Trying to rent a confirmed booking through RedWeek that's not "RedWeek Verified" - what can I do to protect myself?

[CaptNeeda]

So I have never rented a timeshare before. And I actually just purchased my first timeshare ever with DVC so I am still new to timesharing!

I'm looking for an available rental in Hawaii for a trip in a couple weeks. I already have a hotel but I would like a bigger spot so am looking at some last minute options.

I found an offer that perfectly fits my stay; however, it is not "RedWeek Verified."

Any tips on how I can protect myself if the timeshare owner accepts the booking request (I requested a discounted rate since the booking is so close and I figured it doesn't hurt to ask---not sure if this is considered bad etiquette though.)

Any advice would be great! Thank you.

 

[CPNY]

So I have never rented a timeshare before. And I actually just purchased my first timeshare ever with DVC so I am still new to timesharing!

I'm looking for an available rental in Hawaii for a trip in a couple weeks. I already have a hotel but I would like a bigger spot so am looking at some last minute options.

I found an offer that perfectly fits my stay; however, it is not "RedWeek Verified."

Any tips on how I can protect myself if the timeshare owner accepts the booking request (I requested a discounted rate since the booking is so close and I figured it doesn't hurt to ask---not sure if this is considered bad etiquette though.)

Any advice would be great! Thank you.

Before redweek had verified services, we all took chances. You could sign a rental contract but if you’re being scammed I just don’t know what that would do other than give you peace of mind? You could always ask for the reservation to be placed in your name and ask for a screen shot of the reservation then send the money.

 

[carmena79]

Is the ad thru tug? How long have they been a member? I was looking at one for a friend and the owner has been a member for 9 years so I'm feeling more comfortable about them renting it. I really don't know how to figure out scams maybe we shouldn't be feeling comfortable

 

[CPNY]

Is the ad thru tug? How long have they been a member? I was looking at one for a friend and the owner has been a member for 9 years so I'm feeling more comfortable about them renting it. I really don't know how to figure out scams maybe we shouldn't be feeling comfortable

The OP said the listing is through redweek. But the redweek member should have their member since year listed On the listing. That is a clear indicator.

 

[bnoble]

Any tips on how I can protect myself if the timeshare owner accepts the booking request

There are some steps you can take:

How to verify a Timeshare rental is Legit (when you are the renter)

How to confirm that a rental is legit: First step - ALWAYS ask if they are renting an exchange. RCI* and II do not allow exchanges to be rented, and if you get caught, you can lose the rental and your $$$. You can tell if it is an exchange, when they send you a copy of their confirmation...

tugbbs.com

But ultimately this is a transaction that requires trust. Most timeshare rentals go off without a hitch just fine, so the odds are in your favor. I also think one can learn a lot by talking with the owner on the phone, and I suspect most owners would take that call as long as you were serious.

 

[CaptNeeda]

ok thank you all for your advice! The owner has been a member with Redweek since 2016. Too bad the site doesn't have user reviews or even user profiles, unless I am missing something.

I did sent a message, hopefully I'll get a reply soon so I can make some inquiries about the rental.

 

[VacationForever]

I would suggest to also talk to the owner on the phone and you should get a better sense as to whether the person is an owner or a scammer.

 

[tschwa2]

ok thank you all for your advice! The owner has been a member with Redweek since 2016. Too bad the site doesn't have user reviews or even user profiles, unless I am missing something.

I did sent a message, hopefully I'll get a reply soon so I can make some inquiries about the rental.

Redweek will ban members if they scam others in rentals. It is always possible that a long term member can decide to scam for the first time with you. They don't allow ratings because they want members to pay for the verification service, imo.

 

[Tank]

Redweek is all 100% paid memberships
Giving personal information per membership
Scammers avoid giving information
Redweek is one of the safest platforms I have used.

trust goes both ways
You just want a safe vacation that you paid for, we just want to rent our extra weeks

Dave

 

[rickandcindy23]

I would ask if they would be willing to have Redweek verify the week and offer contract and payment through Redweek. You would want to offer to pay those expenses.

 

[DeniseM]

I would ask if they would be willing to have Redweek verify the week and offer contract and payment through Redweek. You would want to offer to pay those expenses.

I completely disagree - when people ask me to use Redweek's services I say no thank you and move on - this service does nothing for the owner renting their timeshare, and it delays their payment until after the rental. Honestly, if someone is that nervous, I'd prefer not to rent to them. YMMV

 

[theo]

They don't allow ratings because they want members to pay for the verification service, imo.

Maybe, but I am frankly more inclined to believe that RedWeek simply does not want to take on all of the required computer and web site work and headache to develop, implement (and then have to maintain) a new "owner ratings" feature of questionable accuracy and dubious value --- with little or no potential "return on investment".

Redweek may also be taking into account that many RW rental advertisers are only occasional “landlords” and that many others are only occasional “tenants”. A very small number of (highly subjective) “ratings” would just create "skewed" statistics in a great many instances.

Is it fair or accurate to have “landlords” be able to post glowing (but bogus) ratings of themselves? Is it fair or accurate for a “tenant” to be able to disparage an owner because a tenant happened to have experienced travel problems, sick kids, or a week of bad weather (all such matters being completely beyond the control of any owner), then seek to blame someone for their flawed vacation? In both (fabricated) examples, I personally think not. I believe that “owner ratings” would frequently just be completely unreliable and inaccurate and, in such instances, essentially useless and counter productive. Just my personal opinion.

That being said, getting "RedWeek Verified" costs all of $14.99 per listing, so it baffles me why any advertiser would not just pony up the $15 and do it, helping themselves to address and alleviate in advance any nervous renter concerns, anxieties or hesitancy. Without acquiring that "RedWeek Verified" status, an owner reduces his / her prospective tenant pool to folks with a level of comfort from having prior rental experience and those with a higher level of trust and / or risk tolerance.

Edited to add: I agree wholeheartedly with a portion of Denise's post #11 above. While I always get "RedWeek Verified" for my (infrequent) rental ads posted there, I do not want RedWeek involved in any way with any other detail or aspect of those infrequent rentals.

 

[simon63]

I usually ask to the owner if can I deposit $100 and after to confirm with the resort the change of reservation name, I will deposit the balance

 

[AJCts411]

""That being said, getting "RedWeek Verified" costs all of $14.99 per listing,"". I had look at RW verified, in the FAQ's RW wanted 79.99 up front and 99.99 when rented. When I rent, I take a non-refundable deposit first to cover my expenses, make sure they are serious, send the guest certificate in the occupants name, then get the balance in 3 days or I cancel the guest certificate. Like others, don't want RW dictating how I get paid, or the terms and conditions of by rental. I'm not walmart...and the price is well below the rack price which offers the last minute cancellation, etc.

 

[CPNY]

Not everyone uses redweek verified. I’d rather not deal with redweek since their services are lacking IMO. I have listings that aren’t redweek verified, not everything is a scam out there.

 

[tschwa2]

There is a difference between full service, verified, and verified and protected.

 

[theo]

""That being said, getting "RedWeek Verified" costs all of $14.99 per listing,"". I had look at RW verified, in the FAQ's RW wanted 79.99 up front and 99.99 when rented. When I rent, I take a non-refundable deposit first to cover my expenses, make sure they are serious, send the guest certificate in the occupants name, then get the balance in 3 days or I cancel the guest certificate. Like others, don't want RW dictating how I get paid, or the terms and conditions of by rental. I'm not walmart...and the price is well below the rack price which offers the last minute cancellation, etc.

You may not fully understand the various RedWeek rental listing options. As indirectly referenced in post #16 above, you can place a RedWeek ad and (for an additional $14.99) get your ownership "RedWeek Verified" --- without having RW involved in your rental in any other way. You pay $30 for your rental listing and the (optional) additional $15 to get "RedWeek Verified". That's $45 in collective total cost and you control every aspect of the contract and cancellation / refund terms and all the payment details and options. That is precisely what I do for our (infrequent) rentals.

Those other RedWeek costs that you cite involve other, different RW "services" that you need not even consider or utilize. I certainly don't --- and wouldn't). YMMV.

TUG ads are of course free to post, but I've frankly never had much success there, despite my rental pricing and listing content being identical on TUG and RedWeek.

 

[chapjim]

I have never used RedWeek.com's verification services for rentals. I have no problem providing evidence of good faith (bona fides) if someone asks.

I have used RW's verification for sales. Problem was I had the contracts sold before RW completed the verification.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I usually do not add the verified to my listings. I tell the renter that I am a member of TUG and have thousands of posts. But I did try it for one rental and rented it pretty quickly. This was just a few weeks ago.

 

[theo]

I usually do not add the verified to my listings. I tell the renter that I am a member of TUG and have thousands of posts. <snip>

To each their own. I look at it this way --- I do not want to spend waste any of my time "proving" the legitimacy of my ownership to skittish prospective renters.
If fifteen dollars can eliminate that annoyance in advance from the whole RW rental process (and yes, it does that), I will (and I do) always choose to pay it. YMMV.

 

[carmena79]

On the other hand since I rent my weeks for well below retail I can afford to use full service and just charge an extra $100. Redweek takes credit cards and handles all the details. I've always have quick and satisfactory results doing it that way. What I didn't like this year about going the redweek route was having to give them my tax information. Tug on the other hand usually takes a while to rent out and I have only been successful about half the time. But that might be because one of my timeshares has a 60 day cancellation policy and 1 has a 30 day policy so I pull the ad 30-60 days out