Frustrated with my ads on Redweek. I am getting grouchier about cheapskates in my old age

[CalGalTraveler]

re: AirBnB competition, top tourist spots with significant rental demand such as Waikiki, NYC, SF, South Lake Tahoe, Miami are outlawing AirBnB's or significantly hobbling with regulations and fees that will be passed along to the renter. This trend will continue and will impact supply and increase prices. In NYC timeshare owners can still rent out their unit because they are exempt from the ban.

If renters tell you that they can get an AirBnB in one of those locations, there is a a high probability that it is not legit. If the renter wants to imperil their family's vacation then that is a risk they take for paying bottom dollar.

 

[clifffaith]

Steve and JohnPaul, those are amazing coincidences. Never had that happen.

We have dinner with my cousin and his wife once a year. They travel constantly, so it always takes a bit of effort between their travel schedule and ours to find a time we are both local. Got an email saying that they were currently in Montreal, how about dinner when they get back home. We happened also to be in Montreal when the email arrived, so we did a river cruise dinner that night. LOL they were "appalled" that we were spending a whole week, followed by an entire week in Quebec. Staying so long in one place just didn't appeal to them.

 

[bizaro86]

About 11 years ago after our stay at WM West Yellowstone I found out my cousins were there at the same time. I said we were in unit XXX - don't tell me you were across the hall. He said "Not across the hall - next door!"

Do you have the same last name as your cousins?

My experience is that WM automatically puts people with the same last name in adjacent or nearby rooms even without a request, and even when booked from separate accounts.

 

[chapjim]

I can actually agree with that.

I don't know what that means!

 

[OldGuy]

Could it be that some low-ball offers are from other vacation rental businesses, trying to find something to flip for a little bit of coin?

I mention it because someone who does LMRs here under two different names tried to hit me up for something to flip. The only reason I can think they tried me is because I have posted about $300/week Last Calls, and that is a lot less than the LMR limit.

Or, maybe because people like to prey on OldGuys(Gals). I read that on AARP, at the library.

To make it clear, I would never get anything from RCI that even remotely possibly would be used that way. I would have to the unknowing final holder not be able to check-in.

 

[chapjim]

How many times has it been said that if you got into timesharing to make money (which 30 years ago I might understand), you made a mistake?

I didn't get into timesharing to make money but here I am!

 

[OldGuy]

& here I am

 

[JohnPaul]

Do you have the same last name as your cousins?

My experience is that WM automatically puts people with the same last name in adjacent or nearby rooms even without a request, and even when booked from separate accounts.

I do have the same last name. However, we were with friends and the reservation was in their name.

 

[bizaro86]

I do have the same last name. However, we were with friends and the reservation was in their name.

That really is unbelievable then. Neat story - thanks for sharing!

 

[OldGuy]

Another amazing coincidence . . . the last time we were at OLCC, we were there with, like, 5000 or 6000 other people.

& we didn't know any of them.

 

[TravelTime]

I just listed Hono Koa on Airbnb. We will see how it goes. I had to list for a minimum of 5 nights, so that makes the nightly price high. I found the process of listing my ONE week rather difficult. It's just one week that I have each year to rent. Although, we are going in 2.5 weeks, so maybe I should add that week into the calendar and see if that week rents. I could grab something last-minute for our week. I think Rick would have a heart attack, if we didn't find another place. Our airfare is not refundable.

How does AirBnB work? Can you get paid in advance or do you collect your money after they check out?

 

[Sandy VDH]

I went on a Tradewinds the first time in 2001. Turns out the cook/first mate ended up being my cousin, 5 times removed. We had never met, never knew we were related, she is Australian and I am Canadian. She asked me the maiden name of my mother, which happened to be the same as her Grandmother.

So it ends up we share the same great great great great grandfather, on our mothers sides of the family.

Some of you may know her if you are a longtime Tradewinds member. Jannica is her name.

If you have never been on Tradewinds, there is 12 people max on most boats.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I don't know how it works. I just listed a week. I guess I can tell you, if it ever gets any hits.

I priced it at $320/ night, minimum of 5 nights to get my fees back. I didn't see anything about how much Airbnb gets. I am naive on this. There was no upfront fee.

 

[jjking42]

Wow a lot of posts before mine

I quit renting 10 years ago. It required downsizing my portfolio to what i thought I thought I could use. It used to be profitable but when rents became the same as MF cost I quit.

Everything is a negotiation but once you say no thank you they should leave you alone. I would block their number if they bothered me.

People can be rude. You don’t hear please and thank you as much as I used too. It’s ok to disagree but no reason to be rude or foul mouthed.

I just spoke to a guy today about a unit he wants to sell. I told him that my offer price was about 300 under his asking price but I think he could sell it for more than asking if he was patient. If he wanted a quick and easy sale my offer was good. I then asked him about the 2019 usage. He had not used it yet. I told him that I could not use 2019 and that he should look into banking the week or making a good reservation and including it the sale. If he found somebody that wanted that 2019 reservation be might be able to get his MF in addition to the sale price. I told him about RedWeek and ebay and he was already considering Craig’s list. I told him all of those methods would be more work and hassle but might get him more money than selling to me. We ended the call on good terms and he wants to stay in touch. I am probably the back up plan and I am OK with that because my offer is lower than what I believe some others might pay.

Honesty is the best policy. Some people just want out quick and dealing with somebody that can do it quickly and honestly is better then an extra 500 bucks. I am not looking to take advantage of somebody. I am just giving them options.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TravelTime]

Wow a lot of posts before mine

I quit renting 10 years ago. It required downsizing my portfolio to what i thought I thought I could use. It used to be profitable but when rents became the same as MF cost I quit.

Everything is a negotiation but once you say no thank you they should leave you alone. I would block their number if they bothered me.

People can be rude. You don’t hear please and thank you as much as used too. It’s ok to disagree but no reason to be rude or foul mouthed.

I just spoke to a guy today about a unit he wants to sell. I told him that my offer price was about 300 under his asking price but I think he could sell it for more than asking if he was patient. If he wanted a quick and easy sale my offer was good. I then asked him about the 2019 usage. He had not used it yet. I told him that I could not use 2019 and that he should look into banking the week or making a good reservation and including it the sale. If he found somebody that wanted that 2019 reservation be might be able to get his MF in addition to the sale price. I told him about RedWeek and ebay and he was already considering Craig’s list. I told him all of those methods would be more work and hassle but might get him more money than selling to me. We
ended the call on good terms and he wants to stay in touch. I am probably the back up plan and I am OK with that because my offer is lower than what I believe some others might pay.

Honesty is the best policy. Some people just want out quick and dealing with somebody that can do it quickly and honestly is better then an extra 500 bucks. I am not looking to take advantage of somebody. I am just giving them options.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your method of negotiating seems pleasant. I would not be offended. $300 under asking is a fair offer.

 

[TravelTime]

I went on a Tradewinds the first time in 2001. Turns out the cook/first mate ended up being my cousin, 5 times removed. We had never met, never knew we were related, she is Australian and I am Canadian. She asked me the maiden name of my mother, which happened to be the same as her Grandmother.

So it ends up we share the same great great great great grandfather, on our mothers sides of the family.

Some of you may know her if you are a longtime Tradewinds member. Jannica is her name.

If you have never been on Tradewinds, there is 12 people max on most boats.

I am going to Fiji on TW next year. Can’t wait! So excited! Thanks to Sandy!

I wonder if I should join TW? I would like to take an annual sailing cruise. I have done St Vincent and Grenadines and BVIs. So far, I like TW better than DYC. Next up, Fiji on TW. In future years, I would like to return to French Poly, Thailand, Bali, Bahamas, Belize and more. So maybe I should become a member. It is awfully expensive but how else can you travel on sailing cruises that are so personal and customized.

 

[TravelTime]

Sounds like the best plan is to expect to rent for MFs when you can;t use yourself. That is way below market compared to rack rate. I have 2 upcoming reservations I may not be able to use. I do not care about making $$$ but I do not want to lose the weeks. I could deposit into II or I can rent. Or I can bank the points and use in 2021. I prefer to rent bc I already have so many banked points. I have week 52 in Princeville, which I am told does not rent well. I have Easter week in Key West. At least they are all holiday weeks. It should be better than a non holiday week.

 

[Crafty71]

I have cared for other people and gotten burned. No good dead goes unpunished. Lesson learned.

Is there such a thing as a "good" dead...? Actually, I suppose I can think of a few...

And therein lies the irony of having "GrammarHero" as your username...if this was "BrainDead", it would be more excusable...

Cheers!

 

[Grammarhero]

Is there such a thing as a "good" dead...? Actually, I suppose I think of a few...

And therein lies the irony of having "GrammarHero" as your username...if this was "BrainDead", it would be more excusable...

Cheers!

You’re right. I brought this on myself.

 

[OldGuy]

You’re right. I brought this on myself.

I'm glad to be of help.


- - - - -
BTW, in general, not just this, I'm surprised what riles y'all up and what does not.

For instance, there's all kinds of reasons to be riled up about an industry that sucks millions of dollars from naive and trusting consumers, and keeps changing how they do what they do, so those consumers have to keep paying more to just keep doing it, and it's really, really, really hard for the consumer to stop it, and that just seems to be normalized, the way it is, and it is the naive and trusting consumers' fault, because, somehow, they were supposed to have known in advance all that was going to happen, but what really gets you worked up is some stranger on the Internet trying to save a few hundred dollars, and stuff like that.

I guess when it gets more personal, it strikes a raw nerve.

It's so much different than the old days, when it was Us (Owners) v. Them (Industry).

(probably did not say that right, but enough will understand)

 

[Sandy VDH]

I am going to Fiji on TW next year. Can’t wait! So excited! Thanks to Sandy!

I'll report back when I get back in September

 

[icydog]

Is there such a thing as a "good" dead...? Actually, I suppose I can think of a few...

And therein lies the irony of having "GrammarHero" as your username...if this was "BrainDead", it would be more excusable...

Cheers!

You’re right. I brought this on myself.

Such funny posts. I really enjoyed this goodnatured teasing. Good on you Grammarhero for taking this in the way it was intended! Again, you two are so funny!

 

[icydog]

Without going into a rant, I am sick of pretty much everything having to do with timesharing. I hate Marriott. I have sold all my non point generating weeks-- except for my Surfwatch three bedroom-- and one of my Willow Ridge weeks. I'm keeping them so I can have a couple of good traders in II.

I use the II traders to go to Marriott's Fairway Villas for weeks at a time in the summer. It is close to home and I love the resort. But I still have those have five weeks that I trade every year for Marriott Destination points. I have a ton of points. I rent the points out each year to a broker which covers most of my maintenance fees for those resorts.

I gave my son my 400 Disney's Old Key West points. I still rent out my Disney's Beach Club Villas Resort points on Redweek and that pays for the maintenance fees for Disney Vacation Club and some of my Marriott weeks.

The maintenance fees on my Marriott weeks comes to very big money each year. And I am not getting good use of them either. Most of the time, if I don't rent the points from the underlying weeks out to the broker, I give them away to my kids or grown grandkids. I dread December and January when the fees are due.

I hate Marriott with a passion. When I call the hotel number, and I am Titanium Elite, mind you, I am disrespected and talked down to. I ask for a manager but I never get to speak to one. The people there have no clue how the travel packages were designed or how they were implemented. All they know is the stuff they have written in their scripts about upgrades and they don't get what the product is at all.

Long story short I lost over 500,000 Marriott Reward points due to their mistake, and my naivety, and there is no one to speak to about it. But that has nothing to do with the timeshare does it? Except that it does since paid for two original five night Leisure Packages through MVCI.

Nobody is taking responsibility, nobody cares how much this hurts me emotionally and financially. Not only for the points lost, and that 500K is extremely significant, but I am so upset with the cavalier way they treated me. They don't know what they are doing. They have no idea of how things were originally laid out, and they simply do not care. Their job is to get me off the phone while doing nothing to solve the problem.

But for someone who was not going to rant, I am definitely ranting, and I am truly sorry!!!

 

[OldGuy]

Again, you two are so funny!

Wow!

I did not realize that Grammarhero is two people. But, what is is.

 

[OldGuy]

Without going into a rant, I am sick of pretty much everything having to do with timesharing. I hate Marriott. I have sold all my non point generating weeks-- except for my Surfwatch three bedroom-- and one of my Willow Ridge weeks. I'm keeping them so I can have a couple of good traders in II.

I use the II traders to go to Marriott's Fairway Villas for weeks at a time in the summer. It is close to home and I love the resort. But I still have those have five weeks that I trade every year for Marriott Destination points. I have a ton of points. I rent the points out each year to a broker which covers most of my maintenance fees for those resorts.

I gave my son my 400 Disney's Old Key West points. I still rent out my Disney's Beach Club Villas Resort points on Redweek and that pays for the maintenance fees for Disney Vacation Club and some of my Marriott weeks.

The maintenance fees on my Marriott weeks comes to very big money each year. And I am not getting good use of them either. Most of the time, if I don't rent the points from the underlying weeks out to the broker, I give them away to my kids or grown grandkids. I dread December and January when the fees are due.

I hate Marriott with a passion. When I call the hotel number, and I am Titanium Elite, mind you, I am disrespected and talked down to. I ask for a manager but I never get to speak to one. The people there have no clue how the travel packages were designed or how they were implemented. All they know is the stuff they have written in their scripts about upgrades and they don't get what the product is at all.

Long story short I lost over 500,000 Marriott Reward points due to their mistake, and my naivety, and there is no one to speak to about it. But that has nothing to do with the timeshare does it? Except that it does since paid for two original five night Leisure Packages through MVCI.

Nobody is taking responsibility, nobody cares how much this hurts me emotionally and financially. Not only for the points lost, and that 500K is extremely significant, but I am so upset with the cavalier way they treated me. They don't know what they are doing. They have no idea of how things were originally laid out, and they simply do not care. Their job is to get me off the phone while doing nothing to solve the problem.

But for someone who was not going to rant, I am definitely ranting, and I am truly sorry!!!

You and about about 1.5 million others (using ARDA's muted figures).

Therein lies the brewing storm.