Pricing For Wilderness Club at Big Cedar Rental

[lookie Member Find all posts View Profile Close lookie]

I have a reservation for a 2 BR combined lodge at BG Wilderness Club at Big Cedar from 5/13 to 5/19 (9200 points).

I may not be able to make it out to MO at that time. Any tips on how to price this or suggestions of best way to to rent it out?

If at all possible, I'd like to get cash for this and not "bank" it.

Thanks

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

Hi,

I think it is still generally true that rentals range from .06-.08 per point. .06 seems a bit too high for this rental, though, to me. Two bedrooms are most desired by families, but the kids are still in school in mid-May, so the 2 bedroom won't get you much of a premium over a one-bedroom despite being a lot more points.

There are quite a few listings on ebay for this timeframe with prices around $120 a night Buy it Now.

If your MF are close to mine, your reservation is tying up about $418 worth of points. I don't suppose you're platinum with BG and able to cancel? If so, I'd consider canceling the 17 and 18th and trying to rent 5/13-5/17. Or cancel the whole thing and rebook a 1 bedroom for 5/13-5/17.

Good luck!

Anita

PS - I've rented quite a few times to people I know well. I've had a few things on ebay for the last month or so and have only rented one. I do see a lot of completed listings on ebay, though, so perhaps mine is just priced too high.

[lookie Member Find all posts View Profile Close lookie]

Thanks.

No, I'm nowhere near platinum. I just have 10k points that I bought resale. Since I'm in the "shallow end of the pool" in number of points this represents more than $480 in fees.

You'd think this would not be a popular time, but I'm seeing no units of any size available via points reservations or cash (bg rentals, hotels.com) for this resort for that week. Falls Village, yes, Big Cedar, no.

I might still be able to make it out there, but if I could turn the reservation to cash, it would make May a bit less hectic for me.

E-bay doesn't look to promising. Maybe I'll check out the branson area craigslist.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

http://springfield.craigslist.org/se...Ask=&bedrooms=

[lookie Member Find all posts View Profile Close lookie]

Thanks JLB. Hadn't gotten that far, but this is good info to have.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

de nada

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

I do think you can turn it into cash, you just might not get much profit on the deal. Obviously you'll do better if you can avoid ebay and the ebay / paypal fees.

When do the points used expire?

If you aren't able to rent it or use it yourself, there is a trick (or used to be; I haven't used it in over a year) where if you book a new reservation in the same phone call as when you cancel the old one, you aren't charged a cancel fee. IIRC, the new reservation must use the same number of points or greater.

One more tip came back to me: when I price Wilderness Club rentals, I always check the Big Cedar website to see what they're charging for rooms for those days. I just checked on these dates and I see that they show the weekend of May 18 and 19 as limited availability. So that's a good sign - maybe there is some event that weekend that will make your rental more desirable?

Best of luck,

Anita

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

It would have to be an outside event for this to be a popular week at Big Cedar. Memorial Day week, a week later, would be the natural nearby "peak" week.

There is nothing special about May in Branson or at Big Cedar, except that local small-town schools are out for the summer.

The lake is not warm enough yet for it to be a big lakey week.

JMHO

[lookie Member Find all posts View Profile Close lookie]

I was surprised, too. However, it looks like there's "some" demand for that week, I put up an ad on craigslist with a price that correlates to a 2BR unit at a nearby (but not as nice) resort. Still probably a bit high, but I can start there and adjust downward or negotiate as needed.

Thanks for the input.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I was surprised, too. However, it looks like there's "some" demand for that week, I put up an ad on craigslist with a price that correlates to a 2BR unit at a nearby (but not as nice) resort. Still probably a bit high, but I can start there and adjust downward or negotiate as needed.

Thanks for the input.

I advertise 3 weeks at a very nice luxury resort in a gated golf community in Branson. I'm lucky when I get anything for Weeks 10 & 17 and the most I've ever gotten for peak summer, Week 28, is $399.