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Re: Placing reservation in a renter's name (by Dayna L.):

tracey75 wrote:

It's true that the owner won't/can't remove his name from the reservation. That is the way Marriott and most TS work. You are considered the guest of the owner and the person who has authorization to check in for the week. When renting from a third party there has to be trust going both ways. The person renting could pay by CC and then the day before check in dispute the charge with their credit card. The person renting could absolutely trash the place and have used a prepaid type CC down when checking in that only had a minimal amount on it and then the TS would go after the owner for the un recovered damages. A real owner would have no reason to collect a fee from you and then cancel the reservation. They might get away with it once or even twice but then they would be called out on it on public forums and such. A legitimate owner who rents relies on having a good reputation or at minimum no bad reputation when first starting out. So yes an owner can cancel the reservation at any time but would have no reason to do so.

If you don't feel comfortable with your interaction and contract/agreement with the owner or feel like things are "off" you should move on. I am not saying he isn't trying to scam you but the fact that the owners name will still remain part of the reservation is no indication that anything is wrong.

I own a TS and have rented out successfully on Ebay many times . I have also rented from other owners at different properties over the years.It does take trust on both parts especially when you first do it. There are precautions and things you can do to help prevent scams and make for a safer transaction on both sides. Thankfully I have had great experiences. But as as far as a how an owner might scam a renter, I always wondered if an unscrupulous owner can rent to multiple renters on different online platforms but only put it one persons name, (perhaps, the highest buyer) but collect and ghost the others. Or like someone else said, the owners name and address is different than that on the reservation they are listing, hoping that an unsuspecting buyer doesn't catch it or buys their story of why. Then doesn't actually have the accessibility to add a name. Maybe it isn't theirs to rent? idk. it's probably unlikely but perhaps. Majority of owners are legit and relaible .

However, I would never rent from an owner who asks for unreasonable things, has excuses or a story as to any discrepancies in transaction or only wants payment through a cash app. I would want to see that the addresses and names are verifiable with the resort. That is just a phone call. They will tell you if there is indeed a reservation in that name and only that name. I have done this.I once rented from an owner on either tug or redweek, cant remember. It made me nervous as she was in tahiti. but I called the resort and they said the reservation was legit. I would as a buyer use a good reliable credit card that will advocate on your side for any issues.