I spoke with Mark @ II today for a while. Here's some info about our conversation.
As we all (or most of us) know, this absolutely should not have happened.
. . .
One of my big questions was, am I in any way tied to the deposit, which means I could somehow be liable for the future booking. Mark told me that I am not associated to it at all, since it is in somebody else's account.
Finding out about Mark has been the biggest piece of helpful information I have found by reading through this thread. I rarely venture out of the Marriott forum and didn't know about this fortunate feature of TUG.
I've been waiting to see how II responded to Brady and II's response is playing out much the way I hoped it would. There is the little twist of surprise that the BIL may be a naughty II member (reality show drama
) and MVC's check system failed. I'm eagerly waiting for the next episode.
This is truly a live and learn situation for us all to consider when renting.
We have more timeshare weeks than we use so I dabble in renting. Here's the first bit from the contract I use:
"TIMESHARE USE AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT dated this DATE by and between Owner and the Resort Guest
1. Owner(s)/Agent of unit ("Owner"):
2. Resort Guest(s) in unit ("Guest"):
Name:
Address:
E-mail address:
3. Unit subject to Agreement ("Unit"):
Resort Name & Address:
4. Term of use ("Term"):
Starts at: Resort checkin on
Ends at: Resort checkout on
5. Fee for term:
Paid in full at time of Agreement."
I use this directly for those who seem to think being paid for a rental then gives the renter carte blanche over the week. I want to know who's renting, how many people they plan to put in the room and if the age of the renter (and occupant's) is something I'm comfortable with. With a week deposited out of my control I could unwittingly be renting to the very type of renter I would not rent to. Not only that, but I would be renting an II exchange which is a BIG no-no with II. If this tidbit has been brought up in the thread I've missed it.
Another tidbit that I haven't seen addressed is the fact that TIME IS MONEY. When I rent I'm using my time to make reservation, run ad, answer emails, call MVC to add renter, etc. Once I've fulfilled my obligation to a contract that is the portion of my time the renter has bought. If they then need more of my time for special concessions it is only reasonable that there should be additional fees. Honestly, the thought of checking and rechecking flex change options for a renter is nauseating. Can you imagine how much time that could eat up with phone calls and emails? All for someone you don't have any real personal connection to and was a bit of a nuisance from the start.
While I can't remember having this happen yet with my rentals I have often considered what I would do. Among several options my first would be to tell the renter if they want their money back they need to find me another renter within my parameters. If I renewed my ad and found the new renter the emergency/hardship of the situation would determine whether I charged a penalty on the return of first rent.