Where is best place to offer rental

[DazedandConfused]

Where are some of the better places to offer a desirable ski week timeshare rental if I already have a prime week reserved and can't make it this year.

Redweek
VRBO
Homeaway
eBay
TUG

Any feedback of advice on the above or others would be appreciated.

 

[TUGBrian]

sticky at the top of this forum lists many places

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17673

 

[WinniWoman]

I personally have rented from ads on Redweek, TUG and HomeAway

 

[theo]

MyResortNetwork.com is another option. I'm certainly not waving their flag or endorsing them, but merely adding the name to those already mentioned above.
I seldom rent out weeks, but in my limited experience MRN does not hold a candle to RedWeek for either sincere inquiries or successful results. YMMV.

There is always "free" Craigslist of course, but time is money too. I personally will not waste my time wading through contacts from the tire kickers, bargain hunters, scammers and illiterates that seem to be so very well represented there.

 

[ronparise]

Don't forget Craigslist

The best place you can advertise your rentals is where your target market is likely to see it. And if you don't know where that is, (none of us do) spread a wide net

I've tried most of the places you suggest and have settled in on Craig's list. A well written ad there makes my phone ring

 

[MuranoJo]

Myresortnetwork has come through for me a couple of times in 12 years of renting, so I'd include it. And I haven't gotten any scammers from that site yet, even though they don't require upfront membership fees to review the ads as Redweek does.

However, Redweek is still my favorite for most inquiries and best closing results.

I don't bother with CL--not worth it to me.

 

[JudyS]

I personally have rented from ads on Redweek, TUG and HomeAway

Thanks, from a former resident of your hometown, tiny Pine Bush, NY!

I haven't tried Homeaway. Anyone else have an opinion on them?

Where are some of the better places to offer a desirable ski week timeshare rental if I already have a prime week reserved and can't make it this year.

Redweek
VRBO
Homeaway
eBay
TUG

I have had good results with Redweek, and have also rented some weeks through the TUG marketplace. The TUG last-minute rental board is very good if you are willing to accept $100 a night or less.

I use eBay only for last-minute weeks that will sit empty, because prices are very low there. Also, listing on eBay can be a huge hassle. One needs to be "travel verified" and eBay has serious bugs in their travel verification system. You might be verified in an hour, or it might take a month. I had a last-minute week that I wanted to list there. My travel verification had expired, and eBay never notified me of that. I didn't find out until I tried to list my rental there and was denied. Despite repeated phone calls, emails, and a fax, it took eBay about three weeks to give me travel verification, and in that time, the check-in date had passed.

One thing that is nice about eBay -- they have a program, called "Giving Works," where sellers can list an item with some or all of the proceeds going to a charity of the seller's choice. (eBay actually bills the seller's PayPal account for the charity contribution, so it's not like a seller can say they're going to give the money to charity, and then just weasel out of it.) A couple of times when I've had exchanges I couldn't use, I have listed them on eBay with all proceeds going to charity. There are many charities the seller can choose. I like Doctors Without Borders, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for saving refugees and other victims of wars.

Craigslist is good for many areas of the country, but they used to (and maybe still do) have a terrible problem with their Orlando listings. If a timeshare owner listed their timeshare there, landlords at competing full-ownership condos would report the listing as violating Craigslist rules, and then Craigslist software would automatically remove the listing. I had listings that got flagged and removed in minutes. When I asked for help on Craigslist's forums, I was called obscene names. Several other TUG members had the exact same experience, obscene names and all.

I'd like to use Craigslist for my Orlando timeshare, but I don't want to be (falsely) flagged for rule violations. I want to keep my Craigslist in good standing. Anyone have recent experience using Craigslist for Orlando?

 

[Bigrob]

Thanks, from a former resident of your hometown, tiny Pine Bush, NY!

I haven't tried Homeaway. Anyone else have an opinion on them?



I have had good results with Redweek, and have also rented some weeks through the TUG marketplace. The TUG last-minute rental board is very good if you are willing to accept $100 a night or less.

I use eBay only for last-minute weeks that will sit empty, because prices are very low there. Also, listing on eBay can be a huge hassle. One needs to be "travel verified" and eBay has serious bugs in their travel verification system. You might be verified in an hour, or it might take a month. I had a last-minute week that I wanted to list there. My travel verification had expired, and eBay never notified me of that. I didn't find out until I tried to list my rental there and was denied. Despite repeated phone calls, emails, and a fax, it took eBay about three weeks to give me travel verification, and in that time, the check-in date had passed.

One thing that is nice about eBay -- they have a program, called "Giving Works," where sellers can list an item with some or all of the proceeds going to a charity of the seller's choice. (eBay actually bills the seller's PayPal account for the charity contribution, so it's not like a seller can say they're going to give the money to charity, and then just weasel out of it.) A couple of times when I've had exchanges I couldn't use, I have listed them on eBay with all proceeds going to charity. There are many charities the seller can choose. I like Doctors Without Borders, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for saving refugees and other victims of wars.

Craigslist is good for many areas of the country, but they used to (and maybe still do) have a terrible problem with their Orlando listings. If a timeshare owner listed their timeshare there, landlords at competing full-ownership condos would report the listing as violating Craigslist rules, and then Craigslist software would automatically remove the listing. I had listings that got flagged and removed in minutes. When I asked for help on Craigslist's forums, I was called obscene names. Several other TUG members had the exact same experience, obscene names and all.

I'd like to use Craigslist for my Orlando timeshare, but I don't want to be (falsely) flagged for rule violations. I want to keep my Craigslist in good standing. Anyone have recent experience using Craigslist for Orlando?

I have used Craigslist for Orlando without problem. Where I seem to have problems is Vegas. Only place where my listings get flagged, and as you say, they get flagged within minutes of being posted.

Homeaway/VRBO are pretty good. If you have just one or two weeks to rent, you'll use the PPB model (pay per booking). In the PPB model, you can't converse directly with your renter until they've booked - only through the messaging system. Some find this cumbersome. And payment will be through their transaction engine, so you won't receive payment until after the guest has checked in.

The subscription model at Homeaway/VRBO is more favorable as it allows immediate interaction/exchange of contact information, immediate payment using your own payment methods if you choose, etc.

You didn't mention AirBnB. Some people here don't like it because of the cancellation policy (allows people to cancel 7 days prior to check-in and get half their money back). However; it is growing fast and gets results. There is more of a verification system in place in that you see the profile of the person you're renting to, whether they've rented from others, how other owners have rated them as renters, etc. An inquiry on AirBnB is usually a serious one and I've found the conversion rate pretty high there.

You also didn't mention Flipkey/TripAdvisor. They also have a PPB model and they get a lot of traffic. However, you may be disadvantaged there as guest reviews play a role in search placement and renter interest, and many listings there have lots of reviews due to the relationship with TripAdvisor.

If you have a highly desirable week, I'd recommend posting it up on ALL of the PPB sites - Flipkey, Homeaway, AirBnB - as well as Craigslist. And for $25, posting it on redweek makes sense too. You could list it for 5-10% less on redweek and craigslist (net) since Flipkey and Homeaway charge a booking fee of between 12-15% and AirBNB charges about 10% (7 to renter and 3 to you).

The bottom line is, despite the similarities in what these sites offer, they each reach a different demographic. So unless you know your target demographic very well, best to just cover the bases. Over time, if you need to do this again, you may be able to judge where you get the best response and just focus on that next time.