Hawaii beach - anyone used this company?

Has anyone used %26gt;hawaiibeach.com%26lt; for vacation rental in Hawaii before?

On their web site, it says they have been in business for 10 years. But to book with them, they ask us to send them a personal check to pay for the rental fee. If anyone has used them before and found that they are a reputable business? Or anyway for me to check and see how reputable they are?

Thanks for any answers you can provide.

Hawaii beach - anyone used this company?

Asking for a check always raises a flag for me, so I did a little checking for you. I called the company and talked with ';Tom'; and he said the name of the company is ';Hawaiibeach.com'; and the company is licensed. However, I checked the DCCA records and the company is licensed by the DCCA as ';TNB Hawaii Properties, LLC'; established last October. (So much for the 10 years!) However, they are not licensed by the DCCA to do vacation rentals, they don%26#39;t have a professional and vocational license issued by the State of Hawaii. They also would have to have a licensed real estate broker to run a vacation rental company but they don%26#39;t and nobody is licensed there according to the Real Estate Commission either. These kind of companies are the ones that give bad reputation to the real estate industry. The following link can be used to find out everything about companies in Hawaii. hawaii.gov/dcca/…

Hawaii beach - anyone used this company?

well, TT already covered it well, this is just an agreement.

I would not send a personal check. Even if they aren%26#39;t trying to scam you and really do have rentals (quite possible) -- the only way you have recourse (practically speaking) is if you use a credit card.

TT and KK

Thank you so much for your info. You have bent over backwards. Thank you again. I%26#39;ll look elsewhere.

It%26#39;s very easy to ';register'; a company in Hawaii, you can do it online for $25. However, ';registered'; and ';licensed'; are two different things and, ufortunately, we have way too many unlicensed operations here.

Just what I thought. When I pressed ';Tom'; about the licensing issues he sent me the following e-mail:

Tom Borho - Hawaiibeach.com'; %26lt;konatommy@yahoo.com%26gt;

To: ';cxxxxa dxxxn'; %26lt;cxxxxxadxxxn@yahoo.com%26gt;

Aloha,

We prefer not to do business with you.

Go hassle someone else.

I run a reputable, registered and licensed business in Kona. I hate to see ';companies'; like hawaiibeach.com damage our visitor industry. After another threatening e-mail by Mr. Borho, I decided to do a little more research. He never had a Broker license required to run a vacation rental company; his sales person license apparently was terminated by the DCCA in 2004 and he established his company as an unlicensed person in October of 2005! ';This business is not in good standing'; according to DCCA, having failed to do its annual filings. It does not have insurance on file and it is not bonded either. I forwarded all the information to the Association of Property Management Companies to file a complaint with RICO (Regulated Industries Complaints Office) against them.

Wow, the story revealed of just how shady this outfit was in its advertising and conducting business is a good lesson, TT.

You know, I can see how a mom and pop operation renting one unit may not be set up for credit cards, but for a bona fide vacation rental business to require checks is not excusable, and as is shown here, there is probably a reason they don%26#39;t take credit cards -- and not one that benefits the customer!

I hate to see a good business run into the ground over lack of information or inaccurate information, so I%26#39;m going to share my experience with Hawaii Beach.com: IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!!

My family and I just returned from a 10 day vacation in Hawaii and stayed at one of Tom%26#39;s properties: The Shogun Pool Home.

I could not have asked for a more HASSLE-FREE company to do business with.

There are people out there that you can still trust and Tom is one of them.

My family had 12 people (including 4 kids: 2 teens, 1 pre-teen and 1 pre-schooler) and plenty of room for everyone to have a bed. We didn%26#39;t feel as if we were stepping on each other at all. Kids high chairs and 3 booster seats were at the house for our use if needed.

The house was clean, nicely decorated, and everything stated on the website was true when we arrived at the house. We felt safe and secure, comfortable, and with all of the extras that Tom provides, we felt as if we were at a family member%26#39;s home...not a rental.

The house was centrally located to everything in Kona and Tom was fabulous to do business with.

I paid by check; No security deposit was required up front as most property management companies require.

When I left my passcode to get into the house at my home in Texas, Tom answered his phone at 10:30pm and provided me with the information I needed, plus offered to meet me at the house if I had any problems getting into it.

He allowed us to check out late, due to a late flight, although we ended up shopping and taking in a movie instead.

Hawaii Beach.com is a fabulous company and it%26#39;s one I%26#39;ll do business with again in the future! Thanks Tom.

(I don%26#39;t work for Tom; I%26#39;ve never rented from him before; This was my first vacation to Hawaii; YES - I plan to return there!)

Any more questions - just post them...I%26#39;ll be happy to help if I can!

T Janke

Texas

txladi, my question for you is, ';Huh?'; The first paragraph of your post left me scratching my head. ';I hate to see a good business run into the ground over lack of information or inaccurate information, so I%26#39;m going to share my experience with Hawaii Beach.com'; You just read 6 posts from the local experts, many of which included quotes from the local authorities, and you say there is lack of information or inaccurate information simply because YOU had a good experience with this company? I find it interesting, also, that you have posted only one time to this forum and it happens to be in defense of this company. What gives?

TT - Thank you for your extra effort to get the facts. Your work is much appreciated!

txladi - I understand that you may have had a great experience but it boils down to the facts.

Plain and simple, this company is not what is represents itself to be! As TT found they are not in good standing with the DCCA; he is not a licensed broker; etc. To top it off when asked the hard questions about his company Tom becomes defensive. Open records are there for a reason, to give the consumer the tools to find out what is true and accurate.

My husband and I were scammed out of $800 early in our marriage. After that experience we both have done everything possible to check out business, individuals, and companies before we do business with them. Now, 20+ years later we haven%26#39;t been taken again. I make a point of learning the facts about a business before I use them. If Tom wants to run a business - great -but he also needs to follow the regulations and laws of the state of Hawai%26#39;i. Should any business balk at being questioned about their credibility I would run the other way.