Can or do travel agents work with time shares?

[bshanebowl]

If so, who provides them with the timeshares to book? It seems reasonable that at some particular point in time, time share communities would release their unused units into an available pool for travel agents to book for their clients. Or not.

 

[dioxide45]

There are a number of such companies/agencies out there. These probably aren't travel agents per se as timeshares are real estate and fall under different rules. Most travel agents are really just booking agents for larger agencies and these booking agents can't actually hold unsold inventory of anything. They just make reservations for clients directly with the travel provider (cruise lines, resorts, hotels, etc) and then earn a commission.

There are companies out there that you can allocate your weeks or points to, and usually give them your login credentials. They then find people to rent them to and make the reservations and make guest name changes. Or if you don't provide login credentials, they then have to come to you to add guest names and such. These companies make money off the spread of what they rent your week or points for and what they pay you for it.

 

[moonstone]

Friends of our DS & DiL booked a week stay near DisneyWorld through Booking dot com and got a 2 bedroom unit at Summer Bay. They checked off the boxes for whole place and a kitchen. When they told DS about the fabulous place they stayed and how much better it was (with 3 little kids) than a hotel room, he said oh I've been staying in timeshares all my life, you don't need to tell me. Thankfully they didn't need to attend a sales presentation. DS told them to call me next time to see if I can get them an Extra Vacation for less money than they paid.

~Diane

 

[jehb2]

I am often contacted by realtors who want to rent my week. It’s basically the same ones. Well different individuals but the same office. These realtors scour Redweek for good deals, and then turn around and rent them out for a lot more money. I never use them though.

 

[LannyPC]

Some years ago, we booked our accommodations through Expedia and it was 10 nights at a TS resort.

Interestingly as a side point, we paid less on a per-night basis than the owners there were paying in MFs.