Leasing a timeshare to renters
Renting a timeshare out can be useful to mitigate the loss which a timeshare owner would otherwise have due to yearly maintenance fees when they themselves cannot use their week. Realize that your timeshare may rent for less (or more) than your maintenance fee. This can vary wildly based on a number of factors which we’ll discuss below.
Generally to get some idea on what your timeshare can rent for, you should refer to some of the sites where other owners rent their weeks out here.
Keep in mind that while you can often rent a week from a resort which you own with, you generally cannot rent a week which you exchanged for regardless of how the exchange was performed. There are some timeshare companies which prohibit rentals altogether.
If you need additional assistance in pricing your rental you can generally contact your timeshare resort for a rate sheet, or simply call and inquire as if you’re looking to find a rental for a week. Many resorts offer a rental program, which can occasionally frustrate timeshare owners when the resorts rental cost less than their yearly maintenance.
Listing your property
You can always throw out feelers to your resort, they may know a realtor or some other listing service they recommend for listing with. On the other hand, they may try to take advantage of your desire to rent and offer you less than you would otherwise see from listing it elsewhere.
If your timeshare is to a popular location, or is located within a reasonable distance you may benefit from listing in the local classifieds, or at the very least be able to identify the going rate by comparing your location to other ones advertised in the newspaper.
There are Realtors who specialize in listing timeshares, but their commissions can be prohibitively high. Again, it may be worth calling such agents just to get an idea of what resorts are going for.
Compare and analyze the market
The more research you do on comparable properties the better prepared you’ll be to rent your property. Spend a few minutes and search Google for timeshares of the same name as your resort. Check a few results in order to see what other properties are renting for and how much. If possible, try to find rental rates for the same week as the one which you hope to rent out.
Make a list of all the listings you find through google and eBay from the same resort as yours. Make sure to also list the week and price which they are listed as. Searching recently completed auctions on eBay is one of the easiest ways to find out what places have actually rented for.
With the data you gather, and a bit of work interpreting your results, you should be able to find a reasonable amount at which your timeshare will rent. When examining your list of comps, remember that a beach resort during a summer week often rents for a lot more than a week at that same resort during the winter.
Appraising your timeshare
Looking through the getaway and bonus week inventory at resort exchanges such as RCI. If such weeks are available for rent in the same area as your resort you may have difficulty renting your week. Again, write down the rental prices on all comparable resorts.
Once you have comparable rental rates for as many resorts as you can find, average the going rate for similar properties during your week. Further mark down that rate keeping in mind that you probably lack the know-how, feedback-reputation, and ability to get the highest possible rental rate. You should be able to get close to it though. Pricing a further 20 to 30% below market value will ensure your week gets rented quickly.
Make that listing
Once you have an accurate price in mind, you can now list your rental online. When listing you may find it helpful to refer to our how to sell a timeshare article for basic information regarding timeshare transactions.
As mentioned in that article, do not pay more than a small $15-30 listing fee to list your property with any one service.
You may want to have some sort of rental agreement in place when you agree to rent to a renter. Otherwise, you could find yourself on the hook when the place gets trashed. Plenty of templates can be found online for $10 or less.
