Better Business Lodging

Was wondering if anyone has had any dealings with this company? this is their web site www.betterbusinesslodging.com and here's their sales pitch:

Better Business Lodging is the premier company for marketing and advertising your vacation property to the corporate world. With a combined experience of over 25 years in the timeshare and travel industry, our team is the recommended choice for companies of all sizes for booking their executive housing needs. As an owner, renting out your vacation property while you’re not using it is a great way to cover the costs of ownership and make extra income. We value our customers and are dedicated to helping you get what you want with excellence in customer satisfaction, a knowledgeable staff, top notch customer service and a smooth experience each and every time you use our services.

NEVER pay anyone money upfront that claims they can rent your timeshare especially if they try to lure you in with a large rental price. These scam companies just want your upfront money. What do you know about them other then what they tell you about themselves. Anyone can create a website and use a mail drop box for an address. Don't believe their customer reviews they wrote them themselves. Use a reputable site like Redweek or a licensed realtor if you decide to rent it our yourself. Don't fall for their false promises.

Companies don't book timeshares for corporate needs. They book hotels. I have never heard of a company who claims to connect individual owners to such businesses to be anything other than a scam.

And this is why I have asked the question! To see if anyone has had any past dealings with them? I have not even heard their sales pitch. just received their cold call out of the blue (I wonder how they get our information), then email, and was suppose to get a call back but the sales person missed my time window. I viewed their web site and got to the FAQ's where they talk about "By Law", in Florida Brokers cannot ask for up front money but then they say they are not a Broker service so you know what that means! Again, I just raised the question to see if anyone's heard of them or had any dealings with them. Maybe if we open up this discussion, it may save someone from making a mistake in the future. I know I have made more than my share over the years before finding Redweek.com! To just say don't pay up front may not help. Desperate people will try anything and that's how these sharks are able to make a living.

Sean you are right about getting the word out. Besides never paying anyone money upfront beware that if anyone contacts you out of the blue.......it's a SCAM . The problem is that there is no exit strategy when someone wants out of their timeshare. The developers are finally realizing that and starting to look for answers. Unfortunately don't look for any soon .

seanb136 wrote:

To see if anyone has had any past dealings with them?...Maybe if we open up this discussion, it may save someone from making a mistake in the future. I know I have made more than my share over the years before finding Redweek.com! To just say don't pay up front may not help. Desperate people will try anything and that's how these sharks are able to make a living.

Some people have probably had dealings with them and likely ended up getting scammed. Many of these scam operations change their names quickly when the authorities start coming after them or when their victims report them to the Attorney-General.

It does not matter what their name is, if they ask for a large, upfront fee to sell, rent out, market, or "cancel" your timeshare, then it is a scam. That has been repeated countless times on these boards. It's saved a few people from falling for this scam but others found RedWeek too late.

I was contacted by this company and a few others around the same area in Orlando last year. I spoke with all of them for quite some time since I'm eager to unload this timeshare. It all sounded too good to be true skin held off. Recently while on vacation I was just about an hour away inTampa and decided to stop by each of the companies I had spoke to in person. Out of the three I attempted to visit one was a mail drop, the other was a dump with some very strange people going in and out and this one was a nice office. The people were pleasant and the rep I was speaking to actually met with me for about a half hour. After reviewing their info and marketing material I was almost ready to sign up but was still a little hesitant so I didn't as of yet. I probably will soon though if they come down on the fee a bit. Hope this helps. I wish people would share positive experiences as well as negative but I guess that not the kind of world we live in.

bena70 wrote:

The people were pleasant and the rep I was speaking to actually met with me for about a half hour. After reviewing their info and marketing material I was almost ready to sign up but was still a little hesitant so I didn't as of yet. I probably will soon though if they come down on the fee a bit.

How much is their fee and what does it include?

You do realize that the majority of timeshares in the Orlando area are worth about zero dollars, don't you? If they're asking for an upfront fee to try to sell your unit and claim that they can fetch top dollar for you, then it's a scam. Never, ever pay anyone a large, upfront fee to sell, rent out, market, or "cancel" your timeshare. That rule cannot be overemphasized!

And by the way, a lot of these scam artists can sound pleasant. They have to if they're going to scam people.

Yes I am quite aware of all the issues out there when it comes to timeshare but what do you recommend lance? I pay upfront every single year for my maintenance fees that just keep on going up almost every year and i get nothing for that upfront fee except an opportunity to use it if i want to deal with all the booking hassles and bad service or spending time trying to exchange which is not nearly as easy as they made it seem when i purchased. Lance do you own a timeshare? If so which one and have you taken any pro active measures to get it sold or rented either by yourself or with a company you paid upfront too? Has anybody on this forum paid a company upfront to help rent or sell?

Neither had I before this. The initial contact was a phone call that i dismissed since I had spoken with a few companies prior. It wasn't until early this year when of my field reps that was exhibiting at the Convention Center who had spoken with one of their people who was marketing at the event that i got intrigued to look into them a little further. They asked him a few questions about where he normally stays, how many people usually travel and for how long then explained how the program works and gave him an inventory catalog to take and review which he brought back to me. I then submitted an inquiry on their website and was contacted shortly there after. Tracey have you ever paid a company to help you rent or sell your timeshare? Im just trying to see how many people on this board are speaking from personal experience. Thank you for your comments, I find this to be very helpful.

Hi Sean, what kind of mistakes have you made ?

Don you seem very knowledgable in this sector. I have seen you post on several topics about this and similar companies. What would you recommend one to do in order to sell or rent their timeshare without paying ANYTHING upfront? I would really like to find a legit solution but it seems like everyone just says what NOT to do but doesn't offer any suggestions or solutions on what we can or should be doing. Have you yourself ever payed a company upfront to help you rent or sell your timeshare?

seanb136 wrote:

Was wondering if anyone has had any dealings with this company? this is their web site www.betterbusinesslodging.com and here's their sales pitch:

Better Business Lodging is the premier company for marketing and advertising your vacation property to the corporate world. With a combined experience of over 25 years in the timeshare and travel industry, our team is the recommended choice for companies of all sizes for booking their executive housing needs. As an owner, renting out your vacation property while you’re not using it is a great way to cover the costs of ownership and make extra income. We value our customers and are dedicated to helping you get what you want with excellence in customer satisfaction, a knowledgeable staff, top notch customer service and a smooth experience each and every time you use our services.

Sean which timeshare do you own and have you done anything to rent or sell it on your own or with a company you paid?

bena70 wrote:

Yes I am quite aware of all the issues out there when it comes to timeshare but what do you recommend lance? I pay upfront every single year for my maintenance fees that just keep on going up almost every year and i get nothing for that upfront fee except an opportunity to use it if i want to deal with all the booking hassles and bad service or spending time trying to exchange which is not nearly as easy as they made it seem when i purchased. Lance do you own a timeshare? If so which one and have you taken any pro active measures to get it sold or rented either by yourself or with a company you paid upfront too? Has anybody on this forum paid a company upfront to help rent or sell?

My first recommendation would be to find out what your unit is worth on the resale market. One oft-mentioned way is to log into E-Bay and search for the resort where you own and then check completed (not active) sales to see what they sold for. You might find that some auctions closed without garnering any bids. If you find that it has value, then you can try listing it here on RedWeek or other reputable websites such as My Resort Network, E-Bay, or Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG"). Yes, they will charge you a fee to list but it's a modest, reasonable fee as compared to these other scams that charge an upfront fee in the hundreds or thousands.

If you find that your unit has little or no resale value, then you can try giving it away. Use the websites that I mentioned in the first paragraph. I know TUG has a Bargain Deals section where you can list for free that you want to give it away. If you are dead serious about giving it away, you might want to give the new taker an incentive such as offering to pay closing and transfer costs and perhaps even the next year's maintenance fees.

You can also contact the resort's Homeowners' Association, mention your situation and ask if they will take your unit back. They might make you pay transfer/closing costs but it will work out cheaper than paying many of these "Get out of your timeshare" companies and law firms.

BTW, we used to own a timeshare but we sold it via an advertisement right here on RedWeek.

I will repeat the most important phrase for anyone trying to sell or get rid of a timeshare: NEVER pay anyone money upfront that claims they can sell or get you out of your contract. If you do decide to sell check with your home resort and see if they have a resale program. If you decide to just get out of your ownership ask them if they have a " deed back " program. I got rid of two timeshares in 2011 that way.

Now for a reality check. The Orlando area is the most over built timeshare location in the world. Unless your timeshare is among the top few in regards to upscale companies it probably has little or no value on the resale market.

There are many options people rarely take advantage of on their own. You could list the property on this site or others on the internet including Ebay and Craigs list. There is also your local pennysaver type newspapers where you live. Someone might just be interested in your property especially when they discover it's in the Disney area.

Don't forget the option of renting out your timeshare to offset the maintenance fees. I've done that many times. Make the effort to look into different choices. You will only get out what effort you are willing to put into solving your problem. I made it a priority to rid myself of my two timeshares in 2011 and they are now out of my name. You made a very wise decision to come to the forum and ask others for their advice now put in a little more effort and I'm sure you will make the right choice.

Looking at the BBB doesn't tell much other than this LLC was started in May 2015 and the contact info is: Contact Information Principal: Mr. David Taylor (Director)

Doing a search on David Taylor-timeshare comes up with several timeshare scams connected with Mr. Taylor. So I would imagine the 25 years of combined TS experience is made up of at least 22 years of TS scams. I know some businesses like this say they advertise at conventions but I never really thought they did. Could you give me the name and the date and location of the convention you attended so I can try to verify if this business was actually a registered participant there.

I would also like to know what you own and why you think a business would want to rent out your unit for a convention. I know that these companies say that is what they do but I have never heard of a company actually renting timeshares for attendees. They rent hotels. No one wants to have to share a king bed with a colleague. No one wants to cook when they are in town to do business and have fun. No one wants to rent a full week when conventions are typically 3 days or less.

I have done research and found everything requires an upfront fee. Some more than others with little guarantee if any. Theres thousands of listing on Ebay for all kinds of Timeshares. I dont really believe that Ebay is a good way to determine the value of a timeshare but I do thank you for your kind reply. YOu mentioned you sold yours through here - was that recent? How much did you get for it?

Sean which timeshare do you own and have you done anything to rent or sell it on your own or with a company you paid?

Thanks for your response again Don. My timeshare is not paid in full so the resort wont take it back and honestly when I they told me that i was furious. How can they sell the timeshare for so much and then turn around and say the only way they will take it back is if I first pay it off and have all maintenance and taxes paid in full and then they "might consider" it and there will be a few more costs involved on my end. I will not go out without a fight and just turnaround and give a timeshare back without trying a few ways to make some kind of money on it or at least break even. I knew it sounded too good to be true when i purchased it, I should have stuck with my gut feeling.

I am going to try a few of the methods you are recommending Don. The thing is that I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to this so the idea of having someone do the legwork for me is worth money in itself. How much is another story. Do you speak from experience? If so which timeshare did you or do you own and how did you get rid of it?