[2015] Redweek dead

[melissy123]

I had several reservations for that weekend as well. I advertised on Craigs list and google ad words and ads on facebook for football fans in Denver and Charlotte> The various ads were pushing over 100 visitors a day to my webpage devoted to these rentals, with no response... Not just no rentals, but no response, no phone calls, no emails, no texts


On the other hand I was sold out in another city the same weekend

I ended up switching my reservations for another weekend. My friend in San Francisco noted that the ads she saw had tickets to the game and transportation included.

 

[NTP66]

Timeline of events

My rental saga is finally over. After purchasing a 2BR EOYE Ocean View MOC unit resale late last year, and having it take until early January to show up in our account, I posted ads on Redweek, MyResortNetwork, and TUG on 1/10/16; later listed it on eBay, three times. I've never had this much difficulty finding a renter for a timeshare, but looking at the overall picture, I do think it was because of the condensed timeframe.

For reference, here's a tally of all of the inquiries that I received:

• TUG: 1
• Redweek: 14
• MyResortNetwork: 1
• eBay: 4 (every single question was "do you have different dates", giving me another reason to hate eBay)

In an effort to make the best of the situation, I joined II yesterday with the plan on depositing the week (yes, I knew about the restrictions - which, oddly enough, II told me that they would waive since I was a new customer). Fast forward to this morning, and the 13th person on Redweek to e-mail me came back and decided to move forward with the rental. They got a steal at $2250 for a whale season 2BR that started at $3500.

I do plan on using this week every other trip, and I don't foresee the kind of trouble I went through this year because I'll list is well in advance. I'm just glad that it's over, and I still made a few bucks over the MF.

 

[ronparise]

I have my "unlisted" unit at VRBO producing a hundred or so inquiries. I was quite shocked since I didn't even put it up for rent. The ad was from a while back, but VRBO has it as me owning a unit there with an unspecified date. I think it's a marketing ploy on their part to show that they have a big inventory.

Redweek failed to produce any inquiry for me when I had something listed there. Drips compared to the outpouring with different date inquiries at VRBO.

Thanks for posting this, Ive beed reluctant to advertise on VRBO because the cost seemed excessive for just one event week a year, but if it can run all year and generate leads. Especially as many leads as you are getting. Im going to try it.

 

[suzannesimon]

I've tried VRBO with my timeshares twice with no success. Lots of inquiries but none for the week available. It is expensive for one week. It works great for fully owned vacation homes however.

 

[NTP66]

FWIW, you can rent as many individual units as you want for $50/year if you go with single ads for each. From what I see, however, most people simply put up one ad citing "multiple weeks available".

 

[ronparise]

I've tried VRBO with my timeshares twice with no success. Lots of inquiries but none for the week available. It is expensive for one week. It works great for fully owned vacation homes however.

My plan would be to commit about 10 million Wyndham points to one resort and have reservations for every week of the year, , If I get one rented, thats good, if not I cancel and use the points somewhere else

 

[Wally3433]

eBay and PayPal are last resorts for me, since I have to deal with fees. Most would rather pay by check to save the 2.9% fee that I'd make them pay.

Why don't you just have the renters send you money directly from their bank account to yours. Alot faster that way, and safe. You can send it the an email address or cell phone number. All major banks have this feature.

 

[NTP66]

Why don't you just have the renters send you money directly from their bank account to yours. Alot faster that way, and safe. You can send it the an email address or cell phone number. All major banks have this feature.

I can't do it with my credit union, and quite honestly, don't trust people enough to do that. I prefer checks (personal or cashier's) because 99% of the time my rental is completed many months in advance, and I have the luxury of time. This year was an oddball, but I my renter did send a cashier's check 2-day, and it cleared the next day.

PayPal will always be a last resort for me because I want to avoid to fee if I have a renter who is adamant about using PayPal (but isn't willing to pay the 2.9% fee).

 

[ronparise]

I can't do it with my credit union, and quite honestly, don't trust people enough to do that. I prefer checks (personal or cashier's) because 99% of the time my rental is completed many months in advance, and I have the luxury of time. This year was an oddball, but I my renter did send a cashier's check 2-day, and it cleared the next day.

PayPal will always be a last resort for me because I want to avoid to fee if I have a renter who is adamant about using PayPal (but isn't willing to pay the 2.9% fee).

For me the fee is just the cost of doing business and rolled into my price

For me the knowledge that ee have a deal instantly is worth what the charge and people seem to like it and I like their invoice function. And it will accept partial payments. I can see at a glance who owes me and send out reminders directly from paypal

 

[NTP66]

It may make sense if you have a business that handles rentals, but for the average person renting out a single unit every year, it might not. I'm batting 1.000 renting timeshares without the help of PayPal, so I'll just keep rolling with what has worked for me.

 

[Sunbum]

I have started using paypal as well. Sitting on the beach in Aruba, I rented out a week and 10 minutes later had the money in my account. done deal, no fuss, no muss. Never even got my lazy butt off the chair

 

[RLS50]

Thought I would ask this question, rhetorical or otherwise in this thread since it involves Redweek rentals.

It is interesting I see some weeks on Redweek at even some of the nicer Marriott resorts with close to 100% historical occupany rates in March and April unrented over the past 30 days. Not many, but one or two rentals a week for the last 3-4 weeks. It appears they have went unrented, even at a price at or close to the owner’s MF’s. Sometimes (at last minute) even below owner MF. But if you call the resort it is sold out. The resort is also sold out on the online hotel sites like Booking.com or whatever.

I find it hard to believe there isn’t a single person, couple, or family out there that was looking for reservations and certainly would be interested to rent that week at a price that is less than ½ the fee the resort is charging.

Is it just because so many potential renters or travelers out there are not aware that Redweek exists? Previously in this thread I suggested as much based on my own experiences. Is this proof of that or just confirmation bias on my part?

 

[suzannesimon]

I've rented 7 timeshares on Redweek in the last year. I also rented 2 timeshares from other owners on Redweek. I use it instead of Interval. All prices were well above maintenance fees. I think it depends on the resorts and the weeks that you are renting. I like Redweek and TUG because more often than not you are dealing with other timeshare owners. I always place the ad about a year in advance. Occasionally I get stuck paying for 2 ads if it doesn't rent right away, but that has only happened twice. You need to be intentional about what weeks you are reserving if you are going to rent them. It also helps to have hotel-brand timeshares that the public is familiar with. If you decide a couple months from occupancy that you are not going to use it, you'll likely to get less money for it, especially if it is a fly-to location like the Caribbean or Mexico.

 

[tschwa2]

It also maybe that they had it advertised at a much higher rate and only recently lowered the rate. If it isn't a drive to location than at 30 days out it is probably too late. Also late April and early May are not going to be high season anywhere.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Redweek's customer base is OLDER and AGING OUT of travelling. The 25-45yos use internet based travel booking sites as advertised on TV & internet search engines ... Trivago, Expedia, etc ... all one play - check available dates, book, pay and print confirmation paperwork.

Redweek's name reflects the early 1970-1980s theme of a PRIME season at a timeshares resort ... would YOU know what a red week was if not into timeshare resorts?

 

[DeniseM]

My experience is that RW is still by far the best for high end expensive timeshare rentals.

 

[NTP66]

My experience is that RW is still by far the best for high end expensive timeshare rentals.

This.

Plus, the younger generation is better at Googling (yes, it's possible to suck at Googling), and able to find Redweek better than the older generation.

 

[suenmike32]

My experience is that RW is still by far the best for high end expensive timeshare rentals.

I fully agree. I have had a 95% success rate renting my T/S's on Redweek.
Mike

 

[NTP66]

It's also worth pointing out that not everybody is good about marking their unit as "rented" on Redweek once it does rent. I've run into that plenty of times in the past attempting to rent a unit from another owner, and it would explain at least some of the units that show as being available.

 

[suzannesimon]

It's also worth pointing out that not everybody is good about marking their unit as "rented" on Redweek once it does rent. I've run into that plenty of times in the past attempting to rent a unit from another owner, and it would explain at least some of the units that show as being available.[/QUOTE

Yes, that is frustrating. One owner told me he keeps his active until the ad expires because he wants to judge the demand.

 

[larryallen]

Yes, that is frustrating. One owner told me he keeps his active until the ad expires because he wants to judge the demand.

That is frustrating but sort of a good idea... from a business perspective. However, it is annoying. Plus, for me, I like less email so once it's rented I mark it as such!

 

[suzannesimon]

I always change it right away also. I think it is more important to let potential renters see that they are actually renting. It saves a lot of negotiation time.

 

[dioxide45]

That is frustrating but sort of a good idea... from a business perspective. However, it is annoying. Plus, for me, I like less email so once it's rented I mark it as such!

The problem is, from a renters perspective it will give them the impression that the rentee's listings aren't always reliable. If a reputation sets in, it may prevent people from contacting that rentee to inquire about listings.

 

[icydog]

The problem is, from a renters perspective it will give them the impression that the rentee's listings aren't always reliable. If a reputation sets in, it may prevent people from contacting that rentee to inquire about listings.

I have been using Redweek for years. I used to have great success with my Disney Vacation Club resorts but now, with my Marriott's-- now so much.

I also find that with Disney Vacation Club my renters came back to me year after year. NOT so with my other rentals. It is one-- and done!

I think Redweek is in decline. I think they charge too much. They force people to pay to read ads and they are less relevant than other sites. I still use them because they are basically the only, decent, timeshare rental site around. By the way, I have never rented anything using the Tug Marketplace. I wish people would frequent the Marketplace because it is free and I trust others renting on it.

 

[vacationhopeful]

<snip>

I think Redweek is in decline. I think they charge too much. They force people to pay to read ads and they are less relevant than other sites. I still use them because they are basically the only, decent, timeshare rental site around.<snip>

Totally agree with you. I don't think the "younger & internet smart" KNOW what the term "redweek" means. Or that it is related to timeshare vacation rentals - 7 night stays.