How to Rent Your Timeshare: Everything You Need to Know
Overview
Owning a timeshare certainly has its share of highs and lows, some are expected, but many are not. Nevertheless, there’s no doubt a timeshare offers a wonderful way to spend vacations with your family. But what about if you cannot use the points coming to you? Well, then it’s time to sit down and try to figure out how to rent your timeshare so you can recoup the cost of not using it.
Just be forewarned, things can get dicey in a hurry if you don’t follow every rule your developer has established. But if you follow these steps, you stand a good chance of successfully renting out your timeshare.
How to Rent Your Timeshare
In a study done in 2016 by American Resort Development Association (ARDA), over 1.8 million had unused points for their timeshare. So this situation is not a new concept. Ultimately, the owner needs to make the decision to either rent out the unused portion of your timeshare or sell the points to a third party. We will shed light on the former but offer you an attractive alternative solution, so please read until the end.
Each developer has its own nuanced rental policies and procedures. We encourage you to reach out to your developer before attempting to rent your unit out. Understand your developer’s guidelines to make sure they are followed to a tee.
What follows is a general guideline of how to rent your timeshare out.
Steps to Rent Your Timeshare
- First of all, make sure you can even rent your unused points. Believe it or not, some developers do not allow renting your unit. According to the ARDA, 87% of timeshare resorts offer some type of rental program. So there’s a good chance you can rent unused points.
- Research your listing price. Determining the pricing of vacation requires an appraisal and is similar to appraising a home. You have to look at comparable listings and adjust for features like kitchens, bedroom count, and separate living areas.
- Determine your dates and location. If your developer allows renting, determine the dates you wish to reserve. If you have some flexibility, choose times that are in high demand – this will most likely yield more money. Also, don’t underestimate the demand of people wanting shorter stays, such as 2-3 nights at a time. Many just want a long weekend and not necessarily a week or two. Don’t cut yourself short.
- Create a rental agreement. To limit liability, you should always create a rental agreement. Even though most resorts require a credit card, a rental agreement will provide extra protection. Also, don’t forget to list cut-off dates so you can keep your time if your renter can cancel. You can find sample agreements on the internet.
- Set up a payment method. Deciding payment methods will work best. You can use a secure electronic payment service like PayPal. Other options include checks or money orders but these take more time and carry more risk. Be sure to collect money before any applicable modification deadlines in case the renter backs out.
- Choose a platform to list your unit. You will need a site or multiple sites to list and promote your timeshare. Many people use E-Bay, Craigslist, and even Facebook among other popular listing platforms. Another option is to create your own website and promote it online.
- List the room and advertise. One of the most important parts is creating a description that includes all the important parts of the resort, such as location, check-in and out dates, room size, resort name, resort features, and amenities. Make sure you use good-quality images of the room layout and surrounding property. For example, the minimum age to check-in, photo ID requirements, deposits due at check-in, housekeeping charges, name-change requirements, and the maximum number of guests allowed. Be careful not to use images that are not copyrighted.
- Get ready to take on incessant questions from prospects and renters. This is probably the most time-consuming aspect of renting on your own. You will need to take questions right up to the point renters check out.
Listing and renting your unit is definitely not for the faint of heart – it takes time, patience, and money if you want to do it right. Be prepared to jump through a lot of hoops and take a lot of phone calls from would-be renters.
The Easy and Lucrative Way To Rent Your Timeshare
Now for the much-awaited alternative to renting your timeshare on your own.
We would fail you if we didn’t mention the easiest and most lucrative alternative of renting your unit on your own. This way would eliminate the rather painful and arduous taking on the process on your own and is Rent Points Not Properties ®.
Timeshare Rental Pros is a full-service timeshare rental company that takes care of ALL the pesky little details and goes over and above the call of duty to ensure satisfaction.
We take care of everything so you don’t have to.
It’s not by chance Timeshare Rental Pros has become the go-to resource and best site to rent your timeshare out.
Here are some of the benefits of using Timeshare Rental Pros:
- We NEVER charge you anything, we pay cash up front for points BEFORE we use them. Our clients have never been asked to send us money. Many times within 24 hours you’ll see money in your account!
- We pay our clients 100% of the agreed-upon fee in our simple one-page contract. We take 100% of the financial risk by paying cash up front for points, you will never send us a fee for our services!
- Once we pay you for the rental of your points the money is yours whether or not we are successful in using them all or not.
- If for some reason there are unused points in your account, because we did not have enough time to rent them, or for whatever reason, you will have already been compensated for those points. We take 100% of the risk, so you don’t have to.
- We field all of the communication between the renter and the resort while you sit back and collect the cash.
Summary
In closing, renting your timeshare is certainly a viable way to rent your timeshare’s unused points. We have covered two ways. You can take the arduous and rather painful route of renting on your own. Or, you can take the path of least resistance and get paid top-dollar in the process. It seems like an obvious decision for most.
But if you do take this on yourself, we highly recommend you take a long, close look at your developer’s terms and services, and don’t forget to read the fine print. Follow the steps listed above on how to rent your timeshare, and you stand a decent chance of pulling it off.
An alternate solution awaits you, however, one that many of our happy customers have already taken is to pay you cash upfront while we assume all of the risks.
Also, take a moment to download Timeshare Rental Pros Point Rental Blueprint here to see a summary of our process and how it benefits you.
If you have questions, you can either call us at 855-377-6817 or even make a free 30-minute consultation with one of our rental advisors. You may also send us a message here.
RENT POINTS NOT PROPERTIES®!