Are you one of the estimated 12 million Americans that owns vacation timeshares and rentals? If so, then there's a good chance that you won't always be able to use it, and that fact probably bothers you.
How does this happen? Well, life can be unpredictable and things come up.
Or you might simply be running low on cash for a vacation.
Even when you have the accommodations paid for, all the extra expenses it takes to go on vacation such as airfare and food can add up quickly.
When you're unable to use your timeshare when you had wanted to, what can you do with your timeshare week? You could of course do nothing; but this means you'll just lose out and waste your investment.
However, since you paid for that timeshare, there's no reason you shouldn't get what you can for it.
Here are a few tips to help your turn your vacation timeshares and rentals into a virtual ATM rather than an ongoing expense.
A popular option is to rent your timeshare to someone else.
You can cover your expenses or maybe even make a little bit of extra money as well - but how do you go a bout doing this? If you own vacation timeshares and rentals, you probably don't spend a lot of time in the area; once a year at most.
You don't know the area all that well and don't know where to start.
Don't worry too much.
It's actually simpler than you might think to rent your timeshare.
For starters, the first thing you must figure out is how much to rent your timeshare for.
You don't want to undervalue your week, but you don't want to price yourself out of the market either.
One of the easiest ways to figure out what your week is worth is to call the resort.
Make them believe that you're someone who wants to rent one of their available timeshares and see what price they give you.
  In addition, your timeshare resort or timeshare company might have a timeshare rental program for your convenience.
They want people in the hotel as often as possible because they can generate more revenue from food, drinks, activities, and other things.
Therefore, they probably have some type of system in place for this.
  Just make sure they treat you fair if you decide to join their program.
You don't want them to rent your room out for a lot less than you could get it.
Here's a word to the wise...
if you do decide to do it yourself, you may find that you'll have to take a little less than the resort would be able to rent your timeshare for.
The resort has resources you do not - a large advertising budget and access to potential renters all over the globe.
Your budget is a little smaller, so you might have to take what you can get.
Once you get someone that wants to rent your timeshare, you have to make sure everything is straight on the paperwork end.
You need to get a good renter's agreement that spells out everything in writing.
You want every possible scenario in writing.
Sometimes it's the only recourse you have against a bad renter.
When it comes to the question of payment, PayPal, the online payment system owned by eBay, is a very good choice.
This provides a measure of security for both buyer and seller because PayPal takes care of receipts, proof of purchase documents and so on, which streamlines the process.
One last piece of advice: you should always get your money in advance.
Sounds obvious, but it's an essential step to protect yourself.
This shouldn't be a problem with most renters, but if a potential renter has an issue with this, you should probably look for a different renter.
By following these tips, you'll find it much easier to turn your vacation timeshares and rentals into a nice stream of income!