Rentals coming back?

[pwrshift]

Rented my BeachPlace President's week studio for $650 on Ebay today. Took two runs of the ad to get it...the previous week it got 10 bids up to just over $500 but no cigar at my $650 reserve. Didn't change anything the second week and it rented.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/260900831653?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1562.l2649

It's interesting how unrealistically priced some of the other rental ads on ebay (and TUG) were for the same resort...and they probably wonder why they got no bids. While I'm using the 1 bdrm portion, I assume I could have rented it for more - say $850 - which together would show me $1500 rental for the $1050 MF.

Hate to say it, but I didn't get one bid, or even an email, from the Tug classified.

Brian

 

[davemy]

I rented my 2 Bedroom April 6th, 2012 week for $1500.00 FYI . Then i used a 1 bedroom GC Week and traded back into a 2 Bedroom for the same week. lol

 

[jdunn1]

Congrats on renting. I am very skeptical about the TUG classifieds, too. Nothing on Redweek or MyResortNetwork seems to be renting, either. I look almost every day at the OceanWatch summer 2012 rentals and all I see are more and more weeks added without the existing inventory being rented. Maybe people don't update redweek or TUG often enough, but I do not see how renting is a viable option -- though some people have good success.

Curious, how much did your adds cost you on ebay? Thanks.

-Jim

 

[ada903]

Right now and all the way until after the holidays, it is pretty much dead season. I sold a few high season platinum timeshares, but rentals are pretty low. I expect it will pick up after New Year's.

 

[ronparise]

Im familiar with vacation home and condo rentals in Fort Myers and Sanibel. And it seems to me that that market never went away. This town fills up every winter. It dosent matter what the economy is doing, folks that can afford a place in the sun for a month or so are not affected by the economy.

My business is selling homes and condos in the Ft Myers area. In the last several years most of my business has been with folks that are buying second homes. The economy has not been an issue for my buyers. The sellers aren't to happy, they are getting about half what they would have gotten several years ago, but the buyers are still buying, inspite of the economy and they are paying cash

My point is that there is still money out there and many of the folks that have it aren't afraid to spend it

Im fairly new to renting timeshares. I know weekly rentals are different than monthly, and folks that can only get away for a week are in a completely different class than folks that can get away for a month or more but it seems to me that there are still people that can afford a vacation. Some of the market may have dropped out because of the economy (working class families perhaps) but there still seems to me enough money out there that Im able to get my stuff rented (mostly to singles and retirees).

To be sure I cant rent a mud week at a ski resort, or a winter week at the beach, (could you ever?) but with modest goals, and by concentrating on what I call "special weeks in special places" I was able to get 25 rentals done in the last year...The most recent one yesterday at better than 3x mf

To take a page from the news. The economy, as bad as its been for many of us, has been great for the 1%. Market to them (and probably the next 50%) and I think we will do fine

Willie Sutton when asked why he robbed banks said "because that's where the money is".......Im not suggesting robbing any banks, but there is still money out there. Find out who has it and market your timeshare to them...(heres a hint, it dosent seem to be on Redweek or TUG)

 

[EKniager]

Im familiar with vacation home and condo rentals in Fort Myers and Sanibel. And it seems to me that that market never went away. This town fills up every winter. It dosent matter what the economy is doing, folks that can afford a place in the sun for a month or so are not affected by the economy.

My business is selling homes and condos in the Ft Myers area. In the last several years most of my business has been with folks that are buying second homes. The economy has not been an issue for my buyers. The sellers aren't to happy, they are getting about half what they would have gotten several years ago, but the buyers are still buying, inspite of the economy and they are paying cash

My point is that there is still money out there and many of the folks that have it aren't afraid to spend it

Im fairly new to renting timeshares. I know weekly rentals are different than monthly, and folks that can only get away for a week are in a completely different class than folks that can get away for a month or more but it seems to me that there are still people that can afford a vacation. Some of the market may have dropped out because of the economy (working class families perhaps) but there still seems to me enough money out there that Im able to get my stuff rented (mostly to singles and retirees).

To be sure I cant rent a mud week at a ski resort, or a winter week at the beach, (could you ever?) but with modest goals, and by concentrating on what I call "special weeks in special places" I was able to get 25 rentals done in the last year...The most recent one yesterday at better than 3x mf

To take a page from the news. The economy, as bad as its been for many of us, has been great for the 1%. Market to them (and probably the next 50%) and I think we will do fine

Willie Sutton when asked why he robbed banks said "because that's where the money is".......Im not suggesting robbing any banks, but there is still money out there. Find out who has it and market your timeshare to them...(heres a hint, it dosent seem to be on Redweek or TUG)

A couple thoughts:
- Not specific to TUG or Redweek, but with other "widget" sales , e.g., stereo equipment, I have noticed that transactions take place and ads do not get updated. Heck, I never update my ads after a sale.
- I am a management recruiter and can tell you that the white collar market is dramatically different from the "labor" market. All of our customers were hiring this year and business is up significantly. The high unemployment you read about has been impacted greatly by the downturn in housing/contruction markets as well as reduced car builds in this country. It's not just the top 1.5%, the $100K to $200K folks are doing fine, too. Then again, the >$250K folks are doing better than ever! In October, we went to the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island for 6 nights using Marriott points and then paid for 3 nights at The Sanctuary on Kiawah. They were both booming with business; maybe even sold out. (LOL, I'll refrain from making a sarcastic political comment so I won't get deleted again!)

 

[kjd]

Questions about rentals. Is it better to lockoff a unit before soliciting rentals or is it usually better to try to rent the unit whole? Also, if someone uses ebay, what is the cost of it and how easy is it to do it? Thanks.

 

[ilene13]

I have rented one of my week 52's at the Aruba Ocean Club annually for the last 4 years. It is a 1 bedroom unit and I usually get about $3800 for the week. I have also rented out one of our 2 bedroom lock off units at the Royal Sands for weeks 14 or 15. I usually get about $1600 for that one. If you have prime weeks, renting them does not seem to be a problem. I usually list them on TUG and Redweek, but the majority of my renters come from redweek.

 

[LUVourMarriotts]

I was corresponding with a owner of a 3BR Plat Plus week at Surf Club about rentals. He said he gets $6000/week every year that he rents it. I couldn't believe it.

 

[EKniager]

I keep on telling people, Aruba has high demand and is a profitable renter.

Regardless of the naysayers, there is a strong return on your investment there!

 

[ronparise]

(LOL, I'll refrain from making a sarcastic political comment so I won't get deleted again!)

Is there a forum somewhere where we can make sarcastic political comments?....allowing that would really make this place fun..

and thanks for posting...I knew I wasnt alone, thinking this economy isnt a problem for rentals

 

[chkvtzn]

Ocean pointe

I am not an owner....I just rented a spring break week in March from an Ocean pointe owner. I am paying $1600 for a 2BR...Oceanfront. The owner will get a $150 bonus if I get the 3rd floor of occupancy or higher. I thought it was a fair price. Saw it on Redweek.com. Looking forward to going!

 

[SueDonJ]

I am not an owner....I just rented a spring break week in March from an Ocean pointe owner. I am paying $1600 for a 2BR...Oceanfront. The owner will get a $150 bonus if I get the 3rd floor of occupancy or higher. I thought it was a fair price. Saw it on Redweek.com. Looking forward to going!

That's one of the more creative incentives for rentals that I've ever seen here on TUG - good thinking! Even though owners aren't guaranteed to have their "high floor" (or any other) requests met, what you're offering should at least guarantee that the owner will make the request on your behalf. Good luck!

 

[chkvtzn]

I honestly hope I have to pay the $150.

 

[SueDonJ]

I honestly hope I have to pay the $150.

I hope so, too, and completely understand that it'd be a win/win all around. View is important to us and "high floor" is the only request we make consistently for any stays. So again, good luck!

 

[urban5]

I rented my Maui Ocean Club 1 bedroom on TUG, it took 3 days, no responses from Redweek. Conversely my Custom House rented from Redweek within a week of posting and no responses from TUG.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I rented 11 timeshare weeks in the Ft Lauderdale area on Black Friday - all repeat clients. I have 3 new possible clients doing the email dance and have talked to 2 on the phone and 1 is silent. 1 is a family of 3 going on an escape the winter vacation week and the other is college boys looking for Spring Break (and 3 units).

I change my Redweek ads as the money comes in; I also am running ads on Myresortnetwork and Vacationtimesharerentals. You have to pay money to get money.

I did lose a few of my repeat renters from Canada from last and prior years; they brought 2nd homes/condos in South Florida.

I did put out my rental sheet a little late this year; but I am okay with the pace of the bookings.

PS. My Black Friday bookings had all my prior clients going onto the Redweek and Myresortrental sites and email me from there. Their emails started with, "I rented from you ....".
My new people have comment that I know so much more about the (resort, area, location, have pictures) than the other people whom they contacted. And I get "you can use me as a reference" emails after they get home ... I rather tell too much about a TS than sugar coat something.

Like one lady asked me about the beds - are they pillowtop? She was considering a Marriott unit. I told her I had just stayed at the local Marriott TS Resort and they do have really good beds. But I sleep very well at the Wyndham resort with no problem with their bedding.

 

[NWL]

My rental season has had it's ups and downs. I normally lock off both of my Palm Desert weeks. I take 2 weeks in the larger 1 bedroom for my use in January. I reserve 2 weeks in the smaller 1 bedroom side for March to rent out. In the past, my March weeks have rented, although the timing of securing the rentals has varied. Last year was the best with a definite rental of both weeks 2 hours after I posted on Craigslist in September. This year I have rented 1 of my March weeks for full price, but am still waiting to rent the other week. I am not able to use my 2 January weeks, so I exchanged 1 week through II for a week in a 3 bedroom at Grande Vista in January. I am very happy with that trade. My concern is the other January Palm Desert week. I have it listed at a reasonable price, but since most folks who want to go to Plam Desert in January own there, it's not moving. I could deposit to II, but there's no guarantee I will be able to use the deposit. Any suggestions on how to best use that week?

Cheers!

 

[m61376]

My rental season has had it's ups and downs. I normally lock off both of my Palm Desert weeks. I take 2 weeks in the larger 1 bedroom for my use in January. I reserve 2 weeks in the smaller 1 bedroom side for March to rent out. In the past, my March weeks have rented, although the timing of securing the rentals has varied. Last year was the best with a definite rental of both weeks 2 hours after I posted on Craigslist in September. This year I have rented 1 of my March weeks for full price, but am still waiting to rent the other week. I am not able to use my 2 January weeks, so I exchanged 1 week through II for a week in a 3 bedroom at Grande Vista in January. I am very happy with that trade. My concern is the other January Palm Desert week. I have it listed at a reasonable price, but since most folks who want to go to Plam Desert in January own there, it's not moving. I could deposit to II, but there's no guarantee I will be able to use the deposit. Any suggestions on how to best use that week?

Cheers!

At this point it would only be a last minute deposit since it is less than 60 days, and would be only good for Flexchange trades. Of course, you can get some great trades that way, if you have the job flexibility, and it would be good for 2 years (and could even be extended for a fee if you wanted). At this point you might as well try to rent it until 15 days out and then deposit it. You can try a distressed listing here on Tug (max. of $700) or perhaps see if any friends/family want to use the week, depending on how magnanimous you feel.

 

[NJMOM2]

At this point it would only be a last minute deposit since it is less than 60 days, and would be only good for Flexchange trades. Of course, you can get some great trades that way, if you have the job flexibility, and it would be good for 2 years (and could even be extended for a fee if you wanted). At this point you might as well try to rent it until 15 days out and then deposit it. You can try a distressed listing here on Tug (max. of $700) or perhaps see if any friends/family want to use the week, depending on how magnanimous you feel.

Let me start by saying that I don't know the calendar for Palm Desert. To avoid the Flexchange trade restrictions can you change the reservation for later in the year and then deposit it in II?

 

[suzannesimon]

I rented my Holiday Plat Plus 3 BR at Frenchman's Cove for $4300-about the same price as what the 2 BR's were advertised but mine rented (on Redweek). It almost covered the maintenance fees for all 3 of my units so I'm happy. The unit I bought in April is still listed on Redweek. It was listed by a broker and I think she keeps it on there to get inquiries.

 

[m61376]

Let me start by saying that I don't know the calendar for Palm Desert. To avoid the Flexchange trade restrictions can you change the reservation for later in the year and then deposit it in II?

Isn't it too late to change the reservation for a January week? I thought it had to be done >60 days (although on occasion a nice rep. may make an exception).

 

[chalucky]

Very disapponted in RedWeek and my resort network ads....trying to rent a Presidents week at MKO and nada and I am the lowest priced...we are probably going to go ourselves and use it. I thought it would be a slam dunk !!!!

 

[griffinhouse]

Interesting thread. I rented our July 4th Grand Ocean 2012 week using Redweek.com within 7 days of posting. Got 2x MF's so was happy. Almost enough to pay MFs on all 3 of our weeks.

 

[camachinist]

Rental responses have been good. NCV Plat rented at 2x and Gold is getting strong interest at 1.6x, though no signed contract yet. Most of the bottom feeders have been for the sale ads. Everyone knows someone who got an interval for next to nothing. I'm referring them to each other now