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KOALA VIP

Venter

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Has anybody used GO-KOALA gold/platinum VIP service? What was your experience. Did your unit rent any easier and if not did you get the guaranteed payout.
 

rickandcindy23

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Why would you get a payout if your unit doesn't rent?
 

SteelerGal

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Never heard of it.
I know Koala has been reaching out to discuss something so this is probably what they want to talk about.
 

Venter

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Why would you get a payout if your unit doesn't rent?
According to the guy I spoke to from KOALA the membership has a guaranteed payout of a certain amount per point. You have to list it at their recommended price though. The membership has a yearly fee and does not carry the % listing fee that the free listings do.
 

jwalk03

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I got an email about joining the VIP program- they want to have a 15 minute call with me to discuss it. Anyone done this?
 

Venter

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I got an email about joining the VIP program- they want to have a 15 minute call with me to discuss it. Anyone done this?
I did it already and that is why I am wondering if anybody did this already and what their experience has been like.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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According to the guy I spoke to from KOALA the membership has a guaranteed payout of a certain amount per point. You have to list it at their recommended price though. The membership has a yearly fee and does not carry the % listing fee that the free listings do.


Not sure I'd put too much confidence in a "guaranteed payout" in light of what happened to the Timeshare Rental Market in 2020 and 2021. A guarantee means nothing if the company goes belly up in the process.........




.
 

CO skier

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A guarantee means nothing if the company goes belly up in the process.........
A lot of WinpointVIP subscribers learned this the hard way when Wyndham changed the rules in 2017-ish (whenever automatic VIP upgrades were introduced and essentially eliminated the old "cancel/rebook" scam). WinpointVIP tried to survive for a few months on 60-day VIP discounts, then folded, as I recall.

WinpointVIP did not offer any "guarantees", but neither did they offer any membership refunds, as far as I know.
 

Venter

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I was worried it's a scam because I got an email and nobody seems to know anything about it. I did find the following on their website and the prices are the same as what I was quoted. Here is the link https://www.go-koala.com/memberships
The guaranteed MVC rental was $0.76 per point I was quoted. When asked the price would be changed yearly as MF's rise yearly I was told not definitely but readjustments could be made. I was told no commission of 8% on rentals listed if you are VIP but would like this to be confirmed in writing. If so I worked out that you would get your money back after about $2500 rental and it may be worth it if you do rentals for more money.
 

dioxide45

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I was worried it's a scam because I got an email and nobody seems to know anything about it. I did find the following on their website and the prices are the same as what I was quoted. Here is the link https://www.go-koala.com/memberships
The guaranteed MVC rental was $0.76 per point I was quoted. When asked the price would be changed yearly as MF's rise yearly I was told not definitely but readjustments could be made. I was told no commission of 8% on rentals listed if you are VIP but would like this to be confirmed in writing. If so I worked out that you would get your money back after about $2500 rental and it may be worth it if you do rentals for more money.
It looks like they are trying to attract higher end rentals with this VIP program. It doesn't look like Marriott weeks are eligible for Gold VIP, but could be under Platinum. Their 8% commission model wasn't competitive against Redweek for those higher end premium Marriott resort rentals. They still earn revenue on the booking fees paid by the renter. This could be cheaper for those owners that rent a lot of Marriott weeks using Redweek Full Service.
 

rickandcindy23

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I will attempt to rent my oceanfront studios on Koala before listing on Redweek.
 

eyedude

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Marriott Newport Coast (Platinum Plus and Platinum), Marriott Mountainside (ski week), Marriott Maui Ocean Club Lahaina (week 34,35 and 49,50), DSV 2 (red)
Has anybody used GO-KOALA gold/platinum VIP service? What was your experience. Did your unit rent any easier and if not did you get the guaranteed payout.
I have successfully used Redweek and VacationCandy in the past. I recently got an email from Koala inviting me to speak with them about their VIP program. I own 8 Marriott legacy weeks. Yesterday I paid $399 to sign up for the Platinum VIP service. They will list, market, and rent my weeks. At the initial phone meeting, they walked me through and helped me connect my bank account with Stripe. I still have my weeks listed with Redweek and VacationCandy. I will try Koala for one year…I hope it works. The new ownership at Redweek has made listing my weeks with them less desirable since they push my non verified weeks further down. I will report back if/when I get some rentals.
 

grupp

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I paid $399 to sign up for the Platinum VIP service. They will list, market, and rent my weeks. At the initial phone meeting, they walked me through and helped me connect my bank account with Stripe.
Do they give you any type of guarantees that they will actually rent your weeks? I have had good experiences with dealing with Koloa, but not very successful renting anything there. $400 is a lot to pay to them if they never actually rent any of your listings.
 

eyedude

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No guarantee. They just said if I follow the recommendations of their concierge, my chances would be “very high”. I agree $399 is a lot of money but since I own several weeks it will actually be cheaper than the cumulative Redweek fees I would have to pay for verified and protected week listings. Another problem I had with Redweek verified…if I have a 2 bedroom lock off, I do not like to lock off my week until I have a renter. if I plan to use my one bedroom myself, then rent the suite with Redweek, I need two reservation numbers. This forces me to not be able to use Redweek verified and protected so my listing goes to the bottom of the page. Koala verifies my week And allows me to lock off after I find a renter.
 
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rickandcindy23

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No guarantee. They just said if I follow the recommendations of their concierge, my chances would be “very high”. I agree $399 is a lot of money but since I own several weeks it will pay actually be cheaper than the cumulative Redweek fees I would have to pay for verified and protected week listings. Another problem I had with Redweek verified…if I have a 2 bedroom lock off, I do not like to lock off my week until I have a renter. if I plan to use my one bedroom myself, then rent the suite with Redweek, I need two reservation numbers. This forces me to not be able to use Redweek verified and protected so my listing goes to the bottom of the page. Koala verifies my week And allows me to lock off after I find a renter.
I will look into it for mine, but I think just listing with Koala will work fine.
Everyone should be sharing the Koala Facebook page to get more renters to that platform. I want Redweek to have some sort of competition. Redweek is a monster. We need another option.
 

jwalk03

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It sounds good in theory but I have personally had zero luck renting on Koala. I list all my rentals on RW, Koala, TUG, and several of the Marriott Facebook groups. Koala is the only platform I have never gotten a single rental from so I just can't see dropping $400 down that hole without better results.
 

The Colorado Kid

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It sounds good in theory but I have personally had zero luck renting on Koala. I list all my rentals on RW, Koala, TUG, and several of the Marriott Facebook groups. Koala is the only platform I have never gotten a single rental from so I just can't see dropping $400 down that hole without better results.
@jwalk03 of those non-Koala platforms...does one outperform the others?
 

sng85

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I have always gotten the most from Redweek.

Me too. Just checked my rental success history. In 2021 and 2022, I had the following successes:
3 - Koala (all ski weeks)
3 - Redweek (1 ski week)
3 - TUG market and bargain (no ski weeks)
So evenly split between all three platforms, Koala worked great for ski weeks. I didn’t mind the 8% fee given that it was free to list. However my success with Koala ended last year.

In 2023, all 4 of my ski weeks rented on Redweek. No hits whatsoever on multiple listings on koala. Not sure what happened because I had the same weeks as previous years. Interestingly, 3 out of my 4 ski weeks this year were through other vacation brokers like vacation candy that found my listings on Redweek. Note- I used the redweek verified feature but never rented through redweek full service or the payment feature.
 

rickandcindy23

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@MikeKennedy is the CEO (I don't remember his title) at Koala. Maybe he can get someone from Koala can answer questions here about the new membership levels and costs.

I want Koala to work because it's free to list. It's a great model. My rentals have not been as successful on Koala for about a year, and I really don't like Redweek's new way of doing things, since the company changed hands. Koala can be great. We just need to get the word out.
 

eyedude

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Me too. Just checked my rental success history. In 2021 and 2022, I had the following successes:
3 - Koala (all ski weeks)
3 - Redweek (1 ski week)
3 - TUG market and bargain (no ski weeks)
So evenly split between all three platforms, Koala worked great for ski weeks. I didn’t mind the 8% fee given that it was free to list. However my success with Koala ended last year.

In 2023, all 4 of my ski weeks rented on Redweek. No hits whatsoever on multiple listings on koala. Not sure what happened because I had the same weeks as previous years. Interestingly, 3 out of my 4 ski weeks this year were through other vacation brokers like vacation candy that found my listings on Redweek. Note- I used the redweek verified feature but never rented through redweek full service or the payment feature.
I too have had VacationCandy find my week on Redweek. So now I will have my weeks listed on VacationCandy, Redweek, and Koala. If my weeks rent, my net will essentially be the same on all sites. The renter will pay more to rent from VacationCandy and Koala (because of their commission). The Koala concierge wanted to rent a couple of my weeks for less than I would net on Redweek. I already price my weeks on the low end of the competition on Redweek. To be able to compare, I asked for the same net to me so that I can compare the various sites for this year.
 

The Colorado Kid

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Marriott Surfwatch
I too have had VacationCandy find my week on Redweek. So now I will have my weeks listed on VacationCandy, Redweek, and Koala. If my weeks rent, my net will essentially be the same on all sites. The renter will pay more to rent from VacationCandy and Koala (because of their commission). The Koala concierge wanted to rent a couple of my weeks for less than I would net on Redweek. I already price my weeks on the low end of the competition on Redweek. To be able to compare, I asked for the same net to me so that I can compare the various sites for this year.
@eyedude My experience with VC is so far just posting my weeks for rent on that site...shows to me as a table of what I have submitted to rent. Nobody from VC has ever contacted me for any reason. Should I be doing something more?
 

eyedude

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@eyedude My experience with VC is so far just posting my weeks for rent on that site...shows to me as a table of what I have submitted to rent. Nobody from VC has ever contacted me for any reason. Should I be doing something more?
I too posted on VC and Redweek. VC twice reached out to me via my Redweek posting. I did not do a thing. I do not think they knew I was renting my week on VC when they contacted me via Redweek. In fact, my listings were verified and protected. I think they might have been looking for specific weeks. My two weeks were Marriott Mountainside during Sundance and Newport Coast during Christmas. I have also rented weeks directly with VC.
 

The Colorado Kid

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Marriott Surfwatch
I too posted on VC and Redweek. VC twice reached out to me via my Redweek posting. I did not do a thing. I do not think they knew I was renting my week on VC when they contacted me via Redweek. In fact, my listings were verified and protected. I think they might have been looking for specific weeks. My two weeks were Marriott Mountainside during Sundance and Newport Coast during Christmas. I have also rented weeks directly with VC.
@eyedude Thanks...how do you rent weeks directly with VC?
 
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