Timeshare ownership only good if you use it ? Can renting it be a profitable business?

[prajora]

I am new to TS ownership. Currently only own HGVC which I bought at retail (so not smart at all). Since that first mistake I have learnt how cheap one can buy TS on resale.

The question I have is

1. Most people advise buying TS only if you plan to use it yourself.

Is that because if you have TS points you cannot easily rent them out and make some $.

Because if ownership of TS on resale is so dirt cheap, why can't some money be made by renting the TS out.

My research so far is telling me that it is not easy to rent your TS (using your points ) .

Are there companies who for nominal fee rent out your TS?

Like to hear from expeirence TS owners about this issue.

Thank you
Pari

 

[bnoble]

Short answer: it can be done, but it takes some combination of work and specialized knowledge of a market/area/system/etc.

 

[CPNY]

I am new to TS ownership. Currently only own HGVC which I bought at retail (so not smart at all). Since that first mistake I have learnt how cheap one can buy TS on resale.

The question I have is

1. Most people advise buying TS only if you plan to use it yourself.

Is that because if you have TS points you cannot easily rent them out and make some $.

Because if ownership of TS on resale is so dirt cheap, why can't some money be made by renting the TS out.

My research so far is telling me that it is not easy to rent your TS (using your points ) .

Are there companies who for nominal fee rent out your TS?

Like to hear from expeirence TS owners about this issue.

Thank you
Pari

Most people will say buy where you want to go for many reasons. 1. If you can’t exchange for what you really want then at least you own a resort you want. Some own to exchange not just rent. If COVID taught us anything it’s rentals are more difficult and will be more difficult. More renters will want protections like cancellations and refunds. Most timeshare rentals never offer that since renters are usually offering rentals far less than actual booking rates. Not sure how that is going to go in the future. If you can’t find a renter then you’re stuck with that unit and maint fee.

 

[Eric B]

....

Are there companies who for nominal fee rent out your TS?

Like to hear from expeirence TS owners about this issue.

Thank you
Pari

You will eventually start getting cold calls from companies that claim to want to rent our buy your TS. There is a slim possibility that one of these is legitimate and isn't trying to scam more money out of you than the TS developer that sold to you originally, but you are much, much more likely to win a few hundred million dollars by purchasing a single lottery ticket in a convenience store. The bottom line is that renting out a TS and turning a profit requires a lot of work and an underlying TS that is in a desirable location for a desirable timeframe.

There are a number of places where you can advertise the availability of your TS for rent; the nominal fee for a TUG membership allows you to do so in the TUG marketplace. You can also post last minute rental availability in these forums so long as the rent you're asking doesn't exceed the limit, $800 for the week IIRC.

 

[vacationtime1]

Short answer: it can be done, but it takes some combination of work and specialized knowledge of a market/area/system/etc.

+1

But it is not without risk. There are many unrented units this year because of Covid-19 whose owners are taking a bath. This is certainly an unusual year, but rentals were also tough during The Great Recession of 2009-10.

Also, you are completely at the mercy of the developer/manager who can increase MF's (killing your profit), change reservation rules (so you cannot easily reserve the best rental weeks as you had planned), add on extra costs for renters (resort fees, parking fees, etc., making rentals less desirable at your resort), etc.

Full disclosure: I rent two Kierland plat+ units each year at a substantial profit over MF's. But I have a backup plan in place in the event the units don't rent or my renter cancels.

 

[chapjim]

I am new to TS ownership. Currently only own HGVC which I bought at retail (so not smart at all). Since that first mistake I have learnt how cheap one can buy TS on resale.

The question I have is

1. Most people advise buying TS only if you plan to use it yourself.

Is that because if you have TS points you cannot easily rent them out and make some $.

Because if ownership of TS on resale is so dirt cheap, why can't some money be made by renting the TS out.

My research so far is telling me that it is not easy to rent your TS (using your points ) .

Are there companies who for nominal fee rent out your TS?

Like to hear from expeirence TS owners about this issue.

Thank you
Pari

Dirt cheap acquisitions still have maintenance fees. That is the major expense in renting although PayPal fees, ebay final value fees, RedWeek listing costs, etc., add up.

Delete nominal fee and the answer is probably yes. I use brokers and rental agencies from time to time but only when they've contacted me because they saw a listing. I don't "outsource" my rentals.

 

[AwayWeGo]

For our 1st few years of timeshare ownership (resale all the way), we regularly rented out our own paid-for time for enough to cover maintenance fees plus enough left over to pay for our own RCI Last Call & Instant Exchange reservations -- practically like vacationing for free.

Then maintenance fees went up. It took longer to find renters. The margin shrank between rental income & maintenance fee outgo. It got so the game was no longer worth the candle.

Shrewder people than we are still might be able to make a go of it. Shux, I knew 1 guy who was the virtual King Of Williamsburg, Virginia, because of all the Williamsburg timeshares he owned that he was able to rent out profitably. Whether he's been able to keep that up in view of changed economic conditions & a general tightening of timeshare rules is anybody's guess.

Meanwhile, The Chief Of Staff & I are happy just enjoying luxury timeshare vacation accommodations at Motel 6 & Super 8 rates.

Is this a great country or what ?

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

 

[prajora]

Short answer: it can be done, but it takes some combination of work and specialized knowledge of a market/area/system/etc.

Thanks for your all the replies. It is clear that owning TS should be primarily for your own usage and making it a profitable business by renting is not that straight forward. Maybe some one could make it a full time job and do it.

To the entrepreneur minded, it looks like an opportunity waitinf - offering TS owners ability to rent their TSs. Both can benefit. We are a country of entrepreneurs, hope realized the opportunity and offers this service. Covid is making all travel related much harder so not much kn short order

 

[tschwa2]

Almost all the timeshare companies/ vacation clubs have prohibitions about using as a commercial business.
It is possible to break even or make some profit when you aren't using but scaling it up to make a profitable business can be quite risky not only in terms of the rental market but also in terms that the vacation club could cancel your reservations without any compensation if you are violating their terms.

 

[prajora]

Almost all the timeshare companies/ vacation clubs have prohibitions about using as a commercial business.
It is possible to break even or make some profit when you aren't using but scaling it up to make a profitable business can be quite risky not only in terms of the rental market but also in terms that the vacation club could cancel your reservations without any compensation if you are violating their terms.

Got it. Good point about non commercial business. Thank you

 

[jabberwocky]

Got it. Good point about non commercial business. Thank you

The other thing to keep in mind is that HGVC doesn't allow rentals of points reservations. You can only rent your home resort week.