SueDonJ
Moderator
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2006
- Messages
- 16,612
- Reaction score
- 5,778
- Points
- 1,249
- Location
- Massachusetts and Hilton Head Island
- Resorts Owned
- Marriott Barony Beach and SurfWatch
Years ago, long before TUG, my sister and I rented a Disney Old Key West reservation from a DVC owner through the disboards. That and reading TUG religiously are the sum total of my experience with timeshare rentals and I've been quite vocal about not wanting to use my timeshares to generate income.
Well, about a month ago I read a Last Minute Rental ad here and for reasons that I still can't explain, I checked to see if there was availability using Marriott Points I had which were scheduled to expire 12/31. There was. On top of that it was eligible for a last minute Points discount in Marriott's system that resulted in a small profit for me based on the TUG Last Minute Rentals board fee, and it didn't undercut the going rates on the established rental sites for Marriott Points.
After that all I could think about was the time we spent waiting and hoping for a DVC owner to respond to our ad all those years ago, and I kept going back to the TUG ad to see if it had any responses. My thinking process was, "someone helped us out, why shouldn't I do the same thing?" So the first thing I did after days of watching the ad was ask a well-respected renter on TUG to take a look and tell me if anything looked obviously wrong with the ad. No, so the next step was an email to the renter and from there we spoke to each other on the phone. It seemed a comfortable fit and we continued. I'll admit we didn't use a formal written agreement but we did agree to terms in email - I asked for a Money Order rather than Paypal or a personal check, and payment in full before putting the reservation in my renter's name. We were both a bit nervous but she agreed and I did my best to answer all her questions and get her the rental confirmation as soon as her payment cleared.
My renter and her family checked in a few days ago and are hopefully enjoying their stay. I haven't heard anything so I'm guessing things are going along as expected.
Anyway, that's my story about never saying never. I still have no plans to get into the timeshare rental business but I'm happy to have been able to do it and will consider it again when/if the universe aligns again to make it a mutually-advantageous deal. Thanks to TUG for the continuing education I'm getting and to the Marriott TUGgers who have been telling me for years how easy Marriott makes rentals. Special thanks to the TUGger who helped me out with this specific ad, and to my renter.
Well, about a month ago I read a Last Minute Rental ad here and for reasons that I still can't explain, I checked to see if there was availability using Marriott Points I had which were scheduled to expire 12/31. There was. On top of that it was eligible for a last minute Points discount in Marriott's system that resulted in a small profit for me based on the TUG Last Minute Rentals board fee, and it didn't undercut the going rates on the established rental sites for Marriott Points.
After that all I could think about was the time we spent waiting and hoping for a DVC owner to respond to our ad all those years ago, and I kept going back to the TUG ad to see if it had any responses. My thinking process was, "someone helped us out, why shouldn't I do the same thing?" So the first thing I did after days of watching the ad was ask a well-respected renter on TUG to take a look and tell me if anything looked obviously wrong with the ad. No, so the next step was an email to the renter and from there we spoke to each other on the phone. It seemed a comfortable fit and we continued. I'll admit we didn't use a formal written agreement but we did agree to terms in email - I asked for a Money Order rather than Paypal or a personal check, and payment in full before putting the reservation in my renter's name. We were both a bit nervous but she agreed and I did my best to answer all her questions and get her the rental confirmation as soon as her payment cleared.
My renter and her family checked in a few days ago and are hopefully enjoying their stay. I haven't heard anything so I'm guessing things are going along as expected.
Anyway, that's my story about never saying never. I still have no plans to get into the timeshare rental business but I'm happy to have been able to do it and will consider it again when/if the universe aligns again to make it a mutually-advantageous deal. Thanks to TUG for the continuing education I'm getting and to the Marriott TUGgers who have been telling me for years how easy Marriott makes rentals. Special thanks to the TUGger who helped me out with this specific ad, and to my renter.
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