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KOALA VIP

eyedude

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Location
Minnesota
Resorts Owned
Marriott Newport Coast (Platinum Plus and Platinum), Marriott Mountainside (ski week), Marriott Maui Ocean Club Lahaina (week 34,35 and 49,50), DSV 2 (red)
@eyedude Thanks...how do you rent weeks directly with VC?
Go to VacationCandy Owner. Listing your week is very easy. It will be “pending approval” for a day or two then it goes active. VC will email you when they have a renter.
 

Venter

TUG Member
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745
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247
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254
Location
Denver
Resorts Owned
Marriott's Club Son Antem, Marriott's Lakeshore Reserve, Marriott Vacation Club @ Los Suenos, MVC points, Sheraton Lakeside Terrace, Sheraton Flex, Westin Flex, Aventuras
I too have had VacationCandy find my week on Redweek. So now I will have my weeks listed on VacationCandy, Redweek, and Koala. If my weeks rent, my net will essentially be the same on all sites. The renter will pay more to rent from VacationCandy and Koala (because of their commission). The Koala concierge wanted to rent a couple of my weeks for less than I would net on Redweek. I already price my weeks on the low end of the competition on Redweek. To be able to compare, I asked for the same net to me so that I can compare the various sites for this year.
I now add $100 to my Redweek add due to them taking another $100 when it rents verified.
 

rickandcindy23

TUG Review Crew: Elite
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The Centennial State
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge,Shadow Ridge,Grand Chateau;Val Chatelle; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few; Grand Palms; WKORV-OF (2),Westin Desert Willow.

rhhula

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Resorts Owned
The Point at Poipu
It sounds good in theory but I have personally had zero luck renting on Koala. I list all my rentals on RW, Koala, TUG, and several of the Marriott Facebook groups. Koala is the only platform I have never gotten a single rental from so I just can't see dropping $400 down that hole without better results.
I have listed and sold every one of my listings on Koala (5 in last 4 months) for price and fees I am very happy with...spoke with Koala yesterday about their VIP progam and promotion to sign up and I likely will but for Gold, not Platinum.
 

The Colorado Kid

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173
Resorts Owned
Westin Riverfront
Christie Lodge
Apollo Park
Grand Timber Lodge
Indian Palms
Massanutten
Park Regency
Valdoro Mountain Lodge
Marriott Surfwatch
I have listed and sold every one of my listings on Koala (5 in last 4 months) for price and fees I am very happy with...spoke with Koala yesterday about their VIP progam and promotion to sign up and I likely will but for Gold, not Platinum.
@rhhula Thanks for sharing...what do you feel will improve with using VIP?
 

rhhula

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The Point at Poipu
Hi Rick and Cindy, am new member to group...we own on Kauai Point @ Poipu and is our favorite island. Curious about Hono Koa, if you use/like alot or mostly rent it? Does property have 3 br's? Now that Diamond owned by Hilton curious about Hilton Kings Land, as I should have access to book, you list as going there, have you stayed previously? Do you recommend highly, is it near beach or have 3 br's? Thanks, Rod
 

rickandcindy23

TUG Review Crew: Elite
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The Centennial State
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge,Shadow Ridge,Grand Chateau;Val Chatelle; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few; Grand Palms; WKORV-OF (2),Westin Desert Willow.
Hi Rick and Cindy, am new member to group...we own on Kauai Point @ Poipu and is our favorite island. Curious about Hono Koa, if you use/like alot or mostly rent it? Does property have 3 br's? Now that Diamond owned by Hilton curious about Hilton Kings Land, as I should have access to book, you list as going there, have you stayed previously? Do you recommend highly, is it near beach or have 3 br's? Thanks, Rod
Hono Koa does not have 3 bedrooms and is not rentable for even maintenance fees, but we are 40 feet or less to te water from our balcony. and we love it there. Currently, they are updating the units, we saw the model unit. It's going to be gorgeous when done. No AC, which is disappointing to some, but not for us.
 

jwalk03

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I have listed and sold every one of my listings on Koala (5 in last 4 months) for price and fees I am very happy with...spoke with Koala yesterday about their VIP progam and promotion to sign up and I likely will but for Gold, not Platinum.

That’s awesome. Glad it’s working for someone. I still haven’t had any luck. I have listed multiple weeks in multiple places this year and I still haven’t gotten a single hit on koala. I have rented through Redweek & Facebook only so far this year.
 

rhhula

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Resorts Owned
The Point at Poipu
@rhhula Thanks for sharing...what do you feel will improve with using VIP?
Well, what I liked, if actually works as well as described is opportunity to fulfill weeks from their HUB - a list of pre rented inventory for you to choose to fulfill. You pick a request to fulfill, secure the reservation, and send the confirmation. The list tells you exactly what to book and exactly what you will be paid. When the guest checks in, your payout is released directly to your bank account. And Gold VIP also includes access to Listings on Demand - a curated list of available high demand inventory for you to fulfill. I pick which weeks I wish to book and they list and promote the listings through multiple channels to sell. The annual VIP Club fee (after promotional discount) is $142 a year for these two benefits and also no listing fees. Right now with Koala I pay (8% listing fee) about $160 per week I sell...so since I sell multiple weeks over a year on Koala I could easily save $500 or more a year on listing fees.
 

rhhula

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The Point at Poipu
Hono Koa does not have 3 bedrooms and is not rentable for even maintenance fees, but we are 40 feet or less to te water from our balcony. and we love it there. Currently, they are updating the units, we saw the model unit. It's going to be gorgeous when done. No AC, which is disappointing to some, but not for us.
Thank you, I have access on occasion to book this property and knowing that it is being updated I certainly will consider staying here! I also have good access/prices to book Kaanapali Beach Club but is mostly 1br's at that resort.
 

eyedude

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2007
Messages
111
Reaction score
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Location
Minnesota
Resorts Owned
Marriott Newport Coast (Platinum Plus and Platinum), Marriott Mountainside (ski week), Marriott Maui Ocean Club Lahaina (week 34,35 and 49,50), DSV 2 (red)
I am sorry to say that so far my VIP Platinum membership is a bust. Koala has not lived up to expectations. I see no advantage to using their concierge. In fact, it is worse. Many people have listings on top with a Gold VIP tag. Some have Platinum VIP tags. All my listings should have a Platinum VIP tag but they have no tag and do not stand out on their website. I have oceanfront penthouse weeks that are fixed. I have asked them to indicate to a potential renter these will be top floor oceanfront. They say they can not do that without verification. I told them to verify with Marriott and they will be able to confirm these are fixed week, fixed unit weeks. So far nothing. When I signed up for platinum VIP they said they would externally market my week. I asked them to send me links so that I can see where they are listing my weeks. So far there has been no communication from Koala to show me where they are marketing my week. I was hopeful that Koala would offer me another avenue to rent my weeks besides Redweek and Vacation Candy. At this time, I can not recommend signing up for their Platinum membership. If their service improves I will let y'all know.
 

jwalk03

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I am sorry to say that so far my VIP Platinum membership is a bust. Koala has not lived up to expectations. I see no advantage to using their concierge. In fact, it is worse. Many people have listings on top with a Gold VIP tag. Some have Platinum VIP tags. All my listings should have a Platinum VIP tag but they have no tag and do not stand out on their website. I have oceanfront penthouse weeks that are fixed. I have asked them to indicate to a potential renter these will be top floor oceanfront. They say they can not do that without verification. I told them to verify with Marriott and they will be able to confirm these are fixed week, fixed unit weeks. So far nothing. When I signed up for platinum VIP they said they would externally market my week. I asked them to send me links so that I can see where they are listing my weeks. So far there has been no communication from Koala to show me where they are marketing my week. I was hopeful that Koala would offer me another avenue to rent my weeks besides Redweek and Vacation Candy. At this time, I can not recommend signing up for their Platinum membership. If their service improves I will let y'all know.

Thanks for the update! Love to see the real user experiences.
 

grupp

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Well, what I liked, if actually works as well as described is opportunity to fulfill weeks from their HUB - a list of pre rented inventory for you to choose to fulfill. You pick a request to fulfill, secure the reservation, and send the confirmation. The list tells you exactly what to book and exactly what you will be paid. When the guest checks in, your payout is released directly to your bank account. And Gold VIP also includes access to Listings on Demand - a curated list of available high demand inventory for you to fulfill. I pick which weeks I wish to book and they list and promote the listings through multiple channels to sell. The annual VIP Club fee (after promotional discount) is $142 a year for these two benefits and also no listing fees. Right now with Koala I pay (8% listing fee) about $160 per week I sell...so since I sell multiple weeks over a year on Koala I could easily save $500 or more a year on listing fees.

I find your statements a little confusing, since Koala does not charge a "listing fee" for anyone regardless of if they have a membership or not. They only charge the commission if it is actually rented. Are you saying the they do not charge the the commission since you are a VIP Club Members?
 

eyedude

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2007
Messages
111
Reaction score
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Points
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Location
Minnesota
Resorts Owned
Marriott Newport Coast (Platinum Plus and Platinum), Marriott Mountainside (ski week), Marriott Maui Ocean Club Lahaina (week 34,35 and 49,50), DSV 2 (red)
I am sorry to say that so far my VIP Platinum membership is a bust. Koala has not lived up to expectations. I see no advantage to using their concierge. In fact, it is worse. Many people have listings on top with a Gold VIP tag. Some have Platinum VIP tags. All my listings should have a Platinum VIP tag but they have no tag and do not stand out on their website. I have oceanfront penthouse weeks that are fixed. I have asked them to indicate to a potential renter these will be top floor oceanfront. They say they can not do that without verification. I told them to verify with Marriott and they will be able to confirm these are fixed week, fixed unit weeks. So far nothing. When I signed up for platinum VIP they said they would externally market my week. I asked them to send me links so that I can see where they are listing my weeks. So far there has been no communication from Koala to show me where they are marketing my week. I was hopeful that Koala would offer me another avenue to rent my weeks besides Redweek and Vacation Candy. At this time, I can not recommend signing up for their Platinum membership. If their service improves I will let y'all know.
Quick update...I have emailed them again to find out why my weeks do not have a Platinum VIP tag and if they can send me links to my listings that they have marketed externally. Unfortunately, they have not responded. I have already paid them an annual fee. I give up...For now, I will leave the listings on Koala but I will definitely cancel my membership next year and lick my wounds.
 

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
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Location
NE Florida
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
Quick update...I have emailed them again to find out why my weeks do not have a Platinum VIP tag and if they can send me links to my listings that they have marketed externally. Unfortunately, they have not responded. I have already paid them an annual fee. I give up...For now, I will leave the listings on Koala but I will definitely cancel my membership next year and lick my wounds.
While they should be replying to your inquiries, have you tried searching Airbnb or Vrbo for your listings to see if they are out there?
 

HudsHut

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Is this the email Koala sends to recruit for VIP memberships:
This is XXXXXXXX from the Member Success Team at KOALA. Thank you for joining and welcome to the community! You’re off to a great start with your recent listing and with a few tweaks, you can triple your chances of getting it booked.

Your success is our priority and I’m inviting you to book a quick video chat with me to help get the most out of working with KOALA. The best part – it’s totally free of charge!
What you can expect:
  • 3X your chance of getting booked
  • Expert rental advice
  • Suggested price, based on market data.
  • Enrolled in Supercharged Listings” with boosted marketing
 

rickandcindy23

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
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Location
The Centennial State
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge,Shadow Ridge,Grand Chateau;Val Chatelle; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few; Grand Palms; WKORV-OF (2),Westin Desert Willow.
Is this the email Koala sends to recruit for VIP memberships:
Yes. It's legitimate. I haven't done this but I would probably consider the program.
 

eyedude

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Location
Minnesota
Resorts Owned
Marriott Newport Coast (Platinum Plus and Platinum), Marriott Mountainside (ski week), Marriott Maui Ocean Club Lahaina (week 34,35 and 49,50), DSV 2 (red)
Is this the email Koala sends to recruit forVIP memberships
I am a platinum VIP member with Koala. So far, I regret signing up. To my knowledge there is no "supercharged Listings or boosted marketing" ...I have asked them to show me where they are marketing my week and have had no response. My platinum weeks are hard to find on their website...they are buried with the rest of the weeks on their website and do not stand out. If you are not confident in how much you should rent your week for, they can help you figure that out. However, I basically told them how much I wanted to rent my weeks for and they obliged. If Koala rents my weeks I will give an update. I initially had 4 weeks listed with them. One week I have already rented out via Redweek, so they are now down to 3 of my listings.
 

rickandcindy23

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The Centennial State
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge,Shadow Ridge,Grand Chateau;Val Chatelle; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few; Grand Palms; WKORV-OF (2),Westin Desert Willow.
@eyedude Thanks...how do you rent weeks directly with VC?
I listed mine with VC, and it's free and pretty simple. But I rented one with Redweek and have two additional weeks on Redweek and Koala that I had with VC. VC makes a lot of money on rentals for themselves. It's almost insane. But if they can make money and still satisfy the owner, then more power to them.

Koala needs to get a foothold in this industry. I love not paying in advance, and they aren't making $800-$1000+ on what I own. There is something kind of sleazy about Vacation Candy and the money they make. But that's my opinion.
 

grupp

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I am a platinum VIP member with Koala. So far, I regret signing up. To my knowledge there is no "supercharged Listings or boosted marketing" ...I have asked them to show me where they are marketing my week and have had no response. My platinum weeks are hard to find on their website...they are buried with the rest of the weeks on their website and do not stand out. If you are not confident in how much you should rent your week for, they can help you figure that out. However, I basically told them how much I wanted to rent my weeks for and they obliged. If Koala rents my weeks I will give an update. I initially had 4 weeks listed with them. One week I have already rented out via Redweek, so they are now down to 3 of my listings.

Just curious if you have any updates on how the VIP membershiped has worked out for you?
 

WaikikiFirst

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Just a word from the real customer, aka the potential renter, about both koala and VC. I tried searching on both multiple times over the last week. In addition to extremely limited inventory (needle in haystack for time spent) their "search" functions are awful. I enter IN-OUT dates and area. They come back with a bunch of stuff that doesn't match my dates. I think koala even says "Hey, sift through this stuff that is kinda close but doesn't match your dates". VC also. Guess what, an IN date that is 3 days removed from my date isn't "close".
Also, on koala, the ability to sort is lousy and if you cannot filter search on a specific building or resort (which you should be able to do) the sort should be much better.
On VC, they show you specific buildings after resorts after you enter dates, but then when I click on it, IT HAS NO INVENTORY. They already have my dates. Why show me a place that has no inventory?
Add in, no ability to know in advance what room I will rent? I would have rented a studio in Lagoon Tower but I have heard there is a wide range of quality for those. Quality of room isn't my #1 priority on a trip, but do I want to roll the dice on getting the worst version in the building of the room size?
Add in, it isn't clear to me, on koala anyway, whether resort fees are included, hidden, N/A or what. That has to be stated VERY CLEARLY right up front. Not.
Both need an ability to contact the owner and get that stuff straightened out.

I'm sure for the generic Fri to Fri renter these sites are useful to most people here, but fromthe other side of the screen they waste my time. The 70% savings are funny and the poor searching and existence of unknowns are deal-killers. I wish everyone luck with them. Guess they work for generic Fri-Fri stuff given how many people in the world have web access. Someone eventually makes a match.
 

WaikikiFirst

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Just to add; I did rent through vrbo a year ago. As I remember it, I contacted the owner BEFORE reserving the week. Before. And that was the Deal-WINNER.
Unknowns & No contact: Deal-Killer. Opposite: Deal-Winner. I know vrbo is more expensive but it (moreso) eliminates the roll-the-dice issue. If someone is going to get on a plane and spend a week somewhere, dice shouldn't be rolling less it is LV or Monte Carlo.
 

rickandcindy23

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
31,901
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Location
The Centennial State
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge,Shadow Ridge,Grand Chateau;Val Chatelle; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few; Grand Palms; WKORV-OF (2),Westin Desert Willow.
Just a word from the real customer, aka the potential renter, about both koala and VC. I tried searching on both multiple times over the last week. In addition to extremely limited inventory (needle in haystack for time spent) their "search" functions are awful. I enter IN-OUT dates and area. They come back with a bunch of stuff that doesn't match my dates. I think koala even says "Hey, sift through this stuff that is kinda close but doesn't match your dates". VC also. Guess what, an IN date that is 3 days removed from my date isn't "close".
Also, on koala, the ability to sort is lousy and if you cannot filter search on a specific building or resort (which you should be able to do) the sort should be much better.
On VC, they show you specific buildings after resorts after you enter dates, but then when I click on it, IT HAS NO INVENTORY. They already have my dates. Why show me a place that has no inventory?
Add in, no ability to know in advance what room I will rent? I would have rented a studio in Lagoon Tower but I have heard there is a wide range of quality for those. Quality of room isn't my #1 priority on a trip, but do I want to roll the dice on getting the worst version in the building of the room si
Add in, it isn't clear to me, on koala anyway, whether resort fees are included, hidden, N/A or what. That has to be stated VERY CLEARLY right up front. Not.
Both need an ability to contact the owner and get that stuff straightened out.

I'm sure for the generic Fri to Fri renter these sites are useful to most people here, but fromthe other side of the screen they waste my time. The 70% savings are funny and the poor searching and existence of unknowns are deal-killers. I wish everyone luck with them. Guess they work for generic Fri-Fri stuff given how many people in the world have web access. Someone eventually makes a match.
When the person who owns the listing enters the information, resort fees are supposed to be disclosed, if there are any. I disclose fees for TAT and GET for my Maui weeks. There are always fees in Hawaii for TAT and should always be disclosed, as closely as possible to the correct amount or an over-estimate of fees, if you don't know.

I would send an email to Koala to let them know your frustration with searching on the site. I did that I did get a response back and a "fix."

My complaint was that when I did a search on Brand> Westin, the Maui resorts were not listed. I told Koala that specific issue, and it was fixed within a few hours.

Functionality is so important with a website. Redweek is perfect, absolutely the easiest site to list.

I didn't rent my Maui weeks on Koala, but I think they would have rented, had I only listed with them. I chose to list with Redweek with verified/ protected, and I did add in the $100 "after it rents" fee they charge, which I would have paid $100 to take a credit card with Paypal, had I rented myself. All three Maui oceanfront weeks rented on RW. I am thrilled, but I wish Koala would have come through. I really want Koala to be my go-to for the ease and convenience of listing.

I did rent a Dolphin's Cove for next year, 3 bedroom, and I rented a DVC reservation through Koala.

I am still trying to figure out what is going on in that lady's head. She inquired on RW, I sent a contract, she asked for the reservation, sent it to her to prove I had a reservation. Then she stopped communicating.

I asked her after four days if she had questions on the contract. She answered that she was waiting for me to put her name on the confirmation. I am not going to put her name on a confirmation without payment of any kind and without a contract. I told her to pay the 50% down, and I will add her name. I gave her another option for booking, "Or you can always rent on go-koala.com." She booked on Koala within minutes, my reservation, and she sent me an email that said she would no longer work with me and rented the same dates on Koala. It's still me, lady. I didn't say that to her, but I did laugh about it with Rick.
 

rickandcindy23

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
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Messages
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Location
The Centennial State
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge,Shadow Ridge,Grand Chateau;Val Chatelle; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few; Grand Palms; WKORV-OF (2),Westin Desert Willow.
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