Not strictly true George -they do let owners rent theselves but they make it rather difficult to do so
Basically here are 2 routes to renting on Reunion. One is directly through Reunion (which may be via a travel company or referred by the owner)and the other is , direct through the owners via the internet. Reunion have made it difficult and less attractive to owners who want to rent their villas themselves. There is a cashless system where all payments are made with a card that takes payment from the owners account. Unless the owner can risk giving their guests total freedom to spend on the owners account, they would not be able to spend any money so they can't use the golf, restaurants, bars, spa, shops or water park. In exchange though, the rental is half the price that Reunion charges, and not everyone uses the resorts facilities.
(This is from a reunion owner.)
That's pretty much what I said! LOL Anyways, I may be off slightly on some of the details of that post, I don't own a home there but I have good friends who do. They (the mgmt) don't disallow it entirely, they just make it very difficult for the owners to do it due to the cards they issue everyone, so if you want to use any of the facilities there, you have to use the owner's card, and then the owner takes the risk of the guests charges on his or her personal account. It's entirely designed to discourage the owners from renting out directly. (This is from our friends who own a home there by the way too).
Here's a link to their internet slideshow of their Reunion townhome actually he just sent me, he just had these panoramic photos taken:
http://www.Obeo.com/329006
They want control of the quality of the resort, they don't want MCs in their, they don't want owners renting out their homes directly, and they even force you to use their furniture options or packages to furnish the homes.
I guess the good news of all of this, as a guest, is that it's a gorgeous resort, all of it is furnished and maintained to a VERY high standard. Think of vacation home rentals, but with daily maid service like a hotel, and they're all pretty much the same (or to a very high standard). They did this to make sure all of the places end up furnished to their high standard, every home I've seen looks like a model home.
Looks like a gorgeous place though, our friends offered to let us stay there sometime, and we're thinking about it actually! It's just more expensive than other options, but it's still reasonable considering what you get for the $$, and if you're a golfer (and I am), the golf courses are supposed to be incredible, and it's the only way you can play there!
I was also told they're spending big $$ to market and promote the place. A few months back they had a big concert there for everyone staying there, acts that played there (for free to guests and owners) included the Doobie Brothers, Peter Frampton, and others. They said it was a great time!
Anyhow, you can certainly contact my friend Ed....his phone # is in the link I posted, and you can see pictures of his home there, be sure to tell him I (George) referred you and he will give you a good rate, certainly a ton less expensive than the resort charges directly.
If he's booked he may be able to refer you to someone else there who isn't, know other owners, good luck! Let us know how it goes!
