Members renting weeks to other members to recover their fees

[hercules24 Member Find all posts View Profile Close hercules24]

Monitoring

I don't think that DRI do monitor to a great extent but Bulldog is correct it is not allowed under DRI rules to rent out for a profit (however that is defined), also DRI now only allow I think one free guest certificate per annum per membership others are chargeable at around £50 I think.
I accept renting to family and friends is totally acceptable as is booking early to get best value exchanges with II, it is the renting back to DRI members at a profit that I feel is unfair unless say a DRI member has run out of points and advertises that he wishes to acquire more points in a particular year and another member rents the points to the other member without profit to recover their fees and for the other member to then make a booking. I also don't have hang ups over the odd week but in the UK we have seen mass block bookings over several weeks at prime resorts and these weeks have only been booked to rent back to other DRI members - It is this I feel is a bit unfair.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

taken from Diamond Resorts Amendments to Rules & Regulations 2009

"The Rules have been clarified by making it clear that Members renting out accommodation reserved by them using
‘public advertising or an online website shall be deemed a prohibited commercial use’, and may lead to
suspension and / or termination of a membership. A limit on the number of guest certificates that a Member will
be allowed may also be imposed to prevent circumvention of the Club rules. Again, there is no change at this
time, but this amendment allows the Managing Company to ensure that a small number of Members do not
abuse this member benefit and rent out accommodation for commercial gain."

Wow, that sure says it all - I guess if u r an owner, you must comply by these rules.

But now I want to know where it says u CAN rent for recovery of fees because this seems clear that ANY rental publicly advertised is 'prohibited commercial use' whether u get $1 or $1,000.

This kinda stinks!

Well it's a good job I rented out my week when it was Sunterra (or maybe it was GVC back then). However, I do believe that this rule is to stop mass renting out of DRI weeks, not the odd week here or there which members may do to help alleviate the pain of the management fee!

The rules do not seem to differentiate between a mega-renter and an owner renting one week....they are both deemed to be 'prohibited commercial use'.

[Sue S Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sue S]

but in the UK we have seen mass block bookings over several weeks at prime resorts and these weeks have only been booked to rent back to other DRI members - It is this I feel is a bit unfair.

Sorry, but where have you seen these? I've seen the odd week here and there advertised on members' websites but that's all...

[ace2000 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ace2000]

This thread has taken some interesting twists and turns. First, someone asked to see the rule in writing and then an answer was delivered.

It's very obvious to see what's happening. The resorts are having their prime inventory being snagged up by the individuals trying to rent for profit. In turn, a lot of owners are complaining about never being able to use their week for anything decent.

Again, the person who rents for profit has the advantage here. They are just trying to book the best week for maximum profit at the earliest possible time. The person who genuinely wants to use their week has to juggle and pre-judge their schedules and if there are kids involved it gets even worse. So, all the prime inventory is gone for them by the time they make their decision. Sure, it's easy to say that everyone should just be able to make their reservation at the earliest possible date, but that is not the reality.

Wyndham has combatted this problem with recent changes and DRI has these rules stated earlier. These changes are very unpopular with the mega-renters but should make the other side happier.

Like it or not, that's the reality of the situation at hand.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I believe that the quote from Diamond Rules and Regulations applies only to reservations made by DRI Club owners.

If you own at a Diamond resort but do not have your week in the Club, you5 usage is governed by the timeshare documents for the resort (or for the trust, if the ownership is a trust ownership), not by Diamonds Rules and Regulations for the Club. In most cases that will leave the owner perfectly free to rent their unit for whatever they can get using any advertising means at their disposal.

[DRIvaDiva Banned Find all posts View Profile Close DRIvaDiva]

It's very obvious to see what's happening. The resorts are having their prime inventory being snagged up by the individuals trying to rent for profit. In turn, a lot of owners are complaining about never being able to use their week for anything decent.

Again, the person who rents for profit has the advantage here. They are just trying to book the best week for maximum profit at the earliest possible time. The person who genuinely wants to use their week has to juggle and pre-judge their schedules and if there are kids involved it gets even worse. So, all the prime inventory is gone for them by the time they make their decision. Sure, it's easy to say that everyone should just be able to make their reservation at the earliest possible date, but that is not the reality.

Wyndham has combatted this problem with recent changes and DRI has these rules stated earlier. These changes are very unpopular with the mega-renters but should make the other side happier.

Like it or not, that's the reality of the situation at hand.

I've been scouring the boards here and there and it seems to me that the problem is not with the owners. The problem is with the DEVELOPER. Why, how? Don't they own a bunch of unsold inventory, don't they control the inventory of owners with delinquent fees, don't they use the owners own inventory when owners have foolishly traded their points for stupid "options" like Airline Miles and Maintenance fees? They are the ones who are block reserving to provide the best rentals so they can pad their corporate pockets and pay for those stupid options that you took. They are the only ones with significant enough inventory to make a dent. Even all the Platinum owners in the world piled together don't compare. You guys are barking up the wrong tree, it's the developer who writes the rules and wants no competition that is the problem, just like RCI renting out the best deposits, they write the rules and members give carte blanche when they use their RCI points for Disney Tickets.

[ace2000 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ace2000]

I've been scouring the boards here and there and it seems to me that the problem is not with the owners. The problem is with the DEVELOPER. Why, how? Don't they own a bunch of unsold inventory, don't they control the inventory of owners with delinquent fees, don't they use the owners own inventory when owners have foolishly traded their points for stupid "options" like Airline Miles and Maintenance fees? They are the ones who are block reserving to provide the best rentals so they can pad their corporate pockets and pay for those stupid options that you took. They are the only ones with significant enough inventory to make a dent. Even all the Platinum owners in the world piled together don't compare. You guys are barking up the wrong tree, it's the developer who writes the rules and wants no competition that is the problem, just like RCI renting out the best deposits, they write the rules and members give carte blanche when they use their RCI points for Disney Tickets.

Very good points... and who knows exactly? All we can do is speculate here. However, the number one reason that people want to 'give back' their timeshare (and being dissatisfied), outside of not being able to afford it, is this issue about not being able to reserve a week that they really want. And it becomes a bigger issue now, with the higher quantity of float weeks and point systems that have become very popular lately. They have no control over whether a customer is financially solvent or not, but they can definitely make rules on controlling the mega-renters.

There is no doubt that both are issues. What is the primary reason, who knows? But, both are factors - the competition and trying to please the group of owners as a whole.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

I don't think that DRI do monitor to a great extent

These boards are continuously and automatically monitored by DRI.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

it is not allowed under DRI rules to rent out for a profit (however that is defined)

DRI defines commercial use as "if you make a profit of even £1 or $1" you violate their CLUB rules.

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

These boards are continuously and automatically monitored by DRI.

Why? and what are they concerned about?

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Why? and what are they concerned about?

Why wouldn't they want to know what owners and people in the timeshare think of them? Why wouldn't they want to know of problems and glitches that might pop up that aren't getting resolved? Why wouldn't they want to know about glitches and wrinkles in the reservation system that get discovered?

Being in the hospitality business they would be fools to not be monitoring what is being said about them.

*****

As I've mentioned on several occasions, when we were staying at Ka'anapali in 2003 we were put into a unit that was not in good condition; in fact it was one of the hotel units and not even in the timeshare program. A day after checkin I posted a message about the condition of the resort.

The next day we returned to the room to find a voice mail message from the resort manager asking to meet with me to discuss my situation and Sunterra's plans to upgrade and improve the facility. (He acknowledged that they had allowed maintenance to slide during the period when it appeared as if Hilton was going to buy the property.)

I also got my weekly parking charges comped.

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

Why wouldn't they want to know what owners and people in the timeshare think of them? Why wouldn't they want to know of problems and glitches that might pop up that aren't getting resolved? Why wouldn't they want to know about glitches and wrinkles in the reservation system that get discovered?

Being in the hospitality business they would be fools to not be monitoring what is being said about them.

*****

As I've mentioned on several occasions, when we were staying at Ka'anapali in 2003 we were put into a unit that was not in good condition; in fact it was one of the hotel units and not even in the timeshare program. A day after checkin I posted a message about the condition of the resort.

The next day we returned to the room to find a voice mail message from the resort manager asking to meet with me to discuss my situation and Sunterra's plans to upgrade and improve the facility. (He acknowledged that they had allowed maintenance to slide during the period when it appeared as if Hilton was going to buy the property.)

I also got my weekly parking charges comped.

O.K. and there was me thinking it might be more sinister than that, obviously not?

[ace2000 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ace2000]

O.K. and there was me thinking it might be more sinister than that, obviously not?

You seem kind of nervous about something... what was your name and DRI account # again???

Signed
The DRI Management

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

O.K. and there was me thinking it might be more sinister than that, obviously not?

You seem kind of nervous about something... what was your name and DRI account # again???

If you were running a business and you knew of website where people frequently talked about your business, wouldn't you monitor what was being said about your company just as part of general operations.

Why would you think doing so would be "sinister"? It does leave me wondering if you aren't excessively nervous about something.

[Sue S Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sue S]

If you were running a business and you knew of website where people frequently talked about your business, wouldn't you monitor what was being said about your company just as part of general operations.

Why would you think doing so would be "sinister"? It does leave me wondering if you aren't excessively nervous about something.

It's because a few members who continuously criticised DRI on the UK Yahoo message board were written to by DRI saying that if they didn't desist their membership would be terminated. That does make people excessively nervous...