maltman1

I have seen some really good - Almost too go deal for Condos on Ebay, all seem to come from people that have lots of positive feedback, make clear there is no other fee's or time share pitch. Most seem to have set dates any one had experience with these?? They also seem to all mention square trade travel verified.

Inga

It is a good idea to be suspicious of deals that appear to be too good to be true. However, I have purchased numerous Hawaiian timeshare weeks on ebay without any problems. Properties have been Marriott Kauai, Point at Poipu, and a couple others. Most sellers appeared to be timeshare owners that could not use (or did not want) their reserved week for some reason. Deals were always quite good. I typically focus only on true auction rather than Buy It Now listings. The square trade verified designation is a requirement to post in the travel section of ebay but I could be wrong.

cordelli

Full details on Square Trade and e-bay are here

http://pages.ebay.com/community/news...PageName=TRVL3

There is a monthly fee, and I believe a per listing fee to sell using the verification.

maltman1

Well I tool the plunge - $695 for 7 night on Maui at a condo place called Maui Sunset. So if it sucks at least it will be in Hawaii - I'll give a report.

Suzyrox

Maltman1:

How did it go with the condo. I am also thinking about going the condo route. Any advise, pitfalls?

Thanks

Suzyrox

jerseygirl

we always buy these on ebay Never stay in a hotel in hawaii anymore
cost is the same or less for an nice spacious efficiency or even a 2 BR with living room, kitchen, etc
right now there is an offer of 2 rounds of golf thrown in free when you rent an efficiency at KoOlina in oahu - my favorite resort in hawaii

GadgetKen

Agree on condos being a better route, particularly if you are staying in one location for at least one week (condo rentals usually, but not always, are in one week intervals). Advantage of more space, cooking facilities, washer/dryer (if not in the room then a coin-op for the building), often more of a community feel than a hotel. Only drawbacks I can see are some smaller properties may not have long front-desk hours (some do have a resident manager though, and all can make arrangements for late arrivals), there may be some variability in the quality of rooms depending on the owner and the property manager, and if you are more into luxury resorts with all the activities and amenities, not all condos may be up to this gold standard.

Have done condo rentals through AAA or direct with the condo property in the past. Have never tried Ebay for travel (but have used for many merchandise purchases), but with PayPal and SquareTrade protections, the risks are fairly low. Check the sellers record of complaints (should be 98% or better positive reviews, the number of transactions they've done, and how long they've been in business.

In more recent years have been using SkyAuction...for Hawaii this means they will send me an RCI certificate to be presented at check-in plus I'll need to pay a minor local tax and sometimes a small service charge for certain amenities (e.g. room safe) at check-out. Will be staying in Kauai starting this Friday: 1 night motel, 3 weeks at a condo, 3 nights at a better quality hotel. Used motels/hotels for the stray nights on each end of the condo rental because I could get a frequent flier ticket by flying certain dates (otherwise an expensive ticket from BDL).

There are other online condo vendors such as redweek.com, vrbo.com, island realtors, etc. Key thing is shop around, do a background check and read all the fine print. You can save a lot of money and get a nice place to stay.

cmjaffe

we've used VRBO listing for Kauai last year. Then butted the front and back end w/short stays at Hyatt using FFN. Really loved having the additional space (2 BD) and facilities. We, too, are leaving CT area in a little over a week and staying in paradise for 12 days going w/same owner as last year who "threw in" an additional night at no charge... so can't beat $1150 all in for 8 nights in 1500 sf condo (not including lanai) and then finishing it off w/4 free nights in ocean view at Hyatt. Just wish there was a way to get a deal on the rental car. Locked things in in February (the ff tickets for 4) but still the rental will probably cost us $400 after tax and stuff... oh well.

GadgetKen

Try Alamo last minute rates. Just got an email from them and my all-inclusive convertible rental rate dropped from $51.47 to $26.62 per day (dividing bottom line with all taxes and fees by the 25 day keep). You never saw someone modify their rental record so fast Use code IG in the contract code field. Also try membership club (Costco, Sams Club, BJ's, etc.) contract code plus discount coupons (wound up even being cheaper for me). Suspect other car rental places will also drop their rates to match.

loomis

Wow. It appears that there are some really good condo deals on ebay. I would never have thought about buying there.

I will have to consider that for next winter.

relativelynormal

Yeah, Ko Olina is pretty good. You get a semi isolated spot with a less frequented beach (can't get to Ko Olina using The Bus) along with a golf course and nice conditions (the Western side of Oahu has a lot less rain). They also offer a luau show at Paradise Cove that is primarily aimed at tourists.

arlingtonflyer

Interested in hearing how your experience was, maltman1?!

maltman1

WOW! - We had a great time and I was very happy with what I got!

$699 for 7 nights, it was a very nice Condo, no problems, so I guess buyer beware when doing this on Ebay but we got a great condo room for 5, kitchen, cooked meals and saved some $$$$ I would do this again!!

lharris816

I have never used ebay for a condo rental but I have heard good things about it from others. I have used VRBO in Kauai and for more local areas without a hitch. We are staying in Maui this month and I found a listing on Craigslist at the Ka'anapali Beach Club at 750 per wk. I contacted the seller and many emails later verifiying his information, I got 13 nights pro-rated at 750 per wk. I payed him with Paypal, half down. I got a conformation number with the hotel which I have verified and will now pay the balance on Paypal, before arival. I paid by credit card to protect myself, I'm feeling pretty good about it, will update after the 17th when I get there. Staying at the Marriott Waiela for 3 nights at the end of the trip with gift cards.

As for a rental car I have had the best price at Alamo, standard car, 16 nights for 350. Have been looking but nothing better yet. I did try Priceline for a convertabile at 14 per night and they counter-offered at 17 per night. I thought I would just try 15 the next day, but was rejected. I'm not sure that the credit card would protect for insurance purposes in case of an accident since it is a Priceline charge. Does anyone know if they do this normally if you go thru Priceline?

Coconut Travel Hawaii

Based on experience and talking to others (I am also surrounded by people who own condos and rent them, that's part of life if living in Hawaii; thanks goodness I don't deal with rentals myself, seems like such a hassle), it seems to me that renting a condo is a hit it or miss it. It could be a great deal - but also could present the following issue. It is up to the condo owners how they maintain and decorate their units. The pictures they put on the web could be misleading. Even if they put their units into condotel (also known as condo-hotel) programs (that generally require conformity), there still could be issues. Some of these condo owners lack common and business sense. E.g., I remember staying at one of the ResortQuest (now called Aston) properties on Maui. The website did not even say anything about privately owned condos, the website marketed the whole place as a hotel. Luckily, I rented through ResortQuest. The unit I got had baby pictures all over and signs along the lines, "Welcome to our home etc." Come on, get real. (I love children, it's just it was not the intention to stay in somebody's "home.") I went to the front desk and asked for another unit. The unit I got then had a distinct odor of a place where people smoked, even though it was advertized as a non-smoking resort (I absolutely hate smoking - Btw, beware: this could be a huge issue if using Priceline to get a hotel room; you can get stuck in a smoking room! - Not in Hawaii (because of the new law), but in other places, such as Vegas or CA). So I ended up back at the front desk asking to be moved again, which they did.

Lots of people who come back to Hawaii year after year actually find a unit to be rented in the future while they are still in Hawaii. It's very-very common.

As for lharris816: You are getting your unit in a timeshare project. So you are "safe" in that those units will all be properly maintained, since it is the company that maintains them and not the individual owners. Those properties are well maintained. You got a great deal!!!

As much as I dislike the whole timeshare concept, I have had terrific deals over the years. There are so many of these timeshare units out there, and timeshare owners are willing to rent them cheap. You can get really great deals on those. I have stayed multiple times that way at different timeshare resorts for under $400 total incl. all fees for one week in a 1- or 2-BR unit with full kitchen and washer/dryer (it does take a lot of searching to get these deals though and usually very last-minute type of deals).

Re $350 for 16 days: Is it including taxes and fees or without? I rent often on the Neighbor Islands, and if it were for me, I would be really happy with $350 for 16 days if it includes taxes and fees. It seems like a great deal to me. This is not LAX and those places, after all, you know

Excellent question!!! Let's see if anyone knows.