Timeshare rental

[vanreg]

Where do you go to rent a timeshare? Is there a central place that lists rentals available from different brands or do you need to go to each individual one?

 

[JimMIA]

There are two types of timeshare rentals -- from the developer (Marriott, Hilton, Disney, Wyndham, etc) or from an individual timeshare owner, either directly or through a broker.

Rentals from the developer will be MUCH more expensive, and you book those on their website like any hotel reservation.

Rentals from an owner, or from an owner through a broker, should be quite a bit less expensive.

There are two websites where individual owners of many timeshares list their rentals -- Redweek and the Timeshare Users Group (TUG). Disney Vacation Club rentals are also listed on the DIS DVC Rent/Trade board.

In addition to the direct rentals from owners, there are a number of brokers who facilitate owner rentals. They might be a little more than a direct rental, but might also offer some additional protection to the consumer.

eBay also has timeshare rentals and those could be either directly from an owner or through a broker.

 

[kathy884]

I've done about a dozen rentals over the years from timeshare owners using the two site JimMIA mentioned. Redweek.com -- I sign on as a guest and just join (I think it's $10 or $15 a year), if I see a rental I want to do for the week I want. Tug2.net (classified ads section) // no fee to access the rentals (joining which allow you to read review, etc. I think is about $15 per year). These kinds of rentals are great if you will be renting from a Friday to Friday, Saturday to Saturday, or Sunday to Sunday. I've found that if I just want a few days I have to go retail which is way more expensive per night.

 

[Upatnoon]

Where do you go to rent a timeshare? Is there a central place that lists rentals available from different brands or do you need to go to each individual one?

Ebay is a great place to start. There are thousands of reservations you can buy on there. Most are sold by powersellers -- businesses that do it all year and have been renting for years. You can also see the completed listings to see how much they're going for.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

In addition to those that Jim noted, My Resort Network is also a source for timeshare rentals by owners.

Skyauction is an additional website to check out. We own at the Sheraton Vistana Resort, but needed an additional week over and above the two weeks we own. SVR villas were listed there for certain weeks even cheaper than our annual maintenance fees. So it might be worth a peek as well.

 

[HopperFan]

I rent via SkyAuction and have always gotten great rates.

 

[Lewisc]

Book a time share as you would a hotel you'll generally get daily maid service, hotel type cancellation (and payment) policies and you might get amenities such as complimentary theme park transportation.

Rent from an owner directly, through an auction site broker etc you won't get daily maid service, you might have to prepay for your stay and you might be limited to collecting from travel insurance if your plans change.

Generally the cost to book direct, as a hotel room, is $$$.
There are some exceptions. Some of the Vistana promotions offer a reasonable rate. Booking a DVC resort through Disney is competitive with renting points, if free dining is available.

I'll agree with the PP. Booking through an owner generally offers the best deals. People who want the space of a condo resort but need a little more flexibility should explore booking direct.

 

[chalee94]

Why do we keep falling for the common timeshare scam that someone will rent our weeks for a profit to help us offset the cost of the new timeshare? timeshare salesreps are very convincing about it.

i bought 2 timeshares by doing my own homework and skipping the direct sales process. when you do that, you can't be misled by the salespeople (and even DVC's salespeople have been known to stretch things a bit).

(and i'm still happy with both timeshares.)

 

[Judyat]

I would also recommend Skyauction for their vouchers that they offer every now and then. They run $259 + $20 processing and are good for a 7 day stay. You can see what's available at www.resortcerts.com We have done 2 of thesse and it's really easy to see what's available for 12 months out. Some months may only offer it with an upgrade but there is plenty to choose from depending where and when you want to go. They do have a date to book by which can be 3 - 6 months out but you book by those dates you can see up to 12 months out and as long as you book by their date you have at least 12 months to work with. They don't offer them all the time so it's a good idea to know what's available ahead. Checking that website will let you know. I think the places listed are RCI and so they offer their inventory of what's available. We stayed in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath place right on the Lake of the Ozarks last October. It was great. Had an indoor pool and hot tub. They do rate them too. Five diamonds is the highest down to 2. Even the two offer nice clean accommodations.