# Why are Last Minute rental ads 45 days out?



## ecwinch (Mar 31, 2009)

Is there any special reason that Last Minute rentals are limited to 45 days out?

Could sub-forums like the DVC thread allow us to expand this a little?  Seems like 45 days out is in the no-mans land of cancellation periods. For my ownership, it would be better if it was 60 days out. That would give me 30 days to try to rent my unit before I would cancel my reservation. 

To avoid the censor mallet, I am not talking about II or RCI reservations. AND this is not an ad to contact me for a rental.


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## TUGBrian (Mar 31, 2009)

the TUGBBS forums were not intended to be a place to advertise your timeshare, an exception is given to the LMR forums to allow members a last shot at advertising their timeshares to a wider audience, as long as they were offereing them for under 100 a night.

the Timeshare Marketplace exists for you to post your classified ads way before the 45 day LMR cutoff.


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## ecwinch (Mar 31, 2009)

Brian,

I understand that i.e. We have two different areas to advertise our rentals. And having two areas makes sense. But a lot of times when I contact people 60-90 days out for rentals via classified ads, I get - "I just deposited that week". And when you think how the exchange companies work, it makes perfect sense.

I just wonder what is magical about 45 days? Is there some logic about 45 days out?  Why not 79 days for instance, which ties to II. 

Then if I have an II resort, I can advertise it on TUG. And if it does not sell then I can move it to LMR at 79 days, because that is where it is going to get more views. And since the exchange value is diminished, I am willing to let it go to cover my m/f, where most ads are above m/f.

With LMR at 45 days, I have to wait for 34 days to offer my fellow tuggers a good deal. Or create a bargain basement rental section starting at 90 days with a $700 cap. Then I know the seller still has the week and is interested in cutting a deal.

Just food for thought.


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## Bill4728 (Mar 31, 2009)

one reason may be that RCI does their LMR at 45 days too.


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## JonathanIT (Apr 2, 2009)

I think the whole point is that these are booked stays that cannot be changed or cancelled... they were not booked for listing as rentals, they were booked to be used by the owner/friends/family.  But plans changed and for whatever reason they cannot be used so that is why they are sometimes "bargain" rates (also the reason for the rate cap of 100/night).  It's a way for the owner to get some sort of return rather than a wasted stay with an empty unit... and at the same time a TUG member may get a great deal.


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## ecwinch (Apr 2, 2009)

JonathanIT said:


> I think the whole point is that these are booked stays that cannot be changed or cancelled... they were not booked for listing as rentals, they were booked to be used by the owner/friends/family.  But plans changed and for whatever reason they cannot be used so that is why they are sometimes "bargain" rates (also the reason for the rate cap of 100/night).  It's a way for the owner to get some sort of return rather than a wasted stay with an empty unit... and at the same time a TUG member may get a great deal.



Those were some of my thoughts also. But since you cannot rent exchanges, and if it was not an exchange, you might as well deposit it.

Intent was really to suggest that 45 days seems in no-mans land.


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## applegirl (Apr 2, 2009)

I kind of agree with ecwinch.  45 days seems too little to do anything different with the unit besides list it for very little money.  Many LMR seem to not get taken and I often wonder, if TUGgers had more time, could they better work these good deals into their plans?  With 45 days few people can really take advantage of these great deals.  I think 60 days or maybe even 79 would be better.

I hope more members pipe in here to see if Eric and I are the only ones who think this is a good idea.

I'm still not sure Eric has received an answer as to what is so special about 45 days?

Janna


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## LLW (Apr 3, 2009)

applegirl said:


> I kind of agree with ecwinch.  45 days seems too little to do anything different with the unit besides list it for very little money.  Many LMR seem to not get taken and I often wonder, if TUGgers had more time, could they better work these good deals into their plans?  With 45 days few people can really take advantage of these great deals.  I think 60 days or maybe even 79 would be better.
> 
> I hope more members pipe in here to see if Eric and I are the only ones who think this is a good idea.
> 
> ...




I think the 45 days were intended for the LMR board to provide the last resort for owners to recover some of their MFs and the units to not sit empty, sort of the last thing you can do. 45 days, not 59, because RCI is the bigger exchange company. This dates back to when TUG charged a fee for rental ads. Before 45 days, owners could deposit, could pay a fee on this or many other web sites to advertise for any amount of rent. Once into the 45-day period, they could advertise for free on LMR for the regulated rent of $700, to recover at least part of their MF, because there was not much else they could do.

Now that TUG ads are free for members, they could be advertised at any amount in the Marketplace. To change the LMR to more than 45 days would be a duplicated service. The only difference would be the price, if that is kept at $700. Kind of a bargain basement rental forum, which in my personal opinion would be more logical in the Marketplace than on the BBS. Not the least of the reasons is that in the Marketplace you can segregate the regions, whereas on the LMR the reader has to glance at all the titles to find out what region the rental is in. In the Marketplace it would work like the Bargain Basement Sale Ads.

Speaking for myself: as it is, there are far too many LMR ads for me to look at, such that I am spending less time in that forum. I think that's probably true for most people. To increase its volume (by expanding the days) probably means people would read it even less. If people are really looking for a rental, they could go to the Marketplace where it's easier to find the desired locales.

JMHO.


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## ecwinch (Apr 3, 2009)

LLW - I absolutely agree with you. The bargain basement idea - BRILLIANT.

I am not suggesting that my idea is the prefect one. 

But I think the current model can be improved upon. Here are the challenges.

I agree - when I am only casually interested, there might be too many ads. But when I am looking for a rental, I do not have that problem. To few ads - by far.

The classified ads are too static. Response times are much slower - if at all. Too many ads are from the occasional TUG user. 

I think some of those might be mitigated by your suggestion. Only issue is that you have to be a member - not so for LMR.

While the 45 days might have been a good benchmark in the past, I think it should be extended.


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