Change to rental listings that places all non-verified and protected listings at the bottom of all verified listings. No indication that this was being done or info after it was.

Redweek was acquired by Arrivia. The changes imposed on owners' postings and how we manage our businesses now have unfavorable limitations and less flexibility than we had before Arrivia. If anyone has a more favorable, owner friendly format to list, please share your recommendations!

The way Redweek changed the listings is indeed disappointing. I found out about the new policy last fall while checking on my ad. When I couldn't find my ad I contacted Redweek and was told about the new set up. It hit pretty hard to know a company (people) I had worked with for years and trusted had betrayed that trust with the smirk towards "gotcha". Having the sorting drop down menu set on a default to "Featured" is a nasty marketing trick. It doesn't give the unsuspecting customer the chance to readily see all options and choose the one they want. I searched through the "How It Works" section to see if Redweek informs customers how to use the drop down menu to sort. I couldn't find any such explanation. I considered using the "Verified" service as I could see Rented listings (the ones shaded out) that were "Verified" mixed into the "Verified and Protected" listings. This makes you think your "Verified" listing will be up top with the "Verified and Protected" but they really aren't. They are sorted out and listed below so it doesn't seem that service provides any help to the Owner, it merely gives more revenue to Redweek. Owners are at the heart of Redweek and Redweek has treated them badly. It's a nasty business.

Also unhappy about this change. I stumbled across it when I posted my rental .. where did it go? Then noticed the sort by "featured" and not "date" is the default. Tricky. I used to get many inquiries, but not this time. NONE. Therefore no value to list and pay the fee. Very unfortunate development. It is a subtle change put impactful. I rented my unit using in house listing board, so not planning to use Redweek to list my units in the future.

gardens wrote:

The way Redweek changed the listings is indeed disappointing. I found out about the new policy last fall while checking on my ad. When I couldn't find my ad I contacted Redweek and was told about the new set up. It hit pretty hard to know a company (people) I had worked with for years and trusted had betrayed that trust with the smirk towards "gotcha". <snip>

Keep in mind that RedWeek was acquired on September 1, 2022 by Arrivia, Inc., a travel related company. These unwelcome changes regarding listings are not the doing of the RedWeek people that you (and many others, among whom I include myself)) have worked with in years past. These changes reflect new RedWeek ownership adopting new practices and the new RedWeek ownership may also have very different long term business goals and objectives. We will see, for example, if Arrivia will even still support / allow these discussion forums to even exist at all on the RedWeek site a year from now…

List Reputable Sources as References. ... Offer to Sign with a Guarantor or Co-Signer. ... Get a Roommate. ... Prepare an Excellent Application. ... Offer More than the Listed Rental Price or a Higher Security Deposit. ... Know What You Are Looking For. ... Search for Listings Online.

I don't see how the change in the rental listings helps us or prospective renters. Units that are Verified & Protected are for the most part listed first for the entire year. Then the Verified and non-Verified listings start over again for the entire year. Most people looking to rent a villa this summer will not bother scrolling past December 2023 to find the additional listings.

If you filter the listings for a specific month/year, you get a list that has some non-Verified listings mixed in with the Verified & Protected listings. This is not a professional way to do business.

pinkm2 wrote:

List Reputable Sources as References. ... Offer to Sign with a Guarantor or Co-Signer. ... Get a Roommate. ... Prepare an Excellent Application. ... Offer More than the Listed Rental Price or a Higher Security Deposit. ... Know What You Are Looking For. ... Search for Listings Online.

Maybe helpful for apartment hunting but, with all due respect, not really applicable (or relevant) for weekly timeshare rentals.

I reached out to Redweek directly about my feelings about this. I suggest everyone does the same. Maybe if enough squeaky wheels reach out they will reevaluate the change.