Need to Rent Out Your Timeshare? I’ve Done It for 19 Years; Here’s How You Can Too
Timeshare rentals are a $2 billion+ annual business in the United States alone. With 92% of timeshare resorts offering some rental program, most timeshare owners today have options to generate money to cover their timeshare bills and sometimes even more. If you’re one of the 10 million Americans who own a timeshare, it has never been easier to rent out what you own for real cash.
Here’s what I’ve learned as a timeshare owner renting out my Catskills timeshare since 2005.
Getting Started Can Seem Scary
The timeshare rental options can seem overwhelming if you haven’t looked into timeshare rentals before. Add into the mix uncertainty around which companies to trust and how to protect yourself, and you might be thinking about staying away from timeshare rentals altogether.
Get Your Share of This Billion Dollar Business
Are you not planning on using your timeshare this year? Renting out your vacation week or points is a way to generate real cash. Here’s exactly how and where you can too.
Timeshare Rentals: An Often Untapped Opportunity for Owners
But don’t take only my word for it. Here’s what timeshare industry leaders and real timeshare owners say about renting out your timeshare.
“Just like the timeshare resale market, a huge secret not shared with the vast majority of owners is the option to rent their timeshare out to other travelers,” says Brian Rodgers. He runs Timeshare User Group (TUG), the oldest and largest timeshare owners group and advocacy organization.
“For those who haven’t used their timeshare in ages and don’t want to pay for a membership to a timeshare exchange company to deposit to their week, renting it out is an outstanding alternative to cover some or all of your annual maintenance fees,” Brian continued.
Make Sure To Rent Yours Securely
“Rental is a great option for owners who are unable to use their timeshare for whatever purposes. It’s also a great way for the traveling public to be able to experience a timeshare and understand all of the value it brings to their vacation experience,” said Jason Gamel, President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA).
“If owners choose to rent their timeshare, we suggest they do their homework and ensure they work with a reputable and effective company. They can find such a list on our website, which includes ARDA member companies who provide those services.”
We’ve Rented Ours Out from the Beginning
Together with my husband, we’ve owned a timeshare in New York since 2005. We have partial ownership, which means we own one week a month or 12 weeks a year. That is more weeks that we can use, and our hectic schedules allow, even though we live less than two hours from the resort.
When we bought it, we knew that timeshare rentals would be a big piece of making it work for us. But, heeding the advice I give others, this long-term financial commitment is one that our budget could comfortably cover even if we got no timeshare rentals in a year. That hypothetical scenario became real during the pandemic when our timeshare resort was closed for months due to New York state rules as well as the 2008 recession when rentals were hard to come by.
5 Secure Places to List Your Timeshare for Rent
As Jason Gamel mentioned, it is important to pick wisely from today’s options for timeshare rentals! They vary on the amount of effort required from you and the amount of the commission taken. And just like most things in life, each has pros and cons.
Seriously, some options require practically no effort on your end at all! Just cashing those checks in the mail like we’ve been doing for over 15 years. So let’s look at a short list of timeshare rental options.
1. Your Home Resort
We felt comfortable buying a timeshare with 12 weeks a year because our resort had a rental program. Have you asked your resort if they have one? While this is one of the easiest ways to secure timeshare rentals, it comes with trade-offs.
Pros of Renting Through Your Home Resort
- Set it and forget it – Sign paperwork for the year, and they handle everything else!
- Resort sources renters, handles payment and cancellations
- The rental amount is usually high as it is priced at “resort-direct” pricing
Cons of Renting Through Your Home Resort
- High Commission Percentage – Our home resort takes 45% of the total rental amount, meaning we receive only 55%
- Exclusive Rental Agreement – Often, you have to sign a yearly rental agreement saying that you won’t list your place for rent with other companies.
2. Renting to Your Friends and Family
You might have shared stories of your beautiful vacations or even taken friends and family with you to timeshare resorts. You never know who may be looking for a holiday in your social circle or who has been searching for a hotel but is coming up empty-handed. Sharing your opportunity can help someone you know. It’s a win-win, so don’t be shy.
We have rented to family and friends for over 15 years. We have a friend who regularly brings their family every ski season. They love the significant discount they receive by booking through us, and we love that we get more money than renting through the resort’s rental program.
Pros and Cons of Renting to Friends and Family
Pros:
- Renting to a person you know
- Building a relationship for repeat rentals
Cons:
- Need to handle payment yourself
- Last-minute cancellations can be awkward with family and friends
3. Redweek
Twenty years ago, Randy Conrads loved vacationing in upscale timeshare resorts but didn’t want the long-term commitment of owning one. He saw an opportunity to bring these two groups of travelers together, so he started Redweek.
Now Redweek is an A+ Better Business Bureau-rated company with an audience of almost 3 million people listing and booking timeshare rentals. It is the largest online marketplace for “by-owner” timeshare rentals and a favorite of timeshare owners.
Redweek Rental Options
They have three timeshare rental options, ranging from DIY to full-service, all reasonably priced. Various options depending on your time and comfort level in managing payments.
Do It Yourself Basic ($30) – Your timeshare rental listing will be advertised on their site for six months. You’ll have to finalize the rental contract and payment details yourself. No commission is taken out of your rental.
Do It Yourself Verified and Protected ($45) for six months; your listing is presented to people as a vacation that Redweek has verified. Additionally, owners can use Redweek’s online booking system to handle the rental agreement, credit card processing, and fund disbursement (For an additional $15). No commission is taken out of your rental amount.
Full Service ($80 to list; $99 flat commission when rented) Redweek handles everything from advertising to rental agreement and payment. Listing is live until ten days before the check-in date, no matter how long that is.
What Do Other Owners Think of Using Redweek for Timeshare Rentals?
“Though I know many people that use Facebook or Craigslist to rent out their unused timeshare successfully, I prefer to use Redweek because it gives me far more security as my money and my property are protected by the platform,” said Anthony Martin.
“If I have the spare time to set up the rental, I use their DIY verified and protected option, but it’s nice to use the Full-Service option when I’m too busy to organize everything. Their team sets the rental up from start to finish for about $120 more than you’d pay if you did it yourself, but the ease of maintenance and security is well worth it in the end.”
4. Koala
Koala is a new timeshare rental marketplace created by a timeshare industry veteran. They have a similar listing marketplace to Redweek, and they took many of the ‘cons’ of other timeshare rental platforms and built a new option for owners.
Offering a New Rental Option for Timeshare Owners
One of the most significant differences is that they find renters first and then offer those opportunities up to specific owners who have unused timeshare points. If you’re a Club Wyndham or Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare owner. In that case, you’ll want to check out their new, innovative program that lists Koala booked resorts, allowing you almost instantly to turn your unused points into timeshare rentals!
On their two chain-specific booking hubs, you can select a booking to fulfill, secure a resort reservation using your points, and forward the confirmation to the Koala team. Once that person checks in at the resort, your payment will be sent through. They guarantee payouts as high as 22 cents an HGV point (plus $59) and $9.50/1,000 points for Club Wyndham timeshare rentals. It has to be one of the easiest timeshare rentals path out there.
Pros of Using Koala
- Free listings; no upfront listing fee
- Koala handles contracts, payments, and escrow of payment securely
- They provide free $1 million insurance protection for owners
- Full-service concierge program
- Instant bookings for Hilton and Wyndham owners
Cons of Using Koala
- Not a lot of travelers know about them yet, and demand is lower vs. other options
- 8% percent commission
5. Timeshare Users Group
The first and largest website for timeshare owners, Timeshare Users Group (TUG), also has a marketplace with timeshare rentals. Since 1993, they’ve rented $20 million worth of timeshares from verified owners. With a complete do-it-yourself option, you also receive unlimited rental ads for an annual TUG $15 membership fee.
Pros and Cons of Using TUG
Pros:
- Your listing will be in front of a lot of people
- No Commission
- Low Listing Fee
Cons:
- It’s completely DIY – listing, communication, contract, payment, etc.
4 Tips for Successful Timeshare Rentals from Fellow Owners
- Now that you’ve gotten a short list of places to list your timeshare, here are some tips for wading into the timeshare rental space from more timeshare owners who have been renting out their vacation ownership.
- “Read the fine print on your timeshare agreement. Even if you’re allowed to rent your timeshare out now, stay up-to-date with your timeshare company as they often change their rules and policies,” said Anthony Martin.
- “Do your research! Go on Redweek and search for your timeshare and see the rented ones,” said owner Alexia Kaz. “What was the cost of the rental? What dates did it rent for? Was it a Friday to Friday or Saturday to Saturday that was rented? Do seven days seem to rent more or five days?”
- According to Koala’s research, travelers are up to three times more likely to book a listing that offers a flexible cancellation policy. Redweek recently added this option for renters, but read their fine print to ensure you’re picking a rental listing that qualifies for this program.
There are three sample rental agreements in the TUG Advice on Timeshare Rental Articles if you manage the contract yourself. They are posted there for anyone to download and modify to suit their needs.
Timeshare Rentals: A Very Important Disclaimer
I’d be remiss if I didn’t address the “vacation rental business” question people ask me occasionally. Meaning, is it possible to purchase in-demand timeshares in popular destinations or a deeded week during peak travel (say Maui over Christmas) and manage timeshare rentals as a way to make money? Yes, you could rent timeshares for more than your annual maintenance fees and buy-in price. But the thing is that you’re not in complete control of a property you fully own.
Timeshare companies like Wyndham have restricted rentals during peak travel at the most in-demand locations. During the pandemic, mega-timeshare owners were left holding massive bills for their 20+ timeshares with no renters or travelers in sight. And lastly, 99% of the time, timeshares are depreciating assets, unlike a wholly owned property.
So from someone who has rented out their timeshare for 15 years, trust me. There is a way to cover your expenses, travel for “free,” and perhaps make a little bit of money some years, but I wouldn’t say that at-scale timeshare rentals are an opportunity for a vacation rental business. But renting out your unused timeshare is a welcomed opportunity for owners to help cover their timeshare-related bills.
Here’s How I Hack My Timeshare and Make The Most of It
You’ve joined the timeshare or vacation ownership club, now it’s time to take advantage of all the perks and vacation deals that come with it. Here’s all the ways you stretch your ownership and dollar to travel the world.
Here’s How I Hack My Timeshare
Dave Ramsey’s Terrible Advice Sparks $150 Million Lawsuit from Disgruntled Listeners
For years, Dave Ramsey touted, endorsed, and advertised Timeshare Exit Team’s services as a trusted company that his followers could turn to when they no longer wanted their vacation ownership. These listeners didn’t know that he was being paid approximately $30 million to recommend this company’s services.
Dave Ramsey’s Terrible Advice Sparks $150 Million Lawsuit from Disgruntled Listeners
My Honest Review of Redweek
If you’re looking to learn about the resort rental website Redweek from a real person who has used it twice, then you’ve come to the right place for an honest take. With so many booking sites out there, it is hard to know who to trust. Redweek is a 20-year-old, A+ Better Business Bureau-rated company.
Many people ask me, so what’s the catch? The thing is, there isn’t one! So here’s my real talk take, a summary of our experience, and why I think it should be a regular website in your vacation shopping rotation.
