Redweek just for members

[DannyTS]

I am not sure i understand the strategy of Redweek, why do you need to have an active account just to see the available weeks for any particular resort? If you do not, you get this:

I believe that Redweek could broaden its net otherwise most potential renters will just go to booking.com and others. As we all know, the online attention span is pretty low and people may not want to register just to see the inventory.

I am looking at WKV rentals for example. It does not seem like much is moving, although it may be hard to tell:

DATES NIGHTS PRICE UNIT VIEW BEDS/BATHS SLEEPS
AVAILABILITY VARIES 08/02/18–12/06/19 7 $3,400 ($486/night) Varies 2 2 9 VIEW POSTING
AVAILABILITY VARIES 08/02/18–12/19/19 7 $1,400 ($200/night) Varies 2 2 9 VIEW POSTING
AVAILABILITY VARIES 08/02/18–12/31/19 7 $1,600 ($229/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
AVAILABILITY VARIES 08/02/18–09/30/18 7 $1,200 ($171/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
08/04/18–08/11/18 7 $600 ($86/night) None 2 2 6 RENTED!
AVAILABILITY VARIES 08/04/18–09/07/18 7 $1,270 ($181/night) Golf course 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
08/31/18–09/07/18NEW! 7 $1,200 ($171/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
09/02/18–09/09/18 7 $1,495 ($214/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
09/09/18–09/14/18NEW! 5 $500 ($100/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 09/13/18–09/20/18 7 $1,275 ($182/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
09/30/18–10/08/18 8 $2,400 ($300/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 10/06/18–10/13/18 7 $2,500 ($357/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
10/06/18–10/13/18 7 $2,100 ($300/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
10/07/18–10/14/18 7 $2,900 ($414/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 10/19/18–10/26/18 7 $1,495 ($214/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 11/17/18–11/24/18 7 $2,475 ($354/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 11/17/18–11/24/18 7 $1,050 ($150/night) Varies 1 1 4 RENTED!
11/17/18–11/24/18 7 $1,375 ($196/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
11/24/18–12/01/18 7 $1,000 ($143/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
11/26/18–11/30/18 4 $800 ($200/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 11/30/18–12/07/18 7 $1,395 ($199/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
12/01/18–12/08/18 7 $1,000 ($143/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
12/07/18–12/14/18 7 $1,295 ($185/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
12/16/18–12/24/18NEW! 8 $1,800 ($225/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 12/18/18–12/25/18NEW! 7 $3,700 ($529/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 12/19/18–12/26/18NEW! 7 $2,300 ($329/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 12/22/18–12/29/18 7 $1,950 ($279/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
12/22/18–12/29/18 7 $2,100 ($300/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
12/22/18–12/29/18 7 $1,900 ($271/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 12/23/18–12/30/18 7 $1,850 ($264/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
12/23/18–12/30/18 7 $4,000 ($571/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
12/26/18–01/02/19NEW! 7 $1,995 ($285/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 12/29/18–01/05/19 7 $2,940 ($420/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
AVAILABILITY VARIES 01/01/19–01/02/19 7 $2,500 ($357/night) Golf course 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
01/12/19–01/19/19 7 $3,295 ($471/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 01/26/19–02/02/19NEW! 7 $2,750 ($393/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 01/27/19–02/03/19 7 $2,500 ($357/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
01/27/19–02/03/19 7 $2,200 ($314/night) Varies 1 1 4 RENTED!
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 01/28/19–02/04/19 7 $3,500 ($500/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 02/01/19–02/08/19 7 $3,500 ($500/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 02/01/19–02/08/19NEW! 7 $3,600 ($514/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
02/03/19–02/10/19 7 $2,000 ($286/night) Varies 1 1 4 RENTED!
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 02/16/19–02/23/19NEW! 7 $2,450 ($350/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
02/16/19–02/21/19 5 $1,700 ($340/night) Golf course 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $3,700 ($529/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $3,850 ($550/night) Golf course 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $3,800 ($543/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/02/19–03/09/19NEW! 7 $3,500 ($500/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $1,700 ($243/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $4,200 ($600/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $1,350 ($193/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $1,775 ($254/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $3,800 ($543/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $1,750 ($250/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/02/19–03/09/19 7 $3,800 ($543/night) Golf course 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/04/19–03/09/19NEW! 5 $1,395 ($279/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
REDWEEK VERIFIED 03/08/19–03/15/19 7 $2,350 ($336/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 03/09/19–03/16/19NEW! 7 $3,795 ($542/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 03/09/19–03/16/19 7 $1,500 ($214/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 03/09/19–03/16/19 7 $2,300 ($329/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
REDWEEK VERIFIED 03/09/19–03/16/19 7 $3,695 ($528/night) Varies 2 2 8 RENTED!
REDWEEK VERIFIED 03/09/19–03/16/19 7 $4,200 ($600/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/09/19–03/16/19NEW! 7 $2,100 ($300/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/09/19–03/16/19 7 $1,850 ($264/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/09/19–03/16/19 7 $4,000 ($571/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/09/19–03/16/19 7 $4,500 ($643/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/09/19–03/16/19 7 $4,000 ($571/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/10/19–03/17/19 7 $1,800 ($257/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/10/19–03/17/19 7 $4,250 ($607/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
REDWEEK VERIFIED 03/15/19–03/22/19 7 $2,350 ($336/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
REDWEEK VERIFIED 03/15/19–03/22/19 7 $1,850 ($264/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 03/15/19–03/22/19 7 $2,100 ($300/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $3,850 ($550/night) Golf course 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
REDWEEK VERIFIED 03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $3,695 ($528/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $3,450 ($493/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $4,200 ($600/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $2,100 ($300/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $3,950 ($564/night) Golf course 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $4,000 ($571/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $2,450 ($350/night) Mountain 1 1 5 VIEW POSTING
03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $1,900 ($271/night) Mountain 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/16/19–03/23/19 7 $1,900 ($271/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/17/19–03/24/19 7 $4,250 ($607/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/22/19–03/29/19 7 $2,450 ($350/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/23/19–03/30/19 7 $4,900 ($700/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/23/19–03/30/19 7 $4,000 ($571/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/23/19–03/30/19 7 $3,950 ($564/night) Varies 2 2 8 RENTED!
03/23/19–03/30/19 7 $2,450 ($350/night) Mountain 1 1 5 RENTED!
03/23/19–03/30/19 7 $3,100 ($443/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/23/19–03/30/19 7 $3,700 ($529/night) Varies 1 1 5 VIEW POSTING
03/24/19–03/31/19 7 $4,000 ($571/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/24/19–03/31/19 7 $3,875 ($554/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/30/19–04/06/19NEW! 7 $3,795 ($542/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/30/19–04/06/19NEW! 7 $2,500 ($357/night) Varies 1 1 4 VIEW POSTING
03/30/19–04/06/19 7 $3,700 ($529/night) Golf course 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
03/30/19–04/06/19 7 $3,000 ($429/night) Golf course 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
04/05/19–04/12/19 7 $2,700 ($386/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
04/13/19–04/20/19 7 $3,795 ($542/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 04/19/19–04/26/19NEW! 7 $3,600 ($514/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING
VERIFIED & PROTECTED 04/20/19–04/27/19 7 $3,850 ($550/night) Varies 2 2 8 VIEW POSTING

 

[echino]

I think you need a free account to see inventory. Paid membership is needed to actually contact the poster.

 

[DannyTS]

I think you need a free account to see inventory. Paid membership is needed to actually contact the poster.

It just seems odd to me since for all the other sites (booking.com, homeaway, rentbyowner, airbnb etc) you do not need to sign in just to see what is available

 

[vacationtime1]

I prefer renting on Redweek (and on TUG, for similar reasons).

The $15 fee for Redweek keeps out casual lookers. TUG ad viewers are a generally sophisticated group, again avoiding casual lookers. You haven't lived until you deal with multiple rental inquires questioning why you can't change your March Maui reservation so it is Wednesday to Wednesday.

I suppose you could say that Redweek's "strategy" is to filter inquiries by limiting them to those more likely to buy or rent, thereby appealing to sellers/renters (if it is a a "strategy" at all, rather than just a way of collecting $15 from a lot of people).

Also, the cost of advertising on Redweek and TUG is modest.

 

[DannyTS]

I prefer renting on Redweek (and on TUG, for similar reasons).

The $15 fee for Redweek keeps out casual lookers. TUG ad viewers are a generally sophisticated group, again avoiding casual lookers. You haven't lived until you deal with multiple rental inquires questioning why you can't change your March Maui reservation so it is Wednesday to Wednesday.

I suppose you could say that Redweek's "strategy" is to filter inquiries by limiting them to those more likely to buy or rent, thereby appealing to sellers/renters (if it is a a "strategy" at all, rather than just a way of collecting $15 from a lot of people).

Also, the cost of advertising on Redweek and TUG is modest.

The generally sophisticated Redweek viewers may have other options like getaways, exchanges, ACs etc so, sophisticated or not, may not be the best target. You may keep away the people that are not serious enough at step 2 (contact), but just to see the availability there should be no barriers IMHO

 

[PamMo]

We've gotten so used to assuming that everything should be free on the internet. Maintaining a website costs money. I'm happy to pay Redweek's minimal annual fee to access a large and well organized database of timeshare sales and rentals. That information provides a lot of value to me as a buyer, seller, landlord, and renter.

Also, as vacationtime1 posted, Redweek's membership fee has been fairly successful in weeding out the casual browser and maintaining a website for the ''serious" buyer/renter group.

 

[LannyPC]

The generally sophisticated Redweek viewers may have other options like getaways, exchanges, ACs etc so, sophisticated or not, may not be the best target. You may keep away the people that are not serious enough at step 2 (contact), but just to see the availability there should be no barriers IMHO

Just to clarify, if you want to view what's available on Red Week, you need the free membership which also allows you, if you so desire, to participate in its forums. If you want to contact an owner about a sale or rental, then you need the annual, but modest, $19 fee. Red Week also allows you to have your membership fee refunded if you do not find what you are looking for.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion about Red week's policy regarding this. But if you are unhappy about this, I have a couple of suggestions:

1) Contact Red Week about it rather than venting on TUG's forum about this.
2) Use a site such as Craigslist that allows owners and renters/buyers to communicate with each other without paying for memberships. Just be prepared to deal with a lot of spammers and scammers.

By the way, despite Red Week's policy of charging members to be able to contact owners, Red Week still has one of the highest rates of sales and rentals between owners and buyers/renters. We had one TS that we sold and listed it on various sites. Guess which one found us a serious buyer. That's right. Red Week.

 

[DannyTS]

I actually like Redweek, i rented through the site before becoming an owner. I personally have no problem with the membership, I do agree that it will keep the people who may not be serious away. Yet, i feel that by putting a barrier right from the begging, at the search level, it discourage people that might otherwise be good potential renters. The registration can be at step 2, contacting the owner.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Also gives more peace of mind to renters because scammer landlords less likely to shell out $19 + to post a fake ad. Also agree about avoiding lookey loos.

 

[LannyPC]

Yet, i feel that by putting a barrier right from the begging, at the search level, it discourage people that might otherwise be good potential renters.

Well if a good renter is seriously looking to rent (or buy), then he would have no problem registering as a member in order to view (which is a free membership). If he sees something that he really likes, then he should have no problem shelling out $19 to contact the owner, a fee which is refundable if the owner ends up not finding what he wants.

But again, if you have a problem with RW's policy on this, contact them about it. Just keep in mind though that a lot of owners who use RW to advertise actually like the paid membership policy and I would venture to guess that some owners would actually stop using RW if RW decided to allow just anyone to contact owners.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I LOVE that Redweek has a membership fee. Yes, I have gotten MANY inquiries from ads posted on Craigslist for the ares I have rented at ... but VERY FEW dollars in my bank account.

The old adage is ... takes MONEY to MAKE Money ... Redweek is proof to me. WAY more wasted time is used for 1 Craigslist ad than 10 Redweek ads posted.

And my adage is "My Time costs me MONEY".

If you want to TRY Craiglist ... set up a FREE email account first. Just so your real mail does not get lost in the JUNK/Spammer crap.

 

[theo]

...but just to see the availability there should be no barriers IMHO

There really aren't any "barriers" (or costs) to view any and all rental and resale listings on RedWeek. Site registration is free and indefinite (just as it is here on TUG). Only if one wishes to initiate contact with a listing advertiser is a paid RedWeek membership required.

For anyone considering spending four figures on a timeshare rental (or a resale purchase), I respectfully submit that a $19 membership fee (which remains valid for a full year) is hardly unreasonable or prohibitive. That membership fee requirement also goes a long way toward repelling spammers, scammers and "tire kickers" who will not "pay to play".

 

[taterhed]

I suspect that Redweek also has a healthy market for it's mailing list....not sure about that, but it would make sense.

 

[theo]

I suspect that Redweek also has a healthy market for it's mailing list....not sure about that, but it would make sense.

Fwiw, I've been a paid RW member for well over a decade now and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, have never received any unwanted or unwelcome "contacts" as a result of my RedWeek membership.

The RedWeek discussion forums are woefully lame and generally uninformed (and seem to be getting progressively worse), but as a site for being on either side of a rental transaction, I personally don't think that RW really has any equal.

 

[RLS50]

It just seems odd to me since for all the other sites (booking.com, homeaway, rentbyowner, airbnb etc) you do not need to sign in just to see what is available

Over the years we have booked properties using Booking.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, and VRBO. In recent years we have rented from other owners on Redweek. At this point in time I think Redweek is the best and we have started to go there first if we are looking for something specific we can't trade into ourselves. Or we use our Marriott rewards accounts to book directly with Marriott somewhere.

Booking.com and the other sites (usually) have the most expensive rates. Even worse there are surprises and conversations that usually need to be had at check-in because depending on the property and region, what you thought you were booking and paying for might end up being a little different than what the front desk decides to try and put you in. Good luck trying to contact customer service at Booking.com or "whatever.com" to iron out any problems at check in.

VRBO used to be great until the original owners sold out to Expedia. Then the fees went way up and the online functionality went way down. Worse yet they decided it was a good idea to try and build even more firewalls to prevent owner and guest from communicating unless they could heavily monitor any conversation (to protect themselves and make sure no offline conversations were taking place that would cut them out of their profits). Trying to communicate on VRBO now with an owner, or as an owner trying to answer guest inquires, is awkward, not user friendly, and reminds me somewhat of Soviet era Russia where the KGB was monitoring and parsing every word and phrase uttered. And it appears they added all kinds of filtering logic to give preference to the ads who are paying them their premium rates. We still use VRBO...but much less than we used to...mainly because in my opinion the product has been significantly worsened and degraded since Expedia took over.

So while I agree with you that the average person may think Redweek is the same as those Whatever.com sites or VRBO or Airbnb, etc...the reality is that they are all different...sometimes significantly so.

If anything I think it's ashame more people don't know about Redweek and understand what it is and what it offers. On one hand Redweek probably needs to advertise themselves better, but on the other hand advertising in this era costs huge amounts of money, which would probably force Redweek to dramatically increase fees which would then probably make it less desirable for existing owners and guests to use. That last thing I would want to see is for Redweek to go down the path that VRBO went and end up as a more inferior product.

 

[DannyTS]

There really aren't any "barriers" (or costs) to view any and all rental and resale listings on RedWeek.
If you wish to initiate contact with a listing advertiser, only then is a paid RedWeek membership required.

For anyone considering spending a thousand dollars or more on a timeshare rental (or a resale purchase), I respectfully submit that a $19 membership fee (valid for a full year) is hardly unreasonable or prohibitive. That membership fee requirement also goes a long way toward repelling spammers, scammers and "tire kickers" who will not "pay to play".

theo, i think that you are not correct. I am a Redweek member of course but i tried with another browser I was not logged in with just to see the experience of somebody browsing the net. Yes, you can browse the resorts but if you click on either rentals or sales, you cannot see the availability. Please see below, i just tried again. This barrier seems to me unnecessary. People pejoratively compare to craigslist where you can find listings for banana peels (i am exaggerating) but i would rather compare with the specialized renting sites that have absolutely no barriers to see the inventory. After seeing the inventory you should be asked to register/ pay, not before IMO. This may actually mean more revenue for Redweek and still weed out people who are not serious because they would eventually still have to register, give the credit card etc.

My post is meant to lead to possible improvement. Yes LannyPC I can contact Redweek. I do not have access to the people that make decisions and I am not going to waist my time talking to the people in customer service that may or may not have the will to pass on recommendations. Their customer service is slow enough by the way for regular business inquiries which makes me think that they would not have time anyway for things like the one I am suggesting.

 

[DannyTS]

If anything I think it's ashame more people don't know about Redweek and understand what it is and what it offers. On one hand Redweek probably needs to advertise themselves better, but on the other hand advertising in this era costs huge amounts of money, which would probably force Redweek to dramatically increase fees which would then probably make it less desirable for existing owners and guests to use. That last thing I would want to see is for Redweek to go down the path that VRBO went and end up as a more inferior product.

More people do not know about it in part because of the problem I am referring to. I remember my first experience with Redweek when i became a member. Had i not been looking for a resale TS I would have not signed in. The reality is that Redweek gives access to rent some amazing resorts at decent prices but the general public cannot see that because you have to register first.

By the way, a 2 tier system works fine for TUG. You can see posts without registering but you have to be a member to have full access. I wonder how popular TUG would be if it did not give any access to any posts without registering.

 

[Panina]

Redweek is still around, so until it is gone , their business model is working. There are enough customers that see the value in being a member in Redweek, including me.

 

[DannyTS]

Redweek is still around, so until it is gone , their business model is working. There are enough customers that see the value in being a member in Redweek, including me.

I am not sure that being still around is a roaring endorsement or a strong argument against improvement.

 

[theo]

theo, i think that you are not correct. I am a Redweek member of course but i tried with another browser I was not logged in with just to see the experience of somebody browsing the net.

Sounds to me more like a browser problem rather than a RedWeek issue, but we can agree to respectfully disagree. Registering (for free --- and required only once) as a non-member RedWeek "user" does not seem at all onerous or burdensome to me. Moreover, site registration helps to deter and discourage those who are of ill intent from the start. I'm fine with that, frankly; I have no use or time for spammers, scammers or insincere "tire kickers".

I have no interest in playing "landlord", but when I've had to rent out weeks that we just can't use, RedWeek has never failed to promptly produce a legitimate tenant --- with no muss or fuss; nothing succeeds like success. IMnsHO, there is no need to "improve" or fix that which is not actually broken in the first place.

The (comically misnamed?) "full service" option on RedWeek --- well, that's another conversation entirely.

 

[davidvel]

So funny how someone can start a thread about filet mignon and everyone comments about top sirloin.

OP is talking about the requirement to REGISTER FOR A FREE account just to view listings, nothing about paying for an account whatsoever, nothing about $15 or $19 or any other payment.

I agree with Danny, not Lanny. I see this as an impediment to demand. No, registering for a free account will not keep spammers or scammers away. Look how many we get here. I can't tell you how many websites I've walked away from because they want my email. Imagine if you had to register on Travelocity, google travel, etc.

Companies pay exorbitant amounts of money just to get people to click ads to come to their websites. I see no benefit to sellers or landlords to making people pay just to see someones rental ad, Crazy in my book.

Also, if you can't "vent" on Tug, what would we all do?

 

[LannyPC]

OP is talking about the requirement to REGISTER FOR A FREE account just to view listings, nothing about paying for an account whatsoever, nothing about $15 or $19 or any other payment.

I agree with Danny, not Lanny. I see this as an impediment to demand. No, registering for a free account will not keep spammers or scammers away. Look how many we get here. I can't tell you how many websites I've walked away from because they want my email. Imagine if you had to register on Travelocity, google travel, etc.

Companies pay exorbitant amounts of money just to get people to click ads to come to their websites. I see no benefit to sellers or landlords to making people pay just to see someones rental ad, Crazy in my book.

Also, if you can't "vent" on Tug, what would we all do?

Maybe so, but a lot of owners who use RW actually like the idea of paid memberships to contact them. And I would venture to guess that some owners who use RW would probably stop using it if RW changed its policy and allowed anyone willy-nilly to contact them about their ads. Also, if an owner feels that paid memberships are hindering contact and potential buyers/renters, he is free (pun intended) to use such sites as Craigslist in addition to RW. Using RW does not mean that you have to use it exclusively. But an owner using Craigslist just better be prepared to deal with a lot of spammers and scammers.

And yes, venting on TUG is allowed. I'm just suggesting that it is accomplishing nothing and, if someone is really opposed to RW's policy of charging members to contact owners about their ads, then it would likely be more fruitful for that person to contact RW about that. Or better yet, speak with your pocketbook and don't purchase memberships on RW.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I now get what @DannyTS is saying and agree that people should be able to see the listings without registering AND THEN have to sign up to contact.

The question is not whether Redweek should charge. It is where the public firewall should be.

Making listing visible publicly would provide a better benefit to the advertisers who fund Redweek as their ads get more visibility and Redweek gets more search engine love.

 

[Panina]

I am not sure that being still around is a roaring endorsement or a strong argument against improvement.

Every timeshare website needs improvements including Redweek. My endorsement comes from having success with them, finding deals that I could not find anywhere else. For me it has been worth the annual fee. I must say originally I was upset with the annual fee and almost didn't join or renew. After my first renewal and success I understood its worth to me.

 

[DannyTS]

Every timeshare website needs improvements including Redweek. My endorsement comes from having success with them, finding deals that I could not find anywhere else. For me is has been worth the annual fee. I must say originally I was upset with the annual fee and almost didn't join or renew. After my first renewal and success I understood its worth to me.

If you are a renter i totally understand why you would want as few people as possible to have access to the inventory