Frequent travelers are familiar with the benefits of vacation rental homes and apartments. HomeAway.com is the largest rental homes by owner company in the United States, and its glowing reputation is well deserved. Luxury travel fans who want the comfort of a vacation rental home or condo, but who also want unquestionably upscale lodging, would do well to look into Resort Rentals by Owner. It's a new site dedicated to timeshare hotels and resorts, and travel planners booking through RRBO can save 30-50 percent over aggregating sites like Expedia and Priceline. Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBOs) like HomeAway focus on individual home rentals, whereas RRBO focuses on established resort families (Marriott, Disney, etc). This column interviewed Bob Kington, a co-founder of Resort Rentals by Owner.
How did RRBO get started – was there a gap in vacation home rentals?
RRBO was founded in 2009 by three former executives from CompuServe and AOL who also had experience with timeshare ownership. We saw a market that was inefficient and created a website solution where timeshare owners can easily rent their units when they are not using them and people going on vacation can rent villas at exclusive resort destinations at prices 30-50% less than what hotels charge.
There are over 5 million timeshare property owners in North America at 1,600+ resorts that are among the finest vacation destinations available. Some 60% of owners trade or try to rent their units each year but there hasn’t been an easy way to rent, until now. Timeshare owners have told us they’d like to be able to rent their properties but don’t want to arrange all the details with the renter. At the same time, many people who rent vacation properties are looking for two- and three-bedroom villas rather than a hotel. They want to go to resort properties with great amenities, but they don’t want to pay “retail” in prime season. Who does? Resort Rentals By Owner was created to meet these needs.
How many properties are currently on the list and what countries?
Currently there is detailed information on 748 separate resorts and over 7,000 individual rental listings on RRBO, and this list is growing daily. Initially the focus is on the U.S, and Caribbean with some properties in Canada and Mexico.
What are the plans for the future in terms of expansion?
The company’s focus is to make a great website experience where owners can easily rent their timeshare units and vacation travelers can find great deals, and we handle the transaction and payments removing the hassle and risk of owners and renters working this out themselves. Expansion of the business will occur through more rental listings and via marketing to consumers increasing awareness of RRBO.
Longer term, the company will expand globally beyond North America.
Are you happy with how RRBO’s been received so far, and what are areas of improvement?
We have done limited marketing to date but the customers who have discovered and used RRBO have been extremely satisfied. They are finding great vacation resorts at prices 40-50% less than the same properties on Orbitz, Travelocity or the resorts' web sites. And they have a confirmed itinerary in the hands before their credit cards are charged so there’s no risk that is sometimes associated with online transactions. Owners who have listed their rentals on RRBO for free are very satisfied when we find a renter, handle the transaction and payment and send them a rental check.
Areas of improvement will focus on making the listing process even quicker and easier than it already is and adding traveler’s insurance to mitigate the risk of trip cancellations due to health reasons or delays caused by outside forces. We’ll also start to market more heavily in the upcoming travel season leading into ski vacations and spring break.
What type of traveler do you hope to attract – couple, baby boomers, families with young kids? Does it depend on the destination’s location or the type of resort?
RRBO will be attractive to anyone looking to get a great deal at a nice resort, and who want to stay in a villa with 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms with a kitchen. Yes, it does depend on the location. We have hundreds of listings near Disney that are very attractive to young families for example. The 1-bedroom villas in the Caribbean are attractive to couples that want a great resort but can pay half at RRBO what they’d pay by booking directly through the resort. Savvy travelers come in all shapes and sizes.
Please tell my readers anything you think is important about RRBO – distinction between this and typical timeshares, for example, and differentiation between this and VRBO.
First, RRBO is a great website that is very easy to use and find an available rental listing at a beautiful resort at a great price. Users can search by location and filter results based upon dates, number of bedrooms, or price ranges. There is detailed information about each resort including a “birdseye view”, mapping, all the amenities, etc. The site is well organized, contains no advertising and is simply focused on timeshare rentals. And the prices are tremendous because you’re renting from an owner, not from the resort itself.
The differences between RRBO and VRBO are:
1. RRBO focuses on resorts – typically managed by companies like Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton and Disney. The quality and amenities offered at these resorts is predictable and well known. VRBO focuses on individual vacation homes.
2. RRBO manages the transaction and payment processing so that the owners and renters don’t have to connect with one another and deal with this hassle. VRBO has the renter contact the owner and work out the rental agreement and payment. An analogy to the tickets and events marketplace is: RRBO is like StubHub, and VRBO is like Craigslist.
I’m wondering how the timeshare resorts by owner “get the word out." That is, I know how HomeAway.com works, they have ads everywhere, the Superbowl ad, etc. What’s the process for your company?
RRBO is a relatively young company and marketing initially will be via the Internet. The Columbus Dispatch ran a front-page feature on RRBO in July for example when they learned about the company and the great consumer values. Heavy marketing won’t get started for another year. Until then, savvy travelers will find us by searching online for great vacation values or via word of mouth or by reading blogs like yours!
Thanks, Bob Kington. Resort Rentals by Owner looks to be a valid, reliable way to save money on a luxury vacation.
Jennifer W. Miner - Jennifer has years of travel writing experience, spoken at several national conferences, and more. See Jendeavor.com for more details.
