Frequently Asked Questions

You bet!

If you have ever donated (or considered donating) some time at your rental to support a silent or live auction, we think that you'll LOVE TravelPledge because you enjoy far more control. You set the exact timeframe of the donation, and you set the max retail value (and minimum bid for vacation certificates that you post).  

Other big advantages include: 1) No more haggling over blackout dates with winning bidders,  2) No more crazy low winning bids!

When posting your property and/ or vacation certificates, it's very important to post nice photos and even a video if possible.  This drives up the winning bids at the auction and ensure that your share (50% of the sales price up to retail value) is higher since the vacation will sell for more.

Note that you have two options.  1) Post your property, fixed dates, rates, etc and maintain the available dates/ calendar    2) (easier)  Post vacation certificates that are redeemable for weeks that you have available on your terms at your rates.  We even provide a calculator to show you the RANGE of amounts that you'll receive each time we promote your property at a black tie gala or on a private label TravelPledge website.

We recommend that you:

• Create a vacation Certificate.  Upload several photos and list all features
• Consider posting a Property Listing (and manage availability/rates)
• Add "last minute" cancellations later based on availability
• Promote your listing to your regular renters and to friends and neighbors
• "Like" us on facebook and share us with your facebook friends
• Help the non-profit promote your vacation leading up to their gala or on their website

Hope this helps.  Best of luck!

If you post a VACATION CERTIFICATE (a great idea for many owners), you should include any fees in your "Max Retail Value" and they will be included in the portion that we send you (immediately) after the certificate is purchased by a supporter of a non-profit.  If you post a property listing and post specific weeks/ available dates, and a real time booking occurs, we'll collect cleaining and other fees and send those to you after the renter's successful stay at your property. For international owners, we'll make electronic payment through Paypal.

Definitely. Create your free listing now.  When your listing is complete, we'll give you an easy way to “turn over” the listing to your manager.  It is important to note (and tell your manager) that we pay all of the management company fees (before we make the donation) on every Geronimo rental to ensure that the manager has plenty of motivation to help you rent weeks are posted to TravelPledge.

Example: You donate a $2,000 week at your vacation rental. You indicate that you have a property manager that receives 25% of your rent. we'll send $500 (along with any money due to you and a detailed report) to your management company after the renters complete their stay. The remainder of the rent will be donated charitably per your donation settings. This way we ensure that your manager is paid FIRST.  Property managers LOVE TravelPledge!

We also have integrated solutions that tie directly into property management software solutions such as Barefoot, Instant Software, Razor-Clous and more.  We make it very easy for property managers to promote your properties on TravelPledge sites.

Yes. When listing your property, you have the option of entering an amount (up to $300) to cover your cleaning fees, and we'll charge the renter that amount.  We'll send this to you (or your property manager if applicable) along with any other payments due to you by check or electronic Paypal payment after the renter's vacation is complete.

Make sure that the leaders of this non-profit are doing a good job of telling other supporters that you've shown how much you care by donating some time at your vacation rental.   This unique fundraising website can easily be promoted  to their donors at fundraising events, by email, print and social networks.  Your listing will automatically appear.  

You can help by printing a PDF flyer from your listing page and giving it to event organizers or posting it at your local community gathering spot.

 We have published more details for you here, but we advise you to consult your tax advisor for his / her guidance.

Yes. When you list your property,  it's easy to specify the amount of your damage deposit, or damage waiver.  

The damage deposit is released back to the renter AFTER you check things out and confirm no damage. You may also make a partial claim against the deposit if you choose. The deposit is automatically refunded back to the renter 10 days after their stay if you don't report any damage.

Alternatively, you may also specify a damage waiver (not deposit) if you handle things that way. We'll collect that for you and send it to you within your payment.

We provide many tools to promote your TravelPledge listing (and the TravelPledge site).  You can share your listing with your friends on facebook, tell your friends by e-mail and now, you can even click "Your Properties" and see a link to post your listing on Craigslist.  We automatically build you an ad for Craiglist and you can cut/paste the html code directly into your Craiglist account.  

In addition, you can print a PDF flyer for fundraising events.  You'll find a link on your listing page. Show the world that you CARE with your TravelPledge listing.

Make it "rentable" (good availability at a good rate). We feature listings that we believe to be attractive to charitably minded renters that are looking for a good value.  We're not talking about bargain basement, but a discount of at least 25% off your regular rate makes it more attractive to potential renters.

Promote TravelPledge! We also reward owners and managers that go the extra mile by promoting TravelPledge and Geronimo.com (decals, facebook, twitter, email blasts, website link, etc).  Once you have your listing(s) completed and approved, be sure to like us on facebook and then post a nice message to your facebook wall such as:

"I just posted my vacation rental to @Geronimo Vacation Rentals for Charity .  You can see my listing at http://nonprofit.TravelPledge.com/132343.  I am excited about this program, and hope you'll rent my property and help us raise some money for this great cause!"

Note that once you "like" us, you'll be able to use the "@" sign to tag us in your post and your post will appear on our wall as well!

You can see all of the instructions for whitelisting our domain and for specific email addresses here

When you create a listing, you'll be asked to agree to our terms and conditions, and these terms and conditions spell out your relationship with Geronimo Solutions LLC and detail how we'll help you convert a spare week at your vacation rental into a big donation.   The primary agreement is between owner and renter and we have a standard short term rental agreement that you can view and that renters agree to during booking. 

All listings are free for owners and you never pay us any commissions on bookings. 

We are all about being fair to vacationers and to owners and non-profits. Our policy discourages vacationers from renting before they are 100% sure, and it provides a way for renters to recoup a portion of the rent that depends on how much time remains prior to the rental. Renters may request a refund for any reason. Please note that you'll forfeit your 50% if the renter cancels his/her reservation.

AT LEAST 45 DAYS IN ADVANCE - If renter cancels at least 45 days before your first night, then renter receives 75% of the rent back. (The rest will become a donation)

14-44 DAYS IN ADVANCE - Renter cancels 14-44 days before your first night, and renter receives 50% of the rent back. (The rest will become a donation)

NO REFUNDS INSIDE 13 DAYS BEFORE YOUR FIRST NIGHT'S STAY

As a supporter of non-profits that loves to have fun, we know that you have friends and family members that would love to know more about this site so that they can have fun and help a great cause too!    

• Like us on facebook and share on your timeline.
• If you know leaders of non-profit(s), make sure that they are promoting this website
• Tell your friends at the next cocktail party.
• If you know business owners, encourage them to participate as a promotional partner or by posting experiences.

Get creative and we can get the word out fast and help some great causes!

First, thanks for purchasing a certificate for a fun experience at a recent fundraising event!  We're sure this generated a nice donation for a great cause.

You'll redeem the certificate by contacting the provider DIRECTLY using the redemption instructions that you can find right on the certificate.  Be sure to pay attention to any restrictions or blackout dates prior to calling or emailing to redeem.  If you ever have any issues, just contact us at support@TravelPledge.com and we'll help you out.

As indicated on your certificate your vacation (or other fun experience) is non-refundable but if you can't use it, you can let a friend enjoy the certificate or you can give it back to the event planner and let them use it to raise more money.

On our Website- browse vacations, golf, cruises, lessons and other fun experiences that are posted by GENEROUS business owners that wish to help out.  Purchase a fun experience at an attractive rate and you'll automatically generate a nice donation for your favorite cause. Most purchases are flexible certificates that you can redeem later, but if you book specifica dates, you'll receive a booking confirmation detailing who to contact to gain access to the property and all other relevant information.

OR

At a Fundraising Event-  Thousands of non-profits ask us to to help them at their black tie galas each year.   We locate generous business owners that will support the organizations by posting fun experiences.   Thanks to this connection, you can bid on lots of fun experiences (golf, lessons, vacations, cruises, theatre experiences, online memberships, and much more).   After the event is over, you'll receive a non-refundable certificate that you can easily redeem by contacting the generous business owner DIRECTLY whenever it's convenient for you.

Many of the generous participating providers of fun experiences (vacations, golf vacations, cruises, etc) occasionally have last minute space available and they use these spaces to non-profits raise money.   If one of our providers posts a "last minute" experience, you'll see it highlighted prominently on our website and you'll also see the EXACT start date (checkin for example) for the experience. 

These last minute experiences are typically posted at very attractive rates so keep an eye out for them!   These offer less flexibility than a standard certificate, but if you can travel "last minute", they are a GREAT way to help your favorite cause and have fun too!

Certificates for fun experiences purchased online or at a fundraising event are NON-REFUNDABLE.   However they are transferable so that you can buy them for a friend or relative.  For example purchase a guitar lesson for your favorite nephew!

            OR

If you book specific vacation dates on one of our websites - These reservations may be cancelled per the terms below. You may request a refund for any reason based on the terms below. If you cancel:

AT LEAST 45 DAYS IN ADVANCE, you'll receive 75% of the rent back.

14-44 DAYS IN ADVANCE, you'll receive 50% of the rent back. 

NO REFUNDS INSIDE 13 DAYS BEFORE YOUR FIRST NIGHT'S STAY

Any forfeited rent as the result of a cancellation will be divided between the owner/manager and charity per the donation settings for the selected period.