Go-Koala- reservation in 2 weeks [and I still don't have the info to request the guest confirmation]

[needvaca]

Hi- I just want to clarify. I originally got ONLY the guest name from Koala, but no other information at all. The phone # and email they posted on the reservation was actually Koala’s phone # and email address, not the guest’s.
So, I had no info to contact the guest directly. And I had no city to enter into the Vistana guest information page. I had to wait for Koala to get back to me.
Thanks all for trying to help me. I love TUG

 

[chapjim]

If a third-party rental site cannot guarantee me a 100% chance of checking into my reservation, what good are they? I might as well cutout the middleman, and rent from (and trust) the owner.



What are you suggesting? Is Koala not being paid 100% upfront from modern day travelers for strict cancellation reservations? That is a business doomed to failure.

If Koala is being paid upfront for reservations with a strict cancellation policy, why are they delaying the guest information to renters, and why are they delaying the payment to renters past the cancellation date, when the owner assumes all risks of cancellation?

I'm pretty sure that Koala is not willfully withholding guest information. Some guests don't communicate well or timely, don't check email, etc.

As an owner, I view my responsibility to a renter ends at check-in. Koala initiates payment to owners when the guest checks in, or when the guest could have checked in. I'd like to have the funds more quickly but Koala's policy is fine. Compare to RedWeek.com's ridiculous escrow policy where they initiate payment after the guest checks out. That practically invites guests to misbehave.

I'll be responsible for getting the guest checked in. I am not responsible for a guest being dissed by a cranky front desk clerk or a piece of popcorn in the sofa.

 

[dioxide45]

That is exactly why I would NEVER surrender control of my reservation to a third party without payment. A renter shows up for a week, then complains about bedbugs (real, or probably not) and wants a complete refund. Easy for the third-party site to issue a refund, and I am out the maintenance fees.

Covid-19 happens under a strict cancellation policy. How is that my fault as someone who rented their fixed week, expecting to get paid, and is left holding the bag? You can bet the outcome would be different under my non-cancellation policy, because at the time the money entered my bank account, the risk is on the renter, not me. If something happens that I am fully refunded by my timeshare, then sure, a full refund to my guest is obligated. Third-party sites do not require a full refund to the owner to issue a full refund to their renter.

Third-party sites, like Koala, want it both ways; they gain control of the reservation and collect the rental money, while the owner is still fully exposed to any risk, until after the rental is completed without complaint.

Like I wrote, not a timeshare owner who rents, but if I was, this is no arrangement I would want to be a part of.

I suspect if you were a renter, you would find over time you would be renting to a smaller and smaller pool of renters. The rental world is changing, renting and paying by check is so 1990s. People don't even really like Paypal as much these days and they know there are no recourse with Zelle and other direct payment methods. By expanding the renter pool by modernizing the process, and your thinking to the expectations of the renter of today, you can theoretically earn more money from higher demand.

 

[CO skier]

I suspect if you were a renter, you would find over time you would be renting to a smaller and smaller pool of renters.

Ebay offers a huge pool of renters, where renters pay and the owner gets paid when the transaction is consummated. Craigslist, too.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Mike Kennedy is kind of an important person at Koala. If he says the unit is rented and they will get them name to the OP, they absolutely will get that information to the OP. I would trust him 100% with my listing. So far, I have had many successful rentals.

 

[heathpack]

I'm pretty sure that Koala is not willfully withholding guest information. Some guests don't communicate well or timely, don't check email, etc.

So Koala doesn’t collect basic info like guest’s name, city, and phone number when booking the rental? I’m sure they do- or could.

I have all my info entered into my VRBO and AirBnB accounts, so it I book a property with either of those companies, my info is automatically available to all involved parties. I can’t imagine a legit guest having any problem with providing this info when they lay claim to the rental.

My guess is that it was Koala who was slow in providing the info. No harm done in the end but it would not give me a warm and fuzzy to be in that situation. Especially since my bet is it was a completely avoidable situation, that Koala probably had the info all along.

 

[CO skier]

Mike Kennedy is kind of an important person at Koala. If he says the unit is rented and they will get them name to the OP, they absolutely will get that information to the OP. I would trust him 100% with my listing. So far, I have had many successful rentals.

Just curious, what happened to all the Wyndham reservations for the "Owner Priority" affected resorts and dates where Koala did not supply the name and other information of the renter in a timely manner, so the owner could not reserve the appropriate guest certificate; now the reservation cannot have a guest name added in the future?

 

[CO skier]

Mike Kennedy is kind of an important person at Koala. If he says the unit is rented and they will get them name to the OP, they absolutely will get that information to the OP. I would trust him 100% with my listing. So far, I have had many successful rentals.

Well, that is good for you.

That kind of blind trust would mean nothing to me, if I were advertising a rental and was on the hook for the maintenance fee.

As an owner offering a timeshare reservation to a third-party site, I would want that third-party site working for me. Covid cancellations exposed how much third-party sites are working for the renter (THEIR true customers), not the owner who blindly surrendered control of their timeshare reservation to Koala or AirBnB or VRBO -- payment later, maybe much later, and payment "depends" on the experience of THEIR true customer -- the renter.

Hope it continues to work out for you.

 

[dioxide45]

Ebay offers a huge pool of renters, where renters pay and the owner gets paid when the transaction is consummated. Craigslist, too.

Craigslist is a joke, so many scams out there and more often than not ads get reported and pulled. Yes, there is a big pool of renters on eBay, but like I said, it is pretty much shrinking every year. Fewer and fewer people over time will be willing to rent weeks the old fashioned way.

 

[CO skier]

Craigslist is a joke, so many scams out there and more often than not ads get reported and pulled. Yes, there is a big pool of renters on eBay, but like I said, it is pretty much shrinking every year. Fewer and fewer people over time will be willing to rent weeks the old fashioned way.

Getting paid immediately when you sell something will never become "old fashioned."

You can take that to the bank; I always will.

 

[dioxide45]

Getting paid immediately when you sell something will never become "old fashioned."

You can take that to the bank; I always will.

Nothing is really sold until delivered...

 

[CO skier]

Nothing is really sold until delivered...

If I were a timeshare owner/renter, I could "deliver" a confirmation months ahead of arrival to an Ebay or Craigslist renter, when it was sold.

Not true, obviously, with Koala. I surrender my reservation to Koala, they decide when to inform me of the renter's name, etc. (hopefully it is enough to complete a guest certificate).

Is it unreasonable to expect payment from Koala, AirBnB, or any other third party site, when THEY rent my timeshare week with a non-cancellation policy?

 

[billymach4]

Bumping this thread up from the past.

Think about why Koala is not providing guest information in a timely fashion?
Redweek insists on providing guest info immediately. Owners are obligated to provide proof of guest info.

Why does Koala not provide the guest info in a timely fashion?

Please share your thoughts?

 

[dioxide45]

Bumping this thread up from the past.

Think about why Koala is not providing guest information in a timely fashion?
Redweek insists on providing guest info immediately. Owners are obligated to provide proof of guest info.

Why does Koala not provide the guest info in a timely fashion?

Please share your thoughts?

I don't think this policy is universal. I think it is highly dependent upon the timeshare system being rented and how you signed up to rent your timeshare through them. Looking back at post #6 provides some insight. They have a program called a booking guarantee. I don't know exactly what this means, but I suspect they want to be able to offer better cancellation terms to the renters than owners are willing to provide. So they provide a guaranteed amount of revenue to the owner in order to put what the owner has up for rent. If the renter cancels somewhat last minute, they then go out and find another renter. Thus why they don't want to put the renters name on the reservation early because it might change at the last minute. I suppose it is possible that the renter cancels and it doesn't rent at all, but the owner is still paid out. This is all based on speculation on my part and I could be completely off base, but that is what I am reading into it.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Just note that this is a 2 year old thread you are resurrecting.

It was resolved in a timely fashion. If you post a booking on Koala then you set the cancellation policy. Koala has collected the funds, if the cancellation window has passed, you will be paid.

I've goteen info in a timely fashion from koala.

 

[billymach4]

I am questioning the lack of timely info of Guest Name.
Not the payment.

Why do they not provide Guest Name at the time of confirming the rental of your listing?

 

[Sandy VDH]

I am questioning the lack of timely info of Guest Name.
Not the payment.

Why do they not provide Guest Name at the time of confirming the rental of your listing?

Most of the time they do, occassionally they do not. I don't add guest names until they are in cancellation period anyway. And even better Koala don't require that I add guest names until into cancellation period anyway.

 

[billymach4]

aMost of the time they do, occassionally they do not. I don't add guest names until they are in cancellation period anyway. And even better Koala don't require that I add guest names until into cancellation period anyway.

I would rather have the guest name ASAP like Redweek requires.
Also I require that for guest assurance when I rent privately so the Guest has proof of occupancy.

 

[Sandy VDH]

I would rather have the guest name ASAP like Redweek requires.
Also I require that for guest assurance when I rent privately so the Guest has proof of occupancy.

Koala is not redweek. Why are you insisting they operate like redweek. If you want to rent via redweek, then do so. Or if you want to rent privately, so be it. Don't worry about what Koala is doing then.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Koala doesn't provide the guest information to the owner until the owner tells them the information. For my DVC, which is coming up next month and rented through Koala, Koala was trying to get the guest information from the renter, but the only name the renter kept giving them was the name of the main person on the reservation.

With DVC, Koala needs to collect a lot more info than that because all names need to be added to the reservation for the guest to enter that res# into the app for My Disney Experience. Finally, the renter understood what was needed, but I thought the request was pretty clear. You could add everyone at check-in, but that is a hassle that one should avoid.

I made the mistake of putting a renter's name on a WorldMark Dolphin's Cove 3 bedroom, but the renter backed out, as was his right as I chose the option of cancelling > 62 days for a full refund. My bad. Wasted $99 on a GC.

Koala can only give what they get. I think some brokers rent reservations and then hope to rent them out at a profit. If you have a refund policy, no skin off the broker's nose, but it could sure hurt the owner. I think I am going to list most of mine as no refunds on Koala. That way, I don't have a broker drop the rental on me.

 

[Venter]

In the old Marriott system this would not be a problem for the renter as a call was made to owner services with a name change immediately done. However, under the new rules of having to fill out the form with a stated two week lead time this may now be problematic if, as the original poster stated, that check in was two weeks away.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Change the reservation cancellation period then, to 30 days, that way they should get the info to you in plenty of time. if you place the ad you have control over the selection of the terms.

 

[billymach4]

@Sandy VDH @rickandcindy23

I reached out and Mike Kennedy called me.

What I want to make clear is that I was not worried about getting paid. Since I am just a plain old Marriot owner I obviously rent whatever Marriott weeks I can't use. Also I have been on the other end of the deal as a renter of points / Weeks.

That being said my point is this.

As a level of Trust and Verification the first level of Trust is the exchange of funds. The could be a deposit OR full payment. Once initial funds are received then as a level of verification the Guest name is changed on the reservation as soon as possible after funds are received.

This is standard operating practice that most other owners / renters on TUG have relied on and is tried and true.

Regardless of this new silly form that Marriott has mentioned I have not yet been prevented from going into my reservation page on Marriott.com and changing the name to John Q. Renter.

Mike did mention that there are other systems that will impose a fee after the reservation has been made when the guest name is changed. In order to suppress and impose any further cost to the Host, KOALA goes out of their way to confirm who will be the first guest of the renting party to check in. This will prevent any misunderstanding at check-in.

All I know is how Marriott functions. I can change the guest name at any time without cost or penalty. Once I receive funds I always change the name of the renter and never touch again. Same if I am renting from another owner/host. I expect to be able to go into the reservation up until check in and see my name on the Marriott reservation.

What other systems out there charge a fee to change the name on a reservation after the name has changed?

 

[HudsHut]

WorldMark

 

[rickandcindy23]

Wow, I am impressed you got a call from Mike Kennedy. That impresses me.

Wyndham will take as many $99 guest fees that you want to pay, which is every single time you change even the spelling of the name. They are brutal. Occasionally you can get someone on the phone at Wyndham who will sympathize, if you spelled a name incorrectly, but mostly, they are very strict (even to the point of nasty) about it. The front desk has to make a decision in the event of a misspelled name, but who wants to put your guest through that agony of having to convince them?