cancelation of a rental

[dsfritz]

I need some advice for Tuggers who have experience in renting their timeshare. I am dealing with a renter who originally wanted to rent a date that was unavailable. I had asked for a deposit before I requested the rental as is my "limited experience" policy. When the date he (a tugger) requested was unavailable I offered to return his deposit, but also asked him if there was another date that would be acceptable to him. He gave me several dates, one of which I was able to confirm. The resort confirmed his date and I sent him confirmation. Now he wants to cancel. Do I refund his money? What do I do with the date that is now in his name? I want to say, "though luck" and keep his depost. Am I out of line?

 

[JoeMid]

I need some advice for Tuggers who have experience in renting their timeshare. I am dealing with a renter who originally wanted to rent a date that was unavailable. I had asked for a deposit before I requested the rental as is my "limited experience" policy. When the date he (a tugger) requested was unavailable I offered to return his deposit, but also asked him if there was another date that would be acceptable to him. He gave me several dates, one of which I was able to confirm. The resort confirmed his date and I sent him confirmation. Now he wants to cancel. Do I refund his money? What do I do with the date that is now in his name? I want to say, "though luck" and keep his depost. Am I out of line?

Only you can answer this as only you know what you understood. You ability to cancel without penalty would certainly come into play.

 

[DeniseM]

What terms did you establish with him before you accepted his deposit?

If you specified in writing that the deposit was nonrefundable, then I would not give it back to him.

But, if you accepted his deposit without coming to an agreement on the terms, I wouldn't expect him to know that it was nonrefundable.

I once had someone do the exact same thing - after they received the confirmation they said that airfare was too high and they weren't going. I didn't refund the $100 deposit, but my written terms stated that deposits were not refundable, and they didn't expect it back.

 

[NTHC]

If you don't have a contract stating the terms of the rental, then you will have to go with whatever verbal agreement was made. I do think that you should be compensated because your rental has now been off the market for a period of time when you may have been able to rent it to another guest. Also, there may be charges to cancel the week or change the guest name which you should not have to eat.

Obviously, it may be hard to get someone to pay these charges if they no longer want the rental, but I think it is more than fair to keep the deposit to cover your expenses.

In the future, I would recommend a simple contract outlining what is expected of both parties. There is probably one available somewhere on TUG that you can use. If not, let me know and I can send you one.

Thanks,
Cindy

 

[TUGBrian]

there are actually 3 sample rental agreements in the advice section.

http://advice.tug2.net

 

[BevL]

I've had this happen and basically said I'd do my best to re-rent it. If I did, I'd refund their deposit. If not, they were out of luck.

I've done the same when taking friends/family who commit to a vacation and commit paying half maintenance fees. If they cancel, they're out the money unless I can find someone to replace them, usually becuase we've made our plans based on their work schedules.

JMHO

 

[Kola]

I've had this happen and basically said I'd do my best to re-rent it. If I did, I'd refund their deposit. If not, they were out of luck.

JMHO

This sounds reasonable if a renter has agreed to such terms in advance. As a matter of exploring the concept ( I don't question your good faith !) how long should a renter wait for your week to be re-rented (say, a month prior to the occupancy date) ? How would the renter know that the owner is in fact "doing his best" to re-rent ?

K.

 

[DeniseM]

This sounds reasonable if a renter has agreed to such terms in advance. As a matter of exploring the concept ( I don't question your good faith !) how long should a renter wait for your week to be re-rented (say, a month prior to the occupancy date) ? How would the renter know that the owner is in fact "doing his best" to re-rent ?

K.

If a renter backs out, he is the one who has defaulted on the agreement and [I don't feel] any obligation to try to solve the renter's problems and [create a problem for myself.] I don't make this statement in my terms about trying to find a 2nd renter, because I don't want to even give the renter the idea that backing out is an option.

 

[theo]

An observation...

If a renter backs out, he is the one who has defaulted on the agreement and [I don't feel] any obligation to try to solve the renter's problems and [create a problem for myself.]

I'm certainly not taking sides with the indecisive (and quite possibly completely flakey) would-be renter in this matter, but with all due respect I've seen no reference whatsoever to the existence of any rental contract, nor to any cancellation policy being spelled out in advance therein. In the absence of any such contract, "defaulted" is hardly the appropriate, accurate or applicable word if all that has actually taken place in this unfortunate situation is just email exchange and/or phone conversation....

 

[DeniseM]

I'm certainly not taking sides with the indecisive (and quite possibly completely flakey) would-be renter in this matter, but with all due respect I've seen no reference whatsoever to the existence of any rental contract, nor to any cancellation policy being spelled out in advance therein. In the absence of any such contract, "defaulted" is hardly the appropriate, accurate or applicable word if all that has actually taken place in this unfortunate situation is just email exchange and/or phone conversation....

Theo - I am referring to my own rentals, where it is clearly spelled out that there are no cancellations and no refunds. The OP hasn't responded as to the terms of her rental, so I can speak for her. Let me edit my post to make that clearer. As I said in my original post, it is the owner's responsibility to spell out the terms of the rental before accepting any payment.

 

[geekette]

IF there was no contract and IF cancelling that date incurs no fees, I'd return the deposit.

I would never charge someone for time spent finding or booking accomodations that they turn out to not need. That's just me - others that do this as a business may well charge "consulting fees." But picking up the phone or surfing the internet costs me nothing but time. I would rather keep the person happy and willing to do business with me again than try to extort some service fee out of them.

If there is no contract and there is a fee to cancel, I would talk to the would-be renter to tell them about that fee, which I would expect to be paid from their deposit, sending the balance of their monies back to them.

And then I would start using a contract from then on to cover myself.

 

[lark]

One other factor I'd throw into the mix, if there wasn't a written contract, is how long it was between initial contact and cancelation. If it was a short period of time, and if you didn't forego any other opportunities during that time, and if you can re-rent without penalty, I'd refund the money. That's just me, though. If one of those other conditions applies, I'd explain it to the renter and explain that's exactly why you took the deposit, and see if they are willing to be reasonable about it. If not, I'd probably end up returning the money. Not worth the hassle.

 

[DeniseM]

I just had a really hard time renting a prime ski week and ended up nearly giving it away, so in this economy, renting is certainly not as easy as it used to be. So for me, the concern is far more about lost opportunity to rent, than it is about keeping the deposit to cover my time. Especially with the economy the way it is, if I take my rental off the market because I've received a deposit, and then sometime later the renter backs out, I may not be able to rent it at all and may lose the full value of the rent.

That's why I require a nonrefundable $100 deposit to make the reservation, and the balance is due within 48 hours after the renter receives the confirmation. That way if the renter backs out, I can put the unit back on the market with only a few days lost, in fact, I don't take my Ads down until I get the final payment.

I also recommend travel insurance right in my Ad, in case the renter has a change of plans. If they aren't willing to buy travel insurance, I don't feel it's my responsiblity to finance their change of plans.

 

[brother coony]

I have renter timeshare ,from owners and also rented mine out over the past 5 years and have never used a contract. just phone and email, but I make it clear in my email that once deposit is made and I get the renter there conformation in there name, there will be a fee for cancellation,
and within 6 weeks of reservation there will be no refund,
never Had a problem when someone cancel. but I will give them a 50% discount on any other rentals from me in the future
brother c

 

[Dave*H]

I would question the wisdom of requiring a deposit before even verifying if the week is available.

 

[dsfritz]

rental cancellation

Thanks for all your advice. Yes, I have a contract for the rental, but no mention of consequences of cancellation. I certainly will in the future.