Redweek verified and protected question

[Lakeshore]

Hello,
I am looking at renting through Redweek. There are some rentals in my time periods that are verified and protected and some that are not. I have a few questions for those of you who have rented your unit using verified and protected. Can a possible renter ask you a question for a negotiation on the price? We have rented years ago, but this verified and protected option wasn’t an option back then. I tried to ask a question, but the email said it was sent “to system account,” and I haven’t heard anything back. Is the price set in stone for the verified and protected? I saw that it adds a $220 “service fee” to the price at the end. I never had to pay a service fee before, and it is strange it is not listed in the original listing. Thanks for any information. At this rate, I’m thinking perhaps verified and protected is not the way to go….the prices are higher than the non verified, and then the additional service fee. Any thoughts?

 

[byeloe]

Hello,
I am looking at renting through Redweek. There are some rentals in my time periods that are verified and protected and some that are not. I have a few questions for those of you who have rented your unit using verified and protected. Can a possible renter ask you a question for a negotiation on the price? We have rented years ago, but this verified and protected option wasn’t an option back then. I tried to ask a question, but the email said it was sent “to system account,” and I haven’t heard anything back. Is the price set in stone for the verified and protected? I saw that it adds a $220 “service fee” to the price at the end. I never had to pay a service fee before, and it is strange it is not listed in the original listing. Thanks for any information. At this rate, I’m thinking perhaps verified and protected is not the way to go….the prices are higher than the non verified, and then the additional service fee. Any thoughts?

Redweek charges the renter an additional 7% as a service fee. It gives you the ability to use a credit card and holds the funds until 2 days after check-in. The also charge the owner a fee to use that service. There should be a "get in touch" link on the ad here is one that I found.

You might be able to interact with the owner through that. If you search by dates you will see all ads in chronological order and might find some listings for your timeframe that were not showing in your original search. This is because Redweek shows all of the protected listings first in their default search.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I no longer use Redweek because they show their own listings ($79) in date order first. If Joe Smith wants to go to Florida next week they will initially see only Redweek Verified and Protected Listings for next week and more than likely never scroll down towards the end of the listings (where the cheap listings may in fact be listed for next week).

Now, the only way I would consider listing would be to use Verified and Protected so my listing won't end up at the bottom of the listings.

By the way, until six months ago ALL the listings were listed in date order, but that has now changed.

I could be wrong but I think Redweek will now lose a lot of business.




.

 

[Venter]

Yes, you can ask questions as the account mentioned is the account of the owner who gets a message in their inbox but also an email sent with the message.

I have had questions like can the rental period be changed and negotiating rates. If I need to change the price I just change it on my listing. However, if there are date changes I request a private transaction as it is a big hassle to change the dates on verified and seeing that Redweek have their own contract with verified I do not want any comeback because of dates being different.

 

[chapjim]

I no longer use Redweek because they show their own listings ($79) in date order first. If Joe Smith wants to go to Florida next week they will initially see only Redweek Verified and Protected Listings for next week and more than likely never scroll down towards the end of the listings (where the cheap listings may in fact be listed for next week).

Now, the only way I would consider listing would be to use Verified and Protected so my listing won't end up at the bottom of the listings.

By the way, until six months ago ALL the listings were listed in date order, but that has now changed.

I could be wrong but I think Redweek will now lose a lot of business.




.

Unless Joe Smith is an idiot, he'll continue to scroll through the list looking for a lower price, which presumably the unverified, unprotected listings would have.

I continue to think that RedWeek.com is the most productive listing site. I don't think how listings are sorted will change that but time will tell. We need to have some owners tell how their unverified, unprotected listings sold while the verified and protected listings were still up. (Or the converse -- verified and protected listings unsold while unverified and unprotected listing were sold.)

 

[Lakeshore]

Thanks so much for all of your replies. I did ask a question to which redweek customer service emailed a response that they would forward the question to the owner, but I haven’t heard back, and I see that week now shows as rented on the site.

 

[jehb2]

Unless Joe Smith is an idiot, he'll continue to scroll through the list looking for a lower price, which presumably the unverified, unprotected listings would have.

There is also the “Sort by” button. You have have the whole list sorted by different variables: checkin date, # of bedrooms, total price, price per night, views, etc.

 

[tschwa2]

It isn't a problem with fairly short rental lists but one that has 400+ listings, you might not realize that it is sorted by anything other than date so when you get to the date you want you might not realize there are other types of listings.

 

[Lakeshore]

Yes, I do the sort by feature…I was so surprised a few months ago when the less expensive non verified units showed up when I sorted by date. I feel for owners who are trying to rent with no verified listings, but I think perhaps, if an owner has been part of Redweek for many years, that, too, is helpful in confidence for the potential renter. But maybe I am being naive??

 

[vol_90]

Hello,
I am looking at renting through Redweek. There are some rentals in my time periods that are verified and protected and some that are not. I have a few questions for those of you who have rented your unit using verified and protected. Can a possible renter ask you a question for a negotiation on the price? We have rented years ago, but this verified and protected option wasn’t an option back then. I tried to ask a question, but the email said it was sent “to system account,” and I haven’t heard anything back. Is the price set in stone for the verified and protected? I saw that it adds a $220 “service fee” to the price at the end. I never had to pay a service fee before, and it is strange it is not listed in the original listing. Thanks for any information. At this rate, I’m thinking perhaps verified and protected is not the way to go….the prices are higher than the non verified, and then the additional service fee. Any thoughts?

Redweek Verified and Protected prices are not set in stone and a potential renter can reach out through Redweek with an offer which you can accept, decline or counter. Also recently had Redweek reach out and ask if I would modify the moderate cancellation policy (50% refund up to 60 days, no refund after) on my listing (potential renter wanted 30 to 60 days 100% refund) so this can also be changed on a Verified and Protected listing.

 

[Lakeshore]

Redweek charges the renter an additional 7% as a service fee. It gives you the ability to use a credit card and holds the funds until 2 days after check-in. The also charge the owner a fee to use that service. There should be a "get in touch" link on the ad here is one that I found.
View attachment 70772
You might be able to interact with the owner through that. If you search by dates you will see all ads in chronological order and might find some listings for your timeframe that were not showing in your original search. This is because Redweek shows all of the protected listings first in their default search.

Redweek Verified and Protected prices are not set in stone and a potential renter can reach out through Redweek with an offer which you can accept, decline or counter. Also recently had Redweek reach out and ask if I would modify the moderate cancellation policy (50% refund up to 60 days, no refund after) on my listing (potential renter wanted 30 to 60 days 100% refund) so this can also be changed on a Verified and Protected listing.

When one reaches out with a question on the ”reach out” part of the Ad, if it is a Redweek non verified, will the owner respond directly to me(possible renter) at my personal email or will it go through my redweek mail?

 

[tschwa2]

When one reaches out with a question on the ”reach out” part of the Ad, if it is a Redweek non verified, will the owner respond directly to me(possible renter) at my personal email or will it go through my redweek mail?

I usually receive it both ways.

 

[Lakeshore]

I usually receive it both ways.

Hmmm, I reached out through the Redweek “reach out” link, but received an answer not through Redweek email, but my personal email.

 

[tschwa2]

Hmmm, I reached out through the Redweek “reach out” link, but received an answer not through Redweek email, but my personal email.

It goes to my personal email but I also see it in the mailbox on my redweek account.

 

[Quilter]

Yes, I do the sort by feature…I was so surprised a few months ago when the less expensive non verified units showed up when I sorted by date. I feel for owners who are trying to rent with no verified listings, but I think perhaps, if an owner has been part of Redweek for many years, that, too, is helpful in confidence for the potential renter. But maybe I am being naive??

I looked at using the "Verified" service (not "Protected and Verified") as I saw Rented (faded out) "Verified" in the listings at the top of the list along with the active "Protected and Verified" listings. However, the "Verified" that were not Rented were at the bottom of the list with the basic ads. To see "Verified" listings you have to know there is a sort menu and scroll down to "date".

I then searched through the "How It Works" section to see if Redweek had instructions for how to do a search. I was specifically looking to see if they explained the options available in the sort menu. I couldn't find any explanation. Very stinky in my opinion.

 

[Deb1]

Hello! I am very thankful for this thread. I have been a REDWEEK user for 20 years and this "verified & protected" sort change is unfortunate for both owners and renters. It's more expensive for both sides with REDWEEK reaping the benefits.
I do think however, that savvy users will be able to figure out what they are looking for. Yesterday I thought my two January postings were missing until I used the DATE sort! I have never posted my rentals with V&P and don't plan on it. I realize there is a lot of FRAUD out there, BUT if you speak directly with your renter, don't use ZELLE or VENMO, and only ask for payment via money order, certified check or a regular check both sides of the transaction can be completely safe and verified long before the rental date. I agree with a previous poster ... REDWEEK is still the way to go on either side of a transaction for timeshare use!

 

[Lakeshore]

Deb1,
I agree, the verified is bad for both, due to the added fees. As a renter, the extra fees for what I am looking at are $250+. However, as a renter, I would be hesitant to rent from someone who doesn’t accept PayPal or Zelle. I thought money order and checks only were a red flag for renters.