[ 2007 ] SVO Rental Thread

[LisaRex]

Resort:Sheraton Broadway Plantation
Unit rented:1BR 'shotgun'
Check-in date:6/28/08
Ad placement date: February 15
Total rent:$89 - renter paying paypal fee
Where renter found your listing:Redweek.com
How long did it take to rent:1 month

With 'drive to' locations, people tend to wait until 4-6 months out to rent.
I had several inquiries on Craigs List but nothing firm.

Is that $89/night or $89 total?

 

[tomandrobin]

Resort:Sheraton Broadway Plantation
Unit rented:1BR 'shotgun'
Check-in date:6/28/08
Ad placement date: February 15
Total rent:$89 - renter paying paypal fee
Where renter found your listing:Redweek.com
How long did it take to rent:1 month

With 'drive to' locations, people tend to wait until 4-6 months out to rent.
I hade several inquiries on Craigs List but nothing firm.

$89 for a one week rental, in the summer?

 

[DavidnRobin]

I don't have much information about craigslist other than I rented my unit through them quickly, based on inputs here on TUG. What problems are there with them? Why are they morally objectionable?

Whatever you do - do not click on the 'Casual Encounters' section - ESPECIALLY in the SF Bay Area region. what!!??? you did!!!???
that's a bit more 'diversity' than some may be able to stomach :ignore:

PS - editted as to not bring this topic to the top - and not to go off on a tangent about CL (or soft-porn on HBO for that matter...). On the front page of the 'Casual Encounters' (adult) section of CL - there is a 'warnings&disclaimer' page that has a dedicated point (#4) - "I agree to report suspected exploitation of minors to the appropriate authorities." with a link to a variety of sources to report these crimes. Including the ATL special victims crime section that deals with sex & minors. To state that 85% of advertising for minors in prostitution is done thru CL - is certainly an vast over-statement - especially since you are not allowed to advertise as such (and police can track you down - and do... and has been reported on the news as a mechanism for capture of these sickos). Try listed something forbidden on CL (even in the non-casual encounters section) and see what happens. I am not saying that illegal activities do not occur on CL - and minors cannot be exploited on CL. But you cannot post on CL that you are looking for a minor to have sex with - or a have a minor post as such looking for sex. Thus my comment as to the over-statement. Prostitution as a whole is forbbiden on CL (but of course goes on...). CL is run by about 6 people total - it is about the only community-based non-commercial non-profit entity internet forum in existance (the original intent for public use of the internet). Yes, it is sad that there are such sickos out there (the same can be said about any criminals that prey on anybody). Making CL a commercial-based forum would ruin it for the MANY for the few criminals (...yet again...).

 

[GrayFal]

Is that $89/night or $89 total?

$89 for a one week rental, in the summer?

LOL, tough crowd !

I edited my post - I lost a "5" - it was $895 for the week plus renter paid PayPal fee (I learned that from Denise M )

 

[tomandrobin]

whew, $895 is much better.

I was thinking someone got a SUPER deal.

My BIL is renting his SBP unit, or at least trying to rent it. If the going rate is $89, he was way over the market rate.

 

[ciscogizmo1]

I don't have much information about craigslist other than I rented my unit through them quickly, based on inputs here on TUG. What problems are there with them? Why are they morally objectionable?

The site is heavily used for prostitution. In the Atlanta area they discovered that 85% of advertising for minors in prostitution is done on Craigslist. Many of the minors were the result of human trafficking.

Another case in Oregon happened where someone had placed ads that all the things had his home were up for grabs. Over 30 people showed up and took things from his house, barn and one person even tried to take his horse. Alot of people drove off with his stuff prior to the police arriving. Those items were never retrieved.

Now, these are unfortunate things that probably happen through other mediums but there really isn't any save guards out there on Craigslist. You don't provide a credit card, etc... so, there is not way to trace anything back to the original poster.

 

[Henry M.]

Thanks for the information. I wasn't aware of these things. It seems individuals are abusing a useful service.

 

[Emerson613]

Hi SVO friends!

Hello-
Thanks for all of the useful info here.
My husband and I own at SVV and have 2 3 BR lockoffs with our friends. We have extra options and booked a week at Atlantis and were learning how to rent. I have a question....

If it states that we cannot "rent" our time.... (it does, right?) What is it that you are telling Starwood when you call to change the names on the reservation? How do you rent and not get into a bind with the company?

I see that it's happening all of the time- I'm just curious as we have only rented to people we know so far.

Thanks!

and if this is the wrong place for this ?- I apologize- I am just getting used to your site

thanks!

 

[DeniseM]

Welcome to the Starwood board!

Although it does say that you can't rent a Staroption exchange is some Starwood info., it's commonly done, and members of this board have even called owner services to ask if it was OK and they said, "no problem."

However, I feel no need to discuss my plans with Starwood, anyway. I simply call up and say a guest will be using my reservation, please send them a confirmation. I don't think you will have a problem.

 

[Emerson613]

Sounds good to me!

Do you rent frequently?

I am LOVING reading all of these threads- just like when I found MouseBuzz... I am having a hard time getting up!

I put an Ad in the classifieds here.... then pulled it down- I wasn't sure if that was my next step or if I had to join TUG- I got overwhelmed for a few minutes!!!

I think I will post that Ad here again and see what happens......

thanks much!

(I love that you get back to me so quickly!!!!)

 

[Kildahl]

Sounds good to me!

Do you rent frequently?

I am LOVING reading all of these threads- just like when I found MouseBuzz... I am having a hard time getting up!

I put an Ad in the classifieds here.... then pulled it down- I wasn't sure if that was my next step or if I had to join TUG- I got overwhelmed for a few minutes!!!

I think I will post that Ad here again and see what happens......

thanks much!

(I love that you get back to me so quickly!!!!)

Please join us. The modest fee is well worth it and supports all the great services provided by TUG and it's community.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Speaking of renting - it turns out that the person that rented our OF WKORV Studio for 4th of July week from us didn't make plane reservations at the time (big mistake) and now... here it comes... cannot afford to fly to HI.

They realize I have no obligation to help out, but being the nice guy that I am... I suggested that they 1) find another renter to replace them and I will transfer into their name, or 2) go later in the year via an SVN exchange, but only get a standard studio at WKORV since the 8-month point has passed, or 3) find a drivable SVO resort (e.g. WKV, WMH, WDW) and I could reserve via an SVN exchange for later this year using the 67.1K SOs.

Any other ideas - or watchouts?

 

[LisaRex]

Any other ideas - or watchouts?

Here's an idea, but not sure you want to go through the hassle:

Offer to re-list it at their expense. If you get another taker, once you receive payment in full, you'd be willing to refund their purchase price less a reasonable cancellation fee ($250+). If you do not get another taker, then they'll be out the full amount + the re-listing fee. It's a risk to them, but it also gives them the opportunity to try and recoup some of their money.

 

[Henry M.]

Another successful rental:

Resort: WKORV-N
Unit rented: IV 2BR Lock-off + extra 1BR
Check-in date: April 11-18, 2009
Ad placement date: 4/21/2008
Total rent: $6,800 ($4,200 for the 2BR, $2,600 for the 1BR)
Where renter found listing: craigslist.com
How long did it take to rent (from posting to finalizing transaction): 7 days.

I had been placing ads for a week I have this year when someone wrote to inquire about going next year. They answered within a couple of days of my last ad.

The week I have for this year was reserved for July 5. Since there had been no takers I had to cancel the reservation to avoid being caught by the 60 day rule, whereby if you cancel the reservation within 60 days of arrival you can only make another reservation 60 days out. I have a prospect now for November, but I'm not sure if they'll come through. I had 0 interest in what I thought would have been a popular summer rental.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Congrats - which CL location was successful?

 

[Henry M.]

SF Bay Area.

 

[DavidnRobin]

CL SF Bay Area works best for us too. Of course, SF Rocks!!! lol

I never heard back from my renter of WKORV - so I guess they got it worked out.

 

[DeniseM]

Total rent: $6,800 ($4,200 for the 2BR, $2,600 for the 1BR)

WOW! I am so impressed that you can get that kind of money in this economy!

Were you asking that much for your 2008 week? Maybe that's why it didn't rent.

 

[Henry M.]

I have someone wanting the 2008 WKORV-N week but we haven't finished the deal yet. My surprise is not that I haven't rented it. That will come. What surprised me was that a July 5 week, connected to the July 4th holiday wasn't of interest to anyone, not even an inquiry. So far April, May and November weeks have been of more interest to people. I guess you just have to find the right person and not worry too much about what week you have.

I did rent a studio at WKORV for the original asking price ($1,800). These prices are not unreasonable for the kind of accommodations that these resorts offer and for the cost of the units when you buy them. The rates are less than half of what it costs to rent the rooms from Starwood. It is also in line with what you see advertised on redweek.

I still have time to rent the 2008 unit and if it doesn't rent, I can get significant more value than my maintenance fees even through a simple Starpoint conversion, which I have until October 1 to effect due to my Elite status.

Many people seem to be shy or just impatient and unnecessarily undermine the value of what they have. This is a very nice resort.

 

[botham]

Vistana Rental Scheme

All the above posts seem to refer to privately advertised rentals. I understand that Starwood offer Vistana owners the opportunity to deposit their week in a rental scheme, administered by SVN.

Has anyone done this and what is the expected return?

Would I still have to pay the maintenance fee?

 

[calgarygary]

All the above posts seem to refer to privately advertised rentals. I understand that Starwood offer Vistana owners the opportunity to deposit their week in a rental scheme, administered by SVN.

Has anyone done this and what is the expected return?

Would I still have to pay the maintenance fee?

If you look at post #53, you will see DeniseM's take (and most of the rest of us) on having Starwood rent your week. It may make a good selling point for the sales department but the execution in real life is bad for the owner.

 

[Henry M.]

With the SVN rental program, Starwood keeps 50% of the proceeds if they rent your unit at all and they deduct any additional expenses (e.g. travel agent fees) from that.

I don't know how hard it is to rent an Orlando timeshare on your own.

 

[James1975NY]

It's handy because if you ever have a cancellation, you just say.....

"oh, wow, bummer... I'm so sorry. I would be happy to draft a letter to your travel insurance provider to verify the monetary value and reservation specifics of the vacation week you rented. I can provide a copy of your signed rental contract to them as well. Please let me know where you would like me to send the documentation."

And the conversation about money back ends before it begins. Works like a charm.

I like this statement Rocky....to make your statement even stronger, I would include some verbiage in the rental contracts regarding your "reccommendation to purchase travel insurance". Then you could say...."I am sure you followed the suggestion to purchase travel insurance per the rental agreement......."I would be happy to draft a letter....."

 

[DavidnRobin]

As an update to this thread - I thought I'd share that I just rented one of our 1Bd WKV Premium/Platinum weeks (reserved for mid-March - Spring Training) - and used the rental contract/agreement discussed here.

It was rented using Redweek - and I had 2 inquiries within 2 days of posting on RW.
Also, posted in the TUG Timeshare Marketplace - no inquiries, but it has only been 2 days.

No hassles at all - went smoothly - used PayPal.

 

[Ågent99]

D&R, thanks for the update. I plan to work on posting my TS up for rent this weekend. I thought I'd start with putting it on TUG and CL and wait a week for any response before trying any paid ad sites.

I have July 4-11 for the studio and July 11-18 for the 1-BD, all IV although I did ask for an upgrade, of course. I'm hoping to rent both to the same person and will probably list for $4k.