Redweek located a renter, and I must act immediately

[vicky464]

I've rented units on Redweek before but this is the first time i am having this issue. I posted an ad, immediately received a reply from a renter that they were interested. Next day I have a message from Redweek that they found a renter for the full amount (Same guy). If I want to secure the rental, I need to act immediately. Which raised my suspicion. I contacted Redweek, and checked my messages on the website, which seemed legit. The customer service person didnt answer my direct concern about being worried about scam. Instead they said"if you want to cancel the rental, you can"

It seems like the renter began an agreement, and put the money in escrow. I am not comfortable with their policy of "payment is released AFTER the rental, and as long as there are no compliants" I cant help it if the guy doesnt like the color of the timeshare, or the weather sucks.

Anyone ever have this happen? What would you do?

 

[tschwa2]

It sounds like you did a full service rental through Redweek. On top of all that you paid more upfront plus you will owe a flat commission of $99 out of the rental payment. If you didn't want those terms than don't contract for the full service listing.

If you didn't contract for the full service rental than it sounds odd that the renter opened an escrow for the rental without verifying everything with you.

 

[chapjim]

There has been a lot of discussion here on TUG about RedWeek.com's "full service" rentals and the terms of RedWeek.com's escrow service.

The consensus is that both are highly skewed in favor of renters to the detriment of owners. And "full service" isn't what it sounds like.

 

[vicky464]

This is the crazy part, I didnt pay for full-service, but there is a setting on my account that was turned on which gives that option. I paid 14.95 for "verified" service. My only real concern is waiting until after the rental to get paid.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[chapjim]

This is the crazy part, I didnt pay for full-service, but there is a setting on my account that was turned on which gives that option. I paid 14.95 for "verified" service. My only real concern is waiting until after the rental to get paid.

Thanks for the replies.

Timing of payment is the real bugaboo with RedWeek.com's escrow service. It's the difference between when payment is earned and when it is received.

My responsibility to a renter is to get him/her checked in to the resort in a unit that is as described in my listing. If I do that, I have earned my rental payment (and have a right to keep it) and I don't want it subject to things out of my control that might be merely displeasing to the renter.

 

[theo]

I posted an ad, immediately received a reply from a renter that they were interested. Next day I have a message from Redweek that they found a renter for the full amount (Same guy). If I want to secure the rental, I need to act immediately. Which raised my suspicion. I contacted Redweek, and checked my messages on the website, which seemed legit. <snip>

It seems like the renter began an agreement, and put the money in escrow. I am not comfortable with their policy of "payment is released AFTER the rental, and as long as there are no complaints" I cant help it if the guy doesn't like the color of the timeshare, or the weather sucks.

Anyone ever have this happen? What would you do?

You could not / would not ever be contacted directly by the tenant at all in a full service listing, since the point of contact for such listings is only RedWeek itself, not the owner.

If this was not a full service listing, then the tenant-to-be has no right or option to independently initiate "escrow" without your knowledge and agreement.

I'm admittedly confused; was this perhaps a Redweek "verified and protected" listing (which is distinctly different from a "full service" listing)? If that's the case, then the renter provides credit card info to RedWeek (it's not literally escrow, per se) and RedWeek issues payment to the owner after tenant check-in, but before completion of the rental.

You can opt to be "verified" (essentially just confirmation of your ownership legitimacy) without agreeing to the "protected" portion, which is eminently "protective" of the tenant but not of you, the owner. One credit card "dispute" and your receipt of rental payment gets delayed --- indefinitely.

 

[bendadin]

I had a verified listing and the exact same thing happened to me. It certainly was easy but I'm not exactly a fan of waiting six months for payment.

 

[rickandcindy23]

The escrow service is a total waste of money. I wouldn't accept that rental under any circumstances with the escrow in place.

I once rented my Gardens of West Maui week with Redweek, and the renter insisted on the escrow. I contacted First American Title two weeks after the rental was over and told them I never got paid. They finally did pay, but I could see someone just counting on things going as they should and not really watching for that payment to come through.

 

[MOXJO7282]

I usually offer 2 payment plans and very few even bring up escrow so under most circumstances I would definitely say no , but under some circumstances perhaps you need to consider.

If it is a high demand unit I would act immediately and say "thanks but no thanks" because you'll find someone else who will have no problem paying upfront or maybe under some reasonable payment plan. If it's not a high demand or you feel another buyer might be hard to come by for what ever reason then you might need to consider the escrow.

My payment plans are a 60% deposit and balance due 90 days before check-in or I offer a discount for full payment upfront. I know some demand full payment upfront but I feel that probably reduces your possible interested clientele because in my experience some people would rather pay more than pay all upfront. When I do offer the discount on the full it is usually taken so I'm not usually waiting for funds but they way I set it up is if I don't get that final payment a new rental ad goes up and I seek to recoup my losses and if I have any left over it would go to the defaulted renter. 90 days is plenty to re-rent a high demand Marriott.

I only had to resort to that twice, once the person immediately paid up in full when I told him the ad was up again and the other person just couldn't go so I ended up re-renting and getting all but $200 back for the person who was lucky I'm an honest guy because they didn't know of the other deal and I could've kept everything if i wanted to but I gave them the full amount they paid minus the $200, and I did keep the ad fees because that was part of it being made whole.

 

[brianfox]

In my opinion, Redweek escrow has one thing going for it for the owner - it allows the renter to pay using a credit card.
There are those who want to get the credit card points for a large purchase, even though they are going to pay a service fee to use it.
There are also those who think they are going to be protected by their credit card company in case something goes wrong, not realizing they have a pretty short time limit for that protection.

Granted, it's a pain for the owner to not get paid until after the vacation is completed, but the perks for the renter can get you a customer sooner.

 

[vicky464]

You could not / would not ever be contacted directly by the tenant at all in a full service listing, since the point of contact for such listings is only RedWeek itself, not the owner.

If this was not a full service listing, then the tenant-to-be has no right or option to independently initiate "escrow" without your knowledge and agreement.

I'm admittedly confused; was this perhaps a Redweek "verified and protected" listing (which is distinctly different from a "full service" listing)? If that's the case, then the renter provides credit card info to RedWeek (it's not literally escrow, per se) and RedWeek issues payment to the owner after tenant check-in, but before completion of the rental.

You can opt to be "verified" (essentially just confirmation of your ownership legitimacy) without agreeing to the "protected" portion, which is eminently "protective" of the tenant but not of you, the owner. One credit card "dispute" and your receipt of rental payment gets delayed --- indefinitely.

Thanks for raising these points. You are right, it was probably not a full service listing. I paid an additional $14.95 for Redweek to verify. I sent a copy of my registration and immediately after it was confirmed by Redweek I got an email from an interested party. Next day I had a message from Redweek that they had a buyer. The fact that they wanted me to "Act immediately" had me very concerned, so I started corresponding with Redweek's Customer Service, which was a waste of time. Her replies were so vague I really started to think I was being scammed! It turns out there is a little switch that was turned on in my account settings that allows Redweek payments. This is probably equivilent to "protected". I wasnt charged for it, so I am not sure why they are offering this option.

All in all it is easier to allow Redweek to handle the paperwork, and waiting for the payment is inconvenient but not a dealbreaker.

THanks everyone for your input on this.

 

[theo]

This is probably equivilent to "protected". I wasnt charged for it, so I am not sure why they are offering this option.

All in all it is easier to allow Redweek to handle the paperwork, and waiting for the payment is inconvenient but not a dealbreaker.

The additional $14.95 is for "verified and protected". You have to overtly opt out of the "protected" (i.e., tenant protective) part of that combo, unless you are comfortable with your tenant-to-be using a credit card for payment to RedWeek. I personally will not entertain that (later disputable, even if for a contrived, completely bogus reason) credit card payment in my (admittedly infrequent) rentals, but to each their own. YMMV.

RedWeek is a good site on which to advertise, but once the RedWeek "service" personnel and features enter into the picture, all bets are off in my personal opinion and limited experience. Too many cooks just plain spoil the soup.

 

[brianfox]

To the OP, the owner of Redweek has an account on TUG (username is mla). He has been very responsive and positive on this forum. You may want to try to PM him.

 

[rickandcindy23]

To the OP, the owner of Redweek has an account on TUG (username is mla). He has been very responsive and positive on this forum. You may want to try to PM him.

I had no idea. Thanks for letting us know. That is great information. I don't know if I will remember it, but great info. I always wondered if Redweek even knew about TUG.

 

[tink10]

Hello!

I'm the Customer Service Manager for RedWeek and I just wanted to let you all know that we're well aware of Tug and monitor it regularly. MLA is here, but I am as well, so please feel free to reach out to me as well with any questions or concerns.

To clarify Vicky464's concern, a material dispute basically means that the unit was different from what we verified in the posting. Those details would be the dates (of course), the unit size &/or sleeping capacity, the confirmed view, whether or not there's a kitchen and the number of bathrooms. Those are the points that are verified on every Full Service rental and RedWeek Verified rental and we verify them at the time that the posting is activated, as well as after the rental has been changed in to the guest's name.

Being that these are relatively newer offerings for us, we've been learning and really look at the feedback that we receive to improve our services. Again, please don't hesitate to let us know if you ever have questions.

I hope this helps!

 

[jehb2]

My first thought is that the person who contacted you is an broker or 3rd party agent. I recently rented a week and within 24 hours of posting the redweek ad I received a email asking me to send them my phone number so that they could contact me immediately. They said they wanted to rent my week immediately. I replied asking if they were renting for themselves or if they were brokers or agents. They did not respond.

I often get responses from the same 3 agencies but from different people in that agencies. Apparently they cruise the reweek ads on a regular basis.

i’ve had a very negative interactions with 2 of the agencies. They got pretty upset with me because I would’t use their service. They were legitimate and didn’t ask for up front fees. But there were reviews of them on redweek saying they were difficult to work with.

 

[mla]

Hello!

Thanks for raising these points. You are right, it was probably not a full service listing. I paid an additional $14.95 for Redweek to verify. I sent a copy of my registration and immediately after it was confirmed by Redweek I got an email from an interested party. Next day I had a message from Redweek that they had a buyer. The fact that they wanted me to "Act immediately" had me very concerned,

Yes, sounds like that wording may need to change. We don't want to give off that impression. I'll review that alert email that goes out. But yes, we do require a response within, I think, two days. Otherwise we tell the renter the booking fell through -- we can't have them waiting too long to discover if they actually have their vacation booked or not.

I cant help it if the guy doesnt like the color of the timeshare, or the weather sucks.

The rental agreement covers the terms and RedWeek acts as the arbiter. We wouldn't allow those sorts of complaints to affect anything.

I appreciate the other comments in this thread. I know the delay in payment is a show-stopper for some folks and I'd love to have a good way to solve it. The problem is we cannot have the renter show up and not have their week available. Period. It cannot happen. We will cover the renters cost in that case. Which means we need to limit our downside. And until or unless we have sole control over the week, the owner is always able to call the resort and change the guest name out from under us.

I know some people see that as protecting the renter too much, but I think we'll attract a much larger renter population if we can give them some of the same assurances they'd receive through other sites.

We're also getting ready to offer travel insurance as part of the booking process, just FYI. I know folks may have mixed views on that too -- It can be a pain to make claims and the insurance policies always have so many exceptions, but we figured it could help protect both the renter and owner in certain cases.

 

[mla]

My first thought is that the person who contacted you is an broker or 3rd party agent. I recently rented a week and within 24 hours of posting the redweek ad I received a email asking me to send them my phone number so that they could contact me immediately. They said they wanted they wanted to rent my week immediately. I replied asking if they were renting for themselves or if they were brokers or agents. They did not respond.

I don't think that's what happened here, but we'd like to know more about what you received @jehb2 so we can boot that user. PM me or @tink10 with details and we'll take a look.

 

[WackyLucy]

deleted accidental duplicate post...

 

[WackyLucy]

The rental agreement covers the terms and RedWeek acts as the arbiter.

I respect RedWeek's goal to try to look out for the interests of all parties involved in any RedWeek-involved rental transaction.

I have no experience with renting out timeshare weeks and claim no expertise in that area. Still, one observation that comes immediately to mind is that credit card charges can always easily be disputed by the credit card owner. So, if RedWeek (or other middleman) accepts credit card as payment for a rental, it seems to me that the credit card holder can still always and very easily dispute any charges to their card anyhow, making the "arbiter" irrelevant to resolution of the dispute and immediately turning it into a matter only between tenant and owner. Am I wrong or missing something here?

 

[lockewong]

I've rented units on Redweek before but this is the first time i am having this issue. I posted an ad, immediately received a reply from a renter that they were interested. Next day I have a message from Redweek that they found a renter for the full amount (Same guy). If I want to secure the rental, I need to act immediately. Which raised my suspicion. I contacted Redweek, and checked my messages on the website, which seemed legit. The customer service person didnt answer my direct concern about being worried about scam. Instead they said"if you want to cancel the rental, you can"

It seems like the renter began an agreement, and put the money in escrow. I am not comfortable with their policy of "payment is released AFTER the rental, and as long as there are no compliants" I cant help it if the guy doesnt like the color of the timeshare, or the weather sucks.

Anyone ever have this happen? What would you do?

I have used Redweek twice. Once, on a panic because I missed checking the school schedule and reserved a week in Maui but...the wrong week. I had to list the week I had reserved and then, hope for a renter. On the back end, I then paid another Redweek seller for the week I should have booked. Redweek told me I had to receive the money after the check-in. I was in no position to argue since I wanted the week rented. I was less confident and did not know how to handle the rental myself.

The last instance, I had someone - a friend - decide that they did not want the week but told me very late in the game. About three month out from the week and I had reserved a not-completely high season time, so the week was desirable but not without competition, it rented at a reduced price because there were no takers. Redweek, under the full service contract, monitored the activity and the lack of activity and counseled me to reduce the price. Shortly after I reduced the price, as there were three similar properties, I was told there was a renter. On my end, I noticed the renter was living in the SF Bay Area. I contacted her and talked to her. It was going to be their first Hawaii vacation and they were thrilled that they could afford it. I was pretty sure it would be okay and I was not troubled by the payment after the week had been occupied. I was right and there were no hitches to the payment. I understand that I could get more money for my week, but the piece of mind and lack of having to do the paperwork was good for me.

 

[mla]

I respect RedWeek's goal to try to look after the interests of all parties involved in any RedWeek-involved rental transaction.

I have no experience with renting out timeshare weeks and claim no expertise in that area. Still, one observation that comes immediately to mind is that credit card charges can easily be disputed by the credit card owner. So, even if RedWeek (or any other listing middleman) accepts credit card as payment for a rental, it seems to me that the credit card holder can still always dispute / challenge any charges to their card anyhow, making the "arbiter" irrelevant to resolution of the dispute and immediately turning it into a matter only between tenant and owner. Am I wrong or missing something here?

No, you're basically right. We charge the renter, so the dispute comes to us and we then challenge it.

 

[jehb2]

Someone here on tug rented a unit to a person. The woman paid and then backed out and wanted her money back even though she signed an contract saying no refunds. She disputed it with her credit card company and they reversed the charges even though the owner sent the credit card company a signed copy of the contract clearly stating no refunds. (The sad funny part was that she again changed her mind and later asked the owner if the week was still available.)

 

[theo]

The woman paid and then backed out and wanted her money back even though she signed an contract saying no refunds. She disputed it with her credit card company and they reverse the charges even though the owner sent the credit card card company a signed copy of the contract clearly stating no refunds.

This in a nutshell describes the inherent danger of accepting credit card payment for rentals. Disputes (even if completely bogus) can even be initiated after a rental has actually been completed, even 30 or 60 days later (depending on card issuer policy). To each their own, of course, but I would never entertain allowing even the remote possibility of that ever happening to us. No thank you. YMMV.

 

[icydog]

I've rented units on Redweek before but this is the first time i am having this issue. I posted an ad, immediately received a reply from a renter that they were interested. Next day I have a message from Redweek that they found a renter for the full amount (Same guy). If I want to secure the rental, I need to act immediately. Which raised my suspicion. I contacted Redweek, and checked my messages on the website, which seemed legit. The customer service person didnt answer my direct concern about being worried about scam. Instead they said"if you want to cancel the rental, you can"

It seems like the renter began an agreement, and put the money in escrow. I am not comfortable with their policy of "payment is released AFTER the rental, and as long as there are no compliants" I cant help it if the guy doesnt like the color of the timeshare, or the weather sucks.

Anyone ever have this happen? What would you do?

I would contact the renter and tell him or her that you do not rent your timeshares out using escrow companies. Offer references and a rental agreement and if that is not enough, then move on.