how often do people leave their posting up after they rent?

It seems to me a lot of folks must not find buyers. Is there a way for you to determine if owners delist in a timely fashion?

Kathleen -

Owners are responsible for removing their do-it-yourself posting when it is rented or sold. Since all transactions are between the owner and renter/buyer, we do not have any way of knowing if these postings are no longer available or if the owner removes the posting in a timely fashion.

If you inquire about a posting that is no longer available but is still active, we encourage you to Contact Us so we can follow up with the owner to make sure it is removed.

Phyllis

Can someone get a full refund if YOU (redweek) NEVER put their ad up?

Tim,

I see that your rental posting was activated today. It typically takes at least 7-10 business days to confirm all your reservation details with the resort and then create your posting.

If you need any further assistance, please Contact Us.

Phyllis

Back to the actual question originally asked, some advertisers will leave an ad in place until not long before the occupancy date, even if they have a tenant "lined up" already. Why?

It makes good sense IMO, since a last minute cancellation can occur and an owner might want to have a "backup" tenant to be able to contact quickly. That "backup" can always just say "no thanks, too late now". Then again, many owners have a "no cancellation, no refunds" policy clearly written right into the rental contract, particularly once the rental date is only 60 days or less away. By then there is much less chance and much less time to successfully find another tenant and complete a new signed rental contract. it After all, NO timeshare owner ever wants to (or should ever have to) just "eat" their annual maintenance fee costs on their timeshare unit because it ended up sitting empty due to a late cancellation. Hence, leaving ads in place to seek a "backup"tenant, even after accepting a deposit. I very seldom rent out any of the few weeks we own, but that's exactly what I would do.

I'd also point out that an owner must pay for a full six months for any RedWeek rental ad and, unless I'm mistaken, once "deactivated" an ad cannot be "reactivated" later. Personally, I don't believe that any advertising owner should have to "deactivate" a (pre-paid) ad as soon as a single (potential) renter has stepped up. That advertising owner should have the right to leave the (pre-paid) ad in place and just honestly tell subsequent inquirers that it's PROBABLY already rented, but that the owner can contact them if that rental falls through for reasons unforeseen and unpredictable. Just my own viewpoint and personal opinion.

We generally recommend that once an owner has received a signed rental agreement and a deposit, the posting be deactivated. The reason is to prevent the frustration of a person purchasing a RedWeek membership because they want to rent that particular week, only to be told the week is no longer available. We also often hear from RedWeek members who become upset because they are spending their time contacting owners who have already rented their week.

If an owner chooses to leave up a posting until the full rental amount is received, then we request a note be added to the Details section of the posting stating that the week is under contract, but back-up offers are being accepted. This also helps ease the mind of the renter, who wants to know why the posting is still active when they have signed a contract to rent that week.

Once an owner has received the deposit and signed rental agreement (or full payment), they can change the dates on their posting and advertise another week at the same resort (i.e. their week for next year) until the posting expires. The only thing that cannot be changed is the resort location.

Phyllis

If I am listing an annual fixed week and I rent out my week early, then I like to immediately switch the listing to the following year. It isn't likely that you will have someone looking that far in advance but you never know and since the ad is paid for I might as well use it.

I noticed several rental listings for the same two weeks I was selling at the Marriott Mountainside. Units at the Marriott Mountainside are not assigned so everyone who is selling the same dates is selling the exact same product. (Some people are selling lockouts but this inquiry addresses only full, two bedroom units.)

The units were being offered in the $4000-$4500 range. I listed one of my units at $4250. Meanwhile, it appeared the other owners of the same week were selling their weeks in this price range since those listings were disappearing and new listings at about the same price were appearing. After a few weeks, my first week sold for my asking price.

I kept my same listing and raised my asking price to $4500 for my second week. Again, during the three or four days of this listing, owners of the same week at the same resort appeared to be selling their weeks. Their asking prices suggested they were selling them in the $3500-$4500 range. I then sold my second week for $4500 and notified redweek of this sale.

However, the only past sales (including my second sale) ever visible on redweek were three sales for that same week showing sale prices of approximately $3000 per week. These past sales appeared the entire time and never changed.

It is highly improbable that there were not many other sales in this timeframe. The Marriott Mountainside is one of the highest volume rental resale resorts on all of redweek. Additionally, as mentioned, there appeared to be numerous transactions taking place in addition to my own reported transaction at prices greatly exceeding $3000 per week.

Why did redweek never make visible any recent sales - sales which appeared to be in the $4000 to $4500 price range just as my two sales were? Thank you for your kind assistance.