Twenty years ago today (sounds like a Beatles song), John and Linda bought two weeks of an elite Mayan Palace contract. They were
convinced that renting it would be easy. But after listing with two different companies, they soon found that rentals never happened. So John, and a family friend, CJ Haizman created a simple little website. Soon after, both Christmas weeks were rented. Although the website URL, funsunmexico.com, may have not been the best choice, we are stuck with it because of our 20 years of Google credibility!
Two Units to Rent
Next a dear lady from California, Paula, found our website and asked if we could rent her Mayan Palace weeks. We tried, and they rented right away. Over the next 5 years, more and more people found us, and before the 2008 recession, we were renting up to 300 units a year. It was great fun because both the timeshare members and the guests were so happy to have us work for them. Our business philosophy has been to make sure we do our best to help both members and guests receive a great deal.
Constant Change
Just when we thought we had it all figured out, the resort would develop a new luxury level. We thought
the Mayan Palace was high end, but the Grand Mayan soon was offering a whole new level of luxury. Next came the amazing Grand Luxxe suites, bigger, more luxurious, and with extra amenities. Soon the resort transitioned from Mayan Resorts to the Vidanta brand, but we decided to stick to our tried-and-true MayanRental name, since a large percentage of our business is repeat.
Crisis Mode
We had a bit of a crisis in 2010. Many dishonest teams were scamming both members and guests. Consequently, the resort decided not to allow anyone to represent members for rental. John literally jumped on a plane to Nuevo Vallarta and persuaded Brett Estes , a Vidanta service executive to schedule a meeting. Brett immediately recognized the service we were providing Vidanta members and granted us an exception.
New Partners
By 2018, we were booking vacations for almost 300 groups per hear and John and Linda felt that it was time to slow down a little and Allen and Nina Heneveld offered to buy the business. They had the same people-centered mindset, so John and Linda sold 90% interest to them. Linda and John kept 10% ownership, and John still oversees the website, marketing and blog-posting.
Nina now manages the huge task of daily activities: booking, responding to availability inquiries, answering questions, making sure our guests have a great vacation and attending to our owner’s questions/needs. Allen handles the business /accounting side and helps keep the rest of the team in perspective.
Becoming Vidanta Experts
Every year John and Linda or Allen and Nina stay in different units at the main Vidanta resort in Nuevo Vallarta. We host a dinner party as a “Thank you!” for our friends in Vidanta reservations that make day to day bookings a pleasure.
Between the four of us, we have stayed in 5 of the 7 locations and in every luxury level. John and Linda
kids, and grandkids stayed in the unbelievable 4-bedroom Luxxe Residence. Allen and Nina even flew toPhoenix and drove down for a stay in Puerto Penasco. Because of this, we are able to give guests accurate information based on personal experience.
Pandemic Woes
Soon after the change, Nina and Allen had to weather the pandemic. It was a brutal couple of years, but bookings are rebounding now and things are looking up! We expect bookings to literally explode when the new theme park with a Cirque du Soleil opens in Nuevo Vallarta.
The Latest Challenge
The new challenge starting this year is Vidanta’s addition of the massive, oasis-like units titled “The Estates” in Nuevo Vallarta. These units are already open, so
we will be developing a new section of our funsunmexico.com website to offer guests the option of this new, unprecedented luxury level with personal butler/concierge support , private pool , spa , and restaurant areas. Guests will have on-demand transportation throughout the entire resort. Nina can book these for you, but right now we often need a one-year advance notice.
An exciting future prospect is Vidanta’s high end development on the East Cape near San Jose del Cabo. Ground has broken, and you can find details in our recent post. There is also serious talk of Estates in Riviera Maya and Grand Luxxe in Acapulco.
We Are Your Vidanta Resource
Hopefully, this history has shown you that we are experts at providing a Vidanta vacation. This article is written in July and it is already time to contact Nina about the coming fall and winter vacation period !
BOOK NOW !.
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