KOALA — Hotel in New York

We have vacationed for 15+ years at a family member's timeshare in Newport Coast. Other than that, we don't travel much. Started craving a beach vacation, and with caviar taste and a tuna budget, we set out to take our family to Hawaii for the first time. Stumbled across Koala and started to research the concept of timeshare rental.

Looked up videos on YouTube, reviews on Google, Reddit & Tug2, and got a good feeling about who this company is and how they stand behind their product. Owners seemed pretty genuine and trustworthy. We were familiar with the timeshare concept already, and decided to "trust the process". Well, sort of. We had snatched up a last minute bargain, and it all just seemed to good to be true!

In the weeks prior to the trip, I still had a lot of worries, and may potentially have spoken with almost every Koala staff member by phone. They were patient with my questions and I truly appreciated talking through the concerns with a human. Biggest worry was arriving in Hawaii at 11 p.m. just to find out that what we booked wasn't truly available (as has happened to some we know with Airbnb & VRBO). Knowing that they have a 24 hour help line for urgent check in related issues was a huge plus. The most reassuring moment was when the reservation was transferred into my name by the timeshare owner, and I was able to call Wyndham to confirm our reservation.

Arriving at our resort, the check in process went so smoothly! Our 2 bed/2bath condo was exactly as expected, no hidden charges or surprises. We truly enjoyed our trip, it was beautiful from start to finish, and are incredibly grateful to Koala for the patience and customer service along the way. And for making this 20 year dream of a Hawaiian family vacation a reality! We are telling all we know about Koala.

If I could give any constructive feedback, it would be a suggestion to add an option for renters to put down a $99 deposit to transfer the reservation into their own name PRIOR to the cancellation deadline. This could be both reassuring for the renter to have that confirmation right away (without having to wait for the cancellation deadline to pass), and a protection for the owner in case the renter cancels. That said, we are looking forward to our next vacation and plan to use Koala whenever/wherever possible - with no more worries! We hope the best for them, and that many more timeshare owners find this service and successfully post their weeks for rent. Seems like a win/win situation for...

Traveler Beware: I booked a vacation stay months in advance only to have my reservation canceled 7 days prior to check-in due to changes within the resort.

The only communication I received was via email from an employee who claimed they were forced to cancel after exhausting all other efforts. When I reached out via phone, I was contacted by the same employee who had signed the email but then presented a conflicting story from what was in the email, saying they had just found out and canceled the reservation.

If you exhaust all efforts, I, personally, think you probably knew before being forced to cancel.

When I explained my distress about the situation and the urgency to rectify the situation due to my upcoming travel plans, I was met with a "not my problem" attitude. I asked to speak to a manager and was told the representative I was speaking with was the only manager of customer relations, which is more than concerning. I asked to speak to the boss or superior and as a response I could hear laughing in the background what I can only assume to be more unprofessional co-workers.

The representative would not let me speak to a manager or superior today but instead explained that she would type up notes regarding my reservation and send in. I asked to be cc'd on that document so that I would know exactly what was happening. The representative said "that's not going to happen" and eventually said that I would be included but I, in fact, was not.

Lastly, the call was ended by the representative hanging up on me without a single word of closure. Not a "bye", "Have a nice day", or "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

I have booked with KOALA previously and had a great experience, but this last minute cancellation and poor example of customer service will be the absolute last time I even consider booking with this company and I would encourage any one looking for honest review to take heed to this warning before it is 7 days until your check-in and have no where to stay.

Update: I did receive an email from the representative with information she was passing on to her superior within 90 minutes of posting...

I recommend finding a different vacation rental company for the following reasons. Koala has poor communication, high prices, and does not honor their price match guarantee. Let me start by saying that the 2 ladies I spoke with who work for Koala were very kind and tried their best to help me. So I put the fault of my bad experience on the business owners. We booked our vacation months in advance, however, just a few days prior to our trip we had no official confirmation number. When I would log in their website, it first showed our reservation canceled, then it just disappeared. I called, emailed, and sent a message with no reply. I became concerned and started looking to book elsewhere. I did find the exact same resort and dates for about $700 less. Then I did finally hear from the company. I explained that because I hadn't heard from them, I'd like to cancel or have them price match what I had found. They refused to do either. They said I was within the no cancellation timeline, which was true, but shouldn't have been in place since they never got me a confirmation that I even had a stay with them. Then they refused to follow their own price match guarantee. The owner/manager only offered a small credit ($150) on my next booking with them. If they had made this right, I would've continued to book with them as we travel to this particular resort twice a year. However, this credit was useless to me as I can't imagine booking with them again due to their lack of communication, high prices, and refusal to follow their own price match guarantee. I highly recommend you find another company that values their customers and take care of them. You will certainly find something better...