck renting from both TUG and Redweek. I check the last minute rental boards regularly.
> 
> I have noticed that sometimes the TUG last minute rental board is overloaded with entries from one particular resort. My guess is that someone must own these units outright (all weeks) and then tries to rent them *every week*. I can't blame a TUGGER for trying this, but it seems an abuse of this board.
> 
> Would it be more fair to limit an indivudual TUGGER to 2 or 3 listings on this board per month? Or charge a fee for any additional listing (above a set standard)?



I agree that it takes a few minutes to sort through the posts on the LMR board. That being said, the way I see it is that the lister is already most likely taking a loss when posting to this particular board. They are trying to fill a unit that would otherwise be lost or go empty - and are rarely even getting enough to cover their MF's. It is still a win for them as they do offset their expenses a bit (something is much better than nothing - and the upper end of $700 is not to be sneezed at)  and potentially gives someone like you (me, or another TUGGER) a great bargain and chance to go somewhere they might not otherwise go or get to go.   

By forcing the lister to pay yet another fee, or be limited on what they can offer makes it less likely that they would post these discounted or even FREE weeks and the board would probably fail. IMO, You are already getting a great deal - the "price" of that bargain includes a little inconvenience at having to hunt through the offerings for one that you'd like. 

(disclaimer - sort of - I have never listed a property (yet), but have rented and appreciate the opportunity offered here for a win-win situation)


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## Rent_Share (Apr 23, 2010)

geekette said:


> ps - I clicked all the way to Page 4 of New Posts to locate this interesting thread


 

Set up your profile to ignore the threads you have zero interest in and your new posts list is shorter

Under Profile

Exclude Forums from "Get New Posts


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## geekette (Apr 23, 2010)

Rent_Share said:


> Set up your profile to ignore the threads you have zero interest in and your new posts list is shorter
> 
> Under Profile
> 
> Exclude Forums from "Get New Posts



oh no way, I like cruising the forums to see what might interest me!  The point was that I was still engaged enuf to get to page 4!  

However, thanks for posting this - I'm sure some folks will appreciate this tip!


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## zcrider (Apr 24, 2010)

While we are on this subject......is there any way to search for just one specific start date in the LMR section?  That would be really helpful since you have to read thru pages of posts since they are not in order by start date of the rentals, and they jump around all the time as they get bumped.  This makes it combersome to look thru.


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## denverbob (Apr 25, 2010)

It appears that there is no one that agrees with me on a minor revamp of the LMR board. I thought my recommendation was reasonable, but no one else did. I guess the others who responded (GoofyHobbie, djyamyam, geekette and Scrapngen) have no issues with the LMR board.

zcrider's comments are appreciated - related to improving the board. If people would follow recommendations, they would list dates in titles, but many don't. I'm sure it is not feasable for any moderator to edit the posts to accomplish this.

As I stated, I have found rentals through this board and will continue to check. I was only offering a suggestion for improvement.


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## DeniseM (Apr 25, 2010)

Bob - I suspect that many users really enjoy searching out the juicy deals on the LMR Board, and actually enjoy the time they spend there.

I don't know of any easy way to search the forum by date, since there is no standard format for date, and the TUG search function is not the best.


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## scrapngen (Apr 25, 2010)

denverbob said:


> It appears that there is no one that agrees with me on a minor revamp of the LMR board. I thought my recommendation was reasonable, but no one else did. I guess the others who responded (GoofyHobbie, djyamyam, geekette and Scrapngen) have no issues with the LMR board.
> 
> zcrider's comments are appreciated - related to improving the board. If people would follow recommendations, they would list dates in titles, but many don't. I'm sure it is not feasable for any moderator to edit the posts to accomplish this.
> 
> As I stated, I have found rentals through this board and will continue to check. I was only offering a suggestion for improvement.



Your assumption here is that because I didn't like your suggestion to revamp the board, I have no issues with the board and/or don't think it should be improved or that you were out of line in trying to improve it with your suggestion. This is not true. 

I think it is great to look at what might be inconvenient/wrong/unhelpful (insert your words here) with any system currently in place. I'm glad you made the suggestion as I have also found it mildly frustrating to weed through similar ads for the same item I'm not interested in at this time to find something I want. I thought about what you wrote and then gave my opinion. My comments were that I didn't think your solution was viable or fair. That's all.  

If a good solution for your problem comes from your starting this thread, or other improvements are suggested and implemented, then we all win. But don't assume that noone wants to hear from you just because 5 people didn't like this particular suggestion.


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## geekette (Apr 26, 2010)

Yeah, Yeah, what Scrap said!  Suggestions for improvement are always welcome, don't go away mad, Bob. 

It's just that there are limitations both process-wise and technically.  People will create whatever titles they create, and we can only hope they include the required info.  If not, hit the red triangle or post. 

A lot of times, I have no idea what city the "everyone knows this one!" resort is in while location is supposed to be required in the title.  But, we cannot control what titles people create, nor the order in which the required info is in the title, nor the order in which posts get created ...


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## scrapngen (Apr 26, 2010)

geekette said:


> Yeah, Yeah, what Scrap said!  Suggestions for improvement are always welcome, don't go away mad, Bob.
> 
> It's just that there are limitations both process-wise and technically.  People will create whatever titles they create, and we can only hope they include the required info.  If not, hit the red triangle or post.
> 
> A lot of times, I have no idea what city the "everyone knows this one!" resort is in while location is supposed to be required in the title.  But, we cannot control what titles people create, nor the order in which the required info is in the title, nor the order in which posts get created ...



THanks, geekette  
I agree about the resort location. I could easily be lured to a new area, (or maybe it's already an area I like, just don't know all the resorts there) but if I have to work at determining where to go, I may assume it is somewhere I don't want to be..  Hopefully some of the posters will realise upon reading this thread that if they follow the format they have a better chance of renting their unit....:whoopie:

Another suggestion for posters is that if they change the price, but have a price in the title, they should edit the header or repost as well, since a new price might change people's minds who are on the fence, so to speak. Most browsers are not going to take the time to read through the post to see that the price has changed... 

I guess ultimately the burden is on the person posting to make their ad attractive to the potential renters. From a renter perspective, it is harder to initiate changes or suggestions, but I appreciate Bob for trying.


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## geekette (Apr 27, 2010)

scrapngen said:


> From a renter perspective, it is harder to initiate changes or suggestions, but I appreciate Bob for trying.



YES!


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## denverbob (Apr 27, 2010)

I'm not going away - and I'm not mad. Maybe a little concerned that I was not able to get my point across as well as I hoped.

I still think there are some issues with the LMR board, but they won't keep me from checking and getting some good bargains. And since I don't plan on visiting Wisconsin, I can ignore those.

I sometimes compare the LMR board to Redweek or ebay. I shouldn't do this, since they are really different.


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## DeniseM (Apr 27, 2010)

Bob - are you aware that we have a regular, searchable, classified section? (The TUG Marketplace.)  It is more inline with the standard Ads you might find on eBay or Redweek.


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## denverbob (Apr 27, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> Bob - are you aware that we have a regular, searchable, classified section? (The TUG Marketplace.)  It is more inline with the standard Ads you might find on eBay or Redweek.



Yes, I am aware of that board, and have used it several times. My one concern with that board is that you don't really know who you are contacting when you send a message. 

For example, earlier this year there were 4 listings for NCV on the board for the week I wanted. I sent messages to every one, but only heard back from one. I wondered if all 4 listing were really for the same unit. With Redweek, you at least have a name to go with the listing, and separate names probably mean separate units. I don't know if that can be changed on TUG.

I just went to the board again, and this time notice that there is a phone number listed for each listing. Is this new? I don't remember seeing it before.


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## DeniseM (Apr 27, 2010)

Listing your name and phone number is optional.


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## denverbob (Apr 27, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> Listing your name and phone number is optional.



With all the fraudulent solicitations going about I was kind of surprised to see the phone numbers when I clicked "Contact this Member". It would, however, make it easier to contact those with rentals. And duplicate phone numbers would be an indication of multiple listings.


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## TUGBrian (Apr 27, 2010)

denverbob said:


> With all the fraudulent solicitations going about I was kind of surprised to see the phone numbers when I clicked "Contact this Member". It would, however, make it easier to contact those with rentals. And duplicate phone numbers would be an indication of multiple listings.



users must specifically NOT include their phone number to not have it listed on the contact tab.


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## JonathanIT (Apr 28, 2010)

The issue I have with the LMR forum is that sometimes a member will list the same property in multiple threads like a day or two apart, instead of bumping or updating the original thread.  Maybe they think that bumping the thread might not be appreciated... but is making a duplicate any better??  

I don't see any rules about "bumping" or duplicate threads... am I the only one who thinks there should be some in place?


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## DeniseM (Apr 28, 2010)

Duplicate posts are not permitted anywhere on TUG.  If you see one, please click on the triangle in the bottom left corner of the post, and report it.


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## Makai Guy (Apr 28, 2010)

JonathanIT said:


> The issue I have with the LMR forum is that sometimes a member will list the same property in multiple threads like a day or two apart, instead of bumping or updating the original thread.  Maybe they think that bumping the thread might not be appreciated... but is making a duplicate any better??
> 
> I don't see any rules about "bumping" or duplicate threads... am I the only one who thinks there should be some in place?


Item #3 in overall BBS Posting Rules (available via the blue navigation bar near the top of all bbs pages):


> *Avoid posting duplicate messages*
> Choose the most appropriate forum for your message and place it there and only there. Posting the same message in multiple forums spreads the replies around to different parts of the board and makes them much harder to locate later. If your message does not fit with the stated theme of any of the other forums, please place it in the TUG Lounge forum. This is a special place for "Idle Chit Chat", notices of member meetings, etc.  Duplicate posts will be removed when found.


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## denverbob (Apr 28, 2010)

JonathanIT said:


> The issue I have with the LMR forum is that sometimes a member will list the same property in multiple threads like a day or two apart, instead of bumping or updating the original thread.  Maybe they think that bumping the thread might not be appreciated... but is making a duplicate any better??
> 
> I don't see any rules about "bumping" or duplicate threads... am I the only one who thinks there should be some in place?



I agree with you. Technically, these are not duplicate threads because there is a slight change, however the effect is really duplicate threads.

More of the 'regulars' who post to the LMR board use the 'bump' process to move post up. That is much preferred to relisting the post (with slight changes).


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