Change to Redweek process and all those extra fees... And not in a good way.... [MERGED]

[billymach4]

Careful what you say on FB. They have been known to shut-off accounts due to bad mouthing business .

Facebook.com favors complaints by business over individuals. We are just cattle. The businesses are revenue and profits from advertising. We get slaughtered for badmouthing the profit centers like RedWeek.com

 

[Zenichiro]

I don't know if I've seen/heard of Koala screwing the owners like Redweek has

Just know that Koala is owned by a former HGV Sales Excutive.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Just know that Koala is owned by a former HGV Sales Excutive.

Key word being former.

 

[Zenichiro]

Key word being former.

I was pointing this out in case others haven’t noticed it yet. I’m skeptical that platforms like RedWeek, Oaktree Capital, Apollo, and Koala are truly acting in owners’ best interests. Maybe I overanalyze the fine print.

It’s also worth noting that the former MVC CEO has repeatedly stated that the resale of weeks undermines the business and that the company has been “working to curb third-party rental activity.” At the same time, HGV and DVC have introduced increasingly strong language aimed at restricting the sale of weeks. Taken together, it suggests that more changes could be coming.

Of course, leadership shifts can matter. With a former Diamond executive now serving as Marriott’s CEO, it’s possible the strategy could change. (Tongue in cheek) Still, it raises questions. Could we eventually see a buyout? Or might third-party platforms like RedWeek or Koala monetize owner data by selling it to these larger companies?

None of this is certain, but it’s worth paying attention to.

 

[caterina25]

Careful what you say on FB. They have been known to shut-off accounts due to bad mouthing business .

 

[caterina25]

I didn't mean to bad-mouth them but how else can it be said? I could remove greed, I suppose but I can't see another strategy. Could you?

 

[TravelJoy]

I was pointing this out in case others haven’t noticed it yet. I’m skeptical that platforms like RedWeek, Oaktree Capital, Apollo, and Koala are truly acting in owners’ best interests. Maybe I overanalyze the fine print.

It’s also worth noting that the former MVC CEO has repeatedly stated that the resale of weeks undermines the business and that the company has been “working to curb third-party rental activity.” At the same time, HGV and DVC have introduced increasingly strong language aimed at restricting the sale of weeks. Taken together, it suggests that more changes could be coming.

Of course, leadership shifts can matter. With a former Diamond executive now serving as Marriott’s CEO, it’s possible the strategy could change. (Tongue in cheek) Still, it raises questions. Could we eventually see a buyout? Or might third-party platforms like RedWeek or Koala monetize owner data by selling it to these larger companies?

None of this is certain, but it’s worth paying attention to.

The bottom line for most companies is par for the course.

Just look at examples last year where ii tried to swindle money away from us in broad daylight by reducing the number of free certs from 5 to 3 (after transaction was completed )and expected customers to just take it, and you did if you didn't push back. Southwest cutting free bags etc...after Elliott chimed in. Most all changes will be detrimental to customers and as this evolves consumers must also evolve to actively search what is in their best interests, this is the bottom line for consumers, you either adapt and float or sink with the ship if you can't, monetarily metaphorically of course. It's why we as consumers have forums to evaluate businesses to help each other.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Find a need and fill it. There was a need for an alternate rental company and other companies have stepped up and provided competition.
Redweek now has competition, and I can tell you that my success with Koala gets better each year, so people are finding alternatives. I still get most rentals from RW but three with Koala in the last six weeks is pretty great. Payouts are faster with Koala too, not that I mind waiting six days for a deposit, but that is how long RW takes, generally.

 

[dioxide45]

and expected customers to just take it, and you did if you didn't push back.

If you did push back, did they restore the 5 guest certificates?

 

[billymach4]

I didn't mean to bad-mouth them but how else can it be said? I could remove greed, I suppose but I can't see another strategy. Could you?

Personally you are free to write whatever you want under th First Amendment. However FB does not have to abide by the US Constitution when it comes to their profits. Say whatever pleases you. Just know that FB is a free service to you and I. They can and will shut-off off your account without any warning. It has happened to tens of thousands of people. I don’t agree with their rules.

 

[TravelJoy]

If you did push back, did they restore the 5 guest certificates?

Yes I did, there was another thread here I posted about it. As a "one time courtesy" lol they restored the stolen certs.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Personally you are free to write whatever you want under th First Amendment. However FB does not have to abide by the US Constitution when it comes to their profits. Say whatever pleases you. Just know that FB is a free service to you and I. They can and will shut-off off your account without any warning. It has happened to tens of thousands of people. I don’t agree with their rules.

Right there with you on their rules.

 

[caterina25]

Not just the fees but changing name on Marriott reservation is now a problem when You rent unit.

MVC wants You be responsible for any damage to unit and sign for it. Can't change name on Marriott.com any longer.

I changed 3 Marriott reservations for our family. I didn't see a problem. I think they have a 30 day rule but otherwise good.

 

[caterina25]

Well, now you have hope that helps other owners like it has for myself.

FindingMeili.com seems to be a growing platform that lets owners list their units at a fraction of Redweek’s cost, without hidden fees. Pretty intuitive. If you actually compare, you’ll see how much more affordable and flexible it is. seems more people are switching over every day, so you might want to check it out before overpaying elsewhere

I signed up for findingmeili.com and posted my Aruba week.I paid 2 fees one to sign up and one to list.The problem is communication,I didn’t receive any emails that stated I was a member or my listing was posted.Did anyone have a similar experience?

 

[NTP66]

I signed up for findingmeili.com and posted my Aruba week.I paid 2 fees one to sign up and one to list.The problem is communication,I didn’t receive any emails that stated I was a member or my listing was posted.Did anyone have a similar experience?

Yes, communication on that site is an issue. I rented my Maui unit on that site, and the only reason I did was because I logged into my dashboard to check. Lo and behold, I had a renter contact me. Never received a single email from them on it, nor did I receive any of her follow up messages.

 

[MOXJO7282]

For more insight I'll share my 2026 rental stats below that I think reflects how much unfortunately RW dominates the market. If we just had a few more options it would benefit so many TS owners. They clearly have a stronghold on the TS rental market. I think it comes down to their advertising spend, I definitely see RW advertising now in the mainstream where I had never seen RW ads before and the fact that they've obviously been around for some time and did build up a huge following. They were always a great resource, if not the best, for renting Marriott weeks so it makes sense that they have a strong presence but to really control the market means the others don't spend as much because some have very good user friendly platforms so I assume its an advertising spend and historical position thing that keeps them as the top dog.

Last count of 26 transactions is 17 RW, 2 Vacation Candy, 1FB, 1 Concierge Realty, 5 repeat customers. I also had a few inquiries for different dates through Koala (2), Airbnb (2) and VRBO (1). I have 3 more listings for 2026 on all platforms so we'll see the final tally.

 

[Marathoner]

I’m skeptical that platforms like RedWeek, Oaktree Capital, Apollo, and Koala are truly acting in owners’ best interests. Maybe I overanalyze the fine print.

Of course, we should be skeptical. None of those platforms care about owners or the renter. They only care about profits - both sides can lose as the platform doesn't care about either party.

Yes, Redweek is dominant today, but its also clear to me that a number of third party brokers were using Redweek. Now that Redweek has moved to an onerous listing and renting process, those brokers will increasingly use other sites and the Redweek successful rentals will decrease by 25% or more. But Redweek may still increase their profits now that they make more on each of the remaining successful rental from both the owner, renter, and the higher listing fees. So, they may not care. We should just let market forces play out and use Redweek as little as possible if we're unhappy with their policies and product.

 

[MOXJO7282]

It pays for all of us to keep using the broad spectrum of rental sites and hopefully one or two will start to give RW a run for their money.

 

[dioxide45]

It pays for all of us to keep using the broad spectrum of rental sites and hopefully one or two will start to give RW a run for their money.

For a rental site, would you prefer one that charges an annual membership fee along with a per transaction fee (like Redweek) or would something that is transaction fee only or something that is annual fee only be better?

 

[MOXJO7282]

For a rental site, would you prefer one that charges an annual membership fee along with a per transaction fee (like Redweek) or would something that is transaction fee only or something that is annual fee only be better?

I'm fine the way RW does it, or the way any of them charge, just don't be so costly that you impact the deal, and I would say the new RW model does that.

There were many, many owners that just listed at cost plus the Redweek fees and were thrilled to get their unit rented just to cover their cost. Many resorts won't rent for more than MFs but rent just fine at the right price. RW just crushed all those owners and they are left scrambling to do something with a week they managed very successfully for years. At some point RW did the math and said screw the majority of our clients and let's jack up costs on the very good clients and we can make a 1/3 of the transactions and still make more money. And that is exactly what they did.

And Koala with its 8% commission does the same thing. If Koala was smart they would do the opposite of RW and lower their commissions to drum up more business and steal business from RW.

We just need competition so that hopefully better options arise but honestly with capitalism corporations just find ways to increase prices and provide less service at lowest cost to them. There was a time before major consolidation that competition created lower costs for consumers but those days are over.

 

[dioxide45]

We just need competition so that hopefully better options arise but honestly with capitalism corporations just find ways to increase prices and provide less service at lowest cost to them. There was a time before major consolidation that competition created lower costs for consumers but those days are over.

I think competition can help, but how does that new startup get their foot in the door to get more traffic to their site? They need to advertise and that costs a lot of money. So they need to charge high fees to be able to cover their costs. I don't think word of mouth works these days. It might work ti find owners renting their weeks out, but these companies need to find renters to actually rent from the owners. Finding renters is what costs them money in advertising.

 

[MOXJO7282]

Exactly. It comes down to money and buying advertising, now more than ever. And because we've allowed so much consolidation in power in every industry in this country we are captive to this kind of monopolization in every aspects of our lives.

 

[dioxide45]

Exactly. It comes down to money and buying advertising, now more than ever. And because we've allowed so much consolidation in power in every industry in this country we are captive to this kind of monopolization in every aspects of our lives.

I'm not sure there has really been any consolidation in the timeshare resale and rental space. Sure, Redweek got bought by a big travel company, but that company didn't own other timeshare rental or resale sites. It seems that Redweek simply overtook the marketplace with a product that people gravitated to. Both on the renter and on the owner side. They are perhaps the only one that really advertised to get traffic and boost their placement in Google search. That isn't really consolidation though.

 

[chapjim]

On March 5, I listed a June week in Pacific Grove, CA with RedWeek.com. Sent the reservation confirmation on March 9. On March 26, RW.com emailed me saying, "

We have not been able to complete the verification yet, due to office is closed.

We will continue to work on your posting, but wanted to advise you of the delay.
We appreciate your patience and understanding."

My patience is wearing thin and I lack understanding of why it has taken almost three weeks to approve a simple listing. Don't understand the "office is closed" part either. Isn't RW.com located in Orlando? They snowed in down there?

 

[caterina25]

For a rental site, would you prefer one that charges an annual membership fee along with a per transaction fee (like Redweek) or would something that is transaction fee only or something that is annual fee only be better?

For me ,I don’t mind the membership fee or the ad posting fee and as far as the added fees to the renter that can be made up by the price. Unfortunately,the price of the rentals are going higher every day and we may price ourselves out.What I do mind is them holding our money until the renter checks in.They should make the rental final 3-4 months out and allow the owner to receive their money I would prefer immediately but that might be a good compromise.