• Welcome to the FREE TUGBBS forums! The absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 32 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 32 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 32nd anniversary: Happy 32nd Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    All subscribers auto-entered to win all free TUG membership giveaways!

    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
  • Wish you could meet up with other TUG members? Well look no further as this annual event has been going on for years in Orlando! How to Attend the TUG January Get-Together!
  • Now through the end of the year you can join or renew your TUG membership at the lowest price ever offered! Learn More!
  • 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!

Paying for a timeshare rental

XM202

newbie
Joined
Nov 4, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
How do you guys pay for the weeks that you rent off of people? I responded to a TUG ad and the owner wants me to blindly send a money order then I will receive a guest certificate in the mail. I do not feel comfortable doing this. So I was wondering what methods you have used to pay for rentals that protect both the owner and the renter. I would like to use a credit card but I realize most owners cannot process credit card payments.
 
I use Paypal as both an owner and a renter.

As an owner I require a $100 deposit to put the reservation in the renter's name.

Then I have the resort send them an official confirmation in the renter's name.

Then the balance is due within 48 hours of receipt of the confirmation.

It works well for me and the renter can use a credit card if they want to, although Paypal charges me the 3% credit card fee.

Also - I would be very concerned about a Guest Certificate. That may indicate that they are renting an exchange which is not allowed by most exchange companies and could result in you losing your money and vacation. See the list of exchange companies that allow rentals to be exchanged at the top of the Exchanging Board.
 
See the bottom shaded section of this how to rent article for help in how to protect yourself and for an understanding of the potential scam issues that the owner has in dealing with an unknown person such as you. Trust issues go both ways but can be resolved by following the guidance in the article.

That article can also be accessed as one of the sticky threads at the top of the list of topics for this Buying, Selling, Renting forum.

I, too, would be concerned about a Guest Certificate. You might show up at the resort to check in and find that the reservation has been canceled by the exchange company for violating their no-rental rule.
 
Wyndham points owners can rent their units and they use a Wyndham Guest Certificate for their guests. Not all guest certificates are equal.:)
 
Last edited:
PayPal Or Check.

We ask for a substantial deposit right away before we will make the (floating week) timeshare reservation. We ask to receive the rest of the rent money before the resort's deadline for canceling or changing the reservation.

As soon as we receive the reservation slip, we send a photocopy of that to the renters.

Once we have all the money, we change the reservation from our name to the renter's name by notifying the front desk & the reservation desk via snail mail & E-Mail & fax, with a copy of everything going to the renters along with the original reservation slip (keeping a photocopy ourselves, just in case).

We accept checks, but we wait till they clear before proceeding.

Last time, the people renting were so glad to get a vacation week in our outstanding timeshare that they sent us all the money up front right away, even though all we required was a deposit, with the rest to come later.

Lucky for us, the same people want to rent again in 2009. I sent them a polite reminder to choose their vacation week as soon as possible, before all the choicest floating weeks get snapped up.

As for the trust issue, if people don't trust us they don't rent from us. By the time the renters get the photocopy of the reservation, they're able to figure out everything is on the level.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
Top