Renting on Koala

[Carlsbadguy]

Is there a way to list a week for rent on Koala without reserving a week first? I thought i would give the renter the option of picking a week or should I just reserve a high demand week and in the description say the week can be changed depending upon avaialability. RIght now the resort has most weeks in my unit type open from mid march thru the end of the year.

 

[dioxide45]

Renting a reserved week is far easier and less painful. As soon as you put in that you can change it, it becomes a real PITA. So many tire kickers will ask if this or that is available, you will search and perhaps book something and they won't follow through. You will be doing so much more work for the same amount of money. Book something that is desirable and list that for rent.

 

[chapjim]

Is there a way to list a week for rent on Koala without reserving a week first? I thought i would give the renter the option of picking a week or should I just reserve a high demand week and in the description say the week can be changed depending upon avaialability. RIght now the resort has most weeks in my unit type open from mid march thru the end of the year.

Try to find a "special" week in that 9+ month period. Memorial Day Week, 4th of July Week, Labor Day, etc. Book the earliest one and if it doesn't rent before the date you can cancel without penalty, change the dates if you can.

I agree with @dioxide45 that listing a date range likely means a lot of work and uncertainty.

 

[Carlsbadguy]

It is a Hawaii week do you think July 4, Thanksgiving, or Christmas is more desirable?

 

[dioxide45]

It is a Hawaii week do you think July 4, Thanksgiving, or Christmas is more desirable?

July 4th and Christmas will be better. I don't know which one is best, but Christmas gives you more time to rent.

 

[Carlsbadguy]

Looks like I have a choice of start dates Friday July 4 or the Fri/Sat/Sunday of Christmas and New Years weeks.

 

[andre10056]

I am now attempting to make use of Koala for the first time so by no means am I an expert on their rules and regulations. But, as far as I know, they won't accept any listing unless you already have a week locked in, and have written documentation of the specifics: resort, dates, unit size.

I own a floating week and used that floating week to lock in a 2025 Christmas week. I later scanned and emailed them a reservation confirmation. Koala initially rejected my listing as my owner services confirmation failed to indicate that the reservation was for a 2 BR as I had claimed in answering their online questions. So I had to then scan and email them my annual bill that DID specify that I was being billed for and owned a "2BRSAT" (2 BR Saturday to Saturday) floating week, they saw that my bill's owner ID was also on my reservation confirmation, so at that point they felt confident enough that I was indeed renting out a 2 bedroom. Only then did they accept my listing.

So I very much doubt that you can casually say, "I have a long list of potential dates that I can lock in so make them all available to prospective renters".

 

[HudsHut]

Book the 4th of July. Put it on Koala. Send the confirmation to koala at the email they specify. They will verify that the reservation exists and then your listing is live. Many people don't really start looking til 2-3 months ahead of time. Watch your cancel by date.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I am now attempting to make use of Koala for the first time so by no means am I an expert on their rules and regulations. But, as far as I know, they won't accept any listing unless you already have a week locked in, and have written documentation of the specifics: resort, dates, unit size.

I own a floating week and used that floating week to lock in a 2025 Christmas week. I later scanned and emailed them a reservation confirmation. Koala initially rejected my listing as my owner services confirmation failed to indicate that the reservation was for a 2 BR as I had claimed in answering their online questions. So I had to then scan and email them my annual bill that DID specify that I was being billed for and owned a "2BRSAT" (2 BR Saturday to Saturday) floating week, they saw that my bill's owner ID was also on my reservation confirmation, so at that point they felt confident enough that I was indeed renting out a 2 bedroom. Only then did they accept my listing.

So I very much doubt that you can casually say, "I have a long list of potential dates that I can lock in so make them all available to prospective renters".

Very true. Koala will want a specific date and a copy of the reservation.

 

[Bwolf]

I am trying to list a fixed week, fixed unit timeshare with Koala. Koala told me "we require the booking confirmation email stating unit type, resort, booking confirmation number and other details in order to verify the listing."

I told them I own the unit. I don't get booking confirmation emails. I did send them my reservation number and check-in and check-out dates. They are now "ghosting" me. It looks like we've reached an impasse where they don't know how to deal with legacy resorts so they simply stopped communicating with me.

 

[andre10056]

As with so many other companies in the age of the Internet, Koala is merely a software platform allowing people who are "selling" to link up with those who are "buying".

Uber, lyft, redweek, airbnb, ebay, craigslist, etc., etc., etc, etc..

Just a computer software program that some coder coded in any one or more of multiple programming languages like Python, Java, etc.

Some companies do zero checking to confirm you have what you say you have. Don't be surprised if that timeshare rental advertised on craigslist turns out to be fraudulent as you stand there in the resort lobby with your husband or wife and three kids after arriving from the UK.

Uber and lyft want to see the driver and his/her car and make sure that the driver is validly licensed, that he/she passes a background check, and that the car is validly registered (and is a relatively late model vehicle). After that, they would prefer to never again be involved in any driving transaction aside from collecting its cut.

So Koala at least does some minimal checking that you have what you say you have. So I don't fault them there.

So all you have to do is provide them some written confirmation of what you have and I think you'll be fine. You own the timeshare. Do you have the deed to be able to scan and email them? Do you have your annual bill that sets out precisely what you own? If you didn't keep a copy of the foregoing, your ownership is a piece of real estate registered in the city or county in which your resort is located. Might you be able to access that real estate or tax assessors site and print out applicable page(s), including perhaps the municipality-stamped deed?

Their data entry clerk needs a reservation number to enter into his new listing page. They used my timeshare resort's reservation number as their "Ref". Apparently, you already have that. But, if not, I don't see why they couldn't use your annual bill's Bill No. or some other unique number.

 

[dioxide45]

I am trying to list a fixed week, fixed unit timeshare with Koala. Koala told me "we require the booking confirmation email stating unit type, resort, booking confirmation number and other details in order to verify the listing."

I told them I own the unit. I don't get booking confirmation emails. I did send them my reservation number and check-in and check-out dates. They are now "ghosting" me. It looks like we've reached an impasse where they don't know how to deal with legacy resorts so they simply stopped communicating with me.

You could try contacting @MikeKennedy

 

[rickandcindy23]

We own at legacy resorts, and if Koala called the resort, they would discover that we own. I could also ask management to send a confirmation directly to Koala. I think that would work. I know with one of my management companies, they can send full information on my ownership and my reservation for any given year. I haven't tried to do anything with the other one in CO that we own.

Management still has to help out in situations like that, where you need proof of reservation. Always ask your management company before making assumptions.

 

[HudsHut]

I am trying to list a fixed week, fixed unit timeshare with Koala. Koala told me "we require the booking confirmation email stating unit type, resort, booking confirmation number and other details in order to verify the listing."

I told them I own the unit. I don't get booking confirmation emails. I did send them my reservation number and check-in and check-out dates. They are now "ghosting" me. It looks like we've reached an impasse where they don't know how to deal with legacy resorts so they simply stopped communicating with me.

Don't assume Koala is ghosting you. Every once in awhile, it takes a long time to get a reply. I agree with contacting @MikeKennedy directly, since this is an unusual case.

 

[TUGBrian]

for what its worth, one of our verification steps is to also require a copy of the owner reservation confirmation directly from the resort to compare it to the membership details.

 

[emeryjre]

I am trying to list a fixed week, fixed unit timeshare with Koala. Koala told me "we require the booking confirmation email stating unit type, resort, booking confirmation number and other details in order to verify the listing."

I told them I own the unit. I don't get booking confirmation emails. I did send them my reservation number and check-in and check-out dates. They are now "ghosting" me. It looks like we've reached an impasse where they don't know how to deal with legacy resorts so they simply stopped communicating with me.

Based on my experience with Koala
They are working to get the information
It is Sunday and they may not get a response from your resort until Monday at the earliest
I have had it take as long as 72 hours to get a response and approval for listing from Koala
But I always receive it

 

[Carlsbadguy]

I sent them my confirmation of the week and I also sent them a copy of my deed. Will see if that is enough.

 

[Carlsbadguy]

My rental listing was accepted today. I emailed then the reservation confirmation I received fro Marriott and a copy of the first page of my deed.

 

[Bwolf]

A follow up to my post above. First, I started with Koala in November, 2024 and, not having heard back, followed up in early January. After a brief flurry of emails, that is when they appeared to be ghosting me. I tried Mike Kennedy, but got no response.

Then, they did ask for a copy of the deed, which I sent them, along with a copy of the weeks calendar the resort uses and links to the website pages describing the units and showing unit pictures.

Koala then replied "I am very sorry for the delay in responding to you.

XXX is not currently an active resort on our site. However, our team is working diligently to add it as quickly as possible.

Please note: your resort may or may not be added in time to rent this unit. If the check-in date is approaching, we recommend looking at alternatives to list your timeshare...."

So, I'm not enthusiastic, especially if "working diligently" is the same level of effort they put in from November to early January. YMMV

 

[rickandcindy23]

They do not have every resort listed on Koala. I tried to get Spinnaker in Dillon, CO, listed, and it was never listed that I know of.

 

[TheHolleys87]

I’m sorry that Koala isn’t able to add resorts more quickly. Or to modify their standard descriptions. A few years ago I tried to list our deeded Kona Coast II (Shell, not SVC) weeks there, but it seemed that they could list only converted Shell (SVC) weeks at the time. I haven’t tried since then to list with them. RedWeek accepted the listing but then canceled it because they thought the weeks were subject to Wyndham’s owner priority restrictions, which they are not.