Why not rent?

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Time-shares offer a great chance to reverse a classic real estate adage. Why own, when you can rent?

Time-share owners deciding to skip a year sometimes are desperate to rent out their units, so they can be happy to accept a bargain rental rate instead of flat out eating the annual maintenance costs. And time-share resorts often operate rental operations for unused units, in part to boost sales.

I booked my roomy one-bedroom unit at the Hyatt Coconut Plantation resort in Bonita Springs, Fla. two days in advance for $129 a night. The resort opened last year and is in the early stages of build-out, so it routinely discounts room rates in hopes of luring future buyers, marketing director David Lehrman told me. He said the room should have cost about $300 a night.

I should have been suspicious when a time-share sales person called my room at 9:45 a.m. Saturday to see how my visit was going.

Finding rentals: You can rent directly from the ownership company. Check the time-share websites noted in the accompanying box.

— Douglas Hanks III, Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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