• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

How to become comfortable with renting

M

mrsg00fy

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Location
new jersey
Hi. I'm new to the boards. I've read through the threads about renting. My question is how do you become comfortable with renting? I see that redweek is considered to be a reputable site...but aren't you actually renting from individual owners? I know this takes trust on both sides.....but how do you protect yourself from showing up at the vacation destination and being told...oops, we don't have a reservation for you?

Thanks for any guidance.
 
I posted this before, but I think it bears repeating

The biggest problem I have renting my timeshare reservations to others is that they are afraid that I am trying to take their money and not deliver as promised.

I usually make the reservation and except for a small deposit I dont ask for full payment until the reservation is in the customers name and they have written confirmation.

I also have several past customers that have offered to talk to prospective customers about their experience

I always have my phone number in my ads, and insist on a phone call before we make a deal.

My last suggestion is to rent from someone here on TUG..I think most of us are trustworthy
 
mrsg00fy said:
Hi. I'm new to the boards. I've read through the threads about renting. My question is how do you become comfortable with renting? I see that redweek is considered to be a reputable site...but aren't you actually renting from individual owners? I know this takes trust on both sides.....but how do you protect yourself from showing up at the vacation destination and being told...oops, we don't have a reservation for you?

Thanks for any guidance.
Click to expand...

A good question - it does come down to trust as the person who is doing the renting is the one putting up the money at risk.

As a person who rents out their TS weeks - 1) I use a Rental Agreement that clearly states the T&Cs of both parties, 2) I have Starwood (who I own thru) send the reservation confirmation in their name to the renter, 3) I only accept PayPal that may give the renter some comfort as I am a verified PayPal user (and allows them to use a credit card), 4) I have personal contact with the renter and offer real photos/videos of the villa and resort, 5) offer references from those who have rented from me in the past (if they do not mind...), and 6) explain to them what TUG is and that they can see my posts on the Starwood forum.

That is about the most I can do - if they are not satisfied by that (never has happened) - I suggest they rent directly through the resort.
 
Thanks Ron. I was hesitant to ask the question....wasn't trying to offend. One of the reasons I asked here is because this seems to be a very helpful and friendly crowd! :)

I have perused the rentals here on the TUG board and didn't see any that exactly line up with what I'm looking for. I saw that redweek is considered to be a legit site and when I went over there, there were many rentals that fit our dates.
 
mrsg00fy said:
Thanks Ron. I was hesitant to ask the question....wasn't trying to offend. One of the reasons I asked here is because this seems to be a very helpful and friendly crowd! :)

I have perused the rentals here on the TUG board and didn't see any that exactly line up with what I'm looking for. I saw that redweek is considered to be a legit site and when I went over there, there were many rentals that fit our dates.
Click to expand...

You can post rental requests on TUG
 
Renting from an owner on a web site just won't be as comfortable as renting from the resort, but it is cheaper and you know what unit you will get. I think you only get more comfortable with it by doing it. If it goes well, rent from the same people again. I probably never would have rented from a private owner until I was an owner myself renting out units and saw how well it went. I've had people send me a check for the full amount after one email exchange and I've had people who wanted to call the resort to confirm who I was before renting. Email and even phone conversations will help you feel more (or maybe less) comfortable. But the initial deposit to a stranger will always likely be a little uncomfortable.
 
A way to protect yourself is to use a third party escrow agent or to deal with a respected rental broker.. If you are renting directly from an owner and the property owner won't agree to escrow, just move on to the next owner with that reservation..

There is an online service called DepositGuard which has a very minimal fee (2.9%) and is very easy to use..
 
I have rented out a few weeks on ebay. Yes its pain but I think that unlike a craigslist or even on here ebay offers a little more protection for the buyer. I had to provide ebay with a credit card. To offer travel I had to fax them a copy of my ownership which had to match the info on the account. Paypal requires a credit card or checking account.

The only problem is that those things cost money increasing my rental fees. Ebay is roughly 9% of purchase and paypal is 3% so I have to up my fee by that much to cover my cost. I am only looking to cover my costs so I still am able to rent out my extra points.

I have rented on here and just used PayPal for payment.
 
richardm said:
A way to protect yourself is to use a third party escrow agent or to deal with a respected rental broker.. If you are renting directly from an owner and the property owner won't agree to escrow, just move on to the next owner with that reservation..

There is an online service called DepositGuard which has a very minimal fee (2.9%) and is very easy to use..
Click to expand...

This is good advice to not be able to rent a room. You are best to deal with rental companies. They have the incentive to make sure things work out.
 
Thanks everyone for all the good advice. These boards are a wealth of information. I appreciate the responses! :)
 
Take the time to talk to the person

Your comfort level will increase over just dealing over the internet

Your written confirmation should be from the property not RCI or II, if it's he through one of the other exchange companies, make sure you can call them to confirm
 
GeraldineT said:
I have rented out a few weeks on ebay. Yes its pain but I think that unlike a craigslist or even on here ebay offers a little more protection for the buyer. I had to provide ebay with a credit card. To offer travel I had to fax them a copy of my ownership which had to match the info on the account. Paypal requires a credit card or checking account.

The only problem is that those things cost money increasing my rental fees. Ebay is roughly 9% of purchase and paypal is 3% so I have to up my fee by that much to cover my cost. I am only looking to cover my costs so I still am able to rent out my extra points.

I have rented on here and just used PayPal for payment.
Click to expand...

You can use Paypal, without using ebay - ebay fees are high.
 
Just a quick warning about PayPal..

Due to the high amount of fraud involving timeshare transactions, PayPal is becoming very aggressive in creating new policies regarding timeshare rentals which can have a very big impact on owners. PayPal is currently "reviewing" existing accounts and is also subjecting new accounts that deal with timeshares to a six month hold on all funds deposited. This has now been confirmed by four broker/owners who have reported that their accounts have been frozen by PayPal. In one case, PayPal reportedly went in and reversed several payments that had been made to the owner's account- withdrawing money from his checking and placing it back into the frozen PayPal balance.

My guess is that PayPal is generating alerts based on the notes field, or perhaps on communications sent between parties to identify timeshare based transactions. While I believe that this policy will be a positive in the long run, I cannot stomach the lack of communication and the heavy handed manner in which it appears to be implemented. According to my attorney, PayPal is not considered to be a financial institution so therefore is not subject to normal oversight and has the right to hold funds for as long as they deem necessary.

If you are currently using PayPal for accepting rental payments, you may want to consider doing the following:

1) Get into the habit of withdrawing funds from PayPal as soon as possible after the payment is made.

2)Create a separate bank account to be used only for PayPal, and transfer funds from that account into another account as soon as the PayPal deposits hit your bank.

3)Find a backup method of accepting payment. If you cannot obtain a traditional merchant account, your options may be somewhat limited.
 
I do believe the original poster was expressing concerns of a renter not a rentor
 
Being on both, an owner's and a renter's sides, I went through the same pain you all are going through. There is a need to simplify the rental process yet make it more secure & trustworthy. Therefore I started a project to create such an environment for all of us. If you wish to help out please visit the campaign at [link deleted] There are perks for helping out that range from various promotional merchandise to coupons. Together we can make a difference.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Please read the posting rules - you cannot post a link to your own commercial website on TUG.

Individual users please note that messages promoting anything for which you may receive some personal gain are considered to be advertising, and are thus prohibited. Promotion of any service where you would get referral compensation is considered to be advertising. Directing somebody to your classified ad on TUG or elsewhere is considered to be advertising. Promotion of a website where you have anything for sale or rent is considered to be advertising.
Click to expand...
 
What's so uncomfortable? Especially with Redweek which has a membership fee that weeds out the vast majority of scammers. That doesn't mean you can't run into a bad owner but I've used Redweek dozens of times as a rentor and a few as a renter, and its very secure.

You''ll know really early if you're dealing with the legit owner because they would in one way or another give you info for you to confirm their ownership.

For me I encourage my renters to confirm with Marriott my ownership and include the phone# myself. This is the first thing you can ask for if they don't volunteer it.

Once my renters do that I expect full payment before I give official reservation#. Sometimes I do accept just a deposit and will provide official reservation number and then full payment is expect 90 days before check-in.
 
As I tend to rent at just a few resorts, I tell the new clients (rentors) to call the resort, will send a copy of the MF invoice or a scan of my Wyndham Reservation (with some personal stuff e-z corrected out).

If it comes up first in the conversation about a scam, I tell them they are right to be concerned. Here are the ways I can show you I own this week...

If it comes up TOO EARLY for my comfort level, I note that too --- but for my own sanity. There are some people who are just too far out there to deal with in business deal.
 
Last edited:
Renter comfort

Homeaway.com and VRBO.com allow previous renters to post reviews of the properties they have visited. I would worry somewhat about no reviews or unfavorable reviews but several years worth of good reviews would be a good way to chose a dependable landlord and property.
I know there are reviews of the TS resorts but am unsure about any way to rate landlords renting those resorts.
 
Redweek joining fee

A previous poster suggested that the fairly modest Redweek fee would be a way to screen scammers. If this is true Homeaway and VRBO are a much bigger investment for a landlord and if any kind of intentional fraud is shown the investment is not refunded.
 
It's simple really, you can never be comfortable renting from an individual, everything we've seen over the last 15 years have shown us that these no name, no face transactions are from some scammer in Nigeria.....What I do is never rent for more then i can afford to lose, usually less them $150 a night, but ideally less then $50...If you see a place for rent that the rentor is asking more then you are comfortable with, talk to them about lowering the price...If they won't move on to someone else, eventually you will find an honest rentor who will rent it to you at a safe comfortable rate
 
Ridewithme38 said:
It's simple really, you can never be comfortable renting from an individual, everything we've seen over the last 15 years have shown us that these no name, no face transactions are from some scammer in Nigeria.....What I do is never rent for more then i can afford to lose, usually less them $150 a night, but ideally less then $50...If you see a place for rent that the rentor is asking more then you are comfortable with, talk to them about lowering the price...If they won't move on to someone else, eventually you will find an honest rentor who will rent it to you at a safe comfortable rate
Click to expand...

As usual, Ride doesn't know what he's talking about. ;)

Also, please note that 15 years ago - he WAS 15!

troll.gif
 
Last edited:
DeniseM said:
As usual, Ride doesn't know what he's talking about. ;)

Also, please note that 15 years ago - he WAS 15!

troll.gif
Click to expand...

i was 16 :p , i'm pretty much talking about since the internet was around and email spam from Princes in foreign countries wanted to send us money...Since then, we've all learned not to trust the nameless/faceless 'people' online...theres nothing wrong with using caution when dealing with people you don't know, this is why i suggest always getting the lowest price possible when renting...You're not going to feel good either way, but losing $500 isn't as bad as losing $3500
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top