Service charge by villa mangmnt?

[augie]

Is there a thread somewhere already where comparisons are made between a number of different management companies?

Maybe we could start one and have it stickied?

I'm a Virgin virgin, so to speak, so I have no frame of reference as to how my particular management company is performing unless I stumble on to a thread like this. But more important, or so it seems to me, as a newbie I made my selection of a villa management company in a vacuum.

Now I imagine that most folks' selection is driven primarily by villa suitability, availability, and affordability, but it may have been nice to be able to look first at companies offerings that have a reputation for good customer service, and likewise to look last at properties that are soley offered by companies that appear to try to take advantage of people.

[mia]

I decided to be brave yesterday, after reading the comments on this board. So I emailed our agent, inquiring about the 5% fee we are being charged. This is the response I received.

"Several companies that are successful charge this fee, much as do all the other Caribbean Islands. Tortola properties often charge 10%. Why is this? These properties are generally somewhat remote and providing guests support 24/7 is quite expensive. I can tell you that our monthly gasoline charges often exceed $1000 per month not to mention labor costs. Our other choice is to provide no service fee and ignore phone calls when there is a problem which is what some companies do. Some companies pretend to be property managers but are simply brokers stateside with no support staff on the Island. In the last year, I have paid anywhere from 5% to 8% above the local taxes at Ski Resorts, Golf Courses, as well as Hotels in NY. In NY, my bill tacked on another $25/D for parking. I guess you just get what you pay for.
We've charged the service fee for several years now and have not had any guests leave the Island unhappy. Hope this helps."

I guess this makes sense....but then, why doesn't every agency tack it on?...mia

[flip-flop]

Mia, I don't know about you but that would totally rub me the wrong way and I'd choose to go w/ another villa agency. All of these agencies are working under the same conditions - its St. John, not the Australian outback.

I will add that if you did need service on island (which should be a given I mean you've paid for the house so the fridge and pool should work right) then that expense should be born by either the home owner or the management co. not the renter. Isn't that kind of the point of renting?

When we had a fridge problem at Ambiance, Destination St. John had someone over there that day to fix it. No questions, no hassles.

We went w/ Caribbean Villas twice (once for Cygnus and once for Cocolobo) and both times they were adequate but we did not feel we got anything for the extra 5%. I have found that Destination St. Johns homes (while a little more expensive) tend to be newer and thus by default in better repair, with more up to date furnishings and linens and what not. Now, that may not matter at all to some people. Some folks may prefer going more rustic, and that's fine. I just like my vacation home to be nicer than my real house

[Splasher54]

We have rented from Island Getaways and Destination St. John in the past. Island Getaways uses Caribbean Villas for their local contact. Island Getaways did charge the service fee. We had a problem with our stove burners not working on our first trip and it was never resolved by Caribbean Villas although they did send someone out a couple of times (we never saw them, but they said they had been there) When we rented through Destination St John this year, we had a TV quit on us and they came right out and got it going again. Then the next day, they came back with a brand new TV! They were great to deal with and I recommend them highly. We will rent in the future from them and will use companies that don't charge the service fee. We actually got better service when we weren't charged the fee. Oh yes, we did have gift baskets at both houses.

[liamsaunt]

We've used Catered To and Vacation Vistas. Both were great, neither had an additional service fee, both provided welcome baskets. Catered To had maid service included in the rental fee also--I think it was every third day (could be wrong on that though).

Both companies have on island representation and were responsive to us when we called them, even if it was for something stupid, like the time that we called to let them know that the power was out at our villa and they politely informed us that the power was out all over the island...

I would use both of these agencies again, if they had a house I wanted for my timeframe.

[JT]

We have used Windspree the last four trips to STJ and have never been unhappy. They don't charge additional service fees. We had a problem once,with the cistern/ water pump and I called and a guy was there within an hour. Karen lives in Coral bay and is always available.

[promoguy]

Hi Mia, I find their answer to your question a stupid non answer and I hope they read this forum. What does Tortola have to do with what they charge. Who cares what their gasoline or labor costs are. If they think they're not making enough go to the villa owners and negotiate an extra $. Maybe their contract with the owners are less, the owners like that but add 5 pct. Who knows!!!

But again, their answer is idiotic. Who cares what they pay at ski resorts.

I'm going to start tacking on 5 pct to all my orders today. LOL

I decided to be brave yesterday, after reading the comments on this board. So I emailed our agent, inquiring about the 5% fee we are being charged. This is the response I received.

"Several companies that are successful charge this fee, much as do all the other Caribbean Islands. Tortola properties often charge 10%. Why is this? These properties are generally somewhat remote and providing guests support 24/7 is quite expensive. I can tell you that our monthly gasoline charges often exceed $1000 per month not to mention labor costs. Our other choice is to provide no service fee and ignore phone calls when there is a problem which is what some companies do. Some companies pretend to be property managers but are simply brokers stateside with no support staff on the Island. In the last year, I have paid anywhere from 5% to 8% above the local taxes at Ski Resorts, Golf Courses, as well as Hotels in NY. In NY, my bill tacked on another $25/D for parking. I guess you just get what you pay for.
We've charged the service fee for several years now and have not had any guests leave the Island unhappy. Hope this helps."

I guess this makes sense....but then, why doesn't every agency tack it on?...mia

[ncallas]

I have an issue with the service charge also. I guess if we had received superior sevice from Caribbean Villas, it might not be so bad. Our service from both Bookit-Vi and Viva was far superior, and neither charge a service fee. I believe both also offer discounts for return visitors and a great welcome basket to boot! Bookit gave us a great beach/tote bag with the basket of goodies.

We also has issues with CV not responding to maintenance requests. If I dare say it, and apologize in advance to those of you who are fans of CV, but the 3 villas we rented from them were NOT CLEAN. I plead guilty to being very fussy, but one villa was really, really dirty. There was *&%# in one of the toilets, & the shower curtain was black with mold. The kitchen had sand all over, even the counters. The hot water heater was not on, and after a long trip had to take cold showers. I believe there was supplemental solar heat fir the hot water, and they seemed kind of annoyed that we requested they fire up the hot water heater . I'm sorry...is hot water an extra charge?? Am I being a princess?

Now after that rant, can you believe we are renting from them again? ONE last time, only because the villa I have had my eye on is only rented thru CV. Please feel free to tell me I'm nuts!

Best regards to all,
Nancy

[liamsaunt]

Hey Nancy....you're nuts!

Just kidding. Let's hope this next time is the charm.

You're not a princess. I would have flipped out if I walked into a villa in the state you describe, and I am really laid back. Erm, usually.

[mia]

promoguy,

As usual, you have said it exactly as it is...it really was a non answer to what I felt was a legitimate question on my part. What does a parking fee in NYC have to do with anything? Totally irrelevant! I must admit that I was somewhat taken aback by the reply I received. Actually, I wished I had not brought it up at all.

I did respond to his/her "answer" by apologizing if I had offended him/her, because it certainly was not my intent to do so. The reply went something like this...."I was not offended at all by your question. Glad you understand."

I do?

I guess he didn't get my sarcasm. I stated that given a choice between good service and poor service, like them not answering their phones....I would opt for paying his/her agency the 5% fee.

Hey promo....do you get my sarcasm? ...mia

[jac w]

We've booked through CV twice now. The first villa had nothing, not even a bottle of water. The second villa - totally different. We received four CV tote bags filled to the brim with goodies, books, sodas and water, there were fresh flowers and a huge fruit basket. Maybe it's the villa owners who set what the renters receive or the size (read cost)of the villa. We also received excellent service - ran out of gas for the grill the first night (embarassingly a spare was right behind the grill) and propane for the stove the second. They had people out the same day to correct things. We've booked the first villa again for next year - we'll see if they've decided to do goodies for the smaller first villa.

[Marcia (Mrs. Pete)]

For those of you who have been in contact recently with these various rental companies, it might make sense to reference this site. If they knew that hundreds of USVI guests were reading these comments, they might actually take some action. This includes the good with the bad; I believe we have already mentioned Kathy McLaughlin that her service is fantastic and we have shared that here. (Pete posted that he inquired about internet service at the villa we'll be staying in this April/May and within hours, she responded that she would be contacting the owners and then, VOILA, a few weeks later, she informed Pete that internet service was installed!)

Now THAT'S service.

Marcia (Mrs. Pete)

[mia]

I did provide a link to this thread when I sent my initial inquiry regarding the 5% fee we were being charged. I'm not sure if the link was even clicked on though. It certainly was not referenced in the reply I received from the agent....mia

[ihochman]

I can't tell you how happy I am to see how many people were pissed
about the 5% additional "SERVICE" charge that Caribbean Villas tacks on to their prices. I rented a house for a trip last month and could not believe that they did this. I even called them to find out what it was for and they
said for services. WHAT SERVICES???? No food in the fridge, no alcohol and even the house wasn't cleaned well. I'd previously rented from Catered To and found them much more helpful. A little basket would have been nice...even a cheap bottle of wine but NOTHING!!! I don't think the house we rented is repped by any other place otherwise I would have gone elsewhere. I thought I was being cheap but now I know I'm not alone. Tacky is tacky is tacky.

[Genral]

Flip-flop: You bring up another problem with Carib. Villas. The poeple that are really in charge are in an office up in Maine! Good luck getting their attention for anything. We won't use them again since the rental vehicle fiasco. We'd rented the villa and a large 4X4 for two couples - none of us light weights - and the second day we noticed a large pool of coolant under the car. They did come and get it, but gave us one of those little tiny Suzuki things "until we fix the radiator". Well, the radiator never got fixed, so we were crammed into that little thing all week. At the end, I thought I'd get a rebate on the car rental... oh no, no rebate, because "You didn't have either vehicle for the whole week, you should be glad we don't charge you the 'per day' rate on both. That was, as they say, the last straw.