Help a Canadian looking to rent out a timeshare for the first time

[prompts-02]

Hi folks,

First time member here in need of some help. My wife and I own a timeshare ("vacation ownership") in Maui. We have had the place for several years, paid off, and have been using it diligently to get the value out of it. It has been serving us very well actually and we love going to Maui, especially [deleted] so all has been good. Our plan for this year are a bit different and we have a week booking for [specifics deleted.] Since we cannot go and we would rather not cancel and "bank points", we want to rent it (i.e., have some guests stay in it, not us). However, what I thought would be a straightforward process is not turning out to be so...enter taxation and all that jazz.

We tried listing the place on VRBO but we are being prompted that we need to register a business, get a bunch of tax IDs, and then file and remit taxes in state of Hawai'i (General Excise Tax, and two others, I forget now what). We are not a business. We just have a week that we already booked and rather than banking points we just want to rent it out this year since we cannot go. Any advice on how to go about this? What do us Canadians need to do to get this going? Do we have to pay all of the Hawai'i state taxes in the process and actually register a business with all the different tax IDs?

I looked at the guide on rentals on the site but it is not discussing specifics that I am looking for. Also, maybe there are other Canadians on here that can help share some of their experiences.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thank you fellow members

 

[HudsHut]

Welcome to TUG!

Post it on Redweek.com (At a minimum, use it to find comparative pricing for your listing.)

The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas Timeshare Rentals | RedWeek

Rent directly from The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas owners, starting at just $308/night. By-owner rates often 25 - 50% lower than the resort's!

www.redweek.com

Post it on go-koala.com (they take 8%, price accordingly)

I don't know if "NextDoor.com" exists in Canada. If so, post it there too. My friend rents her Westin Ka'anapali on NextDoor each year. People like renting from people in the nearby area.

On Airbnb, you can check a box that says your unit is in the hotel zone (or similar wording), so you don't have to do all the license stuff.

 

[DeniseM]

Redweek is for timeshares only, and it much easier to use.

 

[zentraveler]

Redweek is for timeshares only, and it much easier to use.

And welcome to TUG. You are in the right place

 

[daviator]

...but the bad news is, yes, legally you do have to pay the Hawaii General Excise Tax and Transient Accommodations Tax, both of which require registration and I think the TAT requires submission of monthly reports, even if you are only renting occasionally. It's kind of a disaster.

I wish one of the rental services (Redweek, Go-Koala, etc.) would take on the job of collecting, reporting and paying all the taxes, but last time I checked they do not. So you as the owner are responsible and potentially liable for significant fines if you do not file and pay.

Now I'd guess it's likely that you won't get caught if you don't pay, but the taxing authorities are aware that this is happening and they may start cracking down.

 

[CaliJoe]

DM me if you want to get an agent who will charge $350 flat fee only when the unit rents and will take care of all the listing/communication/hassle.

 

[goaliedave]

Use redweek the first time for simplicity and learning the basics. No difference if you are USA, Canada, or Ukraine.

 

[tamu_bu]

We rented for the first time using Go-Koala.com and the website and process was very smooth. Koala is timeshare specific as well. We will use it again.

 

[prompts-02]

Thank you all for all of the amazing replies. I have some homework to do it seems and need to check out the sites you mentioned. I will do that over the next few days and will follow up with any additional questions I may have.

Really appreciate your help