How can I rent a timeshare?

rashedf wrote:

How can I get mony from renter

====== Are you asking a general question or did you rent to someone who has not paid? You should collect the rent before putting the week into someone else's name or at the very least have it put in escrow to be released to you. Since you control the week you own, you could probably stop them from using the week if they have not paid. If you mean "By what means should I collect the rent?" there are a variety of answers. Some take payment through PayPal. Others accept a check or postal money order. As long as you get it far enough ahead to know that it will clear, you should be OK.

MD

adahiscout wrote:

Folks looking for a place to rent contact us via Redweek. They don't have our personal e-mail unless we give it to them. This would be true, would it not, whether they contacted us with or without paying a fee. MD

No, in order to access personal info (email addresses) on ads the lookers have to be a member of Redweek. Some people don't like this policy, but, as I said above, it protects the members of Redweek who place ads here.

rashedf wrote:

How can I get mony from renter

We highly recommend that you use a Vacation Rental Escrow Service to safely secure the funds. This is to protect both you and the renter. More on one such service can be found at http://www.redweek.com/help/rental_process/escrow/.

Thanks, Marty

adahiscout wrote:

jayjay wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

I rather imagine a lot of people searching for a vacation week on Redweek are "turned off''' when they learn they must pay for the right to contact the owner who is trying to rent a unit as well as paying the rental price. Many will come to a screeching hault when asked for a credit card number. We who try to rent out weeks on the site might do well to pay a little more to advertise and have the customers contact us at no cost to them. Yes, I know that a fee discourages the less than serious lookers, but it stops some serious one too. MD

I respectfully disagree. I was reading on Tug just yesterday about a person who placed an ad on that site and then getting all kinds of spam in their email. Ad email addresses are listed on all Tug ads for anyone to phish .... you don't have to be a member of Tug to phish an ad email addresses.

Here at Redweek, I have not seen anyone who has placed an ad here that has been bombarded with spam because you have to be a member here to access personal information and email addresses. This protects the members of Redweek that place ads here.

The people that access Redweek are serious about rentals and sales, they are not merely phishing for personal information. I personally would be glad to pay the small Redweek fee to keep my personal information away from scammers and spammers.

======== Folks looking for a place to rent contact us via Redweek. They don't have our personal e-mail unless we give it to them. This would be true, would it not, whether they contacted us with or without paying a fee. MD

The email addresses can not be accessed without paying a membership fee. Owners can add their email address to the details area of their posting but only paid members can see that portion of the page.

Thanks, Marty

marty8084 wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

jayjay wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

I rather imagine a lot of people searching for a vacation week on Redweek are "turned off''' when they learn they must pay for the right to contact the owner who is trying to rent a unit as well as paying the rental price. Many will come to a screeching hault when asked for a credit card number. We who try to rent out weeks on the site might do well to pay a little more to advertise and have the customers contact us at no cost to them. Yes, I know that a fee discourages the less than serious lookers, but it stops some serious one too. MD

I respectfully disagree. I was reading on Tug just yesterday about a person who placed an ad on that site and then getting all kinds of spam in their email. Ad email addresses are listed on all Tug ads for anyone to phish .... you don't have to be a member of Tug to phish an ad email addresses.

Here at Redweek, I have not seen anyone who has placed an ad here that has been bombarded with spam because you have to be a member here to access personal information and email addresses. This protects the members of Redweek that place ads here.

The people that access Redweek are serious about rentals and sales, they are not merely phishing for personal information. I personally would be glad to pay the small Redweek fee to keep my personal information away from scammers and spammers.

======== Folks looking for a place to rent contact us via Redweek. They don't have our personal e-mail unless we give it to them. This would be true, would it not, whether they contacted us with or without paying a fee. MD

The email addresses can not be accessed without paying a membership fee. Owners can add their email address to the details area of their posting but only paid members can see that portion of the page.

Thanks, Marty

======== That was my original point. We differ on how this affects owners. MD

adahiscout wrote:

That was my original point. We differ on how this affects owners. MD

I don't think it affects owners whatsoever except that they aren't bombarded with spam/scammers as is the case when all email addresses are openly displayed on ads (re: the tug member).

jayjay notes, quite correctly, quoted in pertinent part:

>>.....they aren't bombarded with spam/scammers as is the case when all email addresses are openly displayed on ads (re: the tug member).<<

I can indeed speak from recent personal experience that this observation is absolutely true and accurate. After placing just ONE "for sale" ad on TUG recently, I was promptly just PELTED with scam emails (e.g., you have just won the UK national lottery, I'm in Nigeria and I want to send you a counterfeit check, please take me as your Ukranian bride, I need a U.S. business partner for my non-existent business, I am lonely tonight so please contact me etc., etc., etc.). I permanently yanked that TUG ad faster than one can say..... "No Mas". I too applaud the RedWeek approach which prevents this kind of crap from ever even being able to happen in the first place.

jayjay wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

That was my original point. We differ on how this affects owners. MD

I don't think it affects owners whatsoever except that they aren't bombarded with spam/scammers as is the case when all email addresses are openly displayed on ads (re: the tug member).

=================== I just went into Redweek Rentals to see if something had changed while I was not looking but, no, there is still a place where you send a message via Redweeks which comes up as such on your e-mail but without the inquirer having your e-mail address. A message saying you won the UK lottery would not be very convincing from that Redweek source, so I doubt if assorted spam would result. md

adahiscout wrote:

jayjay wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

That was my original point. We differ on how this affects owners. MD

I don't think it affects owners whatsoever except that they aren't bombarded with spam/scammers as is the case when all email addresses are openly displayed on ads (re: the tug member).

=================== I just went into Redweek Rentals to see if something had changed while I was not looking but, no, there is still a place where you send a message via Redweeks which comes up as such on your e-mail but without the inquirer having your e-mail address. A message saying you won the UK lottery would not be very convincing from that Redweek source, so I doubt if assorted spam would result. md

Hi Mary,

You are able to utilize this area of the posting page because you are a paid member of RedWeek.com. If you were not a member you would not have access to this area of the owner's posting page.

Thanks, Marty

marty8084 wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

jayjay wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

That was my original point. We differ on how this affects owners. MD

I don't think it affects owners whatsoever except that they aren't bombarded with spam/scammers as is the case when all email addresses are openly displayed on ads (re: the tug member).

=================== I just went into Redweek Rentals to see if something had changed while I was not looking but, no, there is still a place where you send a message via Redweeks which comes up as such on your e-mail but without the inquirer having your e-mail address. A message saying you won the UK lottery would not be very convincing from that Redweek source, so I doubt if assorted spam would result. md

Hi Mary,

You are able to utilize this area of the posting page because you are a paid member of RedWeek.com. If you were not a member you would not have access to this area of the owner's posting page.

Thanks, Marty

======== That is abundantly clear. The point is that even a member cannot access the seller/renter's e-mail address on RedWeek, so how can spam become a problem? Oh, well. Never mind. MD

RE: >> A message saying you won the UK lottery would not be very convincing from that Redweek source, so I doubt if assorted spam would result. md << =====================================

If this observation is in reference to my particular post, in which I cited my recent success in winning the UK national lottery (and a Ukranian bride and a new Nigerian "business partner", etc.), I very clearly and specifically stated that the spam onslaught which I experienced was the direct result of an ad placed on TUG --- NOT on RedWeek. That matter had nothing at all to do with RedWeek. I was merely expressing my support for the privacy inherent in the RedWeek ad methodology.

On TUG, all ads openly provide the members'actual email address, not just the site "user name" (as wisely practiced on RedWeek). Obviously, the TUG approach openly invites all of the world's spammers and scammers to add you to their recipient list.

If the point of your own post (entirely lost on me I'm afraid) was not in response to my own observation, then my apologies for adding further to the confusion.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and work out the details of sharing my UK lottery winnings with my new Nigerian business partner, so that I can then concentrate more on my Ukranian (or was it Uzbekistanian, or maybe Ugandan.....) bride-to-be.

adahiscout wrote:

Hi Mary,

You are able to utilize this area of the posting page because you are a paid member of RedWeek.com. If you were not a member you would not have access to this area of the owner's posting page.

Thanks, Marty

======== That is abundantly clear. The point is that even a member cannot access the seller/renter's e-mail address on RedWeek, so how can spam become a problem? Oh, well. Never mind. MD

The fact that an email address is not shown before sending a message to a member concerning a rental or sale is even BETTER protection for that ad member.

I suppose the only time a member's email address is shown is when you get a reply from that member concerning your question(s) regarding a sale or rental, therefore spam is not a problem here on Redweek due to the facts above .... which proves to be much better protection for members of Redweek.

jayjay wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

Hi Mary,

You are able to utilize this area of the posting page because you are a paid member of RedWeek.com. If you were not a member you would not have access to this area of the owner's posting page.

Thanks, Marty

======== That is abundantly clear. The point is that even a member cannot access the seller/renter's e-mail address on RedWeek, so how can spam become a problem? Oh, well. Never mind. MD

The fact that an email address is not shown before sending a message to a member concerning a rental or sale is even BETTER protection for that ad member.

I suppose the only time a member's email address is shown is when you get a reply from that member concerning your question(s) regarding a sale or rental, therefore spam is not a problem here on Redweek due to the facts above .... which proves to be much better protection for members of Redweek. ======= So we are in agreement that Spam is not a problem with the RedWeek method of contact and would still not be a problem if rental seekers could contact owners through the site without paying a fee.

RedWeek is a commercial site, not an owner-directed one. (We tend to forget this.) It can and does charge anyone it wants to for posting or viewing its content. If it allowed viewers to browse complete information on sales and rental offerings, many more viewers would certainly do so and make better informed decisions on whether or not to contact owners. This would close off a source of income to RedWeek but, in my personal opinion, would increase the value of posting to the owners enough to justify some increase in their posting fee. (I say that last without joy, but it would be fair.) MD

jayjay wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

Hi Mary,

You are able to utilize this area of the posting page because you are a paid member of RedWeek.com. If you were not a member you would not have access to this area of the owner's posting page.

Thanks, Marty

======== That is abundantly clear. The point is that even a member cannot access the seller/renter's e-mail address on RedWeek, so how can spam become a problem? Oh, well. Never mind. MD

The fact that an email address is not shown before sending a message to a member concerning a rental or sale is even BETTER protection for that ad member.

I suppose the only time a member's email address is shown is when you get a reply from that member concerning your question(s) regarding a sale or rental, therefore spam is not a problem here on Redweek due to the facts above .... which proves to be much better protection for members of Redweek.

One time I posted a rental ad on Redweek.com. About 3 weeks later I also placed the same ad on another site but forgot I did so. Soon thereafter I received one of those notorious spam/scam emails saying someone wanted to rent our week and would have a "colleague" who owed him money send us a check for a larger amount, and we should wire him the excess funds. Of course I knew this was a fraudulent offer.

Since I had totally forgotten that I had placed the second ad on a different site, I falsely assumed that the scam message had come through my Redweek ad. I sent a copy of the message to Redweek and told them that they needed to block that person's access/membership with Redweek.

I received a very quick Email response from Redweek stating that they had checked their records and they had not forwarded any such message to me. I then called them and insisted that this was the only way that a person could have known about my rental offer. The female Redweek staff member, whose name I cannot recall, was so friendly and helpful. She patiently explained all the safeguards Redweek has in place to prevent such problems. She gave me the names and Email addresses of the legitimate Redweek members who had replied to my ad. She told me that since every member is required to provide their name, address, and pay with a credit card containing the same info, and provide the security code on the card, Redweek is able to identify the sender of every Email, if necessary. During this conversation, I suddenly recalled my other ad, and apologized. She was most gracious.

Thank you, jennie, for posting your experience with RedWeek.com.

Just so everyone knows that if the owner adds their email address to their details area of their posting page and someone copies and pastes that email address into a regular email through their regular email account rather than directly through the posting page we will not have a record of that email. We won't have a copy of the email either in your Messages on our website. But only paid members will be able to view what is in the details area so the owner's email address will only be revealed to paid members. Owners can definitely add their email address or whatever contact information they would like but there are some drawbacks to adding their email address.

Thanks, Marty

Do I understand correctly that it against RCI or redweek.com rules / policy to exchange points for a week and then rent that week out to a third person? Thanks in advance for the clairification.

Cliff

cynthia281 wrote:

Make sure that your reservation is from the resort and not from RCI or Interval International. Many are renting weeks that do not belong to them, so be careful not to rent something they do not own. If it is an exchange, it is against the rules to rent it out.

cynthia281 wrote:

Make sure that your reservation is from the resort and not from RCI or Interval International. Many are renting weeks that do not belong to them, so be careful not to rent something they do not own. If it is an exchange, it is against the rules to rent it out.

This is one of the biggest problems with timeshares. Most honest owners tell everyone who ask that it is against RCI and II rules to rent a unit from these companies.

The problem with this is so many do rent and are getting away with it while the honest people sit back and can not get their units rented.

It doesn't help that people will rent a unit knowing this is the case because they save some money. Doing this many get very good resort they might not have been able to afford from the owner for higher rate.

These sites like Redweek and Tug and others understand this is going on and really don't care because they get their money for the listings.

Vacation Rental Escrow Service

Where do we find vacation rental escrow service? How much does it cost? So if we found one, the renter will deposit $ to this escrow service and the $ will stay in this account until the renter completed and satified with the renting, is this right?

On TUGs LMRs forums, no money ever goes to TUG for these rentals.

In the standard rentals section (Classifieds) the posting is free with membership if they want to post an ad ... but membership is $15.00 the first year. There is still no fee if anything is rented or sold.....

When the VP of Interval ( And I don't remember if RCIs Madge ever mentioned it) on the ask II section was asked if TUG should stop ads for rentals suspected of being against the exchange companies rules, he directly stated it was not the websites job to police the rentals..it was the exchange companies....but they would follow through with complaints.

The message on top of the Classifieds and forums continue to state this:

"... IMPORTANT: Major exchange company rules prohibit the rental of time deposited with them or of exchanged weeks, bonus weeks, etc.,obtained through them. Further, exchange companies have been known to take disciplinary action against violators of their rules when discovered via online sources such as this one. We discourage such rental offers on this board, and caution users of this practice..."

darlenep30 wrote:

cynthia281 wrote:

Make sure that your reservation is from the resort and not from RCI or Interval International. Many are renting weeks that do not belong to them, so be careful not to rent something they do not own. If it is an exchange, it is against the rules to rent it out.

This is one of the biggest problems with timeshares. Most honest owners tell everyone who ask that it is against RCI and II rules to rent a unit from these companies.

The problem with this is so many do rent and are getting away with it while the honest people sit back and can not get their units rented.

It doesn't help that people will rent a unit knowing this is the case because they save some money. Doing this many get very good resort they might not have been able to afford from the owner for higher rate.

"...These sites like Redweek and Tug and others understand this is going on and really don't care because they get their money for the listings..."

These exchange companies do not catch many of these owners until they pull it enough times to wave a red flag.

As with most of timesharing the honest people get hosed!

It's my understanding that Redweek does not condone nor deny rentals of their exchanges ... it's mainly the giants RCI and II and the independent exchange companies.

Yes, some people do rent RCI and II exchanges and get away with it, but if they're ever caught their memberships can be terminated on the spot and their renters turned away at check-in. To me, it just wouldn't be worth the risk.

I would also guess that an RCI or II account where there has been many guest certificate purchases would get flagged.