Advertising Rental on Craigslist

for the first time. Any tips? TIA, Kilhahl.

CL will only let you list your rental in one geographic location, unless you make substantial changes to the title.

Make your Ad as complete as possible. If your price is firm, say so in the Ad or expect to get low-ball offers.

Be sure you post pictures in your Ad and link it to the resort website in your Ad. (If you don't have any pictures, use google to locate some and DL them.)

Don't put your phone number or email address in the Ad - make interested parties contact you through the CL link to avoid spam and fraud.

Kildahl said:

for the first time. Any tips? TIA, Kilhahl.

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I did four rentals last year...all through craigslist. If you don't get any responses early on...don't panic and lower your price. I use craigslist exclusively to rent my units and I find that the closer it gets to the date, the more inquiries I get. I rented a unit in Atlantic City this past New Years Eve. I got a few calls in November and early December but the week before NYE I got a mess of calls and rented it out. Lots of people don't like to plan too far ahead.
I usually update the ad every week or so to keep it near the top of the list. Post it in the geographic area where your timeshare is located...that's where people are going to look.

if you were renting in Mexico what location would you post your ad in

Art4th said:

I usually update the ad every week or so to keep it near the top of the list.

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Can you please explain about updating it? Do you use the edit function, or actually post a new Ad?

Thanks!

bltfam said:

if you were renting in Mexico what location would you post your ad in

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They have a page for Mexico - http://mexicocity.en.craigslist.com.mx/

DeniseM said:

Can you please explain about updating it? Do you use the edit function, or actually post a new Ad?

Thanks!

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Denise - I did some edits the other day that did not refresh my posting dates. I wonder if you have to just repost?

Ann

What you do is to delete your post and then repost

Hi Ann - that is what I am wondering too, but I thought there was a 3-day waiting period to repost the same Ad?

I may try it this weekend and see what happens. As you have noted before, a major edit of the subject line may be enough of a change that you can do an immediate repost.

Ann

DeniseM said:

Hi Ann - that is what I am wondering too, but I thought there was a 3-day waiting period to repost the same Ad?

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No, it reposts right away, whatever it normally takes to appear on the website.

Thank you, Lisa!

DeniseM said:

Can you please explain about updating it? Do you use the edit function, or actually post a new Ad?

Thanks!

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You do need to post a new ad. I just cut and paste the old ad into a new one. I repost it, then delete the old one.

Art4th said:

You do need to post a new ad. I just cut and paste the old ad into a new one. I repost it, then delete the old one.

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The way I do it is to delete it first, then go back to your account and click on the deleted ad. There should be a button asking you if you'd like to repost it. Click on "repost", go through a few more clicks (housing offered, vacation rental, etc), then your original ad should appear. You still need to browse to add the pictures. Other than that, everything else is already there. No need to cut/copy and paste.

you may need to change more than the title

Just changing the title does not always work. CL filters are getting better and better at finding duplicate ads. You should come up with two or three really good ads that are different, but represent your property well. Re-order paragraphs, etc. And then add pictures and a link to the property.

Sign up for an account and use it to manage and repost your listings. It's VERY easy to do this when you have to repost every so often. And be PATIENT.

Also..... don't post on the Mexico City CL. Pick cities where you think your customers will live, pick cities where there are inexpensive direct flights to your destination, etc. For example, in PV we see a lot of people from the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland (Alaska/United Flights are easy), Phoenix (US Air flies direct), Denver (Frontier) and Dallas & Huston (American flies direct).

Be careful, the "Nigerian Scam" is very popular with Craigslist.

Never take payments with an overage that they want refunded, you will be a victim for sure.

Use great caution in general when dealing with someone overseas. Expecially one claiming to be a person of the cloth, again a warning sign.

The best protection in ANY rental is to pick up the phone and talk with the prospective renter. A few bucks spent on long distance is very cheap insurance. I find that I learn more about someone in a 10 minute phone call than 50 emails could ever teach me.

I sold a timeshare to a wonderful lady in England last Spring. The few dollars spent talking directly with her gave both of us a high comfort level. And we agreed on all details up front so miscommunication that leads to conflicts and disappointments was eliminated up front.