CASA YBEL OWNER'S FORUM

Use this message board to communicate with fellow Casa Ybel owners!
Please do not list weeks for sale or rent on this board.
Use the website database for listing purposes.

CASA YBEL OWNER'S FORUM
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Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

Tried to rent week 24 in fgh and for the second time in a few years the rental office has not been able to rent it for the entire 7 nights. This year they only rented it for 4 nights. I signed the rental contract in February. It had not been rented by May so they decided to "get as many nights as they could." Very surprised they could not rent it out for the full week.

Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

Have you ever rented it from this web site?
It's only a one time $50, guests will call you (email or phone) and pay up front, so at least you know it is rented for that particular week.
After many years now, we are still finding owners
that do not know this,and are very nicely surprised.
We can't advertise in our own Casa Ybel owners papers, since the front office is competing with us.
You can change your rental or sales prices anytime without charge.
Thanks

Carl j Appelberg

Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

This topic continues to bother me…..

Carl your representation of the the front office discount is a lie in an effort to generate listings or your website.

I have successfully rented through the front office for several years, and unsuccessfully through Carl's website two years. I routinely monitor the listings and prices on Carl's website. Asking rents are always one-half or more below the front office rates. This is a fact! Even with the commission paid to the front office, I have made far more $$ through the front office than I would have ever made through this site. Trust me – I have done the research and analysis. I will never use Carl’s website until…….

For those of you reading this that use Carl's website, you are leaving money on the table – and lots of it. Get your prices up or use the front office is my suggestion. Quite complaining about the pool, interlopers, sea turtles, Thistle Lodge, Mariner, Hospitality, the Board, former Boards, the County Property Appraiser, the weather, or a young couple trying to have a nice evening by the pool for an hour or two and take advantage of the 5-star rating and rent your unit for what it is worth.

Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

Tommy,

Exactly what "research and analysis" have you done? My unit (2 bedroom, week #1) on Hilton's website will rent for $2,793.00/week. They (Hilton) get 35% commission ($977.00). Leaves me with $1,816.00.

My unit on Carl's website is going for around $2,000.00. Less Carl's fee of $50.00 leaves me with $1,950. Tommy, last time I checked 1,950 is greater than 1,816. I do agree however that lots of money is being left on the table. Our units are worth well more than we're asking. Competition among ourselves is ok, it should just be at a higher level!!!

p.s. It didn't take a lot of "research" to figure out the math.

Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

Jonny (Carl),

You are not being honest - neither you nor the others rented a unit $2,000. That is what you are/were asking. The $2,000 units did not rent off Carl's website. You and everyone else will take less. My advice - leave leasing to the professionals, give up the commission, which I agree is painfull, and we will all make more money.

Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

Thomas,

First, I am NOT Carl. I do have a week 1 unit in FGH. Second, If I feel comfortable that hilton can rent my unit for $2,793 (and I do), leaving me with $1,816, what harm would it do to pay Carl the $50 and try to increase my profit? It's my gamble with my money if it doesn't work out.

If owners are renting for less than the $1,816, then they need to go back and take another math class. Another thought is: How do you feel about rolling the dice that Hilton will be able to rent your unit for the entire week? If you can find someone through this website that will guarantee a 7 day rental, what's the harm. If they (Hilton) only rent it for 5 days, where are you now? Sometimes less turns out to be more.

I know there are a lot of Carl haters out there. There's many times I shake my head at some of the goofy ideas he comes up with, but I believe this website does serve a purpose. No one is forcing anyone to use it or contribute to it.

One last thing. How will we all make more money by only using Hilton to rent our units? They're really the ones that set the value of a weekly rental. If they were to lower their price, we would be forced to lower ours or not get the rental. On the flip side, if they were to increase their rates . . . . . . . . . . . .

Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

John - Jonny,

Well said and nice contribution to this blog. Good luck with you rental. I cannot argue "gambling" $50.00, but Hilton has far more exposure and will hopefully be successful.

On another note, the economy and our current administration are alarmingly concerning. If Obama wins (and he likely will) forget any decent rentals for the next 4 years and probably longer. We are headed for a serious depression, the likes Europe has never seen. It’s only a matter of time if we don’t get the debt under control. All who read and contribute to this blog, I plead for you to support Romney, less the way of life we have grown to love and cherish and our forefathers fought and died for will vanish in a blink of an eye.

Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

Well, I have not been keeping up on this site as I used to, so I‘m late with these comments. First, I have attempted, over the past 30+ years, to rent my unit several times, twice through the “front office”. Each time, I was told the unit was fully rented a few weeks before the rental date, only to have an actual rental of 4 days and 5 days. Once, I rented through an independent travel company, with good results. Twice, I have rented through Carl’s website, successfully for the entire time period, and netted more than I would have via the “front office”.

Conversely, I have rented an extra unit for my family 6 times through Carl’s website, each time paying less than I would have via the front office, but more than what the owner would have netted from the front office.

That’s how the market works; both parties win.

Re: Are you renting your unit this year?

I had some mixed feelings reading about the problems with www.casaybel.com
Please do not call it "Carl's" website, it was never meant to be that,but "the owners" web site.
Here is some background if you are interested.
When I retired in Ft Myers in 1983, I had 11 units, and was happy to hear Mariner would help me out if I could not use some of them.
My work between Cape Kennedy and Houston Space Center somehow started an accumolation due to the many trips for the Apollo launches with periods of delays. It was nice to take a week's break after a month of continous work oof and on, I found it better to receive cash up front when renting my self. After several times of "You are no 1 on our list" I never found out till I asked 3 weeks after the week where the payment was due, and was told it did not rent, no one showed up, or we only rented Saturday night.
I had been on the board at that time and suggested better communications could be established between owners in stead of the "SandScript" every 3 months with commercials for Thistle Lodge.
Ed McElroy and I started the "Casa Ybel Forum" with news and listings for owners to use. It created lots of work and expenses for Ed and I, and I asked the new Cyber Bussiness for a web site, I was asked "Any name in mind" , and said
www.Casaybel.com.
Sure, no one has asked for it, so take it.
At the next board meeting I offered the board the site for our general use to make it easier to communicate with owners and clear problems if any came up.
I was turned down by vote ! "Who has time for that"?
I stop here, I will not bring up all the comments I heard from owners regarding renting there units, and problems they also had.
My good thing, I was told, was this:

1:Never a question about what number they were in line to rent, it was open for all to se.
2:Money! Always up front, you are paid months ahead, no wishing for luck this time.
3:No one was left with a 1 or 2 days rent out of a full week.
4:No forced "sign up" with restrictions not to rent by others if a chance came up.
5:No insisting for sign up (forced) for repeat years.
6:Renters turn out to be fine people, no trashing has been reported, always paid up.
7:no stories now about "Renters did not show up"(You had no down payment?)

Peace, it's all for a fair and thankful ending, no losses from a week you just could not use that year, and did not rent.

Thanks CJA

Any takers for "carry on the site?" I am getting old!