[July 2008 Thread] Poor TUG rental experience

[Ken555]

Slightly off-topic...

If you're a Costco member, you can enroll with Elavon, and their fees are WAY cheaper than any other credit card processing company I found. (1.9% for regular cards, and no extra fees for rewards cards, which is something you have to be careful of since MOST people nowaday have some type of reward on their card.)

Check how much they now charge for "non-qualified Visa/MC" transactions, which includes all corporate/business Visa/MC cards. I had a Costco/Nova (they recently changed their name) account for years and all business Visa/MC cards processed at an extremely high rate (~3.1-3.5%). There's no way to know what type of card it is ahead of time unless you look at it, and you cannot refuse payment by it if you accept credit cards. My business had to switch as Nova didn't work with our new online invoicing system, and I'm glad I did as now I have a fixed amount for those types of cards. Your overall expense with Nova may still be less, as they have very nice policies for monthly fees, etc - but it's good to be aware that they're really not the best on every service you need as a merchant.

 

[mamiecarter]

Now I am worried about renting my timeshares!

I always talk to people before I rent to them and I never rent to anyone who doesn't sound responsible. I have never had problems. This story has me worried.

As for how to clean up before you leave. Just do what seems reasonable. BUT LEAVE A TIP FOR THE MAIDS. They don't get paid much and a ten or twenty dollar tip makes them very happy even if things are a little messy.

If you do spill something disgusting on the carpet call the desk right away to get some help cleaning it up. Bad stains come out easier when they are fresh. After they dry it is much harder.

 

[PerryM]

I always talk to people before I rent to them and I never rent to anyone who doesn't sound responsible. I have never had problems. This story has me worried.

As for how to clean up before you leave. Just do what seems reasonable. BUT LEAVE A TIP FOR THE MAIDS. They don't get paid much and a ten or twenty dollar tip makes them very happy even if things are a little messy.

If you do spill something disgusting on the carpet call the desk right away to get some help cleaning it up. Bad stains come out easier when they are fresh. After they dry it is much harder.

Not to worry - I've rented out many times with absolutely no problems.

I can't remember a TUG member ever reporting a horror story - but I might have missed one over the years.

The definition of "Total disaster" is subjective and that's why folks checking in to a timeshare are normally hit for $500 as a reserve on their credit card just incase they do decide to inflict some damage.

But, you've got to do it right or you open yourself up to some folks who will gladly take advantage of you...

 

[Autoeng]

Something to consider here is whether the manager's actually witnessed the dirty condiction that the TS was supposedly left in? The cleaning crews get paid by the hour and if they say "the unit was trashed and we had to work 6 hours instead of the normal two" then someone is going to get blamed. This happended to me by a cleaning crew that felt they needed a raise. Luckily I had taken pictures of the unit as we left with that day's newspaper visible in all photos.

 

[pcgirl54]

dup post oops!

 

[pcgirl54]

dicar123

I own a Marriott and another TS and we are required to strip the bed and leave dirty towels together in the foyer area or bathroom. Like others have said clean out the fridge,we must take the trash to the dumspter and load and run the dishwashers. Mostly there are just two of us now so I wash dishes by hand.

We also need to know that randomly if a stranger not a renter gets access to your unit things can happen or become missing. When we were at a TS last year cameras were stolen out of units of a reputable resort in a nice area.


Joanne

What stress for you. Lesson learned for the rest of us on how to protect our assets. Write contracts, charge proper security deposits ,take photos of the unit and I just love the mid week cleaning idea.

We recently got burnt on a car rental so we take pics of that too. Lesson learned for the next car rented which was a Jeep. We took pics this time! Be care on zippers of soft topsl. We rented a Jeep in Maui and the last person did not zip it back right. They tried to force the zipper and ripped the side material. You could not take off the back panel because of it. We did not notice this until the next day when we tried to take the top off. We took pics and drove to the rental place and had them note it on the agreement and on the computer.

Perry,
Good idea on the newspaper and date.

 

[ownsmany]

wow - so sorry to hear about this. It would be nice if you revealed the name - so we could beware and not rent to them.


Maybe you could pm us?

 

[beanb41]

There are two sides to every story. I hope that to O/P has made contact with his tenant and tried to resolve his issues before coming to this forum.
My experience is that nothing in situations like this are ever black and white, there is a range of about 52 shades of grey in between.
I do sympathise none the less.

 

[LauraG]

Check how much they now charge for "non-qualified Visa/MC" transactions, which includes all corporate/business Visa/MC cards. I had a Costco/Nova (they recently changed their name) account for years and all business Visa/MC cards processed at an extremely high rate (~3.1-3.5%). There's no way to know what type of card it is ahead of time unless you look at it, and you cannot refuse payment by it if you accept credit cards. My business had to switch as Nova didn't work with our new online invoicing system, and I'm glad I did as now I have a fixed amount for those types of cards. Your overall expense with Nova may still be less, as they have very nice policies for monthly fees, etc - but it's good to be aware that they're really not the best on every service you need as a merchant.

Yes, I checked into the non-qualified rates as well. I don't take very many corporate cards, so overall the rates are still much cheaper (for me) than any other processing company I've found. I'm just thrilled to have another option for taking credit cards instead of just PayPal!

 

[LauraG]

I always talk to people before I rent to them and I never rent to anyone who doesn't sound responsible. I have never had problems. This story has me worried.

Don't let this worry you - I've rented to over 100 people and have never had a problem. (With the exception of the unit I cleaned myself at Twin Rivers where the people didn't clean up after themselves at all.) Just take precautions (rental agreement, security deposit, etc.). MOST people are decent, rule-abiding renters. I think the biggest shame in this whole story is that it was a fellow TUGGER.

 

[caribbean]

vkhome-

First of all my sympathies to you with having to deal with this problem. It certainly has made me think about renting units to others. I have been following this thread for awhile and while I understand not posting the person's name, I can't help wondering if they are a real "Tugger" or just a casual reader. Maybe you could tell us what year they joined TUG and about how many posts they have. That would give all of who are wondering an idea of how avid they are in participation on TUG.

Thanks,

 

[Mel7706]

I have several questions.

Did the original renter sub-lease or send unresponsible people to your unit?
Did your property manager have any incentive to exagerate the damage to discourage your private rentals?
Have you rented this unit previously yourself to unknown
persons,i.e. are you an experienced landlord?
Was the renter a member or a guest on TUG?
Also, remember that TUG is nothing more than a cross-section of timeshare interested people.
Sorry for your problems and "no" I was not the renter.

 

[tcornel]

I would add up the damages and file a small claim in your local county courthouse. The renter will have to defend or get a judgement against him.

Most likely you will get his attention and hopefully recover some $.

Tom

 

[Jim C]

Waste of time

I would add up the damages and file a small claim in your local county courthouse. The renter will have to defend or get a judgement against him.

Most likely you will get his attention and hopefully recover some $.

Tom

Joann, Unless your renter lives in Monroe County, or close by, don't waste your time filing a small claim. These are filed in local court and the jurisidiction is limited to the state. If the renter lives outside the state, they can't be compelled to appear. If you were to get a default judgment, it would be unenforceable. Hope you are able to settle this.
Good luck.

 

[Kelsie]

So sorry to hear about your experience. I would borrow the vacuum from HK before we left our KW Hyatt. I think that is just wrong. I rented out Marriott at Seaview Villas in Absecon, NJ (outside AC) last year to a Tugger for $250 for the week and it was a great experience. I hope that this person is not a Tugger, that is just disappointing.

 

[Sandy VDH]

vkhome

I know this was a while ago, but did you ever receive any resolution?

 

[Jennie]

I doubt the person is feeling guilty.

Probably not guilty but maybe embarrassed and/or nervous about the outcome.

 

[Jennie]

Thanks for the replies! I feel better about leaving the towels now.

We rented the TS from my husband's co-worker, who has been talking to my husband about his TS's for awhile. I always dismissed any discussion of it at home, thinking if the whole thing were so great, then why is the hard sell so necessary?

I've been converted! It was awful nice to have the extra space and privacy and not have to worry about being cooped up nights in a hotel room with our 9 year old bouncing around and talking endlessly. He seemed more relaxed with the extra space, too.

So, I'm reading and learning.

Welcome to TUG! The #1 thing to keep in mind is that almost every timeshare should be bought resale, at a fraction of the cost through the developer. Keep reading and asking questions and you will eventually be able to buy the "right" (for you) timeshare at a very low price.

 

[DeniseM]

Welcome to TUG! The #1 thing to keep in mind is that almost every timeshare should be bought resale, at a fraction of the cost through the developer. Keep reading and asking questions and you will eventually be able to buy the "right" (for you) timeshare at a very low price.

Please note that this thread is from July, 2008.

 

[DeniseM]

vkhome

I know this was a while ago, but did you ever receive any resolution?

Back in July the OP posted that she did not want to discuss this any more on TUG.

I would like this to be the last post about this issue. The renter has been in touch with me and she contests the claims that my property manager has made. While it is true that I did not witness the state of the villa upon the renter's departure, I have had these managers for years and this is the first situation of this nature they have ever reported to me.

I believe at this point there are hard feelings on all sides and I think it best to just "move on" from here. Her security deposit will be kept.

Under the circumstances, I think it would be best to contact her privately, and I am going to close this old thread since the OP does not wish to discuss this any further on TUG.